The Eagle and The Snake: A Tragic Love Story

44. Initiation

About an hour later, Luna and Carly were dressed in their new black death eater robes.
They were alone in a small room beside the large hall next door, where all the death eaters who were not in Azkaban, were gathered.
The partners of some death eaters were also in there, like Narcissa, as this was such an important occasion.
The girls death eater masks were sitting on the table beside them, waiting to be put on, once they were given the signal. As they would need them for the initiation ceremony.

"Are you ready?" Asked Carly quietly.
"I don't think anyone can truely be ready for something like this" admitted Luna.
"True. But this is what we have been asking for, ever since we first met Voldemort" reminded Carly.
"The dark lord. We need to get into the habit of not saying his name, unless we are around Harry. Because death eaters don't call him Voldemort"
"No, they don't. But my point still stands. This is what we have been waiting for, for a whole year. So, we should be excited for what is about to happen".

"It's hard to be excited about walking into a room full of strangers, who are all going to be looking at you, and silently judging you" sighed Luna.
"The other death eaters will be happy to see new people joining the cause, just like Bella was when she met us. Especially since several of their comrades have just been imprisoned in Azkaban. They need the numbers, so no one is going to be angry at us for being here" reassured Carly.
"Bellatrix is a member of your family, so of course she was excited to find out that you're on the same side as her. But I don't think the rest of the death eaters will be as thrilled, to see two kids joining them" replied Luna.

"You forget, that they were all kids once, and many of them joined when they were young. Just like my dad did. We all join the fight young, so no one is going to be suprised to see us becoming official death eaters even though we aren't of age yet. Especially as we were able to give the dark lord, what nobody else could. We told him the prophecy, which is something every other death eater has failed to provide him with. The others are going to think we are very talented, for being able to do that. So, stop worrying. Unlike the other people in Dumbledore's Army, the death eaters here, are actually going to like us. You'll see" insisted Carly.

A knock at the door made the girls jump, and they instantly picked up their masks, and held them tightly in their hands.
"Good luck" whispered Carly.
"You too" replied Luna.
Carly kissed Luna's cheek quickly, before pushing the doors in front of them, open.
The girls then stepped into the hall, where over 50 people had gathered.
The guests were stood on either side of the room, leaving an aisle in the middle, for the girls to walk down to reach Voldemort, who was waiting for them at the other end.
It almost looked like a wedding, except that everyone was wearing dark colours instead of light.

Both Luna and Carly took a deep breath, before making their way down the aisle towards Voldemort.
Bellatrix and Narcissa were stood in the front row, as they were Carly's family.
Narcissa looked grave and unwell, which Carly assumed was because Lucius was currently sitting in a cell. But Bellatrix showed the opposite emotions to her sister, as she looked very happy.
When the girls reached Voldemort, they both bowed their heads, before kneeling down onto the floor, in front of their master.

"Today, was full of so much potential. I had the chance to get my hands on the prophecy ball, and finish off Harry Potter, once and for all. However, that did not happen, due to the incompetence of the death eaters who are no longer with us. As they are currently in Azkaban prison. And also because of the interference of none other than Albus Dumbledore... I thought that all hope was lost. But then, these two girls came here, and provided me with the one thing I needed. Not only did they almost succeed in getting Potter to voluntarily hand over the prophecy, they actually managed to hear the prophecy get recited, during a noisy battle. They were then able to tell me what they heard, making todays mission a triumph, and not a failure" announced Voldemort.

"Not only did they succeed in this mission, but they have also been performing excellently all year, under my guidance. They sacrificed many things for the cause, and even suffered through torture, in my name. Therefore, in recognition of their hard work and determination, I am going to make both girls official death eaters. Tonight, I will be branding both Carly Black-Potter, and Luna Lovegood, with the dark mark. And I will be welcoming them into our ranks" continued Voldemort, causing the death eaters to clap loudly at this news.

Voldemort then stretched out his hand to Carly, who rolled up her sleeve, and handed him her arm.
With one hand, Voldemort gripped her wrist tightly, and using his other hand, he placed the tip of his wand against her forearm.
Carly suddenly felt her arm explode with pain, and it took everything in her not to cry out.
She refused to look weak in front of the other death eaters. So, just like she did in detentions with Umbridge, she held in her pain, and didn't make a sound.

Carly said nothing as a red snake slithered out of Voldemort's wand, and began imprinting itself into her skin.
Once the snake had completed its figure of 8 on her forearm, Voldemort removed his wand, causing the snake to turn from red to black.
Although the pain was no longer so extreme, Carly could still feel the stinging on her arm, as if she had been stung by a thousand bees.

As Voldemort moved on to Luna, Carly saw her girlfriend's eyes well up with tears, as she endured the same excruciating pain.
But like Carly, Luna made no sound.
They both knew better than to scream and cry in front of other people.
Once Luna's mark had been completed, Voldemort released her, and took a step back.
He then gestured to the girls masks, and they placed their death eater masks onto their faces, before standing up and turning around to face their new team mates.

Carly was glad that the masks were covering their faces, as it stopped anyone from seeing the pain in their eyes.
"It is done. I now give you our newest recruits; Carly Black-Potter, and Luna Lovegood!" announced Voldemort.
The death eaters who also had the dark mark, pulled up their sleeves, and raised their own branded forearms into the air, in salute.
As Carly looked around at the army around them, she began to think that maybe there was hope, and that maybe if they all worked together, they would be able to defeat the Ministry of Magic, once and for all.