Hannah felt her insides drop. It felt impossible to breathe. The whole world stood still. Her entire body turned numb. She watched in horror as Adrian's body slowly collapsed to the ground. She couldn't take her eyes off him; she hardly noticed the woman grab hold of her arm.
"Accio!" the woman shouted to Adrian's body. His lifeless corpse flew in their direction. The moment his body collided, Hannah felt her insides lurch as the Hogwarts grounds disappeared from view.
Hannah's knees gave way as she landed on dusty wooden floorboards. She could see Adrian's corpse in the corner of her eye. She turned to look at his body with a pang; his eyes were wide open, staring at nothing but death. The pang turned to agony; she was never going to talk to Adrian ever again. She had finally felt happiness. She had finally felt love. She finally felt like she belonged. And now all of that was ripped from her in a heartbeat. Her thoughts reeled faster and faster as her heart hurt more and more, until eventually she felt numb. She couldn't handle it anymore. It was too much.
"And we meet again." The woman spoke from behind her. Hannah closed her eyes to steel herself. She can't look weak now.
"Even the Azkaban dementors couldn't tolerate your presence?" Hannah said in the strongest voice she could muster.
"Still the pain in the ass daughter that I remember." Suzanna snorted. Hannah took a deep breath. Goodbye Adrian, she thought, before she lifted herself to her feet. Hannah turned to face Suzanna.
"What do you want?" Hannah stood as tall as her small stature allowed as she looked Suzanna in the eyes. Hannah felt the anger emanating from Suzanna as she delved into her thoughts. She was jealous. She wanted nothing more than to kill Hannah right then and there. The Dark Lord wanted to recruit new members, but Suzanna wanted to be the centre of attention. Hannah took satisfaction in this; she wanted to make Suzanna's life as miserable as possible.
"I don't want anything." She spat. "The Dark Lord wants to talk to you, but I'm sure he'll find you just as unworthy as I do." Hannah looked around as if expecting to see Voldemort lurking in the shadows. The room was a sinister amalgamation of aged wood and decay. The scent of dampness was suffocating, intermingling with a pervasive odour of mould that suggested a lifetime of abandonment. Off to the side of the room was a skeletal staircase that looked to descend into the bowels of hell. That must be where Voldemort is, she thought.
"I'm more worthy than you." Hannah retorted bitterly. Any moment now, she'll be face to face with Voldemort. No. The Dark Lord. Any moment now, she would be face to face with the Dark Lord. If she isn't to ruin everything for Snape, she'll need to get her shit together. She'll need to convince the Dark Lord to recruit her. She ignored the squirming inside her as she steeled herself once more. Suzanna shoved Hannah sharply towards the stairs. The descent down the steps felt eternal. Hannah pushed the cellar door open to reveal a room with an air so dreadful that she thought her insides might freeze. At the end of the room stood a cloaked figure that exuded a combined aura of immense power and overwhelming malevolence. Hannah forced her feet one in front of the other towards Voldemort, her mother at her heels. The figure lowered its hood as the pair approached to reveal sickly pale skin that stretched across a sharp, angular face punctured by slitted nostrils.
"My daughter, my Lord." Suzanna pushed Hannah forwards while bending in a deep bow. Hannah bowed, too.
"And what's your name?" His sharp voice had a welcoming undertone, as if coached through decades of persuasion. Hannah looked up at Voldemort's gaunt face and stifled a shudder before looking at his deep red, slit-like eyed.
"Hannah. My Lord." She announced in the bravest voice possible.
"I see." Hannah felt Voldemort lick at her thoughts. He was trying to penetrate her mind. Hannah let her anger and hatred spill over while dissociating the rest of her emotions. This wasn't remotely difficult for her, given she felt nothing but numbness and anger. She concentrated on thoughts about how much she hated humans. Yes, it was humans that made her life miserable once again. She would stop at nothing to make people suffer for taking the only good thing she ever had. Hannah saw Voldemort's eyes flicker with fire. "Excellent." He said hungrily. "You will fit in well." Voldemort continued to stare into Hannah's eyes. "She has even more fire than you, Suzanna." He said, without taking his eyes off Hannah. Hannah felt Suzanna drip with resentment by her side. "And Hannah, you wish to join my ranks? You wish to seek revenge on those who have wronged you? You wish to learn great power, to bring anguish down on your greatest foes?" Hannah felt her fists clenched as she thought about how she would like nothing more than to destroy the woman standing next to her.
"I want nothing more than to join you. My Lord." Voldemort took Hannah's hand and pulled up her sleeve. He caressed her arm as if admiring the magical blood bubbling with hatred that ran beneath her skin. Hannah suppressed another shiver. He licked his lips hungrily as he drew his wand from his pocket. Voldemort pushed his wand hard into Hannah's left forearm as a snake slithered under her skin. The snake pushed its way through her flesh, creating a pain so agonizing that Hannah fought her body to stay conscious. The snake looped up her arm, trailing a deep black scar across her skin. With one violent bite, the snake tore through her flesh, leaving behind not a wound, but a human skull.
"Hannah", he hissed, "welcome to my ranks. You will prove most useful at Hogwarts." Voldemort bent down and kissed the dark mark that stained her skin. For a brief moment, Hannah understood why so many had found the Dark Lord so alluring.