Trademark smirks and Temperamental redheads

Chapter 18 - The new 'me' The new 'you' (Sixth Year)

They were in a dungeon of some sort; the walls were damp and covered with moss, giving off the smell of decay. Along the walls ran torches lit with emerald green fires, casting an eerie glow on those in the room. Draco smirked wryly under his hood, if you added a few couches and some carpeting, it would have resembled the Slytherin common room. Crabbe and Goyle were on either side of him, the stunned looks on their faces were as close as those two could get to terror.

They moved to the front of the room, kneeling on the instructions of the elder Death Eaters. The room filled with an air of anticipation, almost as though they were waiting for a sacrifice. And that was what it was after all, tonight, Draco Malfoy would pledge his soul to the Dark Lord.

As Draco kneeled on the damp concrete floor, he considered the humour in this. If there was a Malfoy family code of conduct, there would definitely be a rule stating: Do not take any action from which you cannot benefit. So why was he kneeled here then? He would not gain anything he did not already have, apart from an ugly mark on his arm, which he'd forever have to conceal from the rest of the world. Of course, there would be another rule stating: Take any action necessary to benefit oneself, even at the expense of another family member. Lucius Malfoy stood patiently behind Draco, waiting to reap the benefits when his son, his only child, would be marked by the Dark Lord. Draco briefly wondered whether it would be a good time to begin hating his father, after all, he was sacrificing his soul, probably his life as well so that his father would be worth more in the Dark Lord's eyes.

He wondered what Ginny was doing right now, probably packing her bags for Beauxbatons. His eyes narrowed as his face took on a frown, she had left him. And here he was, about to face the epitome of evil and grovel at his feet. He was to become a powerful Death Eater, how could he face the embarrassment of having his emotions controlled by a worthless Weasley girl? She was nothing to him, let her go to Beauxbatons, she'd never become anything more, she would come back still the lowly Weasley, while he would be a full-fledged Death Eater wrecking havoc on the wizarding world. Draco would have thrown back his head and laughed insanely had he not been in the situation he was, instead he swallowed the pain that threatened to fill his heart.

"Master!" one of the Death Eaters whispered. The others turned to the direction the Dark Lord was standing, crawling over to his feet in greeting.

Draco continued to kneel, staring at the ground unseeing, waiting with a detached calm for his Marking. The Dark Lord walked to the front of the room, where an elegantly carved stone chair began to shimmer into view. He sat down with one swift sweep of his robes, letting them billow out behind him, his red eyes scanning his surroundings.

"You have been chosen by me to carry out great things under my dominance. It is an honour and a commitment that will bind you to me forever. The Dark Mark can bring you wealth and power and everything you have ever dreamed of, but be warned, betray me, and the Dark Mark will be your nightmare, your doom. Let it serve as a reminder to you of my power, serve me well, and your name will leave its mark on the history of wizardkind," the Dark Lord said, his voice smooth and silky as he hissed the words.

"Yes my Lord. We pledge our lives to you, and vow to honour your name and hold it dear to our hearts," Draco replied automatically, Crabbe and Goyle chorused him from either side.

The Death Eaters behind them rapidly dispersed to the edges of the room, all except one. Draco watched as his father walked toward the brands, glowing a red-orange as the flames licked at it, turning parts of it a dull, golden colour. He could feel Crabbe and Goyle's shivers as they trembled and seemed to shrink as they cowered in fear.

His father approached the three kneeling on the ground, slowly making his way over, his leather shoes echoing off the floor with every step. He stopped in front of Crabbe first, waiting. Very hesitantly, Crabbe pulled up the sleeve of his left arm; his arm trembled visibly as he offered it to Lucius.

As the brand met his soft flesh, Crabbe let out a small yelp, quickly stifling it when Lucius glared at him. When it was done, Lucius walked back to where the other brands were waiting, repeating the process methodically with Goyle. As Draco waited for his father to approach him, he listened to Crabbe and Goyle's whimpering, disgust and anger clouding his mind. It was the first time he had really gotten angry at his life, at what he was to become; ever since he was a child, he'd known that this was what awaited him. He had always taken it as inevitable, even relishing the thought of what he could do when he had his chance at power. Now however, he only wanted it to be over, to end.

He offered his arm immediately as Lucius stopped in front of him, he would not show weakness by looking away, nor would he whimper or voice the pain out loud. He stared intently as the brand came closer to him, closer, closer. And then it was on his skin, burning. He smelt the smouldering flesh, watched as his skin turned red and seemingly melted at the touch of the hot metal, there was steam rising up from the wound. It was almost like a barbeque party, Draco thought to himself as he clenched his fist tightly, willing himself not to show the pain, he bit down hard on his bottom lip and only relented when he tasted the blood in his mouth.

After Lucius had replaced the brand, he walked swiftly to a corner of the room and bowed his head, waiting for the incantation to begin. The Dark Lord gestured the kneeling figures to move forward, and so they crawled slowly over to him, careful to protect their defiled arms. They rose up on their knees and offered their arms to him, heads bowed low. His thin lips began to move, a low rhythmic murmur that rang clear in Draco's ear, and yet when he tried to focus on the words, he found that his mind only registered an eerie hum. The Mark began to burn again, the feeling intensified further and further until he could hear Crabbe and Goyle begin to scream in terror and agony.

He could feel his mind clouding over with pain, surely he could not endure any more of this; very soon he'd open his mouth and shriek his suffering to the occupants of the room. It wasn't only the physical pain in his arm that he felt, but the emotional scars that had been left in his heart were freshly bleeding once again. He could feel the anguish he had felt every time Potter had beaten him, every time Potter was rewarded the praise and respect that should have been his. He felt the hurt and guilt at being unable to live up to his father's expectations; he was a failure. The guilt buried deep within him for how he had treated Pansy all these years, and the torment he went through wanting to abandon all restraint and love Ginny openly, the betrayal he felt when she had gone on the exchange. All those feelings multiplied ten fold pounded on him, overwhelming him.

Draco glanced around the room at the other Death Eaters, they too were cowered; some trembling and others holding onto their left arms in silent torment. He stared down at the ugly mark on his forearm, it had transformed from a bright scarlet to jet-black. This was it, it was over, and his fate had been sealed forever by this mark. I'm sorry, Virginia.

~~~

Ginny stumbled and nearly fell as a sixth-year Ravenclaw stepped into her. She regained her bearings with some difficulty and studied her surroundings. She was standing on the edge of a circle of Hogwarts students, all still holding onto the shiny, black stone that had served as a Portkey. From the portraits of old wizards and witches hanging on the walls, Ginny assumed this was the Headmistress' office. Her gazed turned toward the front of the room, where the towering Madame Maxime was standing with a boy and a girl on either side of her.

The boy was standing rigidly with his arms by his side; he was rather lanky, with sandy blonde hair and ears that stuck out oddly. The girl was just the opposite; she was petite, with a round face and long brown hair swept over her shoulders.

Both wore pale blue robes of expensive-looking silk, and each had a badge pinned to their chest. She guessed them to be the Head Boy and Girl.

"Welcome too Beauxbatons Academy," said Madame Maxime in a booming voice. "For zose 'oo do not know me, allow me too introduce myself. I am Madame Maxime, 'eadmistress at zis Academy. I extend to you a warm welcome 'ere, and 'ope you will enjoy your year 'ere." She looked back at the pair standing behind her.

"Zis is Michel Beaumond," she said, gesturing to the boy, he inclined his head slightly, his expression remaining impassive. "And zis is Nicola Noirton," she continued, the girl at her left gave a small wave and smiled heartily at everyone in the room. "Zey are our 'ead Boy and Girl zis year, I 'ave assigned zem to show you around." As she finished her speech, she swept back into her giant writing desk and proceeded to ignore them.

The girl, Nicola, came forward then and smiling, directed them outside into a brightly lit hallway. As the Hogwarts students followed the Head Boy and Girl along, Nicola began to explain to them what would happen while they were here. Ginny was relieved to know that Nicola had much better English skills than Madame Maxime, she didn't think she could stand any more 'zis' and 'zat's.

"We have found a host partner for each of you, they will show you around school and help you with any problems you have. As you will only be staying one year, Madame Maxime has decided not to sort you into Houses, instead, you will be in the same House as your partner," Nicola said, as Michel led them down two flights of stairs and into another corridor.

"When do we get to meet them?" a Hufflepuff fourth-year asked nervously.

"We are meeting them now in the Conference Room," Nicola replied with a smile. They continued to walk for another ten minutes, the Hogwarts students asking questions and Nicola answering them cheerfully. Michel continued to lead the way, making no attempt at joining the conversations. Perhaps he doesn't speak English Ginny thought silently as she took in her surroundings. The corridors and halls they passed were finely adorned with paintings and portraits; some of the portraits watched the passing students out of the corner of their eye, while others didn't even acknowledge their presence. Ginny grinned as she thought about what the paintings and portraits at Hogwarts would do. They'd follow the new students along each frame, chatting with them excitedly and welcoming them, overwhelming them with questions about how their holidays had been.

The styles of the doors and stairwells were of an elegant yet modern touch, showing that this was much too contemporary to be a castle. Ginny guessed it to be a palace of sorts, vaguely wondering when they'd be let out onto the grounds.

Michel finally came to a halt at a large wooden door; he turned around and looked at the students behind him, as if inspecting them, before turning back and pushing the door open. Eight Beauxbatons students stood in front of them, each dressed in their uniform with a smile on their faces. Ginny looked at each of them in turn, her gaze lingering on a tall girl with beautiful silver hair, the girl seemed somewhat familiar.

As the Hogwarts students stopped near the entrance of the room, the Beauxbatons students came forward and stood beside a student, partnering them. Ginny smiled at the silver haired girl as she strode toward her, she was slightly surprised when the girl came up to her and embraced her in a tight hug.

"You do not remember me?" the girl asked as she stepped back from their hug. Ginny shook her head in embarrassment, giving the other girl a polite look of inquiry. "I am Gabrielle Delacour. My sister, Fleur is dating your brother, no?" the girl said with a smile. Ginny's eyes widened as realization dawned on her. Of course! Gabrielle, she was one of the hostages for the Second Task during the Triwizard Tournament.

"Yes of course!" Ginny said, giving Gabrielle a slightly apologetic smile. "Bill talks very highly of your sister, she works at Gringotts now doesn't she?"

"Yes, she is very keen to improve her English, we used to have English lessons together." Gabrielle answered.

"You have very good English, I wish I was half as fluent in French," Ginny said sadly.

Further conversation was hushed as Nicola called for everyone's attention.

"It is time to go to the Dining Chamber, please follow Michel, he will lead the way."

When they reached the Dining Chamber, it was already packed with students, loud chatter echoed around the Chamber and at the front was a long table behind which sat many Wizards and Witches.

There was an empty chair in the middle of the table, which Ginny guessed, was reserved for Madame Maxime, judging from its size and the velvet draped over the back and onto the seat.

Ginny followed her fellow students to the front of the room, talking quietly with Gabrielle. As they stood at the front of the Chamber, Ginny looked around at the students seated around four long tables. Many were staring at them with displeasure and some were pointing rudely and whispering.

"They don't seem to like us very much," Ginny observed quietly, raising an eyebrow at Gabrielle.

"Don't mind them, you will find that students at this Academy are more often than not, snobs - as you say in your language. They feel that they are the best Wizarding School and walk about proud and arrogant."

"Oh," Ginny replied, not knowing what else to say, she remembered Draco saying something like this to her last year.

Just as she was about to ask more questions, silence descended the Chamber as all eyes focused to the front of the room, above Ginny's head. She turned around to see Madame Maxime settling down on her chair. When she had the attention of everyone in the room, she stood up again and cleared her throat.

"Bienvenue pour cette nouvelle année à Beauxbatons. J'espère que vous allez tous bien vous comporter et que vous êtes prêts à apprendre et pratiquer nos traditions renommées. Cette année, nous recevons des invités au sein de notre école et je vous demande de leur réserver un accueil chaleureux," Madame Maxime said in a loud, booming voice that echoed around the room.

"What's she saying?" Ginny whispered to Gabrielle.

"Just the usual Start of Year Speech," Gabrielle returned just as quietly.

"...Nous sommes très heureux de recevoir les étudiants de Hogwarts en tant qu'élèves honoraires de l'académie de Beauxbatons. Préfets, s'il vous plait, présentez-leur nos cadeaux," Madame Maxime said. She sat down and everyone in the room waited expectantly for something to happen.

The host partners went over to a trunk in a corner of the room and each pulled out a bundle of something in pale blue, they walked over to their partners and bowed or curtsied as they presented the Hogwarts students with the bundles. Ginny gave Gabrielle a curious look as she straightened up from her curtsy.

"A gift from us," Gabrielle answered, handing over the bundle. Ginny turned it over in her hands and realised it was a set of Beauxbatons robes. The pale blue silk slid over her skin, cool and smooth to the touch. It was lined with silver ribbon and the hem was a navy blue that shimmered in the light.

Ginny felt something hard in the middle and took it out carefully. It was a silver badge with the crest of Beauxbatons - two crossed, golden wands, each emitting three stars, and two words along the bottom. Virginia Weasley it read, Ginny smiled, running her finger along its shiny surface.

As loud applause followed this exchange, Ginny followed Gabrielle to the table at the far right and sat down next to her, returning the polite smiles she received. This was her new start, Ginny thought, as she began to use her limited French to converse with a few of Gabrielle's friends.