"What's that?" she asked, pointing to his sleeved arm, where the tattoo was on.

"Nothing!" He burst out. She gave him her best seriously? look.

"Fine, it's a tattoo." And with that, he scrambled back inside. She sighed.

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"Remember to get your permission slips signed, class!" the professor gave a last-minute reminder. It was the end of class, and everyone was excited to go to Hogsmeade the next day on one of their first class trips outside of Hogwarts. Narcissa had already gotten her permission slip signed. She was SO excited to go! Her parents had even sent her some money for her to go shopping!

Lucius fiddled with the quill in his hands anxiously. Tomorrow he would have to meet his father, while they were on the class trip to Hogsmeade. And he was not at all excited. In fact, he was horrified. Ever since he had officially become a Death Eater (and the youngest one in the group, as he might add), he had felt uneasy around everyone. He still felt guilty – even though he always knew that he would have to be a Death Eater eventually, he still couldn't fully accept the idea of him being an evil and dark wizard – a servant to the Dark Lord. He knew that the Dark Lord approved of him. He was always smiling – well, not exactly smiling…everybody knows that the Dark Lord wasn't a smiling sort of person…but he often gave Lucius looks of approval when he suggested something, or performed a spell. This gave Lucius a small spark of confidence in being a dark wizard.

Lucius didn't know what his father wanted from him, but he was sure it wasn't going to be good.

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The sun shone over Narcissa's face. She squinted at the bright sunlight. She was still lying in her bed, and her roommates were still snoring around her. When she remembered what day it was, she sat up so suddenly that she accidentally knocked one of her textbooks off of her bedside table. The sound was enough to wake everyone up. The girls got to work – fixing their hair and putting on their best robes. Besides it being the day for the class trip to Hogsmeade, it was also Valentine's Day, and almost all the girls had a date. Narcissa rarely thought about boys, so she didn't mind going with just one or two friends. Regardless, she felt "inferior" next to the other particularly dressed-up girls, so she took some time to curl her hair slightly – just a little bit, so it wouldn't end up messy and frizzy, like it used to be. She tied half of the hair up into a small ponytail, with a blue ribbon. She had lost her comb, so she had to ransack her whole bed to find it. By the time she found it, she was already late, so she left the room without even bothering to look in the mirror.

Lucius walked with his friends toward the Great Hall, where the students were supposed to be assembled at before they left for their class trip. He was lost in his thoughts, as usual. When he entered the room, he scanned it for a familiar face. He didn't see anyone, but he did see another girl that he hadn't seen before. He was instantly drawn to her big sparkling eyes and rosy cheeks – but when his eyes travelled to her hair, he realized who it was. Narcissa.

"Lucius? Lucius! It's time to go!" his friend tapped him on the shoulder, bringing him back to reality.

Winter brushed against Narcissa's gloves and robes. She shivered and managed to convince her friends to stop at the Three Broomsticks, in order to escape from the freezing cold. The first thing she saw when she stepped in was Lucius and a man talking in a secluded corner. That must be his father. What is he doing here?

They were deep in talk, and they seemed suspicious and secretive.

"What can I get for you, ladies?" the young bartender chirped cheerfully.

"Just three Butterbeers, thank you." One of her friends, Alice Fortescue, gave him her best smile. Alice was supposed to be on a date with Frank Longbottom, but he fell sick just the day before, so she had decided to accompany Narcissa and some other friends.

A few minutes later, the drinks arrived, and Narcissa and her friends went on to talk about professors, boys, and schoolwork. In the corner of her eye, Narcissa spotted Lucius' father giving him something. She leaned over to see what it was. Right after her eyes had found a mysterious black pouch, she felt like she was being stared at – or rather, glared at. She looked up. Lucius immediately hid the pouch in his coat pocket.

"Good day, Cissy." He greeted her rather solemnly, and then stalked off in the other direction.

"Did you see that? I mean, how could a boy be so rude! He just walked off before you could say anything! What a strange boy! Am I right, Narcissa?" Alice beckoned.

She was about to answer, but it seemed that she had taken too long to ponder the question, because her friends had already moved on to another subject. Yes…what a strange boy…, she thought silently to herself.

Phew, that was close, Lucius thought in relief. Narcissa almost saw it….oh, I must never let her know that I'm a Death Eater…I mean, she'll definitely freak out…

Lucius was lost. His footprints were the only ones in the snow. He turned a few corners, crossed a few deserted streets, and then finally, he found signs of civilization. In the distance, he spotted a crowded joke shop. Now that's a good place to hide it…nobody will ever know…He decided to go in.

The joke shop could be described in one word: Colorful. Colors sprang from every wall and shelf, and the products and toys burst with energy. There were wizards and witches EVERYWHERE – some were playing with toys, some were talking with friends, bargaining with the owners, or paying for the products at the counter. He snuck in without anybody noticing him. He wandered around the shop, and pretty soon he found himself in a dark corner. There were only a few innocent children sitting around reading books, or testing out products. Right behind him was a shelf with a dark background of the night sky. Perfect. He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out the pouch. He tucked it behind a few products, and in front of the dark wallpaper – it blended in almost perfectly. Well, that would have to do…

Lucius turned around and walked out of the shop. Now he had some letter-writing to do….and a chance to practice his charms skills.

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Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.

It was the End of Year Exams, and Narcissa had stumbled upon a rather difficult question. She tapped her pencil against the wooden desk anxiously, and her heartbeat thumped along. She glanced at her now best friend, Alice, and noticed that she was looking quite nervous too. I am so failing, she thought to herself.

About half an hour later, Narcissa had just answered the last question, and was standing up to hand it in. When she was halfway to the teacher's desk, she heard Alice tap on her shoulder. They smiled anxiously at one another and then turned their papers in.

"Oh my god. That was SO hard! I couldn't remember half the answers. And what's more is– I studied! I actually studied! How could it be that I studied, and still couldn't get half the answers? Did you find it hard, Narcissa?" Alice stopped her chattering briefly.

"Yes, it was really difficult. I was so nervous, I almost forgot how to spell my name….." Narcissa laughed along with her.

"You have a nice name, Narcissa. Do you have a nickname? My cousins used to call me Al, but I absolutely hated it!"

"Oh, my sister and…well, some friends call me Cissy." Her mind was once agin drawn back to the incident with Lucius at Hogsmeade.

"That's actually quite okay…" and with that, they steered into another conversation.

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Lucius paced the length of his room anxiously. He peered out the window every few seconds or so. But still, his owl was not to be seen. He was waiting for a reply from one of the other Death Eaters. They must have gotten my letter by now…and Father had said that they would reply me… He couldn't stop worrying. Maybe I got the charm mixed up? Oh no….that would mean that the Ministry of Magic would be able to track it…No, I couldn't have gotten it wrong….I checked it ten times!

Just then, he heard the familiar screeching of his owl. He sighed with obvious relief. He plucked the small note from the beaks of the bird, and took a deep breath. He opened it up and scanned through the short message.

Lucius,

We have gotten the message informing us of the location. I am very much impressed by your charm skills – the letter was not tracked. And about your hiding skills - you're right – no one would ever find it there. We have set a date for it to happen: January 3rd. Until then, refrain from taking any action. And certainly try not to gain more enemies.

Your father.

He smiled at the compliments on the page – but then he stopped himself as guilt stabbed him. He sighed. He hated being evil, but since he had no choice, shouldn't he just continue? He didn't know what to do.