Emerald green ~ Sirius Black

Chapter 4: The Dark Lord

September 9th 1971

Katherine stayed at the Travers manor for one last night, sleeping in a bare room stripped of any personality it once had. The only thing left was a small photo of Katherine and Sirius that had a permanent sticking charm, placed neatly in the corner of the large mirror.

When she awoke on Thursday the 9th of September Katherine was reluctant to get out of bed, her head pounding from a headache that had occurred from crying the night before. 

When she finally dragged herself out of bed she creeped out of her room, the wooden floors cold against her bare feet as she walked down the barren staircase, in search of her mother.

When she reached the bottom floor she was struck by how empty the foyer was, no paintings, curtains or books adorned the blank room, it was simply her standing in an empty space. 

"Katherina?" her mother's voice called out from the room over.

Katherine reluctantly moved into the next room, revealing her mother holding a Witch Weekly magazine sipping on a cup of coffee.

"You're not dressed?" her mother sneered as she peered over her magazine.

Katherine shook her head, "No Mother, my clothes are already at the French house".

Eileithyia pursed her lips, "Fine, ask a house elf to go and buy you something suitable to wear, you'll be meeting important people today, so you must look your best".

Kate nodded, "Thank you mother, may I ask when we will be leaving?".

"yes dear, noon, its 9:30 now".

Nodding gratefully Katherine left the room in search of a house elf to buy her some clothes.

~~~

Katherine looked down at the clothes on her bed, regretting leaving a house elf in charge of her outfit for the day.

A green dress wasn't exactly what she had planned but it was clear her mother would love it, the dark green fabric leaving little room for her to breathe was exactly what would 'appeal' to the other pureblood families she would meet, and first impressions meant the world to Eileithyia Travers.

Slipping the dress on Katherine was heavenly grateful that the house elf had enough insight to pick up a pair of stockings for Katherine to wear underneath as it seemed Winter had come early that year.

Looking down at the watch on her wrist Katherine was surprised to see it was already 11:55 and her parents would be expecting her down at the fireplace soon.

Taking one last look at her mirror, Katherine smiled fondly at the picture, the two children grinned back, glancing at each other mischievously the camera shaking as Sirius laughed.

"KATHERINA!" her father bellowed from the living room down below.

Rolling her eyes Katherine grabbed her wand and left the room, closing the black door behind her.

When she reached the living room Katherine's mother smiled adjusting the girl's scarf carefully.

"Your outfit looks lovely" Eileithyia stated, guiding Katherine towards the fireplace.

"Thank you, Mother".

When the two girls reached the fireplace Polonius was already waiting, tapping his foot aggressively.

"Relax dear" Eileithyia cooed, "you don't want to look tense".

Polonius shook his head, "I am tense woman, this is an important day".

The three walked towards the fireplace together, Katherine's mother quieting down after being reprimanded.

Each of them picked up a handful of powder, stepping into the fireplace together, each taking one last glance at the empty living room.

"7 Tenebris Lane" Polonius called out, the family disappearing into the ashy darkness, leaving the UK behind them.

~~~

When her feet landed on solid ground Katherine was surprised to see that the house was already decorated tastefully with furniture she had never seen before, a young man sitting on the sofa closest to the fireplace.

Noticing the new people in the room the man brightened up, smiling warmly at the family.

"Welcome," he said grinning.

Polonius stepped forward holding his hand out, "Tom, good to see you" the man greeted.

Tom nodded embracing him in a hug, "and you Mr. Travers, I trust the journey went well?".

Polonius nodded, adjusting his tie, "as good as floo can get I suppose".

Tom nodded before turning towards the others in the room, "Eileithyia, lovely to meet you" he smiled, kissing her extended hand.

"Likewise, Mr.Riddle, we mean to thank you for your generosity".

The boy shook his head, "Not at all! This house can seem empty without company!". Katherine frowned upon hearing this, no one had said anything about staying with somebody else. Looking up nervously at the man, Katherine began fidgeting with her scarf.

"And you must be Katherine?" Tom asked.

Kate nodded, standing up straighter as her mother nudged her, "Yessir".

Eiliethyia shook her head, "don't slur your words dear".

"It's lovely to meet you Katherine, I've heard lots about you".

Katherine glanced up at the mans face, breathing heavily, "Ive heard lots about you too" she said bravely, the Gryffindor in her peaking out.

Tom chuckled, "oh? Has word spread of me?" the man waved his hand around theatrically as he looked to the older people in the room.

Katherine nodded looking at the floor, "yes... they say you're a dark wizard" the words were slipping from her tongue faster than Katherine realized, her mouth moving faster than her head.

The smile dropped from Tom's face, "Watch your tongue" he warned.

Looking up at the man Katherine shook her head warily, "No... they say you do bad things" she couldn't help but notice the quiver in her voice, a tell that she was terrified of the man in front of her.

Katherine's parents glanced nervously between them, scared to interact with the angry wizard.

"I do bad things to bad people," Tom said quietly.

Katherine bit her lip, "What bad people? I heard it's innocent muggles and muggle-borns that are dying" she didn't know why she kept challenging him, it was stupid and frankly counterproductive but her sense of justice couldn't stand it.

Tom shook his head, "No".

"No?" Katherine asked, "You don't?".

Tom shook his head, "Not muggle-borns" he couldn't hide the smile creeping onto his face, "Mudbloods, that's what they're called, and they deserve everything they're going to get".

Katherine couldn't contain the sob that escaped her through at the sadistic man in front of her, smiling wickedly at the thought of killing innocent people.

Tom stepped forward, smiling at the little girl sadistically, "here's how its going to go, youre going to live here, with me when your on holidays and weekends. You're going to let go of all those foolish idea's that you are better than me, that any muggle born could be better than me, okay?".

Katherine nodded shakily, breathing heavily out of fear.

"And then youre going to train, youre going to master the dark arts, and help me in my quest, okay?".

Katherine felt a tear slip out of her eye as her parents watched the scene unfold. She had never felt more alone than she did in that moment.

"And... if i dont?" she said quietly.

Tom smiled, "you will...".

Katherine couldnt help but agree, if that display of anger was any idea of what her life would look like she couldn't help but feel that fighting back was no longer an option. No matter how hard she tried a voice in the back of her mind told her she would eventually succumb to what her parents wanted, and that voice sounded identical to the Dark Lord's.

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