The King of Pirates
Chapter One
Disclaimer: Storyline is mine, all the characters you recognise belong to JK Rowling.
The Marauders are the best spies in England. It's up to them to find and catch the self-proclaimed King of Pirates; the man looking to overthrow the crown and take it for himself.
The man stood on the deck of his ship, watching the terror and chaos unfolding in front of him. Fire licked it's way across the deck of the other ship, pushed and pulled along by strong winds and oil accidentally spilt in the fight. It followed the screams of terror from those unfortunate enough to be left behind.
The ship was nothing of importance to the man; there was no treasure or gold to be found, no important national secrets hidden on board. This attack had been about nothing but terrorizing it's inhabitants. Reminding the men on board, and those that find their remains, that this man was the one who ruled the ocean, who was the King of the Seven Seas.
The heat from the flames could be felt from his own ship, the orange reflecting itself on the mans pale white skin and within his deep red eyes.
These features are what took the form of monsters that scared children as they lay in bed at night.
As recently as nine months ago, these were the most distinct features the man held, until a battle that left one man dead and the other without a nose. Because of this battle the man had disappeared for a time, some had hoped forever. But he was back, tougher and more ruthless than before. This time there would be nothing stopping him from getting what he wanted: the throne.
Dark black smoke curled up into the sky, disappearing into the inky blackness of the night. It won't be until morning that the inhabitants of the nearby town saw the destruction that had happened not a mile from where they slept peacefully.
As silently as a snake the man and his crew sailed away, waiting for the right moment to strike.
The funeral procession made it way silently through the quiet seaside village in the early morning hours, the sun beginning to peek over the hills ahead. A sharp frost caused those in the procession to pull their cloaks closer to their bodies to preserve as much heat as they could.
Muffled sobs could be heard towards the front of the small group. A tall woman, no more than twenty, with long blonde hair that reached halfway down her back, followed the men carrying the casket to the cemetery located at the top of the hill. She was dressed all in black and walked slowly, her face buried in her hands, surrounded by four men also dressed in plain black clothes, the looks on unspeakable grief clear on all their faces.
The tallest of these men, with messy brown hair, walked on the right side of this woman, his face grim with grief, his brown eyes glassy as he followed the men carrying the casket without seeing any of his surroundings.
Another man stood beside the woman, on her left side. This man was nearly as tall as the other, but instead had longer black hair and grey eyes that couldn't hide the anger within them. It was this man who held his arm around the woman's shoulders for support.
Two other men followed behind the trio, the taller of these two had light brown hair and walked with a weary look, as though the weight of the world was on his shoulders. The last man was the shortest, with mousy brown hair and a long nose that twitched at every sound. He stared at the back of the tall man with messy brown hair, his expression full of conflicting emotions; grief, anger, fear and sadness.
The men carrying the wooden casket reached the top of the hill in no time at all, barely puffed out from the steep walk and having to carry the casket. The reason for this being that there was nothing in the casket, something that only added to the grief of those attending the funeral.
There was nothing in the casket because there had been nothing left of the man who was a father to one beautiful daughter, mentor to four men who had desperately needed guidance, the head of the Kings personal spy service. The man who had fought the self-proclaimed King of Pirates.
Though no remains had been found of this man, there was no doubting he had fought a hard battle with the King of Pirates, and lost. It had been nine months since this man had last been seen, and it was only now that the woman had given in to rumours and despair that her father wasn't coming back that the funeral had taken place.
The funeral was quick, with a few words spoken on behalf of those closest to him. Anything they themselves wanted to say would be said later as they worked through their grief. Before long the only people left at the graveside was the four men and the woman.
No one said anything for a moment before the woman spoke up.
"When are you leaving?"
None of the men denied it; they had their orders and it had been only a matter of time before they were called back.
"Tomorrow morning," the man with light brown hair replied.
She didn't say anything, but finally looked up, staring at each of the men in turn. The knowledge that she had lost a father, and that she will most likely loose these men too, did nothing to stop the ache in her chest.
"Where will you go?"
The man with black hair replied this time.
"London. The King's arranged a ship and crew for us, we leave in three days time."
"To look for him."
She didn't ask, she knew what their mission would be. The King of Pirates had killed the head of the King's personal spy service; he wasn't about to let that go unpunished. The woman felt only anger at the King, the man she saw as having sent her father on a suicide mission. Her father had only meant to find out information regarding the King of Pirates, but had become entangled in the chaos and terror this man had created. He had become obsessed with finding out everything there was to know about him; knowing his aliases, who was on his crew, who he had placed within the King's own court to try and find others sympathetic to his cause, and if they weren't sympathetic then to find something to blackmail them with; all of which led to her father leaving on one last voyage to catch this man. A voyage that had only ended in disaster.
Even though she was angry at him she knew it wasn't the King's fault, her father was only meant to find out information about this man, and then later to apprehend him. It had been someone within the court who had tipped the King of Pirates off. It was this person that she wished with her entire being to find and make pay for their crimes.
The man with messy brown hair nodded.
"We're going to pick up where your father left off, start with trying to find as much information as we can on this man, then make him pay for what he did to your father."
He reached out and put his hand on her arm, and she could feel tears welling up again.
"We only know one other thing about this man."
"What's that?" She choked out.
"He also calls himself Lord Voldemort."
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