Chapter 1:

The tree's hard bark dug into Theodore Nott's back as he leant against the tree thinking of something that might start a conversation with his work colleague; Gregory Goyle.

"It's so cold I think my arse has gone numb..." Theo muttered darky.

"Well what am I supposed to do about that?" Goyle snapped. He had been irritable all evening, probably because it was one o'clock in the morning at the time and their patrol still had four hours remaining.

"I was more talking to myself, than you." He snapped back, beginning to get equally as irritable.

"Well, if you're going to talk to yourself, do it in your head because I don't want to hear your whiny voice." Goyle said. This was not the sort of conversation that Theo was hoping for, at this rate this conversation would become a full blown argument. Theo was about to retort when he was cut off by the loud CRACK!- the tell tale sign that someone had apparated close by.

"Did you hear that?" Theo asked, forgetting about the argument that they had previously been having.

"Hear what?" Goyle said, still as annoyed as he was before,"I didn't hear anything."

"It sounded like someone apparated close by." Theo said. He was quite nervous, he had never been good at dueling and whatever that was, could be a threat.

"You're imagining things, Theo. It's late, and you're tired." Goyle said, patronizingly.

"I'm sure I heard so-" But Theo was cut off by another loud CRACK! Apprehension slowly crept onto his face, "Did you hear that?"

"It was probably just another patrol, nothing to worry about." Goyle replied, he was trying to remain calm, but it was just a mask, and underneath, he was just as nervous as Theo.

"Are you sure?" Theo asked, still nervous. CRACK! "That was definitely closer than before."

"They're probably just changing shifts down in the forest somewhere." Goyle replied. He was getting more, and more nervous by the second. CRACK! It was closer again. CRACK! Even closer. There was another, and then another.

Suddenly a hooded figure appeared in the center of the clearing that Theo and Goyle were occupying. The hooded figure was shrouded in a black travelling cloak, but it was definitely a woman, from the curve in her torso, the wavy brown hair that hung limply around her shoulders. This alone was enough to break through Goyle's cool, and calm demeanor.

"Wh- who are y-you?" Theo managed to stammer out.

"State your name, and purpose." Goyle finished for him in a more confident tone.

"My name is of no great importance, so I shan't tell you" Said the woman.

"Who are you?" Nott asked. "You sound familiar."

"I doubt you know who I am." She replied.

"Can you please state your name and purpose?" Goyle asked again, he had a stubborn edge to his voice.

"There is no point in telling you my name, you won't remember me anyway." The woman replied, being as equally as stubborn. "Well, at least, I hope you don't remember me." The confident air that this woman had been exuding had disappeared.

"Well if we won't remember, why don't you tell me? Just so I know who's attacking me." Goyle said. Maybe, he thought, if whatever memory spell she uses on me doesn't work, the Dark Lord will find her name out... If he doesn't kill me first... he added as an after thought.

"But that all seems very evil villain-ish to me." The woman said.

"Evil villain-ish?" Theo asked, "What the hell does that mean?"

"You know," The woman said incredulously, "in old movies where the bad guy catches the good guy, and while the good guy is about to die, the bad guy tells the good guy his plan, then the good guy is saved or escapes, and the bad guy's plan gets foiled."

"What is a moovlie?" Goyle asked slowly.

"Oh, never mind." The woman said she looked at her watch, "Right!" She said in a more buisness-like tone. "Time to get this show on the road!"

"What show?" Theo asked. He had been looking steadily more confused by the minute. Before he knew it the woman had sent a stunning spell at Goyle, and hit him right between the eyes.

Goyle fell to the ground like a heavy stone dropped into a lake. Theo whipped out his wand and pointed it into the direction of the woman, but she had disappeared.

He heard her laugh from behind him and he spun around. "EXPELIARMUS!" He yelled. Her wand flew two meters up in the air and landed in a clump of bushes to her left. She looked up, and he finally caught a glimpse of her face. Well, her eyes at least. They were the colour of amber.

She disappeared in front of his eyes. She can apparate, he thought, without a wand. She appeared next to the clump of bushes, grabbed her wand, and disapparated again. He stepped back into the center of the clearing, her laughter resonating around him.

Suddenly, Theo heard a twig snap behind him and a muttered curse. "Aha!" Theo yelled. "I found you!" He spun around, but the triumphant smile fell off his face as soon as he saw the red light of a stunning spell, flying towards his face.