The clock struck nine.

Night fell. Lily Evans breathed deeply and pulled her fiery red hair out of her eyes and into a ponytail. She couldn’t afford to have her vision blocked now. She and her best friend, Rebecca Edwards, were soon to undertake the biggest risk of their lives. They were to become Death Eaters as part of a mission for the Order of the Phoenix, an organization that went against every the Death Eaters believed in. The Order needed members to infiltrate the Death Eaters and tell the Order what their plans were. That way, the Order could hopefully save many innocent lives.

The clock struck ten.

Lily wasn’t exactly sure whether or not they would allow her to become a Death Eater. She was, after all, a Muggle-born, and the Death Eaters were all about purity of blood. Despite his immense power, however, Voldemort sorely lacked in loyal followers. Most Death Eaters were ones that he could not trust if his back was turned. If he truly believed that a Muggle-born followed him, he might make an exception.

The clock struck eleven.

“Lily?” a quiet voice asked. Lily turned her head to her right, where her best friend, Rebecca Edwards, sat playing with her long black hair.

“What, Becca?” Lily replied quietly.

“I’m terrified.” As though Becca’s words had infected her, Lily was suddenly filled with terror. Who was she kidding? She wouldn’t be able to make it through the night. She wouldn’t be allowed to be a Death Eater. She wasn’t strong enough. Her blood wasn’t pure enough.

The clock tolled again.

The clock.

Time was betraying her. Moments ago, it had said eleven. Now, it was eleven thirty. Only a half an hour before she was supposed to become a Death Eater.

One minute to midnight. Time to meet the Dark Lord. Lily stood up. She gave Becca a hug and wished her luck. She’ll need it, Lily thought. She’s terrified and she has another four hours to wait. Taking a deep breath, Lily Apparated.

She landed in a predetermined destination spot- Knockturn Alley. Pulling her black cloak tighter around herself, Lily walked quickly to the door of a pub nearby. It was hidden so well, any other time she would have walked right past it. Wedged between Borgin and Burkes and an apothecary of sorts, the peeling letters on the door advertised… Well, she didn’t know. The Death Eater who had given her the location hadn’t named it, just told her its location. Lily took a deep breath and walked through the door.

Immediately, someone slipped a blindfold over her eyes and stuffed her ears with wax. Blind and deaf, Lily felt hands pushing her, always pushing her. Towards what, or away from what, she did not know.

The hands stopped. She was spinning, probably traveling through the Floo Network. As the spinning stopped, the hands began again.

Momentarily, the wax was removed. Then the blindfold was slipped off. And, there right in front of her, was Lord Voldemort himself.

***
Having been told by Dumbledore that Lord Voldemort would probably use Legilimency against her, Lily immediately threw up her Occlumency shields- but only around memories that had to do with the Order. Everything else, she left for him to see. She did not want to seem as if she was hiding something.

Lily felt him probing her mind. In contrast with Dumbledore, who always began the approach into her mind slowly, Lord Voldemort quickly shoved his way in. Lily struggled to keep her shields up.

Even worse, then Lord Voldemort began asking her questions aloud. Some had to do with her memories, some did not. Either way, it was horrible. Lily never was good at multitasking; the pressure of keeping her shields up, trying not to think about the man going through her memories, and answering the questions aloud was almost more than she could bear. Memories flashed past her eyes. James, asking her out in her fifth year, when she still hated him; Petunia, chasing her, her eyes blazing with fury; Petunia again, with her horrible boyfriend Vernon; Prefect duty with Remus; Head duties with James; laughing with Becca; the memories flashed faster and faster until they were just a blur. Lord Voldemort was still asking questions. Her Occlumency shields were still up. Then, suddenly, Lily felt nothing.

A shadow picked up what appears to be a brand. Lily knew it would be the magical item- whatever it was- that would brand her with the Dark Mark forever. She pulled up her sleeve. She had to do this, she reminded herself. For the good of the Order, for the world, she had to do this.

Lord Voldemort approached her with the brand. He was only moments away from branding her… when he paused.

“Scum, what do you hope to offer the me, the Dark Lord, in return for my granting you entrance into this prestigious group of my faithful followers?”

Lily inhaled sharply. She could boast about being able to give him inside information to the Order. But Dumbledore had warned her about things like this…

***
“Remember, Lily. No matter what you do, do not lie in Tom’s presence. He has become such an accomplished Legilimens that he can tell when you are lying even without using Legilimency directly,” Dumbledore said seriously. The comforting twinkle in his eye was gone. “ Never lie to him, or he shall become infuriated and deny you entrance to the Death Eaters. If you fail to gain entrance to the Death Eaters, it will cause Becca even more pressure. She will feel that she must gain entrance so that we have a spy, and if she feels pressure…” Dumbledore paused. He did not seem to want to complete the sentence for fear of making her scared.

“She won’t do well. She’ll get tongue-tied and flustered and forget to keep her shields up and Voldemort will… will kill her,” finished Lily.

“Exactly. Do you see what I’m talking about? You will face him first. Your success will affect Becca’s success. You must not lie.”

***
Lily looked into the man’s merciless red eyes. She swallowed. “I could… I could help heal others. I’m studying to become a Healer. I could heal Death Eaters quickly, whenever they get injured, and they wouldn’t have to waste time getting to St. Mungo’s or thinking up a cover story.” Lily took a deep breath.

She hoped that would be good enough for him.

She didn’t have much time to hope.

One second after she replied, the room changed. It was unbelievable. Sometimes, magic still awed her. This was one of those times. The room turned from a room full of Death Eaters and Lord Voldemort into a room that was entirely empty.

The walls were gleaming from the light of the single candle provided. They must be wet, Lily thought. I don’t even want to think about what they’re wet with.

Suddenly, black smoke appeared. Slowly, it turns itself into letters. The letters turned into words.

To prove your claim
That you can heal
Is not an easy task.
Attack it with zeal.

What’s a fierce animal
And a fiercer disease
Whose inflicted can kill
With a simple sneeze?

In order to succeed,
You must tell me the cure
To this horrible illness
That dragon keepers can procure.

“A riddle,” Lily said. “I have to figure out the riddle. The first verse is saying that I have to prove that I’m not lying. The second verse… A fierce animal and a fiercer disease… Deadly sneezes… DRAGON POX! Dragons are fierce… and if you get Dragon Pox late in life it can be deadly… and if the person who has Dragon Pox sneezes, it can set things on fire, including people, and if the person isn’t extinguished they can die!

“Now… to heal Dragon Pox, one must have a Cooling Charm placed on them so they don’t overheat, and be given an Anti-Flammability Drought so they don’t catch on fire, and they need to be kept separate from anyone who hasn’t had Dragon Pox so that it doesn’t spread.”

Hoping to have proved her ability at healing, Lily waited.

***
After only a minute, the room began to change back.

Lily made sure to put her Occlumency shields back up. The room stopped spinning and the Death Eaters and Voldemort were back.

“Well, well,” sneered Voldemort. “The scum solved the riddle.”

Lily kept her gaze even and her shields up. She wasn’t going to mess this up for Becca.

“I suppose she has proved her worth. She might be filthy, but she could be a fun plaything,” snapped Voldemort. He was clearly waiting for her to get upset. I won’t let him upset me, Lily thought. I won’t- for Becca’s sake.

Suddenly, he was on her, holding her sleeve up and pressing the brand of the Dark Mark onto her forearm. It was incredibly painful. Lily whimpered, and he drew her face close to his.

“Does it hurt, scum? Does it make you want to give up? You’re worthless, why should I even want you in my ranks? Your blood is dirt, while ours is as pure as gold. How can dirt compare to gold? It can’t. Say the word, filth. Give up. You know you want to.”

“No,” Lily said, gritting her teeth. “I won’t give up. I’ve been betrayed by Dumbledore. I want revenge.”

“Ah, so that’s why the little girl wants to play with the big boys. Dumby hurt her feelings,” the snakelike man called to the crowd behind him. A small ripple of laughter ran through the crowd. “Why should I care about your revenge, silly girl?”

“Because you hate him, too. You want revenge on him just as much as I do. I can see it in your eyes. You want him dead.”

“Ah, the little kitten’s perceptive now. We can’t have that,” Voldemort sneered. The pain was getting unbearable. White spots appeared before Lily’s eyes. Any more of this torture and she was going to pass out.

The pain stopped. The white spots disappeared. Voldemort stepped away. Lily looked at her arm. A skull with a snake coming out of it was there.

She was officially a Death Eater.

Lily swallowed. Wow. She was a Death Eater. As two of the hooded figures grabbed her arms and guided her away, she wondered dazedly what had made her agree to this in the first place.

Oh, right. Dumbledore.

***
“For this meeting of the Order of the Phoenix, I have a request for two people. Any two people can volunteer. But what I want from you is extremely dangerous.

“I would like two people to volunteer to infiltrate Voldemort’s supporters, the Death Eaters. We have no idea what they could be planning at any time, but with spies among them, we could easily stop many more attacks. There is no guarantee of your safety, so I’d like everyone to think about my request over the next twenty minutes- during which, I believe, the lovely Mrs. Prewitt and her daughter, Molly, have made us some refreshments for us to enjoy.”

There was a deafening sound as everyone stood up and immediately began talking to their neighbors. “You know,” Lily said to James, “I don’t know if I want to hug him for figuring out how to prevent some attacks or yell at him because people might get hurt in the process.”

“Well, I don’t know about you, my dear, but I would much prefer a hug to a lecture,” said a voice to her right.

“Professor!” Lily cried, turning to face her mentor.

“Please, Lily, call me Albus. You have long ceased to be my student,” he said with a twinkle in his eye.

“Alright then, Albus. What can I do to help this mission succeed?”

“Are you volunteering, Lily?”

“No, she’s not,” James quickly said.

“I- I don’t know, Professor. Maybe I am. I just don’t know right now. It will be very dangerous- but just being at this meeting is dangerous. I’ve faced Voldemort before. Would he even let me join, being a Muggle-Born?”

“Lily, Tom is no more than a man. And as a man, he is always willing to accept someone if they accept his views. So- are you volunteering?”

“I think- yes. Yes, I think I will volunteer.”

***
Life had been so perfect before that. Lily and James had just been married. They were living in a perfect little home left to James by his parents. They were helping the Order of the Phoenix with missions, but stayed out of immediate danger most of the time.

Lily could remember one time just before that fateful meeting. When things were still perfect. When she wasn’t a fugitive from the law simply because of the mark on her arm.

***
“James?”

“Huh, Lils?”

“What do you think that cloud is? I can’t figure out if it reminds me more of a horse or a hippogriff.”

“What’s a horse again?”

“Oh,” Lily said, propping herself up on her elbows and giggling, “I’ve told you. A horse is a Muggle animal- kind of like a hippogriff, but it doesn’t have feathers- or wings- and it can’t fly.”

“Well, since I still don’t really know what a horse is, I can’t tell you. I just thought it was weird.”

“Oh, James, you have to use your imagination. Look, that one is a rabbit… And that one over there is a mermaid… and that one looks like a-”

“That one looks like a kiss for James,” James said, turning onto his side and pouting. “Doesn’t it?”

“Sure it does,” Lily said giggling. And they passed their afternoon in sheer bliss, oblivious to the world around them.

***
Lily shook her head. Those were wonderful times, but the wonderful times would be over if she didn’t keep calm.

She spent many hours locked in that dark, damp cell. No one came for her. No one probably cared that she was rotting in a prison cell without her wand.

Just when she had given up and laid down to get some sleep, the door burst open.

“You! Get up, the Dark Lord wishes to speak with you!” barked a woman’s voice.

“Yes, ma’am, whatever you say. I just have one question for you. Would you know where my wand is? The man who brought me here took it before he locked me in.”

The woman sighed. “Turn around,” she said harshly. Lily complied. “Here,” she said moments later, throwing Lily her wand. It clattered to the floor- Lily hadn’t turned fast enough to catch it.

“Thank you.”

“We should go. The Dark Lord doesn’t like to be kept waiting.”

The two women traveled in silence for about ten minutes. Then, the other woman grabbed Lily’s arm and Disapparated.

When the tremendous pressure let up, Lily was facing Voldemort again. She immediately bowed, remembering the proper etiquette for Death Eaters.

“Scum,” began Voldemort, “to prove your worthiness, I wish you to go to one of my many hide-outs. Bring me a Dark item- any Dark item, I care not for the specifics. This Portkey will take you. Go now,” he said, throwing a deflated football at her. Lily caught it and was sent twirling through space.

When she landed for the second time, she was surrounded by what once might have been a stately mansion. There was one wing still in decent condition. It would have once been the left wing of the mansion, but it looked like that was the only thing left standing. That must be where Voldemort’s things are, Lily thought. As she made her way towards the building, she noticed something moving towards her right.

She turned her head. A woman with long black hair was wandering through the ruins. Lily, too caught up in staring at the strange woman, tripped over an old sofa. The woman, hearing this, turned around and started walking towards her. She had a greenish, skeletal face.

Wonderful, Lily thought. A banshee. Well, it makes sense. Voldemort is paranoid- he wouldn’t leave his bases unprotected. She won’t know he sent me- I’ll have to fight her.

Lily pointed her wand at herself. “Claudo!” she muttered, using a charm from her NEWT-Level Charms class to make herself immune to the banshee’s screams. The banshee kept approaching. It was close enough for Lily to throw curses at it- but she couldn’t remember how to defeat banshees.

***
“Now, class, please… SETTLE DOWN!” Minerva McGonagall, the Transfiguration teacher, yelled.

The Gryffindors and the Ravenclaws, not noticing that a teacher had entered the room, had been talking with an ever-increasing volume for the past ten minutes.

“Now! As your regular teacher is sick today, I will be teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts. Today, we will be learning about banshees. Now, who knows how to defeat them?”

A Ravenclaw raised their hand. “A banshee can only be defeated by cutting their throat. Otherwise, no matter how grievous their injuries, they would still be able to scream and kill you.”

“Correct. Five points to Ravenclaw. Now, if you will open your textbooks to page three-hundred and twenty one…”

***
“Diffindo!” Lily cried, aiming her wand at the banshee’s throat. The banshee opened her mouth to scream in pain. Lily waited. It writhed on the ground for a bit, obviously dying, before it glared at her and sank to the ground. It closed its eyes, and Lily knew it was dead.

Lily continued on. She had to get back to Voldemort, and quickly, or he would think she wasn’t worthy of being a Death Eater.

As she walked towards the part of the building still standing, she once again saw movement out of the corner of her eye. A wisp of smoke was moving towards her.

“Oh, no,” Lily sighed under her breath. She knew there was a Dark creature that took on the appearance of a wisp of smoke; she just couldn’t remember what it was. She had never had a good time in Defense Against the Dark Arts, but she still normally remembered things from her lessons. There was a light in the center of the smoke… She knew there was a Dark creature with such properties. What is it? , Lily thought, frantically searching her memory for her Defense Against the Dark Arts lessons on Dark creatures…

***
The Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, Professor Adrianna Douglass, slammed a container onto her desk. “Now then,” said the brunette, “who can tell me what this is?”

“A hinkypunk, ma’am. A Dark creature that takes on the appearance of smoke,” said a Ravenclaw.

“Very good, Abbot. Five points to Ravenclaw,” she said. “Mr. Abbot is quite correct. Hinkypunks are Dark creatures that take on the appearance of smoke. They hold a lantern and try to lead unwary travelers into bogs, where they kill them. This here is a hinkypunk- we’re going to learn how to defeat them.

“Now, hinkypunks are easily scared by any type of charm, jinx, or hex. So all you have to do is shoot spell at it, and it will run away. Generally, we want to shoot harmless spells, as they haven’t hurt us yet, but if the hinkypunk is extremely close to you, it may be sick and you should stun it immediately.

“I’m going to release the hinkypunk, and one at a time I want you to try to and send it towards another class mate with some harmless spells. Get in a circle around me, then! Let’s go, not much time left!”

***
Lily looked at the animal. It was very close to her- closer than the banshee had gotten, and the banshee had gotten relatively close to her. “Stupefy!” Lily cried. The spell hit its mark- the hinkypunk dropped.

One more guard down.

Lily cautiously made her way towards the building once more. As she approached, she saw no more guards. Pushing open the door, she illuminated her wand and looked around. Seeing no danger, Lily entered the building.

There was one hallway, and one door near the end. Well, this is easy, Lily thought. She walked quickly down to the door, opened it, and walked into the room.

There was an incredible amount of stuff there. Some of it Lily recognized- a Foe-Glass, several Sneakoscopes, and a pack of blood-stained playing cards were among the things items in the room. I need a Dark item, Lily thought. She noticed a necklace sitting in the corner of the room. That’s out of place in this setting. It must have some sort of a curse on it. Lily bent down to pick it up, but thought better of it. She quickly conjured a scarf, picked up the necklace, and walked out of the room.

Lily looks around her. I only got a Portkey to get here, not to get back, Lily thought. This is not good.

***
“Lily, Voldemort may send you to a hideout of his. From what we can tell, his hideouts are charmed to be magically hidden from the Ministry. The moment you leave the building, the Ministry will be able to detect magic again. So be careful where you are when casting charms.

“Be wary of Apparation. Undoubtedly, Voldemort will have cast an Anti-Apparation Jinx on his hideouts. If forced to Apparate, you must first walk to a different place and then Apparate- otherwise, the Ministry will be able to tell where his hideout is, and Voldemort will believe you have betrayed him.”

"Thank you, Professor Dumbledore. I shall be wary.”

***
Well, I was among the ruins of the mansion when I was battling the banshee and the hinkypunk, so I should be safe, Lily thought. What am I going to do now, though?

Lily went outside and sat on the ground. The sun was rising- Becca would be with Voldemort by now. As the sky flooded with light and the sun rose above the horizon, she noticed a the sun glinting off something. It was a rooftop. There must be a village down there, Lily thought.

She quickly stood up and began walking down the hill.

When she arrived in the town fifteen minutes later, she looked around. It was obviously a Muggle town, but there could be some witches or wizards present. If there were witches or wizards, then she could use magic and not have to worry about the Ministry catching her.

She looked around. There, at the corner of a street, was a small pub. No one seemed to be going into it- in fact, no one seemed to notice it. It reminded her of the Leaky Cauldron. She quickly walked inside.

The pub was dark. After her eyes adjusted from the bright sunlight outside, she made her way to the counter. “Excuse me, do you know where I am?”

“Well, ma’am, you’d be in the Boar’s Foot,” said the man.

“I’m sorry, I meant what town,” Lily said.

“Oh, well, you’re in Little Hangleton.”

Okay, thank you,” Lily replied. At least she knew where she was. She quickly concentrated on London, on the spot where she last saw Voldemort, turned on the spot, and disappeared.

***
Lily landed instantly at the feet of several Death Eaters. "Oh, look. Our new toy is back," said one. "I'll go see if Master is done playing with the other one and is ready to attend to this one again."

Lily held her breath. Moments later, the man came out again. "You're in luck. He's just finished- you can go in."

Lily cautiously entered the room. There, standing unmasked and looking at her coldly, were Lucius Malfoy, Bellatrix Lestrange, and Lord Voldemort. Lily immediately dropped to her knees and bowed her head- partially to show respect, but partially because her knees had begun to shake.

“You shall look at the Dark Lord when he is addressing you, scum,” sneered Bellatrix. Lily raised your head and looked at her new master.

“The Dark Lord,” began Lucius, “has been offended. It is your next task to kill the person who has offended him.”

“Of course. Anything for my master,” Lily said quietly.

“Very good. You are to find and kill Ryan Lumley. We have made sure that there are no obstacles in your way for this mission- but if there are, kill them as well. Report back here as soon as you have done the deed.”

Lily stifled a gasp. Ryan had been one of her best friends at Hogwarts. He was the one who helped her realize that James had not been trying to be cruel, simply trying to impress her. He told her how James would often talk about how much he loved her and how much he wanted her to realize that. He helped her get up the courage to accept one of James’ many date requests. He was responsible for her happiness today. She couldn’t kill Ryan- but she couldn’t let Becca down. “Yes, my Lord,” she murmured.

“Good. Now get out of my sight,” commanded Lord Voldemort, speaking for the first time since she had entered the room.

Lily walked slowly out of the room and sank down onto the cold stone floor. What am I going to do? , she wondered. Suddenly, she remembered something.

***
“Well, if he has a price on his head, bring him here! We can hide him! Dumbledore knows how to perform the Fidielius Charm! We can’t just let an innocent man be killed!”

***
Ryan is innocent, she thought. He did nothing wrong. I can bring him to Dumbledore. Dumbledore will hide him. I can Transfigure something at his house to look like his dead body. I can stay in Voldemort’s favor and not have to kill my friend! And this way, Becca’s mission won’t be harmed either!

She smiled to herself. She wouldn't have to compromise her values during this mission - she would use her wits to defeat the Dark Lord while pretending to be helping him.

She had a feeling all of this would work out. Everything was going to alright. The Order would win, and then, she would be able to leave this place and go back to her James, and the life they had before this war started.

She couldn't wait.

A/N- First, huge thanks to my wonderful beta, kumydabookworm. Second- I hope you all liked it! For my first Gauntlet, I thought it came out pretty good- I hope you did too. Reviews are always appreciated!