Darkness Beckoning

Chapter Three

With Bated Breath

"Severus Snape accepted my offer," Dumbledore said at the beginning of the meeting, "or rather Voldemort did."

"He wants inside the castle," Dany replied. "Do you think Snape can be turned, Regulus?" This was a small meeting containing only those members of the Order with the most to lose or with much knowledge of Death Eaters and Voldemort. Dany, as both an Unspeakable and possessing knowledge of many of the Death Eaters was a big part of the group called Invictum. Each member was chosen for the group by Fawkes alone and so they all knew they would never be betrayed because Fawkes would only choose those with pure good intentions to serve.

"I doubt it," Regulus answered. "He's too loyal, but he's also a fool. Always has been as far as I can remember."

"A brilliant mind," Minerva McGonagall began but Regulus cut her off.

"Oh, he's a fool, Minerva. The only things Severus Snape has ever been good at are Dark Arts and potions. He's bloody obsessed with his potions. He's a fool because he thinks he can get Voldemort's favor and will do anything to get that favor. He thinks if he has it then maybe the Dark Lord will share his power. Only a fool thinks like that. Voldemort will never share his power with anyone."

While Minerva looked shocked, Dany was shocked. She'd known Regulus for more than a decade and never had she heard him rage like he had. She made a mental note to talk to him about it later. Something had to have happened at the previous night's meeting to put him on edge. She glanced around the room. The other members of Invictum were looking at Regulus with similar shell shocked expressions on their faces.

It was a very eclectic group. Dumbledore, being the only person Voldemort feared, stood at the head. Minerva, as the Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts was there because she would take control of Hogwarts should Dumbledore ever fall. Alastor Moody stood as the unofficial liaison between the Aurors and the Unspeakables, held his place because of his knowledge of Dark Arts and defense. Regulus and his fine line between Unspeakable and spy were secure in his place in the small circle.

"Time will tell with Severus," Dumbledore said. "Now we have more important issues to discuss."

"Such as?" Moody growled, apparently thinking nothing was more important than a Death Eater inside a school. Dany thought so too. Who was to say Snape wouldn't try to recruit students into Voldemort's circle?

"The prophecy."

Silence settled over the room, each occupant lost in their own thoughts. Dumbledore had called an emergency meeting of Invictum the night he'd heard the prophecy and shared it with the group. It hadn't taken long to discover the only two children it could possibly refer to. Dany didn't want it to be Harry, but she had a feeling it would be and her feelings were usually right.

"Fawkes has shown an interest in James and Lily joining our group, as well as Sirius," Dumbledore said, breaking the long silence. "I believe it is safe to say he thinks Harry will be the one to face Voldemort."

Thoughts once again turned inward. Dany knew how her brother would react to the news. She didn't want to be there for it. James was very protective of Harry and Lily and so was Sirius.

"What will we do, Albus?" Minerva asked.

"We invite James, Lily, and Sirius to join us. I've suggested James and Lily go under the Fidelius Charm to protect Harry."

"They won't be able to use any of their friends as a Secret Keeper," Regulus said. "Voldemort has them all under watch waiting for James or Lily to appear."

"I feared as much which is why I'm now suggesting someone in this room as their Secret Keeper." Dumbledore's suggestion and tone made everyone go quiet.

"James is hardly the trusting sort," Alastor said. "He won't choose anyone who isn't already a target."

"Yes, it narrows the list down quite a bit," Dumbledore said. "Danyelle."

"James doesn't trust me," Dany answered. "He hasn't trusted me in a long time." As much as she hated to admit it, Dany knew it was true. James hadn't trusted her since she was sorted into Slytherin. They had only just begun to rebuild their previous relationship and it was only because it had been their mother's dying wish. Dany knew things would never be the same between her and James and she didn't have any illusions it would all get better one day. She'd come a long way because of her Slytherin ties and she was still in contact with most of her former housemates. Of course, most of her former housemates believed they were turning her to Voldemort while she was gathering enough information to send them all to Azkaban.

"I'm afraid, Danyelle, you'll have to make him trust you. As it stands now, because of your shaky relationship with James, you won't be suspected as much as Sirius, Remus, or Peter."

"I agree with Albus," Alastor said. "No one knows you work in DOM except us, James, Lily, and Sirius."

"Voldemort doesn't think much of women in any situation," Regulus added. Dany glared at him; she was trying to get out of this and he wasn't helping her. "He wouldn't suspect James of coming to you for help."

She sighed. They were trying to force this one her and she knew it. She understood what the three men were telling her. She and James didn't show any public connections other than name and blood. Rarely were they seen together and so it made sense for her to become the Secret Keeper. Voldemort wouldn't suspect her as quickly as he would Sirius, Peter, or Remus. Even Dumbledore would be suspected.

If Voldemort came after her she'd have ample time to escape. The wards surrounding her apartment were triggered by any type of Dark Magic and she had developed a ward to target the Dark Mark. Hells, didn't she risk her life and sanity everyday to protect people from Voldemort and his followers? This was the same thing; only now it was more personal. This was her family, her brother, Lily, Harry. She could protect them. She had to because few others would.

"How are we going to do this?"

"Do you know how to cast Fidelius?" Dumbledore asked. Dany nodded. "Then all I see to be done is for you to win James' trust as quickly as possible without arousing his or Voldemort's suspicions."

"I have an idea how to do that," Dany answered him. The meeting deteriorated after she'd made her choice and soon she found herself walking the familiar halls of Hogwarts with Regulus at her side. Classes would be starting in an hour and at this time most of the students would be heading to the Great Hall for breakfast. Dany hadn't said a word to anyone throughout the remainder of the meeting. She'd been working on the finer details of her plan of gaining back her brother's trust. It would be a long and arduous process and she would have to work quickly before James talked one of his friends into the scheme.

"Ah, two of my favorite students."

Dany and Regulus both spun around to face the man who'd spoken. Their former potions professor and the Slytherin Head of House, Horace Slughorn walked toward them.

"Danyelle and Regulus. What are you two up to these days?" Slughorn asked. Dany caught her partner's look and stifled a laugh.

"Oh, not much," Regulus answered. "Bit of this and that. Working on the war effort mostly."

"Yes, yes, Albus said several Order members would be stopping by. Tell me, what do you do in the war effort?"

"Like Regulus said," Dany answered him. "We do a bit of this and that. What needs to be done."

"Ah, yes," Slughorn replied. "I remembered you both were into Dark Arts. It seemed to be an unhealthy obsession, but you've put your studies to good use, I see."

Dany smiled. The only reason she and Regulus had ever stood out to Slughorn was because of their combined interests in the Dark Arts. He was the one who'd written them passes to the Restricted Section of the library and he had supported Dany's recruitment into the Unspeakables. She owed him for the life she now had.

"We need to be going," she reminded Regulus. "It was nice seeing you, Horace."

"Yes, yes," Slughorn said. "Do give me a call sometime and we can have lunch or something along those lines." Dany and Regulus both nodded and escaped the castle without being too obvious. Once outside the doors they both started laughing.

"He hasn't changed at all," Regulus said once they began walking the path to the gates. Dany cast a silencing bubble around them to keep any unwanted ears from listening to their conversation.

"He will never change, Reg," she reminded him. "He's been like that since we first met him. It's frightening. I'm almost glad this is his last term. It might be good for the students to be taught by someone without such apparent favoritism."

"Not going to happen," Regulus answered her. "Snape will favor the Slytherins. At least Horace favors the students who'll go somewhere in their life."

"Ah, but have you noticed that most of those students he didn't favor ended up going to Voldemort?"

"Good point," he admitted. "So what are you planning for your brother?"

"I'm going to go see Lily later today. I'll start working on her first."

"Don't let anyone see you. It wouldn't do for the Dark Lord to discover you and James getting along again. It's one of the main reasons he hasn't tried to kill you directly yet; he thinks you can be turned against Dumbledore and your brother."

"It's nice to feel loved." She sighed. "I just want to get this started before James and Lily decide to go to someone else. I don't trust my brother's friends. I know one of them is a traitor."

"I've gotten a feeling about it too. Any ideas?"

"It's not Sirius. I searched him last night before I Obliviated him. Voldemort extended an offer but Sirius refused, vehemently."

Regulus chuckled. "Sounds like Sirius. So it's either Pettigrew or Lupin."

"I'm guessing Pettigrew."

"But Lupin's a werewolf."

"But James, Sirius, and Peter became Animagi for him. I doubt he'd throw it away just because Voldemort promises freedom for the werewolves."

"And you don't think he'd throw away such a sacrifice made on their parts."

"I've known Remus a long time. Yes, he's a werewolf, but he's also tried to keep James, Lily, and Harry safe. I don't think he'd throw away those friendships."

"So Pettigrew. Why?"

"The only real reason Peter became friends with James and Sirius was because they were the most powerful and popular with their year in Gryffindor. Peter strikes me as someone who wants to be with the most powerful person present."

"Why not Dumbledore?"

"Why did you join the Death Eaters?"

"Touché. Okay, so he believed or believes the Dark Lord will ultimately win against Dumbledore."

"Or he thought he could be a spy and has gotten himself in too deep."

"Wouldn't work. You have to believe no one is more powerful to take the Dark Mark."

"Damn."

"Yeah," he answered. "I never thought of Pettigrew as someone to serve the Dark Lord but I should have seen it. I'll have to start looking closer."

"We both will. Sirius believes Remus is the traitor."

"We can use it against them, though."

"How so?" she asked.

"Turn James and Sirius against Remus and Peter..."

"Ah, I see where you're going. I'll have to be subtle about it. If I go too fast they'll suspect something."

"They'll suspect I've turned you into a Death Eater."

She shrugged and smiled. "Probably, but I think this will work. If nothing else I'll get James to trust me again if only to cast the charm."

"You do know if you trick him into this and he discovers it, he'll never trust you again."

"I know, Regulus, but if protecting Harry means putting an end to this war, I'm willing to sacrifice my brother's faith in me. Winning and surviving this war is far too important to care about how James and Sirius feel."

~~~

After a long breakfast during which they fine-tuned Dany's plan, she and Regulus were back in her office at DOM finishing paperwork. Normally Dany didn't even touch the paperwork but they were so behind and she wouldn't have time to approve any of it later. After they finished the filing, Dany would go talk to Briggs to get approval for casting Fidelius. Normally Unspeakables took oaths against taking any side in any battle or war, but since the war against Voldemort had been escalating for years, the department had lessened the restrictions and Dany was sure once Greg heard how important Dumbledore considered Harry to be, he'd let her do it. If he didn't, she'd do it anyway. She hadn't gotten this far in life doing everything she was told.

Her musings were interrupted when someone knocked on the door. Both she and Regulus looked up to see their boss, Greg Briggs at the door holding the hand of a small black haired girl. Dany tilted her head. Greg, like all Unspeakables, wasn't married and didn't have any siblings, so where had this girl come from? She looked to be only three or four years old and was terribly malnourished. She was looking at the ground but held onto Greg's hand with a death grip.

"Maddy, I want to introduce you to two friends of mine," Greg said. Dany had a flash of thought. Greg had led the raid on the Lestranges the night before. She remembered mention of Bella Lestrange having a daughter...a daughter named Madeline. Oh gods, what had they done to the girl? How had Greg gotten her?

"Hi, Maddy," Dany said, standing up. She walked over to the girl and knelt to meet her eyes. "I'm Dany and that's Regulus."

"Hi," the girl replied but didn't meet Dany's eyes. The woman stood up and looked at Greg. Cold fury spread through her body like fire. She had known Bella was insane, but had she hurt her own daughter?

If Bella hurt this girl, Dany thought, she better beg her lord for help because once I find her, she won't have a corpse.

"Maddy, go on back to my office and we'll come get you in a few minutes," Greg said. Once the girl was safely down the hall, Dany turned to her mentor.

"What happened?"

"Did you hear about Lena?"

Dany and Regulus shared a look. "No."

"Death Eaters broke through her wards this morning and tortured her. We don't know what they found out or even why they marked her as a target, but she's dead."

"Damn."

"Do we have a spy?" Regulus asked.

"That was my first thought until I remembered what you said about Voldemort's latest assignment. All he needed was a suspicion of her connection to DOM."

"And he attacked. Which means the Death Eaters could know who else is down here."

"Yes. The reason I came here is because you two are the best in the department. The Lestranges are going to come for Maddy and I want you waiting for them."

"To kill or capture?" Regulus asked.

"I prefer the latter, but if that is impossible, at least we'll be done with them."

"And the girl's protection?"

"I'm leaving it to you. Do whatever has to be done. Fidelius if it comes to that. We need the Lestranges gone."

"We'll do what we must," Dany said, glancing at Regulus. Greg nodded.

"Work it out between yourselves. I'll keep Maddy with me until you get the protections working." Briggs left and Dany closed and sealed the door. She turned to her partner in all meanings if the word.

"Do you think..." she began.

"You know Evans better than I do, but it might be possible. Convince her that it was her idea."

"Any ideas?"

Regulus shrugged. "You're the strategist. I'm just the muscle."

She grinned at him. "You're more than muscle, love," she answered, sitting down in the chair beside him. "We haven't got much time to do this, even less than we had this morning."

"Go talk to Lily. I'll take Maddy to your flat and strengthen your wards."

"Don't let yourself be seen."

He stood up and smiled. "I've got something to come back to. I won't let myself be caught."

~~~

Dany Apparated to Godric's Hollow. She knew she wouldn't be welcome if James was there and she hated having to time her visits with Harry around her brother's work schedule, but it was a necessary hazard. She had made her own choices in life and if he didn't understand or accept them it was his problem, not hers. She had enough to worry about keeping herself alive. Now she had two children to worry about as well and she wasn't sure what she thought about the change in circumstances. She had once thought about having children but the only man she cared about enough was Regulus and their positions were far too precarious to even think about families. Besides, it was selfish to bring a child into a war torn world and she wouldn't have a child only to risk orphaning it if Voldemort ever found out.

She sighed, shaking her head of the dismal thoughts. She had a job to do now. She would talk to Lily and visit with Harry for a bit. She knew Lily would ask about the goings-on at DOM and she would have to break the news to her sister-in-law about Lena. Lily and Lena had worked together when Lily had been an Unspeakable. She would then go into a brief explanation that she was going into hiding with the daughter of a high ranking Death Eater. Dany knew Lily well enough to gauge her potential reaction to the news.

She knocked on the door and when it opened she had to stop herself from taking a step back. James was supposed to be at DMLE. What was he doing home? This was going to call for a major realignment of her plan if he even let her into the house.

"Danyelle," he said. "What are you doing here?"

She shrugged and leaned against the door frame. For all the times he had answered to her in the field, when he wasn't on duty he treated her like a wayward teenager rebelling against authorities. She hated it. She was a grown woman and she'd made her own choices in life. "I've had a few problems and I have to go away for a while. I thought it would be a good idea to stop by and see Harry before I disappeared so he wouldn't be so confused. After all, he'll lose a lot more people before this war is over and he deserves all the normalcy we can provide." She tilted her head and smiled what she hoped was a friendly smile. He sighed, but stepped aside and allowed her to enter the house.

She saw Sirius and Peter sitting with Lily in the living room and went on guard. She knew Peter was the spy but it would take much more than her suspicions to satisfy Sirius and James. Dumbledore would accept it without questions other then to clarify. At least the headmaster trusted her judgment and understood how she knew what the real war was about. James wouldn't accept how much she knew about the real war and until he did, they would forever be at odds. They could openly blame it on differences of opinion and Hogwarts house loyalty, but those who knew them best knew the truth. He was still older brother and, in his mind, still responsible for her now that their parents were dead.

"Lily, Sirius, Peter," she said, nodding to each in turn. Then she had another idea. Peter was here. He would report to Voldemort. The story she had created to tell Lily could still stand and Voldemort would allow the Death Eaters to attack. This could very well work to her advantage.

"Hey, Dany," Sirius and Lily both said.

"Hello, Danyelle," Peter replied, watching her. Dany had always been a little wary of her brother's friend and now she really knew why. Unconsciously she had probably known he was a Death Eater but had refused to accept it.

"Why are you going away?" James asked after Dany had sat down across from Peter and Sirius.

She shrugged, taking time to compose her story. "I'm sure you heard something about the raid last night on the Lestranges." When James nodded, she continued. "They left their five year old daughter, Madeline, behind. We have reason to believe Bella will want the girl back so I'm taking her into hiding in the mountains until things calm down a bit. Later I'll find a family who'll take her if I place them under the Fidelius Charm. Then I'll sit back and wait for Bella to come after me."

"Why you?" Lily asked.

Dany gave her a grim smile. "Because I'm the only one who can. Lena was murdered last night. I'm the only other person who's faced off with Bella and survived with my mind intact...of course, hers was a little more gone after the encounter, but who's paying attention?."

"That's a scary prospect. Bellatrix was never in possession of a complete mind in the first place," Sirius said.

"She's your cousin."

"Ah, but you're both Slytherins and you started it," Sirius retorted with a grin. Perhaps the Gryffindor was salvageable.

Dany laughed but she didn't miss the sour look on her brother's face. He would never get used to her liking her placement in Slytherin. "Indeed." Time to shake things up a bit. "At least loyalty isn't hard to determine with the Slyths. You either serve the Dark Lord or you don't and most who don't are dead."

She was watching Peter when she spoke and Dany saw him flinch and look at her, eyes wide. She wanted to laugh. He had just given himself away. Was it really so easy to determine, though? She'd known Peter Pettigrew for as long as she'd known Sirius and Remus. Could she so quickly determine his true loyalties?

Yes. It was typical of so many of the lower ranking Death Eaters. They joined because they want power and then they get themselves in a little too deep. But maybe that wasn't the case this time. Dany had set her Dark Mark ward around the house without telling James and Lily once she was sure it worked, but never had it gone off. If Peter carried the Mark, it would have gone off every time he came close to the house and she knew he wasn't good enough to figure out the ward so it only meant one thing; he didn't have the Mark.

All Death Eaters didn't take the Mark, though, not if Voldemort placed them as spies. Peter was a spy and so he wouldn't have the Mark, but he would have another connection to the Dark Lord, something that could be used to call them together..

"It's not that easy," James answered. "People aren't cut in perfect molds."

"With the Slytherins it is. I know who does what. With the former, let's say Gryffindors, it's a bit more difficult. Loyalty is a fickle item to some and I can say, with complete honesty, that I have never seen a Hufflepuff Death Eater. Ravenclaws aren't hard to identify and I've seen a few in the Death Eater robes and my spies have identified them."

"How many spies do you have?" Lily asked.

"My network is larger than Dumbledore's if that tells you anything. I promise them immunity from prosecution and I keep them out of Azkaban. To some keeping their sanity is more important than the death they will face if the Dark Lord discovers their treachery."

"You implied there are Gryffindor Death Eaters," Sirius said.

"Yes, there are. I know the identity of one and although I can't prove it, I'm watching him." Peter let out a strangled noise but no one paid any attention except Dany. She leveled her gaze at him and he paled. She wanted to laugh. She hadn't had this much fun in a long time but if she didn't quit James and Sirius would catch on and she didn't want it to happen so soon. She could feed along some false information and she already had. She wasn't planning on going into the mountains with Maddy, they were going to stay in her flat with Regulus until Lily and James could be convinced to take the girl under Fidelius.

"Certainly if a Gryff became a Death Eater they'd be a spy."

"Wouldn't work, James. I know more about the Dark Mark than you, but there has to be complete loyalty to the Dark Lord to accept it and survive."

"Why do you know so much?" Lily asked. "I mean, I know what you do, but still, knowing all that seems...unnatural."

"Questioning tactics include Legilimency," Dany answered, once again watching Peter. She loved seeing him squirm. It was very Slytherin of her, she knew. "Well then. I'll go see Harry and leave you four to whatever it was you were doing." Dany stood up and walked to where Lily had motioned Harry was. On her way out of the room, she cast a small charm to hear everything going on between the four Gryffindors. The conversation was whispered for a few minutes, mostly speculation which Dany didn't really care about as she talked to Harry.

"Your brother has turned her into a Death Eater," James hissed at Sirius. "How else would she know so much?"

"Dumbledore knows as much from his spies," Lily replied.

"She knows how the Dark Mark is to be set, Lily. Dumbledore doesn't even know that or he would have said something."

Dany grinned to herself and set Harry back down on the floor before walking out of the room. She stood where she could face them all and spoke. "Tell me, James, how do you know what Albus knows about how the Inner Circles works? He doesn't tell you everything."

"Are you a Death Eater?" James asked her.

"I'm beginning to wonder if there is a difference between what I do and what the Death Eaters do," she answered. "There isn't much of one." What the hell, let's get more than just Bellatrix. "At DOM we're not ethical in many of the things we do. I suppose we make up for it in the end, however." This statement got a strange look from Sirius. They'd had a talk not two weeks previous about the secrecy spells around DOM. Only a select few people knew what happened and who worked there. Even Sirius and James with their upper level Auror clearance only knew about her and Regulus. They weren't allowed to know the identities of any other Unspeakables. She smiled. "Well, I'll be off now. I have a few things to finish up before Madeline and I take off. I shall see you all soon."

"How are you going to protect her?" Lily asked.

"Fidelius, most likely," Dany answered with a shrug.

"I thought the oaths didn't allow that," James said, looking at her.

Dany didn't want to invade her brother's mind, but she was curious about what was going on. Why were he and Lily so curious about this now? "The war has escalated beyond the point where the oaths matter. By not taking sides, we're losing more than we're gaining. I'll protect everyone I have to in order to ensure a victory for the Light side and I'll kill those who get in my way." She smiled to each of them and walked out of the house.