I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. It took me a while to write because I
was having a hard time putting down what was in my head, if that makes
sense. I had hoped to do the whole test/Dark Mark thing all in one chapter,
but then it started getting rather long. Guess you'll just have to convince
me to write more...hmmm... wonder how you could do that? Haha, enjoy!
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Chapter 16: The Dark Lord
Draco could not tell how long he was carried with the strong fingers of Death Eaters digging into his flesh silently demanding obedience. There was no use complaining or bothering to ask questions, and he did his best to remain motionless.
In the distance Draco could see two flickering lights, brightening with each step the group rhythmically took. Draco made the mistake of craning his neck once to get a better look, and was quickly struck on the forehead with a large fist. "Keep still," a deep voice hissed.
Immediately Draco lay flat staring up at the starless sky, though his muscles continued to contract against his will in anxiety. As he was carried closer, more and more lights appeared until Draco found himself encircled by three dozen torches all casting an eerie glow upon the cloaked and faceless wizards holding them.
Unmoving, Draco stared intently at the group carrying him, his eyes finally adjusting to the darkness. Just as Draco was making out the outline of a face underneath one of the hoods, the hands holding him horizontal released him, causing Draco to fall for the second time on the hard, winter frozen ground.
Had the dark wizards been mere Hogwart's students, they would not have lived up to this point. Draco would have hexed them before their disgusting hands could wrinkle his robes. But this was different and Draco knew it. This was not his time to dominate. He cringed.
Cautiously he pulled himself to his knees, and then to his feet, watching as his former captors retreated to take position in the wide circle of stone-like Death Eaters. A chill wind howled though the open field, the bare trees doing little to shelter him.
Draco's hand moved to button the last button on his thing dress shirt, but his hand stilled and his breath caught in his throat, his lungs stifled. His senses heightened and even the flames on the torches seemed to leap a little higher. A soft crackle in the distance announced a new arrival and a cluster of Death Eaters broke formation to create a wide opening in the circle.
Squinting, Draco saw two Death Eaters enter unmasked. Immediately Draco recognized his father's brilliant white hair, illuminated by the glow of the torch-light. His father made no sign of recognition, and Draco was hardly surprised when he too took his place in the circle refusing to meet Draco's gaze. Two more Death Eaters Draco recognized from "social gatherings" the Malfoy Manor followed. The two parted to form rank, revealing a figure cloaked in the blackest of materials. In fact, Draco had to squint to make sure the person was truly there.
This one, Draco knew was different then any of the others. The dark figure glided forward towards Draco as if using a Hover Charm to propel himself. Draco stared unblinking at the form covered in the yards of black fabric, clenching his fists at his sides determined to hide the quivering sensation building within.
His entire life Draco had been told the stories of the Dark Lord, of his murders and his cruelty, his magnificence and his brilliance. He shivered in anticipation as the figure loomed closer, his presence stifling the very air.
The cloaked form stopped several feet before Draco and raised two hands to his hood. Draco held his breath as the hands pulled back the hood. A sigh of relief almost escaped his mouth as before him stood a very ordinary looking young man. This could not be the powerful Dark Lord Voldemort, the wizard with the power to match Dumbledore's. The corner of Draco's mouth moved to twitch, to mock this boy scarcely older than himself.
"Crucio!" the boy suddenly yelled without a wand, his eyes beginning to glow an abnormally fierce red as the spell left his lips. Draco crumbled to his knees instantly as a wave of relentless pain coursed through his body, traveling through every vein with wrath. "You dare to question me!" the Dark Lord raged at Draco's body, wriggling uncontrollably at his feet.
A haze began to swirl across Draco's stinging eyes and he knew unconsciousness was near as the blinding pain continued. As his body became rigid and his eyes began to close, slowly slipping him into the painless world of the unconscious, the spell was released, leaving no trace of its existence aside from the broken teenager on the ground.
"Get up, boy, and address your Lord properly," he heard his father's voice hiss through the night's air, his tone laced with its familiar disappointment.
"Now, now Lucius," the Dark Lord said calmly, as if he had not been equally enraged moment earlier, "do not blame your son for YOUR mistake. If you had prepared him properly, he would have recognized his Lord. Now unfortunately for him, he has learned the true meaning of the phrase, "appearances can be deceiving.""
Draco's muscles and bones screamed at him to lie still after such exhaustive torment, but Draco's brain knew better. Biting his lip, Draco mustered his remaining strength and raised himself to his feet, once again determined to hide his fatigue.
"He has strength Lucius," the Dark Lord observed, his face remaining stone- like but his eyes betraying his interest, "but he is impulsive and stiff- necked, much like his father."
Draco would have laughed out loud how he found situation permissible. What delicious payback.
The Dark Lord began to slowly walk around Draco, as if he were examining a stock horse at a local auction. As the Dark Lord surveyed him, Draco was seized by the feeling that the he was not just analyzing his physique, but was poking around in his mind. Draco clenched his clammy fists—there were thoughts and ideas inside his head no one could know about.
Like a shadow slipping through the night, the Dark Lord was once again in front of Draco, this time mere inches away. He raised a hand to Draco's face, caressing his cheek with an icy hand that rivaled the winter air.
"What is it you don't want me to know, Draco?" the Dark Lord whispered, locking eyes with the younger wizard. "What is it you are trying so desperately to block from my knowing eyes?"
The Dark Lord held Draco's gaze for minutes in complete silence as Draco labored to shut his prying mind out. His surrounding turned hazy and Draco's body went numb as the Dark Lord probed his head, searching and prodding. Just when the torture seemed to be an eternal condemnation, a small smirk passed over the Dark Lord's mouth and he dropped his hand from Draco's cheek, releasing the mental hold. The Dark Lord, for the moment seemed satisfied and turned back, gliding to the other end of the circle.
Draco's shoulders slumped forward and his lungs expanded rapidly as if he'd been slowly strangled.
"You may keep your secrets for now, Draco Malfoy," the Dark Lord said almost amusedly as he walked towards the two Death Eaters that entered the circle before him, immediately beginning to speak in inaudible tones upon reaching them.
After three Death Eaters disappeared out of the circle upon the Dark Lord's whispered command, Voldemort turned with a red gleam in his eye. "Draco Malfoy, before you are inducted into our organization, you must prove your loyalty."
Draco's head began to spin. He'd been warned by Crabbe and Goyle of painfulness of the induction. What would he be asked to endure? Setting his jaw, Draco stared at the opening in the circle, ready for whatever would pass through.
"If you are to join us, the first thing you must realize is that we are in the middle of a war, and all those who stand in the way need to be eliminated," the Dark Lord said, speaking as any commander of an army would before marching towards a battlefield of death and destruction. "Draw your weapon, Draco."
For an instant, Draco's face fell in nervousness, afraid he had not managed to bring his wand. Yet as the very thought entered his head, he felt the significant weight of is wand in his trousers pocket and immediately withdrew it.
This was to be his induction, his test of loyalty. To show that he would spill blood for the Dark Lord. This kill would be his first, despite the rumors at Hogwarts, the first kill of many Draco was sure. He could shrieks coming from what Draco thought was the voice of some poor unfortunate muggle who happened to be in the wrong place at the right time. Draco could hear her uneven voice and her torrents of sobs and pleadings.
He licked his chapped lips against the chill wind and raised his wand as the Death Eaters dragged in the form of a young girl, still in her pajamas. Her hair was matted from her salty tears and hanging over her face. It would be better that way, Draco thought. He wouldn't actually have to see who he killed.
The Death Eaters hauled her into the circle, close enough to Draco so that he could see the visible bruises on her arms and the tears in her flimsy pajamas. She fell in a heap to the hard ground, her face buried in her arms as she sobbed. At some point during this whole ordeal Draco had managed to form a lump in his throat, and he took the opportunity to swallow it now.
His mouth opened, wand trained on the quivering girl, ready to say those two fateful words.
"Please..." the terrified voice of the girl came out through her choked sobs.
"I present you with your initiation task, Malfoy. Kill the whore!" the Dark Lord laughed cruelly, scattered chuckles breaking out across the circle in response.
Draco sneered, how could the Dark Lord think finishing off a muggle wench would be difficult.
"Please...Draco..." the girl said, making Draco's wand lower several inches instinctively. Slowly the girl raised her tearstained face, looking up at Draco with swollen eyes.
"Ginny...?" Draco whispered in unbelief. Draco was now caught in the middle of a nightmarish reality without any hope of waking up.
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Chapter 16: The Dark Lord
Draco could not tell how long he was carried with the strong fingers of Death Eaters digging into his flesh silently demanding obedience. There was no use complaining or bothering to ask questions, and he did his best to remain motionless.
In the distance Draco could see two flickering lights, brightening with each step the group rhythmically took. Draco made the mistake of craning his neck once to get a better look, and was quickly struck on the forehead with a large fist. "Keep still," a deep voice hissed.
Immediately Draco lay flat staring up at the starless sky, though his muscles continued to contract against his will in anxiety. As he was carried closer, more and more lights appeared until Draco found himself encircled by three dozen torches all casting an eerie glow upon the cloaked and faceless wizards holding them.
Unmoving, Draco stared intently at the group carrying him, his eyes finally adjusting to the darkness. Just as Draco was making out the outline of a face underneath one of the hoods, the hands holding him horizontal released him, causing Draco to fall for the second time on the hard, winter frozen ground.
Had the dark wizards been mere Hogwart's students, they would not have lived up to this point. Draco would have hexed them before their disgusting hands could wrinkle his robes. But this was different and Draco knew it. This was not his time to dominate. He cringed.
Cautiously he pulled himself to his knees, and then to his feet, watching as his former captors retreated to take position in the wide circle of stone-like Death Eaters. A chill wind howled though the open field, the bare trees doing little to shelter him.
Draco's hand moved to button the last button on his thing dress shirt, but his hand stilled and his breath caught in his throat, his lungs stifled. His senses heightened and even the flames on the torches seemed to leap a little higher. A soft crackle in the distance announced a new arrival and a cluster of Death Eaters broke formation to create a wide opening in the circle.
Squinting, Draco saw two Death Eaters enter unmasked. Immediately Draco recognized his father's brilliant white hair, illuminated by the glow of the torch-light. His father made no sign of recognition, and Draco was hardly surprised when he too took his place in the circle refusing to meet Draco's gaze. Two more Death Eaters Draco recognized from "social gatherings" the Malfoy Manor followed. The two parted to form rank, revealing a figure cloaked in the blackest of materials. In fact, Draco had to squint to make sure the person was truly there.
This one, Draco knew was different then any of the others. The dark figure glided forward towards Draco as if using a Hover Charm to propel himself. Draco stared unblinking at the form covered in the yards of black fabric, clenching his fists at his sides determined to hide the quivering sensation building within.
His entire life Draco had been told the stories of the Dark Lord, of his murders and his cruelty, his magnificence and his brilliance. He shivered in anticipation as the figure loomed closer, his presence stifling the very air.
The cloaked form stopped several feet before Draco and raised two hands to his hood. Draco held his breath as the hands pulled back the hood. A sigh of relief almost escaped his mouth as before him stood a very ordinary looking young man. This could not be the powerful Dark Lord Voldemort, the wizard with the power to match Dumbledore's. The corner of Draco's mouth moved to twitch, to mock this boy scarcely older than himself.
"Crucio!" the boy suddenly yelled without a wand, his eyes beginning to glow an abnormally fierce red as the spell left his lips. Draco crumbled to his knees instantly as a wave of relentless pain coursed through his body, traveling through every vein with wrath. "You dare to question me!" the Dark Lord raged at Draco's body, wriggling uncontrollably at his feet.
A haze began to swirl across Draco's stinging eyes and he knew unconsciousness was near as the blinding pain continued. As his body became rigid and his eyes began to close, slowly slipping him into the painless world of the unconscious, the spell was released, leaving no trace of its existence aside from the broken teenager on the ground.
"Get up, boy, and address your Lord properly," he heard his father's voice hiss through the night's air, his tone laced with its familiar disappointment.
"Now, now Lucius," the Dark Lord said calmly, as if he had not been equally enraged moment earlier, "do not blame your son for YOUR mistake. If you had prepared him properly, he would have recognized his Lord. Now unfortunately for him, he has learned the true meaning of the phrase, "appearances can be deceiving.""
Draco's muscles and bones screamed at him to lie still after such exhaustive torment, but Draco's brain knew better. Biting his lip, Draco mustered his remaining strength and raised himself to his feet, once again determined to hide his fatigue.
"He has strength Lucius," the Dark Lord observed, his face remaining stone- like but his eyes betraying his interest, "but he is impulsive and stiff- necked, much like his father."
Draco would have laughed out loud how he found situation permissible. What delicious payback.
The Dark Lord began to slowly walk around Draco, as if he were examining a stock horse at a local auction. As the Dark Lord surveyed him, Draco was seized by the feeling that the he was not just analyzing his physique, but was poking around in his mind. Draco clenched his clammy fists—there were thoughts and ideas inside his head no one could know about.
Like a shadow slipping through the night, the Dark Lord was once again in front of Draco, this time mere inches away. He raised a hand to Draco's face, caressing his cheek with an icy hand that rivaled the winter air.
"What is it you don't want me to know, Draco?" the Dark Lord whispered, locking eyes with the younger wizard. "What is it you are trying so desperately to block from my knowing eyes?"
The Dark Lord held Draco's gaze for minutes in complete silence as Draco labored to shut his prying mind out. His surrounding turned hazy and Draco's body went numb as the Dark Lord probed his head, searching and prodding. Just when the torture seemed to be an eternal condemnation, a small smirk passed over the Dark Lord's mouth and he dropped his hand from Draco's cheek, releasing the mental hold. The Dark Lord, for the moment seemed satisfied and turned back, gliding to the other end of the circle.
Draco's shoulders slumped forward and his lungs expanded rapidly as if he'd been slowly strangled.
"You may keep your secrets for now, Draco Malfoy," the Dark Lord said almost amusedly as he walked towards the two Death Eaters that entered the circle before him, immediately beginning to speak in inaudible tones upon reaching them.
After three Death Eaters disappeared out of the circle upon the Dark Lord's whispered command, Voldemort turned with a red gleam in his eye. "Draco Malfoy, before you are inducted into our organization, you must prove your loyalty."
Draco's head began to spin. He'd been warned by Crabbe and Goyle of painfulness of the induction. What would he be asked to endure? Setting his jaw, Draco stared at the opening in the circle, ready for whatever would pass through.
"If you are to join us, the first thing you must realize is that we are in the middle of a war, and all those who stand in the way need to be eliminated," the Dark Lord said, speaking as any commander of an army would before marching towards a battlefield of death and destruction. "Draw your weapon, Draco."
For an instant, Draco's face fell in nervousness, afraid he had not managed to bring his wand. Yet as the very thought entered his head, he felt the significant weight of is wand in his trousers pocket and immediately withdrew it.
This was to be his induction, his test of loyalty. To show that he would spill blood for the Dark Lord. This kill would be his first, despite the rumors at Hogwarts, the first kill of many Draco was sure. He could shrieks coming from what Draco thought was the voice of some poor unfortunate muggle who happened to be in the wrong place at the right time. Draco could hear her uneven voice and her torrents of sobs and pleadings.
He licked his chapped lips against the chill wind and raised his wand as the Death Eaters dragged in the form of a young girl, still in her pajamas. Her hair was matted from her salty tears and hanging over her face. It would be better that way, Draco thought. He wouldn't actually have to see who he killed.
The Death Eaters hauled her into the circle, close enough to Draco so that he could see the visible bruises on her arms and the tears in her flimsy pajamas. She fell in a heap to the hard ground, her face buried in her arms as she sobbed. At some point during this whole ordeal Draco had managed to form a lump in his throat, and he took the opportunity to swallow it now.
His mouth opened, wand trained on the quivering girl, ready to say those two fateful words.
"Please..." the terrified voice of the girl came out through her choked sobs.
"I present you with your initiation task, Malfoy. Kill the whore!" the Dark Lord laughed cruelly, scattered chuckles breaking out across the circle in response.
Draco sneered, how could the Dark Lord think finishing off a muggle wench would be difficult.
"Please...Draco..." the girl said, making Draco's wand lower several inches instinctively. Slowly the girl raised her tearstained face, looking up at Draco with swollen eyes.
"Ginny...?" Draco whispered in unbelief. Draco was now caught in the middle of a nightmarish reality without any hope of waking up.