Prologue
The night was very dark and also very quiet, as it always was in the manor the Gaunts lived. Their home was in north of Scotland, near Thurso and was a huge, beautiful place with gorgeous surroundings. There was a small lake nearby and when the moon was up it reflected in the water.
The Gaunts had five family members – first, Mr Edmund Gant, a tall, very handsome man with dark hair and striking blue eyes. He was, even though he didn't like to brag about it, a relative to Salazar Slytherin, one of the biggest wizards through the ages. The reason he didn't like to talk about it was because if he did, people would immediately understand that he was also a relative to Lord Voldemort, the number one of all the most evil wizards. Mr Gaunt thought it was best not to let the whole world know about that. His wife, Mrs Gaunt, had been named Arielle Nott earlier, but changed last name when she got married. She looked pretty much like any woman, with light brown hair and grey eyes, but as a person she wasn't quite as ordinary. Her temperament could easy flow over and when she was angry not many dared say anything against her. At the same time she was a loving woman who put her family above all else.
They had three children. A son, named Anthony, who was twelve years old, and two twin daughters, Angela and Angelica, who were seven. The children learned from when they were born that muggles, or as some might say, non-magic people were stupid and more like animals than humans. None of them thought about that as a strange thing.
This night was a night at the end of July and it was warm to be Thurso. The silence maybe was too... unusual. But suddenly it was broken by whispers and footstep – a group of people, who walked fast but still quiet towards the house.
Some of them only looked scared, others looked excited and one was even laughing. He was Mrs Gaunt's brother, Daniel Nott. The ten people with him were Death Eaters, followers of Lord Voldemort. Even though he was dead several years ago they never stopped supporting him.
When they knocked the door Mr and Mrs Gaunt knew something was wrong right away. Mr Gaunt opened and when he saw Mr Nott he lost his ability to speak. He had heard that he among many Death Eaters had escaped the wizard prison of Azkaban, but this was something he or his wife never had expected. They knew that the penalty for helping someone who was sent to Azkaban for lifetime was also a lifetime in Azkaban.
"Brother", said Mr Nott. "May we come in? We have travelled long way and we need to rest."
"Darling?" called Mrs Gaunt. "Who is it?"
She came up at Mr Gaunt's side. The sight of her brother and the others chocked her as much as her husband.
"Sister", said Mr Nott and smiled at her. "I see you are in health."
"Yes..."
She could not say the same about him – his hair was long, dirty, and it looked as if he hadn't seen a comb for years. His face was pale and he was very thin. He was clearly tired, by the judge of the shadows under his eyes, even if he still had an eager appearing.
"Will you not let us in?" he asked.
"Daniel..." she said slowly. "I have three children. I cannot risk putting them in danger."
"You will not put them in any danger", said Mr Nott. "What do you think is going to happen? None of us wish any harm to come to any of you. You're the Gaunts for God's sake."
"I don't mean you're the danger", said Mrs Gaunt, annoyed. "I'm talking about the Ministry. When they found out... They'll come here, and they'll kill you. They'll kill me along with my family. They will show no mercy."
"You can't know for sure", said Mr Gaunt in a low voice.
Mrs Gaunt look was enough to make him fall back into silence.
"They won't find out we're here", said Mr Nott, pleased with Mr Gaunt's few but effect full words.
"You don't know!" said Mrs Gaunt. "Daniel, it's my son, it's my daughters. I can't put them in danger. Do you understand me?"
"So what will you do?" said Mr Nott cold. "You'll let your brother stay out, in the night, just because of one mistake he made in the past?"
"Joining The Dark Lord was a mistake, yes", said Mrs Gaunt. "I'm glad you've realised that..."
"I was not talking about that!" interrupted Mr Nott. "I was talking about the fact that I got caught because of my own imprudence. That was a mistake."
Mrs Gaunt starred at him.
"Come on now, Arielle, let us in", said her brother, slightly impatiently.
She sighted.
"Only to rest, and only one night", she said. "No more. Understood?"
"Yes, yes", said Mr Nott. "Now move, dear sister."
Most unwillingly, she moved. Mr Gaunt tried hard not to laugh as he said hello to Mr Nott and the others, that now, relived, came into the house.
"You will go no further than this", said Mrs Gaunt. "You go nowhere in my home, apart from the hall."
"Yes, yes", said Mr Nott again. He didn't look like he was listening.
A few hours later, Angela woke up because of a sudden noise. She went out in the corridor to find her sister and brother standing there too. Anthony was dressed and held his wand. He was the first of them to speak.
"Go to bed."
"No", said Angela.
"What are you doing?" asked Angelica.
"I'm going to see what's going on", answered Anthony.
"Are you mad?"
"Even if something is happening..."
"I know something is happening", snapped Anthony. "I know it, I heard mother and father. They screamed something about 'they are here' and 'get the kids'."
"You..."
"Stay here until I come back", said Anthony. He looked serious. "But if you notice that something has gone wrong, get out of here. Don't wait."
"What if nothing is wrong?" said Angela. She just couldn't believe it.
"Then we can just laugh about it."
Anthony sat off before any of his sisters had the chance to say anything else. Angelica was quick to get in her room and get dressed. Angela decides to follow her example. It felt better to sit in cloths, and not nightdresses. She was now very frustrated that she didn't own her own wand, or at least could do some magic.
The sisters sat still and listened to the sound that came from the floor downstairs. They heard screams, curses and a lot of bangs. But they didn't know what exactly Anthony had meant with "if you notice that something has gone wrong". How were they supposed to know if something had gone wrong or not? They didn't even know how they were supposed to know what was going on. They had no idea.
A high scream made them both wake up. It was Anthony. He was in trouble.
"We should..." Angelica looked towards the chimney – they could get away really fast with Floo powder.
"No!" said Angela. "We can't go."
"Then what will we do?" wondered Angelica.
"We must go downstairs", said Angela. "Really, what can happen?"
"You're right", said Angelica. "Let's go."
They ran towards the stairs. After seven years in the house, they knew exactly where the floor squeaked, so they could get all the way without making a single noise. The sounds below them only became higher and scarier. Now there was no doubt – something was very wrong.
"Oh my..."
Angelica didn't finish the sentence.
Aurors had smashed in the front door and attacked the twin's parents, along with the others in the entrance hall. Several bodies lay on the floor, some in piles of blood and some on their backs, starring up with empty eyes.
"Where's Anthony?" Angelica sounded as if she was panicking.
"Mum! Dad!" screamed Angela. She had spotted them, fighting for their lives against the Aurors.
"Be quiet!" said someone who came up from back – Anthony. "We've got to go. Mother and father will come after, but we have to..."
He suddenly stopped. His eyes looked chocked. Angela turned around.
Mr Gaunt had fallen and his wand fell out of his hand. The Auror that killed him just sent another curse, this time against Mrs Gaunt. It hit her, right in the chest, and she fell beside her husband. Her face was filled with rage. The rage she felt when she was that Mr Gaunt was dead. That rage had distracted her from thinking about her own safety.
"NO!" roared Anthony.
He drew his wand and ran towards the Auror. The man held out his own wand.
"You stay there, and I won't hurt you", said he.
Anthony kept running.
"CRUCIO!" he cried.
The Auror wasn't hurt. He twitched, but he didn't scream. He raised his wand.
"ANTHONY!"
"NO, NO, NO!"
"ANTHONY! ANTHONY!"
The twins were devastated. Angela tried to run towards her brother, towards her parents, but someone gripped her hands and held her back. She looked at the side and saw the same thing happening to Angelica. She was yelling to.
"Calm down", said the wizard who hell Angela.
Her wish to hurt him became bigger than ever – she wanted to bite, scratch, beat him, kill him, almost as much as she wanted to kill the Auror who just killed her family.
It yet wasn't clear to her what happened. In just a few minutes her life had changed dramatically, and she knew it would never be the same, ever again.