Author's Note: Hello all! I'm finally back. Now that it is Winter Break I have finally had time to write again. I've really enjoyed writing this chapter and bending the rules of magic just a bit. It's all in good fun. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Severus is going through some internal struggles in this chapter partly due to the events of previous chapters. This picks up right where the last chapter left off.

Disclaimer: Alas the world of Harry Potter does not belong to me, it belongs to JK Rowling.

Walking out of Minerva McGonagall's office Severus was not sure if he was more angry or hurt. He had known that people would not be open to the idea of him teaching at the school, that he should not have gotten his hopes up. It had been foolish of him to believe that he would be able to make friends here in the first place. He had brought this entire situation on himself to begin with, he had let his guard down and tried to make a friend.

Although he knew that people would scorn him he hadn't expected this from Minerva, he had thought that she was different than the others. She had been friendly and she had been kind to him from the very beginning. For the first time in years he felt he had made friends with someone he could trust. Minerva had seemed to be a kindred spirit for lack of a better term.

Obviously his assertion had been incorrect. Just like so many others would; she had seen fit to condemn him for his past. Even worse than that she still believed that he was a Death Eater. How he wished he could erase that indelible mark upon his left forearm, but there was nothing he could do about it. What was worse he had been summoned during their meeting. That had been what caused the mark on his arm to show through so strongly and suddenly.

This was something that he needed to put from his mind, he had other things to worry about, it would not do to show up to a meeting in a mood, but at this point he almost could not help it. He would not be late to another meeting, he quickly went to his rooms in the dungeons and grabbed his traveling cloak, then found his way to the Headmaster's office. He was admitted to the room immediately.

"Ah, Severus. I thought I might be seeing you this evening. I presume that you have been summoned?" The Headmaster said upon Severus' entrance into his office.

"Your presumption would be correct Headmaster." Severus replied quickly.

"See to it that you arrive promptly. Do everything that you can to fit in with them, not that it will be difficult for you to delve into your not so distant past. See that you can maintain a position as one of Voldemort's favorites." Albus said.

"If I may inquire Headmaster, why are you telling me these things?" Severus asked. "I am not an imbecile, I think we have been through these conversations before." Perhaps he was crossing the line in speaking to the Headmaster in this manner, but right now he was less than concerned with that.

"I would deem you incapable of the job if indeed you were an imbecile as you put it. I feel the need to reiterate these points because you have been somewhat distracted these past few weeks. You need to be more focused on the tasks that I have assigned you. This is a dangerous game that you are playing Severus." Albus said looking at him over his spectacles.

"I do not think that there is anyone who understands more than I what a dangerous situation this is that I am in. Do you think I would be so careless with something that could harm the entire wizarding world? Something that could be the difference between life and death for me?" Severus said emphatically.

"Need I remind you about other lives that you have endangered due to your indiscretion in the past?" Albus replied. "A certain redheaded woman and her family come to mind."

"I should be on my way." Severus said, there was no emotion or feeling in his voice.

"I believe that would be best. Report to me immediately once you have returned from this meeting. I will be waiting for you." Albus said returning to his book as Severus exited the room.

As he quickly walked through the halls of the castle to the entrance he kept thinking about the events of the afternoon and evening. He could not seem to remove these things from his mind no matter what he did. As an accomplished Occlumens he should have been able to clear his mind entirely.

Rather than calming down as he should have been able to he found that he was feeling both rather dejected and angry at the same time. Why should what they said to him matter? Why should this bother him? He had no strong connection to this, still he had begun to develop a friendship with Minerva these past few weeks. It was a shame that all of that had to end now. No matter, it should not cause problems, he could survive on his own. She had only served as a distraction from his work, he could spend more time getting things done and doing his work. This was a good thing, it could not be anything other than that.

As much as he tried to convince himself of this it was no good. Something was different about this situation, he had made a friend and because of his past actions he had lost her. Perhaps he was just the villain she had said that he was. Maybe what he was doing now could never make up for what he had done in the past. It was a difficult road that he was walking, he did not have to do as Dumbledore had asked. It would be easy enough to save his own neck if he were to rejoin the Death Eaters.

This idea left almost as soon as it had come, it was absolutely preposterous. Being removed from the influence of the Death Eaters as much as he was now had shown him what a horrible life it had been for him. He was not one of them, and teaching at the school had shown him that. After witnessing the atrocities that they had committed he could not go back to that. Many of his students had been affected by their acts of violence. To know that he had been a member of the group that had caused so much pain and damage killed him inside. Much as he hated to admit it he had begun to care for these students, not that he planned to let on about that to anyone.

Finally he had made it to Hogsmeade. taking a deep breath of fresh air to clear his head he apparated to the appointed place. On arriving he was surprised to see that he was not at Malfoy Manor, or even the outlying grounds. He found himself in a wooded clearing, the Death Eaters had started arranging themselves in circles. The smallest one being in the center and the others branching out from it. This was no ordinary meeting.

Indeed they were out in the open where they could be seen. Meetings were normally kept in secret, out of view from the rest of the world. Now it was as if the Dark Lord was flaunting his powers and the control he seemed to have over their world. This was a dangerous game that was being played, one that Severus was loathe to find himself a part of.

Looking about he found his circle and moved to join it. From what he could surmise the circles worked inwards to the closest followers. The Dark Lord's inner circle was the one in the very center. He took his place in that circle between Lucius and, unfortunately, Bellatrix. This was going to be a long evening.

"Ah, it seems that someone looked at a clock today." Lucius said as Severus joined the circle.

Rather than grace this statement with a reply Severus answered in the form of a glare. He was in no mood to deal with Lucius' prodding. From the look on the older man's face it seemed that his glare had gotten that message across.

"Looks like little Sevie's in a disagreeable mood this evening." Bellatrix said picking up on the exchange between Severus and Lucius. "Maybe it's a little bit past someone's bed time."

Severus closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He did not need Bellatrix taunting him tonight, after all he had already been through this was almost a tipping point. Although she had always made it a point to pick on him because of his age tonight was particularly annoying because of what had happened throughout his day.

"Give it a rest Bellatrix, though I am considerably younger than you are that does not make me a child." Severus replied cooly.

Tonight he did not want to put up with Bellatrix's teasing, he just wanted to get everything over with so this day could be done. To his great surprise she decided not to respond to what he said and just be quiet. She did not even put up a fight.

The Dark Lord decided to make his entrance at this point, right in the middle of their circle. He was looking even more menacing these days, it was hard to believe that this was even possible. The wicked grin on his face just served to make him look more intimidating. Many of the other people who were at this meeting were distracted by this, Bellatrix was absolutely in awe of him. Severus, however would not allow himself to be caught off guard. His mental shields were up and there they would stay.

Something was definitely different about this meeting, Severus could sense that something was going to happen, and this something was going to be big. Across the clearing he could see that there was still one space open in one of the outermost rings. As if on cue there was a pop and a young wizard appeared. Severus recognized him almost immediately, his name was Nelson and he was a relatively new recruit, only seventeen years old fresh out of Hogwarts. Barely even a man. He did not belong here, he had so much potential, that could be put to far better use elsewhere.

Nelson was the last one to arrive; Severus felt himself tense slightly. This boy did not deserve the torture that he was going to receive for being here late. Nobody deserved to be put through the pain that was the Cruciatus Curse. Especially not for such a simple offense as having been just a few minutes late.

Not a minute later the Dark Lord looked over to where Nelson was standing. "It would seem that one of our guests has arrived to the party late. Severus, would you be so kind as to show him the importance of punctuality?" he asked a sneer on his face.

Severus was slightly taken aback by this. "My lord?" He asked surprised.

"It is your chance to participate more within our little organization Severus. It is time that you had a little bit of pleasure." he replied. This was a test of loyalty, he would have to cast this curse on the boy, but still he was hesitant.

Bellatrix seemed to sense this. "Perhaps someone older, someone more mature should handle this." She said snidely. "Someone with better control of their emotions. I will gladly do it for him instead Master, after all I am capable of it."

"It is time for Severus to do this, but perhaps you are right Bellatrix, I know you will do a thorough job of it." He said. "The job is yours."

"No." Severus said impulsively. "I am quite capable of handling this on my own." He knew that in order to maintain his image of loyalty he would have to assimilate the best he could. He would also go easier on the boy than Bellatrix would have.

A pathway cleared before him as people stepped out of the way to give him room. He would have to perform this spell at close proximity. When he was within fifteen feet of the boy he raised his wand in the air. Without allowing himself to think this through anymore he uttered the dreaded curse. "Crucio"he said wand outstretched pointed towards his victim. There was absolute silence for a moment but then tortured screams of agony from the boy as he slowly crumpled up and fell to the ground.

It was unbearable for him to listen to and watch, but he held on for a little while longer, he had to. After what seemed like hours he withdrew the curse and replaced his wand before returning to his place in the circle.

"That was rather quick Severus, I would have thought you would have taken more time with this." The Dark Lord said. He seemed disappointed.

"We have a meeting to get to, I did not want to waste any more time than was necessary. We were obviously summoned here for a reason tonight." Severus replied.

"How considerate of you Severus." He replied. "I did have a very important reason for calling all of you here tonight."

A hush came over the entire gathering of people as he began to speak, they all wanted to hear what it was that their master had said.

"As all of you know our strength has been rising these past few months. The wizarding world is ours for the taking. It is within our very grasp and we shall have it." He paused here as the entire clearing full of people cheered. "As we all know the larger our territory gets to be the more people will be responsible to enforce this new rule."

"Would you like us to recruit more Master?" Bellatrix asked. "Bring in new followers?"

"That is always helpful and I do want us to continue bringing people over to our side as much as possible. However I have something else in mind. One of our missions is to purify the wizarding race. Those of you gathered here tonight have been deemed to be the best we have to offer. Each of you has traits desirable to the wizarding world, traits that if passed on would improve the wizarding race. Which brings me to my point."

"Tonight I am providing you with a chance to prove your loyalty to our cause. We will ensure the survival of our people and the next generation of our loyal supporters. This is voluntary, but those who wish to prove their loyalty will have the opportunity to make an unbreakable vow this night. How you go about fulfilling this is your prerogative, the only requirement is that you will contribute to the next generation of our cause by producing an offspring."

There were some gasps from the crowd. This was a shock to all of them, Severus as well. Of all the things that he had been expecting at a Death Eater meeting this was not one of them. For a moment no one made a move, An unbreakable vow was a very serious thing, especially one dependent on something like this. To make this vow would be to play a very dangerous game indeed.

"Severus my loyal servant," The Dark Lord said after a few minutes breaking the silence. "Perhaps you would like to be the first one to make this oath. Show the others how it is done."

Severus was slightly taken aback, as he quickly searched his brain looking for some feasible excuse not to make this vow his thoughts were interrupted by Bellatrix.

"Severus is not the one to do this my lord, he is too much of a coward, he lacks the stomach to take such a risk. He is unworthy of your attentions." She cooed egging Severus on. "He would not be up to the task."

"You underestimate me," Severus said surprising everyone, himself included, "I will make the vow." He had had enough of Bellatrix's goading this evening, on top of everything else that had occurred today this was a tipping point. She could call him young and inexperienced all she liked, but she had crossed the line. He was many things indeed, but he was not by any means a coward. He did not think of the consequences of this decision, at this point they hardly mattered to him after all he was expendable.

"Very well, who shall name the vows?" The Dark Lord implored.

Several people started to come forward but they were all overruled by Lucius Malfoy. "I will name the vows." He said authoritatively, silencing the others at once.

The two men walked to the center of the circle, Karkaroff would do the bonding. The two kneeled down facing one another and clasped their right hands together, Karkaroff standing above them with his wand out.

"Per the terms of this agreement, to further the advancement of the wizarding world will you father a child?" Lucius asked stating the first vow.

"I will." Severus replied calmly.

"Will you complete this task within a period of fifteen years from this night?"

"I will."

"Will you guide the child as you see fit to aid in the advancement of the wizarding world?"

"I will." Severus said completing the vow. The imprint left by the spell still fresh on his hand.

The next chapter will be posted soon; in which Severus will be introduced to the Order.