Chapter 1: The Fearsome Foursome

Disclaimer: I do not own anything to do with Harry Potter, though, this chapter is mostly mine, except for the mention of Voldemort in Various ways, and the Dark Mark, and Harry and Dumbledore, and Apparation. I think those about cover what I don't own and J.K. Rowling does own in this chapter.

A/N: I would really enjoy reviews with helpful criticism. I promise if you review me, I'll review you.

The three women and the man sat in the shade of a deck umbrella, facing the interiors of a house. The wide, glass door was opened all the way as to allow the summer heat into the house, even if two of the woman claimed the heat was unbearable. Inside, four girls and a boy were all eating and talking noisily, unable to hear the conversation of their elders.

"The point is that as long as He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named stays in England, there is no need to get involved," the thinnest of the women said. She wore the straightest face, quite contrary to her bright blonde hair that made her seem like a party animal.

"It's not worth risking their lives," said the woman to the right of the first woman. She was slightly over weight, with short, graying-black hair and brown eyes. She held a small dog in her lap. "Patti will be in danger, because she is a squib and Amanda… She almost lost her life once, and after getting expelled from Newtseye Academy... I can't bear the thought of what would happen if she did go with you to England, Lor, but, she's my daughter." The over weight woman turned to her identical twin sister and pleaded with her eyes.

"I think we should pay our respects to him by carrying out what he last asked of me," said the woman named Lori, or Lor as her sister called her. "Just because he died doesn't mean that we shouldn't get involved."

"The fight is in England," the man said finally looking up from the spot on the table he had been staring at determinedly. "At least, is it for the time being. It will come here, sooner than we would like the think. There have been dark doings all over. I would be glad she was expelled, the majority of the last graduating class at Newtseye have all been witnessed committing some sort of crime, not against Muggles, but more against other wizards, especially those who believe that the Ministry should provide additional Aurors for the English Ministry. They wouldn't want to defeat Voldemort," the graying haired women and the thin woman both flinched, though the second overweight woman remained straight-faced, "before he conquered England. But the fact remains that the Dark Mark was spotted in America as recently as…"

"Today," said the boy who had just left the kitchen to join his parents outside.

"What do you mean, Danny?" asked the thin woman.

The boy said nothing more, but shook slightly as he raised a slow arm and pointed to the sky. Not more than two blocks away, the green mark of the most evil wizard of the day hung in the sky. The four were shocked at the skull and the snake, almost afraid.

"That wasn't there a minute ago," said the graying haired, fat woman, who was named Lynda.

"But it is now," replied the man.

"What the bloody hell is that?" asked a man with fiery red hair and whose face a beard and mustache concealed. He stood tall and thin, though oddly strong for a Muggle man of his age. His left arm was bandaged, after cutting himself while trimming a bush, he claimed.

"It's…" began Lynda, but she couldn't continue.

"It's called the Dark Mark," Lori finished. "The sign of the evil wizard Voldemort." The two women flinched again, and the boy closed his eyes, but aside from that, showed no signs of fear.

"Did Dad just say 'bloody,'" asked a girl from inside the kitchen. She had dark brown hair pulled back into a long pony-tail and brown eyes. Her cargo pants were the same dark color as her hair and her white shirt had an eagle on it in silver glitter.

"I was just watching an English movie," replied her father with a short laugh.

"You're American," yelled another girl. She had curly brown hair with a reddish tinge and blue eyes. Freckles dotted her face, especially over her long nose. She wore a tight blue shirt and blue jeans. "You don't use English terms. At least not until we come back from our trip to London. Are we still going, by the way?" She gave her mother a large, pleading smile.

"Of course we are," her dad replied before her mother could. "And I was just practicing using English slang so they won't know our true identity."

"You'll have to be our leader then," the other man said with a smile.

"We're still going?" the oldest of the girls asked. She had bushy purple hair and wore a shirt with popular cartoon characters on it. She had come of age, but only recently and still lived with her family until she could arrange her own living arrangements. "I have a few reports to finish in that case, you know, about the most recent… there's been another attack?"

"We were just going to check it out," Lori claimed. "Who's coming?"

"I'll be going soon anyway, so I might as well check it out now," said the bushy-haired girl rolling her eyes.

"Us too," said the girl with brown hair pulling her friend, a stick-thin girl with short brown hair and green eyes, to the standing position. This girl was wearing shorts and a black tee shirt, which only made her look thinner.

"No you two are not," the two mothers said sternly to their own daughter in unison.
At the same time, the man and Lori greeted their company.

"Glenn?" the four adults with differing opinions turned to the man with red hair.

He shrugged and said, "Why not?"

"Thank you, father," said the girl with brown hair in a pony-tail. She and her friend skipped out the door ahead of the rest.

"It's the Robinsons," Danny said as they reached the house.

Lori held her breath and Apparated inside. The others waited outside for news. Lori opened up the front door, a very solemn look upon her face and shook her head slowly.

"All of them?" the stick thin girl asked.

"All of them, Katie," Lori replied looking down. "Jenny, you might want to come in and see this before the Ministry officials make it impossible to know what really happened by cleaning the room entirely. Amanda, I need to talk with you."

Jenny and her father walked inside the house to see the people; Katie and Danny stood unmoving, trying to absorb the fact that their friends and classmates had just been killed. Lori took Amanda a few houses down before she began to talk.

"I know that you had a very tiresome last few weeks, learning everything from your mother and myself, because of the incident at school," Amanda grew tense about this last mention, "but you've been offered another chance…"

"What makes you think I want to return to the snobs at Newtseye?" Amanda asked stiffly.

"At another school," Lori continued as though she had not been interrupted at all. "Ever hear of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry?"

Amanda looked her aunt in the eyes, deciding that she was not taunting her, so she slowly responded, "The place where the Headmaster Dumbledore just died? The school where…"

"Say his name before you think about saying 'You-Know-Who,'" Lori said knowing what Amanda would instinctually do.

"Vo-Vol-d-de-mort went there, correct?" Amanda asked. She looked pale and afraid as she said the name of the most evil wizard to ever live.

"So does Harry Potter," Lori said. "I've been informed by his new Headmistress that his intentions are not to return for his final, and most important year of learning. Before Professor Albus Dumbledore died, he sent a request to me, your mother, and Katie's parents that one or two of us take up residence in a house recently acquired by the school. I have decided to do this, and I want you to come with, because it is my belief that someone his own age would be best to convince him to return for one more year. Would you like to help me with this task?"

"Why me?" Amanda asked. Lori smiled and pointed the tip of her wand at Amanda's shirt. Amanda blushed and nodded. Then she smiled, "I'm working with the Fearsome Foursome now. If only Irving knew."