Chapter Eleven: Embraced By Death



The dungeons glowed in a particularly sinister light whenever there was a full moon. Natalia walked down the stairs that lead to the dungeons, buoyant from her evening with the Gryffindors. Fred and George purposely fed the first year Gryffindors their famous Canary Creams, turning all the first years into oversized canaries for a couple of moments. Hermione, Natalia, Harry, and Ron had gone up to the Astronomy tower to look at the constellations and see the first full moon of autumn. Natalia smiled when she thought of how they had drawn magical Glimmer Lines with their fingers in the air above them to connect the stars into constellations of ancient Grecian heroes.

She pulled her thick cloak around her a little tighter. It was definitely chillier than usual tonight. She could almost feel winter crawling into the air in impatience. As she arrived at the Slytherin dormitory trap door, she remembered that she had to play Confessions and Challenges with the Slytherins tonight. Sighing, she braced herself for a night of deceit and trickery.

The Slytherins greeted her by the fire, all of them sitting in a semicircle surrounding the warmth of the fire. Seeing that everyone was here, Pansy began by explaining the Slytherin House Confessions and Challenges rules.

"Each person must draw lots to see who will start first. We will go counter-dial wise after the first person. Everyone has a choice of picking either to confess or to accept a challenge. If you so choose to confess," she pointed at the silver goblet by the fire, "you must take a drink of the Truth Serum and allow us to ask you any questions we want." She smiled wickedly while saying this.

"However, if you choose to accept a challenge, we will draw lots to see who gets to give you a challenge. Everyone must do at least two challenges by the end of the night."

She went around the semicircle allowing the Slytherins to draw lots. Coming upon Natalia, she sneered and said, "I hope you have fun tonight."

Blaise Zabini turned out to be the one with the shortest straw. She chose to make a confession. Taking a healthy swallow of the Truth Serum, she turned to the Slytherins.

"Well, ask me anything you want to know. It isn't like the whole lot of you don't know everything about me already."

Pansy smiled sweetly to Blaise.

"I want to be the one to ask you a question."

Blaise groaned.

"Fine. I assume it will be something revealing and embarrassing."

"Of course, dear. That's the point of the game, to amuse the other people by subjecting you to humiliation." she said with a bright smile on her face.

"Alright, here is my question: who is that nice boy you've been seeing this summer and is he a pureblood?"

Blaise's face turned beet red. Unable to control her tongue, she blurted out,

"His name is Jeffrey Toddles. No, he's not a pureblood."

The Slytherins gasped at hearing this. Pansy smiled triumphantly. She loved seeing Blaise suffer. It always reassured her ambitions for maintaining the role as the Queen of Slytherin. She gave a look of mock surprise.

"Well, then, what in the world is he?"

Tears rimmed Blaise's eyes, threatening to spill over.

"He's a Muggle."

The Common Room fell silent. More pleased with herself than she had been since Natalia arrived, Pansy beamed inwardly.

The following turns were all confessions. When it was finally Natalia's turn, she firmly decided on a Challenge. She did not want to put her Mother or herself in danger lest the Slytherins asked of her Father's whereabouts. Pansy turned sweetly toward Natalia, ready to pour the Truth Serum down her throat for her.

"Well, Natalia. What shall it be for you?"

Natalia looked her squarely in the eye, not the least bit intimated by Pansy's presence.

"A challenge, please."

Draco smiled at hearing this, pleased to see that things were going according to plan. Pansy went around casting lots, and when she came to Draco, he gave her a small smile.

"Why don't you pick one for me, Pansy."

She smiled knowingly, sensing that he had something planned for Natalia. She squeezed her hand and tried to feel for the shortest straw. Draco smiled when she gave him his straw, seeing that she had not failed him. He stood up, turning his gaze from Pansy to Natalia.

"I had a special challenge planned for tonight. Seeing as I have been bestowed the privilege of assigning you a challenge, I shall allow you to follow through with what I had planned."

He gestured over to the table by the fire before continuing.

"On the table is a portkey that will transport you to a graveyard some ways away from Hogwarts. In the center of this graveyard is a monument built for the wizard Hengist of Woodcroft. You will recognize it from the crest of Kent that is inlaid into the stone. Your task will be to use Replicating Wax to bring us back an imprint of the Kent crest."

Handing her a stick of Replicating Wax, Draco added,

"The portkey will take you to the graveyard and back. I hope you don't find any trouble, Natalia." He smiled maliciously as he was saying this.

Natalia stepped over to the table by the fire. She looked curiously at the portkey. It was some kind of flat jewelry that dangled from a chain. After a moment, she realized what it was. The portkey was a trinket that the Muggles called a "dog tag". She looked closer, seeing that there was a name on it. In bold letters, it said: Amelia Earhart. She frowned. That name sounded oddly familiar. Thinking hard, she finally remembered who Earhart was. She was that Muggle pilot, Natalia recalled, that tried to be the first woman to fly around the world but disappeared. And then years later, the witch aviator, Geraldine Mock, became the first woman to fly around the world. She smiled inwardly, slightly proud of her memory of the Muggle history her Father had taught her. I wonder how Draco found her dog tag? she wondered, She had disappeared after all...

Natalia's eyes flew open in realization of why Draco had her dog tag. They couldn't have, she thought, wizards would never meddle with the matters of the Muggle world. In her mind, she knew well that her last thought was completely untrue. Wizards did intrude in Muggle dealings if it was to their benefit. But why? she pondered, The wizarding world didn't care who flew around the world first...Geraldine Mock. Her face turned pale, realizing the dreadfulness of it all. Geraldine Mock was a witch...the Magicals wanted to be the first to have a female pilot fly around the world. She shook her head in disbelief. The wizarding world was more deceitful than she had thought.

"Natalia? Are you going to leave for the graveyard anytime soon?" Draco asked, dreadfully impatient.

She could sense the hazard masked behind this challenge. Almost regretting that she picked this instead of a confession, she turned to respond to Draco.

"I am ready. Should I not return promptly, I ask that you will inform the professors."

Saying this, she reached over and picked up the portkey. Upon touching it, she was drawn into a wind. She felt as if someone were pulling her from her abdomen, leaving her in a dark, barren graveyard. Her eyes quickly adjusted to the dark, causing her to be able to see the outlines of weed-strewn tombstones. She cautiously picked her way across the graveyard, looking out for Hengist's monument. She reached the center of the graveyard and found nothing. For as far as she could see, there was nothing but tombstones. Groaning, she realized that Draco had played a prank on her.

She walked around the cemetery a bit more, in hopes of finding the nonexistent monument. She saw a church that was barely visible behind what seemed to be a yew tree. Sighing, she walked toward the church, in hopes of seeing a monument somewhere near it.

While she was fiddling with the Replicating Wax in her pocket, she heard a noise from behind her. Quickly turning around, Natalia found nothing but miles of tombstones. She shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts and concentrate on reaching the small church. Walking faster, she headed once again towards her destination. A couple of minutes later, she began to smell a scent of heavy cologne. Looking about her, she began to wonder if there was someone following her. Instinctively, her hand gripped her wand, prepared to face anything that was to leap at her. Soon, she began to hear footsteps behind her, gaining on her every step.

In a moment of panic, Natalia turned around, clutching her wand in one hand and yelled "Lumos!"

A dim light lit across the graveyard, illuminating the figure of a man in a cloak as black as night. His eyes gleamed, smiling viciously. Before she could utter a spell, the man pointed his wand at her, calling out in a terrible rumbling voice, "Expelliarmus".

Natalia was knocked back, her wand flying out of her hand. She cried out, trying to raise herself back up only to fall down again, half running, half crawling away. The man grabbed her from behind by the waist and dragged her up off the ground. He started carrying her in the opposite direction of the church. She swiftly kicked up her leg, catching him on the chin. The cloaked man released her, at which she kicked in his heel and began to run. She turned, searching in her pocket for the portkey. Finding it, she gripped it tightly, expecting it to take her back to Hogwarts. She stood still, waiting in agitation for the portkey to work. However, it did not. It was now just a useless object lying in her hand, unable to aid her in fleeing from danger. Suddenly, the tall man tackled her from behind, bringing her face into the ground. She rolled over, trying to push him off of her. In attempting to do so, she hit her head on a tombstone, causing her to cry out in pain.

"Be quiet!" the man said gruffly, "The Dark Lord awaits you. If you do not stop struggling, I will have to break your legs and drag you."

She looked at him in horror, slowly slipping into unconsciousness from the blow to her head. No! she thought, I can't pass out! Oh dear God, help!

Panic spread through her body, causing every nerve to twitch from a surge of power produced by her fright. She struggled to kick the man, but could not for he was on top of her trying to strangle her into silence. Gasping for breath, her heart quickened in terror. Oh God, she thought, I'm going to die...

The ground suddenly shifted and rumbled from under her. She screamed, preparing for a fall. Instead, a pair of giant claws rose from either side of her and tore violently through the man, impaling his torso and reappearing on his backside. He stiffened and groaned, his face taking the mask of shock and death.

After what seemed like an eternity, Natalia finally regained mobility. She grasped the thick hands around her throat and unclenched them, allowing her to take a full breath of air. She lay there, too shocked to move, but trapped under the heavy body of the dead man. Slowly, she slid herself out from under the corpse, slowly using the tombstone to raise herself.

She walked a couple steps away from the grave. Looking closely at the grotesque impaled figure, she realized that the claws were not really claws. Unable to contain her curiosity, she stepped closer and took a good look. They were...bones. She caught her breath. They looked like some part of a torso. She gasped. It was a ribcage. Stepping back in shock, she stumbled a couple feet away. All of a sudden, the earth groaned and the ribcage snapped open, tearing the man apart as he slid past the bones into the grave. Natalia stifled a scream, ready to run but frozen in pure terror.

The ribcage lay like a wicked jaw, ready to snap its prey into the open grave. Without warning, a pair of feet grasped the earth, raising a pair of legs out of the grave. Along with it came the arms and head, pulling a tall skeleton completely out from the grave. It stood up, at least seven feet tall, and turned menacingly toward Natalia. Its rotted teeth gleamed in the moonlight making it seem as if half its sneer had been dissolved by acid.

Natalia's nails dug into her palms, her knuckles turning white. She stared at the skeleton unable to run or scream. It looked back at her from its eyeless sockets as if waiting for something. After what seemed an hour to her, she gradually regained control over her extremities. Slowly backing up, she began to walk away, but every step of the way, the skeleton followed her. Frightened, she stumbled and fell to the ground. Strangely, the skeleton also stopped and waited for her to proceed. She scrambled to her feet and began to run. No matter how fast she ran the skeleton would be right behind her in the same pace, no faster, no slower.

Think, think, she thought, how can I get out of here? Damn Draco, the portkey is faulty. She ran on, fatigue approaching her fast. Suddenly, an idea came to her. I can apparate to Hogwarts, she thought. Unfortunately, her hopes were wiped away when she remembered that it was impossible to apparate to Hogwarts. Thinking in a panic, she finally came up with a solution. She would apparate to the Forbidden Forest and find her way to back to Hogwarts from there. Better to fend herself against monsters near Hogwarts than to be chased by a skeleton and be so close to the Dark Lord. Uttering a quick spell under her breath like she had done during her test over the summer, Natalia apparated to the Forbidden Forest.