Chapter 6: For The Sake of Revenge

I am what you made me, with years of abuse, so burn.

Wildfire – Sonata Arctica

Harry walked up to the dormitory and changed for bed. He was glad to be back at Hogwarts; the holidays hadn't been much fun. He walked over to the window and looked out. As he looked across the ground he saw a large shape run out across the ground.

"Lumos," he whispered. His wand lit up and he shone it towards the black shape. It was a wolf, a large black wolf and it was running across the grass towards the lake. Harry frowned, it wasn't the Fullmoon so it wasn't a werewolf, but even so, what was it doing here?

Veronique stood up, breathing heavily but smiling. She was happier than she'd been in long time. She looked around her at the lake and saw a man standing by the edge the lake, looking at her. When he saw her looking he held up his hands and showed her a small badge. This was who she had been waiting for and she walked towards him.

Harry rolled over in his sleep. That night he dreamt.

He stood in a graveyard. It was the same graveyard that Cedric had been murdered in earlier that year. There was a large circle of Death Eaters, and in the centre stood Voldemort and a girl. He couldn't see the girl's face as she had covered it with a hood, presumably to prevent people from recognising her. Voldemort was pacing around the girl, but she stared blankly ahead. Suddenly he spoke.

"You want to join us? And why should this be?" He stopped in front of her and waited. When the girl did not reply Voldemort spoke again, his lips curled upwards in a small, mocking smile. "Why would a girl like you wish to become one of us?"

She looked at him. "I want revenge," came the reply.

"Revenge?" he cried delightedly. "Revenge is a wonderful thing, it drives you, it gives you a great power, but why? Who do you want revenge on?"

She looked into his red eyes and she knew that he knew what she wanted. He knew everything that had happened to her, she knew this just by looking into the man's eyes. Harry watched as the girl stared at Voldemort before answering, and when she answered she was careful with her words.

"I want to avenge my people. I wish to avenge my father. He was believed to be in league with you, but he was not, and he was needlessly killed. I wish to kill those that tortured and killed him."

Voldemort pointed his wand at her a whispered one word. "Legilimens."

Veronique let her mind return to the day when her father had been killed. She was only three years old; her father gave her a hug and promised he would return. She believed him. A little more than an hour later she knew that something was wrong. Without any warning she disappeared, much like the day at Diagon Alley earlier in the year.

She stood in a room in an old house. Everything was covered with dust. The floor was so covered in dust she could see the foot prints. At the time she could not count, but there were ten separate sets of footprints in the dust, and one belonged to her father. Laughing as only a child would at a time like this she followed them, toddling unsteadily across the dust covered floor, adding an eleventh set of footprints to the dusty floor.

The door at the other end of the room was ajar. From in there she could see flashes of light. Then she heard a scream and knew it was her father. She screamed back and ran as fast as she could towards the door. She pushed it open a little more and saw her father writhing in pain on the floor. She screamed again and started crying, and the curse was lifted abruptly.

"What the hell? Who the hell is she?"

She ignored the speaker and ran to her father who was near death and breathing heavily on the floor. She fell down next to him and started crying. This brought him from the daze he was in and, with much pain, turned to face his daughter.

"Veronique," he whispered croakily. "Why are you here darling? You should be at home with your mother and your brother." She merely cried some more and his hand gently took hold of her tiny one. That was how he died.

She shook the spell from her. She had allowed Voldemort to see that, had she wished otherwise she certainly could have stopped him. When she looked at the Dark Lord he was nodding slowly.

"I also wish to avenge my mother's death, your own followers killed her" she continued. "And I wish to avenge myself. I was captured over a year ago as you know, by some of your own followers. I wish for them to be punished." She looked Voldemort straight in the yes to let him know she was not afraid of him.

"They would certainly be punished," Voldemort replied, smiling again. "I did not ask them to take you; indeed I was displeased when I learnt of what they had done. You are… valuable. You would be a great asset to the cause."

"I have no wish to torture muggles or half bloods or muggleborns. I am here to get my revenge, nothing more, nothing less."

Voldemort began pacing, and Harry wished that he could see the girls face as he did so. Her tone of voice seemed not to care about where she was and those she was with. Voldemort looked at her.

"Very well," he said, smiling slightly. "Brand her."

Harry started to watch as the girl pulled up her sleeve and a Death Eater began to brand her. As they did this Harry felt a white hot pain in his scar and awoke with a scream.

Snape watched as Harry related his dream to Dumbledore. The four heads of houses had been summoned to Dumbledore's office, and Snape had only just returned. He had intended to tell the Headmaster the news himself, but Potter had got there first.

When Harry had finished, Dumbledore nodded to him and said quietly, "thank you Harry, you may go now." Harry got up and when he had left Dumbledore turned to the head of Slytherin. "Well?"

Snape sighed. "Potter's right Albus. There is a new recruit."

"Can you tell me who she is? I know you know."

Snape closed his eyes. "You realise there was no way I could have stopped her? I don't think she even knew I was there. She just watched as several of us were tortured. She wants revenge and she's going to get it."

"Who is it?"

"I cannot tell you yet, I will tell another time. Give me time; we shall see what can be done to bring her round."