The Good Slytherin

Chapter Eleven: Delphinia

"Over there," Lucius Malfoy whispered in to Delphinia's ear as he pointed to a mound of filthy blankets massed near a skip.

Just minutes before, they had apparated to the dingy alley in east London in search of a human test subject. The shock of the November cold hit her immediately, as did the greasy smell of a nearby Muggle kebab shop. She nervously studied the misshapen form of the man who slept under them, the body half concealed by the darkness.

"Do you see him?" he continued to whisper.

"Yes." She could just make out an exposed tangle of dark hair and the curve of a sleeping eye--definitely male.

"I want you to raise your wand," Lucius said as he gently guided her right arm upwards.

Delphinia could feel the heat from his cheek as it came close to hers and she had to admit that part of her nerves not only came from learning the Killing Curse, but also from having him so close. She briefly thought of the events that had brought her to this moment in her life, poised to use one of the Unforgivable Curses on a Muggle. Her left forearm tingled slightly as if to remind her of the Dark Mark branded into her flesh.

"Yes, like that," he replied when she had extended her right arm, wand tight in her grip.

She took a deep breath. The silence was punctuated by the rumble of a Muggle bus not to far behind them. The Killing Curse represented the pinnacle of her training and an end to months of hard work under the skillful tutelage of Lucius.

"Now on my mark, I want you to do as I said earlier. I want you to speak the incantation and summon all your will behind it," he coaxed.

"Yes." Her heart began to pick up its pace as she gazed intently upon the sleeping man, noticing the mound of blankets had shifted ever so slightly.

"Go!" he hissed and stepped back from her.

"AVADA KEDAVRA!" Delphinia shouted in a voice so inhuman that it was barely recognizable as her own. A jet of blinding green light shot out from her wand and barreled towards its sleeping victim. Once it made contact with the Muggle . . . nothing. Delphinia expected more--a gasp or a shriek perhaps. The Muggle continued to lie there as he did before. "Did it work?" she asked, puzzled.

Lucius walked the ten or so paces to the skip and kicked disdainfully at the blankets with his boot. The Muggle rolled over lifelessly, revealing his expressionless face. Delphinia cautiously approached get a better look at her first victim--a young Indian man with a few days worth of stubble. She was transfixed with his lifeless form.

"Seems so," Lucius replied dryly, snapping her back to attention. "Bravo, Delphinia. Ten points to Slytherin."

"Are you mocking me?"

He smiled wryly and arched an eyebrow. "That would be far too easy. Shall we have another go?"

She didn't want to show her weakness to him, but a sudden wave of lightheadedness suddenly made her dizzy.

"Oh dear," he tutted condescendingly when she put a hand to her head. "Yes, the curse does sometimes have that effect the first time. Delphinia, you'll have to be made of stronger stuff if you want to be a proper Death Eater."

She stiffened at his presumption that she was too weak to continue, not having worked so hard only to be casually dismissed. Lucius had a habit of baiting her temper as if he thought it would make her stronger. "Of course," she replied sharply, making no effort to mask her irritation. "Where shall we go?"

Lucius sneered as he walked to her. "That's a better attitude. Shall we leave this Muggle behind and find another? I daresay this one was a bit easy and we should find you one with a bit more . . . movement."

They relocated to a location near Kings Cross and repeated the process again--this time on a Muggle prostitute. The woman barely had time to protest before the curse was upon her. Delphinia's initial weakness had been replaced by an intoxicating surge in power. Her whole body vibrated as she walked up to the young woman with the long black hair and sallow skin lying spread eagle on the rough pavement. Lucius looked on, smiling as only a teacher would.

"Well done, Delphinia. I take back my earlier criticism."

"Where to next?" she replied, voice eager. Her wand was still raised.

Lucius was close to her again, as if feeding off her excitement. He gently lowered her wand. "We don't want to attract too much attention, now do we?"