Disclaimer: the characters, well some of them, some plots and minor detail, and large details are not mine, they belong to JK Rowling.
Warnings: Erm, language, suggestiveness, and that's about it. Oh and violence!
Authors Note: Sorry about how long this all took. First I had a writers block. Then I had another little chat with mah special little helper. The sixth chapter is on the way!
Chapter Five: 'R' is for Revenge and 'A' is for…
Soon after that Chloe and Nick discovered what it was like to be ignored by their friends. Or, rather Marina glared the others into faithfully ignoring Nick and Chloe. Well, not Nicks much on the other boys' parts. And Cassidy probably talked to Chloe behind Marina's back. Not that Marina minded. Or at least she minded that they hadn't told her, but not that her friends were secretly talking to those filthy traitors. She had almost sent an owl to her parents but had then thought better of it.
Thomas had asked her why about twenty times before she snarled something , and hexed him into oblivion. After that they had left her alone for the day.
The next morning dawned a pale blue. As usual, Marina was awoken by a certain sorry excuse for a cat's angry hiss.
When she emerged into the common room she gave Chloe and Nick chilly sneers usually reserved for Gryffindor's. Chloe cringed uncomfortably, but Nick gave Marina a chilly smile. The pair stared at each other for a moment, stormy eyes blazing, before finally Marina stalked out, jerking her head. Nick followed her, and Chloe stirred, but didn't move. The twins walked in silence, eyes scorching the unfortunate first years that managed to stand in their way. Once outside, and across the lake Marina rounded on him.
"Do you know the reason our grandfather was in Azkaban? Have you any idea who almost killed our Great aunt? Whose godson almost killed our father? Or perhaps you have forgotten. Does the surname Black mean anything to you?" she snapped, her eyes narrowing dangerously. Her voice was soft, like an icy hiss.
"No. I've forgotten," retoreted her twin, his voice rough.
"I wouldn't be surprised if you had. Are we remembering the sluttiest girl that I have the unfortunate experience of being friends with is a Black? Therefore related to the Potters in a disconnected way. And what do you think our parents would have to say about it? And is she pureblood? Yes, but a Black none the less," snarled Marina, her eyes calm, yet hazardously ablaze.
"He was her uncle, and was disowned! And if disownment counts, then we're related to the Weasly's," he pointed out.
"Don't even say that. Oh, and did it ever strike you that I was your twin? Or did you forget that too?" she snapped, hitting a nerve that she knew would be raw for his entire life. Nick's mouth opened slightly and his eyes looked hurt.
"I didn't forget Mriss," he said softly, using the old nickname he had used for Marina. It was the word that sounded most like 'trouble' in Parsletonuge, and he had used until they were almost fourteen. She narrowed her eyes, but the smiled wryly.
"Fine. Forgiven on two conditions," she said, eyeing her twin smugly.
"O-Kay. What are they?" he said slowly, looking at her warily. He was growing, while she had stopped and was three inches taller than her. Yet, ever since they were small she had always been the bossy, in-charge one of the two, while he delightedly carried out the dirtier work.
"No more little secrets. And never say we're related to the Weasly's ever again," she said, smirking.
"You drive a hard bargain, Miss," he said, but shook her hand.
"Its settled then. Come on, lets go," she said, sauntering back up to the castle.
"Why? You're never hungry," said Nick, loping along side her.
"No, I have to first tell Chloe that I'm speaking to her again, and then I have to harass her for two months straight. Otherwise my reputation will die out," she informed him, smirking. He shook his head, then laughed, and gently shoved her. She smacked him lightly on the cheek, and he whimpered in apparent pain. She raised a brow, and he cracked up.
"Why, Marina?" whined Chloe looking doubtfully at the hissing and spitting lily in front of the. Marina was wearing her dragon hide gloves, and was pointing at the plant expectantly.
"Because. Do it," she said, smugly tossing her head.
"Or?" asked Chloe, wearing a pout. Marina raised a brow. "Right," said Chloe catching on. She picked up a piece of bloody meat and threw it at the plant, trying not to touch the blood. The lily snapped it up, and let a seed fly into the air, smacking the old professor Sprout in the head. The old woman frowned, and picked the large seed out of her hair, handing it to Chloe. Marina shuddered, glad that Chloe had been so… eager to help.
The girl smirked knowing at Chloe, and began her arithmancy homework. Chloe glared back and flung another piece of meat at the ravenous flower. For the rest of the day, and likely the rest of her sixth year at school, Chloe found herself acting as a dunce servant for Marina. Not that the entire Hufflepuff house didn't already yelp and do whatever she told them to do.
Finally the bossing of Chloe died down, and three weeks into the term, Chloe had already started going out with a Ravenclaw. Not the best choice out there, but certainly better than a Hufflepuff or Gryffindor.
At breakfast on October the second, Marina opened the newspaper. She glanced at the front page, something about a gangster or something, and moved on to a more interesting report. As she flipped past the job add section of the Prophet, she noticed that two pages were like, exactly the same. She scanned them and noticed one difference. The second one was hand drawn, and had one difference. The add read that an assassin was wanted for some man named Domingo.
Suspiciously, Marina flipped to the front of the Prophet and noticed once again that the name of the notorious gangster she had never heard of, Domingo, was Snape's right handed man. Not Sanger Snape, Toby's father, but Toby's uncle. The uncle that had taken over from The Dark Lord, when potter had managed to murder him at last. Now the ex-professor went about known as the Dark Prince.
"Oy, Nick, Can I borrow your Prophet?" asked Marina, carefully storing hers inside her school robes. Her twin nodded and handed it over, reaching for Marina's kippers and taking them. She looked at the cover, and saw it was the same as hers. She flipped to the add section, and saw that no such add had been included in his. She threw it back at him, and swirled her fork through her oatmeal thoughtfully. Who wanted her as an assassin? Of all people? She was a Malfoy and demanded respect.
When her granddad had been shipped of to jail, the respect for the name Malfoy had quavered, but the name had been feared. Then her father had almost murdered Dumbledore, and the respect had dropped even more. But the levels of fear had risen. Then a friend of the family, a healer, had checked both men over, and announced that they were obviously under the imperious curse. Of course that was ridiculously untrue, bur a grand respect returned once more. The fearfulness of others had not dropped in the least, but it helped that all of them were attractive. Marina's father, Draco had been recruited as a death eater at the age of sixteen, and had risen in the rank greatly. He had only risen farther and farther when Severus Snape had taken over, and renamed the workers of the darker side Bane's. Then he rose in status again, still quietly. No one had so much as suspected him. Well, most people hadn't. All of the Weasly family, what was left of the scattered order of the lovebird (or something like that), and the Potters all thought he was a Bane, but they didn't do much of anything about it. Then Draco Malfoy had married Artemis Carrows. For a long time he knew not why she looked rather different than her family, with her almost black hair and brilliant blue-green eyes. Then Mr. Carrow had told them both that she was indeed a Carrow, but the girl she had grown up thinking was her oldest sister (20 years difference) had been her mother. Her father had been some man named Riddle, or Puzzle or something of the sort. Marina had learned this while eavesdropping alone one night and quickly learned that this Riddle fellow had turned out to be the dark lord. Upon even more research, and questioning a certain old ghost, she had found out that her and Nick were the last in the line of Salazar Slytherin. Of course her mother was illegimate, but that unaffected fact that she was his daughter, a parselmouth, and a descendent of Salazar Slytherin. Making Nick and Marina also related to him, and parselmouths. However, the Carrows had agreed to severe all ties with the Malfoys. This was annoyingly unknown, but that was life.
This all, however interesting, still left the annoying fact that she was wanted as an assassin. She stirred her oatmeal around once more, then took a sip of Orange juice. Suddenly someone tapped her foot under the table, shaking her out of her thoughts. She looked up, but no one was watching hr. Andrew, Tom, Nick, and Will were talking about quidditch, while Chloe sulked as Cassidy laughed at her. Sam was glaring at Nat, and Nat was talking to Toby, with a nervous air about him. Tristan was busily flirting with Andromeda, while Proudfoot and Zabini argued over something stupid. Macnair was talking to some fourth years, and the rest of the house was eating. She raised a brow in the rest of the worlds general direction, and turned to where Cassidy had called her name.
"What?" she asked, sipping her juice, and reaching for a cookie.
"We were thinking of maybe going to the edge pf the lake to tan tomorrow. If its not to cold," Cassidy said.
Before Marina could answer, Chloe turned to them. "I wouldn't be able to go. Rob wants to go out with me. I don't even know where! What should-" she began.
"Want to know something funny? I don't care!" interrupted Marina in the same obnoxious, preppy tone Chloe had been using.
"God, some ones in a bad mood," snipped the Black girl.
"Your so friggin' observant sometimes Chloe. I don't know how you do it," sneered Marina.
"Will the pair of you shut the … frick up?" said Toby irritably. It was more directed at Chloe than Marina, because Marina was not one to be bossed around, but still.
"Well, I can't and Chloe can't so I doubt it would work this weekend. Maybe Sunday though," said Marina ignoring both Toby and Chloe.
"That'd be good, I'll let people know," said Andromeda.
"Girls, not boys Andromeda," said Marina eyeing the other girl suspiciously. Andromeda snorted indignantly and tossed her head.
That Saturday, Marina excused herself, saying that she had to go to hogs Meade. Being a prefect, she was allowed, and though her friends might have come, she didn't exactly notify them.
As she walked down the road, she pulled out the add again, reading once again that the meeting spot would be just behind the Hogs Head. She was even surprised that that old, ramshackle hut of a pub was still up and existing. She walked up the streets slowly, not even sure she wanted to know who exactly wanted her, and to do what.
She paused in front of the battered looking building and took a deep breathe. She strode behind the building, her most indifferent expression on. She glanced around, her eyes settling immediately on rough looking man. His hair was black, and his skin was pale, but with a healthy glow. He was clean, and his hair was combed. He wore denim pants and a white shirt, covered with a black dragon hide jacket. He had bright green eyes and looked oddly familiar.
"Soo. It's the little Malfoy girl. You're the quicker of the two, I hear. Never getting in trouble for all those nasty things you do to others, eh?" he laughed. His voice was odd. It could neither be classified as a high or low, despite its rasping hoarse tone. It almost sounded as if he were a cross between a cat and a dog, hissing and growling in the same syllable.
Marina said nothing, just raised a pale brow. How did this bastard know who she was, or what she did or didn't do. Her gaze was challenging and her mouth twisted into a skeptical sneer. "I don't suppose you know who you're talking to then?" she asked in a cold almost disgustedly indifferent tone.
"Of course I do. Marina Cypress Malfoy. But you don't know who I am, eh little niece?" he said, after giving a short bark of laughter.
"First of all, its creepy that you of all people know my full name. Secondly I am not little, though my waist is in comparison to yours. And third of all, I'm not your niece, happily enough for me," she sneered. This man was getting annoying, and she wondered if he was even who she was supposed to meet.
The man let out another bark of laughter, his long dark hair shuffling in the wind. He opened his mouth, but was cut of by an impatient Malfoy.
"Enough with the niceties, who the fucking hell are you? Before you piss me off," snapped Marina irritably. She had endured enough of this man, and he was succeeding in doing what Nick and Chloe had achieved.
"Fine. I'm Domingo Gaunt, and you're Malfoy. You are the perfect subject for our necessities, so I hope you will cooperate," he said, taking a step towards her, with a menacing stride.
"Flattery will get you places, and since your being oh so complimenting… No. Sorry. I don't want to work for you," she sneered tossing her head hotly.
"Oh, if you were working for me, it would be all niceties, trust me. But you can't say no it would be… fatal," he said shortly.
"Oh? I beg to differ-" she began. But suddenly the man shoved her up against a wall. A dark sense of foreboding washed over her. It probably and something to do with the fact that a knife was being pressed lightly into the tender skin of her neck.