At the time of the rising of Voldemort, as you all know, a group of followers formed into Voldemort's Death Eaters. That was not the only Voldemort supporting group of the wizarding world. The Death Eaters persuaded their children to worship Voldemort as well, but they were too young to become Death Eaters. Those children brought their parents' influence to Hogwarts. All Death Eater children were put into Slytherin for their hatred and greed.

Soon, they found out that some of their fellow students were Death Eater children as well and decided to ban together to form a rebel group called the Dark Skulls.

The name originated from the Dark Mark all their parents carried that depicted a skull and a snake. They became a ruthless band of hoodlums who killed students as well as teachers on occasion. Most of them, though, veered toward physically harmless jokes. Whenever the Dark Mark was cast, however, they were always the immediate suspects. Everyone despised the, even fellow Slytherins, but they could always find a cover up with the help of Snape, the head of Slytherin.

~*~*~*~*~

Vnsid jerked back into reality from the dream he had been having to a pulse on his ring finger.

'Crad!' He thought, 'Who's in trouble now?'

Twisting around, he grabbed his knife and wand, and stuck them in his boot. Then he bolted out the door of the common room and ran smack into Amalek.

"What's going on?" Amalek questioned immediately.

"I haven't the slightest idea," Vnsid replied. They shrugged, and took off running towards the dungeon.

The closer they got, the harder their rings pulsed. By the time they reached the dank stairs to the dungeons, at least five more Dark Skulls had joined them. They all paused a moment to catch their breath, but were interrupted when they heard an agonizing shriek followed by, "No! Nooooo!!" (yes, I know, it sound cornier when you are reading it then when it happens)

"Tell us!" A hard, cold, voice demanded.

"A....a...a...mmm..-" it stopped suddenly, and the rings' pulse ended abruptly.

Amalek and Vnsid glanced at each other and then back to the room from which the shrieks had emitted.

"Hurry," Vnsid mouthed, and then motioned Amalek to the edge of the doorway.

Cloaked in the shadows, they watched two hooded figures remove the limp body of Lyex from an odd torture device they must have previously been using. The other five Dark Skulls gazed in horror from the other side of the doorway. Suddenly, one of the cloaked figures halted and swiveled to face the doorway the other Dark Skulls were by. It sniffed the air with purpose and gave a look to the other robed personage. All of their rings began to pulse in a simultaneous, steady, beat, gradually growing stronger as the one figure came closer. The seven Dark Skulls turned and fled in opposite directions (whichever side of the door they were on).

Rounding a corner, Vnsid and Amalek peered around it for a split second to find their pursuer mentally debating over which hall to search for his prey. Since five people together in a closed hallway are clumsier than two, it tore after them with amazing speed. Creeping stealthily along the corridor some twenty feet away, Amalek and Vnsid watched it in horror. They witnessed the wrath of this....thing....

The rings pulsed vividly as the um...ringwraith/dementor tore down upon the five doomed ones. The evil being jumped upon a Dark Skull's back, and wrestled him to the ground. The remaining four hurriedly yanked out wands, but the being was too swift. It lowered its hood, revealing a gray, scabby, dry, crackly head..but no ordinary head. It had nothing but a mouth.

A bone chilling sensation flooded throughout the hall, causing everyone to shiver and cringed with inner pain. Lowering its mouth to the screaming student...there was silence.

"Go!" shouted Amalek to the remaining Dark Skulls as they all stood there in horror.

Amalek and Vnsid dashed off while Vnsid questioned. "What was that thing? I've seen death...lots of it, but never something like this!" Amalek just shrugged, and they continued.

Soon, they had scampered almost all the way back to their common room and were tuning a corner when-smack!

The.....thing....was right in front of them!

"Oh cra-" Vnsid didn't get to finish his exclamation, as the situation didn't call for it.

Vnsid immediately pulled his knife from his boot and brought it up to guard himself. Suddenly, the dementor crouched and stopped its assault. It glanced back the way it had came, then at them again. Then it slunk off as fast as it had come.

Not even believing their own luck, the pair scampered off back toward Lyex's body. Returning toward the dim, dank, hallway, they were startled to find Villerant as he stepped out into the hall and watched as the dementors scampered away.

"One feels much hostility towards the Dark Skulls...that one must be tortured and destroyed," Villerant hissed, "I feel someone's pain. Lyex is suffering."

He floated over to the room where Lyex was lying, barely able to move. After looking him over, Villerant pulled out his wand.

"Can you save him?" questioned Vnsid.

"Avada Kedavera," murmured Villerant, pointing his wand toward Lyex's chest, and Lyex died completely.

"No, I cannot save him," he replied, and then searched for another conscious mind in the school, a mind that could control the dementors.

"They left," Villerant said abruptly.

"Who?" asked Vnsid.

"The enemy. Be prepared for when it attacks, again," Villerant responded, with a hint of malice in his voice, then exited the room.