Disclaimer: Harry Potter was created by JK Rowling. She owns him. I don't. I didn't create him or his universe. Jo is the genius, not me.
A/N: This chapter is quite dark. Please remember that this is a PG 13 or T rated story and go back if this isn't your cup of tea. This is the last time I'm going to give this warning….
If Lestrange was taken aback by his sudden agreement he covered it well, "Good." He said smiling, "I will take you to him."
"Now?" Percy's stomach dropped, "I'm hardly in any condition…"
"Nonsense." Lestrange said somewhat cheerfully, "The Dark Lord hardly cares about the state of your robes." He looked at him as if expecting him to laugh.
The best Percy could manage was a sort of weak smile. "All right then." He said.
"Good." Lestrange nodded with a grin. He reached into his pocket and took out a wristwatch; he tapped it with his wand and said a few soft words to it. It glowed green for a minute. "Take this, Percy," Lestrange said holding it out, "It is now a portkey, it will take you to his audience chamber. I'll follow, I can apparate there."
Percy nodded nervously; his hand was shaking slightly as he reached out and gingerly took the watch from Lestrange's hand.
The moment his fingers touched the watch the room began to swirl around him. Percy closed his eyes queasily, he hated traveling this way! Finally the room stopped spinning and his stomach seemed to catch up with the rest of his body. He gasped for breath for a moment and put his hand on a wall beside him to steady himself. When he could finally move again he began noticing the things around him.
He was in a narrow hallway, directly in front of him was a double black door with painted green serpents slithering up and down massive doorways. Along the hallway green torches gave off an eerie glow.
A loud "pop" suddenly startled him; he spun around and found Lestrange standing at his shoulder. Lestrange was now looking a little jittery as well. His forehead was shining with sweat as he stared at the doorway in front of him. Seeing this, Percy's own nervousness began to increase, however much he told himself that the faintly green sheen to Lestrange's face was due to the torches along the wall.
"Shall we go in then?" He asked rather shakily.
Lestrange nodded and moved in front of him. He pushed open the doors and entered the darkness beyond. Percy hesitated only a moment before he followed him. A faint shiver came over him; it felt like he was being lightly brushed by cobwebs all over his body as he went under the doorway. The rational part of him said that it must just be a spell, a ward or something, but he couldn't suppress another nervous shiver. Once he got past the doorway, however, he completely forgot about cobwebs as he stared around him.
The chamber was huge. The walls were obsidian black, with a ribbed and domed ceiling that made the space seem cavernous. Along the walls, green glowing spirals slithered around and around like snakes. More of those green torches lined the walls, giving the entire room a sickly green glow. Ten figures in white masks stood in a circle around a silver throne in the center of the room.
Percy's breath came out in a choked gasp as he saw the figure sitting on the throne, from the back of the room Voldemort looked like a skeleton, but as Percy moved closer he began to merely look like a corpse. Long skeletal fingers peeked out from the billowing velvet sleeves of his robes, his skin was pale and sickly. But his face… Percy couldn't look at it without shivering. In what he hoped was a respectful manner he kept his head bent, looking at the floor.
"Percy Weasley," the Dark Lord hissed, "I have been watching you for a long time."
Percy raised his head in shock and looked him full in the face. His skin was stretched over his face, making his cheek bones and jaw jut out in harsh angles. His sunken eyes glowed red. Percy was immediately captured by those eyes, they held him in a vise-like grip and bored into him. Memories began flooding up, unbidden. He shuddered, but before he even had time to struggle it was over.
"Yes…" Voldemort almost cooed, "Your ambition is great, so great in fact that I'm surprised you didn't end up in my own house." He looked at him appraisingly, "But there is bravery too… bravery to stand up to your family…. It is that bravery I need."
Percy didn't know what to say to that so he kept silent. He shivered from the cold, yet felt rivers of sweat running down his back.
"Gryffindors, although generally misguided, do have their uses. You seem surprised to hear me say so?" He grinned, his thin lips stretching hideously over his teeth, Percy couldn't suppress a shudder. "It is said that even Salazar Slytherin and Godric Gryffindor were the best of friends…until the end."
Finally Percy thought of something that sounded vaguely appropriate, "I hope that I might please you my Lord." He said as smoothly as he could.
The Dark Lord's grin grew even wider, "I'm sure you will, young Weasley. It will be a pleasure to have one of your family serve me. Your blood is as pure as any other."
"Thank you, my Lord." Percy choked out.
"Mr. Gale." Voldemort commanded, smoothly one of the Death Eaters detached himself from the circle, came forward, and bowed. "Take Percy and find him some appropriate robes and a mask, while I prepare for the initiation."
"Yes my lord." Gale murmured. He stood and grabbed Percy's sleeve, pulling at it, he led Percy to a room off the main chamber.
The room was dimly lit, but it held a wardrobe at one end. It looked, for all the world, like a dark replication of the staff room at Hogwarts. But Percy didn't dare point this out.
Timothy nearly flew to the end of the room where the wardrobe set, pulling open the doors he began flinging dark coloured robes out, "let's see…" he muttered, "yes… this should be the right size." He pulled out a robe and flung it at Percy, "try this on… it should fit…"
Percy pulled off the robes he was wearing and discarded them on the floor. Swallowing hard he tugged on the darkly coloured robes. They felt strange on his skin, they were easily the finest material he had ever worn, but they were a little larger and a lot more flowing then he usually wore his robes. The sleeves came down a good two inches past his fingertips. He looked longingly at the robes lying on the floor, "What should I do with those?" He asked Timothy.
"You don't really need them anymore do you?" Gale asked, with a little nervous chuckle. Percy flushed, but he knew it was true. He bought those robes to make a good impression for his job with the ministry, for all the good they did. He didn't need them anymore.
"Listen to me carefully. You need to know what to do for the initiation…" Gale spoke quickly and quietly, detailing the events. "Do you have all that?" Timothy asked.
Percy nodded.
Gale pushed past Percy and moved towards the door, "Come on." He said, "They'll be expecting you." A look crossed his face as he looked at the door, it was remarkably similar to the one that Lestrange had worn just a half hour ago. It was a slightly queasy look that spoke of bracing yourself to do something you were terrified to do. But then, Percy decided, he probably looked about the same. You-know-who, you'll have to call him "the Dark Lord" from now on a little voice in his head mocked, the Dark Lord made everyone nervous it seemed.
"Let's go." Timothy said gesturing at him. Percy gave his good set of dress robes, now in a crumpled heap on the floor, one last sad look, then he turned and followed Timothy back into the Dark Lord's presence.
The chamber looked almost the same as it had earlier, but the torches were extinguished. A single green light shone on Voldemort sitting on his silver throne. Percy began sweating again, queasily he wondered if there was anything his was supposed to say that Timothy might have forgotten to tell him.
He followed Gale around to the front of the throne. The other Death Eaters were standing in silence exactly where they had been before, the green light radiating on the throne absorbing in the blackness of their robes.
"Who comes to join me?" Voldemort spoke in a soft hissing voice.
"Percy Weasley." Gale spoke up.
"Is he of pure wizarding blood?" Voldemort asked.
Percy pulled out the silver dagger that Gale passed to him earlier, taking a deep breath he pulled back his sleeve. Hesitating only a moment he plunged it into his right forearm. The blade sank into his skin, immediately blood began well around it. Percy carefully pulled out the blade and the blood began to flow freely down his arm. Gale handed him a silver goblet which Percy used to collect as much of the blood as he could, before handing it back to him.
"Aperio purus!" Gale cried, tapping his wand against the goblet. The blood inside the goblet began to swirl into a green mist and flowed out of the cup, dissipating into the air. "His blood is pure." Gale announced.
"Then let him join us." The Dark Lord said imperiously. "Come closer to me Percy Weasley." Percy moved towards him and offered him the still bleeding arm.
The Dark Lord pointed his wand at Percy's right forearm, "after this you shall be forever known as one of us, Percy Weasley." Then he cried, "Flagrantia Morsmordre!"
Red light shot out of Voldemort's wand and began to trace a fiery pattern along Percy's skin. The pain was unbearable and the smell of burning skin made him want to retch, but he forced himself to not make a sound. Finally the spell ended and Percy was left with a dark green pattern on his forearm, a skull with a snake coming out of it's mouth.
"Go. Join your fellows." Voldemort hissed softly handing Percy a gleaming white mask.
Trying to ignore the burning on his arm Percy tugged on the Death Eater's mask. He was surprised at the feeling that came over him, a dark feeling of pleasure and power. He bowed deeply to the Dark Lord before turning and walking into the shadows where he now belonged.
A/N: Well that's it for this chapter. Sorry it was a bit short. I wanted this part to have a section of it's own. I promise it'll move along faster from now on. Let me know what you think. Expect Chapter 4 here really shortly, I'm trying to update around once every three days, but it might be more if, like this chapter, I don't have anything written for it before hand.
Elena the Eccentric: I don't know how to answer your comments about Percy without spoiling the rest of the story so I'll just smile and say "you'll see." I'm a huge Star Wars fan. I don't know why but Harry Potter fan fiction is the only stuff that comes to me, plot-wise. I really liked your Star Wars fan fiction. It made me want to read more!
Miss Piratess: Your review made my day. Yeah, Lestrange doesn't get a lot of attention, but I needed a familiar Death Eater that wasn't too overused for this role. I originally thought of Malfoy, but given the level of enmity between the Weasleys and the Malfoys I decided that he would put Percy too much on the defensive. And there was this whole little problem of him being in Azkaban at this time so… it didn't work out. Besides, Lestranges will become more important later (is trying to be mysterious to keep up interest).
By the way… did you get my email about the contest?
Tattva: thanks! blushes I hope you still think so after reading this chapter. I really enjoyed your fic too!
Xtin2000: smiles mysteriously you'll find out. Yeah, Timothy Gale is a Death eater. Fun Fact: I was watching the Muppets in Oz when I was trying to think up a name for this random ministry employee/Death Eater. Can you tell? I'm really excited to see what JK Rowling is going to do with Percy. My biggest fear is that he'll only get a couple of lines that go "'So Percy's back?' Harry asked. 'Yeah, he came home a few days after the papers announced You-know-who was back.' Ron said scornfully." And that'll be it. No details, no anything else.
That would make me very sad.
Okay everyone… now is the time to hit that little review button…. Come on… you know you want to…. You can be my best friend….