Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to the wonderful J.K. Rowling. I only own Iris Halither (name and character) and all the other stuff and OCs.
Background: I've read the books and seen the movies more than once, plus the two extra lexicons 'Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them' and 'Quidditch Through the Ages'. Oh, and the Harry Potter Lexicon website has assisted me a lot as well.
Summary: In the dark times when the Dark Lord returned to power, he searched for new followers and wished to regain what had been lost. But did all of his Death Eaters join him of free will? Iris Halither looks back and tells her tale, and discovers a horrible truth about herself...
Note: The story is divided into chapters, the chapters shaped into parts. One part is seven chapters, no matter the lengths of those. Some chapters are short, some are long. That's how they were written.
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The Tale of a Death Eater
Part I: Marked by Darkness
Chapter 1
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"Damn English summers," I muttered under my breath as I rubbed my hands together to get a bit of warmth. I knew it wasn't safe to be outside, but I didn't have any choice. I was homeless and had grown up in a children's home in London. But I hadn't always stayed there. They took me in when my mother died when I was about seven or eight - I don't remember. I had always known I was a witch. I didn't tell anyone though; they'd think I was mad.
I didn't know any other witches or wizards... until I got to Hogwarts. I was sorted into Ravenclaw, though I have no idea why. I've never been good with magic. Some would call me a Squib. But I'm quite good at making potions. Maybe I should have been Slytherin? No, I don't have the qualifications to be a Slytherin. But that's not what I was supposed to tell you...
No one wanted to be my friend. They thought I was strange. I was the girl whose mother had died under odd circumstances. No one actually knew how she died. She was pretty young, so she must have been sick. Or maybe someone poisoned her; no one knew. She'd lived with me in a Muggle area, and it was Muggles that found me crying, clutching her pale, lifeless hand. At the time I didn't know she was dead. I thought she was... asleep...
I sneezed as the rain came down harder. I was standing inside a phone box; in fact, I was only a few blocks away from the Leaky Cauldron. But I didn't want to draw attention to myself in the dark London - especially not after the Dark Lord returned. And the Dementors...
I shuddered at the thought of them. I had no wish of meeting one. I just stood there, hopefully catching my death. I looked at the buildings to my left and right. Old stores, most of them shut down long ago. I blinked and opened the door of the phone box, glancing out. I had become all jittery and nervous since the incident with the Brockdale Bridge. Even though I worked at the Ministry of Magic I didn't feel safe. Not even working as a secretary in the Aurors' department helped the eerie feeling I had.
Sighing deeply I walked out of the phone box as the rain ceased. I pulled my cloak closer about me, hid my long dark-blonde hair under my hood and strolled down the dark streets. I smiled a bit and decided to stop by Amelia's place. Maybe she'd care to drink some tea with me. After all, we were friends - and colleagues too. She probably wouldn't mind a visit.
I looked at the door to her house where she lived with her niece. The small metal-sign glinted down at me:
Amelia and Susan Bones
I knocked on the door a couple of times and waited. No response. I tried a few more times with the same result. Furrowing my brows I walked towards the neighbour's house. He was a friend of Amelia's, so she visited time to time. I knocked and looked through the small window in the door. "Hello?" I called and knocked again. "Anybody there?" I tried to pull down the doorknob and was surprised to find the door unlocked. Thoughts coursed through my head and I hoped nothing bad had happened.
I entered a long dark hall, glancing around. "Hello?" I called, though not so loudly. I didn't want to bring too much attention to myself - at least not if something had happened to Amelia and Mr. Fatigue.
"Amelia? You there?"
I heard something crash upstairs. My heart started pounding faster and faster each second. God, what if it was Death Eaters? Would they kill me if they saw me? And could Amelia be...?
The crash of glass being broken reached my ears. Upstairs...
In haste I ran up the stair to the first floor and looked around. "Amelia?" I called again. No answer. I heard shouting from one of the rooms further down the corridor and started towards it. Then it stopped. And laughter, oh, so deep a laughter of pain and darkness, a laughter that fed upon destruction and suffering. I held my breath and concentrated hard. "Okay. I can do this. I've done it once," I muttered nervously. "Please don't let me lose an ear..."
Then I Apparated inside the room and came face-to-face with pure horror. I gasped and stumbled several steps, bumping into the wall behind me. Before me was the lifeless body of Amelia Bones, her face white and terror-stricken. I took a deep breath and tried to calm my nerves. I managed to lift my gaze off of Amelia and traced upwards, ending upon two red slits.
...I froze. I simply froze and didn't move one inch. The narrow slits became narrower, and a small smile of either annoyance, interest or both appeared on the face of the very most feared man on earth, the man whose name we do not speak. He nodded shortly at me and then Disapparated, leaving me in a shocked, scared, angry, revolted, sad state...
I quickly Apparated to the street, running away from the house which now had the Dark Mark floating above it in a poisonous, green colour. I didn't know what to do. I didn't know who to tell, or if I should tell anyone what I'd seen. Not that it would help the busy Ministry. Amelia Bones was dead, and I almost witnessed her murder. One question kept repeating itself in my head, terrifying me to bits...
Would they look for me now...?
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"How could I be so stupid?" I kept asking myself out loud on the way to one of the only places I hoped to be safe. "Ugh, I must be the dumbest person in all Britain... damn it..."
I wasn't certain if the Leaky Cauldron would be a safe place to stay, but I had to try. I didn't have many other choices. As long as it was a place where there would be many people I would be safe enough. You can imagine my stunned face when I entered the completely empty inn. Tom himself didn't look too good.
"Do you want a room, Miss Halither?" he asked me, a bit disappointed it wasn't a paying customer (he was one of my only friends and knew my economy), scrambling out from his place by the bar.
"Eh, yes please," I said walking towards one of the tables, helping myself getting a chair down from its place on top of the table. "How come there are no customers?" I asked, furrowing my eyebrows in wonder.
"They're all too scared to move outside their homes. And the Dementors..." Tom shuddered unpleasantly.
"I see. So business is not going well?"
"No, not well at all. I barely get one costumer a week when before it was hundreds!" he said, waving his hands in the air.
I sighed and closed my eyes gratefully. Finally some rest inside the warmth. But even in my relaxing state the body of my dead friend haunted me. I couldn't stop thinking about Amelia's murder. It was so disturbing. It made me realise that anyone could be next. But possibly I couldn't be important enough? I was just a secretary in the Ministry, no big deal...
"I'm going to bed, Tom," I said and rubbed my eyes tiredly.
"Very well. Just take room 11," he said and walked behind the bar again, threw the key to me and started cleaning some glasses.
I walked up the stair to get to the first floor where the rooms were and unlocked the door to my room. "Finally a real bed," I groaned and threw myself on top of it, falling asleep instantly.
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The following day I strode down Diagon Alley. A sad sight. Poor Mr. Ollivander and Florean Fortescue. Wonder what happened to them, and why they had to leave. Their stores were completely shut down.
I recall Professor Flitwick paid for my wand at Ollivander's, since I couldn't afford one. Every witch and wizard needs a wand. It's simply unthinkable not to have one.
I shook my head sadly as I walked past the deserted stores. Wanted Death Eaters smirked, scowled and grinned at me from the many posters everywhere. I wondered how long they could keep the ones they had captured in Azkaban now the Dementors had joined the Dark Lord. Disaster. Everything was a pure disaster. At least they'd soon choose a new Minister. Fudge was certainly losing his grip. No one respected him anymore with all the wrong decisions he had taken and the lies he had told.
I could care less, actually. I had always known Fudge was a wrong choice. He just lived in this imaginary world where everything was as he wanted it to be. Reality must be quite a shock after such a long time in illusion. What a shame.
A couple of wizards rushed past me and ran towards Gringotts. From what I knew it was quite difficult to get your money now - even more difficult than it already was. Well, not for me. The only money I had I carried in my pockets. So yes, it wasn't very much. But I managed... sort of...
After less than an hour I returned to the Leaky Cauldron. "I think I'll go have a look around, Tom," I said and walked towards the door.
"You watch out for them darn Dementors, Miss Halither," he said with a grave expression.
I nodded and exited the inn.
There were neither cars nor people. The Death Eaters and the Dementors both infected the Wizarding people as well as the Muggles. Though, the Muggles couldn't see the Dementors. What a horrible feeling it must be to have your soul taken by a creature you can't even see.
I didn't really watch where I was going as I walked down Charing Cross Road. It was like my feet just carried me away to some random place, like I had no control at all. Again Amelia Bones entered my mind. What of Susan, her niece? What would become of her? And who would take Amelia's place at the Ministry? As I said, she was a very gifted witch. And she was so kind but stern at the same time. No one could catch her off guard. But why had the Dark Lord killed her - and in person even? Sure, she was very, very clever and knew many things. Maybe he wanted her to tell him something...?
I looked up as a sharp light flashed over the sky. There were dark clouds, and sure enough the crash of thunder bellowed throughout the city after half a minute. "Great," I muttered as the rain poured down again. I walked into a dark alley where there was a bit of shelter.
I got startled, though, when something crashed behind me. I turned around and saw that a container had been knocked over. Now, you certainly must know that containers are quite heavy. Naturally, I got nervous and kept looking over my shoulder to see if someone was there. I walked over to the container and squat down. "What the--" I said and picked up an old newspaper. I shrugged and stood up. Just as I did a pair of arms tightened round my chest, which caused all air to leave my lungs. "Let... go of... me!" I breathed and struggled against whoever it was. I managed to elbow the person and run towards the only exit of the alley, only to fall to the ground, tied up by a Binding Spell. I opened my mouth to scream--
"Silencio!"
My mouth kept moving, but no words came out. But I already knew... Death Eaters...
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Author's note: I hope you enjoyed the first bit of Iris' tale. Don't forget, reviewers rock!