Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns everything in my story, except the plot and my reporter.

A/N: Normally, I would be thanking my reviewers here, but since I'm putting this chapter out so quickly after the last one, nobody had time to review the last chapter. Go Me!!! 2 chapters in a day! Ok, enough patting myself on the back, and on with the show!!!

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Chapter 02:  Assassinations, Black Eyes, and Circles

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Avery was getting panicky. He'd just run through his entire network of spies and informants, and not a single one of them had any information that could help him. His master would not be pleased with him if he had nothing to report, and that would mean punishment. Avery loved using the cruciatus curse, especially on muggles, but had absolutely no tolerance for pain himself. He would have to make something up, and hope the others' information didn't contradict him. He had just started planning his story, when a barn owl swooped down and dropped a letter into his lap. Avery, thinking it was from one of his informants, opened the letter immediately. As he read, the color completely left his face.

John Avery

In light if your recent criminal acts under the leadership of Lord Voldemort, the Imperial Dragon Circle convened to decide your fate. Many hours were spent weighing several options for punishment, or freedom. After careful deliberation, the Imperial Dragon Circle Has judged you guilty for crimes against the Wizarding World. You are sentenced to execution, to be carried out immediately

The Imperial Dragon Circle

Oh god. Avery would bet all his gold in Gringott's that Lucius had received one of these just before he died. He had to get away, and tell the Dark Lord about the letter. First things first however, Avery needed to escape. Avery started looking around wildly for an exit.

"I don't think so, Mr. Avery. There's no escape from here." Said the voice of a young man. Avery immediately felt the air grow heavy, as an anti apparition field settled down around them.

"Who are you, and what do you want?" Sneered Avery, trying to intimidate the man, even though the sight of him was almost making Avery feel faint. The Man was wearing black combat robes, with the Imperial Circle Insignia in glowing white on the front. He was hooded, and there was absolutely no light on his face.

"Well, since you asked so nicely, I'll answer your questions. You may call me Flame, and I need some information from you." The man said, his voice soft and deadly, like a snake ready to strike. Avery pulled his wand deciding to forego any further banter.

"Avada Kedavra!" He shouted, leveling his wand at the young man. Green light lit up the area, and the stream of death rocketed at the young man. However, when the curse found its mark, the young man was nowhere to be seen. Avery blinked, and looked again. No dead body, no body at all.

"That wasn't nice, Mr. Avery." Stated the voice from right behind him. Avery whirled around, ready to fling another killing curse, but at that moment, his wand burst into flames. This both burned and startled Avery, who promptly dropped his wand. "Dueling practice is over, Mr. Avery. Since you seem to be hesitant to answer my questions, we'll just move on to the end."

A woman, wearing the same attire as the man, stepped into view. "Mr. Avery, you have been found guilty of conspiracy against the Wizarding World, and sentenced to death. Execution, to be carried out in the prescribed method, immediately." She said, in a voice much higher, but still every bit as deadly as her companion's.

The man stepped up next to her, and lifted his hand towards Avery. Pointing his index finger at Avery's chest, the man whispered "Engorgio." Avery felt like his heart was expanding. He screamed. It was like it was trying to burst out from his ribcage. It was, in fact, trying to do just that. Seconds later, Avery's chest burst open, revealing a heart the size of a quaffle. The young woman stepped up closer, drew her sword, and sliced the heart right in half. Avery's eyes shot open, as the pain suddenly intensified, then he passed out from blood loss.

"Well done Blade." Said the young man. His voice was no longer deadly, but soft and caring, with real admiration for his female companion.

"Thank you Flame. How are we formatting our statement tonight?" Asked the young woman, her voice also adopting the soft and caring tone. Now that the job was done, it was obvious that these two people care a great deal for one another.

"I think we'll leave him here, in the middle of the street. Cover him with the shroud, and I'll draw our symbol around him. He can be the letter 'I'." Said Flame, as he started drawing a pattern in the air with his wand. "A dead body in the middle of Diagon Alley makes a powerful statement, doesn't it?"

"Yes it does. How do we sign the note? Same as Last time?" Blade asked, quill and parchment out, ready to sign.

"Yeah, that will work. Don't want to throw them any clues too early in the game, after all." Blade said as he finished burning the mark into the street. "As long as we go without names or faces, we keep everyone on their toes."

"Alright then, are we finished? We've got an appointment tomorrow." Said blade, wiping off and re-sheathing her sword. She started to walk away, and Flame fell into step right beside her.

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The next morning, the students arrived at King's Cross Station, and climbed on the Hogwarts Express. Harry and Hermione found a compartment, and sat down next to each other. They each opened their books, and began to read silently, just enjoying each other's company. It was about 20 minutes later that their compartment was invaded by a red-haired intruder. Both Harry and Hermione looked up, and into the smiling face of Ron Weasley, their best friend of six years.

"Hey you two, how were your summers?" Ron asked, the smile never leaving his face. Harry and Hermione shared a look. Ron seemed to be a little two happy to be going back to school.

"Our summer was great, we ended up spending the last month together. How was Romania?" Hermione said, trying to figure out what could be making Ron so happy. His grin just seemed too big to be allowed.

"Romania was good. Those dragons are huge. But, that's not why I'm happy. I just saw Malfoy on the platform, and he said something about my family, and I gave him a black eye!" Ron smiled broadly at his accomplishment. Harry and Hermione just looked at each other, and settled back in to read some more. "Well, anyway, I'm going back to my compartment to find Lavender. See you both later."

"Is it just me, or is Ron almost as big of a prat to Malfoy, as Malfoy is to us?" Asked Harry. Hermione looked at him for a minute, then thought about what he said.

"You're right. I mean Ron is a nice guy, but he's got a vicious temper, and a rather large malicious streak when it comes to Malfoy." Hermione said, before going back to her book.

Five minutes later, an owl landed in their compartment clutching a Daily Prophet in its beak. Harry paid the five Knuts, and sent the owl on its way. Harry unrolled the paper, and gasped. "Hermione, they did it again!" Hermione looked over at the paper, and gasped as well. The front page was a large picture of a murder scene in Diagon Alley.

Second Death Eater Killing Linked to Dragons!!!

Early this morning, the body of John Avery was found outside Eyelop's Owl Emporium. The body was mutilated, chest opened, and the heart cut in half. The body was found wrapped in a purple shroud, with a not pinned to it. The contents of the note are unknown at this time, but what is clear is that the killers were the now infamous Imperial Dragon Circle. Although the Ministry has released no statement concerning this, the mark burned into the street is a dead give away. The dragons' motives are still unclear, but they are ruthless in executing their targets.

Reporting for the Prophet: Jessica Thatcher

"Impressive work." Harry stated blandly, looking at the picture. Hermione agreed, and went back to her book.

The rest of the ride to Hogwarts was uneventful. As sixth-year prefects, Hermione and Harry attended the prefect's meeting in the front compartment, and assigned the new password to Gryffindor Tower.

The Welcoming Feast was also uneventful, aside from meeting Professor Kilroy, the new teacher for Defense Against the Dark Arts. After the feast, Harry and Hermione walked up to the staff table, and asked Professor Dumbledore if he knew anything about the Imperial Dragon Circle. Dumbledore told them he had no information about them, but that the order was looking into it.

Harry and Hermione went to their rooms, and went to bed, feeling tired. (A/N: In my Hogwarts, the prefects get private dorms.)

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Flame and Blade met that night again. It was time to compare notes on how their opponents were dealing with the Imperial Dragons. Flame was watching the Dark Lord, while Blade was spying on The Order of the Phoenix.

"Ok Blade, how is the Order dealing with our appearance, and what do they know?" Flame asked. Flame knew that Albus Dumbledore was one of the most intelligent wizards alive, and should not be underestimated. He was genuinely concerned about what the old wizard had found out so far.

"Dumbledore knows nothing about us, other than our group's name. He doesn't have a clue as to who, or what we are. He's worried about us, though. He's split his forces in half. He's being very cautious about dealing with us, assigning half of his Phoenix agents to find out what we're about." Blade said.

"That's good. After all, that's our objective. We seem to have struck a nerve with Snake Face as well." Blade snickered at Flames nickname for the Dark Lord. "Actually, we seem to have struck gold on that venture. Voldemort has pulled ALL forces out of ALL other projects, and his entire organization is looking for us. We're going to need to be more careful in the future, but our plan is working perfectly." Flame said, a detectable note of triumph in his voice. "Snake Face has the suspicion that we aren't human, but there's not a lot he can do about it, even when he figures out what we are."

"Next Target?" Blade said, getting back to business.

"Theodore Nott Sr." Flame responded, also back to business. "Three A.M. Saturday morning."

"I'll be ready, Flame. Are you staying with me tonight?" Blade asked with a sexy smile. "We haven't slept in the same bed for a while."

"I'd love to, sweetheart." Flame said. Both figure melted silently into the shadows, heading for Blade's bed.

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A/N: Well, that's Chapter 02. Stay tuned for Chapter 03, coming soon. We're going into the Ministry in the next episode, and the Order will convene as well.