~ Chapter 3 ~
Ron frowned in surprise. And his parents knowing that he had had a dream with Voldemort in it was just the beginning.
"Maybe you are, right. Maybe they do need a chaperone," Ms. Weasley said.
"Yes, very good idea," Mr. Weasley added.
"Mom…" Ron tried to say, but was blocked out.
"Maybe I should go with them," Ms. Weasley said.
"Yes, you should do that," Mr. Weasley agreed.
"Dad…" Ron said, but was again not heard.
"Maybe there shouldn't even be a trip," Ms. Weasley said with a snap of her fingers.
"Yes, that would do it," Mr. Weasley said.
"HEY!" Ron yelled. His parents immediately stopped and stared at him. He choked for a second, then, when he regained his tongue, he spoke.
"What I meant was that I had a dream with Harry and You-Know-Who in it," Ron lied. He had to lie. The future of his summer was at stake.
"Oh," was all that they could say. Ms. Weasley turned back to her dishes, as if she had meddled in someone's business. Mr. Weasley, though, looked straight at Ron.
"Are you sure? Because I can owl him to say that we can't be taking the offer," Mr. Weasley stated. His eyes didn't look away from Ron as he said it.
"Yes," Ron said. Mr. Weasley then smiled weakly at him and turned to talk with Ms. Weasley. Ron hated lying to his parents. It sort of hurt him, but he could not mess up the first, no – it's second, summer that his friends came over and had some fun. Especially since Andrea was coming for the first time. He then got up from his seat at the table, walked upstairs, and laid back on his bed.
"Two more days," Ron said, yawned, and closed his eyes to take a short nap.
*****
The next day was not the hardest to get up to. Harry awoke at the shout from outside his door.
"Harry! Get your lazy butt up!" Aunt Petunia exclaimed. "You know that we are going to a concert tonight!"
"Then why do you want me up, now?" Harry asked and looked at the clock. "It's only 10 AM."
"Don't ask questions, boy!" Aunt Petunia said, and huffed off back down the stairs and into the kitchen. Harry rolled his eyes and got out of his bed. His hair was, as usual, a messed up crop of nothing. He put on his glasses, looked for some clothes to put on, and dressed himself up. He exited his room to see Aunt Petunia at the bottom of the stairs.
"It took you long enough," Aunt Petunia scowled. Harry gave a silent long sigh. It looked as if Aunt Petunia's temper had gotten worse than it had been 2 minutes ago. "Now, tend to the bacon on the stove, and if I see one small burnt spot, then your ass will shine like a Christmas light." She then walked past him, pushing him out of the way, and went into her and Uncle Vernon's room. She slammed the door shut, obviously trying to scare the wits out of Harry. Harry then scurried to the kitchen, finding Uncle Vernon and Dudley already there. He went over to the stove and started watching the bacon. Uncle Vernon didn't notice him until a few minutes later.
"Don't you ever wash that jungle that you call hair," Uncle Vernon said, which gave no effect on Harry. Harry just sat there and turned over one of the bacon slices. Uncle Vernon evidently felt that he was being ignored, so he thought of something that would get Harry's attention.
"I heard from my little Dudders, here, that you were bothering Ms. Figg," Uncle Vernon said. Harry then widened his eyes and dropped a piece of bacon with the spatula only to hear it sizzle when it hit the pan. Uncle Vernon smirked as he saw it. Harry's eyes went back to their original size and he turned around.
"He did," Harry said casually. He turned his eyes to Dudley, who was smiling broadly, and stealthily glared at him. He then turned his attention back to Uncle Vernon.
"What did Ms. Figg do to you as punishment? I hope it was severe enough for a mongrel like you." Harry then turned back to the bacon, trying to think of something that would sound convincing. After flipping two strips of bacon, the only thing he could think of was…
"She got me with the paddle." Harry then rubbed his butt, as if tending to the made-up wound, for emphasis. Uncle Vernon then looked surprised.
"The paddle," he said questionably. "Wonder where she got it? We need one of those." Uncle Vernon then turned back to his newspaper, and Dudley, still smiling, to his toast. After a few minutes, Aunt Petunia came into the kitchen and pushed Harry from the stove. She then bent her long neck that she used for spying on neighbors over the bacon, checking every single crisp strip. When she found nothing, she told Harry to go and sit down. Aunt Petunia then pulled the bacon from off the pan and onto a plate, turned off the stove and offered everyone but Harry a piece. Harry hadn't noticed before, but everyone there had been in their dress-up clothes.
"Uncle Vernon, isn't the concert at 4," Harry asked, and tried to reach for a strip of bacon. Aunt Petunia smacked his hand when he wasn't even close to the plate.
"If you must know, boy, it is. Why would you ask us a question like that, you stupid child?"
"Well, because you are all dressed up so early. That's all." Harry then tried again for a bacon strip, but had the same result as the last time.
"It is none of your business, but we thought that since we were going to be away from you today, we might as well make it the whole day," Uncle Vernon said through his third strip of bacon.
"You're such a retched little child, that we thought we should owe it to ourselves for being away from a disgusting little scamp like you," Aunt Petunia said, talking as if Harry wasn't in the room.
*****
One hour later, they all were at Ms. Figg's doorstep. Uncle Vernon had to ring the doorbell three times before she answered.
"What – who is it? Oh, Vernon, Petunia, you both look so nice in your outfits," Ms. Figg said, trying to act as mugglish as possible. "And Dudley, you look like such a handsome young man." Dudley blushed as he heard this. Ms. Figg then turned to Harry and frowned. "And Harry. Such a lousy little mud-in-the-face. Get in here boy!" Harry then rushed into the house. Ms. Figg then smiled and said good-bye to the Dursleys. Uncle Vernon went one step and remembered something.
"Oh, Ms. Figg, could you please not let up with that paddle of yours when you start? I think it's the best thing for him," he turned around and said. Ms. Figg kept her ground, yet she didn't have any idea of what he was talking about. She looked behind her in the corner of her eye. Harry was ushering her to go along with it. She cleared her throat and thought of something to say.
"Why would I not?" she said, her face looking stern. Uncle Vernon smiled and turned to go to the waiting Dudley and Aunt Petunia. He opened the doors to the car and got in himself. Dudley took up almost half the whole back seat. Uncle Vernon started the car and it sputtered on. As the little car drove away, Ms. Figg gave a big exhale. She turned around and started into the house.
"Stupid muggles," she said as she closed the door and locked it. Harry snickered at her saying so.
"And just what do you think you are doing? Your Uncle Vernon told me to use the paddle, and I'm going to use it." Ms. Figg said in a mean voice. Harry immediately stopped. This wasn't the Ms. Figg he met yesterday.
"Just one question," Ms. Figg said. Then, Ms. Figg smirked. "What in the hell is a paddle?" They both then burst out in laughter.
*****
"Yes, and was so surprised that Hermione had smacked him right on the face," Harry said, finishing his fourth cup of tea. They had been in the kitchen talking for the last hour and a half.
"But you have had many great adventures," Ms. Figg said matter-of-factly. Harry had been surprised that Ms. Figg had kept her being a witch a secret. Ms. Figg then heard scratch at her back door.
"Oh, that is probably Prudence, back from the store," she said and walked to open the door. She peeked outside it, gasped, and closed it back. "Oh, Harry."
"Yes, Ms. Figg," Harry said, turning to her with questionable eyes. Why would Ms. Figg gasp if Prudence, the orange spotted grey cat, were there?
"Remember yesterday when I said that I might have a surprise for you?" Harry thought for a second, and then remembered that she did say something of a surprise.
"Yes, I remember now." Ms. Figg then smirked.
"Well, here…it…is," she said and opened the door. In came a black, shaggy dog. It shook off when it got inside and went straight up to Harry. Harry's eyes widened in joy.
"Could this be…is this…can it be…"
"Yes, it is." In a short pop, the dog became a tall man with black eyes and hair. He brushed himself off and cleared his throat. When he saw Harry, he smiled brightly.
"Hello Harry," Sirius said. Harry's mouth quivered as he came over to hug him. His warm body was the best thing that Harry could see. Being here in front of him, hugging him, was just the thing that would brighten his day. After the long hug, Sirius turned to Ms. Figg.
"Arabella," he said and gave a short hug to her. "You are such a sweetheart."
"Oh, Sirius, you have always been such a gentleman," Ms. Figg said. Sirius then bent over and kissed her hand. She blushed vividly, feeling so delighted. He then stood upright and pulled out his wand. He mummered a spell and a chair appeared. He picked it up, placed it beside Harry's at the kitchen table, and sat down. He looked straight at Harry, still smiling.
"It's so good to see you," Harry said, walking over and sitting back in his chair.
"Same here," Sirius said. He then turned to Ms. Figg, who was coming back into the kitchen. "Arabella, could you please conjure me up a cup of tea, It would be so delightful."
"Show off," Ms. Figg said, and pulled out her wand. A second later, a hot cup of tea was sitting right in front of Sirius. Sirius then picked it up and drank some.
"I guess I am just so happy to see Harry," Sirius said, ruffling up his already messy hair. "Harry, have you ever thought of washing out your hair?" Harry rolled his eyes and took a sip of the tea before him.
"Anyway, how are you? Those muggles haven't been putting you down again, have they?" Sirius asked, trying to get off the subject of Harry's hair.
"I've been fine. It's just my cousin and his friend," Harry replied.
"The muggles just seem to not like him at all. As if he was a disease that they wanted to exterminate," Ms. Figg added. She put her nose up to it.
"But you can stand up for yourself, right, Harry?" Sirius asked.
"Of course," Harry said, sipping his tea. He then yelped loudly. He immediately put down his cup. Ms. Figg and Sirius looked at him.
"What's wrong?" Sirius asked urgently. Harry then returned to normal, only fanning his mouth.
"I burned my pongue," Harry said. They looked at him weirdly.
"You what?" Ms. Figg asked.
"I burned my pongue," Harry said, louder.
"You burned your what?" Sirius asked with urgency.
"Pongue, pongue," Harry said, pointing at his tongue.
"Oh, we thought there was something wrong with you," Sirius said with a laugh. Harry rolled his eyes, elbowed him, and started touching his tongue in pain.
*****
The dark chamber, which only had dimly lit torches for light, was filled with hooded Death Eaters standing in line. They were all mummering to each other, keeping lots of conversation on why this meeting was being held. It was especially talkative because it was being held in America, of all places. They knew that it was something important, and they waited for the time that Voldemort would walk in. Suddenly, the door to the chamber opened. In came Voldemort, with Wormtail trailing behind him. Voldemort walked up to the altar in front of the Death Eaters. As he turn to face them, silence came over the whole room. Voldemort cleared his throat loudly, calling attention from all of them.
"Today, is the day that a new Death Eater shall be called to our Dark Circle. She has passed all test and is ready for acceptation," Voldemort said in his cold voice. He looked around. No one made a sound. At this he made a small smile, which faded quickly. "Wormtail?"
"Yes, my Lord?" Wormtail said, quivering at the sound of his name.
"Bring the girl."
"Yes, my Lord." Wormtail then exited the chamber. After a moment of complete silence, Wormtail returned with the hooded girl in front of him. He then bowed to Voldemort, before backing away from the altar. The girl bowed, and stood back upright.
"Girl, do you pledge your allegiance to me and only me, your Lord. Say it," Voldemort said.
"I pledge my allegiance to you and only you, my Lord," the girl repeated. Voldemort looked skeptical about the way she said it, yet it was cleared from his mind.
"You are now going to get the Dark Mark imprinted on you. This will prove to you and the world that I am the person that you answer to." Voldemort stared at her for a moment, as if waiting for her to reply. She did nothing of the sort. Voldemort then looked at her in disgust, thinking that he was not sure to give her the mark. "Girl, I do not believe your allegiance to me, yet I do. My indecision has brought me to a conclusion. Wormtail?"
"Yes, my Lord?" Wormtail said, shuddering as he came over.
"Get me the Dark Mark." Wormtail picked up the box behind Voldemort and opened it. Inside, on top of a cushion, was what looked like a brander. Voldemort picked it up from the case and ran his long fingers down it. He then pulled out his wand and pointed it at the brander. He mummered a spell, and a blue light came from it. He ran the light down the brander. A few gasps were heard, but quickly faded as Voldemort glared at them. As he finished, he took the brander in both hands and started to pull. It only took a moment before the brander broke in two.
"What I will do is this: You will only get half of the Dark Mark on your arm. I will send you out on your mission. If you fail, then you will be found and killed. If you finish, then the other half of the Dark Mark will be imprinted on your arm."
"I understand, my Lord," the girl said. Voldemort made a small smile as she said it.
"Good." Voldemort then took the left half of the Dark Mark in his hand and placed the other half inside the box on the cushion. "Roll up the sleeve of your left arm and hold it out." She did so, and gulped as he neared the half of the mark. When it touched the top of her arm, she screamed with pain. It pierced her skin, making tears flow down her face. The pain had taken over her body. She screamed with all her might. As Voldemort took the brander from her arm, more tears came down her face.
"The first part of your mission is to go to Hogwarts, just as any student would. I think that the casualties for that have been taken care of already," Voldemort said.
"Yes, my Lord," she said, trying to dry the tears. She had no intention of showing fear to Voldemort. The slightest mess-up would cause her death.
"This meeting is over," Voldemort said, turning to the Death Eaters. They all bowed and exited. The girl was about to leave, but Voldemort stopped her.
"Don't make me have to relive your past, Jaden. There is nothing keeping me from doing it," Voldemort said. He then turned to Wormtail to tell him something. Jaden then left the room, trying hard to not remember the past that haunted her. Her main focus now, was her future will the Dark Lord. Nothing else mattered.
*****
Jaden gave her muggle money to the bus driver. She then walked down the long aisle. People looked at her. She didn't know why, she had changed from her hood to her sleek regular muggle clothes. She glared at some of them. She sat in the seat second from the back and stared out of the window into the dark streets of Kerrington, Pennsylvania. It was now her hometown and she found it harder to live in since all she had was her aunt, and she almost never could understand her.
It must have been the cool night air, or the look of the barren streets, but somehow Jaden had gotten very sleepy. Sleeping had also been a problem. Of the many times that she went to sleep, few of them didn't end in waking up sweating and screaming. Her life had been a disaster, at least to her it had been. Her eyelids began to droop and a faint yawn came about. After a moment, her eyes started blinking sleepily. It wasn't that long until her eyes shut and she went to sleep.