Chapter One: Ghost
Disclaimer: Harry Potter, etc, belongs to JK Rowling. I got Azera's name from Daughters of the Moon: The Choice by Lynne Ewing.
"It's good to see you well, my Lord," a lithe, brown haired sixteen year old said as she bowed her head in reverence to Lord Voldemort.
"I have an assignment for you," came the voice from behind the hood of his long, draping black robe.
"Just tell me what to do," she said, fingering the dagger hidden beneath her cloak with anticipation, "and it shall be done."
"Marcus," the Dark Lord said, beckoning a skinny pale boy with deep-set eyes out from the shadows. "Show the Lady Azera her rooms," he said, sliding a heavy-looking black out from under his robes. He handed it to his aide. Azera bowed her head once more and pulled her hood up over her head, shadowing her features. As she followed the boy through as maze of dungeon passageways, she unsheathed her dagger. She did not trust this boy.
He drew a ring of keys out from his sleeve and fitted one in. Azera walked forward and stood just inside the doorway. She scanned the parts of the room that were visible from the doorway, her eyes instinctively darting into corners and shadows. She held out the hand that wasn't clutching the hilt of her dagger to the aide. "My key," she said. The boy seemed to hesitate. Azera let him see a sudden glint of dagger, but when he looked closer, it was gone. "I am a ghost," she whispered to him as he placed the key in her hand. Her fingers closed firmly around it as she re-sheathed her blade and shut the door. As soon as she was sure that Marcus had gone, she drew out her wand and made a duplicate of the key. She hid both before that silly boy could realize his mistake.
As she had expected, there was a knock on her door a moment later. Marcus stood outside, his hesitance at knocking on an assassin's door hidden behind a ridiculous brave façade. "Your briefing," he said, stepping inter her room as he drew out the package that the Dark Lord had handed him before. It was a bold move, stepping in uninvited like that. As Azera took off her cloak, she glimpsed the Dark Mark branded upon Marcus's arm. Her own arm remained clean- she couldn't deceive her enemy very well if she was proudly bearing a Dark Mark now, could she?
"Your target," Marcus began, running his fingers along the velvet in his hands, "is Harry Potter."
"Yes, I was wondering when they were going to get around to him," said Azera lightly, ceasing the examination of her fingernails just long enough to remove the dagger's sheath from around her waist. "Go on."
"You are to kill him with this," Marcus said, thrusting the package into Azera's hands. She caught Marcus's gaze for a moment. Her eyes narrowed. He knew what it was. Azera's nimble fingers pulled apart the drawstring ends of the pouch and reached inside. Her fingers touched cold metal. She grasped the end of the object firmly with one hand as she drew the velvet off smoothly in one swift tug. It was a sheathed silver sword, decorated with green stones. Azera unsheathed the sword, tossed it into the air, and caught it by the hilt, letting the blade come dangerously close to Marcus's nose. He flinched.
"What, is good old Avada Kedavra not working for him anymore?" Azera asked, testing the weight of the weapon with a few practice swings.
"This is the sword of Slytherin," Marcus said.
"I can see that," Azera scoffed.
"Well, he said, losing patience, "this is what you are to use to kill Potter. It is what the Dark Lord wishes."
Azera shrugged and slid the sword back into the sheath. "And how am I to get even remotely close to Potter?" she asked, sliding the sword onto the table that she stood next to.
"We've enrolled you in the sixth-year class at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," Marcus said. "You will go there, dispose of Potter, and disappear. Potter's friends are your friends, and his enemies are your enemies. Do what you have to do."
Azera blinked. It sounded like an easy enough mission to complete. Her sixteen years boasted more slaughter than most Auror's had seen and she was more skilled with wand and sword than any Defense Against the Dark Arts adept. She was an assassin.
She was a ghost.
R/R!!!