A Day in the Life of Voldemort – Living with the Menace

Chapter 2 – Leaving the Past Behind

Some far away place

In a dark, damp field

Anonymous took in her surroundings. All around her was field, except for the station she had just left behind her. The field itself was dark and eerie, though it was still light outside. Grass was long and thick, each strand competing for light and space. Still, there was neither no light nor space. An ever-lasting cloud blocked the bright sun, and any light that could sneak past diminished before it reached ground-level. Vines crept around the grass and she even saw sugarcane, causing Anonymous to believe that farmer's once found this land fertile enough for growth, but had left most likely when the cloud coverage of the area had taken over.

"You there! Girl with the scarf!" Anonymous automatically twirled around on the spot, but say nobody staring at her.

Suddenly a gloved hand grabbed her left shoulder and jolted Anonymous forward. There she saw someone wearing a bad excuse for muggle attire. The man of question was wearing a skirt and bathrobe over his fit body, and all topped off with a long, purple wig. He had a thin, black moustache and looked plain crazy; and his eyes explained everything as they were slightly cross-eyed.

"Eww … please don't tell me you're my new daddy. Your sense of male fashion doesn't appeal to me."

The man grumbled. "No, and thank the Dark Lord I'm not! Having to take care of another child, Lucius is going to go bloody mad!"

"Well, if he looks anything like you I think it's too late for that, isn't it?" This comment achieved Anonymous a nice slap on her head. "Hey!"

"Now shut up and grab onto my arm!" the man growled and reluctantly offered his arm to her.

"Oh, what a gift. I suppose we're going to appar –"

"Didn't I tell you to shut it?"

"Aren't I gonna get any respect from my new peers?" Anonymous crossed her arms stubbornly.

"Not from me, you stupid girl. Now take my arm or you'll be facing my axe when we get back!"

That persuaded her.

Anonymous took his arm and they apparated away. Everything went dark like a winter's night without the moon and stars. Pressure was pushing down on her in every direction; she felt herself squished against invisible barriers … sure she would burst …

Then it all stopped and she released her grip from him.

"What was that?"

The man's grin widened evilly. "Just the effects of apparating."

They had apparated into a sparse forest. The only trees there were dead, limbs hanging like a dead man's arms would. Weeds ruled the land and even grass and shrubs were meager. The setting sun was like a beautiful backdrop to the otherwise ugly area, its orange light casting long shadows and making a nearby river sparkle.

"Follow me," the man nodded towards a windy path that weaved through the trees. It was gravel and very overgrown by weeds and the two of them had to watch out for any prickly wild plants that snagged at their ankles.

"Who are you, other than a death eater?" Anonymous piped up.

"You'll find out soon enough. Now pick up your pace or I'll miss dinner!" he snarled. A few minutes passed by when nobody spoke. The death eater was first to break the silence. "I take it you're a witch, or else you wouldn't have known about apparating."

"Yes, I am" Anonymous proved it by pulling out her wand which she had stuck in the pocket of her jeans.

"Good. Wouldn't want no muggles to come here. Don't even know why you can come here."

After another ten minutes of walking uphill, they reached the largest rise and highest vantage point. On top was a gigantic mansion, made of stone and in a medieval-style theme. The tallest tower seemed to reach the clouds, which, of course, it didn't.

"Cool … I get to live there?"

The death eater just grumbled.

"You don't like to talk much, do you?"

His head swerved around to face her and gave Anonymous one of his wicked stares. "Not to you, I don't."

"I see …."

Abruptly, a house elf appeared out of nowhere in front of them. He wore a blanket and pin around himself and looked to be very, very old with small tufts of light hair sticking out of his scalp.

"Master has asked Piglin to fetch the girl and bring her into master's castle to her room." The house elf had that same evil-look that she had spotted in the death eater.

The death eater left them to fetch his axe from a nearby hollow tree and stuck it in his belt. "Well, go on with it, then!" he growled and marched off into the castle.

Piglin grinned, grabbed Anonymous' arm roughly, and pulled her into the castle.