“SLYTHERIN!” the sorting hat exclaimed. 

The sorting was a ceremony normally meant for 11 year olds entering Hogwarts, but not Marvolo Peverell.  He was only the fourth person to enter Hogwarts over the age of eleven, and that wasn’t exactly a good thing to have on one’s record, especially when the reason was being homeschooled as a Death Eater.  As Marvolo made his way over to the table of Slytherins, he realized people pointing at him and whispering to one another with expressions of pure anger and hatred.  Apparently Marvolo’s family status hadn’t remained hidden, much to his dismay. 

“There’s no way that he’s suddenly become a good guy,” one voice said.  “Trust me, Death Eaters never change.”

But their opinions meant nothing to him.  He cared about none of it.  He already knew every spell in the curriculum, and millions more.  He was able to fight off Lord Voldemort and survive, something on very few resumes.  Marvolo was a member of a family of elite wizards who were the Dark Lord’s “royal guard.”  They were deities among men, and Marvolo was no exception.  Marvolo was at Hogwarts for two reasons: to make friends and learn more about normal human (both wizard and muggle) culture.  The Peverells were highly abusive and isolationist, so Marvolo never had a true friend in his life.  Sure, he’d met a lot of other people while enforcing the Dark Lord’s will, but he never was able to stick around long enough to get to know any of them. 

“Well, well, well….  If it isn’t the traitor to the most powerful wizarding family in existence.”  The statement snapped Marvolo out of his trance-like state.  The source was a boy looking to be about the Marvolo’s age.  He had sickly pale skin and eyes of piercing green.  His hair was extremely grey, as if he were an elderly man in a teenager’s body. 

“What brings you here, Peverell?” the boy asked like an interrogator.

“Who the bloody hell are you?” Marvolo queried.

“Julius,” the boy responded.  “Now answer my question!  Why are you here?” 

“Well, I can say one thing, it’s none of your damn business!” 

“Listen here and listen well,” Julius snarled.  “I don’t accept traitors such as yourself, but I might make an exception for you.  What are your opinions on blood status?”  The question immediately set Marvolo off.
“I HATE PEOPLE LIKE YOU!  That’s irrelevant!  I’ve met hundreds of muggle-borns who are better than you’ll ever be! You mean nothing to me, you geezer!” 

“AH!  You’re worse than I thought!  LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, WE HAVE OURSELVES A BLOOD TRAITOR OVER HERE!” 

“Shut the bloody  hell up, Julius!” a boy shouted over from the Gryffindor table. 

“Come over here,” the Gryffindor boy invited. 

“Don’t mind that corpse-loving git.  He’s from a family of fanatic Death Eaters.  Anyway, I’m Asher Morgan, but you can call me Ash.  State your name for the jury.” 

“Marvolo Peverell,” he replied, already becoming friends with this Asher guy. 

“Oh, believe me, I know the last name.  I’d hate to say this to you, but everyone does.”

“As I expected,” Marvolo said with a sigh. 

“Hey, what your family does has nothing to do with you.  Guilt by association isn’t a valid conviction most of the time,”  Ash said in a “lawyer” voice.  “And don’t worry Marvin- can I call you that?” 
“Hell no.” 

“Great! Don’t worry Marvin, you’re not the only ‘blood traitor’ here.  I’m also a pureblood who doesn’t hate muggle-borns and I get crap for it every damn day.”

“Is this really how broken our world is?”  Marvolo wondered aloud. 

“Broken enough for people to bully and ridicule others for not being rotten bigots?” 

“Yeah….  It really is sad to see,” Ash said in a somber tone.

Just then, Dumbledore began his speech welcoming all of the new students to Hogwarts (without mentioning Marvolo specifically, thankfully).  Ash and Marvolo said their goodbyes, and, with that, Marvolo began making his way down to the Slytherin common room with the rest of his housemates.  The common room was located in the dungeons.  Great, yet another way to make me feel like a prisoner, Marvolo thought.  Julius kept trying to get to Marvolo, but Marvolo wouldn’t let him.  He didn’t have time to deal with anybody; he just wanted some time to relax and reflect on the events of the previous months.  That night, however, didn’t allow anything of the sort.  Marvolo fell asleep as soon as he climbed into bed (he got his own room, thank the gods).  The dream that followed, however, was not something he was thankful for.  He found himself in a very familiar looking cavern.  In front of him was the Crystal of Justice on its pedestal, its purple glow almost tantalizing.  Marvolo walked toward it instinctively, but as soon as he reached out to retrieve it, he found himself bound to a cavern wall some twenty feet away from the pedestal.  A cloaked figure stood where Marvolo once had mere moments prior.  The mystery person revealed himself and Marvolo’s heart stopped. 
Dominic “Dom” Peverell, Marvolo’s psychotic Death Eater brother who he killed only two months earlier when he’d tried to kill their older sister, stood at the pedestal.  Marvolo knew it wasn’t real, it was just a nightmare, but was it?  No, it felt too real to purely be a nightmare, but it was happening in his head so it couldn’t be real either.  The spectre spoke.

“Welcome to the rift between worlds, brother.”  The voice wasn’t human.  Sure, the words came from Dom’s mouth, but they were spoken in an almost godly voice. 

“I hope you understand the gravity of the situation, Marvolo,” the phantom continued.   “The Dark Lord stands furious at your betrayal.  Your insurrection shall not go without retribution.  YOU WILL DIE FOR YOUR CRIMES AGAINST THE DARK LORD!  Unfortunately, I can’t kill you myself as I am a mere phantom, but I can  make your life even more miserable than it already is.  I WILL make you suffer, you TRAITOR!”

 
“Th-this isn’t real,” Marvolo stuttered.  “You’re DEAD!  I KILLED YOU!  YOU.  ARE.  NOT.  REAL!”

“Oh, but I am.  I am very much real.  Sure, I’m a phantom and cannot manifest a physical form, but I can make you suffer mentally.  Your mind shall gradually descend deeper and deeper into disrepair.  You cannot escape this fate!” 

“Is that so?  Well, I’m not going down without a fight!”

Marvolo’s restraints broke by his sheer will and he landed on the ground, immediately attempting to draw out his wand.  He looked twenty feet ahead to see Dom grinning sinisterly with his wand in hand.  Without any other option, he charged forward at Dom, but the attempt was painfully futile. 

“AVADA KEDAVRA!”

A blinding blue light engulfed the entire room and Marvolo woke up with a searing pain in his head.  His vision was extremely blurred, but his vision was slowly restored.  Pink was the only way to describe his surroundings.  And the walls were covered with pictures of… cats?!

“Hello,” said a plump woman with a voice way too sweet for comfort.  “Finally awake, I see!”

“Where the bloody hell am I?”  Marvolo asked, rubbing his head to quell the pain.

The woman frowned.  “Sweetie, it’s not acceptable to use that language.  You’ll only get yourself into deeper trouble.”

That got Marvolo’s attention.  “Trouble?  Why am I in trouble?!  I’ve done absolutely nothing wrong!”

“Mr. Peverell, cutting classes for two months straight most definitely doesn’t qualify as  doing ‘absolutely nothing wrong.’”

“You can’t be serious….  I went to sleep and the next thing I knew I woke up in here! I swear- AHHHH!” Yelling only intensified the pain.

“MR. PEVERELL!”  the woman spat in Marvolo’s face.  “How dare you talk back to me?!  I am Dolores Jane Umbridge, a member of the Ministry of Magic and the High Inquisitor of this school, and you have earned yourself detention for the rest of this school year!  You have lied to and yelled at a senior school official in addition to cutting every single one of your classes for two months!  I have NEVER seen such misbehavior in my entire life!”

“Look lady,” Marvolo started, “I have no idea what you’ve been experimenting with, but whatever it is, it has definitely made you lose your damn mind!  I don’t have time for this nonsense, so I’m leaving this cesspit.” That was impossible to do while handcuffed.

“What is this blasphemy?!  Lady Umbrella, you will let me go right now!  I haven’t been at this school for long, but I know for certain that handcuffing students to chairs is not only a brazen violation of school policy, but also the law!” Marvolo screamed.

“Wrong!” Umbridge stated proudly, presenting a proclamation declaring that ‘the High Inquisitor may imprison children that have family ties to the Dark Lord and/or the Dark Lord’s ranks, if they choose to do so.’
“That proclamation is most definitely targeting me!” Marvolo complained.

“So what if it is?”

“THAT.  IS.  ILLEGAL!”

“So what if it is?”

“You’re insane!”

“So what if I am?  I still can do whatever I desire, and you can do nothing but watch!”

Marvolo was now pending explosion.  “How the bloody hell are you getting away with this?!  YOU ARE A TYRANT!”

“And you are Death Eater scum!”

“Would a scummy Death Eater risk his own life by betraying and fighting the Dark Lord himself?  Your broken mind may say so, BUT I BEG TO DIFFER!”

“When exactly did you fight the Dark Lord, sweetheart?”

“It was sometime in July, soon after the Triwizard Tournament and his resurrection,” Marvolo responded, trying like hell not to rampage.

“LIES!  You’re just like that Potter boy!  The Dark Lord is and has been gone for over a decade!  This elaborate ruse is merely for attention!”

Rampage time.  “Listen here, you worthless snake, you WILL let me go right this instant.  If you refuse, you will regret it.  I swear it on your grave….”

“It is incredibly unwise for a Death Eat-”

“CALL ME THAT ONE MORE TIME!  I DARE YOU!  MY POWER IS BEYOND YOUR IMAGINATION! I COULD END YOU RIGHT AT THIS SPOT IF I SO DESIRED!”

“Congratulations, Peverell! You have earned yourself imprisonment for the remainder of the school year!” Umbridge proclaimed cheerfully.

And that’s how it was.  Everyday Marvolo would go from one class to another, trailed by an enchanted eye that followed his every move and reporting back to Umbrella.  Big brother (or sister, in this case) was always watching!  It would follow him to every place he went to, ensuring that he didn’t walk or talk out of line.  He was forced to live in a dungeon cell, isolated from civilization.  He was given only breakfast and dinner.  While the portions were decent  in size, the food was from hell itself.  Everyday kids would bully him for either being a blood traitor or Death Eater, but he wasn’t able to defend himself.  If he did, Umbridge would be alerted, his wand would be snapped, and there would be a rigged Azkaban trial.  It all came down to one person-Dom….  The bastard had somehow found a way to [partially] transcend death and torment Marvolo.  If it weren’t for him, Umbridge wouldn’t have an excuse to do all of this, although Umbridge was definitely on Marvolo’s bad side as well.  He vowed to himself everyday that they’d pay, even if it meant his death. 

Umbridge was right about one thing, though; Marvolo had been asleep for two months leading up to his awakening.  Whatever Dom had done to him in that rift between worlds had caused him to fall into a prolonged hibernation and somehow end up in Umbridge’s office.  Marvolo, in all of his elite studies, had never heard of a rift between worlds.  It probably wasn’t even supposed to exist.  Transcending death had been achieved a few times before, but never in the way Dom had done it.  Going to another plane of existence was very paranormal, even by wizarding standards.  Marvolo knew that out of all of the people who could potentially explain what had happened, he could consult only two: Albus Dumbledore and his own sister.  But there was no way he could ever get to Dumbledore’s office or contact his sister under the prying eye of Umbridge.  He could only go to his classes when he needed to, his cell, and his weekly detention/torture session in the office of Umbrella Lady, which was now.

Marvolo reported to the office of now HEADMISTRESS DOLORES UMBRIDGE!  The serpent woman had somehow found a way to give herself the throne of the entire school!  When Marvolo arrived, he could immediately spot a difference in Umbridge’s demeanor.  While she was always vicious and sadistic, she usually put a mask of benevolence on and at least acted like she had a heart (even though Marvolo had easily broken that mask the first time they’d met).  Today, however, she’d clearly left that mask at home. 

“Take a seat, spawn of Satan,” Umbridge ordered.

“What’s wrong, Headmistress Umbridge?” Marvolo asked, putting on the mask of compliance he’d been wearing since he’d first encountered that freak.

“You are what’s wrong, Peverell.  You have made my life very difficult.”

Now you know how it feels! Marvolo thought.

“How so?”

“I cannot supervise weekly detentions while acting as headmistress.  You are way too demanding of my time!  If only you hadn’t been such a delinquent, we wouldn’t be in our current predicament, now would we?”
“I really am sorry for all of that,” Marvolo said, his mask of compliance threatening to break.  “Surely you understand that I couldn’t foresee your promotion.  And my anger just erupted that day.  I was abused as a kid, and that’s why I have a short tempe-”

“Did I just detect an excuse, Mr. Peverell?”
“No, headmistress! I was merely attempting to explain mysel-”

“YET AGAIN YOU LIE!  I thought I could fix you, Marvolo.  I really did.  I suppose that your classmates were right all along; once a Death Eater, always a-”

“You’re done….” the mask shattered.  “YOU’RE FINISHED!!!!”

A brilliant blue aura surrounded Marvolo and was glowing through his one eye. Marvolo instinctively snapped his fingers in the direction of Umbridge and sent her flying into the wall.  The raw power was stunning.  Marvolo grabbed some Floo Powder and ran into Umbridge’s fireplace, his aura fading.

“PEVERELL RUINS!” he yelled, and he was off, teleporting through thousands of fireplaces before finally reaching his destination where he found the girl he’d been longing to see for eight months standing before him.  She was his older sister, Jean Peverell.  He immediately ran into her arms.

“I’m so happy to see you, Marv,” Jean said, crying tears of joy.

“Me too, Jean.  I’m so glad to finally be out of that hellhole!”

“What?!  I heard that Hogwarts is amazing!”

“Not with Umbridge in charge.”  He then proceeded to tell Jean about all the hellish things Umbridge had put him through during his short but regretful time at the school.

“I’ll find her….” Jean vowed. “I’ll find her and-”

“NOT kill her. Voldemort is the real problem here.  I’m sure he had some influence over what she did.”
“That would make sense….  I could see why he would install somebody at Hogwarts to torment you.  To him, you’re public enemy number one.”

“Yeah.  Hey, Jean?”

“Right here bro.”

“Have you ever heard of the rift between worlds?”

Jean immediately looked concerned.  “This is gonna be a long conversation….  What happened?”

“Dom….  He took me there.”