Van walked down the seemingly empty hallway of the dark abandoned castle. Just 30 minutes earlier she had the dream again. She never knew what it meant. Many nights she wanders the castles halls, pondering the meaning of the dreams. Were they dreams, or visions?
She could remember when she started having the dreams. It was 6 months ago in Ireland. They were always about this very castle that she wandered through. Van, being a wanderer by nature, searched for this castle. She had left Ireland, and found herself in England. A month after she came to England, she found the castle.
Van sighed and continued down the hallway. What do the dreams mean she questioned herself. The dreams always started by giving her a view of the castle from the outside, and then zooming inside. It takes her down twist and turns of many hallways, and coming to a stop just outside of a strange door. The door was made of solid wood, and had cravings of roses and skulls. Words in the middle read, "Ο θΎ?ατος είναι μόνο η αρχή". And as always the door opens just a little bit and then she wakes up. ((Death is only the beginning.))
A flutter of noise caught Vans attention and she turned her head toward the window. There, upon the windowsill, sat a snow white owl with large amber eyes. It hooted softly at her and held out its leg, which a letter was tied onto it. Van untied the letter from the owl, and patted its head softly. On the front of the letter it said,
Vanessa
L. Darko
East Wing of Night Castle
England
Van raised an eyebrow at the use of her full name, and turned the envelop over. It was sealed with red wax, but had no family or business crest. She shrugged and broke the seal on the envelop. Inside was a green piece of paper. She pulled it out and read it.
Dear
Vanessa,
You are in grave danger. Death Eaters are planning to
come to Night Castle to take you to their lord. Lord Voldemort seeks
your power, and will stop at nothing to gain it. I and a few order
members will be arriving shortly to take you to a safe house.
Sincerely, Albus Dumbledore
Head of the Order of Phoenix
"What is it Van?" a soft voice called from the shadows to her right. Van turned to see a young woman walk out of the shadows. She stood at 5'3" and had a toned and curvy body. Her eyes gleamed from the moonlight. The color of them always amazed Van. They were metallic silver, covering the iris and there was no pupil, just metallic silver. Her hair was white and pulled up into a ponytail braid with large gold clasps on the top and bottom. Her hair reached to two inches above the floor. She had pointed ears with piercings from top to bottom. She had high cheekbones, a pixie nose, full lips, and you could see fangs when she smiled which was very rare. She had tattoos on her face one over each eye, from her eyebrows straight down to her cheekbones. The design was a tribal one; they weren't just tattoos, but a mark of a curse. A curse that made it to where she would never show emotion, unless the emotion was a strong one. She wore a black billowing pirate shirt, black leather pants, and black soft dragon skin boots. Around her neck was a strip of black leather locked around her throat with a small silver padlock that could never be opened, a sign of the days when she was a slave.
"Hello
Phury. I had the dream again."
Phury nodded and Van continued
to speak. "I received this letter." Van handed Phury the
letter and watched the elf read it. Phury looked at her when she was
finished and said, "Listen to him." Her voice was
emotionless just like her expression. Van was used to it by now.
Phury had never showed any emotion except for once in the 3 years Van
has known her, all because of that stupid curse. Phury through the
letter back at her and said, "Get your things and meet me by the
stairs." Then she turned and walked away.
Van turned swiftly and ran down the hallway, using her ability to move faster than the average human. The owl behind her gave a loud hoot and flew after her down the hall. Within minutes Van reached the room she was using to sleep in. She picked up her sword and looked at it. The hilt and blade were black, and the metal would never break. On the blade was a skull made out of metal and was gray. It was surrounded by what looked like flames. Van sheathed the sword and strapped it to her waist. She picked up her black butterfly knife and slid it into the straps, built into her right boot, which were made for that knife. She turned to face the mirror hanging of the door. The candles in the room were lit, making her face have shadows where the light didn't reach. Her hair was black with many different shades of blue woven throughout her hair. Her left eye was a very light blue, and her right eye was a gold color. She had high check bones, and full lips. Her lips were tinted blue naturally, and around her eyes was a thick black line, like eyeliner except it was natural, and then it blended into a smoky gray, like eye shadow. (A/N: What would be makeup is NOT. It is naturally there, like she was born with it.) Her body was slim and toned, but also curvy. She wore a billowing white shirt, like a pirate, with a black and blue corset over it. She wore tight black pants, and soft black dragon hide boots, the kind that makes no noise when you walk if worn by an expert. She wore black gloves and a black choker necklace with a blue stone in the middle.
Van sighed at her appearance and grabbed her black cloak. She put it on and pulled the hood over her head. Out of habit, though she didn't need it, she made sure her wand was inside her cloak before waving her hand toward the candles. The candles immediately went out, and Van turned swiftly, her cloak billowing out behind her, and walked out of the room. The owl flew and landed onto her shoulder as she headed down two flights of stairs. Van came to a halt by the railing on the open area of the last flight of stairs. She saw Phury crouched on the railing with a black cloak on and the hood up, making it almost impossible to see her. She could see the doors from here, thanking the lord that she could see perfectly in the dark.
The doors to the castle swung open with a loud creak. Five figures walked through the door, whispering to each other. Van, with her really good hearing (like a dogs), eavesdropped on what they were saying.
"Why
would anyone choose to live here?" a female voice asked.
"Be
quiet Tonks," a gruff sounding male said back.
"I'm just
asking Mad-Eye," Tonks replied.
Mad-Eye grunted and Tonks sighed. An old voice from the front of the group said, "Lumos." Light filled the entryway and shined on the five figures. Van jumped onto the railing and crouched down. She watched as the five looked around, searching for something. Van continued to listen to them.
"I
don't see any sign that she was even here. There are no tracks in
the dust besides our own," Tonks said.
"I agree with her
Dumbledore. There is no sign at all," the gruff voice of Mad-Eye
grunted.
The figure in the front of the grouped nodded, and said,
"It seems so Moody." Tired of watching them, Van and Phury
leaped from the banister and landed softly in front of the figure in
front. The group gasped when they landed, all except the old man in
front of them. He had long white hair, and a long white beard. His
blue eyes twinkled softly from behind half moon glasses. He wore blue
robes with silver moons and stars, and a tall pointed hat that was
also blue with silver moons and stars. Van suppressed the urge to
smile at the old mans choice of clothes. He reminded her of a crazy
old man she had once seen in Ireland. The old man used to walk around
in the same type of clothes as the wizard standing before her.
"You
must be Vanessa and Phury," the old man said.
"Its Van,"
Vanessa said, and looked at the people behind him.
"Well Van,
I am Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts, and Head of the Order
of Phoenix. This is Remus Lupin," he said pointing to a middle
aged man with sandy blond hair and second hand robes who waved when
she looked at him.
"Tonks," he points to a young woman
with short spiky pink hair. She waves and then screws up her nose.
Suddenly her hair becomes longer and turned blue. Obviously Tonks was
trying to get Van to smile, which she didn't.
"Mad-Eye
Moody." He points to a gruff looking man with a blue magical eye
that was swirling around at the moment.
"And Severus Snape."
The last man was tall and pale. He had a long hooked nose and long
greasy black hair. Van looked at each person and tried not to smile
or laugh. They looked so weird standing together, some looking poor,
others looking just plain weird.
"What
do you want?" Van said coldly.
"The Dark Lord is after
you. We need to move you to a safe house," Dumbledore said.
Van thought about what Dumbledore said. She knew a lot about what has been going on, the perks of wandering is that you hear many things. She sighed, and turned away from them. She walked back toward the stairs and turned back to face them. She sighed again, and walked past them and out the door with Phury two steps behind her. They followed them out the door and handed Van an old toy.
"This is a portkey. It should take you both to the safe house. We will be following you shortly," Moody grunted. She nodded, and Phury put two fingers on it, and then she felt the portkey activate. It felt like someone put a hook behind her navel and pulled. Everything spins out of control, and then Van landed on a table in a kitchen of a very old house, and Phury landed on her feet gracefully on the floor.
