She should have expected that.

Lord Voldemort had put forward the condition of her joining him if she wanted Regulus and Esmeralda to be safely released. And it was a difficult condition for her to follow considering she was already a part of the Order of the Phoenix.

If she joined the Death Eaters, it would prove the judgments the other members had regarding her being a spy.

"I need time to think," she spoke up after taking in a deep breath, "you can't expect me to make this decision right now."

"And here I thought you could do anything for Regulus," his lips had turned up into a sinister smile and if Regulus hadn't been tortured extremely already, he would have lunged at Voldemort. "But I will not let you go back to your friends now because it is too dangerous. You will have to stay here."

She nodded, "fine. Lock me up in the same cell as these two. I have to talk to them."

He looked as if he would deny that request but eventually gave in, "alright. How much time do you need?"

"An hour..." She replied because time truly was running out, "leave me with them for an hour. I will tell you my decision after."

Esmeralda was staring at her younger sister in a mixture of shock and confusion. As far as she knew, her Ellie had never delved into the Dark Arts and should not have had anything to do with the greatest Dark wizard of them all. Yet it seemed as if she knew Voldemort personally and by the way she was talking to him hinted that they had met each other enough in the past.

It made Esmeralda feel quite uncomfortable as she wasn't aware of the time travel and her sister's attempts to save them by any means possible.

Voldemort unlocked the gate of the cell and Eleanor stepped in, going immediately to Regulus who was still crouched down on his knees, his breathing raspy and his body very weak.

The gate was locked again but those serpentine red eyes flickered in jealousy to see Eleanor support Regulus, her worried eyes searching him for injuries and her hands cupping his face tenderly.

It was clear that she loved him a lot and that fact was what Voldemort, or rather Tom Riddle, found quite hard to digest.

But then she had every reason to love Regulus. The young man had been with her through good times and bad, he had cared for her and respected her while Riddle had done nothing of the sort. On the contrary, Tom Riddle had abused her, tortured her, and tormented her. Why would she love him instead?

He was the villain of her story and it was too late to rewrite destiny. Also after all the power he had been able to achieve, he no longer wanted to rewrite anything either.

He was Lord Voldemort and he was feared by all. A mere woman could not compare to that.

"I don't want you to stay here for the entire hour I am taking to consider my decision," Eleanor's voice snapped him out of his thoughts, marble green eyes piercing through his red irises.

He said nothing to that remark and stepped out because it was getting harder to stay there and not inflict the Cruciatus curse on Regulus again.

With Voldemort leaving and Eleanor making sure that both Reg and Esme were not severely injured, she sat down close to them. It seemed as if all the strength she had mustered to keep herself standing earlier had dissipated and she was extremely exhausted by then. 

"Ellie, what is going on?" Esmeralda asked, coming closer to her sister, "why did he ask you to join him?"

"I don't know," she mumbled in reply but Regulus could see through it clearly. 

He knew she was intentionally not telling them the real reason why Voldemort had them captive and what did she have to do with the entire scenario.

"Elle, you don't have to hide anything from us," Regulus spoke up, feeling slightly better as the effects of the curse were fading, "what's going on?"

She didn't answer immediately, taking in a deep breath to sort out what to tell them and what not to. Both of them loved her a lot and they would get worried for her if she told them the truth.

Besides, she didn't want Regulus to find out the extent of the damage she had suffered during the time loop. She was worried that he would get angry at her if he found out just how much she had sacrificed for his sake.

"Ellie, why are you so silent?"

Esmeralda and Regulus exchanged a glance, knowing that was not normal behavior for Eleanor to not answer them after a question. Either the answers to their questions were difficult for her to state or there was something she didn't want to tell them and was hesitant to lie about it.

"I don't have enough time to tell you two everything," she replied at last, her one hand gripping Esme's and the other entwining with Reg's, "I am sorry but please trust me that whatever I did, I had to do it because there was no other way I could be seeing you guys alive."

Regulus could see that she would break down to tears any minute so he gently draped his arm around her, pulling her close in a hug. Esmeralda could also feel that her sister was going through a lot internally but not telling them about it.

"Listen to me carefully both of you," her grip tightened on their hands and her marble green eyes had a very earnest look, "I can't say no to him right now or else he won't let you go. I will accept his offer."

"No," Reg's heart sank because he knew firsthand the torture Death Eaters had to face on a daily basis by being in service to the Dark Lord, "you can't do this to yourself."

"Please... Try to understand," she pleaded, "I can't lose you again, Reg, I can't."

"Ellie, none of this makes sense," Esmeralda spoke up, "I can't let you blindly jump off a cliff just to release us from this prison. I don't want this freedom if it is ensured by you chaining yourself up to that monster."

She knew they would not agree with her but there was no other way. "Esme, we don't have another option. Look, if you do as I say, there's still a chance I will be able to come back to you. Trust me. Please..."

Regulus knew that if she was so desperate for them to listen to her and agree with her, there had to be a valid reason behind it. "What do you want us to do?"

She breathed out in relief seeing that he was finally understanding her point, "when both of you are released from here, promise me that you will take care of yourselves and not die. Please... I can't lose both of you again."

"What do you mean by again?" Esme's voice shook because of the way Eleanor talked it was almost as if she had seen them die and had somehow reversed time.

"That doesn't matter. Reg, I want you to go to Sirius and tell him everything that happened. He will tell you what to do next and I am sure they will be finding a way to get me out of here already. I want you two to stay with them and be safe."

Regulus couldn't understand why she had suddenly brought up Sirius. He hadn't seen his brother ever since the elder had graduated from Hogwarts. But it seemed like in all the time he had been missing, Eleanor had somehow managed to get in touch with Sirius and asked him for help.

"He will tell you everything," she insisted, seeing that he still had questions, "I don't have enough time left. If Voldemort comes back, I will have to give him an answer and you two know what it will be."

Esme leaned closer, hugging her sister tightly. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she held her close because she was the only family member she had left yet she was also putting herself in a life-threatening situation.

"I am sorry," Eleanor spoke up, hugging her back just as tightly as if afraid that if she let go, she would fade into nothing, "please be safe..."

A while later, the stone gates to the dungeon parted and Voldemort stepped in, indicating that the time for consideration was up. She must have made her decision by then as an hour had passed.

"Your time is up, Eleanor," his raspy voice drifted toward them and she nodded, standing up to face him. "What did you choose?"

"I will accept your offer," she replied calmly, "but only after I make sure that both Esme and Reg are let out of here without any harm. Don't double-cross me, Tom, or you will regret it."

He paused, not expecting her to address him by his first name. But then a smile flickered upon his lips, "very well. You can escort them to the exit yourself. But don't you dare double-cross me either, love."

She hated that he still called her love and she wanted to curse him each time that word passed his lips. But she couldn't do that so she swallowed up the rage building inside her.

Upon Voldemort's order, the cell was unlocked and Eleanor was allowed to take both Regulus and Esmeralda out of the hideout while none of the Death Eaters were allowed to come near them.

Bellatrix Lestrange stood in the corner, watching the trio with disdain. She had not expected that the Dark Lord would be so lenient as to let them leave alive.

But she was more surprised by the fact that Eleanor was now becoming a Death Eater in exchange for Esme and Reg's freedom.

Eleanor accompanied the two of them to the very end of the protective enchantments set up around the hideout and nodded at them as if telling them that she would be fine. Esmeralda hugged her tightly, still feeling guilty that in order to save her, her younger sister had to sacrifice herself.

Regulus felt the same way but he remembered her request of finding Sirius and telling him everything. So he had decided to carry that task out to completion the best he could, that was the least he could do for his Eleanor.

Esme had stepped out and before Reg could leave too, Eleanor kissed him, her hands cupping his face tenderly. It felt like a last kiss shared between them for a long time but it was a promise in itself that they would find their way back to each other.

"I love you," she whispered as she pulled apart, "please stay alive for my sake... Please..."

He was starting to understand that her greatest fear was losing him and it seemed like she had already been through it so he nodded, "I will try my best."

Before Voldemort could get sparked up in rage and finish Regulus off in jealousy, Eleanor pushed him out and turned to face the hoards of Death Eaters and their leader who stood with an unfathomable look on his face.

She could feel the anger radiate off him but at least he had gotten what he wanted.

She had agreed to his offer. She was joining him even though she didn't want to.

She walked back to him and held her left arm out so that he could place the Dark mark. His pale hand closed on her arm, the pointed nails denting her soft skin. Then he took out his yew wand, the tip of the wand touching the spot where the mark had to be placed.

"Once you become a Death Eater, you belong to me and me only," he reminded her, eyes piercing through her green irises, "don't forget that."

She didn't have much of a choice in that case so she said nothing, waiting for him to get the task done. The wand punctured her skin and hot pain shot up her body as the black ink-like substance began to seep into her skin.

Eleanor watched as the Dark mark formed upon her arm, the black serpent coiling out of a skull, just like the mark she had seen on Reg's arm. It was a sign of allegiance to Lord Voldemort and he was right, it symbolized that she now belonged to him just like the rest of the Death Eaters.

***