DISCLAIMER: Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling.

~ A Slightly Unorthodox Job Interview ~

"How'd you get out, anyway?" Scabior asked, frowning over the rim of his glass at the witch seated across from him. "Weren't you a proven Death Eater who killed a lot of people?"

Lilith pinned the head Snatcher with a black look and took a leisurely sip of her drink before deigning to answer.

"Things, people... a moderate amount, I'd say. But the ministry couldn't prove anything because my wand showed no traces of Unforgivable Curses. "

"But you have the Mark," Scabior pressed.

Lilith shook her head, laughing. "I don't. The Dark Lord never found me worthy enough of belonging to his inner circle, despite my proficiency in a fair amount of the necessary dark arts required for the position."

A 'fair amount', huh? That was just a fancy way of saying she had completed her Death Eater training but had barely scraped by with a passing score, right?

"What were you arrested for, then?" he asked.

"Accidentally inventing a dangerous potion," she answered with a shrug. "They told me I wouldn't have to serve any prison time if I let them erase my memories, but I didn't want my mind tampered with so I said no."

"For something you accidentally invented?"

"I just told you that," Lilith snapped. "It's not like I ever planned to recreate it, because it wasn't something I had any use for. The ministry peons didn't listen to my explanation, of course, so I've spent the past fifteen years in prison."

"And what did you do to get out?"

"They said I could get out if I agreed to either having my memory erased or having my Potions NEWT revoked." She shrugged again. "It's not like I was doing anything with the qualification anyway, so I went with that. And since I can hardly go back into direct service to the Dark Lord now, here I am."

She raised her glass as if making a toast, and Scabior obligingly clinked his own (now empty) glass against it.

"Welcome to the Snatchers."

~end~