Chapter 21

A/N Happy belated holidays to all of you who celebrated this past week!

Christine Dalenn: Woah, we didn't even realise we had done that until after you pointed it out. Well, at least now the title works. :P

Professor Radar: Bellatrix really hates Severus, but she also loves to "play with her food". So, she probably would have gone straight to the Dark Lord had she not found Severus trying to get back into the castle. Also, Dumbledore was upset when he was yelling at Severus. I don't think he ment to blame him for Diggle's death, he was just pointing out that on the same night Severus broke the rules, something bad happened.

Carrie: You're sappy :P.

Omar: We're not quite sure what you mean.

Bienvenue a Bikini Bottom: Our little Severus is finally growing up. ;)

Amar 2: I don't know about Bailey, but I totally agree with you about Harry and Severus being the same. I also agree with the hating James thing-he's my least favorite character out of all of the books. Well, him and Umbridge.

Frannie: I think at the time they both knew exactly what they were doing. Neither of them were better than the other even though they would never admit it. Everyone makes mistakes and that's what I believe their behavior was-a mistake.

masterlokiseverus159: Thanks for the follow!

"Alright everyone, quiet down," Dumbledore called out to the room full of people and the noise immediately began to dwindle, "We have some very important and serious issues to address tonight."

Severus stood in the empty doorway of the Potter's living room, watching the Order of the Phoenix from a distance. Dumbledore had told him to attend the Order's meeting tonight, but that didn't mean that Severus was going to jump into the middle of the group like he had been great friends with them for years.

"Now, I have called a meeting tonight to decide upon our plan of action against Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters. As you all know, they are hunting down Lily and James' son, Harry, and are very determined to do so. They will harm and kill anyone that gets in their way." A few people turned to whisper to another, undoubtedly telling their opinions on Dumbledore's words.

Severus couldn't help but notice the the differences between the Order's meeting and the ones he had attended as a Death Eater. One of these was the difference between the chattering members here and the continuous silence at every meeting from the Death Eaters. Another difference was the way the meetings themselves were conducted. The Order was not a dictatorship ruled by one rulers ideas as the Dark Lord had ruled over his Death Eaters, rather it was more like a democracy where everyone was welcome to give their ideas. Severus found the whole situation rather odd. An outburst from Sirius cause Severus to snap of of his thoughts.

"If Voldemort wants to get to Harry, he's going to have to go through all of us first," Sirius cried out, boldly, and James smiled at his long time best friend.

"We need to think up a plan to kill You-Know-Who once and for all," Frank Longbottom called from the back of the room and a few other members muttered their agreements. Severus watched their conversation continue with curiosity. What lead these Gryffindors to charge straight into battles without their heads?

"Theres only one problem," James said softly, realization opening his eyes before a defeated look enclosed his face, "We don't know how much or what Peter told You-Know-Who." The whole room stopped mid-conversation to take in this new piece of information.

"Peter would have told every piece of information he knew, willingly or not," Severus said, slightly surprising himself. Heads turned towards Severus, some acknowledging his presence for the first time in the meeting so far.

"What makes you say that?" James asked, and for the first time, Severus could only hear a hint the accusing tone he had become accustomed to and heard mostly honest curiosity. It sounded odd to him and he tried to not let it bother him too much that James was probably only talking to him civilly because he was taking part in the act to protect his son. He leaned against the door frame before answering.

"You tell the Dark Lord as much information as he wants to know whether you want to tell him or not," Severus replied darkly. "If you don't tell him everything willingly, he tortures the rest of the information out of you. If he isn't satisfied with your response, he then tortures you until you understand you need to do better the next time he gives you a job."

"And because Peter is a coward," Sirius started, "he would have told Voldemort everything he knew to avoid the pain of being tortured. I guess the pain of betraying friends doesn't affect him." Sirius spat.

"Exactly," Severus said, ignoring the last part, but something was tugging at the back of his mind. "What I still don't understand is why did the Dark Lord give Peter the Dark Mark?"

"What do you mean?" Alice Longbottom asked and others stared at him curiously.

"Doesn't every Death Eater receive the Mark?" Remus asked and Severus shook his head.

"Only whomever the Dark Lord views as his inner circle receives the Dark Mark because it is used to call meetings and not ever follower attends," Severus said as the gears in his brain churned, trying to process all the information he had been given. He thought for a moment before continuing.

"He probably told the Dark Lord everything he knew about all of you Order members and any plans you had previously made." Severus decided and he saw Dumbledore nod his head in agreement; Severus could tell he was starting to sort out information as well. "I know he was after you two," he continued, pointing at the Longbottoms. "Or at least he was interested in you for some reason. He had Rastaban Lestrange following you for quite some time so Peter most likely told the Dark Lord as much as he could about the two of you. Now that I think about it, he probably bought his way into the inner circle with information." Severus never had anything specifically against Peter, besides the fact of who he was friends with, but now the man disgusted him.

"Do...I mean...you have a Dark Mark, right?" Remus asked timidly and Severus pulled up his left sleeve to reveal the mark of Lord Voldemort. A few people drew a sharp breath and Severus immediately covered it back up. "So, it can't be removed?"

Severus rang the doorbell and Lucius Malfoy answered with a look of pride on his face. He held open the door and Severus gladly walked in.

"The Dark Lord is waiting for you in the dining room," Lucius announced.

"Thank you." Severus replied.

Severus made his way inside and followed Lucius towards the dining room he had mentioned. He had never been inside the house before and was almost in awe at the grandness of the place. He even saw a house elf, before it darted into another room off the hallway. Lucius didn't seem to notice it and held open a different door and gestured for Severus to enter. Inside, the Dark Lord sat at the head seat on the opposite side of the room from the door and almost the entire table was full of people, some that Severus knew but most that he didn't. Severus entered the room and Lucius followed him in, shutting the door behind him before taking his place at the table.

"Ah, Severus, come join us." Slowly, Severus made his way towards the Dark Lord and kneeled down at his feet.

"My Lord," he said as he bowed.

"Stand, Severus and look me in the eye." Severus complied and stood so his eyes were level with his soon to be master. The Dark Lord eye's pierced into Severus' and he felt a chill run down his spine. He had waited so long for this moment. After what seemed like an eternity, the Dark Lord turned his head to address the rest of the people in the room.

"You have all been chosen to bear the mark of your master and tonight, Severus Snape is being chosen to join you in this great honor." The Death Eaters, who looked mildly confused about Severus' presence at the meeting before now had looks of understanding and appreciation and Severus felt a rush of acceptance. This is what he wanted to be a part of. It didn't even matter to him that at 18 he was one of the youngest Death Eaters in the Dark Lord's inner circle.

Voldemort held out his hand and the Death Eaters stopped looking at Severus and turned their attention towards their master. Slowly, he picked up his wand and turned towards Severus. "Your arm, Severus." Severus could feel his heart pounding in his ears as he held out his arm and rolled up his sleeve. Voldemort placed his wand on his left forearm and Severus held his breath.

"Severus Snape," he started and he pressed his wand into the skin. Severus felt a sharp pain running up and down his arm as the Dark Lord muttered a spell under his breath. In less than a minute, he pulled away his arm and Severus saw the dark black skull with a snake coming from it's mouth: the Dark Mark. "Welcome to the Death Eaters."