The Mars Brothers and the Darkness Raising
Ch. 1
The Riddle House of Little Hangton, England was in desperate need of repair. There were tiles missing from the roof, ivy growing unchecked across the fence and weeds taller then a man standing proud in the gardens. No one had lived there for nearly fifty years, ever since the Riddle family had mysteriously died. Only Old Frank, the Riddle's gardener, stayed in the house, and everyone of Little Hangton knew that he must have killed his employers fifty years ago.
Old Frank was a proud man who had never stopped telling anyone who would listen that he was innocent. He may not have liked the Riddles, saying that they were a snobbish family, but he would never have killed the hand that fed him. Now, no one lived in the house and old age was slowly killing off Frank. He was a joke to the children of Little Hangton, who would throw rocks at the windows of the once grand home, just to see Old Frank hobbling along, trying to chase them off with his cane.
Old Frank, who normally knew in his old bones when anyone trespassed on the Riddle property, never woke up when Pippa Bradshaw and Irvin Jackson decided to sneak into the house in the early days of July. Pippa held Irvin's hand as he led her into the house, a bottle of wine in his other hand. They had been dating for a month and Irvin thought it would be romantic to spend time in the last place where anyone could go looking for them.
"I don't think we're the only ones with this idea," Pippa said, pointing to a lighted window.
"We'll just have to kick them out," Irvin said, pulling Pippa into the house. "I'm not letting anyone ruin our special night."
Pippa and Irvin crept towards the room. Irvin was angered that someone would not only enter the house, but decide to stay in the room he had set up for Pippa. He had set up candles and a nice cold dinner in one of the upstairs bedrooms. He even had changed the sheets on the bed so that they wouldn't have to lie on moldy sheets.
Outside the door, Pippa stopped Irvin as voices drifted through the door. Her blue eyes were opened wide as the voices gave them pause. This wasn't a couple of teenagers as they had assumed.
"There is still some left in the bottle, My Master."
"I'll finish it later, Wormtail."
The first voice was squeaky and trembling. The second voice, however, made the hairs on the back of the lover's necks to stand on end. It was like being hit by a blast of winter air.
"Where is Nagini?" This came from the second man.
"I don't know, My Lord. Exploring the house, I think."
"It's no matter. Just remember to milk her tonight. I will require a feeding later on."
"My Lord, how long will we be here?"
"A week, maybe more. This house suits our purpose and we cannot act until after the Quidditch World Cup."
Irvin shook his head. There was no such word as 'Quidditch'. He was too busy trying to convince himself that he didn't hear what he thought he heard that he didn't notice that Pippa was truly scared.
"Why not, My Lord?"
The second man gave a sigh that sounded like the frozen wind over a glacier. "Because, Wormtail, that place will be crawling with every meddler from the Ministry of Magic, working hard to make sure that nothing goes wrong. They will be obsessed with security."
"Your Lordship is determined then?"
"Of course I am determined, Wormtail." The voice became menacing. "I have waited too long for this moment."
Irvin peered through a crack in the door. He could only see one man - a short man with balding hair and a definite air of fear and servitude. The other man was sitting in a chair, facing the fireplace. He couldn't see anything about the second man.
There was a slight pause and Irvin watched as the first man, Wormtail, tried to work up the courage to speak. Finally, he said, "It could be done without Harry Potter."
Another pause, then, "Without Harry Potter? I see . . ."
"My Lord, I do not say this out of concern for the boy! He is nothing to me! It's just - It's just it'll be easier if we use a different witch or wizard."
"Silence! It will not work the way I wish it to without Harry Potter! I have waited thirteen years for this! Tori Mars is protecting that boy, I never would have thought her spells would be so strong. I need Harry Potter!"
Wormtail shivered and cowered by the chair, mumbling out a plea for forgiveness. The second man was silent, deaf to his servant.
"Wormtail, in a week, we will proceed to the second phase of our plan. You know what to do."
"Yes, My Lord," Wormtail said, his voice quivering. "However, My Lord, the disappearance of Bertha Jenkins and her friend won't go unnoticed forever. If I murder -"
"If? There is no if, Wormtail. We are but one more death away from a clear path to Harry Potter." The second man's voice trailed off a bit and he said, almost to himself, "And once Harry Potter dies, Tori Mars will be mine."
Irvin's blood ran cold. The second man had murdered someone, and was planning on killing someone else. He said it with such calmness. Whoever this Harry Potter was, he was in danger, as was this Tori Mars. Next to him, Pippa's breathing was coming in gasps.
"Irvin, we should get out of here," Pippa whispered. "We can't get caught."
Irvin nodded and grabbed Pippa's hand. They started to turn to creep away, but the second man spoke and Irvin found himself straining to hear what was said.
"One more murder . . . and placing my faithful servant in Hogwarts . . . Harry Potter and Tori Mars are as good as mine. Now, Wormtail, I hear Nagini."
Irvin stared as a huge snake, at least twelve feet long, slithered into the room. When it passed the two teenagers, Pippa gave a low moan of fear. Irvin immediately placed one hand over her mouth, his attention now on the men in the room. The voice from the chair changed. He was now hissing and spitting. Irvin thought that he was having a seizure, but Pippa knew what was going on and it made her afraid.
"Interesting," the second man said, his voice normal once again. "Nagini has some very interesting news."
"Yes, My Lord?"
"There are two Muggle teenagers outside the door, listening to everything we have been saying. Bring them here."
Irvin and Pippa didn't have time to hide as a short man with gray, balding hair and watery eyes opened the door.
The short man, Wormtail, beckoned for the teenagers to follow him into the room. Irvin walked in, pulling Pippa with him. He knew that they'd never be able to run now that they had been discovered. Irvin eyed the remains of the dinner he had placed in the room, now half eaten by the intruders.
"You heard everything, Muggles?" asked that cold voice.
"I don't know what Muggle means, but I heard enough to interest the police! I know you killed someone, that you plan on killing again." Irvin said defiantly. "And you ate my dinner, you thieves!"
The second man laughed malevolently. "A Muggle is a non-magical person, such as you are. Well, then you are the one we have to thank for this wonderful welcome. Lord Voldemort thanks you, Muggle."
Pippa gave a low cry and fell to the floor, sobbing. Irvin tried to comfort her, but she pushed him away.
"He's going to kill us!" Pippa cried. "He's not even supposed to be alive!"
"How would you know this, Muggle?" The second man asked.
"Because I'm not a Muggle!" Pippa sobbed.
There was a slight pause before the second man said, "I see."
Irvin was angry. He had no idea what was going on, but he didn't like the fact that this coward had made his girlfriend cry.
"Look, I don't know what's going on, but I say you should turn and face me like a man!" Irvin challenged.
"I am not a man, Muggle," the cold voice murmured. "I am much more then a man. However, I will face you. Wormtail, turn my chair around."
The servant whimpered and walked forward, fear on his face. He slowly turned the chair to face the teens. Irvin screamed when he saw the thing in the chair, and he was still screaming when it lifted a wand and spoke the words that ended his life. He was dead before he hit the floor.
Pippa faced the horror in the chair, staring at the wand as she held the dead body of her boyfriend.
"Tell me one thing before you join your Muggle friend," the horror purred. "Why would a witch not walk around with her wand?"
Pippa hiccuped on her words. "Because I didn't think I'd need it tonight."
"Are you a pureblood, half-blood, or Mudblood?"
"I'm not sure. We think I got my powers from my great-uncle. It's rumored that his brother married a witch, but when he died, he had no wife and she never showed up. Magic wasn't in my family until I showed signs, and I know that by marriage isn't how magic is passed on."
The horror in the chair gave her a chilling smile. "I see, a Mudblood then," it said and pointed the wand at her. Pippa Bradshaw, the second cousin of Tom Marvolo Riddle, died in a flash of green light.
And across the world, in America, a boy named Harry Potter awoke with such a start that he accidentally punched his adopted mother in the eye.
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"I'm so sorry, mom!"
Tori Mars glanced over at her adopted son as she held the compress to her right eye. They had been watching the fireworks for the Fourth of July when Harry had fallen asleep. Tori had leaned over him to wake him up when he suddenly started flailing his arms and socked her right in the face.
"Daniel, you are not allowed to have nightmares, ever again." Tori said. "Do you understand? No more nightmares, only good dreams!"
Harry Potter, also known as Daniel Mars, nodded. He held one hand over his forehead, massaging the burning scar in the shape of lightning bolt. When he had woken up, the scar hurt.
"You'll have a black eye, Tori. Other then that, you're both fine. I couldn't find anything wrong with Daniel." Signor Dottore said, kneeling next to Tori. He had examined Harry's scar to see if there was a reason for it burning.
"I do, however, want to get in touch with the New York branch. Not only do they train our Curse-Casters, but some of our best ones are still living there." Signor Dottore continued. "They might know more about your scar."
Harry nodded. He had grown up with the Mars Family, a family dedicated to stopping dark wizards. His part of the family was known as the Florida branch since they lived in Blackbird Point, Florida. Each branch had a specialty, making the family a network of information that rivaled anything that Harry had ever encountered.
The Florida branch was well known for their potions and antidotes. If anyone in the family came across an unknown potion, there was a chance that Theodore Mars in Florida already knew about it, heard about it, or could find the antidote to it. Sloane Mars, Harry's stepbrother and Tori's biological son, wanted to follow that path and become a Poisoner, the name for one who researches the poisons and antidotes.
The New York branch, under the leadership of Clive Mars, specialized in curses, were calledthe Curse-Casters. The Washington, DC branch, headed by Luke Mars, specialized in Shielding Spells and other spells designed to protect a person, commonly called Shields themselves. The New Orleans branch was known as the Dagger branch, and they taught those who wished to become "hit wizards", people who hunted down the dark wizards. Tori and her brother Hayden would have studied with the New Orleans branch, but they had been sent to England to learn from the retired head of that branch, Uncle Henry.
The New Mexico branch dealt with Lycanthropy and diseases that affected the body and caused witches and wizards to change, commonly called the Researchers. They were the ones that founded the Wolfsbane Potion that helped those with Lycanthropy to retain their minds after the change. This potion helped one of Harry's teachers, Remus Lupin. Unfortunitly, Lupin no longer worked as a teacher because, Wolfsbane or no Wolfsbane, no one wanted a werewolf to teach children.
The Las Vegas branch was the one that dealt with Muggle studies. They studied the changes in the Muggle world and taught others how to adapt so that any member of the Mars family could hide in the non-magical world and never stand out. Not many wizards could do that, the modern age still a mystery.
The San Diego branch dealt in the past, known as the Archiacs. Old magic long thought dead, myths and even Muggle practice of magic. Each branch could be found at any of the seven family locations, for each location was required to have one member specialize in each field.
In Florida, Tori Mars was the Dagger, but she was very close to retirement. While her sons will be in school in England this year, Tori will be training a replacement. Her replacement will live in Uncle Hayden's old house, since Hayden had moved into the home of the Head of the Family. Houses were only yours for as long as you lived. Once you died, whoever was there to fill in your spot took your home.
Harry watched Signor Dottore walk away, ready to send an owl to the New York branch. Tori gave her son a hug, letting him know that she wasn't angry with him. They stood up and went back to their home. Harry had to pack for their trip back to England. This year, he was going to spend the rest of summer holiday with his best friend, Ron Weasley. They were going to the Quidditch World Cup.
Quidditch was a wizard's sport played on broomstick. The object of the game was for the three Chasers to score a goal with the Quaffle while the two Beaters kept murderous balls known as Bludgers away from the team. Harry's position on his House teamwas that of Seeker, and he was the most important player of all. He had to catch a small but very fast ball known as the Snitch. The game ended when the Snitch was caught.
"Hey, Daniel!"
Harry turned to see his cousin Roger running up. Roger was a die-hard Quidditch fan, especially for the American Eagles. When Roger had learned that Harry played for his House team at school, he had been ecstatic. Every summer, Harry found himself cornered by Roger as the boy asked him to give him a play by play of every Quidditch game he had been in over his school year.
"Si, Roger?"
"You're going to the World Cup, right?" Roger said, stopping in front of Harry.
"Yea. So is Sloane."
Roger smiled. "Hey, can you get me souvenir. I'll pay, of course."
Harry nodded and Roger ran off. A part of Harry was dreading the trip to the World Cup. Though he was going with Ron and Ron's family, Sloane was going with Draco Malfoy and his family. Draco and Harry had become enemies in their first year, and only a small friendship with Sloane had prevented Draco's harassment to get out of hand. To make matters worse, Draco and Ron loathed each other on levels that rivaled almost any other hate that Harry had ever seen. The only loathing that was greater was that between Harry and his Potions professor, Snape.
"Do you have all of your homework done?" Tori asked as Harry walked up the stairs to his room.
"Yep. I'm all ready for a summer of goofing off."
Tori smiled. "Great. Now, you will behave, right?"
Harry grinned. "Naw, I was planning on being a holy terror."
The sound of Tori's laughter followed Harry to bed. In the morning, Tori would pick up Sloane from Signor Dottore's place, along with the medicine that Sloane would have to take this year for his weak heart. Then, they would leave for England by Muggle plane. Four days from now, Harry would be at the Burrow, the home of Ron Weasley.
The day that Harry and Sloane would be picked up was chaotic. Tori had overslept and had to hurry to pack the boys' camping bags.
"Now, you'll be expected to act as Muggles, so I've packed some things that Muggles use on camping trips. These will also help the wizards." Tori said, pulling out a wand-like campfire lighter.
Harry would be picked up first. Tori had staggered the times when each boy would be picked up to prevent any fighting. She didn't actually like the Weasley family, and she knew that Lucius Malfoy hated Arthur Weasley and Arthur Weasley hated Lucius Malfoy.
The Weasley family was late by nearly an hour. Tori practically pushed Harry towards Arthur Weasley in her haste to ward off the fight that she was sure would happen if Lucius showed up to pick up Sloane and Arthur was still there. Harry could tell by the look on Mr. Weasley's face that he thought that Tori was being very rude. Without so much as a word to Tori, Mr. Weasley took Harry to the Burrow.
A few minutes after Harry had gone, Lucius Malfoy showed up to pick up Sloane. The contrast between the two families were astounding. Arthur Weasley was rather on the poor side, his family brimming over with children while Lucius Malfoy came from old money and carried himself with a definite aristocratic air.
"My goodness, Tori, what happened to your eye?" Lucius asked, seeing the fading bruises from Harry's lucky punch.
Tori gently touched the discolored skin. "It's nothing, Lucius. Just an accident."
Lucius reached up and traced one thin finger around the bruises. "My dear, it hurts me to think that you were in any pain. Do be more careful in the future. I don't think my heart could take it if you were injured again."
"All right, Lucius. I'll be more careful from now on," Tori promised.
Sloane hid his smile as Lucius Malfoy gallantly kissed Tori's hand. Tori had spent the past two years telling her sons that there was nothing between her and Lucius, but it seemed as if Lucius wanted something to be there. With one final flourish, Sloane and Lucius were gone. Tori sighed and went upstairs to relax.
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A/N: First chapter down! Hurray!