Chapter One: A Tarnished Reputation

"Can anyone tell me how many unforgivable curses there are?" Professor Moody asked.

"Three sir." Hermione Granger replied quickly.

"And they are so named?" He continued.

"Because they are unforgivable, the use of any one of them…" She replied as though something had been caught in her throat until Moody interrupted her.

"Will earn you a one way ticket to Azkaban." He finished fanatically.

Scarlett Rosier sat idly in a desk near the far end of the room; the three unforgivable curses were nothing new to her, as her parents had both been death eaters, and her guardians were as well. It wasn't that they didn't interest her; it was merely that Defense against the Dark Arts was only defense, and she was far more interested in the dark arts themselves. She looked out the window, staring lazily at the horizon outside until she was snapped from her reverie when Professor Moody abruptly shouted at her.

"Rosier! Perhaps you can show us the cruciatus curse, since you feel you don't need to pay attention!" He said fervently.

"Yes sir, I can." She said calmly.

Murmurs could be heard throughout the room; they were all assuming the same things, spreading mindless gossip about her parents and upbringing. A few years back her mother was put on trial and sent to Azkaban; it was there that she received the dementors kiss. Her father on the other hand, had died before she was born, and was a well-known, avid supporter of the dark lord. It didn't fully register; what he asked her to do, so she just sat quietly at her desk.

"Well, hurry up then." Moody snapped back at her.

Confused, she made her way to the front of the room; Professor Moody motioned to the large spider in front of her, the one he had tossed around under the imperious curse, and Scarlett held up her wand to point it at the spider. Neville Longbottom stood beside her, looking nervously as he had been brought up after mentioning the second unforgivable curse. Though she had never performed the curse before, she felt a sinister urge to do so the second she saw the creature standing in front of her.

"Crucio," She spoke coldly, causing the spider to thrash and screech violently.

Scarlett watched as the spider curled up into itself, its legs would contract violently as it struggled to find relief. She felt control and dominance, gaining a sort of satisfaction as she watched the creature suffer violently. A smirk began to twitch at the corners of her mouth as she held the curse and she looked over to see Moody in a sort of sinister daze. His tongue shot out to the corner of his mouth for a fraction of a second before it retracted back in, and Scarlett let out a nearly inaudible gasp before she was interrupted by Hermione's frantic yell.

"Stop it! Can't you see it's bothering him? Stop it!" She shouted, referring to Neville, who stood staring at the spider with a look of utter terror and discomfort on his face.

Scarlett immediately broke the curse, leaving the spider to curl up into a ball as a mere shell of her former self. Professor Moody was amazed; many people can't do the cruciatus curse, especially not students. They had to mean it, and it was surprising that she managed that on her first try. She began to walk back to her seat as her classmates avoided eye-contact, unsure of what to think of her. Even Pansy Parkinson looked at her in confusion as she sat back down next to her. They had been the best of friends since first year, despite her now being Draco's girlfriend.

As she sat down, she looked back to the front of the class; Moody's tongue flickered again, prompting him to take a large gulp from the flask he had in his jacket. She had only seen one other person do that before; it was a few weeks ago during the quidditch world cup. She had gone there with her guardians Lucious and Narcissa Malfoy, but the event ended when death eaters attacked the site. Though it hadn't been planned, Lucious and Narcissa were involved, leaving Scarlett and Draco to their own devices. They watched as the campsite was burned to the ground; people fled the area in panic, and tents scorched as masked witches and wizards terrorized the crowd of people, throwing curses in every direction. Though Draco had left hours ago, Scarlett stayed behind, walking through the rubble that remained throughout the desolate site. She walked through the dark until she saw a man only a few yards in front of her; he lifted his wand above his head and yelled, "Morsmordre," in one swift movement. A green flash of light shot from the tip of his wand as the dark mark shot up to illuminate the night sky. Scarlett smirked cheekily, having always supported the dark lord. This had to be a good sign; this wouldn't happen if he wasn't close to returning to power.

She looked over at the man again to see he was looking directly at her; his eyes filled with a look of diabolical mania as he smirked at her. His tongue flicked out in an instant, much as Moody's did during class, and it then quickly retracted, leaving behind his sinister smile. He began to walk toward her until the voices of concerned officials could be heard in the distance, then he ran off in the opposite direction. Though she didn't get a good look at him, she distinctly remembered the flick of his tongue, his messy mop of brown hair, and the insane smirk he gave her before leaving.

"Perhaps you can give us the last unforgivable curse Miss Granger." Professor Moody said quietly as he eased the spider on to the top of her desk.

Hermione shook her head before looking away. Tears rimmed the bottom of her eyes as she knew what was coming next. Scarlett on the other hand, was now watching intently; she had never seen the killing curse performed before despite her father's notorious reputation.

"Avada Kadevra." Moody said sharply as a flash of green light shot from the tip of his wand.

The spider dropped dead instantly, landing in a withered heap on Hermione's desk. Nearly everyone in the class turned their heads away from the scene, including Hermione, who wrinkled her nose and closed her eyes. Scarlett was practically looming over the front of her desk, struggling to view the act as Moody looked over at her. She could have sworn he shot her a smile, but it was short lived as he turned toward Harry Potter, who stared blankly in front of him.

"The killing curse," Moody said, "Only one person is known to have survived it, and he is sitting in this very room." He continued as he looked down at Harry, taking another large gulp from the flask in his pocket.

…

"What the hell was that Scarlett?" Pansy said worriedly as they gathered their things to leave.

"What do you mean?" Scarlett replied.

"You used an unforgivable curse?" Pansy shrieked.

Scarlett shrugged, unsure of what to say. She didn't realize she would succeed, but saw no harm in her doing so. It was, after all, only a spider.

"You looked like you… were enjoying it." Pansy continued.

"Well I see nothing wrong with it." Scarlett replied.

"Yeah, except now everyone thinks you're some sort of death eater. You know what people already say about you, your parents were convicted death eaters!" She said a little too loudly as they walked down the corridors.

Draco ran up behind them before grabbing Pansy around her waist. She shrieked and Scarlett turned around to laugh at them.

"Rosier, honestly, you couldn't just act like any normal person would and refuse." Draco said teasingly.

"Refuse what?" Scarlett replied.

"Using the cruciatus curse!" He said.

"It's really not a big deal!" Scarlett spat back.

"Like hell it's not! How many students do you know who have used the cruciatus curse?" Draco persisted.

Scarlett thought about it, but decided to just not respond. When Pansy ran off to her next class, Draco slumped against the bench by one of the hallways huge windows. He signed before turning toward Scarlett.

"What the hell am I going to do?" He said sadly.

"What?" Scarlett asked.

"I think I love her, but you know how it is with us; arranged marriages." He replied.

"Oh good, the great Draco Malfoy has feelings." Scarlett shot back.

"Oh shut up Rosier." He spat.

Scarlett laughed, all the while realizing how right he was. There had been plots to return the dark lord to power; it was only a matter of time before it happened. That ensured that they would have no say over the rest of their lives. Scarlett was fine with it all; she continued her father's unwavering loyalty with the utmost respect, but Draco had conflicting opinions, and wasn't sure what he wanted.

…

Scarlett walked about the corridors during her free period; they were virtually deserted, much to her liking. She strode outside and sat against a tree near the lake, pulling out a book on the dark arts, which she was forbidden to have at Hogwarts. As she read, she seemed to forget the world around her; she didn't notice Professor Moody walking by just a few yards away.

"Rosier, what are you doing out here?" He asked as she looked up, careful to hide the true nature of what she was reading.

"Reading sir; I have a free period." She replied calmly.

"Come with me." He said sharply, and she walked hastily after him as she stuffed the book in her bag.

She followed him quickly as they walked up to the castle; he led her up the same staircase she left from her first class and up to the Defense against the Dark Arts classroom.

"Don't think I don't know what you're up to." He said accusingly.

"Sir, I really don't know what you're talking about." Scarlett replied.

"No fifth year could perform the cruciatus curse like that the first time." He said.

"Sir I…" She began to say before he cut her off.

"That book you were reading; it was your father's." He interrupted.

"With all due respect sir, you made me perform that curse. And how would you know that?" She asked suspiciously.

He seemed unable to find words as a brief silence filled the room. Scarlett spoke up before he could.

"It's funny; I've only seen one other person flicker their tongue like that." She said calmly before taking a few steps toward the door.

"I have potions in ten minutes, and I would hate to be late." She continued as she walked out of the classroom.

He sat in silence; unsure of how to react. It had only been a day, and already a student was undeniably close to figuring out the truth. Terror made his stomach lurch as he thought of the dark lord's reaction; the disappointment he would feel. While none of the other students had suspected a thing, or even the great Albus Dumbledore himself, this ordinary girl had managed to get so close in a matter of hours. She didn't seem to be upset by it though, and why would she be, she clearly had an interest in the dark arts and her father was, after all, a loyal death eater. He regained his composure, realizing he was worrying for nothing; she would let it go.

…

The students of Hogwarts all filed into the great hall along with the students from Durmstrang and Beauxbatons academy of magic. Scarlett sat down between Crabbe and Pansy and immediately grew bored hearing about the Tri-Wizard Tournament. Three champions were called, one from each school, and Dumbledore made a short speech as they exited the room.

Students and staff craned their heads as the fire within the goblet began to change from light blue to red in color, emitting another small piece of parchment from the flame. Dumbledore caught it swiftly before mumbling something under his breath. He looked up worriedly as he screamed, "Harry Potter!"

The students began to mutter and throw insults, calling Potter a cheat. Staff alike was in an uproar, and Dumbledore pulled Harry out of the great hall to meet the other champions. Scarlett and Draco scoffed the second Harry had exited the room.

"Just because he's the chosen one doesn't mean rules don't apply." Draco shot angrily.

"That miserable git; he has no business in this tournament. Fame isn't everything." Scarlett scoffed back.

Draco looked over at Crabbe and Goyle, who nodded their heads in agreement as they all continued to eat. Scarlett found herself thinking about Professor Moody and the eerie similarities he shared with the man she had seen the night of the Quidditch world cup. It seemed so outlandish; but it all made sense to her. It was probably best to let it be though, she thought, she would be the last person to interfere if it meant the return of the dark lord.