Chapter 24 – Initiation

Draco and Snape flooed from Snape's office, they were both dressed in black and Draco was trying to remain calm. The professor had given him the potion to drink before they had left and Draco hoped against all hope it would help.

They entered Voldemort's chamber, it was as dark as you would expect, it had torches burning from the walls and a black marble floor with matching pillars.

There was a dark wood throne at the top of the room upon which voldemort sat. There was about a hundred or so death eaters milling about the room. All their faces were covered in their masks. Snape had his on also the only person that didn't was Draco. He would receive his after he had proven himself worthy of becoming a death eater.

They headed towards voldemort and he looked at Draco. Draco immediately felt a prickling sensation in his head. He could tell that voldemort was trying to see inside. It soon stopped as he realised he would see nothing.

"I see you are harbouring no wish to kill me" Voldemort said, his voice was snake like in a way and it made Draco's hairs stand on end

"Indeed I am not" Draco said his voice firm and his eyes impassive

"Good good" voldemort said "your father was a fine death eater, one of the best I can only hope you will follow in his footsteps"

"I will do my best my lord" Draco said and bowed

"Very well" voldemort said "then let us begin"

The death eaters all stood in lines to watch the initiation

"There is a manner of different initiations that I choose to use. However I have one that was thought up by your very own father especially for you" Voldemort told him

"I feel honoured my lord" Draco lied. He hated this, it made him feel sick and yet at the same time he felt the power that emanated from this evil man.

"Nott bring forward the mudblood" Voldemort yelled

Draco immediately thought of Hermione and thought they must have kidnapped her, he soon realised it was just a random mudblood that they had captured for this purpose

"You realise that creatures such as this should not be in existence, that we will do anything within our power to rid the world of Muggles and mudbloods, they do not deserve to live in the same world as us. They are not fit to call themselves human" he snarled

"And as a death eater it will be upon you to help our cause, to serve me and to act upon my wishes, to take the lives of these mudbloods and to make them wish they were never even born"

"Of course my lord, my father taught me" Draco said

"Yes" voldemort said "well then you know what you have to do"

"Yes my lord" Draco said and turned to the girl, she looked terrified and she was dirty. Her hair was brown and her skin was pale. She had freckles like his Hermione did. He knew he could never tell her about this she would never forgive him. Yet he had to, he had no choice after all. It was either kill or die himself. And he really didn't want to die

"Crucio!" Draco shouted pointing his wand at the girl. She writhed in pain and she screamed

"More more" voldemort shouted gleefully

"Crucio" Draco said yet again.

This time the girls screams were a lot louder and her body twitched in pain a lot more

"Excellent" voldemort commented

Draco hated this and he knew he would have to kill her soon.

"Do you know any other spells that could cause her pain?" voldemort asked

"Yes my lord" Draco said wishing he hadn't been asked

"Do one then" he was ordered

"Strangulis" he ordered his wand. Immediately the girl's hands gripped her throat so hard her knuckles were white. Her eyes were wide in fright and she was strangling herself. She couldn't control her hands at all and she would eventually kill herself if the spell wasn't finished.

"Very imaginative young Malfoy" voldemort praised "you may finish her off now"

"Avada Kedavra" Draco yelled strongly, anything to put this poor girl out of her misery.

A green light flashed from the end of his wand hitting the girl straight in the chest, she now laid motionless, her eyes wide open and staring at Draco. He had never killed anything before, he was in a way kind of grateful he had been able to as not many people his age could cast the killing curse. It was the one spell you had to really mean to be able to perform. Of course he hadn't wanted to kill the girl, but it was so important that he did it, that it worked anyhow.

"Congratulations Malfoy, you are now to receive your dark mark" voldemort said and beckoned him towards him. "Come"

Draco stepped forward and lifted his sleeve revealing his pale fore-arm

Voldemort touched his wand to Draco's arm and muttered a curse, all of a sudden there was a shape appearing on his arm, the shape of the dark mark obviously, it was painful and Draco cried out. It was burning

"Snape you may return the boy to his school. Don't forget to let me know if you learn anything, you too boy" Voldemort ordered and with that they left.

As they arrived back in Snape's office, his teacher turned to him

"You did well Draco, I am sure he was convinced"

"I can't believe I killed that girl" the younger one cried

"I know its hard but at the same time it's the most valuable thing you could do in front of him. Most people just have to pledge their allegiance, offer him something. But with you being lucius's son. He had you kill" Snape told him "it will be ok Draco, you did what you had to do"

"You must never tell Hermione" Draco said determinedly

"I wouldn't dream of it" Snape said "you had better get to bed"

And with that Draco left and his professor got out his favourite fire whiskey

Draco said the password and entered their common room, Hermione was sat on the sofa staring at the door

"Hi" he said

"How was it?" she asked "was it awful?"

"It wasn't the best" he told her "I need to go to bed, I'm really tired and it's been a long night
"oh, ok" Hermione said and kissed his cheek "I missed you"

"I missed you too" he said and kissed her on the forehead "goodnight Hermione" and with that he went into his room and Hermione just stared after him until she heard his bed creak. She went to her own room and got into bed cuddling her pillow to her

She was scared that Draco was going to withdraw from her. That he was going to get tangled up in all this and it would change him. But she knew it was something he had to do. Otherwise he would die. She couldn't bear it if he died, so she would try to be strong for him.

"Draco" she said uncertainly, the black hooded figure turned to her

"Yes mudblood? Did you want something?" it snarled at her

"Draco what is going on?" she asked, tears pouring down her cheeks

"The dark lord is coming, he will wipe mudbloods and Muggles from our precious world, making it clean and pure" he said

"Draco no, you don't really mean that" she cried "I love you!"

"Love is a weakness" he stated and turned back round to the first year muggleborn that he had cast Crucio on thirteen times already

"CRUCIO!" he bellowed, he knew they were beyond help now. The most times anyone had been able to be under the Crucio spell and still remain normal was eight and that was a fully grown adult, this small child had no chance. It would be a vegetable and it would be completely useless. So now he would kill it

"Avada Kedavra" he shouted and pointed his wand yet again

"NOOOOOO!" Hermione yelled and dived in front of the younger student and the green light hit her and she crumpled to the ground.

Draco stared at her and then turned to the first year he had brutalised

"This is your entire fault" he shouted "Avada Kedavra" he killed them that time. He turned to Hermione and stared at her

"I'm so sorry" he said "I am so so sorry" he heard some other death eaters coming they walked to him "good job" one of them said

"Thanks" he said weakly. He went to follow them Hermione's body lay in their path and it was kicked to the side

"Sorry" he whispered again as they left that part of the school

"AAAAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!"

He shouted, he woke up sweating and very scared, 'just a dream' he thought, 'thank god' but what if it came true like his other dream?'

Well he decided that it wouldn't because he would never let that happen, not ever. He was simply a spy not truly a minion of voldemort

Hermione had heard Draco screaming in his sleep and rushed to his room. She stood outside a moment before she went in

"Draco are you ok?" she asked

"Yeah just a bad dream is all, sorry I woke you" he told her

"Its ok" she said "I wasn't sleeping very well anyhow"

she walked over and sat on the edge of his bed
"you know I love you right" she said
"of course I do" he said and held her hand

"Then you must know that I am going to be worried about these meetings I cant help it. But I understand if you don't want to talk about it" she said and hugged him to her

He wrapped his arms around her and cuddled her back
"I appreciate that" he said "but its hard and I don't feel ready"

"Ok" she said "I understand, well goodnight" and she got up to go, she had her hand on the door handle

"Hermione…."

"yes?" she asked, she thought he was going to ask her to stay with him
"goodnight" he said and smiled at her

"Night" she said and left