It was mid-afternoon before Severus Snape was able to leave Voldemort’s stronghold and Apparate to number twelve, Grimmauld Place. He walked up the worn steps and knocked on the front door, for once following Lupin’s directions not to ring the doorbell. The door opened, revealing Molly Weasley on the threshold. She paled upon seeing Snape and he could tell right away that she was trying to prepare herself for the worst.
“Severus,” she greeted him. “P-please come inside.” He obliged, watching silently as Mrs. Weasley closed and bolted the door.
When she turned back to face him, he asked, “Is Dumbledore here?”
“In the kitchen,” was her only response before she hurried him into the basement kitchen. At the table sat Dumbledore, Remus, Tonks, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Mr. Weasley, Mad-Eye Moody, and Kingsley Shacklebolt. All of them looked rather pale and tense. They looked up as the pair entered the kitchen, all but Dumbledore, Moody, and Kingsley eyeing Snape apprehensively. Mrs. Weasley ushered the Potions Master into a chair and then occupied the seat next to her husband. After a moment, Dumbledore broke the silence.
“What do you have to report, Severus?”
“I was able to obtain the details of the Dark Lord’s plan from Wormtail.” Remus unconsciously stiffened at the sound of his former friend’s name. “Apparently, the Dark Lord has managed to convince Potter that he is on their side.”
“What!” Hermione gasped, staring at Snape as though the man had lobsters crawling out of his ears.*
Snape continued as if there had been no interruption. “He is to be the ‘ultimate weapon,’ as Wormtail put it, against the Order. The Dark Lord believes that no one in the Order would dare fight back if there was even the slightest risk of hurting Potter.” There was a short pause.
“Wait a moment,” Remus spoke for the first time, startling the whole table with the harsh tone in his voice. “How do you know if he has convinced Harry yet? What if he hasn’t?”
“He has,” Snape replied solemnly.
“What makes you so sure?” Remus was not willing to believe what Snape had said, trying in any way that he could possibly think of to find a reason that the spy had been wrong.
“When I was called upon to escort him back to his quarters, I could see it in his mind. If you must know, I used a very weak form of Legilimency on him. He wasn’t expecting it nor was it strong enough to be detected, so he is, as of yet, unaware of my doing so. In their meeting, the Dark Lord was able to convince Potter of his loyalty to their side. His initiation is scheduled for this evening.”
Silence met Snape’s speech. Not even Dumbledore, Remus, or Hermione could find anything to form a reasonable doubt. “At what time?” Dumbledore asked finally.
“Eight o’clock. I am to be there along with all of the other Death Eaters.”
“Trust You-Know-Who to not hesitate now that he’s sunken his claws into Harry,” Tonks murmured darkly.
“What does an initiation entail, Professor?” Hermione inquired softly.
“It depends on the inductee,” Snape replied, remembering his own initiation all those years ago. “As it is Potter, I do not expect it to be easy, but it cannot be terribly difficult, either.”
“Why not?” Ron asked.
“Because the Dark Lord will want to ensure that Potter will be able to pass whatever test he is given. If it is too difficult, the entire plan will fail.” Another silence fell upon the room as its occupants all began pondering what would soon befall Harry.
“What can we do, Professor?” Ginny asked after what seemed like an eternity. The old wizard sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose wearily.
“There is nothing, I’m afraid.” All of their hearts sank further at these words. “All I can ask is that you watch over him, Severus, and report any new information.”
Snape sighed, the ever-lasting burden of looking after the famous Harry Potter becoming even heavier. “I will.”
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Harry flattened his robes, nervously awaiting the arrival of Snape, who would escort him to the initiation ceremony. After his meeting with Voldemort, Snape had given Harry a set of more formal black robes and left him with the instructions to be dressed in them by the time he returned. He had also conjured a small mirror, that was now hanging on the wall, for Harry to make sure that he was indeed presentable.
Looking at his reflection critically, Harry couldn’t find any great flaws. His robes were clean and had no wrinkles, his hair as flat as he could manage it, and his glasses as clean as he could polish them.
This is it, he thought, stepping away from the mirror. This is where I belong. We’re just making it official… again. He sat down on his bed and waited in silence.
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Snape reentered the Dark Lord’s stronghold, noting the time. They were a half an hour away from Harry’s initiation. As the Potions Master strode in the direction of the boy’s chamber, he was stopped by the sound of voices approaching him. He ducked into a small closet to his left, leaving the door open a crack to eavesdrop on the unsuspecting Death Eaters. Suddenly, Bellatrix Lestrange and Narcissa Malfoy rounded the corner.
“But what will the Dark Lord do with the boy, Bella?” Narcissa asked her sister. The latter cackled evilly before answering.
“Use him against the Order of the Phoenix, of course.”
“Well, of course he will! I already knew that. I meant, what will he do afterward?” Narcissa rephrased her question impatiently.
“Oh, after the Order and that Mudblood-loving Dumbledore are out of the way, you mean? The Dark Lord told me that he will claim his rightful title as the Lord of the Wizarding World and then, when all of those that would stand in his way are slaughtered, he will simply dispose of the boy.” Both women laughed as they continued down the corridor. Snape exited the closet with a grim expression on his face, having heard every word of the conversation, and hastily continued toward Harry’s room.
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Harry started when the door opened and Snape stepped inside, closing the door behind him.
“Are you ready, Potter?” the spy asked. Harry swallowed and nodded. “Then follow me.”
The two exited the room and began down the corridor. As they walked, Snape spoke softly to Harry. “We are going to the Audience Chamber, Potter. All of the Dark Lord’s followers who are not in Azkaban prison will be there as well. You will enter with me and we will go straight up the center aisle to the Dark Lord. I will then go to stand at the front of the group, but you will stay where you are. In order to be approved, you must perform a specific task for the Dark Lord. Refusing to do so will result in a… rather uncomfortable punishment. Do you understand?” Harry merely nodded mutely. “Very well. After the ceremony, you will wait for me; I will escort you back to your quarters.”
They walked on in silence after Snape had given Harry the instructions and were soon standing outside the Audience Chamber. For the final time, Snape turned to Harry. “Keep your eyes straight ahead; do not look at anyone other than the Dark Lord. Do not look him in the eyes, though, and bow when you reach him. Do you understand?” Once again, Harry nodded his head. Snape inclined his head and opened the door.
In front of the pair was a long, black carpet leading to a small stone dais on the far side of the room. On either side of the aisle stood many black-robed figures, their eyes glinting through slits in their hoods.
Making sure to keep his eyes straight ahead of him, Harry began to walk with Snape toward the dais. He was uncomfortably aware of every eye in the room following his progress. It seemed to take Harry and Snape an eternity to reach the stone dais. When they were almost there, Harry kept moving forward as he tried not to watch as Snape branched off from their path and joined the ranks of the other Death Eaters. Upon finally reaching the dais, Harry bowed on one knee, head down, in front of Voldemort.
“Welcome, Harry Potter,” Voldemort hissed softly, grinning broadly. “Please stand.” Harry did as he was told, keeping his eyes focused on a point straight ahead of him and the Dark Lord stepped down from the dais and circled him slowly. He didn’t speak again until he had once again taken his position atop the platform.
“Tonight, you shall be inducted into the Death Eaters… once again.” None of the Death Eaters present were confused by the last comment as every one of them had been briefed on the plan before the ceremony had started. “But first, you must prove that you are as worthy as you were before.” Voldemort had thought hard about the challenge that he would assign the young man. It couldn’t be too easy, but it couldn’t be too difficult for him to achieve. “Your task shall be to completely throw off the Imperius curse. As you do not remember what that is, I will tell you. It is a curse that allows me to control you. Your task is to overcome it, understood?” Harry nodded. “Excellent. Now, imperio!” He drew his wand in a flash, casting the spell before Harry could prepare himself.
Harry’s mind suddenly went blank, as if it had been wiped of all thought. It was a blissful, floating sensation… Then, the Dark Lord’s voice sounded somewhere in his head.
Take out your wand and break it in half, Voldelmort commanded.
Harry almost obliged, but stopped himself. “Why would I do that?” he asked silently.
Never mind that. Just do it. The voice was more insistent this time.
“No, I don’t think I will…”
Do it now !
“No, I won’t!” Harry became aware that he had actually yelled this out loud. Voldemort staggered slightly and Harry felt his mind being returned to him.
Of course, Snape was thinking. Make it hardly difficult at all so that the boy would succeed with ease. He stifled a smirk. Clever. Very clever.
“Well done, Harry. You were able to completely overcome the curse. You have passed your test. Kneel.” Harry once again bowed to the Dark Lord on one knee. “Hold out your left arm.” Harry obliged, watching as Voldemort pulled the sleeve up to Harry’s elbow and touched his wand to the boy’s forearm. The skin burned suddenly and Harry had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from crying out.
Then, the burning sensation passed to be replaced by a raw, sore feeling. Harry almost gasped, however, when he looked back down at his forearm. On the skin was something like a vivid red tattoo in the shape of a skull with a snake protruding from its mouth; the Dark Mark.
“When this feels warm or burns,” Voldemort continued, “you must report to me. Do you understand?”
Harry nodded, remembering Snape’s words to the Dark Lord after being given an order. “Yes, my lord.”
Voldemort grinned. “Welcome back to the Death Eaters, Harry Potter.” The other Death Eaters applauded softly before Voldemort spoke again. “You are all dismissed. Go back to your posts.” The crowd dispersed and eventually left the room as the Dark Lord disappeared through a door behind the dais. Snape, however, approached Harry, who was now cradling his left forearm. Snape found himself reliving in his mind the night of his initiation. Pushing these memories from his head, he knelt down next to Harry.
“Are you alright, Potter?”
“Yes, sir.” Snape knew that the boy was lying, but decided to let the matter lie. He reached over and helped Harry up, feeling slightly sorry for the boy for the first time that he could remember.
“Come. You should get some rest. I am quite sure that you will be given an assignment in the morning.” Harry nodded and allowed the Potions Master to steer him out of the Audience Chamber. One thought kept repeating itself in Snape’s mind:
Well, that’s over. No turning back now.
Well, there you have Harry’s initiation. I know that it isn’t spectacular, but if it was more difficult for Harry, he would have failed and the story would have ended here, wouldn’t it? If you made it through this chapter, then congratulations! It is the longest one so far!
*By the way, an e-cookie to anyone who realized that the quote “as though he had lobsters crawling out of his ears” was from the movie A Christmas Story. If it made you snicker a little bit in the face of all this darkness, then it has done its job!
Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it. Please review if you get a mo’.
~Moony
Cruciatus Cursed by Moony 62442
Chapter Notes: Well, here we are again. You have made it to chapter ten! Excellent! As always, everything but the ideas for this story are JKR’s. Read on, dear friends, read on.