Aki- I am so sorry I did not update last week, but I was crazily busy and this chapter could not be rushed. I might not be able to update next week either, but I will try


Chapter 8

Tests

Raven was tugged not so gently across the hallway, down several flights of stairs and then a large, open first floor room and into an entry hall which she was pushed into unceremoniously. She stumbled, her hair flying in front of her eyes, but caught herself before falling and standing up straight and gave the Dark Lord a cold stare which probably would have frighten every other mere mortal but Voldemort.

Raven began to asses her surroundings (hero complex) and was surprised to see several figures dressed the same way she meet the blond British captor that Friday night. Their hoods were drawn and they wore masks and it made Raven suddenly feel a need to pull up her own hood, but she had seemed to loose control of her limbs. Their attention was half turned to her and half on Voldemort, who had begun talking…in a monologue. They truly, yet reluctantly turned to their master at the other side of the room. Raven attempted to shrink into the shadows, which was not very hard as the whole room was dark.

The snake-faced man kept talking on about something or the other that Raven did not comprehend because her ears suddenly seemed to stop working. In order to hide, she slouched over and ducked her head down. She stood like that for a few moments before she realized how vulnerable she looked and quickly straightened up. Raven just did not show vulnerability!...or pretty much any other emotion for that matter. She was thankful that everybody was still looking the other way. She pulled her hood over her eyes; it was her only way to hid.

Voldemort continued with his, speech, monologue, battle plan thing and though Raven's hearing was now returned to her emotionally controlled mind, she just did not pay attention, she preferred not knowing what she was about to be participating in. She stood there for a moment consumed in her own thoughts before she noticed that everyone was looking at her. She figured that the Dark Lord had mentioned her.

He approached her with a an malicious smirk evident on his face, "I can tell from your bewildered expression that you had not been paying attention, but later better than sooner will work," he said, while taking a firm hold of her arm again and leading her out the front door with the "Death Eaters," following behind. Raven knew that T.M.R. had not seen a bewildered look on her face, for one she had her hood up and two, she did not show emotion in the first place.

The group assembled in a dark courtyard in front of the house, which seemed to be in the middle of nowhere on top of a hill. The night was exceptionally dark, for the sky was cloudy and the moon was just a slice of a crescent.

"Remember," shouted Voldemort to his Death Eaters without even turning around, "You are to apperate outside the building, in the alleyway." Then he leaned in close and whispered so only she could hear. "You had better pray that you can do what you think you can," after which he added as an afterthought, "This might make you dizzy." And withy that he and his Death Eaters apperated, but what Voldemort did not know was Raven had already been praying for what seemed like hours now.

All Raven heard was a mingled group of loud pops before the wilderness that surrounded the mansion had disappeared and in front of her, like magic, was a brick wall. She took a deep breath to calm her internal shock. She still felt the grip of he captor on her arm, yet it had loosened some. The darkest Teen Titan heard rusting behind her and turned her head to she the Death Eaters clumped tightly together in the narrow alley. She turned the other way to see their leader and saw him partially turned in what seemed like a silent count of his men. The smirk that had previously occupied his face had transformed into a serious expression. When he was sure that all his men were present he gave a small nod to himself and turned around again, while the Death Eaters behind her seemed to be getting restless, either from nerves or anticipation, bother not good choices, but Raven would prefer nerves.

Voldemort turned his attention back to the teenage girl, he released her arm after turning her to face him and leaned slightly down because of their major height differences and said quietly, "Now my sweet Raven…" Raven involuntarily shuddered at that name, which was what Malchior had called her, Voldemort either did not notice it or ignored it and continued, "I need you to take yourself, my Death Eaters, and I into the building right behind this wall," he said before indicating to the brick wall next to them.

"And how, do I suppose, I do that?" she asked louder than Voldemort had talked in a sarcastic innocent voice.

"I guess you are going to have to figure that out by yourself," returned Voldemort, his voice in a dangerous hiss before continuing, "Miss Azarath Metrion Zinthos." A cold glare was all the answer Voldemort got. "Well?" he asked apprehensively.

"Why, do I suppose, I do that?" she replied in a monotone even more sarcastic.

"Because if you ever want to see your friends alive again…" he trailed off. Voldemort had played his trump card, and the problem was he could play whenever he wanted and all Raven had was small and obsolete moments of defiance.

Raven took a deep breath and turned towards the wall and shut her eyes and sarted clearly yet quietly under her breath chanting, "Azarath Metrion Zinthos… Azarath Metrion Zinthos... Azarath Metrion Zinthos…" the dark orb form around the whole group of people. The Death Eaters were put off by it, but silenced at a glare from their master. She orb slowly transformed into a smaller shadow and it phased threw the wall and into the lobby of the building and then opened up again to reveal a strange group indeed and if anyone had been there to see it.

The room was empty and all the lights were off expect for a few emergency ones that only come on when all the lights are off. The dim lights revealed a smooth tile floor, a few chairs and coffee tables with magazines piled on them against the wall and a receptionist desk. Voldemort and a few of his Death Eaters muttered words under their breath a light shoed up at the end of their wands.

"Knott, Ringwood, stand guard here." He commanded and to masked men nodded, "The rest of you, follow me. And Lucius…" was all he said cocking his head in Raven's direction before moving up the stairs with the Death Eaters in his wake. Raven stood rooted to her spot before Lucius shoved her along.

She was herded near the front of the group as the pack of Death Eaters followed Voldemort upstairs and there hallways only lite with wand light. Suddenly the group stopped and Raven had to catch herself from walking into the single person in front of her. Parallel to the group was an ordinary closed door. The horde of masked men and women stood so silent tat it was almost creepy so the sounds of movement and work could be heard from whatever room was behind that door.

'People are in there,' Raven thought to herself in realization. That was definitely a bad thing for those people.

All of the sudden, Raven was pulled of to the hallway wall before Voldemort looked at his group, "You know what to do," and they did.

They broke down the door with magic and charged threw it and soon following where the sound of screams that seemed to abruptly silenced. Raven tried to ignore those scream, but they were as hard to ignore as when the their was a dull thump nearby and a limp and lifeless arm fell across the threshold. AT the sight, Raven closed her eyes and sucked in a sharp breath.

Voldemort did nothing, he just waited and watched. It was an easy job, his lackeys could handle it. He observed Raven, wanting to know how she would react. It slightly interested him since she did not react the way a typical teenager would. He noticed her sharp breath when a corpse fell near the doorway.

Raven opened her eyes again a looked directly at the wall across from her, but unintentionally her eyes drifted to the open door way where she saw the commotion on the other side. It was a good thing that she did look because if she had not she would have been hit with a deflected spell which Raven blocked with a reflexive use of her magic. When the spell hit it did not bounce of like one might expect, but seemed to sizzle up and disappear. Though Raven did not see it, Voldemort smiled…his theory was correct.

Soon after they left, but not before one of the number shot a green image into the sky of a skull and a snake. Raven was in a daze, feeling as if she had murdered those innocent victims herself. Though she knew that the evil group could have done it without her, she still felt responsible, like an accomplice. She just stood their and let the innocent get killed. That was exactly opposite of what she did as a superhero, what she had swore to do. Sure, they were nameless and faceless people and she wanted to save her friends. But those people that had died tonight had been someone else's friend, someone else's family. No matter how Raven tried to rationalize the situation and reason with herself she could not get over feeling accountable and even a little dirty, like she was tainted by evil or infected with crime. Raven shivered.

She did not know how or when, but before Raven knew it, she was being pushed back into the gloomy mansion room. She sat down upon the edge of the bed, face downcast, and wrapped her arms around herself for comfort. A sudden feeling of helplessness and vulnerablilty consumed her as well as a feeling that took Raven more time than the others to comprehend. It was sadness. Wait, could she be sad? It was more like mourning. She was mourning for those who had lost their lives this night and…for herself and the situation she had gotten herself and her friends into. Great, now she pitied herself.

"Oh, Beast Boy," Raven thought, "please get them out soon."