Chapter 91

His knee caps collided with the hard stone floor and Dudley let out a small whimper of pain when Voldemort finally spoke.

"I'm pleased to see that you brought the mudblood with you"

Dudley held his gaze on the floor while the high-pitched, cruel voice pierced his brain. The sound of it alone gave him chills down to his most inner core. That had been the worst mistake he had ever made and he scolded himself for not being more observant before.

"Look at me mudblood"

Draco punched him in the side when he didn't respond right away and the sudden pain made his eyes water. Slowly he raised his head and looked at the man in front of him. His red eyes burned into his own and he felt a sharp pain in his head.

"Now I would like to hear some information"

"About what?"

Just then he felt a jab to his jaw and his head started spinning.

"You will not talk back to the Dark Lord" Draco hissed and rubbed his bruised knuckles.

Dudley was half insane of fear and he knew that this was going to be a long and terrible day.

Snape had visited the hospital wing shortly after breakfast to see how Miss Granger was doing. When he heard that she was awake more often now, he felt a great wave of relief wash over him. He carefully made sure that he wasn't around while she was awake, because he still had no antidote for the butchered love potion. Potter and Weasley had been there too and had glared at him with a mixture of fear and curiosity. Just when he left the infirmary, he felt the watcher getting warm around his neck.

"What trouble is the dunderhead getting himself into now?" he growled and pulled out the delicate chain around his neck.

The watcher showed him that Dudley had left the school grounds, but unfortunately it didn't show where he had been going.

"Well, he's going to regret it as soon as he's back in the school"

Without giving it a second thought, he rushed back to his private lab, to continue his work on the antidote.

Dudley was withering on the floor in pain. He couldn't feel his legs anymore and his jaw was pounding from Malfoy's blow.

"Who's been protecting you in Diagon Alley? Why couldn't my men find Harry Potter?"

Voldemort's cold voice did nothing to relax him and he searched his tormented brain to find the answers. Unfortunately his tongue wouldn't move. It felt like it was glued to the bottom of his mouth.

"Stop that senseless babbling, you useless little mudblood." Voldemort roared. "Lift him up!"

Draco bowed dutifully and yanked Dudley in a kneeling position.

The Slytherin soon figured out that the boy wasn't able to stay upright on his own, so he stood behind him and had, to his own dismay, to accept that the mudblood was leaning to him.

"Legilimens!" Voldemort shouted and the room went even more blurry in front of Dudley's eyes.

He started to relieve the last few months in his life before his inner eye and finally when he thought he couldn't take it any longer, Voldemort broke the connection and Dudley sunk back to the floor.

"Interesting....very interesting" the Dark Lord sneered and rubbed his chin in a thoughtful manner.

Draco peeked expectantly at his master who was now rubbing his hands gleefully. Dudley heard the sickening sound of Voldemort giggling and wanted nothing more at this moment than to empty his stomach right here on the floor.

"Bella, my dear" Voldemort called out and a black-haired witch rushed to his side. "It seems that there are 2 descendents of that foolish Gryffindor that I need to destroy. I only need the boy to perform the ritual. So you find the father and kill him. Make sure you bring me his head as proof that this time he IS dead"

Bellatrix bowed deeply. She knew where she would have to look first.

"Draco, my boy; I'm very pleased with you. You're truly your fathers son and I will be delighted to welcome you among my followers when your time has come" Voldemort said almost cheerfully.

"Now free me from this obnoxious view and take this-"he pointed at Dudley "with you. Make sure he doesn't remember"

Draco went down on one knee and kissed the hem of Voldemort's robe. "As you wish my Lord and Master"

He grabbed Dudley's collar and dragged the hurt boy behind him.

Dudley tried to stay on his feet, but the pain was too strong, so he was more dragged by Malfoy than that he actually walked.

As soon as they were out of Voldemort's reception room, Draco dropped him with a disgusted snort and Dudley's head hit the floor with a thud.

"Get up you filthy little mudblood! We have to return to school" he commanded and watched impatiently for Dudley to get stable on his feet.

"You're so worthless! The Dark Lord only casted the Cruciatus curse once on you and you're acting like you were dying"

Dudley still wasn't able to speak. All he wanted now was to get back and die.

He stumbled after Draco to get as fast as possible away from this place. Outside Draco grabbed him and apparated them back to the gates of Hogwarts. Draco didn't give Dudley a chance to recover. He pointed his wand at him and ordered him to move. The Slytherin directed him towards the Whomping Willow. If he was lucky, the mudblood didn't exactly know what the tree did. Carefully he made sure that he stayed out of the branches' reach, but Dudley walked right into them.

Wooosh...

A branch hit Dudley square in the chest and flung him over the lawn. His head collided with a rock and his lights went out. Draco sneered maliciously and pointed his wand at the unconscious body.

"OBLIVATE"

Just then Dudley stirred and looked at the Slytherin.

"What happened?"

"Oh you got hit by the Whomping Willow. We got a little bit too close to it and I've tried to warn you but it was too late."

Dudley got up and felt as if he had been hit by a train. Every bone in his body hurt terribly and he was terribly tired.

"I think she should better go back to the castle now" Dudley said with feign concern and helped Dudley off the floor.

The walked back to the school in silence and parted in the great hall to go to their common rooms. Dudley limped up the many staircases and not for the first time he wished to be in Slytherin. They only had one staircase to get to their rooms.

He turned the last corner and stopped short.

"Oh no"

Right in front of the portrait was Snape.

With his arms crossed in front of his chest and his eyes narrowed, he looked positively dangerous.

"Where are you just coming from, Mr Dursley" he said in a dangerously low voice

Dudley eyed him from a distance and wondered what he had done wrong this time before he answered.

"I just took a walk on the grounds" he said and looked at Snape, daring him to punish him for that.

"My office... NOW" Snape hissed and strode past him.

Oh my god no... not all the way back down there, Dudley thought, but he knew that he had no other choice. He had been so happy to finally be up all the steps and just wanted to lie down in his bed.

With a groan he started to follow Snape as fast as he could, because he knew he the greasy git was just waiting for another reason to give him a nasty detention again. He wondered how often the tree had hit him when he descended the stairs again. His body was aching and he felt his stomach twisting and turning. It took all his strength not to throw up right where he was when he finally reached the dungeons.

Snape was waiting for him in his office, sitting behind his desk.

When Dudley made a move to take the seat on the other side of the table, Snape growled "I didn't say you could sit down"

With a longing look at the chair, Dudley sighed and waited for Snape to explain why he wanted to see him.

"Now tell me where you have been" he demanded.

Dudley shifted from one foot on the other, only to find out that this hurt even more.

"I've already told you. I took a walk on the ground with Malfoy"

Snape raised his eyes to look at the boy. This was very intriguing. He would have never thought that after the incident with the love potion the Gryffindor would even look at Malfoy.

"I still don't believe you. Two hours ago, the watcher informed me that you've left the grounds. How can you explain that?"

Dudley glared at the potion master in utter shock. The last he remembered before he woke up in front of the Whomping Willow was that they had been walking along the lake.

Snape scrutinized the boy and was sure that his shock was genuine. He had been out of the castle but couldn't he remember?

Then it hit him.... Malfoy.

Why hadn't it rung a bell when that boy had mentioned Draco Malfoy.

"What did you two talk about?" he inquired airily.

It was almost impossible for Dudley to remain on his feet. The pain was getting unbearable and the rib that had collided with the branch was stinging terribly.

"We talked about Harry, sir" he wheezed.

Just then Snape got up from his chair and walked over to Dudley. The boy looked terrible and was obviously in pain.

"What was so interesting about Mr Potter" Snape asked and pushed Dudley towards the chair.

The boy gave him a grateful glance and sat down. Snape watched the boy carefully while the Gryffindor tried to remember. His eyes seemed strangely blank, which made the potion master suspicious. He had seen those blank eyes before several times. The boy had been oblivated.

"It is most important to find out that what you have talked about" Snape said firmly and leaned against his desk, giving Dudley a look that didn't allow any refusal.

Just when Dudley looked back at him, he called "Legilimens" and the boy felt a familiar sensation in his head.

The office became blurry and his stomach started to turn again.

It didn't take Snape long to find what he was looking for and he broke the connection.

Dudley opened his eyes, which had been shut tight while Snape was messing with his memories, and took a deep breath. That had been a terrible mistake. The smell of the potion ingredients mixed with his own sweat was too much for him to bear. His stomach revolted and then he emptied its whole content on the robes of the potion master.

Snape snorted disgustedly and waved his wand over his robes to clean up the mess. He wanted nothing more than to give the dunderhead detention until graduation but he knew it wasn't the boys fault. He had been tortured and the Dark Lord as well as Malfoy and himself had messed with his mind during a very short period of time.Besides he had other things on his mind right now than to punish the dunderhead. But he would still receive a punishment for leaving the grounds. Until then he tweaked the watcher to prevent him leaving the castle again.

First of all he needed to go to the hospital wing, so he grabbed his arm and pulled him towards the fireplace. Madam Pomfrey was quite surprised when she recognized Dudley stepping out of the fireplace, followed closely by Snape. She directed him to a bed and Dudley laid down while Snape informed the mediwitch about the situation.

"He has been tortured, Legilimens had been performed on him twice and he has been poorly oblivated"

Poppy gasped and rushed back to her patient to tend to him.

"Leave it to Malfoy to mess it up. That boy can't do anything right" he muttered and strode off to the headmistress' office.

The headmistress was more than shocked. Quickly Severus had recalled the fragments he had seen in Dudley's memories.

"I have to alert James immediately. Godric's Hollow is safe, so I'm not worried about that and I'm not daring to bring him to Hogwarts."

Snape just nodded with relief. That would be the last thing he needed; another annoying Potter around.

"You know Severus that Mr Malfoy has to be expelled" Minerva said sternly and looked at him over her glasses.

"Excuse me, Minerva, but I doubt that this is the right way to handle this."

The headmistress' lips thinned noticeably after Severus' statement; she placed her hands flat on her desk and leaned slightly forward.

"You're not going to safe him this time Severus. First he's poisoning one of our students and now he even brought a muggle born to Voldemort himself. He's a threat and you know it"

Severus knew deep inside that she was right and that it was his responsibility to take care of him.

"Draco has been under the influence of his father for too long. He has no idea what being a deatheater is really like. If we send him home, we will just drive him more into the Dark Lord's arms. We need to show him the truth"

His words seemed to have an impact on Minerva.

"So what's your idea?" she asked him, her voice strained with concern for her students.

"Mr Malfoy will serve detention with me for an unlimited amount of time. I want to let him see some of my memories as a deatheater. He should see how it was really like and not the glorified versions of his father and the Dark Lord."

"Do you think this is a good idea? That might intrigue him even more?"

Severus face turned into an even gloomier expression when he looked at her and Minerva winced slightly.

"Trust me, this will never intrigue him. You have never been where I have been so please don't question my judgement on this matter. Narcissa has a good heart but she's very uncertain about Draco, so if we send him home, he will be filled with bitterness and the memory of his late father all around him will assure him even more to receive the Dark Mark"

While he spoke he unconsciously rubbed his left forearm and Minerva's expression softened a little.

"Well, I will give it a go and postpone my decision about Mr Malfoy's expulsion until further notice. I will expect from you to keep me informed about your progress" she said firmly and Severus agreed.

On his way back to the dungeons, he was trying hard to suppress his anger. This would be another delay of his work on the counter potion for the Granger girl. She was quite well already and her new liver was working well. Her complexion was back to normal and she has already asked Potter and Weasley for her homework. However he was thankful that Poppy had refused her request to return to classes. He dreaded to have her in his classes or see her at meal times as long as the love potion was still in effect.

Severus indulged in a rare moment of weakness and sighed deeply. For the first time in years, he was certain that a holiday would do him good. He massaged his temple, trying to ease the headache which was coming on again. Maybe he should take a day off and visit one of his favourite places in the world – the British Wizarding Library in London.

He entered the Slytherin common room which was packed with students, studying, playing, most of them planning some mischief he was sure. All the talking ceased when his presence was recognized and the students looked at him with a mixture of fear, respect and curiosity.

"Nott, go and get Malfoy for me" he barked at a boy, who he knew shared Malfoy's dormitory.

The Slytherin dropped his quill and jumped up from his chair.

"Of course Sir" he stammered and rushed down a corridor that led to the dormitories.

Severus remained at the door, eyeing the other students suspiciously, daring them to do anything inappropriate. As soon as he saw Malfoy coming down the hallway, he narrowed his eyes and smirked. The boy was limping slightly and the expression on his face showed the pain he had jut endured.

Seems that he has talked back to Nott, Snape thought and waited for Draco to arrive.

Before the boy could speak, he grabbed his arm roughly and pulled him out of the common room. Draco had no idea what he had done or how Snape had found out what he really had done.

He couldn't know, he assured himself while he followed his head of house into his office.

But on the other side, it was Snape and he seemed to know everything, no matter how careful you were. Severus dumped the boy on the chair in front of his dark oak desk and glared at him. Draco had to look up to his teacher, who was still standing next to him and swallowed. The expression on Snape's face was not the usual mix of well concealed annoyance and sarcasm, but utter fury and ... disappointment?

"I know very well what you have done today and with whom, so there's no need for you to tell me a ridiculous lie"

The Slytherin felt his stomach drop and his mind was searching feverishly for away out of the dilemma. However the continued glaring of Professor Snape seemed to have drained all his Slytherin slyness out of him and he couldn't say a word.

"I have only one question. Why?"

Draco looked at his teacher in utter confusion. Of all people, Snape should know why.

"Choose your words wisely, Mr Malfoy. If I suspect a lie, I will administer some Verita serum to get the truth"

Draco was nervous. He knew that Snape had been a close friend of his father and a deatheater to boot, so why should he be angry if he did anything to assist the Dark Lord.

Severus was eyeing the boy closely, while he took his seat on the other side of the table. He had to reveal his most hidden secret to the boy and he knew that this would be a very dangerous task.

"I have asked you a question, Mr Malfoy" he said now with a dangerously low voice that gave Draco the chills.

"I wanted to prove to the Dark Lord that not every Malfoy is worthless."

Snape leaned closer to the boy, wondering if he had heard correctly.

"And why would you want to prove that to the Dark Lord of all people?" the potion master inquired.

Draco took a deep breath before he replied.

"Since I was little, my father told me that the Purebloods are the elite. We're the only wizards that are supposed to exist and that all those mudbloods are nothing but scum. They're trying to take over our positions in the wizarding world and their number has to be held short if we don't want to lose our whole world to them"

Snape looked at the boy and believed every word he said. He himself had heard Lucius bringing up this nonsense more than one time before.

"I don't want to be in the shadows of people like Granger, who will be able to take a higher position in MY world than me. I'm not going to stand idle and see this happen."

Draco's voice got louder and angrier with every word.

"Malfoy!" Severus interrupted Draco's tirade. "This is the greatest cock and bull story I have ever heard. We all know that intelligence and talent has nothing to do with your blood status. Just look at Neville Longbottom, he's a pureblood and just an inch away from a squib. If you're envious about Miss Granger's success then it would be more appropriate to put more effort into your own studies instead of poisoning her. You can't blame her for your inabilities"

Draco glared at his head of house in disgust.

"Since when are you a ruddy mudblood-lover? I know you can't stand the know-it-all either, so why are you defending her?" he spat and in the next moment he regretted it.

Snape had rushed from his chair in an instant and grabbed the front of his robes. The tip of Snape's hooked nose almost touched his when the wizard growled "Don't disrespect me Malfoy. I'm a deatheater after all and you should better not forget this. I can make you meet your creator in a blink of an eye and you better do not put it past me. I have killed many wizards that were better and worthier than you"

This open threat scared Draco almost more than the Dark Lord himself because he knew Snape wasn't playing

Severus returned to his seat, pleased that his little outburst had the desired effect.

Now the boy was intimidated enough to listen what he was about to say.

"So I take it that you want to become a deatheater after graduation?"

Draco nodded mutely.

"Do you know what it means to be a new deatheater? What will be expected of you?"

"My father has told me everything about it"

"Well, I truly doubt that, but I want you to know exactly what you will have to face"

Draco watched curiously while Snape tipped one of the drawers with his wand and it sprung open.

The potion master took a pensieve out and placed it one the desk. Several minutes passed while he placed selected memories into the bowl.

Then he stirred them to combine the silvery threads before he looked back at Draco.

"I'm curious to see if you still have the desire to become a deatheater after you've seen this" he said darkly and pointed at the shiny substance in the pensieve.

"Look inside and tell me what you see"

The boy lowered his head over the basin trying to see something, when all of a sudden Snape gave him a little push and his nose touched the surface.

It felt like he was getting sucked through a trapdoor when he fell into the memories of the potion master.

When he opened his eyes again, he recognized that he was in a room, dimly lit by several torches on the walls.

It had to be a deatheater meeting because he recognized the cloaked and hooded figures that crowded the room. He left his position close to the wall and walked closer to the center. Nobody seemed to recognize him which made him believe that he had to be invisible for the others. He passed several deatheaters when a movement at the door caught his attention.

A wizard with crimson robes entered the room and took his pace in the middle of the deatheater circle. He looked different from nowadays, but Draco was sure it was the Dark Lord. The glowing red eyes were still the same and the way he held himself showed his power and confidence.

Then dramatic music came from an invisible source and a procession of eight witches and wizards in black robes entered the room. They lined up in a semi-circle in front of the Dark Lord and lowered their heads in a bow.

Draco looked curiously for any familiar faces.

He immediately recognized his father; his silver-blonde hair looked almost white in the torchlight. Next to him were the fathers of Crabbe and Goyle. Bellatrix Lestrange was standing on his father's other side and next to her was a man he didn't know. It seemed to him as if he was related to Lestrange, because he had the same black hair and grey eyes. On the left end of the semi-circle was another wizard he didn't know and on the right end was Professor Snape. His face was set in the same emotionless mask that he always wore but his hand was clenched so tightly around his wand that the knuckles had turned white.

One of the hooded deatheaters then walked along the line of the newcomers ripped the left sleeves open up to the elbow. Draco's curiosity drove him forward; this seemed to be the initialization ritual and he was highly interested in that. He was now standing behind his professor and was looking through the gap between him and a wizard that he identified as Karkaroff, when the Dark Lord addressed his new followers.

"We're assembled today to initialize those wizards and witches into the community of my followers. They have proved themselves as loyal and willing to protect the wizarding community from the threat of muggle-born and unworthy subjects. As a symbol of your loyalty and devotion to our cause you'll receive the Dark Mark. It will remind you who will be your master from now on and whose orders you have to obey."

Draco's eyes were fixed on the Dark Lord; his strength and willpower were highly impressing him.

Then the Dark Lord stepped forward and the first of the 8 new members sank to his knees.

"Do you swear that you will surrender your life to me and the cause I represent and do you except that death will be your fate if you betray me?"

The wizard kissed the hem of the Dark Lord's robes and said "I swear"

A deatheater, who was standing next to the master, grabbed the wizard's left arm and the Dark Lord raised his hand. Draco saw a ring with a large emerald, decorated with onyxes in the form of the Dark Mark. The wizard let out a groan of pain when the Dark Lord pressed the ring on the soft flesh. A look of disgust from the Dark Lord accompanied the sign of weakness and he moved to the next.

Draco's stomach revolted when he smelled the burned flesh close by, but his decision was still the same. He wanted to serve the Dark Lord and protect the wizarding world from the threat the muggle-born were.