Disclaimer: See the first chapter.

Background: See the first chapter.

Summary: In the dark times when the Dark Lord returned to power, he searched for new followers and wished to regain what had been lost. But did all of his Death Eaters join him of free will? Iris Halither looks back and tells her tale, and discovers a horrible truth about herself...

Note: The story is divided into chapters, the chapters shaped into parts. One part is seven chapters, no matter the lengths of those. Some chapters are short, some are long. That's how they were written.

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The Tale of a Death Eater
Part IV: Moonlight Lunacy
Chapter 25

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I came to with an overwhelming feeling of repeating my previous waking as I felt tiny droplets rolling down my cheeks. Slowly opening my eyes I wished I hadn't, a strong headache immediately pounding against my skull. The pain made me blink hard several times and white-hot sparks flashed instead of what should have been the sight of my surroundings. Successfully opening my eyes, ignoring the pain, I stared blindly ahead of me. This time it was not the werewolves playing tricks with me, the liquid appearing to be dew dripping from the rocky ceiling. But wait... what?

Sitting up, I looked around. I was indeed in the cave, lying on the furs I had slept on before. And as I turned my gaze upwards again, I found the stars glinting deceivingly down at me. So it was night again, and I must have slept through the day. Or had it only been a day? From the aching of my every muscle it would seem as though I had hibernated. Coming to consider, had the last I remembered even happened? Had it been day yet? Or was it all just a frightfully realistic nightmare? One so realistic it still felt like my wrists were in the grasp of Lucius Malfoy. Yet, lifting my sleeves to look for something like handprints, there was no physical evidence to be found.

The silence was overwhelming. Apart from the snores, there was only the soft crackling of the fire. Greyback and the others looked to be sound asleep, and so I rose from bed with that reassurance in hand. Unsurprisingly, I was in need of a breath of fresh air. Walking outside, the coldness of the weather struck me tenfold. The most of the snow had disappeared, yet the biting cold had lingered behind. What a long winter it had been! Spring was struggling on its way, only the rare winter aconite to be found here and there. Plucking one of such rare, I looked to the sky with a sigh showing in cloudy wisps.

What if life itself was a dream?

What a nightmare it then was...

A twig snapped somewhere behind me, and in quick reflexes I moved behind a tree. Sneaking a glance while leaning against the trunk, I moved to get a better look of the small clearing around the cave-entrance. Several werewolves exited, whispering feverishly to each other.

"He's out of his bloody mind, I tell yeh," muttered a younger male to an elder.

"Easy, Anthony," soothed the distinct voice of Cicero, and he appeared behind the other, placing a firm hand on the back of his neck. "Greyback suspects nothing. His senses are too disturbed by the infernal female to notice any of our doings. Once Lupin returns he shall inform us, as according to plan. No need to worry."

The mention of Remus Lupin had me startled, and I came to think of the plan I had yet to enact. Were these the men Lupin had succeeded to encourage? Most of them looked to be not a year older than myself. Surely, if Greyback found out about their betrayal, they would not stand a chance. But of course, those older, those who had stood by Fenrir Greyback since long before my very birth... they wouldn't leave his side now. They believed in him, trusted his judgement of the Dark Lord. These wolves didn't.

But, Lupin wasn't here. I was. Needless to say I felt it was up to me. And so their attention was instantly on me as I stepped forth from my hide. I gulped at the predatory smirks they conjured, but in their narrowed eyes was caution.

"Spying for old Grey, pet?" Cicero sneered.

"I am not his pet," I grounded, scowling slightly at the pun. "I'm not who you want me to be. I'm not here because of Greyback. I'm a... friend of Lupin's."

"Somehow I find that hard to believe. How can you possibly be one of the Dark Wizard's goons, be a close acquaintance of Greyback and yet still be on our side of matters? No, love. That doesn't quite fit." He came closer with big strides, quickly being a mere hand's breadth away from my face. "But if you tell Greyback anything, I'll make sure it's the last thing you do."

"Why would I tell him if I'm a friend of Remus Lupin? How is it that I know Lupin is against Greyback, and that you are as well? I'm not your enemy, Cicero. Lupin is a part of a resistance group, as am I. But he isn't here now. I have come in his place."

The werewolf huffed defiantly. "I don't put any belief in wizard folk, girl."

I was tempted to comment on the fact that Lupin was one, but if they didn't know that, it could ruin everything. The thought struck me that they may only trust Lupin for the fact he had lycanthropy himself. I hadn't thought of that. "I am not here to make you believe me. I'm here to try to convince Greyback of the same Lupin has tried to. I don't need your help..."

I turned to walk inside the cave, but one of the men grasped me by the shoulder. "You--"

"Not so fast." The voice came from behind me, and out of the corner of my eye I saw Greyback step up beside me. He came fully into my line of sight. He glared at each of the men in turn. "Just what is going on here? Hmm?"

"Nothing, Alpha," said Cicero, his voice as steady as a rock. There was no hesitation in his movements as he approached Greyback, neither fear nor fury in his eyes as he faced him. I was clueless as to what went on inside his mind. "Just a friendly discussion about last night's events, that is all. Young Halither seems to have caught a little headache from the wine. We were just offering to find some herbs for it."

The lie was quite lame, and I hadn't really had any wine but a few sips. But as Greyback turned to look at me, I quickly feigned a frown and half-closed eyes. It made him smirk, and for a moment I worried he saw through it. He chuckled, "Come on, then. I'll fix you something strong to numb any pain."

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He hadn't meant tea.

I was quite careful with the suspicious liquid in the mug clutched in my hands. It smelled so unmistakably like a mixture of many strong spirits, I feared taking more than one or two sips would numb my better senses as well as body. The worst part was that there had been no pain to numb, and so it went directly to the nerve centre and acted like a slow sedative. But I had to keep Greyback in the belief of my act. Yet of course he demanded I drank at least half of the mysterious substance. By that time I was more than drunk out of my mind.

In fact, somehow I ended up clutching onto Greyback's arm, pointing my finger in his face. "You know what you are? You're a reeeeeal crazy fellow... I bet you ate your own Mummy! But you know what? I ain't afraid of the big bad wolf, 'cause you're jus' a big, fat puppy..." Had I been aware of myself, the giggles clucking from my throat would've made me cringe in embarrassment. And then I would have seen the threatening eyes of Greyback's men. No doubt they wanted my head on a platter, so to speak.

Greyback was the only one who seemed to find it all amusing. Releasing the mug from my grasp he put it out of my reach. "I think you've had quite enough, girly. You'll be biting tomorrow if I allow you more hangover than you're likely to get."

With a sigh of disappointment my head dropped onto his elbow, as I was slouched over the bench. His gnarled fingers stroked through my short locks of black, and instead of repulsive as it should be, it was relaxing. Slowly, it lulled me into a deep slumber.

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The light piercing my eyes indicated noon. Even before I was fully awake, the hangover struck. Perspiration dawned on my forehead, accompanied by stomach cramps and headache. I faintly remembered not having eaten the other day and alcohol instead of food and water caused the most sickening nausea.

From the silence I almost expected to be alone. But focusing as much as possible brought the faint hum of murmuring voices. One was Greyback. The other I couldn't discern. It would appear there was no one else in the cave; no movement was to be heard. There were only the speaking voices of the two. For another couple of minutes I nursed my pains by relaxing into the furs. It was only when I heard my name spoken my attention was drawn back to the quiet exchange.

"Has he asked about Halither?" said Greyback.

"Not yet. But I sense his impatience. My return last night provoked two deaths..."

Greyback's hoarse laughter made hairs stand on end. His humour was revolting. But it wasn't just that. I had dreadfully realised who the other person was. I pondered for a while, filtering fact from fiction, dreams from events. It was hard to do, as they all had blended together in the most horrible potion I had yet produced. I turned on my side and then lay completely still, sensing their eyes looking in my direction in cause of the movement. I succeeded in making them believe it had been a move in sleep, and with my arm over my head it was possible to watch them discreetly. They continued.

"What is it he wants with her, anyway? She seems to make one lousy fighter."

Lucius Malfoy cocked an eyebrow quizzically. "You expect me to know? I scarcely know the girl, let alone the Dark Lord's plans with her. She's run from her services twice now... I don't assume he merely wants to cage her. I don't understand how she became a Death Eater in the first place. The wrong calibre, that one..."

So they thought me weak, did they? The anger boiled in the pit of my stomach, and it was hard to restrain the words 'I am not weak'. They were so close to spilling from my lips, I pressed my mouth against my arm.

"Why did you bring her back here, anyway? I would've imagined you took her immediately to the Lord. You tend to surprise, Malfoy! Not starting to feel sympathetic these days, are you? Ruthless looks better on you."

"Pity is not a word in my dictionary. I sympathise with no one. You should know."

The comment hurt, though why I wasn't sure. A heavy air settled between the two Death Eaters. Malfoy sipped carefully of a chipped glass of wine, skilfully masking his distaste at the poor quality with a languid smile. Greyback was considering an unspoken matter, eyes squinting in thought and jaw working slowly. His lips parted in a wolfish grin.

"Seen your son lately, have you?"

Lucius Malfoy put the glass down and fixed his eyes on the werewolf. "I haven't," he said.

"He's a good boy." Greyback looked down at his filthy nails. Then he sneaked a predatory smile at the stately man opposite him. Malfoy's eyes narrowed at the playful threat.

My brow creased in wonder. What was this odd display? They seemed like old friends. Perhaps they were. They had both been in the Dark Lord's service since the First War. Why shouldn't they have connections I didn't know of? Of course Death Eaters associated with their equals! They were human beings, after all.

Lightly smirking at the thought of otherworldly tea-parties, I drew in a deep breath to stifle any giggles. Dust entered my airways and I held my breath. The effort caused a tickling feeling in my throat, quickly rising to my nose, and the beginning effects of a strangled sneeze made skin wrinkle in worry. Using small inhalations through the nose as a hindrance was a pathetic attempt, and a loud "Achoo!" echoed against the cave walls. A soft gasp followed the horrifying give-away, and I shut my eyes closed as eyes turned my way. Nothing was said, nothing was heard... Silence. I hoped they hadn't realised I was awake.

I found myself reaching for the wand in my pocket. But, the handle... it was unfamiliar to the touch. Stealthily, I pulled it out and lifted it just slightly for me to see properly. My breath hitched at the sight... The dreams were real.

Let the nightmares re-enact...

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Author's note: That's it. That was all the 25 current chapters. This means there'll be a break in posting. I need to write more before I can post more, right? I hope you liked the story so far and will continue to read. Big thanks go to Rock Royalty for her lovely reviews! I love hearing your thoughts. It's true when I say that reviews inspire. The more you guys share, the more I write, heheh.

To be continued...