'We weren't sure if you were going to be joining us Alina'

Alina threw a cold look at Bellatrix before she threw herself down onto a stool in the Potions lab

'Well if you'd actually told me what room you were in and hadn't put so many charms down here I wouldn't of had to look in every room before I found you, maybe I wouldn't have been late' she snapped, ignoring the looks of amusement at her attitude towards Bellatrix.

'Don't you dare speak to me you common little-'

'Bella! Our instructions will arrive soon and I doubt the Dark Lord will appreciate you attacking someone whom he seems to be interested in' Snape interrupted cooly.

'I wasn't attacking-' she began furiously.

'Verbally Bella, attacking verbally' he told her lazily ' although we all know you're not a big fan of that kind of attack' he chuckled, and they all joined in. Alina had to fight off the shiver down her spine at the sound of their cold laughter.

'Yes, so maybe you better watch it half blood, although my cousin doesn't seem to mind' she added spitefully.

Alina saw Regulus' eyes automatically flick to her at the mention of Sirius, and the familier cool anger reared its ugly head within her.

'You know, considering you spend half your life telling everyone how superior you are to them, you really aren't the brightest bulb are you Bella, do you honestly think that i'd be scared of your threats? You can't even successfully insult me, yet alone attack me' she scoffed, glaring angrily at Bellatrix.

Before she could even reach for her own wand she was staring at the tip of Bellatrix's, for a second a pang of fear dominated her anger and she felt her mind go blank with panic, yet that moment was short lived as the moment she saw Bellatrix's smug face her anger returned. She laughed. She looked straight into the deathly black eyes that were narrowed at her, and she laughed.

'Are you really going to attack me Bellatrix?' she taunted 'the Dark Lord wants me and you know it' she added, cocking an eyebrow at her arrogantly.

'BELLATRIX'

Everyone froze at Snape's yell and turned to stare at him.

'The mark' he spat 'it is time.'

Alina watched in horrified amazement as Bellatrix lowered her wand and pulled up her sleeve, revealing a jet black mark seared into her skin.

'What is that?' she gasped, before she could stop herself.

'It's the Dark Mark' Regulus explained to her softly 'the Dark Lord gives it to you when you become a Death Eater.'

The awe was obvious in his voice, yet Alina did not feel the same anger towards him. She didn't know if it was because he resembled Sirius so strongly, or whether it was his boyish excitement that showed is obliviousness to the reality of what he was getting himself into, all she knew was that she felt sorry for him.

Snape pulled a small marble figurine of a snake from his robe and placed it on the desk between himself and Bellatrix, its eyes were made from emeralds that glinted eerily in the candle lit room. Then, with the arm that bore the dark mark he clasped Bellatrix's hand and they both pointed their wands at the snake.

'Absconditus' they spoke in unision, and immediately the snake's eyes emitted a bright green light that projected onto the wall. Alina jumped violently as Snape emitted a harsh hissing sound that echoed around the dungeon, she felt a warm hand grasp her arm. 'He's speaking parseltongue! The Dark Lord taught him that word to allow the communication to work!' Regulus whispered in her ear.

She did not mind that his hand remained on her arm, in fact she felt comforted by it, it seemed to be the only source of warmth in the room.

Almost as soon as the strange hissing noises had left his tongue, scrawling words appeared on the screen of green light on the wall.

You are to watch Dumbledore's movements. He has made movements to create a resistance group within the students.

I want you to find out who Dumbledore enlists and provide me with their names and those of their family.

I want the names before our next attack. The mudbloods who are involved in this resistance will perish in it.

'Attack?' she whispered to Regulus.

'I don't know, the Dark Lord only speaks of his attacks to real Death Eaters. He must have involved Snape and Bellatrix in his plans, but I won't know until it is over, or when I have been marked' he told her under his breath.

Immediately Alina built up as much power as she could within her body, using her hatred for Voldemort and his murdering followers as leverage. As soon as she felt her fingers begin to tingle with complete power she delved into Bellatrix's mind. It took a moment to dig beneath the feelings of utter awe and devotion for Voldemort, to discover the information that she was looking for.

A high cold voice echoed throughout what looked like a cave. A group of hooded people stood in a circle around a single figure. His face was deathly pale, his eyes a blood red that projected cruelness, he looked from one hooded figure to another and his mouth twisted into a sadistic smile.

'When is the next Hogsmeade date Snape?' he asked, his eyes resting on one Death Eater.

'The weekend after next my Lord, on the Saturday'

'You and Bellatrix will place the charms on the edge of the village during your visit'

'Yes my Lord' Snape bowed his head.

'Bellatrix?'

'My Lord?'

'Are you clear on what you must do? It is essential that the timing is perfect, if it is not I will not be happy Bellatrix and you do not want that.'

'Of course not my Lord! I am clear...it will be done perfectly'

'What time does it need to be set for?'

'Two in the afternoon for the next day my Lord'

Voldemort nodded, and walked over to stroke Bellatrix's cheek with his skeloton like hands. Bellatrix's face exploded into utter ecstacy.

'Well done my Death Eater, if all goes to plan I shall be very pleased with you and Severus.'

'Yes my Lord.'

His face whipped round to the rest of the Death Eaters, and his eyes scanned them all, as if appraising them.

'Whilst Bellatrix and Severus are placing these charms on Hogsmeade, Lucius will be placing the same charms on a town called Brentwood. When the time comes on the Sunday, the towns will switch places. When the Aurors try to apparate to Hogsmeade, where they believe the attack is taking place, they will be taken to where Brentwood is normally situated. This will allow you, my Death Eaters, to complete your attack. Destroy the vermin. And leave before the Aurors even arrive. Do you understand?'

'Yes my Lord' they all echoed.

'Lucius? You have had your fun recently, you are clear on the charm?'

Alina turned to the Death Eater that Voldemort was addressing, and silently gasped. She stared into those familiar cold grey eyes. The last eyes that Polly ever looked into.

'Yes my Lord' Lucius responded.

Regulus' voice broke her concentration from Bellatrix's mind.

'Bellatrix and Snape have seperate meetings with the Dark Lord to recieve further instructions' he whispered.

Alina's eyes flickered once again to the screen, new instructions had appeared.

Look for the weaknesses of those who join the resistance. Report names to me who you feel can be manipulated to be informants for us.

The screen went blank and the light that had been projected form the marble snake dissapeared. Leaving Alina and the Slytherins standing in silence for a moment.

'Well, it seems that we all need to keep our eyes and ears open' Avery broke the silence, and turned to Alina ' Dumbledore will recruit many in Gryffindor, he may even ask you.'

'Yeah! He's been trying to teach you to control your powers so he'll definately ask you!' Regulus added, squeezing her arm slightly.

'I doubt it' she shook her head and grimaced ' he keeps looking at me strangely, after the Polly's fu- after yesterday, he gave me a lecture on how the Dark Lord is wrong and that we must 'all see the light.' he doesn't trust me anyway' she lied, convincingly.

'Well keep your eyes and ears open, i'm sure we'll find some names' Snape added smoothly.

'Well then. That's it. Keep a look out and we'll meet again, same time on Friday' Bellatrix told them, and they all stood to leave.

'Alina?' Regulus called as she was about to leave.

She realised that he wanted to talk to her privately and hung back as Snape swept passed her, Oh God I want to punch him she thought.

Soon she was alone with Regulus.

'Alina..' he began sounding nervous.

'Yeah?' she asked, concerned.

'You go out - I mean you're with - you're Sirius' girlfriend right?' he spluttered, avoiding her gaze.

'Yeah I am...' she replied, wondering where he was going with this.

'Does he know about this? About you being here? How is he? Is he all right? Where's he living?'

Alina blinked, trying to absorb all of the questions thrown at her and Regulus blushed slightly. He heart twinged slightly as she realised how Regulus missed Sirius. She had been right, he was not like the others. He seemed to be merely a boy who had complied with his families beliefs rather than finding his own.

'Yes...he does know that I am meeting with you all. He doesn't know specifics, he doesn't know about my involvement with the Dark Lord - yet.' she began, hoping beyond belief that Sirius would never discover this involvement.

'He's find Regulus...he's really happy'. He's living with his friend, but he might be moving into his own place soon' she paused, and smiled at the way Regulus was drinking in all of the information about his brother 'he's got good friends and he's not alone. He's not alone at all'

There was a moment of quietness as Regulus fell into his thoughts.

'Thank you Alina' he told her, and she stood and made to leave 'you can call me Reg if you like? That's what Sirius used to call me?' he called behind her.

She turned to face him from the doorway 'See you later Reg' she smiled.

As soon as she left the Dungeons she started to run down the corridors. She had to speak to Dumbledore. She paused for a moment and cast her senses outwards, looking for anyone who may be following her. There wasn't a trace of anyone, but to be safe she cast a Disillusionment charm on herself.

As she made her way quickly through the corridors she allowed her mind to wander onto the death eater that had killed polly.

Lucius. The name echoed in her mind. Who was he? And how was she going to find out?

She took in a gulp of air as she reached Dumbledore's study.

'Phoenix' she gasped, and the door opened for her.

****

Peter looked at his watch as he lay in bed. It was half one and he still couldn't sleep. He rolled over restlessly and sighed. It was useless, he knew he wouldn't be able to sleep yet, he had been laying there for hours. Silently he climbed out of bed and being careful not to wake him, he went to James' trunk and took out their map from inside.

He didn't open in until he had reached the common room and was sure that he wouldn't wake anyone.

'I solemnly swear I am up to no good'

As he climbed out of the portrait hole he glanced at the map to check that no one was outside and was relieved to see that the corridors leading to the kitchen were completely empty. The Dungoens however were another matter. There was a cluster of names all in one of the potions rooms and he studied them suspiciously. Bellatrix Black, Snape, Avery, De'Valle. They were all Slytherins, all potential Death Eaters. His eyes narrowed as he wondered what they were up to and then his gaze fell upon a name he did not expect to see.

Alina Blake.

What was she doing there? What was she up to? Peter's mind was whirling with questions that did not subside, even when he was drinking a hot chocolate in the kitchens. The nagging voice in the back of his mind soon got the better of him and he resolved to go an investigate. He climbed out of the kitchen portrait and stuffing the map into his pocket he made his way towards the dungeons.

It was dark, and eerily quiet. Peter was not used to wandering the school at night alone. He normally had his three friends with him, laughing and running away from Filch and Mrs Norris, his thoughts fell upon those times and his resolve set into stone. Remus was no longer laughing, he was laying in to hospital wing almost unrecognisable as his friend, and yet Alina was secretly meeting with Death Eaters? He had to find out what was going on.

'Lumos' he whispered, lighting up his wand so that he could see better. He had moved slowly, still finding it harder to find his way through the school at night, despite having done it so many times. Peter was a follower. Naturally hero-worshipping his friends, and allowing them to take the lead, therefore, exploring the school alone at night was a completely alien experience for Peter. One that he might have been quite proud of if he had not been so utterly terrified at that moment.

He reached the dungeons and took a deep breath. He pulled out his wand and listened. He couldn't hear a sound, not a single voice. It seemed to quiet, yet he moved slowly down the dungeon corridor regardlessly. He carefully pushed open the first dungeon door, relieved that it made no sound, and he peeked around the doorway diligently. The room was empty. There wasn't a single person in the room and Peter felt relief wash over him.

'Looking for someone?'

Peter jumped out of his skin as a cold voice sounded from behind him, he let out a suprised cry and spun round.

Peter's eyes widened as he stared into the cold grey ones of Marcus De'Valle.

'Well, Peter Pettigrew! What would you be down in the dungeons at this time of night for?' he asked mockingly, his eyes glinting cruelly.

'I-I could ask the s-same thing about y-you!' Peter retorted, trying to sound threatening.

Marcus just laughed at the obvious fear in Peter's voice. 'What are you going to do without your little friends here to protect you ay?' he asked softly, playing with his wand in his hands 'well perhaps we should show them what happens when Gryffindors go wandering around late at night'

'Crucio!'

'P-Protego!'

'POENA SCELETUS!'

Three voices sounded simulataneously. Firstly was Marcus, aiming the cruciatus curse at Peter. Secondly was Peter, whose hesitance left his shielding charm useless against the Cruciatus curse, and thirdly was an unknown female voice.

Peter flinched, waiting for the pain that was to come, but instead he was met by the shrieks of Marcus.

'What the-?'

'COME ON!' Peter heard a girl shout in his ear, and felt someone grab his hand and pull him away from the dungeons, leaving Marcus on the floor screaming in agony. The minute that they left the Dungeon corridor, not a sound could be heard. The muffliatus charm on the corridor was completely silencing Marcus' shouts. Peter allowed himself to be dragged away by the unknown figure, running after her down corridor after corridor before finally stopping near the trophy room.

For a minute they just gasped for air, trying desperately to catch their breath.

'What - did - you - do - to - him?!' Peter wheezed out, finally realising that the person he was now alone with had cast the spell that had left Marcus in complete agony.

'I did what you should have done - I protected you!' the girl snapped back, and removed the hood she was wearing.

Peter froze for a moment, the girl was pretty. She didn't look horrible, or cruel, she looked...nice. She had shoulder length dark blonde hair, watery blue eyes and a wide mouth that Peter suddenly wished to see smiling. He recognised her from Ravenclaw, yet had never spoken to her before in his life. Suddenly he felt tongue-tied.

'I - erm - what's your - you're Elyse right?' he managed to blurt out.

She laughed, a soft tinkling sound 'yes Elyse Noir, and you're Peter?'

'Yeah...that's me...Peter'

'So...are you going to thank me Peter?' she asked, raising an eyebrow and twisting her mouth into a smile.

'Thank you?...but...you - you -!'

'I stopped Marcus from putting the Cruciatus curse on you!' she told him, frowning slightly 'and all you were going to do was a shielding charm!' she shook her head at him.

'Yeah but you were just as bad as Marcus because of what you did!'

'Look. I get that you and your friends are too 'noble' to use dark magic and all that, but when someone's attacking you it's completely different! I thought it was because you aren't a good wizard that you didn't protect yourself, but I can't believe it's because your too 'good' for darker magic when protecting yourself...' she began to walk away from him and Peter grabbed her arm angrily.

'What do you mean you didn't think i'm a good wizard?! And using dark magic is never right!' he almost shouted.

For a second Elyse looked taken aback ' I thought you were a poor wizard because your friends always treat you like you are! And dark magic can actually be fascinating; I mean, when you have to defend yourself,shouldn't you use it? Those Death Eater's are clearly more powerful because they have no limits within battle. It's your limits that stop you from being able to save yourself.' she told him, looking so deeply into his eyes that for a moment he felt mesmerised by her.

He thought for a moment, realising that, in a way, he did agree with her reasoning over the use of dark magic when defending yourself.

'What do you mean my friends treat me like a dark wizard?' he asked angrily.

'Peter, they treat you like an inferior. Potter, Black...even those girls. They act like you're not as good as them, and it makes everyone else believe it.' she told him softly, moving closer towards him and stroking his arm.

'They do?'

'Yes...well it seems they do anyway, only you can truly know if you ever feel left out by them...'

Peter brushed off her words, yet he could not help but listen for a moment to the little voice in his head that was agreeing with her. There had been countless times where he felt inferior to his friends. Their good looks, their intellegence, their popularity and humour, it was all theirs and not his...he was merely a bystander to it all. Yet at the same time they had treated him like a brother, protecting him, and helping him to keep up with them in lessons.

'Look, I don't want to argue about it...I don't mean to insult your friends or anything, and I don't know you well enough to make a judgement...'

'No it's okay' he found himself responding, suddenly becoming aware of her proximity and the way her hand was resting on his arm ' I guess they do treat me like an inferior sometimes...'

She beamed at him and moved slightly closer ' I don't know you very well Peter Pettigrew' she whispered ' but i've got a feeling i'd like to'

Peter looked at her and grinned, his heartbeat began to thump eractically as her face edged closer to his, and when her lips finally reached his own, he felt like he could fly.

****

'So they're going to technically attack Brentwood, but it would be in Hogsmeade...if that makes sense?' Alina finally finished, having related the entire story to Dumbledore.

'Excellent' Dumbledore beamed at her 'you really have done excellently'

'Thank you Sir' she smiled wearily.

'I will alert those who need to be alerted and we will take action in order to prevent or at least stop this attack before any harm is done' Dumbledore paused for a moment and peered over his half moon spectacles 'I'm going to have to convince the student's involved that I do not, how should I put it, take a shine to you. I can assure you Alina, that the reality is quite the opposite, yet in order to convince them of your tale, and that you are not enlisted in the order, I shall have to act accordingly.'

Alina grinned at her headmaster 'That's fine Proffessor...so you mean, there is a resistance?'

Dumbledore smiled warmly at her 'There is a resistance, as you put it, that I have started which goes by the name of the Order of the Phoenix, I will, in fact, be recruiting students I feel would be interested in this movement soon.'

'The Order of the Phoenix' she tried on her tongue ' I like it. So can I join?'

'Of course you can Alina, but this can be fore another time, right now...I believe you are in need for some rest?'

Almost as if it were magic, Alina let out a deep yawn at his words and Dumbledore chuckled, Alina threw him a sleep grin.

'I think you're right Sir, good night.'

Alina made her way quietly back to the common room, as soon as she reached the portrait hole she practically ran to get to bed. It was as if he body was yearning for rest, craving it like a drug.

The moment her head hit her pillow she fell into a deeply disturbed sleep.

She found herself in complete darkness. There was no light. No floor or walls or any form of object. She was in complete nothingness. It was as if she were floating, yet there was no floating sensation.

'LUCIUS!' a cold high pitched voice screached so loudly that it echoed through the empty space she found herself in.

'THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX!' the voice yelled again, it's echo mingling with the other shout.

'AVADA KEDAVRA!'

'CRUCIO!'

'POLLY'

'THE ORDER'

'THE RESISTANCE!'

'ATTACK!'

'BRENTWOOD'

'HOGSMEADE!'

BELLATRIX. SNAPE!'

'LUCIUS!'

The voice screamed words over and over, creating a cacophony of echoes that sent a searing pain into Alina's ears. The voice continued to shout the words, causing the noise to gradually build up louder and louder. She threw her hands to her ears, tempting to block out the sound from the vacuum around her, but the noise just began to sound inside her own mind. She screamed in frustrated pain as the build up of pressure in her head grew unbearable.

Alina sat up bolt right in bed. She was dripping with sweat and her covers were soaked. She was panting heavily as if she had been running. A searing pain exploded inside her head and she clutched it between her hands. She groaned in pain as it grew more and more agonizing. She pressed hard on her skull, hoping desperately that the pressure would help subside the pain but nothing was helping...it was intolerable.

And then it was gone. The pain suddenly subsided, and she was left laying there, panting and drenched with sweat.

She climbed out of bed and performed a quick charm to clean her sheets. She swayed a little as a sudden spell of dizziness hit her, and took it as a sign to get back into bed. As she lay there, one word kept repeating through her mind as if to the beat of an unheard drum.

Lucius. Lucius. Lucius. Lucius. Lucius.

A/N THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR REVIEWS AND THANK YOU FOR YOU PATIENCE WITH ME! My exams actually went really well (I think!) and i'm now able to happily write on here without either feeling really guilty or needing to revise :)

I just wanted to say thank you to Dryad, I couldn't message you so thank you for your review! It was much appreciated and I really enjoyed reading it! I'm glad you're enjoying the story! So THANK YOU :)

Anyway as always, please keep reviewing (you all know how much I love them!) and that way i'll keep writing :D

Thank you xxx