Eva had never been so glad that the Order had given her permission to stay with her actual family for the summer. As much as tensions were heightened and there were security threats around every corner, being at home just felt right.

She leaned back on her bed while her bedroom window was wide open, allowing a cool evening breeze to sweep through her otherwise baking hot room. In the background, the TV in her room which had been added while she was away was playing some kind of reality show. She wasn't entirely sure what it was, but it was tacky nonetheless.

Rolling her eyes, she stood up and went downstairs towards her kitchen. If she was going to bake, she could at least have some ice-cream to keep her cool. But, once she opened the freezer, she felt like punching it when she saw that they were out of ice-cream.

"TOBY!" Eva screeched.

Her younger yet taller brother skidded into the room. "Si?"

"Shut up, you're not Spanish," she snapped. "Where's the ice-cream gone?"

Rolling his eyes, he handed her a clearly empty tub of chocolate and caramel ice-cream. With an irritated groan, she tossed it into the bin, shut the freezer, and grabbed her wand and her father's wallet from the kitchen counter.

"What are you doing?" Toby asked as he followed her around to annoy her further. "Did dad say you could use his card? If so, can you also buy me some Fanta, lemon flavour preferably, or maybe a can of Pepsi, and-"

Eva slid her converse shoes onto her feet. "I'm buying myself ice-cream, that's it. Anyway, if dad was here, he'd say yes anyway. Dad?" she called into the house.

"Yes?" her father answered from the garage.

"I'm using your card!" she told him. No reply. "See, he's fine with it, Tobias."

"Toby," Toby grumbled.

With a teasing laugh, she stepped out of her house and locked the door behind her. Fortunately for her, there was a corner shop just a few streets away. She just had to avoid the annoying druggies, who offered her cigarettes whenever she walked and cat called her.

The sky was beginning to darken considerably, and the street lamps were gradually flickering on. Even at that time of night, the heat was absolutely stifling and almost unbearable.

Just as she turned the corner towards the shop, she noticed a figure in the distance. At first she just shook it off, assuming it was another one of those chavs, but something about them seemed familiar. Then, just as they turned slightly near the light of the yellow streetlamp, she caught a glimpse of their black hood and silver mask.

Eva quickly reached for her wand in the back pocket of her shorts and began to slowly back up her steps. This wasn't good, not good at all. And what only made it worse was that the usual group of druggies were nowhere to be seen. Oh, how she wished they were smoking weed just a few metres away, but instead the street was abandoned.

With a trembled breath, she turned her head to assess her surroundings. The more she focused on it, the more cloaked figures she identified, slowly approaching her.

She had two options—1) run home and hope to not get hexed, or 2) hide somewhere. Taking the second option because she was unwilling to lead them to her family, Eva noticed that there was an alleyway just behind her and began to walk down it. She vaguely knew where it led, just around the back of a few shops and houses, eventually coming out into a small park down the road.

'Keep walking, and do as I say,' Hecate instructed. 'I'd help you in person but I'll be outnumbered, only making you more vulnerable.'

Eva nodded and turned around. The . . . Death Eaters, they were closing in. Pulling out her wand, she pointed it between them threateningly, with as much confidence as she could muster. They did exactly the same thing to her.

"Who are you?" she demanded. No answer. "What do you want with me?" Again, no answer. "I'm under protection of the Order of the Phoenix, so hurting me wouldn't be wise on your part."

There was a manic laugh from the distance and Eva whipped her head around alertly, trying to find the source of the noise. Another figure joined them, this time with thick black curly hair, walking with an unnecessary sway to her hips.

"The little baby demon-summoner thinks we're scared of her and her band of misfits?" Bellatrix taunted as she approached her. "You really don't know why we're here, little miss Eva? The Dark Lord," she whispered his name, "finds your . . . unnatural ability of utmost use. And you seriously believed turning him down would work?!" She laughed again. "Join us, and gain the power and respect you've always deserved."

"I will never join Voldemort's side, Bellatrix, and you know that," Eva snarled. "I'd rather die than stand with that megalomaniac asshole."

"How DARE YOU DISREPECT YOUR LORD!" she screeched. "Crucio!"

Eva screamed in pain and collapsed to the ground. The agony was blinding, it was like having a thousand white hot knives stabbing into her at once. And then the pain just disappeared. Hecate was standing in front of her, the fire between her palms blazing angrily.

"Even if you did convince her to fight for Voldemort, are you really naïve enough to believe I'd follow blindly?" Hecate challenged.

Eva heard footsteps behind her and realised she was cornered. The Death Eater in front of her pointed their wand at her, their arm trembling in anger. Why were they all so angry all the time?

"Stupefy!"

Fortunately, Eva was able to put up a shield just in time, and instead sent a Stunning Spell at them before running down the alleyway as quickly as her feet would take her. She could feel that Hecate had vanished from physical existence again, probably so that she wouldn't be held back.

Her feet suddenly caught on part of the pavement. Eva felt herself falling forwards and placed her hands out to stop her face making impact with the concrete, but her hand landed on what looked like an old deflated football.

She soon realised it wasn't just an old football. Bellatrix's victorious laughs faded out of picture as she felt herself being pulled along abruptly by her navel. It was a Portkey.

After a few moments, Eva was thrown away again roughly. With a painful thud, she landed in a heap on some kind of hard ground, although she had no idea where she was specifically. Her head was throbbing uncomfortably, and her limbs were aching and bruised.

"So much for ice-cream," she muttered as she pulled herself to her feet. "Hecate?"

Hecate stepped out from behind her. "Before you ask, no, I don't know where we are."

Picking up her discarded wand, Eva used the Lumos charm to light up the room she was in. It was dark, night time even, judging by the view from the tall windows. The place looked well-kept, the wooden floors polished nicely, the walls with a regal grey wallpaper, and two armchairs in front of a fireplace Hecate had started up.

"We need to find a way out of here," Eva said, glancing around the floor by her feet. "Where did the Portkey go?"

"Leaving so soon?"

She slowly raised her head. The voice was unfamiliar but felt so sinister that it hurt. A man was standing in the doorway, with no hair and no nose, his eyes piercing straight into hers.

"Voldemort," she realised, forgetting she'd spoken aloud.

"I see my fame has even reached the likes of you," Voldemort mused as he carried himself proudly into the room, slowly tipping his head sideways to examine her from a distance. "How interesting."

Eva raised her wand, surprised to find that her hand wasn't shaking as much as she'd expected. "Why did you bring me here? What is this place?"

"Why don't you take a seat and we shall discuss, hm?" he motioned to one of the armchairs, but she refused to move. "I said sit!"

He pointed his wand at her and a searing pain, worse than she'd felt with Bellatrix, cursed through her body. Somehow, she still managed to aim her wand at him through the blinding pain.

"Stupe-"

With a swish of his arm to the side, Eva's wand flew into the wall and clattered to the floor. At least the pain was now gone, allowing her to regain her breath heavily.

"Do you always speak your incantations that slowly?" he mocked. "You'd do best to sit now, Eva."

Finally, Hecate chose to reappear, and Eva almost felt like rolling her eyes from how long it had taken. "Don't you dare hurt her."

"Ah," Voldemort's expression lit up, but it only made him look more frightening, "and this must be the one and only Hecate, is that correct?"

He waved his wand at her and, just to mess with him, Hecate collapsed on the ground dramatically and pretended to whine in pain. Voldemort's eyes widened for a moment but then Hecate began to laugh as she picked herself up off the floor again.

She shrugged. "Spell-proof."

"Your humour is wasted on me," Voldemort responded unimpressedly, flicking his wand at Eva.

Eva suddenly felt herself being flung backwards, slamming straight into the wall and sliding down to the floor again. Just as she landed on her arse, Hecate helped her to her feet and launched what had to have been the largest fireball Eva had ever seen at Voldemort.

Almost unbotheredly, he created a shield with his wand, but this one seemed to be somewhat visible. Water, suspended midair, blocked the blazing heat from reaching him. Eva could see Hecate's irritated expression as she increased the temperature of the inferno shooting from her palms, but still to no avail.

With one final shake of his head, Voldemort pushed the shield at Hecate, and the demon was only just able to dive out of the way in time before it collided with the far wall and a large puddle of water appeared on the floor.

Voldemort magically dragged Eva over, as if there was a string connected between his wand and her waist, and sat her down on an armchair as he spoke. "I have to admit, you have me impressed, Hecate. Few have been able to challenge me to that extent." He sat down in the armchair opposite Eva. "Now, let us speak. You asked where you are, and you are in the house of my family. Your gifts are, shall we say, admirable, young Eva, as I am sure you are already aware. A half-breed of sorts in my ancestor's house? Now I did find that disappointing, thus you were targeted by my basilisk when the Chamber of Secrets was opened."

"Yeah, a month in hospital, thanks for that," Eva snarked.

His face grew cold. "Excuse me?"

"Nothing," she added quickly.

He settled back again. "Quite right. You consider yourself a friend of Harry Potter, again I do find that rather disappointing, truly. You've chosen the wrong side, and for that you will lose. But I, being a merciful lord, am willing to grant you a second chance. Join us, join me and my Death Eaters, join your lover's family," he sneered, "and I will grant you the respect you have been denied countless times under Dumbledore's charge. Class, power, authority, wealth, it can all be yours should you make the right decision, Eva."

"As kind as that offer is, I'll have to pass," Eva responded as she stood up and grabbed her wand, not losing eye contact with him. "I will always fight for what's right and I can safely say that hate, intolerance, and bigotry is not it."

Voldemort shook his head. "I am afraid I have no other choice, in that case. Avada Kedavra!"

"Confringo!"

Her spell collided with his spectacularly. A brilliant purple light emitted from the end of her wand, and an emerald green from Voldemort's. She could feel her arm trembling from the amount of power flowing through her wand, and could only close her eyes in an effort to push at the spell being forced back at her.

'Pull away, Eva,' Hecate shouted urgently in her head, 'let go of the spell now before it hurts you!'

With a nod, Eva pulled at the connection between them both. With enough effort, their wands disconnected, and she could finally breathe for a moment, but it wasn't for long enough.

With a flick of his wand, Eva was thrown into the wall, but this time she was bound to it. Her wand slipped out of her hand and fell to the floor, while each and every one of her limbs were frozen into place. Not a single movement she made was visible.

"Impressive, Eva," Voldemort complimented insincerely as he approached her, "I see Dumbledore has taught you well. You could give Harry a run for his money."

Eva struggled again. "I have in the past, trust me, now let me go."

Hecate appeared by her side and launched a flaming ball of fire at Voldemort, only for him to wash it away with a swipe of his arm. Even her demon couldn't save her now—that was a new one.

He sighed, now standing directly in front of her, tracing the tip of his bony finger down her neck. "If only it were that simple. You see, do you truly believe I'd be foolish enough to allow you to leave? Your powers are of incredible value to me, Eva, and I will succeed, whether it is with your consent or without."

"What do you mean?" she asked, still trying and failing to break free from the invisible ties holding her in place.

"Allow me to explain." He pulled her left arm free and stroked the inside of her forearm, but still she was unable to move it herself. "First, I will brand you with the mark of my followers. Then, trust me when I say I will have no issue in gaining what I need from you."

"I don't trust guys who don't have noses," she bit out. "And don't you dare fucking touch me."

"Tsk, this rudeness and profanities will have to leave. I, for one, think it's tremendously unladylike." He pointed his wand directly at her arm. "Morsmordre Carnes."

An incredible burning sensation shot through her left arm, originating from where his wand was pointed. It felt like every nerve in her body was exploding in pain, and she felt herself shaking with agony.

With a high pitched scream, Eva threw her head back and a powerful light emitted from her like a bubble sweeping through the room. With it, Voldemort was pushed backwards far from within her reach, and the invisible bonds which held her to the wall snapped around her.

Confused and unsure of herself, Eva picked up her wand again in her right hand.

"Accio Portkey!"

The old football was slid straight over to her and she quickly placed a single finger on the surface of the rubber. She could feel herself uncomfortably being thrown forwards, pulled in an unknown direction, before eventually landing back on something hard.

Eva sat up slowly, still in immense pain in every limb of her body, but worst so her left arm. After briefly checking her surroundings and realising she was alone once more, she raised her arm but gasped when she saw what Voldemort had done.

Her skin, which had been completely clear and blank, now had a mark in the shape of a skull. From the mouth curled out a snake which wound around itself, each line of the mark completely black and clear.

The Dark Mark.

Hecate appeared in front of her and placed a dark red zip-up hoodie over her shoulders and arms since she seemed to be unable to do so herself. "This is so much worse than I could've foreseen, sugarplum. We need to leave."

Eva was still confused. "W-what?"

Lifting her off the ground, she took her hand, kept her wand safe in her pocket for her, and ran her back home. There was too much happening at once, and Eva's head couldn't keep up. She had the Dark Mark? She'd just met Voldemort? He'd found her? What now?

Once back at her home, Hecate ushered her upstairs to her room without taking her shoes off and pulled open her suitcase, already piling her belongings in rapidly. "Pack everything. We're leaving."

"W-we're what?" Eva asked. "We can't just leave!"

Hecate held her by the shoulders and looked her straight in the eyes. "We have no choice. Staying here is only going to put your family and yourself in more danger. Pack everything."

Nodding her head, Eva began to grab stuff from her room and place them into her suitcase. Her head was still disorientated and confused, but this provided a good distraction. She was also glad that Hecate had given her a hoodie to wear so that she wouldn't have to look at what had happened to her arm.

In the end, Eva ended up being pretty useless with her attempt at packing, most being done by Hecate. Her room was looking considerably bare, more so than it would be before she went to school. Photos were missing from her wall, and other little trinkets were gone from their shelves.

Hecate took Eva's suitcase and walked it downstairs while Eva simply followed blankly. Once they arrived in the living room which was empty other than Daisy watching TV, Hecate handed her the suitcase and a handful of floo powder.

"Go to 12 Grimmauld Place," Hecate instructed. "Sirius may not be there, but the house has been inherited by Harry, so there will be Order members present at all times."

Her mother walked into the living room but froze in the doorway confusedly. "Going already?"

Hecate ushered Eva and her suitcase into the fireplace. "Sorry, Mrs. Infernum."

Holding her handful of floo powder, Eva threw it down by her feet. "12 Grimmauld Place," she pronounced clearly.

The last thing she saw was a burst of green flames before she was pushed through the floo network. Like a ragdoll, she was flung and twisted in all directions, constantly changing position and direction.

Finally, she felt a solid surface beneath her feet. Leaving her suitcase, she climbed out of the fireplace and was met with the familiar view of the main hall in Grimmauld Place. She'd never been so relieved in her life, feeling like she could collapse on the spot.

Eva heard rushed footsteps followed by Tonks and some of the other Order members running into the room. "Eva?" she asked.

That was all it took for her to break, for the events of the previous hour to catch up with her. Leaning into Tonks, she began to cry, tears streaming rapidly down her face.

Tonks hushed her gently and moved her hair out of her face to prevent the strands from clinging to her cheeks. "What happened?"

Eva was still trembling violently. "V-Voldemort, he found me."


An emergency Order meeting was called, and pretty much everyone attended, including Fred and George who had become officially of age and were now out of school too. Throughout the meeting, Eva sat curled up on Fred's lap while George held her hand, still an absolute quivering emotional wreck.

She kept the hoodie Hecate had given her on at all times while she recounted exactly what had happened. The only part she left out was the fact that Voldemort had actually succeeded in branding her, but other than that every detail was disclosed.

"This is most concerning," Dumbledore murmured gravely as he paced around the room once she'd finished. "Hecate, were you able to identify any of the Death Eaters involved in the ambush?"

"Other than Bellatrix Lestrange, I was only able to identify Corban Yaxley and Fenrir Greyback," Hecate answered, standing behind Fred's chair.

"Miss. Infernum," Snape drawled, eyeing her suspiciously and then her arm which she was still holding closely, "I believe there is something you are refusing to tell us."

Eva glanced around the table as they all looked to her in question. She turned her head up to Hecate for permission, to which the demon nodded to her and gave her a faint supportive smile.

Taking a deep breath, Eva slid her right arm out of her hoodie and then very slowly slid it off her left arm. The Dark Mark sat proudly on her skin, no longer swollen and an angry red colour, yet still it hurt to look at. He'd branded her—it felt like she wasn't even her own being anymore.

A series of gasps swept through the room, prompting another silent tear to run down Eva's cheek. "I didn't want this," she mumbled.

"I told you it was unsafe to allow her home, even with all those demons, and now look at what's happened!" Molly shouted at Dumbledore. "She's a child!"

"Voldemort did this to you?" Lupin asked Eva, trying to stay calm but she could see that this had clearly come as a shock to him too.

Eva bit her lip and nodded. "H-his plan was to use the Imperius Curse on me, I think. He kept talking about how I'd do exactly what he needed me to do regardless if I wanted to or not."

"This is low, even for Voldemort," Shacklebolt said. "To abduct a child from her hometown and place said child under the Imperius Curse is unthinkable."

Dumbledore stepped around the table and took her arm by her wrist, examining the mark for himself. "If I had known that this was his plan at any point, her stay at her muggle home would've never been permitted. And you are certain that the Imperius Curse is what he implied, Eva?"

She nodded her head. "I don't know what else it could mean. C-can you get rid of the mark?"

He sighed. "I'm sorry, Eva," he replied apologetically. "This mark is not some common tattoo that can be erased. The Dark Mark is permanent and, until Voldemort is defeated, it will remain that defined for the foreseeable future."

"What do you suggest we do with her, Albus?" McGonagall asked. "She is only a child, after all, not a Death Eater."

Dumbledore paced around the table they were sat at with his hands behind his back, seeming annoyingly calm about the whole ordeal. "For obvious reasons, she will not be returning to her family home any time soon. Voldemort will not believe his work on her complete until she has been truly recruited into his ranks."

"What are you suggesting?" Snape asked.

"I'm suggesting, Severus, that she is placed under someone else's care, away from the muggle world," Dumbledore explained.

Fred gasped behind her, jolting her slightly. "You should stay with us! We have a flat above our new shop, we've been looking for a roommate, haven't we George?"

"That's right, Fred," George agreed with a little too much enthusiasm considering she was on the run from Voldemort.

Molly slapped them both around the head. "No, she is not staying with you two immature buffoons!" she snapped, and then becoming friendly once more when speaking to Dumbledore. "She can stay with us, Albus. We'd be delighted to have one more."

"Then it is settled," Dumbledore agreed. "Of course, Natasha and her husband will be informed of their missing child, and all legal documents will have to be changed under the Weasley name for her own protection."

"Did you not invite Natasha to this meeting?" Snape questioned with a subtly raised eyebrow.

"Why is everyone on a first-name basis with my mum?" Eva asked quietly.

McGonagall looked between some of the others and then at Eva. "Miss. Infernum, your mother is part of the Order. She was initiated during the First Wizarding War, surely you should know that."

Eva didn't even know how to handle the overload of information anymore. "Let me get this straight. I've been forced to join the Death Eaters by Voldemort, and now I have to hide from him for the rest of my life. Hecate's part of the Order. My mum's part of the Order. I have to leave home and join the Weasley family. Have I missed out anything? Do I have to become Eva Weasley or anything?"

George smiled excitedly. "That would be wicked."

"You will still remain an Infernum, Eva," Dumbledore assured her. "Trust me when I say this is for your own good as well as everyone around you. I would allow you to say goodbye, but I fear it could sabotage our plan. Mrs. Weasley, if you could escort Eva back to the Burrow-"

"Actually," Snape interrupted, "may I have a word with Miss. Infernum in private?"


Since Hecate had taken the hoodie back due to the fact that technically it didn't fully exist physically (it existed physically as much as Hecate did), Eva had been lent a jumper by George just for the time being. At least she had someone to call her siblings, her unchangingly immature unofficial triplets.

Eva stood opposite Snape in the same room she'd spoken to Dumbledore in a year previously. The entire setting was exactly the same, only ever so slightly less lively than previously.

"Why did you want to speak to me?" Eva asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

Snape grabbed her arm and tugged her left sleeve up to her elbow, exposing her hideous mark once more. "Your mark is not just some common tattoo to rebel against your parents, Infernum. Allow me to demonstrate."

She was surprised to see that Snape actually unbuttoned the sleeve of his robe and pulled it up, exposing his own mark which looked completely identical to hers. Taking his wand out, he lightly placed the tip over his.

Instantly, Eva felt the effect on her own. It was like an unexplainable discomforting heat warming her very skin, slowly increasing in temperature and decreasing in tolerability. After a moment, she began to wince in pain and grabbed her arm.

"Y-you can stop now," she pleaded.

Snape removed his wand from his mark and stowed it back in his pocket, replacing his sleeve once more. "That level of discomfort will be brought to you at any time, day or night, should the Dark Lord wish to inflict pain, which he will," he snarled. "He believes his work not to be complete until you are sat loyally by his side at his Death Eater meetings, serving proudly under his name. Do you understand the severity of your situation?"

Eva nodded, rubbing her arm to soothe the pain.

She watched as Snape pulled a relatively large bottle filled with a milky purple liquid out from his robe. "This is Burning Bitterroot potion. It will soothe the worst effects of the Dark Mark. A little goes a long way, and do bear in mind that I may be unable to provide you with any more, so use sparingly."

With a slightly shaking hand, she took the bottle from him. "Thanks, Professor. Um, can I ask something else?"

He sighed. "If you must."

Eva fumbled with the bottle between her hands. "When Voldemort put the Dark Mark on me, I don't remember what happened, but he ended up on the other side of the room, and there was, like . . ." she tried to think of the wording, "an uncontrollable surge of power, if that makes sense, through me."

"What you are referencing is the wandless shield you were able to produce as a defence mechanism," Snape responded. "Put it this way, very few witches and wizards have been ever known to be able to produce an entirely wandless shield, let alone one of that strength."

Just as she opened her mouth to question his reply, he walked straight past her out of the room again. Now that she was alone, she glanced into her reflection in one of the windows and saw herself, her scarlet hair, her green eyes, her tanned skin, all ruined by her hideous mark.

Tearing her eyes away from the ghastly sight, she pulled her sleeve back down again and exited the room.

⊱ ────── {.⋅ ✯ ⋅.} ────── ⊰

Author's note: Okay, I know, so a lot happened just now, but I hope you were able to catch up. Basically, Voldemort abducted her and gave her the Dark Mark against her will, but she somehow escaped him before she could be put under the Imperius Curse.

I know it might seem like a kinda bold step to take in this story, but I've already hinted at the fact that the dark side wants her for her ability, ever since Cedric's death really when Draco first mentions it to her.

On a side note, we stan Snape looking out for her though, and Fred and George acting like her siblings.

Anyway, thank you so much for reading, stay safe, and ily lots!