Hello everyone! Hermione finally gets summoned to see Lord Voldemort. I hope you all are enjoying this story. I haven't been getting a lot of you to leave a review and that makes me sad. Thank you to the ones who are leaving a review. I really do appreciate it. Now on to the story.

Hermione sat in Severus's office nervous, but ready for them to be summoned to see the Dark Lord. Severus repeatedly was going over the plan with Hermione, but all Hermione can think about is her mind being ready to be penetrated. She couldn't slip up and let him see a sliver of her hidden memories. She had to show him her fake memories and memories that didn't affect the war. She also hoped that her nerves wouldn't get the better of her. She never had to face off with the Dark Lord before and she hoped that she wouldn't end up cowering in his presence. The way Severus and Harry described him made her sick with dread. As she sat there going over the plan in her head Severus jumped up in alarm when his arm started to burn.

"It is time Hermione." His voice was quiet and solemn. His eyes, if possible, turned even darker. She gripped his hand tightly and he leaned down and kissed her. "Anything he tells you just do it Hermione. Also, when you see him you have to always kneel before him. Don't forget that." They disapparated away from the school and landed in front of the gates to Malfoy Manor.

She turned to him and said, "You aren't allowed to use apparition inside the school."

"Because of my job I am allowed just as Dumbledore is. Now get ready because we are about to enter."

They walked up the cobblestone sidewalk and reached the front door of the Manor. It was dark and did not look welcoming to outsiders. Severus took out his wand and slowly removed each protective curse from the door. Once it was all clear he put his wand away and opened the door to the Manor. The two walked inside the Manor and Hermione's eyes instantly started to look around the room. Her eyes drank in the sight of the many death eaters spread out and her eyes eventually landed on the Dark Lord who was sitting in the middle of the room on his golden throne.

Voldemort stood up from his throne and slithered toward them. Both Hermione and Severus were quick to kneel before him. She was careful to keep her eyes planted on the ground. Severus warned her time and time again to always keep her eyes lowered unless ordered to stand. After a few minutes they were given the go ahead to stand up from the cold uncomfortable floor.

Severus was the first to speak. "My lord, I have brought you your newest recruit. I have papers here to prove her true bloodline as a pureblood. I believe she will be quite an aspect for us, my lord."

Voldemort grabbed the records from Severus's white hands and looked through the papers. His piercing red eyes looked up at Hermione and they nearly pierced her soul. He laughed evilly, which cause goose bumps to break out on Hermione's arms. "So, the brain of the three fools wants to join? Betraying your friends I see. Why do you want to join our ranks?"

She bowed slightly before him and began to speak feeling much braver than she thought. "My lord, Professor Snape has showed me where my true allegiances lie and that is to serve you. I want to get revenge on my parents for keeping from me my true bloodline. I have been put down for being a muggleborn, but now I know that I am not a muggleborn. Muggleborns are scum and don't deserve to live on this planet where magic is involved." She couldn't will herself to say mudblood. It was a nasty word and she didn't think she would be able to say it.

"Let us see if you are telling the truth." He took out his wand and pointed it at her. She braced herself for what was to come. He spat out, "Crucio." She fell to the ground and started to spasm all over the floor. She opened her mouth to scream, but she quickly shut it remembering Severus's words. While seizing on the floor she felt him enter her mind. She started to pull forward her false memories and she showed it to him with wicked strength. She kept her walls up and didn't let him go past the memories she showed him. After five minutes of searching her mind he left it and ended the spell on her. She stayed lying on the floor unsure if she was allowed to stand up just yet. He let out a laugh for all of the Death Eaters to hear. "Listen up my followers. Severus was able to seduce Potter's best friend into joining our ranks." With a slow nod from Severus she slowly stood back up again and stood next to Severus. "Let the initiation begin for our newest recruit."

Hermione swallowed nervously and she watched as two double doors swung open. Her eyes watched as her nanny from when she was a child was levitated in by a Death Eater. Her eyes also saw her favorite teacher from primary school was brought in as well. The Death Eater laid out the two women in front of her and stepped away from the scene. She stared at their two kind faces with dread. She always loved her Nanny as a child. Her parents were busy and worked long hours. They always had her Nanny watch her and she formed a great bond with her. When her parents weren't around she sneaked her candy and gave her lots of attention. She also had a soft spot for her primary school teacher. She was a great student and found herself to be a teacher's pet at one point. The teacher motivated her and it was saddened her that the two of them had to be brought into this mess. She started to feel sick to her stomach and her eyes travelled back to Lord Voldemort scared of what his command would be.

"Hermione my dear I brought you two muggles that I know you know personally. I want you to show all of us the power you have with using your wand. Torture them and then kill them." He returned to his throne eager to see the show.

Hermione pulled out her wand and gripped it tight. She pointed it to her Nanny. She didn't want to do this, but she knew she couldn't hesitate.

"Hermione please," her Nanny said pleadingly.

She casted, "Sectumsempra." She watched as large wounds started appearing all over the poor fragile woman. Her Nanny howled in pain. "Furnunculus," she shouted out pointing her wand again at her Nanny. Nasty boils started to appear all over her and started to ooze with blood and puss. She knew Voldemort was waiting for the harder spells. She swallowed and casted "Crucio." Her Nanny started to twist and turn all over the floor. She was screaming in anguish and tears were streaming down her face. She couldn't keep torturing her. Finally she casted "Avada Kedavra" and she watched as her Nanny's painful eyes become lifeless. She turned towards her favorite teacher and again was forced to repeat the same spells and watch her die in front of her.

When she was done Voldemort laughed in glee. He stood up from his throne and began to clap. "Well done Hermione. I am very pleased with what you have shown me. Your final challenge my dear before you receive the dark mark is to use the cruciatus curse on Severus. I want to see that you are able to follow my commands even when it comes to the man that you love. I will tell you when to lift the curse, but not until then."

She remembered what Severus said before she came here. This was a test of sorts and she couldn't fail. She gripped her wand and turned towards the man that she loved. He has been silent this whole time and hadn't said a word. She looked at him and with a deep breath she pointed her wand at him. She said with as much strength as she can muster, "Crucio." She half expected it not to work against him, but she watched as Severus fell to the floor and started writhing all over the floor. She kept her wand pointed at him as the spell continued. It went on for 5 minutes and finally Voldemort told her to stop.

"I am very impressed with you Hermione. Kneel before me so I may give you the mark." She rolled up her sleeve and kneeled down before him. He got up from his throne and approached her kneeling form. He grabbed her arm and gripped it tightly. He pointed his wand at her arm and it bit into her skin. He casted the curse on her arm and her flesh started to burn. She bit her lip and tried to keep the cries at bay. The deep searing pain clawed up her flesh and started to form the ugly mark on her arm. She watched as the ugly black snake burned into her flesh and that is when the screams started. When it finally ended Voldemort threw her arm back at her and said, "Welcome to our ranks Hermione. Let the evening festivities begin." Music started playing and food appeared in the middle of the table.

Hermione rolled down her sleeve and cradled her arm slightly to her chest. She got up from the floor and watched as Severus finally emerged from the floor as well.

"Severus lets go have a chat away from the festivities," Voldemort announced.

She watched him go and she felt a little lost at what to do. She looked around the room and she found Malfoy's pale form in the corner of the room. He was staring at her in disbelief. He slowly approached her with a drink in his hand.

"Do your little friends know that you betrayed their trust?" He asked sardonically.

She knew she had to pretend to be pleasant with him and the other recruits. She plastered on a fake smile and said, "Hello Malfoy. Didn't know that I would be seeing you here."

He said snidely, "Well it is my house after all."

A cane wacked Malfoy on the shoulder. "Behave Draco. Is that anyway to speak to our newest recruit?"

Hermione looked behind Malfoy and saw Lucius with a charming grin on his face. She knew she had to play her part well even more with the higher recruits. She smiled at Lucius and said, "Hello Mr. Malfoy. You have a very nice home."

He smiled back at her. "Call me Lucius. I am glad to see that you have joined our ranks. You will see that this side truly is the right side to take. Mudbloods don't deserve to have a wand or even have any magic at all."

She nearly cringed at his words, but she held herself back. "I have found that muggleborns at our school don't surpass the wizards and witches that are purebloods. It's sad really that the oaf that runs our school allows them inside the school." She ended her words with a pleasant smile towards him knowing that he would agree with his words. She knew his dislike for Dumbledore and also his dislike for muggleborns being allowed in the school.

"That is exactly what I have been saying since day one. I'm glad to see someone shares my opinion." Two women approached them as well. Lucius wrapped his arm around one of them that had long brown hair on top and the rest was all blonde. "Hermione I would like you to meet my wife Narcissa and her sister Bellatrix."

Hermione gave each of them a fake smile. She felt anger swell up inside from seeing Bellatrix, but she kept it bottled up. "Hello it is nice to meet you two."

"Hello sweetie. Welcome to our beautiful house. It looks like Severus caught himself a keeper," Narcissa said.

Bellatrix laughed loudly at her sister's words. "Oh sissy don't be so delusional. Severus is only using her for his sick pleasure."

"It seems like you are jealous of our relationship," Hermione commented.

She watched as a dark scowl crossed Bellatrix's face. "How dare you speak to me that way?"

Hermione saw Severus approaching them from the area he disappeared to. She saw that he was slightly limping and didn't seem like he was in good shape.

"I am sorry, but we must be heading off now," Severus said slightly winded.

Lucius picked up Hermione's hand and kissed the back of it. She smiled at his kind gesture. She grabbed Severus's hand and they both apparated back inside his classroom. She let go of his hand and ran over to the wash station. She scrubbed her hand hard.

As she was scrubbing her hands she said quietly, "I am sorry that I had to cast on you."

"It's no problem at all Hermione. I told you that he could make you do that. I know him. He may be unpredictable to most, but when you are around him all these years things have a way of repeating itself."

She looked over at him and saw him sagging against his desk and a look of pain crossed his face. "Are you okay? You didn't look very well coming out of that meeting with him."

He shook his head. "He's not happy. He thinks things are going too slow and wants to speed things up. Do you want to talk about what just happen during your initiation?"

His words made her start crying. With as much strength as he can muster he quickly reached her and pulled her into his soft warm embrace. "Why did it have to be them Severus? I loved my Nanny. She babysat for me almost every day. I loved my teacher as well. It's just not fair. They had no right being in the middle of all this shit. I can't get their screams out of my head fast enough and their faces. They trusted me Severus not to hurt them. They pleaded with me over and over again to stop it, but I wouldn't. I end up killing them right there on the spot. They had no idea of our world and to see the person that you have watched grown up into some monster…"

Severus cut her off and said, "You are not a monster. You are a girl who is trying to do the best thing she can with saving the wizarding world."

She pulled away and shouted at him, "With their sacrifice?"

He pulled her back into his arms and said, "Unfortunately there will be a lot more causalities in this war. He has brought muggleborn students there just to be killed because one of the ranks found them and brought them in."

"Now Malfoy knows. What if he tells Harry?"

"He won't. He's too smart for that."

"I knew he was a Death Eater," she mumbled.

"And you will not tell anyone that you know that."

"Why? He's a weasel and wants people like me killed."

"No he doesn't. He's just a boy Hermione that has grown up around people like his father that have spat out hate all of their lives. He doesn't need to be condemned to death."

She pulled away and crossed her arms in defense. "He had a choice."

"Not really no. His whole family are Death Eaters Hermione. Even me as his Godfather is a Death Eater in his eyes."

"That doesn't give him a pass for his attitude all of these years."

"Unfortunately his father is the same way."

"Bellatrix believes that you are just using me," she informed him.

He shrugged."She's always been jealous."

She said, "She likes you."

He gagged slightly in response. "I am well aware of that fact."

She laughed at his reaction. "You wouldn't date her?"

He shook his head. "Never in a million years."

"Should I start heading back to my room now?"

He pulled her into his arms and said, "I want you to stay the night."

She smiled at him and kissed his lips. "Lead the way."