By springtime, the dark wizard called Lord Voldemort had made rapid advances. The strain on the Ministry proved so great that normal business came to a halt and the government began to focus its efforts solely on crushing the rebellion. But the more time that passed, the more the reins of control seemed to be slipping from their hands. A clan of giants started a riot in the north, trampling their way through entire towns, and their battle with the Aurors left a flattened trail of destruction that stretched for miles. Workers from the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes barely managed to clean up the mess before another group of giants attacked from the other side of the country, sending them into a scramble all over again. Snippets of the chaos began to leak into Muggle newspapers, and the Muggles' concern grew to such an extent that the Excuse Committee began generating fake storms and fires simply to distract them.

The people responsible for the chaos revealed themselves as the Death Eaters. Signs of their presence were everywhere, but oddly enough, no one ever saw their faces. No eyewitnesses ever recalled seeing anything but cloaked figures, or hearing anything but maniacal laughter before their attackers fled in a puff of smoke. This made it even more difficult to track them down, for they seemed countless in number. People began to suspect their neighbors and friends, and the cloud of nervous chatter eventually reached the Ministry itself. Once amiable workers grew distant and withdrawn. Overt aloofness was considered just as suspicious as hyperactivity, so most people lingered in a limbo between the two, drifting around as if they had been dosed with the Draught of Living Death.

Lucius gauged the level of strain in affairs by Hesperus's behavior. On a particularly bad day, the man's office would be swamped with papers, and owls would be flying in and out of his window in a feathered frenzy. Lucius hardly had time to share more than a few words with him during the day, but even so, all that anyone ever talked about was the news.

On April 22nd, Lucius left on his lunch break with the Daily Prophet in hand and made his way to the dining hall. The room was tense and hushed. People stood around with looks of deep thought and worry, many of them also reading the headlines. Lucius sat down at a free table and summoned a cup of tea. A few minutes later, Hesperus emerge from another hallway, and after frowning at the newspapers in everyone's hands, he sat down across from Lucius.

"What is it?"

"Dementors," Lucius said. "Everywhere. They managed to break out of Azkaban."

Hesperus waved his hand. "Then the Prophet is two days behind. There's no point in reading it anymore; we're the ones make the stories anyhow. It all depends on how fast our Aurors can react to it. There could be hell breaking loose this very moment and we won't know until tomorrow, when people start seeing the bodies." He lowered his voice. "I would advise you to be on your guard. The Death Eaters are advancing towards London and there's word that they might try to attack the Ministry next. The Minister has already issued an order for us to be on the lookout for suspicious activity within the collective."

Lucius nodded. "I am aware." The Senior Undersecretary had in fact given him the report a day ago and ordered all the Junior Undersecretaries to relay it to their respective departments. Lucius had complied and informed the Department of Origin's head keeper, though he found the measure completely unnecessary. All it did was introduce suspicion to places it didn't belong. Even he, who had always commanded a reasonable amount of respect in the Ministry, was starting to feel people's gazes linger on him a few seconds longer than usual. And now, as Lucius looked around the room, he noticed other wizards looking away from him and whispering something to their companions.

Hesperus, who seemed to have noticed this as well, leaned closer to Lucius. "Not everyone takes kindly to those who remain calm," he murmured. "I am not suggesting that you should change anything that you are doing, but make sure it does not arouse anyone's suspicions. Do you understand?"

"Naturally," said Lucius.

With that, they fell silent. There was a shifting to chairs from the other side of the room, and Lucius looked askance to see a wizard head towards them. Lucius recognized him only vaguely; he remembered seeing that cloud of red hair on his visits to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, where the man was always talking animatedly with someone. He was also one of the ones who didn't panic, and like Lucius, seemed more immersed in his work than ever.

The man stopped by their table and fixed his gaze on Hesperus.

"I don't know how long you intend to persist with your schemes," he said quietly, "but I'm warning you, Hesperus. If you take a single step into that file room again, you will regret it." Not waiting for a response, the man turned his eye on Lucius. "And as for you, Malfoy, I would be a little more careful of whom I associated with. Stealing files from the Department of Law Enforcement might ruin your credibility with the Minister."

Lucius rose from his seat. "You dare suggest I am working against the Ministry?"

"I am merely suggesting that if you do not wish to make enemies, you will desist," the man replied.

Lucius's eyes flashed. "And you would do to remember who you are speaking with. I am a Junior Undersecretary and my responsibilities far outweigh your childish paper-pushing."

The man met his gaze with an equally sharp look. "Then you should take care to fulfill them," he said. And without another word, he went off.

Lucius sat back down, still fuming. He saw that Hesperus was sneering.

"Arthur Weasley," he said, when the wizard had left the room. "He works in Law Enforcement, in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office. But lately he's also been meddling in the affairs of the Wizengamot. He is very disheartened that Muggles are perishing in the conflict and is pushing for greater measures to be taken for their safety."

"It's impossible," Lucius snapped. "Favoring the Muggles would mean slackening defenses of wizards, which would only lead to more deaths. Unless that is what Mr. Weasley wants."

Hesperus inclined his head. "The contradiction is clear to anyone who uses simple logic. But Mr. Weasley still persists with his opinion. He has a particular contempt for me because I took some dossiers from the Law Enforcement's file room. Apparently he doesn't like being an object of suspicion." He trailed off, then narrowed his eyes. "But you see the danger such people pose to our society? In favoring Muggles, they seem to refuse their responsibilities to their own kind."

Lucius was silent. He stirred his tea in spite, though his expression made it clear that he agreed with every word.

"And such people are everywhere," Hesperus continued. "They are dangerous especially now. While honest witches and wizards are fighting for their lives, they are the ones hindering their work and supporting our collapse. But I think I may have something that can be brought to the Wizengamot concerning Mr. Weasley and a few others. I will need you to look over their files." He rose to leave before Lucius could say anything.

When Lucius returned to his office, he found a stack of thick folders waiting for him at his desk, and his heart sank. Each person would take days to investigate, possibly even weeks. Lucius lifted the top folder and read the name: Arthur Weasley.

Lucius opened the folder and began to leaf through it. Mr. Weasley had an active career, starting as a humble secretary in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office and gradually rising to be its head. Lucius knew that the Weasleys were one of the 'lenient' pureblood families, but Arthur had made his love for the Muggle world plain from the very beginning. In any normal time, Lucius would have simply brushed this sort of person aside with disdain, but now, Mr. Weasley's actions seemed nothing short of traitorous. What right had he, in such a time of crisis, to favor Muggle security over their own?

After just a few minutes of thinking, Lucius managed to convince himself the worst about Arthur Weasley, and came to hate the man despite never having known him. But no matter how closely he examined his files, Lucius couldn't find any evidence that Arthur had broken the law, and was forced to put his dossier aside. Over the next few days, he examined the other files likewise, but had little success.

Shortly after, Lucius went on a day off and stayed at home with Narcissa. In the peace of the Malfoy house, the mayhem at the Ministry seemed trivial and distant, and Lucius almost succeeded in clearing it from his mind. But that night, an urgent owl arrived with a letter summoning him to the Ministry at once. Moments later, Lucius Apparated into the Main Atrium and found that it was in chaos. Workers were scurrying around from all directions and shouting, their panicked owls circling through the air. Some people rushed for distant hallways with their wands upheld, while others ran out the same way, their possessions and office furniture flying after them.

One man passed by Lucius with a box trailing after him, and Lucius grabbed him by the shoulder to stop him. "What in Merlin's name is going on here?"

"There's been a break-in," the wizard replied. "A group of thieves breached the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and they're making their way down. We don't know what they're after, but we're taking all the precautions we can until enough Aurors get in. Get to your office and save everything that's valuable!"

Lucius's heart skipped a beat. He rushed for he lifts and ascended to the first floor, dodging the other Junior Undersecretaries and officials on the way to his office. But moments later, he bumped sharply into someone's shoulder and found himself turning to face the person he least expected and desired to see -- Arthur Weasley. Upon recognizing Lucius, the frantic expression on Arthur's face transformed into rage. He grabbed Lucius's robe and pulled him aside. "Look at what you've done, Malfoy!"

Lucius felt a flutter of shock and pried his hands away. "What on earth are you talking about?"

"You let them in!" Arthur shouted. "While everybody else was keeping up their guard, you let them in to your department! You gave them a free ticket into the Ministry!"

"How?"

"The files you gathered! They were frauds, all of them! Not one dossier in your little database was assembled by Ministry workers. You gave the thieves a reason to keep coming into the archive, and I'll be damned if they're not about to go back there now!"

Lucius was unable to respond. It took a few seconds for the meaning of Arthur's words to sink in, and by the time it did, Lucius's face had gone as white as a sheet.

No…

His surroundings began to spin. A moment later, Lucius blinked, and once again he became aware of Arthur Weasley's angered face in the center of his vision. Lucius curled his hands into fists, and without a word, turned away and ran for the lifts. His worst fears had been confirmed. He had to see the keepers. He had to inform them of the situation, if they even knew yet.

Heart hammering, Lucius entered the nearest lift, fumbling for the key in his pocket, and rushed down to the Department of Origin. When he stepped into the archive, what he saw both shocked and sickened him. It was deserted. There wasn't a single keeper in sight. The fountains had stopped playing, plunging the space into a deathly silence. Lucius went up to the boundary point, lifting his hands to search for the wall, but they passed through empty air. The library's most valuable inner collections were standing in complete vulnerability, without even the most rudimentary Shield charm to protect them. Lucius rushed around and began to cast every enchantment he could think of, preventing books from being removed, stabilizing glass display cases, and trying to recreate at least a fragment of the impenetrable barrier that divided the archive. He was in the midst of an incantation when he heard the boom of a closing lift behind him.

Lucius spun around, drawing his wand in reflex, and saw that one of the intruders had walked in. He was wearing a black hooded cloak and a strange silver mask that obscured his face. Lucius backed away, tightening his grip on his wand. He didn't know how he would hold off a group of attackers in an enormous library, or how long his spells on the items would even last. But as he stared into the ghostly mask, a strange feeling of defiance mixed with daring swelled within him. If he was to die, then he would at least not do it in shame.

The cloaked figure advanced. Lucius continued to back away, his wand upheld, till he felt himself bump against the very barrier he had created. He was cornered.

Right then, the intruder's mask vanished in a puff of smoke, and with a shock, Lucius recognized Hesperus.

"Lower your wand, Lucius," said the man in a humored tone. "You have nothing to fear. The Dark Lord values wizarding history above all else. Your precious books are not the object of our quest."

Lucius lifted his wand higher. "Where are the keepers?" he said. "What happened to the shield?"

"The keepers have been detained. As for the spell, we managed to deduce its workings a long time ago. And gradually, we eliminated it."

Lucius narrowed his eyes. "So you were helping the thieves all along?"

"I am simply helping my kin. My brothers and sisters by oath. Family always helps family, as I am certain you can appreciate."

"And what is it that your family plans to do here?" Lucius said. "Surely you wouldn't have gone through so much risk and trouble to search the Ministry for a random valuable object. Or perhaps you had something in mind already?" He sneered. "Yes, I see now... those family fortunes were what you were after. All those cases you used to forward to me concerned disputes about heirlooms in one way or another. Disputes which might not even have happened. All that mattered was that you could use the Ministry's credibility to transfer the items from Gringotts. Then you used my trust to gain access into the archive, which compared to a bank would be quite easy to break into."

Hesperus smiled.

"A game well played indeed…" Lucius continued. "But you have made a grave error in revealing yourself to me. I can overpower you before you can do so much as utter a single hex. Whatever you meant to steal will either be recovered in a day's time or snatched out of your hands before you can cross the Floo barrier. In the meantime, I will take a prize of my own. I'll bring you to the Minister myself and say how I apprehended the perpetrator of the crime who so conveniently fell into my hands. Then who knows… one day I might soon be sitting in his place."

This was more boasting than anything, but even so, his words did their job. Hesperus's smile waned, dipping into a sour grimace.

"You misjudge me, Lucius. Do you think I am so ignorant of the Ministry's power that I would come here as a common thief? I say again, it is not gold we want. It wasn't the archive that I sought through my acquainting with you, nor did I do or say anything to you with the intention of masking my true purpose. The Death Eaters have a goal in mind that transcends material gain, and I was placed inside the Ministry to protect the identities of my comrades while they carried out their tasks. But what I did not expect to find among the ranks of the Ministry's fools was a man who walked the same path of righteous belief as I, who showed the seeds of true authority and was capable of impressing change. But his talents had sadly been put to waste behind a desk, serving people with different goals, and so he did not realize how much farther he could have gone."

At this point, Hesperus's face suddenly grew serious, and his voice acquired an imploring edge. "I am here to make you an offer, Lucius," he said. "Join us. We need people like you - people with the right perspective of the world - to take power. I know you are one of them because I have seen that even though you work out of necessity with Mudbloods and blood-traitors, you remain uncorrupted yourself. You keep to the true faith of the wizarding enterprise. Join us, Lucius, and one day you will no longer have to mask your pride. You will not have to fear for the existence of this archive, for it will no longer be in harm's way. Our history will be recognized as the true chronicle of humanity, and the Muggles will pay for the blasphemous crimes they waged to suppress it. Don't you see? We will raise all wizardkind above them as their rightful masters. We will give you the power to defend what you treasure."

A chorus of bangs and screams echoed overhead, and Lucius's gaze flew up to the library's domed ceiling, which shook from the force of the blasts on the floors above. The battle had reached the Department of Mysteries. Only minutes remained before its tide would sweep downwards. The seconds ticked by with painful lucidity, and Lucius could hear nothing but the hollow beat of his heart as he stared back into Hesperus's eerily calm face.

Finally, Lucius found his voice. "What are your terms?"

"A lifetime of servitude to our Dark Lord, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, who is a terror to behold to his enemies, but most merciful to his followers."

Lucius adjusted his grip on his wand. He felt himself lower it gradually, and after a spark of hope and relief, he pocketed it. "I accept."

Hesperus bowed his head. "Then come."

He turned for the exit, and Lucius followed him out of the archive. They ascended to the Main Atrium level, where they took a series of twists and turns and arrived at the front lobby. The room was in shambles. Statues were crumbling from the blasts of oncoming hexes, which singed the air with brilliant bursts of color. Fires had sprouted at various points among the desks, eating up vast stores of information and infrastructure. But no one paid them any mind. Everyone's eyes and wands were fixed on the myriad of exits that branched off to other corridors, where wizards in dark robes and masks were rushing in. Lucius and Hesperus plunged into the thick of battle, crossing unnoticed to the other side, where a large congregation of the black-cloaked figures was huddled together. The light from the curses reflected off their silver masks as they turned towards the new arrivals. Seeing Lucius with his Ministry badge, they all brandished their wands at him, but Hesperus held up a hand to stop them.

"Peace!" he called. "This man joins us."

The wands were lowered. One of the masked figures spoke up, voice artificially deepened and distorted. "Wilkes and Rosier have retrieved the artifact along with all the hostages. But we're greatly outnumbered. We've been forced away from the upper floors, and we'll be unable to resist the Aurors before long."

Before Hesperus could respond, someone else spoke up: "I still say we finish this! We've already gained enough ground; if we hold out a bit longer we might be able to weaken the Ministry ahead of time-"

"No!" hissed another. "We were specifically told to leave after we got it! We must find a way to leave while we haven't suffered any casualties."

"But the exits and Floo network are blocked! How do we escape?"

At this point, the masked figures all turned to Hesperus, who smiled. "We do not escape," he said. "The Dark Lord does."

Slowly, he pulled back the right sleeve of his robe and revealed a strange tattoo. It was an emblem of a black skull, its mouth open and a snake coiling out of it like a tongue. The image pulsed and moved with eerie fluidity. Hesperus pressed his forefinger to the skull's face, and Lucius thought he could hear a faint, raspy laugh.

Seconds later, a black cloud was thrown up around the group of people and obscured them from view.

The same thing happened to the other Death Eaters in the room, as well as the rest who were scattered about the Ministry building, attacking or retreating, many of whom were in the midst of heated duels. They all vanished in a puff of black smoke, as if they had been nothing more than ghosts, and by the time the fog cleared around them, they were gone.

Moments after the cloud blocked Lucius's vision, he felt himself being whisked away by a rush of wind. The distant noises of battle escalated into the screams of a hundred voices, and he felt as if his body was being forced through a narrow tube, bending and twisting unnaturally. It was like Apparition in slow motion - he felt every sensation, heard every sound, as if he were passing through hundreds of worlds on the way to his destination.

At last, the compressing force around him vanished. The screams stopped, and Lucius was no longer snaking through unintelligible space, but floating through cool evening air. Moments later, his feet touched grass, and he fell forward onto his hands and knees.

All around him, dozens of Death Eaters were being dropped on the ground. In addition to the group he had traveled with, there were many more who had participated in the raid, but their masks made them indistinguishable. Hesperus was the only one whose face was uncovered, and in the dim twilight, Lucius saw him smile.

"A variation of Side-Along Apparition, courtesy of our leader," he explained. "Unpleasant, but foolproof."

Hesperus rose and dusted himself off. Lucius did the same, and scanned the vicinity around them. They had landed in an empty meadow, bordered by a slip of shadowy forest in the distance.

Up ahead there was a glimmer of light, which turned out to be a large bonfire. As Lucius followed Hesperus towards it, he began to distinguish three figures standing in front of it. Two of them were masked, but the one who stood in the middle had his hood pulled so low over his face that Lucius could see nothing but darkness. His robes seemed to melt with the night, as if they were made of the same material as the mist that had transported them.

Hesperus bowed before the figure in the center and kissed the hem of its robes. "My Lord."

A whisper, high and wispy as a snake's hiss, answered him. "Hesperus… has the mission been completed?"

"Yes, my Lord. The Cup has been retrieved."

On cue, two figures broke from the crowd to approach Hesperus's side, stooped low in clumsy bows. They brought forth a golden goblet and placed it at the figure's feet before retreating. In the darkness, Lucius recognized the gems and emblem of Hufflepuff's Cup, the same one he had declared ownerless property all those months ago. The figure seemed pleased, and with a sweep of its long robes, enveloped the goblet somewhere within their folds.

Hesperus remained kneeling in the grass. "In addition, information about the remaining Order members has been found. We are now in the position to obtain contacts from within."

"Excellent."

There came a pause, and Lucius felt the figure sweep its gaze over the party of Death Eaters. Though he could not see its eyes, he could almost hear them moving in their sockets.

"I see we have new recruits," the figure said. "Or are they hostages?"

"No, my Lord," said Hesperus. "These are the recruits. All of them exceptional and worthy of entering your service."

"Then there is no time to waste. Why don't we begin the introductions?" The figure waved a wand, and Lucius felt his feet lift the ground. He was carried over to the figure and dropped just a few steps away, hunching over slightly.

"Your name?"

Up close, the voice was no less chilling, though from its slightly deepened tone Lucius deduced it was male.

"Lucius Malfoy," he said.

"A Malfoy? Very good. It is always pleasing to have the support of noble blood."

Suddenly, a female cackle sounded from beside him. The figure turned to the person on his left, sounding amused. "Do you know this man, Bellatrix?"

"Yes, my Lord!" replied the woman. The mask vanished from her face to reveal dark hair and heavily-lidded eyes, and with a flutter of surprise, Lucius recognized his wife's sister. The last time Lucius saw her had been nearly two years prior, when Narcissa had introduced them. Bellatrix had changed since then. The stoic regality had fled from her features in favor of a gleeful madness, which revealed itself when she flashed her trickster's smile. Her hair hung in scraggly strands down her shoulders, and her formerly deep voice had begun to play up to the tones of her master's.

"Lucius is married to my sister," Bellatrix said. "A fine family, my Lord - I have never seen two people more worthy of each other, or happier in all respects, than the heir of the Malfoys and the heiress of the Blacks."

Lucius inclined his head in acknowledgment. The figure turned to him with new interest.

"Ah, so you are family… All the more reason for you to join, then. But I am surprised that you did not show support for our cause earlier. I suppose being surrounded by blood-traitors does take its toll."

The Death Eaters laughed. Bellatrix smiled at the hooded man, passion shooting through her wan appearance.

Feeling the need to redeem himself, Lucius straightened. "I-I assure you, my relations with Mudbloods and blood-traitors were only what my position demanded of me. Though I worked with them, I never mingled with them, and if I had been given the chance to join you earlier, I would have done so without the slightest-"

The figure held up a bony hand to silence him. "There is no need to justify your actions. I value resourcefulness in all its forms and I am pleased to see that you are respected in their society. We need men like you, who have both power and the knowledge of when to use it." There came a pause. "What is your affiliation in the Ministry?"

"The Department of Origin," Lucius said.

At this, he thought he heard a slow chuckle. "Most fitting…" Spidery white fingers emerged from within the shadowy cloak, turning over the wand as if in thought. "What is your allegiance now, Malfoy?"

Without a pause, Lucius understood. "To you."

Somewhere within the hood, a smile turned a lipless mouth.

"In that case, you shall address me as Lord."

In all his life, Lucius had never saluted anyone; his pride had never allowed it. But right then, by some unseen power, he felt himself bend of his own accord into a courtier's bow, right hand crossed over his chest in utter reverence, as one compelled by no less than a divine power. "My Lord."

"Rise, Lucius, and take the oath."

Lucius did as he was told. The figure lifted Lucius's left arm and pressed the tip of its wand to his skin. A moment later, Lucius felt the spot sear with white-hot pain, as if molten lava had been poured over his skin. But it didn't stop there - the pain seeped into his flesh and blood, radiating from the wand's point of contact and circling systemically through his body. Soon, Lucius felt a channel open in his mind, and suddenly became aware of a sea of presences behind him, as if he had been connected to a vast, living web of which this person was master. Finally, Voldemort withdrew his wand, and Lucius clenched his fist, suppressing the urge to groan.

Voldemort motioned out to the side, indicating for Lucius to take the spot beside Bellatrix. As Voldemort went on to question the next recruit, Bellatrix tilted her head towards Lucius and smiled. "Can you feel it?" she whispered. "His soul within you… His call… It's divine. We are more than family now, Lucius. We are one. Perhaps you can tell Narcissa to join. Then she'll understand…"

"Narcissa hasn't heard from you in a while," Lucius said. "How long have you been among the Dark Lord's order?"

"I joined a few years before your marriage."

"And you didn't tell Narcissa all this time?"

"The Dark Lord's plans call for extreme care and attention! Naturally I had more important things on my mind than bragging to other people." She shook her head, then returned to her former calm. "If you had known, Lucius… the things we achieved these past few years have been remarkable. They would not have been possible if the Dark Lord did not have his genius, or his faithful followers, such as I."

Lucius looked around at the crowd of masked figures. "Who else is here?"

"Those of whom you know?" Bellatrix lazily cast her gaze towards the sky. "Let's see... there's Travers and Yaxley who helped fight the Aurors. Avery and Mulciber joined before they even left Hogwarts; the Dark Lord has them go after Mudbloods. Severus Snape is here, too. I remember he used to be a tiny little thing, but he's grown into a very capable wizard."

Lucius gave a curt smile. "And Rodolphus? He is here as well, I presume?"

At the mention of her husband, Bellatrix snorted. "Oh, he joined with me. I made sure of that. He thought I was wasting my time, you see, that I was allying myself with a cause that would collapse in a matter of months. But when he saw the Dark Lord and learned of his plan in all its majesty, he quickly saw the error of his ways…" She turned back to face the crowd of Death Eaters, signaling that there was to be no further conversation between them. Voldemort had accepted five more recruits, all of whom were branded and cloaked, then joined the ranks of masked soldiers. Lucius had been the only one Voldemort invited to stand at his side.

With his army complete, Voldemort stepped forward and spread out his arms. "My brethren!" he called. "Tonight we have achieved a tremendous victory. Now more than ever, wizardkind realizes our true power. But our mission is not complete. There remains one more obstacle to our total domination: The Ministry of Magic. As you have seen, it is still very powerful, and has many supporters among the people. But we have taken vital steps to ensure its dissolution. Once the Ministry falls, there will be nothing more to stop us. And then, I promise you all, you will have your reward."

The Death Eaters cheered. Many of them sent sparks into the air, which hissed and exploded in multitudes of colors against the night sky. The booms echoed in Lucius's mind, alternating in intensity like a mind-numbing trance.