CHAPTER TWO
The Portkey deposited Lucius and Trinity at Voldemort's hideout. Trinity's arm dropped limply to her side as she took it all in. They stood together on the rambling lawns of a huge old derelict mansion, on top of a huge hill. On either side she could see, far below, a little village lit up with flickering lights. They seemed unreal compared to the mansion, that didn't have so much as a pinprick of light coming from it.
"Where are we?" she muttered, straying to the edge of the hill. Lucius quickly pulled her back to his side.
"Now now, I can't tell you that until we've seen the Dark Lord," he said quietly. "And by then there is a strong chance you won't care."
Trinity glanced around again, then nodded. She had to agree. "Where do we go?"
"Inside, of course." Lucius headed up towards the huge front doors. They were made of a sturdy oak, but had huge deep gouges through them. Caused by magic no doubt.
Trinity shivered as she drew closer to them, and desperately sought out some form of comfort. All she could come up with was the fact that she was with Lucius, good friend that he was.
Said friend rapped calmly on the gashed doors, and a small flap that Trinity hadn't noticed before opened outwards. Two bright, evil eyes peered through, as well as the tip of a wand, sparking ominously.
"Who is out there?"
"The Dark Lord is expecting me," Lucius said calmly. "Put the wand down, Anderson."
"I need names," the voice rasped.
"Lucius. I have brought Trinity, the Metamorphmagus. As I have said, Lord Voldemort expects us."
"You should have said sooner," the voice said. The doors swung open to reveal a tall, pale man, wearing a cloak with the hood thrown back. He gave Lucius a toothless grin. "Voldemort is expecting you alright, Lucius. He is not at all happy with you; you bungled up those Ministry reports well. He was waiting upon those, but now the only records of those papers have been burnt..."
The slightest shadow of worry flickered across Lucius' face, but he fought it down. "I am well aware of my mistakes, Anderson."
"Well don't expect finding a Metamorphmagus to fix everything. You will get due punishment," Anderson hissed, standing aside.
Lucius swept in, Trinity following. She caught up with him on the stairs and grabbed the sleeve of his robes.
"Punishment?" she said.
He calmly shook her off. "Don't go worrying about such trivia, Trinity. Concentrate on your task at hand. I have no doubt you will be talking to him directly. That is a rare privilege."
Trinity bit her tongue and followed him up to the highest floor of the mansion, and along the corridor. At the very end was a door, with more gouges through it. These ones were different though; they glowed a faint green. Trinity felt sick.
Lucius, too, slowed down, but kept walking. The closer they drew to that door, the more she began to shake. It wasn't that she was afraid of what she would find behind it; it was the feeling that something terrible was going to happen.
Finally they were right in front of it. One last, freezing shiver ran through Trinity, and then she was still. Lucius reached out, pushed the door open and stepped inside. Trinity lingered in the shadows.
"I have been waiting for you, Lucius," a cold voice hissed from a huge chair facing the empty fireplace. "You have been avoiding me, I feel. And why?"
Lucius kept silent, which Trinity didn't understand. Shouldn't he talk?
"Yes," Voldemort said dangerously. "Because you have failed me. I know of those reports Lucius. I trusted you with them; you alone who have never felt my wrath, never failed me, save for that unfortunate incident with the Potter boy two years ago. I overlooked that. But this... this made me mad, Lucius..."
He rose to his feet and turned to look at Lucius, who bravely knelt before his Lord. "I know I have failed you, Lord. I come to ask forgiveness."
Voldemort took two more steps towards him. "I heard you have brought a useful asset for me. For that, I shall not kill you. However... crucio."
The terrible word echoed around the room for a second, before it was taken over by Lucius' bloodcurdling screams of agony. He fell from his kneeling position onto his side, and began to writhe, screaming all the while.
Trinity looked on, horrified, until something inside her snapped and she leapt forward.
"Stop!" she shrieked. "Please! Please stop!"
In shock, Voldemort lowered his wand. Just as suddenly as they had started, Lucius' screams stopped. He lay on the ground panting.
"Who are you? Come forward!" Voldemort commanded.
Trinity felt herself walking forward against her will, until she could be seen.
"Did you just dare to command me?" Voldemort hissed, raising his wand again. Trinity stared at it in fear, but didn't bow or avert her eyes. Voldemort glared. "Who are you?"
Trinity swallowed. "I am Trinity Valentine. I am the Metamorphmagus Lucius told you about. I wish to join the Dark Side."
"Metamorphmagus?" Voldemort murmured. "Indeed... I shall tell you now, ignorant girl, that there is no Dark Side. There are those wanting power, and those too weak to seek it. You, clearly, seek it."
Trinity nodded slowly, and to her relief Voldemort lowered his wand and returned to his chair. Instantly Trinity was by Lucius' side, helping him to his feet.
"Leave him," Voldemort said. "I do not need weakness standing by me. He will get up himself or stay down forever."
Lucius gave Trinity a look, and she obediently let his arm go. He stumbled, but stood upright once more.
"Lucius, that is the reason I did not kill you. You have brought me this girl, and she may yet prove useful to me, if she will learn to follow orders. Nobody commands Lord Voldemort, and all bow to him. She will do good to learn this."
"I will make her learn it, my Lord," Lucius promised.
"Good," Voldemort hissed. "Because it would be a shame to lose her, now that I have a plan for her. And this one will not fail. If it does... the blame is on you, Lucius."
Lucius nodded obediently and gestured for Trinity to follow him. They left the room, and the house.
Anderson leered at them as they walked past, and handed over the Portkey so they could return to Lucius' home. He'd heard the screams, and was glad for them. He was a sadistic man.
"Lucius..." she began. He grabbed her hand and placed it on the Portkey, and they were taking the fast, furious ride back to her room, in his house.
"Lucius!" she repeated, louder, when they had stopped. "What's the plan? We didn't even stay to find out."
"I know the plan," he said. "Voldemort concocted it the minute I informed him I could get a Metamorphmagus on our side."
"Well can I hear it, seeing as I am the key player?" Trinity asked.
"Certainly," Lucius replied. "It is relatively simple, which is why it will work. All of Voldemort's past plans have been much too intricate, which was his downfall every time. Everyone expects something intelligent; they wouldn't dream of suspecting Voldemort to take the easy way out. But this time, he is."
"And WHAT is the easy way out?" Trinity said, exasperated.
"You are, you impatient woman. Draco goes to school the day after tomorrow. And you are too."
"Me?!"
"Don't interrupt me Trinity," Lucius said calmly. "Yes, you will go to Hogwarts. You will take an unthreatening role – the new girl in Harry Potter's class, for example. And you will befriend him."
"What makes you so sure it will work? They have a Sorting ceremony, remember? What if I'm put in Slytherin or something?"
"Ah, a stroke of my own genius comes in there," Lucius smiled coolly. "You see the Sorting Hat thinks, it knows things. For that he must have a mind of some description. And minds can be controlled..."
"The Imperius curse..." Trinity muttered.
"Exactly, Trinity," Lucius said. "I will be there. I will control that Hat the moment you are called up. And once he places you in Gryffindor House, I will leave, and you will be on your own."
"To do what?"
"To get Harry Potter. Befriend him Trinity; I know you can. And leave the rest up to me."
"What if I can't get near him? What if he isn't interested in a new friend; it could happen. Especially considering I'll be a first year."
"You won't be. I told you, I know what I'm doing. So, you're leaving for Hogwarts with Draco tomorrow, so I suggest you get some sleep."
Trinity nodded, and Lucius turned to leave. "Oh, one last thing," she added. "How are you feeling?"
"Feeling?" Lucius asked.
"You were tortured," Trinity said, trying to be calm.
"Punished," he corrected. "I was punished. Goodnight."
Well, there's a third chapter. Are these really short? Maybe I should make them longer. Please review! Pleasepleaseplease? Oh, and for those of you who haven't heard, there's a new guy hanging around called "The River City Kid" or something. Anyway, he's a real jerk who's only here to flame people. So if you get a flame off him, use it to cook some toast for breakfast (. There's a petition going around you can sign that will hopefully get him kicked off FanFiction.net. If you want a copy, email me and I'll forward it to you. Okay, stuff going on in my life; I haven't been to rehearsals for my play in about a month because I'm grounded (for a month) or staying out late. IT REALLY SUCKS!!!!