Mortem . Sirius Black

chapter twenty-one

It took forty-five minutes for Blinky ti finally finish getting Nephera ready, before her mother walked into the room, looking nervous as ever.

"I know you have the tendency to run that ugly mouth of yours, but I warn you, not tonight. This is very important for out family, for the fate of the wizarding world, and I will not allow you and your blood-traitor ways to ruin it," she stated "Do you understand?" 

"Who's coming?" asked Nephera instead, although she had a feeling that she already knew the answer 

"Just come downstairs with me, and keep that mouth shut." 

Her mother grabbed her forcefully by the arm and dragged her all the way down to the main sitting area, releasing her just before she opened the doors. 

Once the doors opened, Nephera's suspicions were confirmed. Standing inside was Lestrange, Avery, Mulciber, and Nott, standing in front of their parents. Her own father was standing opposite all of them, right next to Lord Voldemort himself, or, since Nephera knew better, Tom Riddle. 

He looked much older than what he did in the picture, but that was to be expected. Still, he had the same self-assured stance and cold aura around his like he did in the picture she had seen. 

"Welcome, welcome," he spoke, his voice echoing through the room "Today, we will have the honor of four new members joining us, they are young, but they show great promise," 

Four new candidates thought Nephera clearly the guys standing in front of me, although she fought the urge to intervene and say that they weren't promising at all

"I would also like to thank me dear friend Castiel, for offering his manor as our headquarters for the months to come." continued the wizard "You have always stood beside me, Castiel, your loyalty should be one our new recruits mirror," 

Headquarters, good. At least I might be able to overhear something, the more information I know the better. 

Nephera took a few minutes to observe her four classmates. 

Lestrange was trying to look brave and noble, but the way he kept fidgeting with the rings on his fingers showed how scared he was. 

Avery was standing tall, but his gaze kept flickering between Voldemort and his father's hand, which was gripping his shoulder. There was a slight glimmer on his face, evidence of a concealment charm, the boy probably wasn't as willing as he seemed to be, and his father had to beat obedience into him. 

Mulciber had a stupid smirk on his face, showing that he truly was the stupidest out of the bunch. Only an idiot wouldn't be afraid in this situation. 

Nott was looking forwards towards a blank space on the wall behind her, a brooding expression on his face. He was afraid, that much was certain, but his eyes were distant, calculating. He had always been the smartest of the four, and the more studious, he was no doubt thinking of what options he had and realizing that he had none. 

"Mr. Lestrange, if you will," said Voldemort, beckoning the boy forward "Your brother has been an excellent addition to our ranks I'm sure you will be the same." 

Lestrange walked forward, meeting the older wizard in the middle of the room, and pulled up his left sleeve, revealing his forearm. Voldemort took out his wand and placed the tip there, staring deep into the boy's eyes. 

Lestrange tried to be strong, tried to appear unphased, but soon his screams filled the room. 

Suddenly, the girl felt a pressure inside her head, something was trying to make its way through. Strengthening her occlumency, she ran her eyes across the room until they connected with those of Voldemort, who was already staring at her. When she realized who it was that was trying to pry his way into her mind, she felt her blood run cold with terror and strengthened her defenses even more. Shaking her head slightly and smirking in the man's direction, she showed him that there was no way he would be reading her thoughts.