James considered himself a pretty sane person - sure he made impulsive decisions but he always claimed responsibility and tried to sort out problems without doing something rash.
That however was not something he could say about this moment. His very actions were frankly the definition of insanity and he could literally hear Siriusâ voice screaming at him for his stupidity.
Despite all that he continued forwards, towards the edge of the wards of the Hogwarts grounds so that he could take this portkey without anyone noticing. Said portkey was something he had grabbed from Crabbe earlier that day after he had overhead them talking about it taking them to the Dark Lordâs manor - after all it wasnât as though Crabbe was going to notice, the man was an imbecile.
It wasnât long until he was dropped in a room of what he assumed was the Slytherin manor. The walls were covered in an ornate green wallpaper and the handles of the drawers were serpent heads. On the bed in front of him, there was a long black robe of concealment and a small mask - not the one of a typical Death Eater - but one he assumed was for new recruits. It was a simple fully white mask that whilst physically only covered half of the face - cast an illusion over the entirety - probably for the Dark Lord to remove during the ceremony.
James quickly changed into the robes, adding them on top of the pureblood attire that he had clothed himself with before leaving Hogwarts. He needed the Dark Lord to take him seriously after all.
It wasnât long before there was a knock at the door and James saw the Dark Lord. Ordinarily he would probably check the new recruit and properly dressed themselves and led them to the other recruits, but the second the Dark Lord recognised him, the door shut and he was forced to confront him.
With a swift motion, he got down on one knee and said âMy Lord, I, Lord James Fleamont Potter , the new head of the Potter Family wish to form an alliance with you.â
James didnât dare utter a word after that. He knew with the way that the Dark Lord was looking at him, that he didnât expect him to say that - certainly not after the James having previously rejected the offer and certainly not after hearing that he had broken it off with Barty because of the Dark Mark.
Frankly James was expecting to get killed right there or at least end up a war prisoner although he would prefer the immediate death. Fortunately the Dark Lord was willing to indulge him today.
âMy, my, Lord Potter.â he started off slowly as though he were a predator circling its prey, â It sounds as though weâve got some talking to do. After all, I was very sure that the last time I proposed you joining me you said that I was a âevil megalomaniac that deserved nothing short of endless sufferingâ.â
He paused once more before circling back around to James front and grabbing his chin and yanking off his mask and plunging into his mind using legilimency. James willed his barriers down as he allowed the Dark Lord to tear through his brain to peruse his memories since his parents death, his loneliness, the lack of trust in Dumbledore and turning down the order. The memories of his falling in love with Barty and working on very questionable spells together, the way that he was in love with Barty enough to do something as stupid as this.
The Dark Lord pulled himself out of Jamesâ mind just as quickly as he entered.
âWhilst that was sufficient in convincing me that you no longer detest me - I still see no reason to let you join me. Alliances with houses as virtually useless and itâs not like youâll be ceding your house to the Slytherin name once you die- so tell me why I should let you continue and not just kill you right here?â
James lifted his head and looked the Dark Lord in the eyes ready to give him and answer that he had prepared since his argument with Barty in the great hall, âI love Barty Crouch Jr.â
A weight lifted from his chest at the admission but he also knew that it wasnât a sufficient answer so he continued, âI love Barty Crouch Jr. and you are his master. He would die for you and I would die for him. Itâs that simple. You know thereâs nothing in the world that would break his allegiance to you - youâre the father he never got because trust me Iâve tried. I didnât want to see him suffer in a war. But he stands by your ideals and heâs ready to fight for them and iâll stand right next to him.â
He could tell that it had struck something in the man in front of him - not completely trust but still an acceptance of the truth.
âWell Lord Potter, I suppose youâve convinced me.â He drawled out.
The Dark Lord placed the mask back upon Jamesâ face and moved back towards the door before calling another figure towards the door.
âIf you survive through the trials Lord Potter Iâm sure youâll be a great asset to the Death Eaters. I do hope dear Bella doesnât put you through too much trouble.â
James startled at that and looked up to see Bellatrix Lestrange removing her concealment mask and hood to face James - relishing in every look of discomfort James held.
âIsnât this going to be fun Potter?â
Note: This is longer than I had intended to write but I had fun doing it!!! The next part is going to be the actually initiation with a little fighting and I might do a fourth part with Barty confronting James in person but we will see!!!
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When he was a young boy, he often joined his parents at the Black Manor for their summer balls. The kid was lonely, an only child after all, and for some reason he was absolutely attached to her. It had been weird since her own siblings and cousins had started to avoid her and so she couldnât help but indulge in the attention.
It wasnât difficult to keep him entertained. She would do a spell or two from her first year Hogwarts book and then sheâd teach James. It was a beautiful story.
It was such a shame Potter had ended that.
âGet up Potter - you look pathetic lying there.â Bellatrix called out ignoring her old memories. This was no time for reminiscing, especially when those times were long gone.
James rose from his knees and followed behind Bellatrix trying to keep up with her swift pace as he tried to remember as many details of the Dark Lordâs Manor. He was lucky that it hadnât changed too much from his previous visits but he couldnât help but feel a certain chill in the air that reminded him of his predicament.
Bellatrix then came to a halt in front of some a room. Whilst the door wasnât open, James could hear a whimpering sound from the other side of the door.
She stood in front of the door and said, âDonât die too pathetically - it would be a shame to be scraping up your remains.â
Within moments she had opened the door, thrown him in and closed the door with a resounding thud. She then uttered a variety of locking charms to ensure that Potter remained inside. After all, if he didnât manage to complete the trial, then there was no point in letting him out.
James came to his senses very quickly. He seemed to be in a room that had a two way mirror at the end - he assumed for whoever was watching him and there were a variety of small devices that lined the walls. In the middle of the room was a man in a cage that was dressed in a suit. He looked to be in his early twenties and extremely unaware of what was going to happen to him. James felt sick to his stomach.
âTrial Number One,â a voice uttered calmly through what he now knew to be speakers, âCast a curse of your choosing on the muggle in front of you - no unforgivables.â
It didnât occur to James that he would be given an option of what curse and what made him feel worse was the fact that he wasnât struggling to come up with a curse. In fact, he had so many curses in his mind that he was struggling to pick one that he could use on the muggle in front of him.
It couldnât be too strong otherwise he would be practically killing the muggle and not only would that be too cruel, but he somehow knew that he wasnât allowed to do that. Equally, he couldnât pick something too weak, heâd be considered useless and killed right there and then.
He instead settled for something unique instead and cast a spell that caused the user to hallucinate that they were being slowly twisted like a screw - horrible indeed but not something a Deatb Eater would be impressed by - in Parseltongue.
The muggle in front of him squirmed and screamed in anguish and James found himself struggling to look away as he held his spell waiting for his next orders.
He supposed he should be feeling remorse and anger at his situation, but ultimately he it came back to the fact that he knew what he was getting into and that he couldnât pretend that anything he would do would be worse than losing Barty.
âStop.â The voice reverberated.
James stopped immediately not wanting to dwell on this any longer.
âWell done Potter, itâs good to see that youâre not a complete invalid after being in Gryffindor. Now as much as I would love to find out about what spell you used, thatâs something for after the trials. We will move onto Trial 2.â
The door behind him creaked open and Bellatrix walked in, looking mildly surprised that he had gotten this far and then locked the door behind her.
âBellatrix here will be performing the cruciatus curse on you. If you manage to survive the curse for however long she sees fit, you may move onto the final trial.â
Jamesâ veins went cold. Bellatrix got to decide how long she wanted to cast the spell on him? He was fucked.
âItty, bitty Potter looks terrified. Itâs going to be such a pleasure to break you myself. Crucio.â
Bellatrix didnât even give him a moment to think before casting the spell.
He was in agony. Every inch of body was suddenly awake and he was aware of every single part of his body in such extreme detail. He could feel his heart pulsating so loudly in his ears that he was sure that it could jump out of his chest at any moment and his hairs were so far on edge that he felt as though every individual hair was being pulled out. His mouth was so dry that he was wishing, praying for water as he screamed and screamed and screamed out loud. The pain was excruciating, how anyone had managed to escape this spell with any form of sanity was a miracle beyond belief, because every time James was convinced it was over and he could relax,another wave of fresh new pain sprung to life to ruin him once again.
Time wasnât moving, or at least he couldnât feel it move. It just feel like he was in some fucked up time loop. By the time Bellatrix stopped, he was surprised that she didnât look any older because he was convinced it had been an eternity of pain.
âAnswer this: When you boarded the Hogwarts Express in first year, what did Pettigrew say to me that got me to leave Sirius in your compartment on the way to Hogwarts?â Bellatrix asked, clearly expecting him to have lost his mind, leaving him unable to answer ten question.
It was funny how pathetic she thought he was.
âHe threatened you. He knew you were fucking that beautiful witch from Salem during your summer school sessions and he knew what would happen if he told your family that she was a m-â
Bellatrix started choking him, but dropped him as soon as she regained some sense. She clearly hadnât been authorised to do that, but what James had said had gotten under her skin skin. Especially since it meant that James had passed her stupid trial.
âIâm assuming by that show, that Potter passed. Very well. Bellatrix please leave the room so that we can commence Trial 3.â
âOh fuck off Malfoy,â Bellatrix shouted as she swiftly left the room.
Whilst he now knew the commentator was Lucius Malfoy and that he could impress him easily enough, he had a feeling that the Dark Lord was watching and that he couldnât afford to flounder now.
âNow, the muggle in front of you, the muggle that you tortured using a mind curse for approximately 30 minutes is a doctor. He has a wife and two young children back home and is very well known for his research on cancer.â he paused dramatically, âThis muggle is the one youâre going to kill.â
Note: How is this so long!! I didnât mean for this as well but I feel like Iâm breaking this up into another part because itâs going to be so long otherwise.
Barty to James after heâs gotten the dark mark because he doesnât want to be anything like his father and will do literally anything to do that :(
Barty: Iâm a monster goddammit! James you canât keep trying to save me when you know that Iâm not going to stop. I donât want to stop. I want to fall deeper and deeper until Iâm merely an imitation of who I used to be because I am not him - I canât be him. Please sweetheart canât you see how trying to fix me is only killing me?
