Disclaimer: Everything Harry Potter belongs to the wonderful J.K. Rowling.
A/N: This story was written in response to a May List challenge at the Reviews Lounge, Lexie-H's community and forum. Everyone participating had to include these ten words:
Suave, slippers, cannibal, sapid (full of flavor), pirouette, curlicues, guitar, crystallized pineapple, hot air balloon, and repressed.
Masked Shadows
Chapter 1: A Mission of Loyalty
The full moon shone through the forest of evergreen trees, illuminating the tips of their leaves with a mystical eerie glow. There was a rustling in some bushes and a young deer trotted out from the cover of the woods and into the bordering field to nibble hungrily at the lush, sapid grass. It started suddenly, perking its ears up as the sound of harsh voices echoed through the area. A group of five masked figures emerged out from between the trees and began to hurry across the length of the field, their black robes billowing behind them. The deer froze, watching them cautiously.
"You should be proud, dear cousin," one cloaked figure at the front of the group said, glancing backwards at one of the others. "Tonight you shall get the chance to prove your loyalty to the Dark Lord." There was no response; the only noises were the swishing of their robes and the muffled padding of their steps through the vegetation.
Another voice broke the silence with a suave tone that gave the impression of self-conceited superiority.
"Bella is right, Regulus; you are one of the youngest members ever to join the Dark Lord's ranks."
The one called Regulus Black continued to remain silent, fearful that his voice might betray how nervous he felt about his first raid. Bellatrix and Lucius might have been eager about the task at hand, but they enjoyed and took pride in being Death Eaters—he didn't. Sure he had wanted to join in the beginning but that was before he had discovered what being a servant of the Dark Lord involved. It was a lifetime of service, or death…
Regulus saw a flash of brown out of the corner of his eye and heard one of the others shout, "Avada Kedavra!" There was a blast of green light and the fleeing deer dropped to the ground. He repressed a pang of dread at the sight of the dead animal and he quickened his pace in order to keep up with the rest of the group. As he fell into stride behind Lucius, Regulus was strongly reminded of a scene he had once read in a book when he was littler: a group a vicious cannibals sneaking out from the shadows to prey on unsuspecting victims.
Soon, they came upon a small house on the edge of the field and Bellatrix motioned for them to stop.
"We have been given specific orders," she said, turning to face them and grinning with wicked excitement. "This family is known to be supporting Dumbledore's resistance force. Five days ago they helped the Ministry capture four other Death Eaters… Our job is to… dispose of them."
They approached the door and, after a nod from Bellatrix, Regulus pointed his wand at the keyhole and said, "Alohomora." The door unlocked and swung open silently as the group crept into the dark, rustic home. Regulus felt a flicker of hope; the place seemed empty, maybe no one was home. He peered around the living room they were gathered in and through the darkness he managed to spot several framed pictures hanging on the walls. One contained the image of a little girl with long brown hair that draped over her shoulders in multiple curlicues; she appeared to be in the middle of performing a pirouette and was dressed in a pink tutu.
A faint clinking and clanging reached his ears, like the sound of silverware on plates.
"Now!" Lucius shouted and they burst through the hallway up ahead and into the dinning room where the family was having supper. For a split second time seemed to stop as the mother, father, and daughter looked up at them in their pajamas and slippers, shock and fear written on their faces. Regulus was overcome with a lightheaded sensation, as if he was floating in a hot air balloon, looking down on the earth from a great distance, and thought for a moment he was going to be sick. He couldn't do this… he couldn't murder such an innocent family…
Time resumed and there was a din of shouts, spells, curses, and hexes flying in every direction. He gripped his own wand in a shaking hand and uttered an incantation. There was a noise that resembled a quivering, guitar string being clipped, followed by a blast of smoke that obscured his vision. Another crash, a bone-chilling shriek, and then ominous silence.
When the smoke cleared, Regulus looked around at the damage; the table was broken, something that seemed to be crystallized pineapple was spilled all over the floor, windows were smashed, part of the wall was caved in, and in the middle of the room were the lifeless bodies of all three family members.
"Foolish of them to think they could escape the Dark Lord's wrath," Lucius sneered, indifferent to the horrid crime they had just committed. He paused and Regulus half expected Lucius to comment on the fact that he hadn't really tried to harm anyone; he had been attacking in random directions, hoping that his spells missed. "I'm sure Bella will inform the Dark Lord about your service tonight."
He followed the rest of the Death Eaters back out into the night, not daring to look back at the destruction that lay in their wake. Reluctantly, Regulus raised his wand and fired the Dark Mark into the sky above the house, bathing it in an eerie green light. He had done it… He had become an official member in the Dark Lord's circle of followers… There was no turning back now.