I believe that I have been mistaken to be Idamae. I am not Idamae, and I could never, ever be her. I am not pretending to be her! I received permission from her to write a sequel to "The Fortress Within". This is it. Read, Review, Enjoy…I am not Ida.
Free to Fly Tonight
Chapter Seventeen
The night before Halloween had finally arrived. Granger was in Severus' classroom, completing her last minute preparations before her first servants were to be inducted. The tables had been pushed to the sides of the classroom and a large, silvery-blue circle sat in the middle of the room, drawn on the floor in unicorn blood. Wax candles with an ancient potion called Rumblee poured over them sat around a bubbling cauldron. As of right then, only the blood of a grim lined the bottom of it, but more was to be added – with time. The ingredients that she needed were all there – everything that she needed was in her grasp, including the most vital of them all.
This ingredient was held in a single, silver box.
Granger took a step back to survey her work. As if they were given a cue, Phoenix, Anistasia and Chris walked in. They were wearing large, gray cloaks. Their hoods were drawn over their heads and white masks covered their faces. Before any of them could speak, Granger gave them their first orders.
"Kneel on your knees in the circle and roll up the left sleeve of your robes," she demanded, "I will begin the ceremony at midnight and it will end at dawn."
Granger picked up an empty vial from the table and a small knife. She walked beside Chris and cut a small slit in her arm. Chris winced a little, but didn't make a sound. Granger took blood from both Chris and Ani without an explanation to either of them. The clock struck midnight to announce the coming of Halloween and Granger began the ceremony. She put her hood over her head and her mask over her face.
"Welcome to the first day of the rest of your lives," Granger began, pacing around the circle, "On this Halloween, you will experience what real power feels like. You will learn what it means to be a legend. You will know how it feels to be…reborn."
Granger grinned and walked over to her ingredients. She put ingredients in the cauldron to make it fizz and bubble; to steam and shimmer; to rise and to change colors. King Cobra venom, albino rat eyes, legs of black widow, root of asophel, a dash of powdered hag nail and a drop of Hungarian Horntail dragon blood was added to the cauldron, among other things, and the incantation began.
"The day he would die,
"A Death Eater would mourn,
"She would vow to come back,
"The legacy would be reborn."
Granger plucked a hair from her head and ordered for the other three to do the same. She added these hairs to the cauldron.
"It would begin with four,
"On Halloween morn,
"They would swear their loyalty,
"For only him, they would fight."
She took the vial containing Ani and Chris' blood. As Granger added this to the cauldron, it hissed and bubbled over. She smiled in satisfaction.
"The blood of your cousins,
"The fear of your foes,
"Your servants will return,
"Greater than anyone knows."
Finally, she picked up the silver box and held it over the cauldron.
"These are his ashes,
"The ashes of the great,
"Now nothing can stop us,
"This now it our fate."
Granger dropped the box into the cauldron and the contents bubbled over more violently than before. She scooped some of the liquid into four huge, silver goblets and set that in the table to cool. Granger stood in front of Phoenix, Chris and Ani and ordered them to stand. They did this immediately and the ceremony continued.
"It is time to take an oath that will swear your true and undying loyalty to Lord Voldemort's cause. Repeat after me.
"On this night I do hereby swear that my life will be dedicated to serving our Lord and rebuilding what was lost. I will be forever loyal to our Lord and will always be willing to sacrifice anything for Him. I join this brotherhood knowing that it is for eternity. I am proud to serve and I am ready to do anything asked of me for the good of the cause. If my loyalties falter, I understand that my actions can and will be punished by torture and death. On Lord Voldemort's name I swear."
The three of them repeated those words in unison with solemn expressions on their faces. After they had reached the end of the oath, Granger smiled.
They are so young, she thought, so gullible. This is going to be wonderful.
She took the goblets from the table and handed one to each of her friends and spoke.
"The contents of this goblet,
"We will drink,
"Hair, blood and ash,
"This is our brotherhood; this is our link."
Granger downed the contents of the cup immediately and looked at Phoenix, Ani and Chris. They had also finished drinking.
"You have taken the oath, drunken the potion and now your will receive the Mark."
Granger rolled up her left sleeve and placed the top of her wand on her inner forearm.
"Morsmordre," she whispered.
A red mark spread from the tip of her wand and soon took shape. The ever-famous skull with the snake protruding from its mouth spread itself across her pale skin. The glowing red color dimmed and it cooled to become a charcoal black.
"This is the Dark Mark," she said, holding her forearm out, showing the three people in front of her, "This Mark is our link, our pride and our call. This Mark was feared as much as our Lord himself, and now, it shall be feared again."
Granger walked into the circle and up to Phoenix. She took his left arm, placed the tip of her wand to it and chanted, "Morsmordre."
For the second time that morning, the Dark Mark made its home on a fresh Death Eater. This process was repeated twice more. Afterwards, Granger looked down upon her new servants.
"It is now time to find others to gather in our following. Tell only those you trust. Promise them great power, riches and security for the rest of their lives, as long as they are loyal to the cause. We will meet in the Room of Requirement after the ball tonight."