Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own any of the Harry Potter characters. Everything belongs to JK Rowling, and I'm merely allowed to play around with them. No copyright infringement is intended.

I know I said I probably wouldn't update today, and I wasn't planning to, but yesterday, like, just before dinner, I managed to write a whole chapter! (which is rare, because it was Tuesday and on Tuesdays I have nine hours of class straight with only half an hour lunch... And when I come home, I'll literally dead) And then this morning, I woke up, went on my computer and saw 5 reviews for the last chapter, more follows, favourites, and one person actually followed and favourited ME! So, just because I update today doesn't mean I won't do it tomorrow, since we're Wednesday and I finish at one... giving me loads of writing time.

So, I'd like to thank a guest who pointed out a calculating mistake on my part, I said Remus had ten O.W.L.'s, eight E's and 5 O's... But that's thirteen. Anyway, I corrected that mistake as soon as possible. Thank you, whoever you are! :) My usual thanks to my readers, reviewers (TheSpringLover, LK-HoGwArTs-hEaDgIrL and roseberrygirl) and all the rest of you... And I'm sorry for this awefully long Author's Note. Action packed chapter, hope you'll like it!

Chapter 9

-o-O-o-

The man tightened his long black cloak around himself as he accelerated the pace. Strands of his long, silvery blond hair escaped his hood and flew behind him as he roamed the streets of London. The Dark Lord had sent him on an important errand that day, and he didn't want to disappoint him.

As he walked past number 10, Grimmauld Place, a building started to appear out of thin air, pushing those next to it to the side. The man smiled. This was going to be easier than he thought it would. He climbed the couple of stairs that led to the door and gave a light knock. After a few minutes, a light turned on behind it and the door opened, revealing the surprised face of a middle-aged woman. "Lucius?" she asked, disbelieving.

The man smirked and lowered his hood. "The one and only." he admitted. "Good evening, Walburga. You look charming, as always."

The woman pinched her lips together. "What are you here for, Lucius? Surely you know Narcissa no longer stays here."

The man shook his head. "As a matter of fact, Walburga, it is not Narcissa whom I am looking for. I'm looking for your son."

Her face darkened marginally. "Regulus?" she asked, her voice tightening.

"Of course." he amended. "I was unaware that you had another."

She threw her nose up slightly in the air, before calling behind her shoulder. "Regulus Arcturus Black!" she yelled. "You'd better come down here soon if you want to keep your head intact! You have a guest!" she turned back to Lucius once she heard moving footsteps upstairs. "What do want with him?" she asked.

"It is not me who is in need of him Walburga," he admitted. "But the Dark Lord himself."

"The Dark Lord?" she asked, disbelieving.

He nodded. "He would like to offer Regulus a place amongst our ranks." he stressed the verb to make it clear he wouldn't take no for an answer.

However, that was not the part Walburga had noticed. "Our ranks Lucius?" she asked. He nodded, and pulled back the sleeve of his cloak to reveal his Dark Mark. Most people cowered in fear when they saw such a sign, but Walburga merely stared in fascination. When she looked back up at him, she gulped. "I was unaware you had joined this movement." she admitted.

He pulled his sleeve back as a boy came rushing down the stairs. "Well Walburga," he said as Regulus went to stand next to his mother. "I can only hope you are happy for your son."

She gave a tight lipped smile. "I am." she said, and actually sounded so.

"Mother," Regulus questioned. "What's going on here?"

"Oh, a wonderful thing, Regulus dear, a wonderful thing." she told him, stroking his hair lovingly. "You have been chosen to join the ranks of the Dark Lord. You will rid us of all the scum that layers the Earth, oh! My hero!" she kissed her son's hair, even though he was taller than her.

"All right, now, Regulus." Lucius said. "We don't want to make the Dark Lord wait any longer." Walburga let go of her son and he, now wrapped in a black velvet cloak, stepped out of the house. His mother closed the door after him, still smiling.

The two men walked down the street, and finally Regulus found his voice. "Where are we going?" he asked.

Lucius chuckled darkly, making the younger man shudder. "We're off to the hideout, of course." he stopped suddenly, and Regulus almost bumped into him from behind. "Take my hand." he said, holding it out. "I'll Apparate us there."

Regulus took he blonde's hand cautiously, not feeling very reassured. They twirled together and he felt as if he was being squeezed in a rubber tube. A way too tight, rubber tube. It only lasted for a second, but when his feet touched the ground again, he started panting and clutching his stomach, wanting to retch all over the place.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Lucius said, not even looking back at him. Regulus held in another wave and looked up. "The Dark Lord does not appreciate wimps."

Regulus took a deep breath and steadied as the urge to vomit receded. He stood up, still breathing heavily, and looked around. He recognised the place instantly: his cousin Cissy had often told him about it, and how this was where she wanted to live when she was older. Even though he had heard about it, it was still a shock to see.

Lucius smiled. "Yes, I rather like my place, too." he declared smugly, before starting towards the gate. Regulus followed. The grounds were huge, but gloomy in the dark of the night, and the sixteen year-old boy half expected a hag to jump out screeching. The inside wasn't much better either. All that dark polished wood seemed too heavy, too dense… It just didn't feel right.

But what scared Regulus the most was the high, cold voice that he heard coming from the dining room. As both men entered it, silence installed itself. Half-terrified, half-admiring, Regulus noted the presence of known faces, some coming from his own family; his cousin Bella was there, as was Cissy. Severus Snape was there too, like Avery, Crabbe and Goyle. Most of their fathers were present as well, although Orion Black himself was missing.

"Ah, Regulus." a hiss came from the end of the table. His eyes travelled towards its origin and he almost wanted to puke again. The man had a gaunt, pale face, with sunken features and bright, crimson eyes. He may have been handsome once, but that time was far gone. "We have been expecting you." His voice was barely more than a whisper, yet everyone in the room could hear it loud and clear.

Regulus shuddered inwardly and threw himself to one knee, facing the ground. "My Lord." he acknowledged his presence.

"Yes, Regulus." the voice came. It sounded inhuman, almost snake-like. "You have been called here to have a chance to join this fight against the filthy blood that taunts us and dirties the land of our fathers. Would you like such a place?"

As he registered the words, another voice popped up in his mind. 'Don't do anything stupid'. He breathed heavily and cursed Hermione Granger for saying that to him. "It would be an honour, My Lord." he said, trying to ignore the Mudblood's voice in his head.

"Stand up, Regulus." the voice said. The Slytherin did as he was told, and was once again faced with the abomination that ruled this place. Lord Voldemort stood up too, and declared with his snake-like hiss: "We will now proceed with the initiation."

All the Death Eaters stood up, then, and followed the Dark Lord out of the room, and into a corridor. Regulus followed the movement. As they walked down to the dungeons, Bella came up to him and declared. "You did well, Regulus." she was not much older than him, a couple of months, at the most, but still wore her mark proudly by the hem of her sleeve. She was rather small, but her extremely curly hair made up most of the height difference between them. "I am proud to call you my cousin."

Regulus' thoughts drifted to Sirius, then, and his voice rang in his ears: 'You are no brother of mine!' He shook his head. "Thank you, Bella." he said stiffly. "It means a lot to me."

She nodded and went back to take her place at the top of the line. The whole crowd entered a large, circular room, where a stone hostel stood in the middle. The tiled floor was littered with different layers of blood, although Regulus did not want to think about whose it may have been.

The Dark Lord sat down on a throne in the far side of the room, and declared: "Now, let the ritual begin."

Lucius came up to him and said "Take off you shirt." Regulus removed his cloak and shirt, leaving him only in his trousers and shoes. He shivered slightly as Lucius took his clothing and placed it in a corner of the room. The humidity of these dungeons could be felt and he wondered whether he would be sick in the morning.

Bella took over after that. She took his hand and led him to the hostel and motioned for him to lie down. As he obeyed her wordless command, he was reminded of the Hogwarts Hospital Wing, with Madam Pomfrey fussing over him as he argued with her. She held both of his arms out and strapped all of his members tightly to the stone hostel, before regaining her place among the ranks.

The Dark Lord waved his wand, and some stones on his right started moving. Once they formed a large hole in the wall, the Death Eaters around him started chanting a gloomy incantation.

Lord Voldemort made a spitting, hissing sort of noise and out of the wall slithered a huge, black snake. Regulus' blood froze. The thing was about a foot thick and over ten feet long, with a head the size of a football, although not as round. He tried struggling against his bonds, but he was too tightly strapped.

The chants increased in volume as the creature inched closer, slithering to the left of the stone hostel. Sweat broke out on Regulus' forehead despite the cold, and Granger's voice rang in his head once more. 'Don't do anything stupid!' He almost wanted to punch that girl. What's her definition of stupid anyway?

The snake obeyed its master's command and raised its head for it to come to about Regulus' height. The latter noticed the darkness of the reptile: It was darker than a shadow at night in a dark room. Pure black, so dark you could barely see the outline of its scales.

Granger voice was repeating itself now. 'Don't do anything stupid!' The snake opened its jaws to reveal two shining fangs, as long as cutlasses. At this sight, Regulus almost fainted.

The chants got louder and louder, but he hardly noticed, what with the snake positioning itself high above his left forearm and Granger's voice still saying: 'Don't do anything stupid.'

Suddenly, the creature's head snapped down, embedding both fangs deep in his flesh. Regulus' back arched of the table and he let out a piercing scream, the chants still getting louder.

'Don't do anything stupid.' He felt the venom seep through his veins, although he could no longer see a thing, his eyes clamped shut as the agony wracked his body in waves.

'…do anything stupid.' The creature didn't appear to be moving, both fangs still pouring more and more venom in his bloodstream. Amongst the chants, he could hear something else, but couldn't quite put his finger on it.

'…do anything stupid.' The bonds seemed to tighten around his wrists and ankles, or maybe it was just his thrashing that made them dig in his flesh.

'…anything stupid.' The pain was becoming so intense his eyes opened with the speed of light and he managed to shut his mouth, biting on his tongue and drawing blood to be able to catch his breath.

'…anything stupid.' Voldemort's cold laughter rang around the room, but he could barely discern it from the increasing volume of the chanting, now more sounding like hysterical screeching.

'…thing stupid.' He twisted his head to the side as he choked on his own blood, splattering it on the snake's face. It didn't seem to mind.

'…thing stupid.' He saw with horror the ebony venom seeping into his flesh, forming the distinct outline of the snake and skull and he started thrashing again.

'…stupid.' Granger said. '…stupid…stupid…stupid.' The chants reached an end. Voldemort stopped laughing. Pain, pain, pain. Slowly, although that was just a matter of perspective, the snake extracted its fangs from Regulus' forearm and went to lie back down on the cold stone tiles. '…stupid.' Blood started seeping from the two perfectly circular holes on his arm. '…stupid.' Voldemort was grinning from ear to ear as the snake slithered back in its lair. '…stupid.' Regulus looked back at his forearm. The Dark Mark pulsed.

Everything went black.

-o-O-o-

That was predictable. And spooky. *shivers* But, after all, it is rated M. :)

I mean, I had to re-read OoTP and DH to know when he would get Marked, and he was sixteen, according to Kreacher. That would be after his fifth year, which is… well, now.

Also, I do have a problem: in OoTP, it is said that Regulus died fifteen years ago, which would have been in 1980. But in DH, it says that Regulus died a year after joining, which would have been in 1978. I don't know which to follow, and a little help might be nice, because I wanted his 'date of death' (for the purpose of this story) in 1979…

Any, as always, I love reviews, and I promise mot to scold you if I get loads. :) Have a nice afternoon and… That's it guys.

Edit: I got a review from a guest telling me Regulus was in the end of his fourth year. Wrong! In chapters 1 and 2, it is mentioned that the Marauders and Lily are in sixth year, Hermione in fifth, and therefore Regulus in fifth too. I made Mary in fifth because I wanted to and it is never mentioned that she was in the same year as Lily is. Plus, how could Remus have his O.W.L. results if Hermione doesn't have hers? I hope I made that clear, see you guys! :p