"Death Eaters"

31 August 1970, 8 months later

Serenity was tracing circles in Lucius' palm. His legs were bent either side of her body as he rested against the arm of the couch with a potions book in his hand. She had taken a seat between his legs as soon as he had sat down, the window of opportunity proving too good to pass, without a care that he was studying in advance for his final year at Hogwarts. His fingers twitched when her gentle touch caressed the crevice of his knuckles, he would bite his lip as she repeated the action in an attempt to suppress any more movement.

Serenity giggled and continued to brush the pad of her fingers over the joint. Lucius put down the book, snatched his hand back and leant forward to hug her waist. His hot breath tickled her neck making her squirm under his touch. His slender fingers found their way to her hips and proceeded to prod her. Squealing, she arched away from him.

"Lucy!" He continued to tickle her, his legs encasing her so she couldn't move. "S-stop!" With a peck on her cheek, he yielded and unravelled his legs. She spun around and rested on his stomach, looking up at him through her eyelashes and pouting. "You're mean." He shakes his head and leans down to kiss her.

Without breaking their embrace, Serenity brings herself to straddle him and play with his hair. They both chuckle into the kiss as Lucius hugs her closer.

"Happy birthday, my Love."

"Ugh, get a room you two!" Lakita enters the room, promptly crossing her arms at the sight of the two. "What will mum think?"

Rolling her eyes, Serenity untangles her hands from his hair and sits as far back as his hold would allow her.

"Honestly. I would hope she would be happy for me." Julia enters the room, navigating around her daughter and offering the couple a stern look.

"As long as there is no fornication on my couch, I am fine." Lakita gags and slumps into the armchair on the far end of the room as Serenity and Lucius smirk at the two of them.

"Of course not, only the best for my Love." The twins both drop their faces into their hands. While Lakita releases a strangled, muffled, scream, Serenity blushes furiously and shifts a finger only to observe the devious quirk of her boyfriend's lips. Dropping her gaze from his face, she notices a small black spot poking out from under his three-quarter length sleeve.

All embarrassment disappeared as she grabbed at his arm.

"Did you get a tattoo?" She rolls up his sleeve to witness the dark mark. She had seen it on Juliet a few weeks before they left for summer, her friend had only explained what it meant briefly. "Juliet said this was a symbol for the future..." she looks up at him and over to her mother. Lakita, however, was leaning forward curiously as she too was witnessing the dark mark as a whole for the first time. "Is that true?" Julia takes a seat beside the two with a firm nod.

"It is. The wizarding world as we know it is in danger. The purest magic is that which is born through children of pure-blooded witches and wizards like yourselves. Those with tainted magic threaten our existence, they intend to eradicate us by having us mingle and mate with the muggle world- a world which, if they knew we existed, would hunt us until there was no magic left. Our family, our friends and all of the magical creatures you love so dearly will be killed." Julia lifts up her sleeve to reveal the dark mark on her arm. "Our Dark Lord promises to lead us in the war against these blood traitors in order to save wizarding kind as we know it, and our cause is always prepared to accept new recruits." Serenity glanced around at everyone in the room. Lucius was watching her expectantly, his hand holding her forearm as she had yet to release his. Julia was smiling at her daughters. Lakita, who had yet to raise her head from her hands, stood and nodded.

"I'm in." Everyone now turned to Serenity. Her smile faltered and when her hold on Lucius' arm loosened, his tightened. She suddenly broke out into a grin, raising a hand to his cheek and shaking her head.

"Don't look so worried, of course, I want to join you!"

*

Tracing the freshly administered tattoo on her forearm, Serenity watched from the side of the circle of light as Lakita bore her arm to the wizard holding his wand to her arm. His face was covered with a metallic mask carved with intricate details of a skull. It was a menacing sight, especially as he towered over her and grasped her arm.

Lakita squirmed as his leather-clad fingers dug into her skin and bit her lip as the magic burned her skin. The black magic spiralled out from the tip of the wand which was buried into her skin. Her knees buckled and she suppressed a scream as the heat spread further up her arm. It was only the three of them as far as she knew, which terrified her the most. She had been told to leave her wand outside before they entered the room- she figured it must have been because of her hesitation. Serenity had entered the process with her chin high and a comforting grin from her boyfriend. Lakita had watched her sister first, the pain seemed to be near to nothing but she now knew otherwise. As soon as the wand and hand let her go, the pain dulled considerably.

Dropping to her knees, she released a breath she didn't know she had been holding. The skin around the mark was red, the image itself looked as though it was slithering across her arm. Her focus on the mark seemed to stop the pain altogether and, as her breath evened out, she watched the mark slow to a stop and sit dormant as a tattoo would.

Standing, she waited as Serenity joined her before consulting the wizard. However, by the time her sister had joined her, they were alone. Their fingers linked as they stood in the centre of the circle of light, a slight breeze shifting through the air and over their skin. They shivered as they waited, an unknown force compelling them to remain where they stood. From the darkness emerged a cloaked wizard.

His skin was deathly pale yet that only added to his impossible beauty. When he knocked his hood back, the crook of his nose and hood of his eyebrows contoured his face, his cheeks were hollow but the ice blue of his eyes captivated them. His dark hair juxtaposed his pale features and when he smiled at them his teeth were dulled only by the slightest hint of yellow. His laugh echoed around them as he spread his arms.

"Welcome, my children." From his pockets, he produced two masks identical to the one the other wizard wore. "You have become part of something so much bigger than you could ever know. I am your Dark Lord. The dark mark that adorns your arms connects you directly to me, you can summon me simply by brandishing your wand to it or I can summon you- you will soon figure out how." He offers out the masks. "Introduce yourself, children."

"Lakita Senate, my Lord." Pulling the mask over her face, Lakita's body became rigid as she accepted who she was now- a loyal follower. Serenity hesitated as she witnessed the transformation of her sister but when her hazel eyes met the cold stare of the Dark Lord, she knew exactly what she had to do.

The mask was cold under her fingertips as she traced the crevices along the side of it, she stands straighter and lifts the mask to sit atop her head.

"Serenity Rier, my Lord." As she moves the mask over her face, she finds herself being stopped. One of his bony fingers was resting under her chin and lifting her face to meet his. As she lowered her mask, Lakita silently left the room. Serenity found herself trapped in his gaze, no matter how much she wanted to look away, she couldn't imagine looking elsewhere.

"I have heard a great deal about you, Serenity." He drags his gaze over her face, ignoring the clear discomfort in her frown and unrelenting stare. "Especially from your Great-Grandfather; he says you're the one I should be the most concerned about, that you're trouble. How much is that true?" Her lip quivers as an ache travels up the back of her neck.

"I can't promise I will be an easy follower, my Lord. Although My Great-Grandfather is merely licking the wounds he received when he couldn't control my power, he is not you. I am as loyal as I can be to those that deserve it." The Dark Lord smirked.

"I'm glad we're on the same side." He lowered his hand. Serenity's head dropped and she felt as though she could suddenly breathe again. The Dark Lord apparated away and so she took her leave.

Her knees were weak as she left the room, her mask hanging loosely between her fingertips and her focus seemed to have remained in the darkness behind her. Lakita approached her and took hold of her arms.

"Are you okay? You're so pale." Serenity's eyes dragged lazily up to her sister and around at the other death eaters that had gathered. Her eyes landed on Lucius and she began laughing. It was a terrible laugh, one of pure insanity that had Lakita stepping away hesitantly. In her place came Julia. The older witch took hold of Serenity's arm and motioned over Lakita and Lucius.

Soon, the four of them were back in the Senate lounge. Julia spouted orders for Lucius to take Serenity to bed and then for Lakita to follow her.

As Lucius lay a giggling Serenity on her bed, he brushed her hair from her face.

"What happened, my Love?" She paused suddenly, hiccoughing.

"The... Dark... Lord..." She hiccoughed again, giggling each time her eyes fluttered. Lucius narrowed his eyebrows and pried the mask from her hands.

She screamed.

He pressed her shoulders into the bed, on arm resting across her chest as he dropped the mask to the floor. His heart broke as his girlfriend began sobbing and drew her in close. Stroking her hair, he peppered light kisses on her shoulder and listened as she cried senselessly.

Julia charged into the room and pulled Lucius away, forced Serenity's mouth open and poured a potion down her throat.

"What is that?" He asked, watching as Serenity had no choice but to swallow the potion and fall backwards helplessly.

"Sleeping draught. She should be making more sense in the morning." Tucking the quilt around Serenity, Julia sighed and looked up at Lucius. "I'm going to ask around to see why this happened, you're welcome to stay the night. Lakita's most likely passed out on the couch considering she tested the draught after she brewed it."