Chapter 8 : Dark Arts temptation

The Christmas holidays were finally coming to an end, announcing the return to Hogwarts by the Hogwarts Express which would leave King's Cross Station on Sunday morning at eleven o'clock. Akira had finished her internship at the Ministry of Magic in the Auror Office the day before, so nothing held her back in London and she could go back to her student life. However, before letting her go, it was decided by Moody that her memories on the top-secret files that he was constituting on suspicious wizards should be erased with the help of an Obliviator.

"So that this information won't put yourself or others at risk of getting killed for them." Moody justified himself without realizing that his words weren't really reassuring.

But Akira could keep the memories of her two-weeks internship. That was nice as she learnt a lot about Aurors' ways of working and she knew now all the people from this department. That could be useful if one day she was in trouble. However, the faces of the criminals that Moody was tracking down were completely gone, meaning that she wouldn't be able to recognize them in the street if she ever happened to cross their path.

Anyway, Akira didn't care about that as she had other concerns. Namely going back to Konoha while she was still in London. Indeed, that was easier to join her home village from there than escaping from Hogwarts which was highly secured. During the Christmas holidays, Akira had doubts about her ability to succeed in taking revenge on the ninja who was responsible for Matsuo and Tatsuno death, especially after seeing all these trained Aurors having trouble to arrest a bunch of villains. However, she quickly set up her mind on taking her revenge even though it was going to be hard as her only other option was going back to Hogwarts to wait for time to pass.

Akira thought that at the end of her internship, Moody and his colleagues – who had been watching her closely when she was occupying their office – would leave her alone, perfect for her to disappear into thin air. But Moody – who was acting on Dumbledore's orders – always managed to put obstacles in her way so that she didn't succeed in escaping from the Leaky Cauldron where she resided. His goal was to put her on the train that would take her back to Hogwarts, so that was what awaited her. And Tolfius - as well as some of their Ministry colleagues - would lend him a hand to supervise her when Moody didn't have the time to do so.

Akira - who knew the face of all the Aurors after spending several days among them – was recognising them as they were watching over her from afar at the Leaky Cauldron. She was also spying on them to catch a moment of inattention on their part to flee. But being real professionals, these Aurors or Tolfius would stop her when they noticed that she was too close from the exits leading to Charring Cross Road or Diagon Alley.

Akira only got a real chance on Sunday morning, as she was reading a book on the Great Wizards of the Twentieth Century that she borrowed to pass time after her breakfast until Moody escorted her to King's Cross Station. Indeed, the Auror who was watching her – a certain Dawlish, a tough-looking guy with short and wiry grey hair – regularly looked at his watch impatiently, as if he was expected somewhere. This must have been the case since he ended up getting up from his chair with an annoyed look on his face before striding out of the room.

Akira watched Dawlish get away out of the corner of her eye, then she scanned the surroundings to make sure that the people in the inn weren't Aurors. As it wasn't the case, she put her book down, got up from her chair and headed towards the entrance door as discreetly as possible. But as she was about to put her hand on the handle, it flew open to let in someone that she never expected to see again.

It was Rookwood, the mysterious wizard who had come in the Auror Office to look through Moody's secret files when the latter was away. But Akira was present in the office that day, and Rookwood had been threatening towards her so that she would reveal to him where these sensitive files were hidden but she hadn't told him anything. He only left when Tolfius intervened to rescue Akira from him.

This event happened only two days ago but Rookwood seemed to have completely forgotten this incident as he displayed a smile when he saw Akira.

"Miss Chitsute, it's precisely you that I wanted to find. I've been asked to escort you to King's Cross Station." He informed her out of nowhere.

"No, it's Moody who's in charge of taking me there." Akira replied automatically as it was what the latter had advised her.

She then took a step back but Rookwood grabbed her shoulder to prevent her from leaving. He had lost his more or less jovial demeanour and had become more harsh in the way he was speaking to her.

"Moody has something more important to do than protect a Hogwarts student who thinks that she deserves a highly skilled Auror as her lackey. So now, you're going to follow me without making a fuss."

"And you, you're going to leave me alone without a fuss otherwise, you'll regret the day on which you crossed my path at the Ministry." Akira snapped at him while freeing herself from his grasp.

Determined to leave the Leaky Cauldron despite this troublemaker who was bothering her, Akira tried to push him out of the way to be able to go through the door but at the same time, Rookwood took out his magic wand to point it at her.

"Imperio !" He whispered so that no other customers from the Leaky Cauldron would hear him.

Akira was surprised to be attacked like this, by this guy from the Ministry in broad daylight. However, she no longer thought about it when the invisible spell took effect. To tell the truth, she no longer thought about anything as all her worries and thoughts flew away, leaving her brain completely empty. And it wasn't unpleasant, especially since it made her forget the death of Tatsuno and Matsuo and all the grief that she went through since that fateful day.

The respite was short-lived as a distant voice resonated in her head, giving her precise instructions.

"Follow Rookwood without asking any question."

"No, I don't want to." A louder voice which was the one of Akira replied.

"Follow Rookwood without asking any question."

"No."

"Follow Rookwood without asking any question."

"I said no."

"Follow Rookwood without asking any question."

"Follow Rookwood without asking any question."

"Follow Rookwood without asking any question…"

The remote voice became so insistent that Akira gave up. After all, Rookwood was a member of the Ministry, of the Department of Mysteries, and if she couldn't trust him, where was the world going ?

Akira remained still, waiting on Rookwood to take her to King's Cross Station as the latter seemed satisfied that his spell had worked. He put his wand away and looked around the room but no one was interested in them. So he grabbed Akira by the arm and dragged her through the place until reaching the courtyard and then Diagon Alley which was starting to fill with people as the rainy and cold morning was progressing.

Rookwood guided her to an alleyway that Akira had never taken in her life – it didn't help that she had never noticed it before - and which was called Knockturn Alley, from what an old wooden sign that stood above a shop said. Having vaguely heard from Moody about this shabby place that was frequented by questionable people, Akira simply followed Rookwood without asking the slightest question, like "why aren't we heading towards King's Cross Station ?". She was docile but her kidnapper, who didn't seem very calm, forced her to walk faster.

"Come on, keep moving !" He ordered her while pushing her unceremoniously in front of him.

"It would be easier if you tell me where we're going." Akira pointed out as it wasn't a question that she couldn't formulate thanks to the curse that she had received.

"Shut up and get in there." Rookwood told her once they arrived in front of a shop called Borgin and Burkes that had dirty shop windows filled with creepy objects.

Akira did as she was said and found herself face to face with the seller who was running this sinister place. He was in no better condition than his shop, with his hunched back and tangled shoulder-length hair that was falling across his forehead, but he immediately displayed a false smile when he saw Rookwood entering after Akira.

"Ah, Mr. Rookwood. It's a pleasure to see you again. The order that you placed last week is ready…"

"Not now, Mr. Borgin. I've an important matter to attend to." He advised him sharply while taking a shrunken head on a table that was covered with them. "I'll just take this. Put it on my bill and now, leave us alone."

"As you wish, Mr. Rookwood." Borgin added politely before going in the back room while whispering some words that were less cordial.

Rookwood waited till he disappeared completely before turning his attention back to the shrunken head that he was holding in his hand. He put it back on its table, took his wand and cast a spell on it that made the gloomy object move before it became completely still again. Akira had already witnessed such spell, when Tolfius had transformed a chain into a Portkey to have her escape from the cellar in which she had been locked by Death Eaters two years ago. It was to save her life but with Rookwood, Akira doubted that he would send her to a safe place.

"Take it." Rookwood then ordered her while threatening Akira with his wand which confirmed her guess that the shrunken head was now a Portkey.

She even heard now the remote voice in her head saying "Take it. Take it. Take it.", making it really tempting to do so. But a Portkey to go where ? She would have liked to know but couldn't ask as the previous order that was still resonating in her head made it clear that she must keep her mouth shut. The only thing she could do was obediently take the shrunken head and so did she. And immediately, she left Borgin and Burkes as well as Rookwood – which was quite a relief – to reach a foreign place.

The apprehension was getting to her, and it was far more unpleasant than the awful sensation of the Portkey. She was dragged by force to an unknown place as everything was blurry around her and the wind was preventing her from hearing anything. It was only when her feet finally found the hard floor – leading to her crashing face down on a moth-eaten carpet and letting go of the shrunken head – that she could get an idea of her surroundings. From what she could hear, a fire was lit in the fireplace that was right behind her. And from what she could see, she arrived in a dark and dusty room.

The dizziness that Akira still felt after this chaotic journey with the Portkey was nothing compared to all the thoughts that suddenly came rushing back into her head as the spell that Rookwood had cast on her at the Leaky Cauldron seemed to have vanished. And immediately, she panicked while realizing that she should never have obeyed Rookwood as the latter didn't keep his promise to bring her to King's Cross Station. She was now lost, in a place that she didn't know and in the presence of a stranger as she spotted feet covered with a cape at the base of a worn armchair that was standing in front of her. This realization made Akira's blood run cold but not as much as the icy voice that suddenly broke the silence of the room.

"Good. I see that Rookwood did the job that was asked of him. He will be rewarded for this. Now, stop prostrating yourself in front of me so we can get to know each other." It said slowly while Akira got back on her feet to see who she was dealing with.

Her senses were in alert and she took her magic wand as fast as she could to be able to attack or defend herself if necessary. But she was no match for her opponent who was surely a highly skilled wizard as he cast a powerful Expelliarmus on her hand, which ripped her wand from it and almost some of her fingers due to the force of the blow. Akira's wand went flying at the other end of the room and she was now defenceless against someone who was greatly displeased by her audacity. At least, that was the impression that she got as she couldn't see his face covered by a large hood from a black wizarding robe that was covering all his body. She was just able to spot dark eyes glowing in the light of the flames burning weakly in the fireplace and they were focused on her.

This stranger might have been threatening towards her but Akira wasn't the type of person to be impressed by anyone, especially after the death of the twins which had replaced her restraint by aggressiveness. So she stood up to her full height and didn't blink as she held his gaze while he pursued the discussion.

"I am Lord Voldemort, the greatest wizard that this world knows. I am feared by everyone as I use power to eradicate the presence of the Muggles in our community by all mean. And you, you're a filthy Mudblood that studies at Hogwarts. A nobody that I should never have heard of as you were confined to your school during years like hundreds of other students. However, I'm regularly informed of events concerning you. Since your first year, you're a threat for my followers who are at Hogwarts, teachers or students. They tried to kill you but they failed miserably. Therefore, I decided to belittle myself to succeed in this unworthy task, once and for all. I was even interested in meeting you after I learnt recently that you had access to the files done by the Aurors on people that are working for me. I would have liked to pull this information out of you before killing you but I see that they've erased your memory of it so you're no longer of any use to me." The person added with delectation as it meant that he could get rid of her immediately.

Cold sweat began to run down Akira's spine as she got shocked to find herself in front of the most feared wizard in the world. Especially after seeing his name several times in the Daily Prophet for the atrocities that him or his followers committed. However, she didn't show anything about her fear by convincing herself in her mind that she could have a chance against him. Even a tiny one. No doubt that with a blow of chakra blade across the throat, she would kill him quickly, even if it was Voldemort…

"You want to challenge me ?" The latter suddenly announced to the amazement of Akira who hadn't made the slightest movement yet that could suggest her intention. "And with techniques that are unknown to me ? Obviously, I did the right thing in letting you live a few more minutes in my presence instead of killing you right away. Where did you learn to produce this kind of powerful energy without your magic wand ?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Akira finally said nervously as Voldemort was inspiring her with terror like she had rarely experienced in her life.

"This green energy, which you use as you wish to mutilate or heal. Who taught you this, or where did you acquire it ?"

Noticing that Voldemort was talking about chakra even though Akira had never mentioned its name or used it in front of him, she began to fear that he was reading in her mind like in an open book. Because if that was the case, she couldn't hide anything from him about Konoha, her family or even the tragic death of the twins. And each of these points appeared clearly in her head. If only she could stop thinking about them…

"But this ability comes at a price." Voldemort announced slowly. "The lives of your two dearest friends. I had rarely seen people being murdered with such barbarity before. I prefer using the Killing Curse. It's instantaneous and cleaner than slit throats. But from where you come from, it seems that all means are good to get rid of an enemy…"

"Stop it !" Akira exclaimed before falling silent just as suddenly.

Indeed, if she showed him any weakness or any attachment to someone or something, he would use it against her. That was how criminals got their way, whether they were wizards or ninjas. But Voldemort didn't really pay attention to her sudden outburst.

"It's undoubtedly with this green energy that you managed to interfere in the work that my followers were doing at Hogwarts." He said with annoyance in the voice. "I should torture you until you beg me to spare your life, then I should kill you in the most painful way possible as revenge. Only if I do that, I risk losing an undeniable and above all rare asset, because I had never met anyone with your powers before."

"What asset ?"

"You. If you join my ranks, I could put the same threat on Dumbledore than you put on me and my Death Eaters."

This unexpected statement surprised Akira to no end.

"You want to… recruit me instead of killing me in excruciating pain ? And what makes you think that I'll accept ? I would rather die than joining the Dark Arts." She advised him without even thinking twice about this choice.

"I know that your life has little value to your eyes. But the one of your two friends that were merciless killed was of inestimable value to you. And it turns out that I know a way to bring them back to life." Voldemort offered.

"It's impossible. I'm a doctor and even with the powers that you envy me, I can't do anything about it. Even if I would have liked to." Akira immediately replied while holding back tears at the mention of this fatality.

"In ordinary magic, there's no way to revive the dead either. But dark magic has managed to go beyond the concept of life and death to create beings who can't be destroyed and who become immortal. If you want to see your friends again one day, you'll have to join this side – my side – where death is nothing more than a bad memory."

"Dark magic ? Dumbledore rather teaches us to defend ourselves against it and stay far away from it." Akira commented as she was beginning to find Voldemort's words very tempting.

"And did he offer to bring your friends back to you ? Did he at least understand how much you suffered from their disappearance ? That you thought about it constantly and felt responsible for their death ? No. He turned his back on you and you're angry at him for that. Whereas I offer you what is dearest to your heart on a platter. In return, it would be normal for you to be loyal to me, rather than to this doting and selfish old wizard." Voldemort added resentfully.

"And what exactly do you expect from me ? That I kill every Muggle-Born that I meet at school ? That I join your band of apprentice Death Eaters who wanted to assassinate me last year ?" Akira wondered.

"No, you won't have to get your hands dirty. I want you to remain the student that Dumbledore and the Aurors trust, so that they don't have suspicions about you joining my followers. And to be sure that they won't find out, I recommend that you don't meet their gaze for too long. Especially with Dumbledore, as he's capable of reading your mind just like I'm doing right now."

"What ?" Akira exclaimed in shock before quickly looking down at the ground to put an end to the connection.

"It's no longer of any use." Voldemort mocked. "I've read your intentions in your heart and I'm assured that you won't betray me in order to see again your precious friends so unfairly killed."

"Then, if you know everything about me, you're aware that I don't want to go back to Hogwarts. I've a revenge to take and it can't wait." Akira dared to say even though she knew that disobeying Voldemort's orders would inevitably displease him.

However, the latter kept his same icy tone without even raising his voice.

"You'll have your revenge after you've been useful to me. I'll even teach you the Killing Curse myself if you prove docile and as effective in thwarting Dumbledore's plans as you were in mine. Because that's what your mission at Hogwarts will be. I want you to find out about Dumbledore's next move against me. Anything that could stop my progression. I need to know as much as I can about this old wizard and the Aurors that are around him."

The former Akira – the one who hadn't been traumatized by the death of Matsuo and Tatsuno – wouldn't have even reached this level of discussion with Voldemort. No, she would have already run away, attacked him or probably died instead of listening to his offer. But since the old Akira had disappeared at the same time as the twins, helping Voldemort seemed very tempting to her, especially with all the resentment that she had against Dumbledore who was keeping her prisoner at Hogwarts against her will of revenge.

At least, Voldemort understood her and wanted to help get the twins back in exchange of some information. It wasn't a very expensive price, especially since the conflict between the wizarding world and Voldemort wasn't Akira's conflict. She already had a war to deal with in Konoha and no one from the Ministry of Magic or Hogwarts was going to help her resolve it. It was each for himself.

"I'll help you if you keep your word and bring Matsuo and Tatsuno back to life." Akira summed up the deal carefully.

"I always rightly reward my most loyal followers." Voldemort replied as an answer. "Now, you can go pick up your magic wand and return to London the way you came. It's not eleven o'clock yet, so you can take the Hogwarts Express like the other students to not raise any suspicion about your whereabouts."

"I just have one question. How can I transmit to you what I discover at Hogwarts ? Because no way seems safe without Dumbledore knowing."

"The easiest way to communicate is when you're at Hogsmeade. Go to the Hog's Head Inn and pass on what you know to Rookwood. He'll be waiting for you there at every organized outing and it's better for you that you don't miss any of them with worthy information." Voldemort advised her in a threatening tone that made Akira fear for her life if she ever happened to disappoint him. "If this point is clear, you can take the Portkey and catch the train."

Akira – who wanted to quickly leave the gloomy room and its occupant who was none other than the most feared Dark Arts wizard of all time – obeyed. She went to take her magic wand under the gaze of Voldemort who was holding his wand firmly in case Akira felt the urge to attack him, then she returned in front of him to take the shrunken head that was lying on the ground. As soon as she did, everything went blurry around her as she was taken back to Borgin and Burkes. But once she reached this place, the unpleasant feeling that she had in her stomach during the travel staid as she was slowly realising in which mess she was.

Hello dear readers,

Indeed, in which mess did Akira get herself involved ? Not a good one, you don't make a deal with Voldemort without any consequences. But you have to admit that he knows how to talk to convince someone to do what he wants. Being a Legilimens also helps, it's easy for him to find what's the dearest thing to someone's heart to then promise it as a reward.

I took inspiration for this chapter from the various encounters between Harry and Voldemort. In the first film, he promised him to bring his parents back to life if he gave him the Philosopher's Stone. In the fourth one, he took Harry to the graveyard with a Portkey before humiliating the latter instead of killing him right away and so on. In the next chapter, I don't know where I'll take my inspiration from but it will be published at the end of the month anyway.