Authors Note and Dislcaimer: I don't own JK Rowling. I don't own Hogwarts. I don't own Voldemort (though I wish I did) and I don't own most other things that are contained in the Harry Potter book series except my own personal copies of books 1 through 5. ; However, I do own many of the characters included in this fic...including Antony and Malanda. The Îmblânzitor de Serpis (aka the "Snake Charmers") were all my idea. Some of this story is based on "actual events" that took place in the course of roleplaying the character of Malanda Riddle. Sorry if this first chapter is a little short...it's only the beginning of great things to come, I hope. And don't forget that reviews will make me write faster!

Also please keep in mind that the title is only a working title. It's not like official or anything...it's just what I'm using in the mean time to keep me going, mmkay? Mmmkay.


From Dawn to Dusk

Chapter 1 : Into the Night

Deep in the heart of Romania, a still silence had filled the night. The moon rose high over a thick wood, illuminating the ground below. Between the trees were five persons, two female, three male, who waited silently as a small breeze flitted around them. It was nearing midnight when one of the men – a tall, dark-haired figure – pulled out an old golden pocket watch, flicking it open and studying the numbers carefully before whispering to the others in his group.

"It's nearly time." His voice was thick with a natural Romanian accent, which seemed almost seductive in the still of the night. The others in the group paused a moment to check their own watches, while one of the women laughed quietly, her bright green eyes cutting through the darkness like knives.

"Antony, darling, why must we wait?" Her own accent was thick as well, and almost playful as she slid her arms around the waist of the man who had been first to speak. Antony merely shook his head, though, as he touched the girl's cheek.

"Because they will not be where we need them until midnight, mei amant. Be patient." The girl turned away, her playful laughter once again dusting the silence of the woods.

"If I must, I suppose..." She leaned against a nearby tree, studying her nails carefully. The other three members of the group, meanwhile, sat near a tree stump, a candle in the center of it glittering cheerfully as they played poker with a beaten deck of cards to pass the time. It wasn't long, however, before Antony checked his pocket watch again, nodding to the others. "Lets go."

In a silent flurry, the deck of cards was packed up, the candle snuffed out, and the group was on the move. Antony led the way, with the other two men close behind him and the girls covering the back. Wands out, they prepared themselves for what was to come- be it death or victory.

The five were all members of the Îmblânzitor de Serpis, a group known to the English speaking world as the "Snake Charmers", and to all as the most powerful wizards in all of Romania – and in some cases, the world. Each and every one of the Snake Charmers was capable of killing hoards of people with one flick of a wand; some were Death Eaters for the dark lord Voldemort, some were Aurors for various European Ministries of Magic. Either way, missions like these were a daily occurrence, for the Îmblânzitors were known across Europe as some of the best hit-men (and –women) worldwide.

Tonight their trip was cut short, however, as Antony stopped dead in his tracks while making a path through the woods. A small, wooden cabin lie in a clearing before him, and it was obvious by his expression that this was where they had intended to go. However, instead of having innocent lives to take, the people they'd waited all night to murder were already dead, the eight of them hanging by their necks from an overhanging portion of the roof of the cabin.

The other Îmblânzitors were completely shocked, but Antony merely stepped forward, examining each body carefully. Not only had someone taken the time to kill the eight persons before he and his companions could, but they had done a damn good job of it; everything down to the way the ropes that hung the bodies were tied was perfectly flawless, and he knew only one person that could have carried things off in that manner – especially by themselves, and not with three or four others to help.

"So, Miss Riddle. We meet again." Antony's four comrades whispered to each other, all of them bewildered and confused. Antony, however, stepped onto the porch of the cabin to survey the bodies from behind. For a very long moment the only noise in the forest was Antony's footsteps against the wooden porch, and the quiet creaking of the hanging ropes as they swung back and forth. Soon, however, a young woman's voice could be heard drifting down to the Snake Charmers from seemingly nowhere.

"A shame you had to have four people to back you up on this one, Antony. You're nearly nine years my senior and I managed to take them all out single handedly..."

Antony grinned, stepping out from under the porch and glancing around for the source of the voice. "Yeah, well. Some of us take more risks than others..."

Suddenly, a dark figure dropped from the roof of the porch onto the ground directly in front of Antony, crouching close to the ground a moment before standing up straight. The figure revealed itself to be a dark haired girl of seventeen, her blue eyes dancing mischievously as she smirked at Antony through the darkness. She was clothed much like the female Snake Charmers who had accompanied Antony- tight fitting black pants with a miniature petticoat over top, and a black corset over a loose black blouse; all of which was shadowed behind a thick black cloak, which seemed to help her fade into the shadow of the night.

The girl carefully circled Antony for a moment, a playful smirk adorning her lips. "A pleasure seeing you again, at the least." She stopped abruptly as Antony's hand shot out from beneath his own robes, grabbing the girl tightly by the arm and turning her towards him, where he faced her with a somewhat smug smile.

"So you decided to come back for the summer after all, then, Malanda."

"Not just for the summer..." She snapped her arm out of Antony's grip, before grinning wickedly and sliding her arms around his neck, whispering in his ear. "Forever."

"Excellent..." he responded with his own whisper, pulling Malanda towards him tightly with a grin of his own. "How you been, kiddo?"

She smiled almost bemusedly as she ran a hand through Antony's short black hair, gazing up at him. "Wonderful, for the most part. These last few weeks've been hell though, I've just wanted to be back home..."

"Well! You are now." Antony kissed Malanda on the forehead before turning back to the others, arm still around Malanda's waist. "Now... apparently this is taken care of, so we've got time to spare. Anyone up for a drink at the Black Halo?"

"You can count me in! C'mon, James, help me with the bodies..." one of the women responded. She and one of the men started towards the dangling corpses and started to take them down while the others started back down the path, talking amongst themselves. Malanda and Antony walked together at the back of the group, Antony not once taking his arm off of Malanda's waist.

"It's good to have you back, kiddo." He smiled down at her a moment as they walked, and Malanda glanced up at him for a moment as well, a small and almost mischievous smile dancing across her lips.

"It's good to be home."