Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling does. I do, however, own this particular story, and any characters you may not recognize.
Yay! I turn 13 tomorrow! A teen!
I woke up several hours later. I slowly lifted my eyelids, aware of a dull throbbing in my arm. I looked up, trying to see where I was. I was in a fluffy white bed, in a room with white walls. I slowly sat up. I yanked the sheets off of me, and swung my legs over the bed. I stood up and crossed the room to a wooden door. I paused for a moment before opening it. It led to a hall, and the hall was attached to a staircase. I walked down them, and found myself in a huge rectangular room. A picture of a tall, pale man with a curtain of black greasy hair sat in it, snoring. He seemed familiar...
"Dantes?" I spun around. "Good, you're awake. Let's go." Father stood in a doorway.
"Where are we?" I asked, walking over to him.
"At Severus's. Now come on." He spun on his heel and strode down another hall. I rushed to catch up with him.
"What are we doing here?" I asked, confused.
"His house was the closest. And I couldn't exactly apparate with you unconscious, now could I?" He replied, obviously angry.
"Oh." I said simply. We arrived at what looked like the front door. I wouldn't know, I've never been here before. But, instead of going through it, father turned and walked into another room. Professor Snape was sitting in an armchair, in what looked like a living room. He looked up when we arrived.
"She woke up." He said simply.
"Thank you for your hospitality, Severus, but we must get home. Sorraine is trying to make dinner. All our house elves are gone. They've just disappeared. Do you still have yours?" He asked, annoyed.
"I don't have any. Wormtail likes to wait on me. Don't you?" He said, seeing Wormtail peeking in.
"I- no! Of course not!" He said, and rushed off as soon as possible.
"Well, it was good seeing you, Sedecim, Dantes." He said said, inclining his head.
"Of course." Father said, and he strode out, leaving me to scurry after him. He walked outside, and pointed to his arm. I held on for dear life, and soon felt the uncomfortable effects of apparating. With a pop, we arrived back at the mansion.
"Sedecim, Dantes, you're back! Where have you-" She saw my sad face and gasped. "Oh god, what happened? What did you do Sedecim!"
"She got the Dark mark." He said irritably. "Now, have the house elves come back yet? I'm starving!"
"She what! Oh Sedecim Linus Demion you had better have been joking! If she-" I sighed and rushed up the stairs. My parents rarely fought. Mother knew not to get father angry, because if he did... God. You just did NOT want to be within 50 feet of him. They only had fully fledged fights very, very occasionaly.
"What do you mean it was about time! She's only 17!"
"Exactly! She's of age! And it IS about bloody-" I yanked my door open and rushed in. I closed the door behind me, blocking out their loud voices. I lay on my bed and wept. My arm still throbbed, and I knew that the fight downstairs was still going on. I groaned. Why me? I stayed up for hours and hours... trying to get over the fact that I had the dark mark. Finally, after what seemed like a lifetime, I managed to fall asleep.
When I woke, I my arm still throbbed slightly, and my face was covered in dried up tears. I slowly got up. I went to the bathroom, remembering that happy day when we went to diagon alley and I had stood there, sad because I was going to wear my hair in a bun since no one was going to be there. I gave a sort of half laugh half sob, pitying myself for being disappointed at something so trivial as that. I filled the sink with water, and slid a fresh washcloth in, and pulled it out. I rinsed my face with the cold, icy water. It refreshed me. I gazed into my mirror. My hair was down, all messed up. My eyes had deep circles around them. My skin tone was lighter, a pale, almost gaunt looking color. I brushed my hair, and slicked it into a bun. I still looked unhealthy, but at least my hair was okay. I slid out of the bathroom and went down to the kitchen.
Mother sat there, a dark bruise on her face. I shuddered. They had gone even further than I had thought. She was drinking a cup of tea, and she had a sunken look on her face.
"Anything else you'd like, mistress?" Came a squeaky voice. A house elf voice. They're back! I wonder where they were last night.
"No... That's alright..."
I sat down at the table mother was sitting at, and poured myself a cup of tea. I drank it, and neither of us said anything for a while.
"Mother... Did... Did father...?" I broke off, unable to say it.
"Yes. He did. But that doesn't matter. He brought you, without my consent, to get the dark mark! You're..." She gazed at me with something that resembled sadness and almost... fear in her eyes. "A death eater. God. I could've stopped it. Somehow, I could've." She let out a low, shuddering breath.
"No, you couldn't." I said with conviction. "If I had run away, or something, the Dark Lord would've come and found me. Or at least, his death eaters would've. And then, if they didn't kill me on the spot I would have been tortured for hours before being given the dark mark. Trust me, it's better this way." Mother gazed at me and sighed.
"I guess you're right." She said finally. I loud screeching noise filled the room suddenly. "Grace! What have you got there?" My gorgeous owl had flown though the open window and had a letter in his claws.
"Who is it!" Mother asked, panicking.
"Ooh! It's Truby!" I said excitedly, reading the letter. "She's come back from Paris! She said she saw the Eiffel tower! And she's-" The sound of our brass doorknocker banging interrupted me from saying anything more. I rushed to the door and swung it open to reveal one of my best friends: Truby Jory. She was wearing a white peasant skirt and a blue spaghetti strap. She's about 5'5 now, has lovely blond hair with natural brown highlights, and chocolate colored eyes. She carried a large blue suitcase behind her, which had a sticker that looked like the Eiffel tower on it.
"Truby! What are you doing here!" I said, shocked.
"I thought I'd drop by for a while! Just got back from France, and, well, you know... I don't really have anywhere ELSE to stay for the rest of the summer..." She trailed off.
"Of course you can stay!" I laughed. "I was just surprised. I thought you were still in France!"
"Nope!" She said, and walked in. "So, what's your summer been like?" She asked as she levitated her suitcase in the air and started to walk up the stairs.
"Uhhh..." I couldn't tell her about getting the dark mark right now. That much was certain. "It was okay. You?"
"Oh, it was great! I stayed in this lovely little French apartment right across from a little bakery. It was soo cute! They made croissants every day, and then I went and got this job as an English teachers assistant..." She went on about her summer in France until we had laid out her bed, several hours later.
"Darling, I've just invited Bernadette, Michael, and Gabrielle over for dinner. They should be here in a couple of minutes!" My mother called from downstairs. I was kind of surprised, usually she told me BEFORE she invited someone over, not after. Gabrielle is one of my best friends, and Bernadette and Michael are her parents. They're in the order of the pheonix as well, and since father wasn't there, mother must have just taken the opportunity while she had it. No one from the order could EVER come over when father was here.
"Oh... ok." I said, torn between happiness to see my old friend, and confusion since my mother hadn't warned me.
"Really? Gabrielle's coming! Cool!" Truby's voice was much happier sounding than mine. We dabbled some make up on, freshened ourselves up, and then went to the living room to play speed for a while.
"1-2-3!" We flipped the two middle cards and were half way through the crazy card playing when the knocker sounded.
"They're here!" I shouted, and stood up, smoothing down my clothes. Mother came bustling out to the front hall and glanced into the mirror quickly before opening the door.
"Berna, Mike! So good to see you! Oh, and Gabrielle! Hello!" Mother said. I rolled my eyes. She ALWAYS has overly joyous meetings.
"Hello Sorrie! How are you? And Dantes! Oh, and Truby's here as well!" Bernadette said. Bernadette was a kind, modern witch, but for some reason she always wore really frumpy, ugly, old fashioned clothes. Currently she was wearing a gray wool cardigan, a plaid skirt, and a pair of horrid dark green shoes. Her hair was up in a slick bun. Berna is also annoyingly overprotective. Like once, she wouldn't let Gabrielle outside because she thought her broken arm might get even more hurt. Her husband, Michael, was rather tall, with brown hair. He wore a black cloak.
"Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Gella! So good to see you!" I said to Gabrielle's parents. "Hey Gabe!"
"Hi!"
"Yeah, er, hi Berna and er... Mike! Hi gabie!" Truby said. She didn't know Gabrielle's parents that well. We snuck off while the parents were talking, and went to my room.
"So, what's your summer been like?" Gabrielle asked. Gabrielle was the opposite of her mom. She always wore (except at school) really vibrant colors, her hair was a lovely caramel color, and was down and wavy. Today she was wearing a strapless red top, and a blue denim skirt.
"Great!" Truby exclaimed, and gave a shorter version of her trip to France. I was bored by the end of it, but Gabrielle seemed hooked.
"So wait, what did he say again? Pardon or something? And so that means can I go out with you! Wow! They must be so used to it in France they just made a really short word for it! They're geniuses... So did you go out with him then?" She asked while Truby recounted an encounter with a French guy.
"No... He just walked off... It was very odd. I guess I must have been giving off bad vibes or something..." Truby said.
"Actually," I corrected with my vast knowledge of learning French along with English. "Pardon means excuse me or pardon. Not: will you go out with me."
"What! Oh god... How embarrassing! No wonder he was looking at me weirdly after I followed him half way across Paris..." Truby moaned.
"And plus, when did you start getting all girly and obsessed with boys?"
"I don't know, I guess France just does stuff to people." She shrugged.
"Well, for your sake, I just hope you get back to normal soon." I said, with a twinkle in my eye.
"What's that supposed to mean!"
"So how was your vacation, Dantes?" Gabrielle asked.
"Actually... I have something to tell you guys." I said, deciding it was now or never. I performed an imperturbable on the door, and a silencing charm on the room. So I told them all about getting the dark mark. At the end, I was starting to cry... remembering the pain I endured that night.
"You're... A death eater then Dantes?" She said, sounding horrified.
"And you woke up in Professor Snape's bedroom!" Gabrielle asked, amazed. "What did it smell like? Did it smell like Caroline Herrera's 212 pour homme perfume? Because I swear I caught a whiff of that when-" But Truby cut her off.
"FOR heavens sakes Gabrielle! Who cares what he was wearing! Oh Dantes... I'm soooo sorry for you! I can't believe it! This is all Snape's fault! If he hadn't said yes when those death eaters were having their meeting, maybe you wouldn't be a... a death eater now!" Truby cried.
"Yes I would." I said, my tears drying on my face. "The dark lord didn't have me become a death eater because Snape wanted me to... He did it for himself."
"God... I just can't believe it! This is so horrible!" Gabrielle said, looking more sincere about this than anything she had said this night. "You'll never be able to wear spaghetti straps unless you're surrounded in muggles, or, if you cover it in like... 10 layers of concealer-"
"God Gabie! Who cares what she can or can't wear! She could be put in Azkaban!" Truby said, and continued to rant about what the 'non beauty related consequences would be'. But I wasn't listening. I had never thought about exactly what the dark mark had meant. Sure, I knew I couldn't be good, and I would have to do whatever Voldemort said. But I never really thought of myself as... a criminal. I never thought I would go to jail for this. Oh god. This is even worse than I thought. I sunk into an even deeper pit of misery than before. But, before I could think anymore about it, someone was asking me a question.
"Right Dantes?" Came Truby's voice.
"I- what?" I said. She sighed.
"I SAID, You could get tortured mercilessly by you-know-who. Right?" I groaned.
"Thanks for reminding me!"
"Dinners ready!" Came the muffled voice of a house elf. I quickly said "finite incatantem." and we rushed down the stairs. But, as we reached the door that led to the living room, we heard voices. "Shhh." Gabrielle whispered, and we all pressed our ears against the door.
"The Roses? Oh god. Oh god. What if he...?" Came my mother's voice from inside.
"That's not all. The Weasleys have been captured as well! All but two of their children. Their youngest son and their only daughter. Ronald I think his name was. And I think the other was Virginia or something." Bernadette said.
"No... I think her name was Ginevra." Michael said.
"Yes... That's right. Ginevra. Anyway, all the Weasleys were home except Ronald and GINEVRA. Those two were actually at headquarters visiting Harry Potter at the time! So, the ministry got rid of most of the protection since Harry Potter wasn't there. Well, ten death eaters came, killed all the aurors that WERE there, and then went in. No one knows what happened yet. Though, I bet they killed them all, if you ask me... "
"Oh god... What's going to happen? If he-" She was interrupted when someone whispered something that we could not hear. Suddenly, footsteps could be heard in the room, and Truby, Gabrielle and I sprung away from the door and acted as if we were just walking towards it when it was opened. The three adults gazed at us suspiciously, then announced once again that dinner was ready, and all six of us walked over to the dining room.
As they seated themselves, house elves began to scurry into the room, laden with platters of large platters covered with delicious food. We started eating. When I finished eating my potatoes, I set down my knife and fork, and leaned back in my seat.
"Mother, who are the Roses?" The atmosphere changed immediately. Mother stood up straighter, a grim look on her face. The Gella's eyes grew wide, and they stared at me.
"I- I don't know what you're talking about Dantes." Mother replied, looking extremely uncomfortable.
"Yes you do." I said, the confidence was very visible in my voice, I realized.
"Well..." Mother hesitated. Bernadette looked horrified and hissed something I couldn't hear in her ear. How discreet. I thought, amused and disgusted at the same time. "I really have no idea what you're talking about." She said, her voice slightly higher pitched than usual.
"Mum! Who are the Roses?" This time Gabrielle was speaking, and she had sheer determination on her face. Mother whispered to Gabrielle's mother, who whispered to Michael, who looked like he didn't agree with what Bernadette had to say. "Oh all right!" Bernadette said finally, apparently having given in to Michael's point of view.
"The Roses... Are in the order. They're our friends. And that's all I'm saying!" Bernadette snapped.
"Well that's not all I'M saying..." Michael said. "The Roses, Cathy and Porter, are in the order of the pheonix. They were captured last night in their house. All their protection, killed. Then, the death eaters kidnapped them. They left a note."
"That's enough, dear." Mrs. Gella said, looking very, very angry. There was silence in the room. The Roses... captured the same way as the Weasleys. I mulled this around in my head. Who exactly were the Roses in the order? What did they do? And the Weasleys... Why had they been captured?
"What did the note say?" Truby asked. Her eyes were widened, as they always were when she felt both curiosity and horror.
"I said that's enough!" Bernadette snapped.
"I think you should all go to bed." Mother said quietly.
"Yes. And, thank you for dinner Sorraine. It was lovely." She said, but it didn't sound as if she thought it was lovely. "Well, we better go."
She said airily.
"Come on, Gabrielle." She said, and got up and started walking towards the door. Gabrielle threw us an apologetic look, and followed her mother, her father taking up the rear. They walked out, and mother got up and rushed after them.
"So sorry about that..."
"Oh. Well. I suppose it just shows the difference of the way our children were raised."
"What! Are you suggesting Dantes wasn't raised well!"
"Well... If you compare our two daughters..."
"Bernadette, dear, that's enough. It wasn't Dantes's fault or Sorraine's fault that-" But I didn't want to listen anymore. I slowly got up from my chair and walked out of the dining room. Truby followed me. We walked up the stairs, and into my bedroom. I sat down on my bed and stared at the floor dejectedly. God. What a horrible woman.
"What is wrong with her? She's so awful!" Truby said, as she grabbed her pj's and went to the bathroom.
"You can say that again..."
Yay! Another chapter finished! Hope you enjoyed it... not much action, I know. The action's going to come later in the story.
You're in luck! I'm leaving the day after my birthday (So I'm leaving the 28th, since the 27th is my B-day) And I have a 13 hour plane ride that I'm going to dedicate mainly to writing another chapter. (That is, if my computer has enough battery power to stay alive for the duration of that... Also, when I get back home I'll be able to (supposedly) install word on my computer, allowing me to update more often. The bad news is, I'm going to start school on the 2nd September, where I'm taking 13 courses, and I'm going to take advanced French with all the rest of the French people, so I'm really nervous about that, since I consider myself horrid at French except for my accent, reading, and the spelling of most words. (Basically I suck at conjugation!) I'm also taking my second year of Latin, which I'm awful at... so... Good luck for me at failing a class that will actually play part in my average... ugg. AND I'm taking Italian. Geesh.
Anyway, enough about me, onto the reviews!
TrubSCS3: I hope I didn't change your personality too much in this chapter... But I felt she needed to be serious because of the sadness and, well, seriousness of everything that happens in this chapter... Also, is she a tomboy or a girly-girl? What's her favorite song/ food that makes her hyper (e.g. coke? sprite?) Just anything that you can think of. I LOVE Truby's Hogwarts! Update soon!
Crouchingbunny: Yeah, god, I'd hate to be a death eater... Except... I'd LOVE to be in the world of hp... so... I don't know. The answer to why she couldn't run away was in this chapter. Yeah... poor her. Hehe. No problem, and you're welcome! It was a wonderful story!