Chapter Ten – The Death Eaters

Rowena followed her father back into the living-room of the mansion they were in. She had never seen a place so big before. She couldn't imagine that her father owned this, how would have had the time? The Death Eaters were still in the room but some had sat down and some were talking in small groups. But when Voldemort entered the room, it went quiet and all Death Eaters moved quickly into a circle.

Rowena ignored most of the commotion and she looked around the living-room. It was large, with a silver, rectangular table which took up most of the space. The fireplace was surrounded by expensive marble and a fire roared hotly within it. The floor was covered in pure white carpet and the large window on one side was covered with a white curtain, though Rowena was sure there was spell, so no-one could see in.

Voldemort entered the circle and walked around slowly. After a while, Rowena finished her exploring of this room and she faced them and watched.

'This is my daughter, Rowena,' he said slowly. 'And like I said before, you will treat her with the same respect that you give me. Remember, she is my daughter, if anyone disrespects her or hurts her they will suffer greatly.'

It went silent again. Rowena felt confident that nothing would happen, though she couldn't deny that Bellatrix worried her a little. The woman didn't look entirely stable and all there in the head. Rowena hoped it didn't cause her downfall.

'Now, Rowena, come here,' said Voldemort calmly.

Rowena passed in the circle and stood beside her father. 'I would like to introduce my followers to you. There are quite a few, so please, do be patient.'

Rowena remained quiet and she nodded. 'Very well, first of all, this is Lucius Malfoy,' Voldemort said slowly watching the man he was introducing.

Rowena looked Lucius over. He was tall, with long, white blonde hair and cold, grey eyes. He smiled softly at Rowena, showing her his white teeth. 'It's a pleasure,' he said delicately, done with much refinement. Rowena nodded her head to him once, but said nothing. Voldemort turned pointed to two other white blonde haired people. 'Narcissa and Draco, Lucius' wife and son, you might get along with Draco, to a degree, he is only slightly younger than you.'

They moved along to the next person. 'Meet Bellatrix Lestrange. She has already shown an interest you in,' Voldemort said. 'Which will end, now,' he finished coldly.

Bella's black eyes glowed but quickly settled and she bowed. 'And this is her husband, Rodolphus and his brother, Rabastan. I'm sure they'll treat you well.'

Rowena looked the Lestrange's over. Rodolphus and Rabastan both had black hair, though, Rodolphus' was just above his shoulders and Rabastan's was quite short and he appeared to be the younger of the two. At first, Rowena couldn't believe that Rabastan was a Death Eater. To her, he seemed nervous, as though he didn't want to be here. It made Rowena wonder if he was only here because his big brother was.

The next person Rowena meet was Peter Pettigrew, or Wormtail, as they called him. He only looked at Rowena for a split second for returning his eyes to the floor. He was a short man, with balding mousy brown hair and small, watery eyes. He appeared to be frightened, of what, Rowena wasn't sure.

She then met Antonin Dolohov, who was a tall, leering man, with short, brown hair and pale skin. His face was twisted and looked as though he hadn't shaved in a few days and his dark grey eyes searched Rowena's light brown ones. He smiled faintly at her, which Rowena didn't return. Rowena didn't think that he looked too friendly.

They moved along in the circle and she next met the Carrows, Amycus and Alecto. They were both on the short side and both had the same colour brown hair. Amycus was a squat, lumpy looking wizard and Rowena noticed that his leer was lopsided. She couldn't help but frown a little. She then moved to Alecto. She was slightly shorter than her brother and she was a stout woman. She wasn't smiling at all when she looked at Rowena. Rowena thought Alecto looked worried, not frightened or scared, but worried that something might go wrong here, tonight.

The next person in the circle was Fenrir Greyback; he was the person that Rowena had elbowed when she was being chased. She looked him over quickly. He was a big, rangy man with long, greying hair and whiskers and she noticed his nails were long and yellow and so were his teeth, plus they looked pointed.

'You're a werewolf,' she said.

This wasn't a question; this was a statement also, like she did with Remus. She could tell that some people were werewolves just by looking at them, most of the time their appearance gave them away. Fenrir's appearance greatly gave it away.

Fenrir nodded and growled in response. He appeared to be proud of what he was, though it made Rowena wonder if Fenrir was really a Death Eater or if he was there just because he wanted to be.

Rowena moved on and she felt something different when she came to the next man. He was tall, with black hair, and delicate black moustache. His Death Eater robes appeared slightly more constrictive then anyone else's that she noticed. She looked him up and down and wondered if she wanted to learn anymore about this man. He was Walden Macnair and his dark blue eyes seemed to gently pierce Rowena. She felt her cheeks flush but she only hoped it wasn't noticed. Macnair smiled politely at her and gave her a small bow. She returned it with a slight head nod.

She moved along quickly and came to Mulciber. He was a medium height wizard, with short grey hair that parted onto the sides from the back. His skin was white but he didn't seem very pale at all. He had already discarded his Death Eater robes and he was wearing a smart looking suit. For a moment Rowena wondered if he was allowed to wear those.

The next man was Augustus Rookwood. He was tall, with long, wavy brown hair that had been pulled back into a pony-tail. He was pockmarked though he looked to be quite a competent wizard. Rowena could see a fiery passion within his dark brown eyes and it continued to burn as they looked at each other.

That night Rowena also met the other Death Eaters, Avery, Gibbon, Jugson, Theodore Nott Snr, Crabbe Snr, Goyle Snr, Evan Rosier, Selwyn, Yaxley, Travers, Thorfinn Rowle and Rowena was told of Severus Snape, whom she has already met. She told them he was in the Order, but apparently her father already knew that. He claimed that Severus was a spy for them. Rowena wasn't sure what to believe. He could be on either side or in this for himself.

When the introductions ended Voldemort returned to his chambers alone and he told Rowena that her chambers were at the other end of the hall on the same floor, and just to wave her wand if she needed anything or to curse someone that annoyed her in any way.

She entered her bedroom chambers slowly and she door in the doorframe and looked around. The room was large and very spacious. There was a large, queen-sized bed in the middle of the room and a tall, wide black wardrobe in one corner. The floor was covered in a thick, black carpet and the two windows were covered in white curtains, similar to the ones in the living-room.

Rowena looked to the walls, which were all painted white and there was a medium-sized chandelier with candles, instead of light bulbs. It looked old, and it looked as though it hasn't been used in a while. Rowena walked over to the bed and she sat down. She wasn't sure how to feel about things right now. She couldn't deny that she was feeling a little confused and overwhelmed.

Everything now seemed to be moving so fast and Rowena felt breathless just thinking about it. In a strong way, it made her nervous but she couldn't explain why. She lay down in the bed, still in her robes and she went to sleep after a long while.


In the morning, Rowena woke up and she made her bed. She then freshened up in the bathroom before going downstairs. It was still early. There was only a few other people awake and up and about. She looked at them but avoided the room in which they were in. Rowena made her way to the back door, which was through the dining-room and she looked around.

The backyard alone was massive. Rowena thought you could probably fit another mansion on this land easily. The green grass was bright and very lush. Rowena jumped a little as a flock of albino peacocks wattled passed her majestically. Rowena narrowed her eyes slightly, how many wizards would have peacocks? Rowena thought it a little unusual.

She stayed on the small porch area that was just before the grass and she went undercover and sat down where the small table was. It was dark green and Rowena check one of the seats before sitting down, it was fine. The sun was just beginning to come up when the back door opened and a few people walked out. They approached Rowena and they all sat down hesitantly.

Rowena looked at them, Bella, Rookwood, Macnair, Rabastan, Evan, Gibbon and Fenrir. Rowena could only imagine what they wanted. Rowena looked all of them over slowly. She couldn't see anyone's wand so she assumed they weren't going to kill or hurt her. Her eyes lingered on Gibbon, she knew who he reminded her of, but she wasn't sure if this was the right time to speak of it.

'Can I help you?' Rowena asked, looking around at all of them again.

'We just wanted to know more about you,' Macnair said quietly.

'Yes,' agreed Bella. 'We're all curious.'

'I see,' Rowena said slowly. She could help but feel a little suspicious about their sudden interest in her. 'What do you want to know?'

'What was your mother's name?' said Evan.

The question surprised Rowena. Why would they want to know anything about her mother? She shifted in her chair slightly before saying anything. 'Can I ask questions in return if I answer yours?'

'Certainly,' Gibbon said.

One of Rowena's eyebrows rose very slightly, Gibbon's tone was almost quite polite. 'Very well,' she said calmly.

She was more than happy to tell the Death Eaters about herself, though she probably wouldn't do this for anyone else. These people followed her father loyally and bravely, plus her father must trust them to some degree, otherwise, Rowena was sure they wouldn't be here.

'My mother was Isabelle Baylon,' she said, answering Evan's question.

'So… you know who she is?' asked Bella, frowning.

'Yes,' said Rowena, nodding slightly. 'Albus told me her name but I was unable to meet her.'

'Albus?' Gibbon questioned.

''Dumbledore's first name, idiot,' snapped Fenrir impatiently.

Gibbon then gave Fenrir a hard look but he kept quiet.

'I don't believe you,' said Bella quietly.

All eyes turned to Bella. Her eyes were looking directly into Rowena's. They were narrowed and dark looking, it was menacing. Rowena knew that Bella could be a dangerous person to have around.

'Why don't you believe what I say?'

'Your mother's dead,' Bella stated.

'I know.'

'How?'

'Albus told me.'

'Why do you call him that?'

The eyes around the table went looked between Rowena and Bella rapidly many times during the quick interaction. Rowena decided to take a moment before answering Bella's question. She leaned back in her chair and sighed lightly as she placed her right hand on top of her left, which was resting on her abdomen.

'What else would I call him? I've called him by his first name all my life. Why would I stop now?'

'Isn't here your enemy?' Bella asked quickly.

Rowena could tell that Bella wanted to win this conversation, she wanted the last word.

'No, Albus is not my enemy. I do not always share his view on things but not everyone agrees on things.'

'He's the Dark Lord's enemy,' Bella said abruptly, almost interrupting Rowena.

'I know, and perhaps with good reason, I know,' Rowena said calmly.

Bella's cheeks flush and unnatural and ugly red, it blotched across both cheeks unevenly and Bella finally looked away from Rowena, she seemed extremely unhappy that Rowena could answer her questions without any hesitation. Though, Bella stayed where she was, she didn't leave.

'Is there anything you want to know?' asked Rowena after taking a deep breath.

'What can you tell us about the Order of the Phoenix?' asked Evan.

'I can't tell you where it's located, as I'm sure you know,' Rowena said. 'However…'

'Are you a member?' asked Macnair, interrupting Rowena.

'In a manner of speaking,' replied Rowena, over-looking the interruption. 'However,' she continued, 'I'm sure you know who the Order consists of.'

Most of them nodded. 'Did you meet Lupin?' Fenrir asked.

'Yes, I did,' Rowena said slowly. 'Why do you ask?'

'I was the one who bit him as a child. He was roughly five or six at the time. He tasted quite delicious, as I recall,' he said fondly, his voice raspy. 'I've heard his son turned out human though,' Greyback said after a moment of silence.

'He would still be half-werewolf,' Rowena said promptly.

'Yes,' Fenrir said, agreeing. 'But he won't transform. I'm hoping to change that.'

Rowena wasn't quite sure what to say about that. She felt disgusted at hearing that and she hid it from appearing on her face. She was sure that no-one noticed though, as no-one said anything or looked at her oddly.

'So, are you a full Death Eater?' Rowena asked Fenrir.

He turned his head at the question sharply. 'What's that supposed to mean?' he asked, his eyes wide.

'She's asking if you have the Dark Mark,' Macnair said lightly, a small smile appearing on his lips. Rowena kept her eyes on Fenrir. He seemed to struggle with answering the question.

'No, I don't,' he finally said, mumbling.

Her eyes remained on Fenrir, who was now looking at Macnair, ominously. She thought Fenrir seemed embarrassed about it. Though, Rowena was already sure that Fenrir didn't share her father's views on the wizarding world. He enjoyed biting, infecting and in some instances, killing people. He was in this for the victims, not the ideology.

Rowena knew that she could probably tear everyone apart and analyse everyone, but it would take too long. She moved on to someone else. Her eyes found Macnair, who was looking back at her. Rowena couldn't help but feel strange when he looked at her. What was it about him?

She then ignored it and looked at Gibbon. 'Do you have a sister?'

His body seemed to twitch at the word sister. He looked at her. 'Yes. How did you know that?'

'And her name is Aurora?' Rowena questioned.

Gibbon looked shocked. 'Yes. How do you know this?' he repeated, his voice becoming a little louder.

'She's the librarian at Durmstrang,' Rowena told him. 'I think she's married, though she still uses her maiden name,' Rowena added.

It went very quiet. Gibbon was no longer looking at Rowena. He didn't seem to be really looking at anything. He then slowly turned to Rowena again. 'My sister hated it when I told her I became a Death Eater. She told our parents and I ended it. I haven't seen her since.'

'You ended it? What do you mean?' asked Rowena.

'Simple, I murdered my parents. The day Aurora told them about me, I went back home and faced them. Aurora was still there. Both my parents said over and over how disappointed they were and all that crap. They were going to turn me in. I couldn't have that, so I killed them. Aurora screamed and she ran from the house. I haven't seen her since.'

'Why do you think you're sister didn't turn you in?' Rowena asked. She was genuinely interested in knowing this information.

'I think she was scared that I or other Death Eaters would come after her,' Gibbon said with a wry smile.

There was a small pause.

'What about you, Macnair? What do you do with yourself, besides killing and scaring people?' Rowena said dryly.

He smiled at her, his white teeth shining. 'Please, call me Walden,' he said naturally. It made Rowena wonder how old Walden was.

Rowena waited for him to speak more. He smiled wider and spoke. 'I'm an executioner for the Ministry in my spare time,' he said smiling.

'For dangerous animals?' Rowena questioned.

'Yes,' he said looking into her eyes.

'How old are you?' Rowena asked.

'Thirty-Three,' he replied.

Rowena was surprised again. He was younger than she thought he would be. She looked away from him as she remembered the memory she saw. She turned to Evan. 'Rosier,' she whispered, trying to remember.

Evan looked to her, frowning. 'Your father was a Death Eater,' Rowena said slowly when she remembered.

Evan nodded. 'Yes, how-'

'I saw a memory of my father going to Hogwarts, your father a few other Death Eaters travelled with him,' she said, answering his question before he could ask it. 'I thought the name sounded familiar.'

It went quiet again. 'Who's the eldest Death Eater out of all of you?' Rowena asked.

'That would probably be Nott Snr,' Rabastan Lestrange said.

Rowena turned to him. He was the only one who had said nothing so far. He had remained quiet and listened to everyone while saying nothing himself.

'I see,' Rowena said slowly. 'So, he has a son with the same name?'

'Yes,' replied Rabastan. 'He's the same age as Draco, a Slytherin as well. He's a good boy, smart.'

Rowena nodded. 'Same with Crabbe and Goyle Snr?' asked Rowena.

Rabastan nodded. 'They both have sons too. Both fathers' are idiots. Their sons aren't much brighter though.'

Again, Rowena nodded. She wondered why her father kept idiots around, if it was true. Unless, they both had someone stand up for them or if it was that they were useful in some situations. It made Rowena think. She looked at Rabastan for a while. He was busy darting looks at Bella.

'Are you married, Rabastan?'

He shook his head. 'No.'

'May I ask why?'

'Just never found the right pure-blooded woman,' he replied.

'And she needs to be a pure-blood, does she?'

That question caused everyone to look at Rowena sharply. She felt taken aback. Was blood still that important to some people?

'Yes, she does need to be a pure-blood. There aren't many left as you know.'

'Do you like people who aren't pure-blood?' Bella asked.

'Of course,' Rowena replied simply.

A few gasps went around. Macnair was the only person that remained quiet as he listened. 'Albus is a half-blood and I'm less than half myself.'

'But your father's a pure-blood,' Bella said quickly.

Rowena frowned inwardly. Did they really believe that her father was a pure-blood? Or did he tell them that himself? She wasn't quite sure what to say then she remembered her mother.

'My mother was a Muggle,' she said.

'But that would make you a half-blood,' said Evan frowning.

'So it would seem,' Rowena said before standing up. 'Forgive me; I must speak to my father. If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask later.'

She returned inside the mansion and she walked to her father's chambers. She knocked firmly and she heard a high cold voice telling her to enter. She opened the door and went in without any hesitation. She closed the door behind her, rougher than she normal would but she stopped abruptly as she took in the scene before her.

There was a girl, around her own age, kneeling on the floor in front of her father, his pet snake, Nagini, was circling her, hissing every few seconds. The girl was pink-faced with blonde hair, which was in pigtails. There were streams of tears rolling down her face.

'Come here, Rowena. Meet our new guest,' said Voldemort.

Rowena waited a moment before moving away from the door. She approached her father and Nagini stopped to hiss up at her. Rowena stuck her tongue out at the annoying snake and she hissed again, this time more viciously. Her father chuckled.

'Please, settle down you two. I don't want my two girls fighting,' he cooed.

Rowena's narrowed eyes looked away from the snake and she looked up at her father. 'Who is this?'

'An ex-Hogwarts student, a Hufflepuff I believe… Hannah Abbott. I have met your mother, my dear, she's a nice woman, full of spirit,' Voldemort said softly.

Rowena looked down at Hannah again. The tears were still there. 'Why is she here?' Rowena asked, looking back at her father.

'She was captured in Hogsmeade by Yaxley and Mulciber. I've been told that she was a member of Dumbledore's Army,' Voldemort said calmly.

'What?' Rowena asked confused.

Voldemort turned to his daughter and he ran a couple of finger down a lock of her long and straight, dark brown hair. His scarlet eyes burned into her light brown ones. 'I'm happy with how comfortable you've become with me and my followers after such a short period of time. You belong here with us, with me.'

'I'm sure,' Rowena said back. 'I do feel comfortable here. That I can say and doing anything.'

'That's because you can,' said Voldemort.

Rowena smiled and Voldemort faintly returned it. 'Why did you want to see me before?' Voldemort asked.

'Um, I wanted to know why your followers think that you're a pure-blood,' Rowena said after a long moment. She had temporarily forgotten why she came up here.

'What makes you think I'm not a pure-blood?' asked Voldemort.

'Albus told me. Your mother was a pure-blood and your father was a Muggle, so… you have to be a half-blood,' Rowena said uncertainly.

Right now, she was just hoping her father wasn't going to take it the wrong way but his white face turned into ghostly smile. 'And how did it come up in conversation?'

'I asked Rabastan why he hasn't married and he said that there weren't too many pure-blooded women left and I asked if the woman had to be a pure-blood and they questioned about my heritage and Bellatrix mentioned about you being a pure-blood… which I know I know is untrue,' Rowena said.

'Yes, I trust you will keep it to yourself,' Voldemort said sternly.

'Of course,' Rowena said quietly.

She was surprised at her father's tone. Did this matter that much to him? She nodded her head quickly and turned the attention back to Hannah.

'So… why is Hannah here? Why take her? And what is Dumbledore's Army?' Rowena asked in quick succession.

Voldemort chuckled. 'I think you have a lot to learn about Dumbledore and Hogwarts and many other things,' he said before looking at Hannah.

Voldemort withdrew his wand from his long, black robe and he hissed at Nagini, which Rowena understood, translated it meant to move away. The snake hissed and slithered along the floor away from Hannah and moved to her father's bed, looking at and hissing at Rowena on the way past. Rowena's eyes narrowed as she waited for Nagini to past her completely before she looked away. Voldemort was slightly amused as he watched.

Voldemort then bent down and lifted Hannah's head by the chin. 'Tell my daughter what Dumbledore's Army is,' he said gently.

Hannah breathed in and out shakily as more tears fell. She didn't appear to be able to speak now or at any time soon. Her father stood up and drew himself to his full height. 'Tell her now!' he yelled.

Hannah jumped at the volume of his voice and she audibly sobbed. Rowena wasn't sure how to feel about this as she watched it happen before her. Voldemort clicked his fingers and the door to his chambers opened and Rodolphus Lestrange walked in and approached Voldemort quickly, bowing at his feet. When he stood up Voldemort indicated to Hannah and Rodolphus nodded.

He walked over to Hannah and he brutally kicked her in the stomach. Hannah fell on the floor on her side and she cried out in pain as she wrapped her arms around herself. She continued to cry but she still said nothing. Voldemort nodded his head again and Rodolphus then kicked her in the legs before picking her up roughly by the hair.

Hannah shrieked and her face became wetter. 'Please,' she begged. 'Please… no more…'

'Then tell my daughter what Dumbledore's Army is,' Voldemort said firmly.

'It's a group w-where were practiced d-defence against the dark a-arts,' said Hannah, stumbling.

'Who led the group?' Rowena asked.

Hannah frowned up at Rowena and she received a hair pulling from Rodolphus, she gasped. 'How did you know there was a l-leader?'

'Well, there had to be. Someone had to be teaching it to you, otherwise you would have been learning it blindly, without really knowing what you're doing,' Rowena said quickly.

'Harry led us,' Hannah said.

'Harry Potter?' Rowena questioned. 'Really? How interesting…'

Rowena walked away and she went to the window. She didn't find it hard to believe that Harry would take it upon himself to teach other students what knowledge he knew.

'Would you like to have the honour of killing this one?' Voldemort asked.

'No,' Rowena said quickly.

Voldemort approached Rowena and looked down at her. He seemed slightly taken aback. 'No? May I ask why?'

'Because I think she could be useful. I'm suggesting that you keep her here, just for a little while. She may have more information that could be of some use.'

'We could just extract it from her mind,' Voldemort suggested.

'No, father, even you know there are more fun ways to do something like this,' Rowena said coyly. Voldemort smiled at her but he didn't interrupt. 'And you know the others could have some fun also. I believe once she learns that there is no escape she will, in time, give information freely.'

Voldemort's eyes narrowed but he said nothing, so Rowena continued. 'The Order does not know where you are… no-one besides you and your followers know that you are here. This could work to your advantage. You could take all the time you need with this one and any others that may be caught.'

'You are cleverer than I could have imagined,' Voldemort said with a faint smile. 'And I think I shall take your suggestion and keep Miss Abbott here. We could use her to extract information, when we need it, and she shall provide some… entertainment for the others.'

Rowena heard Hannah sob again before Rodolphus stood her onto her feet and took her from the room. Rowena looked at her father quickly. 'He knows where to put her,' her father said softly.

'I see,' said Rowena.

Any trace of Voldemort's smile disappeared and he walked to the door after a long silence. Rowena was still standing at the window, though there wasn't much to see. She walked away from the window and looked at her father, who was looking back.

'I think it's time for another meeting.'