Chapter Eight
Oh bloody hell, Sirius thought to himself. He felt the color drain from his face and could hear Remus take in a sharp breath of air. They had been led into what looked like a cross between a medieval torture chamber and a throne room. It was made of the same sort of heavy stone as everything else, and was absolutely enormous. The chamber was illuminated by torches that dotted the walls at intervals, casting odd shadows about the room and making everything seem even more eerie. Heavy, rusting chains hung from the ceiling, with manacles attached at the ends. There were all sorts of other devices around the room that Sirius didn't even want to guess the uses of. One of them would have looked like a perfectly normal armchair – if it hadn't been for the gigantic metal spikes on the arms, legs, and back of the chair.
However, Sirius wouldn't have been nearly as frightened as he was if it hadn't been for one thing. At the very back of the room, sitting in what appeared to be an elaborate throne made of stone, was Lord Voldemort. He was pale and bone thin, his gaunt and somewhat emaciated skin pulled tight over his body. Voldemort seemed faded out, and Sirius would have thought him dead if not for the way his red, catlike eyes gleamed with malice. The Dark Lord smiled a grim, twisted smile that invited no comfort as they approached. When they stood before him, he waved the Death Eaters off. The six of them removed themselves to stand guard at the entrance to the room.
"So," Voldemort said, his twisted smile growing. "Our guests have finally awakened. I do hope you've enjoyed your stay."
"Oh yes," Remus said boldly, ignoring the fear writhing in his gut. "We do so love being kidnapped, tortured, and locked in a cell with little food and water. It's been absolutely lovely."
"I'm glad you think so," Voldemort replied with a small tilt of his head. "After all, you're going to be here for quite a while. Unless, of course, you agree to help me with a few small projects."
Sirius raised his eyebrows in surprise, an expression of anger and fear contorting his face. "And what would these 'small projects' be?"
"You will join my Death Eaters," Voldemort answered with absolute certainty. "You will learn to serve me faithfully. I will have different tasks for each of you, of course, but you may be allowed to work together for some of them if you do well. You, Lupin are a werewolf, and will therefore recruit others of your kind to my cause, either by persuasion or by attack."
"You want me to help you create your own army of werewolves," Remus said doubtfully. This monster killed my family, and he still expects me to help him?
Voldemort nodded in approval. "Precisely. Your task, Black, will be to spy on Dumbledore and the Potters. I have other spies, of course, but Dumbledore trusts none of them. He trusts you – which is why I need you. As I said, you will have other tasks to perform, but those will be your primary jobs."
Remus and Sirius glanced at each other in support before looking back at Voldemort. Sirius spoke first. "What happens if we say no?" As if there's any doubt of that, he thought derisively.
"No?" Voldemort asked, smiling condescendingly at them. "There is no 'no' when it comes to my requests, Black. It is quite simple; the two of you will comply with my demands. If you do not, you will both find out first hand what the devices in this room are used for," he said, gesturing at the spiked chair.
"Not only that," Voldemort said, standing up from his throne and moving towards them with the grace of a predator. "But I may be tempted to let my other servants play with you." As Voldemort said this, he reached out and ran a long, cold finger down the side of Remus' face. Remus shuddered both at the touch and what was implied by it.
Sirius held in a growl at the sight of someone touching the boy he loved. Voldemort smiled at Sirius' enraged expression. "Yes," he said he with a wide smile, running his eyes over both boys while signaling for the Death Eaters to come back. "I think you'll do quite nicely. But to show my generosity, I shall give you time to think. You don't want to make any hasty decisions, after all."
You mean you'll give us more time to be intimidated, Sirius thought angrily as he and Remus were led back out of the chamber. Before you try to torture and rape us into submission.
A/N: I'm terribly sorry this took so long, and is so disgustingly short. It's also probably a bit disturbing, but that's just the way my mind works sometimes. Don't worry though; I won't hurt my favorite two characters too badly. Anyway, please review! And remember: absolutely no flames.