By DxDevlin
Disclaimer: This fanfic is fully credited to JK Rowling and her fabulous Harry Potter books.
Summary: Voldemort, desperate to recruit Death Eaters and kill Harry Potter, develops a wicked plan that involves a potent potion, an unsuspecting group of students, and the Imperious Curse on a certain person Harry thinks is dead...
Chapter 1The Feeble-Hearted Babe
Lord Voldemort brooded madly in the one-celled dungeon of his headquarters. He paused in his anxious pacing and stared deep into a cracked mirror hanging lopsided on one side of the dark room. He was a man again, at least. Not a powerless spirit that had been reduced to inhabiting some weakling's body. His face, though pale and bony, was a face of power and shrewdness. Voldemort took his eyes away from the glass and instinctively flinched as he saw a dark figure standing in the doorway.
"Lumos!" Voldemort muttered. Light shot from the end of his wand and illuminated the entire room. He shielded his eyes and recognized Lucius Malfoy, letting out a sigh as he did.
"Ah, Lucius," Voldemort hissed through his teeth in a disgusted manner. The two had recently been absorbed in a heated debate in which both wizards had nearly been enraged enough to begin dueling. Lucius claimed that his son, Draco, met the requirements of becoming a new Death Eater, but Voldemort denied the claim by calling Draco a 'feeble-hearted babe.' These words still burned in Lucius' memory but he blotted them out as he delivered his message.
"My Lord," Lucius began, ignoring Voldemort's irritation. "The boy is commuting to the Burrow in a Muggle vehicle. Would you like to send us to intercept the – "
"No," calmly interrupted Voldemort. "The boy is mine. It is not time, in any case. I must feed off his mind until the time comes."
Lucius glanced down at his feet for a moment, gathering up his failing courage. Voldemort was not a wizard to exasperate; he had an ongoing reputation for slaughtering his own Death Eaters, despite how loyal they were, for merely irritating him a tad too much. But Lucius forced himself to say what he had come for.
"My Lord, I was considering your words about my son and I realized you have no accurate process of acquiring recruits to be Death Eaters. I'm not insisting that you give my son more consideration, that is not my intention…"
"Is it not?" hissed Voldmort without even glancing at Lucius. "Then what is your intention?"
"My point is, similar to the Sorting Hat at Hogwarts, if you conjured some sort of…potion, or spell that can harmlessly, tell, perhaps, if – " Lucius grimaced as his mind's thoughts seemed to turn into oil, "if the wizards you test have the qualities to be a Death Eater. So many Death Eaters have turned out to be fakes and…"
"Are you criticizing my judgment?" Voldemort whispered, his snake-like eyes suddenly penetrating through Lucius' face. "Are you accusing me of not possessing the intelligence to choose my own followers?"
"No, my Lord, that is not what I intended at all." Lucius bowed his head as his voice trailed off.
Voldemort allowed his mouth to crease into a sly smile. "You have a point, however. Gather a meeting of the Death Eaters. We will discuss this matter in detail. This may lead somewhere. We are indeed in dire need of new recruits."
"My Lord, the potion is ready. We have made it," Lucius blurted out, peering into Voldemort's eyes, searching for signs of surprise.
Voldemort raised his eyebrows. "Is it, now? And why did you not give me this information in the first place, Lucius, and avoid mumbling? Do you not trust me, or did you just want to impress me?"
"I wanted none of those things, my Lord, none of them." Lucius realized that he had trapped himself into a corner.
"I am tired of your rudeness, Lucius. You come and waste my time. I dare say you need to be taught a lesson!"
Lucius' eyes opened wide. Apologies were too late…
"Crucio!" cried out Voldemort as he flung out his wand. For a second, Lucius cringed, then dropped to the ground in deafening pain. Needles as thick as spikes pierced into his soft flesh, an invisible hand dug into his head and its fingernails scratched raucously against his brain. The pain lasted for ten seconds that seemed an eternity and suddenly Lucius felt the pain gradually evaporating from his body…
"That should be enough, Lucius. You are dismissed."
Lucius eyes flashed in hate and disgust, his eyes and throat still burning in pain. He had been hit by the Crutacious Curse several times during his life, but each time it was unbearable. He wearily lifted his hands off the ground, boosted himself to a crouching position, and stood up flexing his sore limbs. Without another glance at his master, he walked out of the dark dungeon.
I am not a coward, he thought to himself. Pain is nothing.
Lucius furrowed his eyebrows as his thoughts traveled to his son, Draco. Draco appeared to be the perfect model of a Death Eater. He was clever and dogged and yes, a Malfoy, of course. But Lucius inwardly knew that Draco was still a weakling on the inside. Draco had nightmares about Voldemort coming to haunt him, about Death Eaters kidnapping him. He screamed and talked in his sleep, and Lucius heard it all.
That was why Lucius nearly pleaded with Voldemort to allow Draco to become a Death Eater. Draco needed to experience pain and suffering before his timidity got the best of him. He was already sixteen, an age where one chooses a basic route of life, and age where if one is a weakling, then one will be a weakling.
Voldemort knows, Lucius thought. He knows exactly who Draco is.
Lucius halted in his steps. The potion the Death Eaters had produced would more than likely be approved by Voldemort and used. If Draco were tested… Lucius avoided the thought. He had no other choice. He had to train Draco himself, he had to build his son up to be a Death Eater.
Draco will not dishonor the Malfoy family, he thought angrily. Voldemort will rise to power and rid the world of half-breeds. My son and I will be right behind him, following him all the way.
Yet despite Lucius' persistent thoughts, he knew that the battle would be long, tough, and before it was over, there would be a tremendous amount of suffering. Lucius heaved one last sigh and Apparated into thin air.
........................
End of chapter 1!
I kind of didn't know what to write in the end and I just trailed off…
If it sucks, sorry. If this is a really boring chapter, I KNOW.
But it will get better, I promise. People will die, people will suffer, Sirius is going to be in this one, and so is HP and their whole crew. There will be spells and magic, everyone will be in it. I'm going to reread the 5th book to refresh my memory, it'll be awesome!
R&R, I'll write more soon!
:8-) my attempted smiley face
DxDevlin