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The door burst open, and Sedecim Demion strode in. He was tall. His hair was black; his eyes were a deep ebony color. His face was pale, almost gaunt. But he radiated a powerful air, one that made people cringe, bow, and fulfill any task he wanted them to.

Father walked the length of his long maple table and sat down at the head. Other death eaters entered, Macnair, Avery, Jugson, Bella, Mulciber, Rier, Dolohov, Pyrites, Crabbe, Travers, Lucius, Nott, Professor Snape, and others that I did not know. They all sat down.

"Now, we have come here today to discuss something that has been on all of our minds for a long time... First, shall Draco Malfoy, son of Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy, be executed for not obeying the Dark lord?" Sedecim said, in a clear, intimidating voice.

I just barely stopped myself from gasping. I glanced at Draco's face, shadowed in the darkness of the closet, and saw a face filled with emotions before me. It seemed to be filled with shock, sadness, embarrassment, anger, loathing... and was then all gone in an instant, covered by his usual mask of impassiveness.

"I say we kill him!" Came the voice of Macnair. "He disobeyed our master! How dare he!"

"That's very kind of you, Walden, but he may be of some use..." Came a cold voice.

"M-m-master?" A few disbelieving whispers could be heard. I gazed through the keyhole, trying to see what on earth it was that everyone was looking at.

"Yes, yes. It' me." Came the voice again. I realized, with an odd feeling in the pit of my stomach, the current most powerful wizard alive is in my father's study.

"Master, shall we keep the boy alive, then?" My father, my cold, powerful, proud father, was saying, in a voice filled with devotion. How did he do that? How did the dark lord make even the strongest, most powerful, bend to his every whim? Kneel down before his feet? The promise of even more power. I thought, suddenly.

"Yes, Sedecim, I think we should. He may prove valuable. Even though he may prove weak... He has a pretty face... We may be able to convert more with him."

"So it is decided. He will not-"

"But he DID disobey me... For that... I think a few cruciatus curses may... ahh... make him more obedient." He said, and let out a horrid laugh. I could barely retain a shudder. I knew what was to happen was horrible, but I was just happy that Draco would live. Even though it meant he would have to endure several crucios. I glanced over at him. He seemed to just be... drenched... in relief. He let out a quiet breath, and closed his eyes.

"Ahhh... And... Now, shall my daughter, Dantes Demion, be branded with the dark mark this summer?" This time I shuddered, I really did. I couldn't believe it. The dark mark! They actually expected me to... Oh! It's just awful! Even the thought... to be... branded... Terror filled my gut. It was worse than before. So much worse. Missing this meeting because Draco and I lost track of time seemed like... sitting compared to this!

"Yes. She's of age, is she not? She turned 17... What, four weeks ago?" Severus said this, his face blank, as usual. There were several cries of assent, and then the Dark Lord himself paused, before answering.

"Yes... She'll be branded. Soon. A week from today." I could hear excitement in his voice. My face fell. I didn't WANT to be branded. My eyes filled with tears. I tried desperately not to let them go, but they did. They flowed down my flawless complexion. I couldn't believe it! This was my life! They shouldn't be allowed to just decide my fate! I felt an arm wrap around me. Draco's arm. He was hugging me.

"It'll be okay Dantes. Don't worry. I had it done." This just made me cry harder. I knew they must hear me by now, but they were talking loudly... something about "the Rose's" and "Harry Potter". Then there was loud, rambunctious laughing.

"Oh Draco..." I sobbed silently on his shoulder. There was a clatter of chairs, and people were chatting amongst themselves as they left. We waited a while, just to be sure no one else was left, and then we opened the door and got out. I was still crying, though, it was less than before. Draco turned me towards him, and then, using his thumbs, he wiped away my tears. He gazed into my eyes for a moment, oh, his gorgeous crystal eyes... and then, he kissed me. Softly, gently. When we broke apart, my tears had stopped falling, and had dried on my face. He smiled at me, and then took my arm to guide me out of the study.

We walked back down to the party right after I made a quick visit to the bathroom to clean my face and put my make-up back on. We sat down in our old secluded seats, drinking butterbeer for a long time, before I broke the silence.

"Draco, does... does it hurt to get the dark mark?" I asked, trying to look like I didn't care. He gazed at me for a moment, and then said quietly:

"Yes. It hurts to know that you're going to be branded, that you are going to become... a death eater. The knowledge, that you will never be good... That your reason in life will be to serve the dark lord... And being branded itself... is a long, painful process." He had a haunted look on his face. But, once again, it was replaced by his usual nonchalance. I let out a long, shuddering breath. Wondering how on earth you were branded. I suddenly thought of a cow being branded. Eww... I didn't want to hear anymore though.

"Draco! We're leaving! Your father's drunk a bit too much wine-"

"V-v-vine? I d-hiccup-on't see a vine anywhere... Oh-hiccup-! There it is!" A very drunk lucius malfoy drew a line with a few green dots on it on Narcissa's gorgeous beige gown. Narcissa grimaced, but waved her wand, whispered an incantation, and the odd line was gone. "Hey! W-where'd the wine go? It dis-hiccup-appeared!" Narcissa turned rather red in the face, and then said, annoyed: "Draco, dear-"

"Deer! Th-hiccup-there are d-deer here? W-wow! W-we sh-should call Del-hiccup-ores! Hey! Get it? Del-hiccup- or us! Which do you choose Narc-hiccup-issa?"

"I- what Lucius?" An exasperated Narcissa said, at the end of her tether.

"Del or us!"

"I- I don't care. Whichever."

"Ch-choose darling! Ch-choose! If you don-"

"Would you shut up Lucius!" His wife practically screamed at him. This quieted him down a bit. Not much. "Now. Draco, come." A half embarrassed half amused Draco stood up and said goodbye.

"Bye Dantes! See you!"

"Er, bye..." I gazed at Lucius who was red in the face, hiccupping, and kept interrogating Narcissa whether she chose 'del or us!'. Narcissa waved, grabbed Lucius by the arm, and dragged him away with Draco following. I sighed, and leaned back in my chair. You're going to be a death eater. The words just kept running around my head. Well, it might not be that bad, Draco is a death eater too, and so is my father. Actually, most of the people I know are death eaters or at least have one in the family. Like Draco, and Bella, and well, even me! I guess it's just my destiny.

I sighed. I got up, grabbed my butterbeer, and then dropped it in the bin. I slowly walked up the many steps to my room, gazing at the gloomy moving pictures in silence. An old man, sitting, with a gaunt, sad look on his face. He grumbled and walked out of his frame, reappearing in the next-door picture frame of a lady weeping as she placed flowers on a gravestone.

Once I finally got to my room, I slipped out of my gorgeous dress, put it on a hanger, and put it in my closet. I removed the rest of my clothes, sliding on a pair of pajamas with light blue stripes, and said 'sweet' on the spaghetti strap front, and 'dreams' on the back of the shorts. I got in bed, and blew out my candle. I gazed up at the ceiling, and finally closed my eyes, trying to sleep, but I couldn't. I stayed up for hours, thinking about being a death eater. I finally gave up on trying to get out of it. It was simply to be. I knew I couldn't stop it, no matter what I tried. I was to be a death eater, and that was that.

I didn't fall asleep until at least 5:00 am, probably after. And when I finally managed to, I tossed and turned. I dreamed of a man wearing a black cloak that hid his face was heating a brand in a big bonfire. A cow stood nearby. I stood and watched. And, then, when the brand was bright red with heat, the man turned towards me, his figures still hidden, and I saw that the brand was in the shape of the dark mark. I wondered why he was turning towards me. Was it because he wanted me to brand the animal? But the man walked over, pulled up my sleeve, and before I could do anything, he shoved the hot, searing brand into my forearm. I screamed. I had never felt anything so painful in my life. The brand burned my flesh; pain, oh, so much pain. Indescribable pain. I yelled at the top of my lungs. And then, I woke up. I was drenched in cold sweat. Freezing yet boiling at the same time. I was covered in goose bumps, and yet I felt my cheeks burning up. I sobbed. I didn't WANT to be a death eater!

"Darling! Darling, what's wrong? Sweetie?" I felt my mother hug me tightly as I cried. I hadn't even heard her come in! She pulled away for a moment, and looked at my face.

"N-nothing mother. Just... Just a bad dream." I couldn't tell her. If she knew... Oh god, then my father would probably find out somehow, and I did NOT want to feel my father's anger on top of everything else. She gazed at me for a while, and then said softly, "Tully, come here please." A house elf popped out of thin air. "Please get a glass of chamomile tea and a rag drenched in cold water."

"Yes Mistress." Came the squeaky reply, and with a pop the elf disappeared. After a few moments, Tully reappeared with the tea and rag. 'Here mistress."

"Thank you Tully." Replied my mother. " She wiped away the sweat and tears off my face, and then handed me the tea. "Drink up dear, it'll make you feel better." So I drank. And it did make me feel better. A little, anyways. I sighed.

"Thank you Mother." She smiled.

"Feel better?"

"Much."

"Good. I'll leave you to it." She said, and slid out of my room.

"Dantes! It's time for us to go." Called Sedecim Demion, exactly one week after the party.

"Where are we going?" I asked, with feigning innocence. Pretending I had no idea what he was talking about.

"We're just going to visit someone." He replied, sliding a cloak on.

"Oh but FATHER, I don't WANT to visit another of your friends. I'm busy." I said. You never know. It could work.

"No dear, you HAVE to go." I pouted.

"But father-"

"Now!" He said in a scary tone. The kind that would make other people tremble in fear.

"Yes father." I said, in final resignation. I slid a cloak on, and walked out the door.

"Do you know how to apparate?" My father asked. I rolled my eyes. God, he doesn't know this yet?

"Yes father, I know how, but I don't have my permit yet. It's supposed to arrive tomorrow."

"Right... Well... Hold on!" He said, and pointed to his arm. I squeezed it with my hand tightly, not particularly want to leave my foot behind. With a pop, we arrived in a small clearing. It had statues all around it. There was a marble floor, made of the same marble as the statues. They looked like Greek goddesses. But, in an odd way, they were rather eerie looking. With pieces of moss growing on them, and their deep black bodies, they stood straight and tall, as if they were the overlords of the universe. There were several people already there. Death eaters. More arrived, making a loud popping noise as they appeared. And then, after everyone else arrived, He did. Voldemort in all his splendor. His ugly skin. His slits that replaced his nose. His red, horrible eyes that seemed to stare into my soul. I looked away.

"Welcome, fellow death eaters..." he said in a rather quiet voice. "We are here today to give this lovely young girl," He pointed at me. "Dantes Demion, her dark mark. A new death eater." He slurred. Everyone gazed at me. I felt very uncomfortable. And, the fear in my stomach turned so big... I swallowed the bile that had filled my mouth. This is really happening. He then walked over to me, yanked up my sleeve, and placed the tip of his wand on my forearm. I shuddered. He grinned. "appareo basis!" He said, and the skin where the dark mark was to be turned a greenish color. It felt like my skin was on fire. I surpressed a shudder. Was that it? Then why did Draco say it was long and painful? The Dark Lord shoved me over to the first person in the circle that surrounded us. It was my father. He whispered "appareo Skullus!" My skin felt, once again as if it was on fire. I moaned. This was agony. I glanced at my forearm. The green skin Voldemort had made appear had turned a shade darker. But not as dark as the ones on all the other death eaters. Father pushed me so I was in front of the next death eater. Lucius Malfoy. He performed the same spell. But this time, it felt as if a barely healed wound was cut open again. This went on and on. Each death eater performing the same spell, turning the place where the skull was to be a darker shade. Finally, the skull was as dark as all the others. I stood there, shuddering, waiting, wondering what was going to happen next. Then, I was shoved in front of my father again, and he said "appareo dentibus!" The teeth appeared, causing me to groan, loudly. Then Lucius did it, then Bella.

She shoved me over to Draco, who said it, making me wince. It went on and on, next the nose, then the snake, the head of the snake, the eye of the snake, and then, finally, the eyes of the skull. I had just been performed on by Macnair, and was shoved in front of Snape. He gazed at me straight in the eyes, an unidentifiable look in his eyes. He placed his wand on my scarred flesh. "Appareo oculus!" His silky voice whispered. I moaned, and fell on my knees in agony. It hurt! So much pain... so much pain... Why couldn't I just get away from it all? Why? My arm was throbbing. I knew I couldn't take much more. I felt arms, yanking me up. Who did they belong to? I wondered briefly. "Perago infinitas!" Came a voice. My scar burned one last time, and I fell to the floor, unconscious.

Spells: I just translated English to Latin for them. Sorry if they don't really make sense... Some of them didn't have translations so I made up my own.

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