The Initiation

Kiara stared in the mirror, wondering if she really was the girl standing before her; Kiara Snape, soon to be Zabini and very soon to be a Death Eater. In fact, in a quarter of an hour, the Initiation would begin. She smoothed her black robes, the fear in her stomach knotting tighter together. Underneath she was wearing her favourite tracksuit bottoms and jumper. She was going to be confident through this no matter what. She had to show that she was worthwhile and not some spoilt brat who cared whether she broke a nail. It may have taken Bellatrix Lestrange her whole adult life to get to the rank she was at now but Kiara was going to do it in a quarter of the time. She was determined to. There was no point in being a half-hearted Death Eater.

There was a knock at the door and Severus entered, already clad in his Death Eater robes, mask in hand ready to put on before they Apparated to where the Initiation was to take place. He looked tired and he probably was, but he still found the energy to give her an encouraging smile. A hug would have seemed awkward. It just wasn't the moment.

"Are you ready?" he asked. Kiara gave her reflection one last glance before nodding. "For everything?"

"I'm as ready as I ever will be," she answered strongly, a contrast to the dread in her heart. "I won't disappoint you. Rest assured."

"I'm not worried about you being a disappointment. It's allowed. You're a mere female in their eyes. Nobody expects you to be the next Bellatrix. I'm more worried about you getting hurt. The Dark Lord has been known to get a little carried away sometimes."

"Don't be. I can handle myself. You'll see."

"Just be careful."

The location was what Kiara expected. She took in the vast room once she had straightened up from the Apparition. Side-Along Apparating was definitely not her cup of cake. Cobwebs hung from the corners of what she imagined was once a grand ballroom, much like that in Brentwood Manor. The layer of dust made everything look grey; in fact, nearly everything was grey. Severus gave her one last comforting squeeze of the hand before disappearing into the growing number of Death Eaters gathered. She could sense his whereabouts he was but nothing exact. She walked over to the other initiates, also dressed in black, many trying to conceal their emotions but failing.

Time seem to pass slowly. When the great Lord Voldemort finally entered the room, she could feel the fear from those around her. Blaise, who was standing beside her, bristled so much, if he had been a cat his fur would have been on ends. Kiara watched him pass to a raised throne-like seat. He wasn't grotesque but he certainly wasn't the man of her dreams. His long jet black hair seemed slightly misplaced alongside his ash face, snakelike nose and ruby eyes.

"You have been called here to join me and my cause," he began, addressing the initiates. Kiara was glad she had chosen to stand in the middle of the second row of three. She wasn't at the front but not at the back either. His eyes were less likely to fall on her, or so she hoped. "Your families are already by my side. You will add to my growing number of followers, and you will all come to do me proud. However, before you can be given the Mark of my faith in you, and your utter loyalty in me, I want to find out just what it is you can do at the tender young age you are at."

He turned to Death Eaters and addressed them.

"I am pleased that you have all fulfilled your duty and brought them here. They are young, I will go easy on them, just as I did for those who joined me when you were their age. There will be no deaths amongst the ranks today, at least not intentional." He smirked to himself. "Now let's get this over with. Bring in the Muggles."

The door opened and a group of Muggles were led into the room, all chained together. Their first task was to demonstrate their ability of performing the Cruciatus and Imperius Curses. The Imperius was done well enough by those before Kiara, with the Cruciatus wavering in power. Butterflies rampaged in her stomach when it was Blaise's turn. Not only did she want him to do well, she was next. He managed to make his Muggle pull out her hair in great big tufts as instructed. The pain was etched on her face but she could do nothing to stop herself. When it came to the Cruciatus, he was the strongest so far.

"A Snape?" the Dark Lord said sitting up in interest. "How curious. This should be interesting indeed. Severus' Initiation is one I still remember fondly. Then again, you are a girl. Let me be very kind and give you something easy. I want that boy there to lick my floor clean."

Kiara turned to the boy that had been pushed forward. He had seen enough to gather that what the man on the throne said was what happened. Kiara refused to look into his pleading eyes and gripping her wand tightly, concentrated on purely getting him to do what she wanted, or rather what Voldemort wanted. Praying for it not to flop, she uttered the word.

"Imperio."

Keeping the surprise of the success of her spell out of her face, she concentrated on him licking the floor. When Voldemort ordered a stop, she grinned internally at the result of her work. Sure it wasn't a nice thing to do, but she had managed to get him to clean it in the shape of a snake. It hadn't been entirely intentional but what's done is done.

"Creative. That can come in useful." Kiara was grabbing his attention. "Show me now how… bad your Cruciatus is."

Steadying her mind, Kiara fixed her gaze on the boy but this time, she didn't think of him as a random Muggle she was torturing. His innocent face was replaced with that of William Brentwood. She wanted to give him a taste of his own medicine, of what she had suffered all her life. Years of anger at the man surged through her and were all released at the fateful moment when she said-

"Crucio."

The boy instantly dropped to the floor, writhing in pain and screams echoing through the room. Again Kiara imagined it being William, and did what he had often done. For every scream, the intensity of the curse increased. The screams grew louder, Kiara unaware of the little smirk of satisfaction appearing on her lips. It felt good to finally be able to do onto someone what was done onto her again and again and again.

"Enough," Voldemort ordered. Kiara let the spell drop and the screams stopped. The boy lay on the floor, shaking uncontrollably, the effects of the curse still running through him. "I think that is the best I have seen so far. Tell me honestly, did you enjoy that?"

"I cannot say that I did not my Lord," Kiara replied, keeping her eyes down. She glanced at the shaking body of her victim and for a moment felt remorse. That hadn't been right. Then she remembered how good getting some kind of revenge had felt and it dissipated.

"I think you will be one of my favourites Miss Snape. You may stand down."

The front row parted to allow Kiara back to her position in the middle. Many wished she wasn't there now. It was hard to edge away from her without making it obvious that they were. Normal young witches of her age were not meant to enjoy torturing Muggles. Normal witches of her age were not supposed to be the amongst the Dark Lord's favourites. Normal witches were certainly not meant to be better than the wizards.

"All of you need to work on at least one spell but I am not disappointed," Voldemort said, scanning the group of teenagers. They had all performed the Cruciatus and Imperius with some degree of skill. "I see potential and potential is good. To judge you even further, I want to see how many of you are already capable of killing."

Not many. The pronunciation and the wand movement were correct but it was definitely a spell that required the focus of a person's Dark magic. Kiara's magic was ninety-eight percent Dark Magic; Harry was the opposite, with Light magic fuelling most, if not all, of his spells. She watched those in the front row fail. Most produced a jet green spark that did nothing more than sting the person. Draco made his family proud and succeeded, a flash of jet green light filling the room as the body fell to the ground in a lifeless heap. Blaise also succeeded. It was only natural Kiara felt she had to.

"Avada Kedavra."

The words came out in a slow whisper but Kiara felt she needed them to. The Muggle girl stood there, her large brown eyes filled with tears. Kiara had looked into them and for a moment wondered why she was even there. Kiara could have simply stayed at Hogwarts over Christmas and avoided this whole Death Eater thing by claiming she couldn't get away from Harry. And then she remembered she had set out determined and that is how she would finish. She could not afford to lose that determination. There was a flash of green light and the girl was dead.

Kiara stepped back, keeping her eyes down as the body was cleared away. With one wave, she had taken a life. Shaking away the guilt, and keeping down the bile of disgust at herself, Kiara kept in mind why she was doing this; to stay with Severus. Glancing cautiously at the crowd of masked Death Eaters, she looked for him but couldn't find him and was partly pleased. She didn't want to know what he was thinking of her at that moment.

"As I was expecting," Voldemort sighed as the last person failed. Only Draco, Blaise, Kiara, Adrian and Simmons had managed to kill. That was five out of at least twenty. "Those who managed it, follow Bellatrix into the next room. An extra challenge awaits you. Once you have finished, you will come back to be marked with the rest." He smiled, revealing oddly pointed teeth. "Those who haven't…you'll soon be able to. I will make sure of it."

A Death Eater stepped out of the ranks and led the way out of the room through a door Kiara hadn't noticed before into an equally large room but seemed vaster because there were only six of them there. Bellatrix removed the white mask to reveal her face. Kiara had always envisioned her to be ugly and nothing like her sister and it was partly true. Bellatrix was dark with heavy lidded eyes but she still possessed some beauty. Perhaps she may have even been once classed in the same league as her younger sister. That was probably pre-Azkaban.

"So you can perform all three Unforgivables. For little kids that's a big achievement," Bellatrix said, her dark eyes looking at each person in turn. "The other babies are going to need leaders and I have been given the privilege of selecting those three leaders. That means two of you are going to fail this next task. The task is to see how you would get yourself out of a situation where you didn't have your wand and you were being subjected to the Cruciatus Curse."

Kiara was last and she watched anxiously as the others went through the task. Bellatrix certainly knew her stuff when it came to the Cruciatus. All three boys lasted pretty long without making any sounds of pain but weren't able to find a way to loosen the spell's hold. Draco came close, almost standing up but Bellatrix simply increased the intensity of the spell causing his legs to buckle. Kiara wondered what was the point of her even trying. She hadn't been subjected to the Cruciatus Curse in months and she couldn't see a way to stop the curse without somehow attacking Bellatrix.

"Let's see what you're made off," Bellatrix said sizing Kiara up as she prepared for the task. To her, Kiara was scrawny and almost delicate but she had come this far and that had to say something. "Crucio."

It took all her willpower not to cry out. The white hot pain felt familiar yet a distant memory of what she had now classed as her past. Kiara knew she couldn't give up now and she wouldn't. The ultimate way of proving herself would be to become a leader. Bellatrix wasn't going to be the only high ranking female Death Eater forever. Concentrating on the pain, Kiara willed it to all go to her hands, leaving her legs free of pain to move. A smirk appeared on her face as she stood up, still concentrating on keeping the pain in her hands, ignoring the feeling of thousands of needles being stabbed into them.

"Is that the best you have?" Kiara taunted, aware that she was asking for trouble.

Her legs almost buckled as the curse intensified. The pain had travelled up her arm and was slowly spreading through her body, its intention to once again consume her in pain. There was just so much power coming from Bellatrix's wand. To have any success, Kiara needed to disarm her in some way shape or form. Feeling the curse slowly creeping up downwards to the rest of the body, Kiara decided she would do it the Slytherin way. Dropping to the floor, she pretended to writhe in pain, all the while waiting for the perfect moment.

"Is that good enough for you?" Bellatrix sneered, making a huge mistake. She walked closer to where Kiara lay 'in pain', close enough to be in reaching range. In response Kiara reached out and grabbed her leg. It had the desired effect.

Caught off guard, Bellatrix's concentration wavered. If it hadn't been for the fact that Kiara was somehow managing to transfer the spell through to her she would have been able to quickly recover. Pushing herself to her feet, Kiara Accio-ed the wand Bellatrix was loosely holding. At the feel of the dark wood under her aching fingers, Kiara's confidence rose. She was in control now.

"Actually, no it isn't."

"I see Daddy taught you well. I suppose now you think you've defeated me."

"You have no wand and you were just submitted to part of your own spell. How can you not be?"

"Correction: I do have another wand."

Thanking the heavens for her possibly inherited agility, Kiara dodged an array of spells being directed in her direction, each missing her by millimetres. Bellatrix had been one step ahead of her and continued to be, not allowing Kiara any time to attack, the age old rule to any type of duelling. If you managed to keep attacking, your opponent was more likely to tire and slip in their defending. No matter how much Kiara concentrated she couldn't find an opening and soon lost her wand, and Bellatrix's was at her throat.

"It seems you've lost," Bellatrix smirked, glad that Kiara had not managed to actually defeat her. She could not bear with the shame had she been but then again she would have been defeated by somebody very much like her. There was the same passion burning behind Kiara's actions as there had been behind her own, and still was.

"Not quite."

Kiara kicked out, catching her the older woman in the stomach. Momentarily winded, Kiara tried once again to Accio the wand but Bellatrix knocked her over before she got the chance to get a proper grip and it flew out of range. Muggle duelling would have to do now. Kiara was aware of the differences in size and strength but it didn't stop her from giving as good she received. Bellatrix punched her jaw with such a force that Kiara was sent sprawling backwards from the position she had been in, her head hitting the floor. Slightly dazed, Kiara didn't even have a chance before she felt a kick to her stomach. Doubling over in pain, Bellatrix took the chance to place a booted foot on her back and keep her pinned to the floor. Kiara didn't have any strength to move, let alone get herself out of the position.

"Are you done trying to prove yourself?"

"Yes," Kiara answered, spitting out a wad of blood from her mouth onto the floor. She just had to admit defeat this time. Bellatrix lifted her foot and let Kiara sit up to rub her jaw. That punch had been something else. Now she had seen Bellatrix at work, Kiara admired her strength. Instead of trying to beat her, she now wanted to be like her someday, hopefully someday soon.

Bellatrix extended her hand out which Kiara gladly took. "Well you have to me. You are as competent as any male recruit. With a little work, you'll soon reach the Dark Lord's Inner Circle. I can sense that. You, Malfoy and Simmons are the leaders I have chosen."

Kiara was given a few moments to clean herself up. She straightened her robes up, fixing any tears and smoothing out wrinkles before borrowing Draco's handkerchief to clean up the blood on her face. If this was the damage created by Bellatrix when she was going easy, Kiara really didn't ever want to fight with her giving it her best. Kiara glanced over once or twice to the boys having a whispered discussion.

Simmons and Draco looked smug, whilst Adrian and Blaise looked anything but pleased. Blaise had a right be though. His fiancée had beaten him to the position of leader when he was meant to be the man. At least now he knew how Rodulphus Lestrange must have felt when his wife had reached a higher rank than himself. It was somewhat embarrassing. Blaise promised himself that he would make sure that Kiara knew her place with him. Perhaps she was leader of their operations with the Dark Lord but he was still going to be her husband and he had the power.

"My Lord, I have chosen the three leaders," Bellatrix said once they were back in the main room. Voldemort sat up, actually interested. Kiara seemed to be the one that had put up the best fight. A bruise was developing just above her cheekbone, her lip was cut and several scratches adorned her face. She fascinated him. "Malfoy, Simmons and Snape showed the most potential."

"I expected nothing less from a Malfoy but Simmons and Snape surprise me," Voldemort said, looking over his three leaders.

Draco had the same arrogant pride that his father had. It would either serve him well or end up destroying him. Simmons Sr. wasn't what you would call bright; Voldemort hadn't expected Dreg to be any different. Kiara was female. True Bellatrix was also female but she had worked hard for years to get to where she was now. Severus had always shown an aptitude for the Dark Arts but had never much shown a lot of desire to use it against others. He preferred mastering it than using it. Kiara seemed to be the opposite.

"You will be the first three to receive my Mark."

Kiara turned out to be the first. As she swore an oath, giving her life to him, her thoughts wandered. This was it. She could pull away now and know that she died a free woman or she could forever bind herself to the monster in front of her. Soon she would be at his beck and call and no matter what she did, if found out, the Snape name would never be able to shake the label of Death Eaters.

The moment his fingers touched her skin, it was ice meeting fire. The pain accentuated to a point where Kiara thought she might cut off her left arm. It was the agonizing pain you would feel if you were to stick your hand in an open fire and hold it there or if under a full on Cruciatus held by someone like Bellatrix Lestrange. She refused to cry out and tried to compose her features in imitation of Severus. When Voldemort finally lifted his hand from her forearm, she looked down at the brand. She had just lost any freedom she might have fought for before.

"Thank you my Lord," she said as she had been instructed to, kneeling and going as low as she could in some kind of bow without actually touching the floor. She longed to run her throbbing arm under hot water but there was still quite a bit to go. "I will not disappoint you."

"I doubt you will."

Little did he know was that it was that faith that would come to destroy him.