DARK HEARTS

Nadia Volkov and Natasha Grazinsky are no ordinary witches, though no one would guess their true motives. Not unless one gazed deep into their souls. But of course, that would be unadvisable. For these girls have the darkest of hearts…

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Chapter One - Nadia

A cold wind blew through the trees, sending shivers up my back and making me pull the blanket over my shoulders tighter around my body. I looked around suspiciously - it wasn’t the type of cold wind that had you wondering if snow was on its way, or remembering nostalgically the so seemingly far away warmth of the summer. No, it was a spine-chilling cold; the cold that signalled something was coming. And not something good, either.

I turned my head in the direction of the camp, and my ears picked up the faint shouts of my neighbours in the distance. Hesitantly, I closed the book I’d been reading with a snap and got to my feet, brushing dry flakes of mud off my blanket and straightening my skirt. Something was obviously happening, and I could tell I’d be needed.

Sure enough, soon I heard the familiar sound of the horn being blown, calling us all to meeting. Tucking my book under my arm, I broke into a run towards the firepit in the centre of the camp, where everyone was starting to assemble. I spotted Natasha and pushed my way through the array of people towards her, reaching to grab her arm and pull her closer to me.

“Nadia!” she beamed, as we took our place in the slowly forming crowd, standing on our tiptoes and peering over the shoulders of everyone in front of us to try and get a glimpse of what was going on.

“What’s happening?” I whisper frantically to her, and she gives me a look of confusion, before restoring her gaze to the ground. The whole crowd grew silent as a tall figure appeared through the gloom, with deathly white skin appearing to illuminate in the shine of our torches. I felt Natasha freeze beside me as the figure’s face came into view and found myself doing the same. This was it. He had come.

I watched our leader, Madame Elena walk forward towards the Dark Lord and held my breath. The meeting would be brief and two girls would be chosen. Or rather had been chosen.

“Myself and the Elders have made our decision as to who shall be partaking in our mission.” Madame’s voice rang through the night, sending a slight shiver down my spine. But then our visitor distracted me with an expression that caught me unawares. It was the first time I had seen him smile, though one could name his gesture with pleasure. It was cruel, twisted. For the first time i felt a little fear, though of course I would not let it show. There was a pause and then he answered, his voice genteel but snakelike as he responded with a tone of haunting pleasure.

“And who may these lovely ladies be? I hope you have not disappointed me, Elena.”

Elena smiled, but there was fear behind it. Turning, she locked eyes with me through the crowd and found Natasha beside me. And I knew - it was us. My heart quaked as she called and all heads turned to view us. The crowd parted and a clear path began to form between where Natasha and I and where Madame Elena and the Dark Lord were stood.

“Volkov. Grazinsky. Come.” Her voice chilled me to the bone, but once again I masked my feelings, walking forward with elegant precision, head bowed. Natasha stumbled beside me, holding onto my arm to stop herself from falling as, in her nervousness, she failed to notice a small stone in her path.

We came to the front of the crowd, and stopped. But Madame Elena made a small beckoning gesture with her bony index finger and so, with a deep breath, we continued walking towards her and the Dark Lord.

He was so close, I could almost touch him, and it was only my emotionless demeanour that stopped my from visibly shaking as I stood tall and raised my gaze up from the floor. Natasha’s arm gripped so tightly on my wrist that my hand was beginning to go white, but I barely noticed as I felt the Dark Lord’s deathly cold breath on my face. He reached out a long, elegant finger, and placed it under my chin, tilting my head up so that my eyes locked onto his. I sucked in my breath as I realised what he was doing, and forced myself not to block him out.

Memories sifted through my mind; from recent memories to memories I didn’t even remember I had. And I knew that everything I saw was being replayed to him. I tensed as he flicked through my past with the ease of someone skim-reading a book, pushing into every corner to extract every detail, making sure he saw no hint of resistance towards his side in my mind.

He withdrew, and gave me a small nod, a signal that there was nothing in my mind that displeased him. And then he looked at Natasha, she snapped her head up, and I watched as he sifted through her memories also. The crowd was silent; watching, waiting, to see what would happen.

“Volkov. Grazinsky.” the Dark Lord spoke slowly, with grace, taking his time over the words, enjoying the undivided attention that everyone gave him. There was something to his voice that made it impossible to not listen to, to not treat with the utmost respect, regardless of the fear it sent through you. “You shall be suitable for my cause. Come.”

He led us away from the crowd, which Madame Elena was left to deal with, and into a small hut on the outskirts of the village. It was dimly lit with a weakly-burning candle, but the Dark Lord fixed this, filling the room with a bright light with the flick of his wand. The hut, like the rest of the huts in the village, was much bigger on the inside than the outside - the result of several enchantments put on it by Madame Elena, and it was normally used for meetings of all sorts. I’d never been inside myself before, but it didn’t disappoint.

On the inside, it had a very modern taste - clean and sleek, without a speck of dust in sight. The ceiling was high and the walls were wide, and at the centre was a long, black table with several chairs all around it.

“Sit.” the Dark Lord commanded, and Natasha and I immediately took seats next to each other on one end of the table. With barely a movement in his wand and no words from his mouth, the Dark Lord conjured up a tall, handsome, black chair at the head of the table, and sat down, letting his snake - Nagini -  slide out of his sleeve and along the table.

“Volkov and Grazinsky…” he said slowly, his voice smooth like silk, as he stroke his hand down Nagini’s body as she moved. “You are good candidates, very good indeed.”

I exchanged a glance with Natasha for barely a split-second. Was that a compliment? Was that praise coming from the Dark Lord?

“You are hour witches, I do believe. “Excelling in Dark Magic”, as they say.”

“Yes, sir.” I mumbled.

“Perfect. You will be excellent for my plan.” twirled his wand around his fingertips, taking his time with his speech, so that we would take every detail in. “Do you know of a boy named Harry Potter?”

“We’ve heard of him, sir, but we don’t really know much about him.” Natasha stammered, and I nodded in agreement.

“I see.” the Dark Lord said. “There isn’t much you need to know, besides the fact that he is the enemy. You must remember that at all times, do you understand?” Natasha and I both nodded. “A verbal response would be preferred.” he said firmly, a sneer creeping into his voice.

“Yes, sir.” I replied immediately, and Natasha did the same. “Harry Potter is the enemy.”

“Very good.” the Dark Lord gave a small tilt of the head which I assume was supposed to be a nod. “Right now, he is in England, and in a couple of days he will be boarding the Hogwarts Express to start his fifth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. And you will do the same. You have been enrolled at the school as transfer students - Dumbledore was practically jumping at the opportunity to accept those from “different cultures”to his marvellous school.” he says sardonically, spitting out his words with disgust as he references Dumbledore, who I assume is the headmaster of Hogwarts.

“Your plan is simple.” the Dark Lord continued. “Befriend Harry Potter, and bring him to me. The rest is up for you to decide. Succeed, and you will be regarded with greatest admiration from my followers, and will have helped us get rid of the enemy for once and for all.” his expression suddenly turned colder than it had been before, if that was even possible, and I felt a shudder travel down my spine as the tone of his speech shifted completely. “Fail, and you will not see the light of day again.”

I glance at Natasha and the terrified expression on her face matches what I'm feeling inside. I don't show it, of course - my mouth stays a firm line, my eyes stay steely grey and my face stays straight and expressionless. But inside I'm more nervous than I am comfortable with - extreme emotions are really not what I do well.

The Dark Lord called Nagini back to him and, once the snake was safely tucked up his sleeve, raised himself from his chair, pushing it backwards slowly and standing up. He looks at us, for a moment, his red eyes staring harshly into our souls.

“Do not fail me.” he hissed and, with that, he left the hut, his robes sweeping along behind him. “You understand the consequences.”

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Chapter Two - Natasha

As Nadia and I walked through Kings Cross Station, I felt a strange feeling of calm settle in my stomach. Perhaps it was because we had finally reached our destination, or the fact we were getting closer to Hogwarts by the minute. Either way, I was much less jitterish.

I could see that Nadia, however, was not in the same mood as I was. On the contrary, in fact, she seemed to be getting more nervous by the minute. But, of course, no one else could tell how she was feeling inside, how she was nervous and concerned and overall slightly terrified. Because Nadia was one of those people who never showed her true emotions, or rather only let slip of them through slight hints and gestures. She seemed to keep this mask of confidence, ease and sometimes even boredom about her, but deep beneath she could often be feeling a whole lot different.

I prided myself on being one of the only people who knew was Nadia was truly feeling. Having been friends from a young age, we knew each other inside out and I’d learnt to read her feelings. Even now, when she was dressed up to the nines in suitable muggle clothes, striding along with grace and meaningfulness. But the slight tremor that crossed her face every minute or so and the way her eyes scoured the crowds of muggles told me her true feelings. She was extremely nervous.

Neither of us were very confident in most situations, but with my new found calm I comforted her with a squeeze of her arm and pointed to the sign nearby.

“Look, Platform Nine.” I turned my head slightly to view another sign and nodded to it. “And there’s platform ten, meaning…”

“That must be the barrier.” She said, pointing and striding forward, heeled shoes clacking on the platform. Steering my trolley with care, I followed her briskly, trying to ignore the looks we were getting from passers by. We had been receiving quick checks all the way through the station, though I suppose it was flattering. True, both of us were dressed  immaculately, and true, we were both exotic in look and taste. The wolf-whistles, however simply triggered distaste and it was best to ignore them. The only people we wanted to admire us were the friends of our victim and possibly he himself.

And, as we approached the barrier, this seemed to work. For as we turned our troles, there was unmistakable ‘woah’ as we passed a group nearby. Nadia swirled round at once, myself following suit, and we were greeted by none other than the boy himself, though I believe his tall and somewhat awed friend had been the source of the admiration. There was a slight pause as myself and Nadia looked them up and down and in the blink of an eye made assumptions. The girl next to them, clutching a grouchy-looking ginger cat, seemed frumpy but intelligent at a glance. The Ginger boy I assumed to be not the brightest of sorts, though his sister, or what I assumed to be his sister, a red-headed and pretty girl, didn’t look to be dim at all. And Harry himself, well, he seemed distracted, until we turned. There was a split second when our eyes met, but I soon turned away and addressed the red headed boy, who stood with his mouth slightly open.

“Are you heading for hogwarts?” I tried not to use a demanding tone but failed slightly.

“Erm...er…” The ginger distinctly reminded me of a fish as he blinked and failed to answer, and I received my replied from the frumpy girl instead.

“Yes.” Her smile was brisk, revealing pretty white teeth. “Are you new students?”

This time Nadia answered, smiling in return, though unfortunately hers was not as genuine. “Yes. My name is Nadia Volkov.”

I could see the girls eyes light up with interest as she realised we were foreign, but she ventured no further due to the restriction of English courtesies. “I’m Hermione Granger. Pleased to meet you.” She held out a hand and Nadia looked down at it in bemusement, so I took over again. Nadia was not the most welcoming of sorts.

“I’m Natasha Grazinksy.” I turned to look at the redheaded boy. “And you are?”

“Ron Weasley.” He smiled uneasily. “Umm - nice to meet you.”

I could hear Nadia sniff with slight humour beside me but luckily the other party didn’t seem to hear it. There was a slight pause as I nudged her and then the girl Hermione spoke.

“Are you fifth years?” I turned back to her and saw the way she subconsciously lifted her chest to draw attention to a shining badge there. It looked to be something to do with prefects, but I ignored it, simply answering.

“Yes, we’re both fifteen.” I found myself wondering if we looked it. I had always felt mature for my age and no innocence remained for either of us. I turned to look at Harry and cocked my head to one side in pretence, squinting my eyes slightly. However, I didn’t get the chance of saying hello, as Hermione leapt in at that point.

“Do you know how to get onto the platform? You can come with us if you like.”

I opened my mouth to answer but Nadia butted in, annoying me slightly as she ignored my plans to get in with the group and replied; “Yes, thank you. We’re just going now.”

And without a word, she grabbed me and started to haul me towards the barrier. Confused, I simply shouted my thanks back to the bemused group and took my trolley in hand, following the seemingly fearless Nadia as she ran through the barrier. Despite being a little nervous, I braved it at the same speed, intrigued to why she had broken off the conversation. I was so curious that I failed to be amazed at the fact we had just entered an 19th century-like station that couldn’t have been located in Kings Cross itself. In a normal mood I would have started wondering how they’d made it and what spellwork was used, but unfortunately I was robbed of that as Nadia continued to walk briskly in the direction of a large pillar and proceed to hide behind it.

“Tasha!” She called. “Tasha come here now!”

With concern, I steered my trolled to stand by her, also concealed by the pillar.

“What is it?” I asked with worry. “Why are we hiding?”

She turned to glance round the pillar and sighed with relief before turning to me. “Snape.” Was the one word she breathed. My heart quaked as soon as it left her mouth and I looked at her with panic.

“Is he following us? He’ll know what’s happening...he could…”

“No one knows which side he’s on except for Albus Dumbledore and the Dark Lord. We have to stay clear of him.” Nadia reminded me. “And yes, he could be following us.” She sighed, and looked behind again. “Madame Elena warned us of this.”

I nodded and tried to keep down the slight feeling of fear I was experiencing, attempting to reassure both Nadia and myself. “We’re going to be at Hogwarts, though.” I spoke quietly. “He can’t get to use there.”

“Nothing stopped Barty Crouch from infiltrating it last year.” Answered Nadia, her fear beginning to show. “We have to be careful, Tasha.”

“I know. I’m not saying I’m going to go swanning about looking for him.” I said with irritation. “Come on, he can’t have come through the barrier.” I got up and steered my trolley to come out from behind the pillar, Nadia following me with a sigh. I like to think I’m the more practical of the two of us, though not the one who’s in charge. We seem to take turns. But always we’re looking out for each other. Knowing a person from absolute childhood binds you to them, whether you like it or not, and in our cult the case was exactly so between Nadia and Me. We’re similar in many ways, also; our love for dark magic and our ability to cast it, our quick minds and fast reactions. Our Dedication to evil.

I pulled up in view of where the train should have been rolling in and hurriedly searched the crowd for Severus Snape. Despite my higher level of ease than Nadia, I was still concerned . And ultimately more logical. Everyone has their faults, and Nadia sometimes neglected to attend to that side of things. But I was always there checking, making sure everything was alright. The same happened when we were required to express our full evil. Nadia never failed to express her dark nature, and by doing that, helped me uncover mine. Needless to say, we made a good team.

As we searched the crowd for our possible follower, there came an echoing chugging noise from the tunnel, and by the time our heads had turned from the all-important search, a scarlet steam engine was rolling into view. I nodded to Nadia and we went forward, eager to get on the train but pushed back by the crowds. Exchanging glances again, I could see she was just as exasperated as me. We both hated queues and crowds, the barging muggles and magical folk pushing and shoving. But Nadia’s expression soon changed, as did mine. She smiled and I realised her thoughts and smiled. Making sure my flow of concentration was minimal, I created a miniscule thread of black magic in my hands, a wisp of darkness. At once it had the desired effects. People slowed down, not quite realising there was melancholy a little like a dementor’s in the air. And as they slowed and felt a tinge of misery, Nadia and I came through the crowd with ease, climbing onto the train with smiles on our faces.