Liberty - A Harry Potter fan fiction

Chapter 8 - Ready for it?

AN: Trigger Warning - Torture

"Liberty Brown," He said in a raspy whisper. Lord Voldemort was walking in small purposeful steps around me while addressing his Death Eaters. "Daughter to Picton and Magenta Brown. Niece to Rackley and Sienna Brown. That is quite the blood traitorous family. Why do you not cower to meet death?" 

I kept my eyes on his, facinated and scared at the same time. I waited for the hysteria to bubble up and boil over. It never came. I felt that white hot anger that I had become more familiar with. Angry I'd been tricked and forced to stand in this spot. Anger my death was to come so soon. Anger at everyone and no one at all. When it subsided as soon as it'd come, I felt oddly peaceful. I had no one who cared enough to mourn my death, with the exception of my parents. I hoped the pain would come quickly. 

"Liberty..." He tut-tutted and continued circling me. "I seem to recall two people in this room making a mistake!" He snapped his fingers and Snape and Malfoy were magically drug across the floor towards me by an unspoken spell. The woman I assumed to be Malfoy's mother whimpered in fear. "My dear, dear Liberty. Will you tell me what you saw?"

"I saw nothing." I said, my voice oddly ringing out strong and clear.

"Tell me what you saw." He persisted. 

"Not a thing." I retorted, holding fast to my belligerence. It gave me a satisfying thrill.

"Tell me!" He roared. With a simple flick of his wand I was doubled over in pain. There were flames surrounding me, though I could see nothing. It stopped as I fell to my knees. "Ah yes, that hurt didn't it?"

I refused to answer him. He grew impatient and the fire came again. This time I couldn't help myself, I let out a strangled scream, that left me coughing and sputtering as he stopped the torture. He stood over me, wand pointed to my face and asked me again. 

"Malfoy's dark mark." I whispered through my sore throat.

"And were you scared?" He pressed, slicing his wand once. This caused the skin on my arm to slice open, splattering blood onto the wooden floor below. I hissed from the pain and sudden warmth of the flowing blood.

"Yes." What good would it do to lie now? 

"And what about now, my dear. Is Miss Brown scared now?" 

I looked up, gazing into his cold, soulless eyes and hating him. I was going to die being as stubborn as I could.

"No." And I made sure to say it loudly so that everyone could hear. 

"What insolence!" Bellatrix exclaimed. "Let me handle her, my lord!"

"I will handle our guest. Thank you Bellatrix." He said and she backed off, immediately shrinking back to stand again with Malfoy's parents. The Dark Lord turned to face me again. "What if I were to do this?"

He flicked his wand again, this time the skin covering my wrist split open to the bone. My hand flapped uselessly as I stared in horror. Bile rose in my throat and I sputtered again, willing myself to hold in the vomit. I heard the on looking Death Eaters laugh at my pain.

"Do you know what I do to those who dare defy me?" He asked. He laughed gleefully and came to stand so close that I could feel the dark air of arrogance and power that surrounded him. It was suffocating me. "I'd be happy to show you."

"Just kill me, Tom." I said, still looking at what had been my hand. I looked up to see shock register in his eyes. "That's right, I've heard your real name whispered about. I'm no friend of Harry Potter, but I've heard what he tells those who are. You will never be more than Tom Riddle, a sad little orphan boy."

"But that is where you are wrong. All of this," He swept a hand in the air. "Belongs to me. I alone created this!" He stood over me, gears in his brain turning. "My Death Eaters hold the power to end life. Miss Brown, I would like to make you an offer... I shall be gracious enough to let you live, if you pledge yourself to our cause."

"I would rather be dead..." I stood my ground, now gripping uselessly at my bloody stump of a wrist. My hand was hanging on by a mere flap of skin and it hurt so bad. Whatever he'd done was still working hard to separate the remaining flesh.

"Think of what you could do! Under my tutelage, you'd be unstoppable. Think of the power!" He reasoned with me, laughing before hitting me with the truth. "You have no friends to go back to school to, your sister has never treated you as that of a sibling. I know you've always felt an outsider, much like myself. I know your inner thoughts. What will your choice be, Miss Brown?"

Malfoy, who was still being forced to stand before me with Snape, looked down at me with pity. He didn't want me to say yes, but knew I couldn't say no without death.

Without warning, I heard the Dark Lord mutter a spell, pointing his wand at me. I thought he'd decided to kill me after all because I'd taken too long to decide. A rage such as I've never known shook through me, from head to toe. It was as if I was feeding off of my rage, drugged into it.

I saw the him reach down to raise the sleeve of my left forearm, causing a fresh wave of pain. His wand pointed towards it and he muttered an incantation. My flesh immediately felt as if it was being burned and ripped at the same time. I screamed then, a loud long wail that I never thought would end. I couldn't look at it, but I couldn't look away either. Right before my eyes, I saw the dark mark bubble up to rest on my forearm. Without even giving me time to recover, he pointed his wand at my wrist, grafting the severed skin back together. All that remained was a puckered white scar, the pain just a vivid memory.

I  looked up into the face of my master knowing it was all over. He was laughing, and soon everyone joined in. Bellatrix's screech was louder than anything I'd heard before.

I had just become a Death Eater. And some strange part of me was happy about it. If anything, I felt like I was meant to be there within his inner ranks.