* * * *


Lucius stared at himself in the mirror that was hung over his bureau, then reached for the black ribbon crumpled beside his hand. It was such an inconvenience to have to deal with Remus Lupin in the form of James Potter, but Voldemort had insisted. The further the wolf was worn down the easier it would be to crush him when the time finally came. He tied his hair at the nape of his neck as he walked toward the door of his room. He hated living beneath the earth, but Voldemort had explained that he needed to be by Lupin at all times. Lucius couldn't see why he couldn't stay in a hotel above ground but he wasn't going to argue with the Dark Lord, especially when dealing with a task as important as the one at hand.

He stepped out into the long hall and walked the short distance to the common room Voldemort had created for him and Peter. The other Death Eater was already there, sitting nervously on the edge of his seat, his eyes darting as if he were looking for someone.

"Impatient, Wormtail?" Lucius drawled, entering the room and walking past Peter.

"What?" Peter asked, flinching at the sound of Lucius' voice. "Impatient? No, not at all. Impatient for what?"

Lucius sighed deeply, then opened the cupboard positioned against the wall. Inside were bottles of alcohol and a few large snifters. He supposed it was never too early for a drink when you were stuck underground with Peter Pettigrew as your only companion.

"You tell me, Wormtail," Lucius muttered as he poured himself a shot of brandy. "I can't have you acting like this . . . you make us look like fools for trusting you."

Peter's eyes widened. "No, oh no. You're not fools for trusting me."

Lucius turned to look at him. "Prove it."

Peter stared at Lucius uncertainly for a long moment, then stood from his chair and began to back away slowly. "No," he murmured, shaking his head. "No, not again."

"Make the potion, Wormtail."

"I hate seeing him, looking at him . . . it makes me sick."

Lucius waved his hand dismissively. "Well, I suppose that it your problem isn't it? Make me the potion and be quick about it. I haven't all day to wait around for you. Our Lord should be arriving anytime."

"Lord Voldemort is coming today?" Peter asked.

Lucius raised one of his eyebrows then nodded. "Yes. Time is running out, Wormtail. When Black and the others arrive we'll have to act quickly."

"I-I don't know what's going to happen when they get here," Peter said.

"It doesn't matter," Lucius said. "They need to be here before the next full moon and that is the only thing we worry about at the moment. Now . . . go make the potion."

Peter's eyes dropped to the floor, but he nodded and left the room quickly.

Lucius sighed gratefully and sunk into a nearby chair. There was only so much annoying blubbering from that man he could stand in one day and it only got worse whenever he asked him to make the polyjuice potion. With a drink in hand, relaxing in the large armchair Lucius almost felt like he was home. He just wanted their bloody ritual to be over with, to be back at home leading the normal life he had led for the past fifteen years.

He was so immersed in his desire to leave that he didn't hear the soft rustle of robes as Voldemort stepped into the room.

"Lucius," the hissing voice filled his head and Lucius' eyes snapped open.

"My Lord," he murmured, dropping to his knees. "I had no idea you would arrive so soon." He placed his drink on a nearby table, then bowed his head and waited for some kind of order from Voldemort.

"Get up, Lucius," Voldemort murmured, his red eyes taking in the room. "I can't stand to see you grovelling."

"Of course, my Lord," Lucius said, standing quickly. "Wormtail is off fixing the polyjuice potion. It should be done at any time."

"That doesn't concern me at the moment," Voldemort said, waving his hand. "What concerns me is how far the others have come in this period of time. They should be here."

Lucius frowned. "They will be here very soon, my Lord. They have to cross the desert and will be here before the full moon."

"They are not as close as we anticipated. That imbecile Severus Snape prevents them from moving as fast as they should be." Voldemort turned to Lucius. "He was not supposed to go with them. He was supposed to remain at Hogwarts while Cassandra Harvey delivered Black right into our hands."

"But, my Lord," Lucius began, "this gives you the perfect opportunity to take care of the traitor at the same time."

"I do not need you to tell me how to run my affairs, Lucius," Voldemort growled.

"Of course not, my Lord."

"I've brought others," Voldemort said suddenly.

Another frown crossed Lucius' face. "Others?"

Voldemort smiled dangerously. "Followers, Lucius. I've found others who will join us in our fight."

"Where did you find them?" Lucius asked.

"That doesn't matter!" Voldemort snapped. "All that matters is that they're here and they are ready to be introduced into our circle."

"The Dark Mark?" Lucius asked, his brow creasing. "I thought you stopped branding them to keep their identities more private."

Another smile touch Voldemort's colourless lips. "Watch, Lucius and you'll see exactly what you've been missing for the past few months."

Lucius stared in confusion at his Dark Lord, but let the man sweep past him and move toward the door. He motioned to the people that were obviously standing in the corridor and moments later a group of three men and two women entered the room. The two women and two of the men looked calm and collected, but the other was staring nervously at Voldemort before he let his eyes dart over to Lucius. That apparent nervousness was the reason Voldemort's eyes fell upon him and he singled him out immediately.

"Alastair," Voldemort said coldly, snapping his fingers.

The nervous young man blinked before stepping forward.

"Y-yes, V-er, He-Who . . . my Lord?"

"Come here," Voldemort said.

Alastair looked at Lucius again before walking over to Voldemort and staring at the ground. He was sweating, tiny beads starting at his hairline and running slowly down his forehead to the end of his nose.

"Kneel," Voldemort said softly, drawing his wand from the folds of his cloak.

Alastair's entire body trembled with that word and he remained on his feet, staring into the crimson eyes of the Dark Lord.

"Kneel, Alastair!" one of the women hissed and he seemed to lose what little composure he had at the sound of her voice.

He crumpled to the ground, his knees barely holding him up but Voldemort didn't seem to care. Lucius watched with a frown as Voldemort's wand traced a line up Alastair's spine and the material of his cloak fell away to reveal his back.

"He won't be loyal," Lucius hissed and both Alastair and Voldemort turned to look at him.

"He will be!" insisted the woman who had spoke earlier. "I will make sure of it."

Voldemort ignored them both and pushed Alastair's head back down toward the floor, his wand hovering over his back. Slowly it began to glow, the tip turning bright orange before it melted into a ferocious red blaze. Voldemort waited until it was a brilliant red before he lowered it until the tip touched Alastair's back just before the nape of his neck.

"Morsmordre," Voldemort hissed and a moment later bright light filled the room. A frightened and pained scream pierced the silence of the room, ragged breath being drawn into his lungs before another scream formed in his throat. Lucius closed his eyes, wishing he could shut out the sound but there was nothing he could do but listen to the screams.


* * * *


On an air plane flying over Africa, Cassandra's eyes snapped open and she stared into the darkness of the cabin. On either side of her Snape and Sirius were asleep, neither of them plagued by the things she saw. Playing out before her eyes as if she was watching it happen was something she had never wanted to see in her entire life. Voldemort's thin form was bent over a man huddled on the ground, whimpering like a child.

A moment later a blinding light filled her field of view and Cassandra was thrown back against her seat. A scream shot through her head and she winced, then stared forward, waiting to see what would happen.

As the light faded she was left staring at the quivering young man, his bare back to her. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the light but when they did she could see the twisted shape of a snake branded onto the man's back. On his flaming red skin was a black skull, it's tongue a thin snake; it was the Dark Mark.

"The snakes on their backs!" she cried suddenly, turning to her side and shaking Snape awake. "Severus! Do you remember what I said to you that first night?"

He blinked a few times and sat up in the chair, staring blearily at her in the dark. On Cassandra's other side Sirius was stretching and sitting up as well.

"What did you tell me?" he asked, yawning.

"I said something about the men with snakes on their backs," she said fiercely.

Snape's eyes widened and he nodded. "Yes, yes I remember that."

Sirius glanced between them. "I don't follow. Snakes on . . . who?"

"The Death Eaters," Cassandra said. "They're not being branded on their arms anymore, that's why the Ministry can't find any of the new ones and that's why people don't see the marks until it's too late. They're being branded on their backs now."

"Why?" Sirius murmured.

"Discretion," Snape said. "He'd want to be more careful after the trials the last time."

"What would it matter?" Sirius asked.

Cassandra shook her head. "Other than hiding from the Ministry it's nothing . . . unless he wanted to make sure his prisoners didn't know who they were being held by either."

"That would mean that . . ." Sirius trailed off and shook his head.

"Six months," Cassandra murmured. "Six months in a hole not knowing why you're there or who's keeping you."

"It must be hell," Snape said.

They all fell silent, each locked in their own thought about the thing Remus Lupin would have gone through over the past six months.

"We have to get him out," Cassandra said finally. "We have no choice, he has to know why this happened to him."

Sirius nodded. "We will, Cass. I promise that we will."

* * * *

If I promise the next chapter will be very long will it make up for how short this one is? :)