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…

Chapter
Three - Nadia

(Grace Waterson)

The
train was extremely busy - we walked down its entire length and couldn’t see a
single empty carriage. As we lugged our heavy trunks along, I couldn’t help
glancing around every few moments, keeping watch for anyone, or anything, which
looked suspicious. It wasn’t that I was scared - or, at least, that’s what I
told myself - but I just wanted to be aware of everything. I needed to
be aware of everything. It gives me a sense of being in control, something
which I simply cannot do without. I need to know everything that’s going on;
every single factor so that I can analyse every possible outcome. I can’t leave
anything to chance.

Natasha
stopped outside a carriage almost all the way down, occupied by three boys who
looked about our age. Before I could say anything, Natasha was fearlessly
sliding open the door to the compartment, ready to introduce us to these
strangers.

“And
what exactly do you think you’re doing?” The boy nearest the window stood up
immediately, glaring daggers at Natasha and I. He was tall and slim, with pale
skin, platinum blond hair and cold blue-grey eyes. A smug sneer was plastered
onto his face as he advanced on us, twirling his wand in his fingertips
amusedly.

“I’m
Natasha.” Natasha said calmly, seemingly unperturbed by the boy’s hostility.
“This is Nadia. We’re new students, fifth years. We were wondering if we could
sit with you.” She said it like it was a completely normal request, and the boy
suddenly burst out laughing uncontrollably.

“Crabbe…
Goyle…” he turned to his two friends who were sitting behind him, stuffing
their faces with chocolate. The looked up immediately, and copied the boy’s
laughter, although I’m pretty sure they’d been paying too much attention to
their chocolate to notice what was going on. “Did you hear that?” the boy
continued between his laughs. “These two… they asked… to sit with us!”

This
time Crabbe and Goyle did start to laugh properly, and I could feel Natasha in
front of me starting to tense anxiously, as she took a step back. I felt my
blood boiling - the boy could at least have just told us to go away - he didn’t
have to make fun of Natasha.

The
boy finally stopped laughing and looked at Natasha straight in the eyes, his
face now completely composed and his expression firm.

“Do
you know who I am?” he asked quietly, menace lacing his tone of voice.

“No.”
Natasha replied, keeping her voice calm and level.

“I
am Draco Malfoy.” the boy told us proudly, as though that was supposed to make
some difference. He waited for us to react to this new revelation, but we stood
clueless as we were before. “Draco Malfoy.” he sighed. “You ignorant
imbeciles - let me guess, you’ll be mudbloods then, won’t you?”

“Purebloods,
actually.” I said matter-of-factly, examining the chipped black polish on my
fingernail like I couldn’t care less about this conversation. Draco gave out a
little laugh.

“Purebloods,
you say? I don’t think so. I know every pureblood family in the book, and I’ve
never heard of you… what did you even say your names were?”

“Natasha
Grazinksy and Nadia Volkov. It was a pleasure making your acquaintance.”
I gave Draco a sickening smile and pulled Natasha out of the compartment,
sliding the door shut in front of us and giving Draco a sarcastic little wave
as we walked away and continued our search along the train.

We
came to a carriage towards the end which was almost empty, except for a girl
who looked about our age, maybe a year or so younger, sitting in the corner,
her shoulder pressed against the glass of the window and slowly getting damp as
the condensation soaked into her sleeve. She had long, wavy, dirty-blonde hair
which flowed past her shoulders and was reading some sort of magazine, her wand
tucked behind her ear like a pencil.

“Let’s
go in here.” Natasha said with a smile, sliding the door to the compartment
open before I could object. I followed her in with a moody frown on my face,
and I could practically hear Natasha sigh at my unwillingness to engage in any
remotely social situation.

The
girl didn’t look up as we entered the compartment, but merely spoke to us as
though she was.

“Hello.”
she said, her voice dreamy, almost cloud-like. “Are you transfer students?”

“Yes,”
Natasha said with a smile, sitting down opposite the girl. “I’m Natasha
Grazinksy, this is Nadia Volkov.” I grimaced slightly, forcing my mouth into a
strained smile. The girl nodded and continued to read her magazine. Upside
down, might I add.

“So,
what’s your name?” Natasha asked kindly, and I rolled my eyes - why did she voluntarily
wish to strike up conversation? I don’t understand people sometimes.

“Luna
Lovegood,” the girl replied, still not looking up. “A lot of people call me
“Loony” Lovegood instead though, I’m not really sure why. Maybe it’s supposed
to be funny.” she said it calmly, as though she really was just curious, and not
at all bothered. Natasha nodded slightly awkwardly, before looking at me as
though she expected me to suggest something for us to talk about. I gave her a
glare and a shrug in response and she rolled her eyes.

Both
of our gazes were suddenly diverted by a slight disturbance in the corridor
outside the compartment, where Harry Potter was stood with the ginger girl that
we saw with him outside the platform and another boy with brown hair. They
seemed to me arguing about something, and then the ginger girl appeared to huff
at them, before sliding the door to our compartment open.

“Hi,”
she said to the three of us, “is it okay if we sit in here?” I averted my gaze
to the ground in an attempt to seem vaguely civil - no doubt there was a glare
on my face; there permanently was. Natasha looked at me uncomfortably for a
second before smiling and nodding, gesturing to the empty seats.

“Thanks,”
the ginger girl smiled, sitting down opposite me and next to Luna. Potter sat
down next to her, and the other kid sat down next to me. The way he sat as far
away from me as possible without making it obvious didn’t go unnoticed by me -
as I said before, I notice everything.

“I
don’t think I actually introduced myself earlier,” the ginger girl continued,
smiling at Natasha. “I’m Ginny Weasley - Ron’s brother. This is Harry, as you
know, and this is Neville Longbottom.” she pointed at the boy beside me and I
let my brain internally snicker at his name. On the outside, however, I kept
cool and calm. Obviously.

“Nice
to meet you,” Natasha said kindly, though I had a niggling feeling that she was
putting it on. “I’m Natasha and this is Nadia.”

The
train journey passed so slowly and I barely listened to what everyone
was saying. Neville went on and on about this oh-so-amazing plant of
his, and ended up managing to squirt huge jets of thick, dark green, horrible
smelling liquid all around the compartment whilst explaining its defence
mechanism, or something. I’m pretty sure I managed to destroy all hopes of a
friendship with him at that point, when I gave him my dirtiest glare as I wiped
green goo out of my hair. Not that I was particularly bothered about making
friends with him anyway.

Ginny
made some big deal of casting a spell to make it all go away - not before some
girl managed to come in and awkwardly leave again; from the look on Potter’s
face, she was obviously his crush - and all traces of green liquid were gone
from the compartment. I kind of zoned out from that moment onwards, only
briefly aware of the food trolley which came along about ten minutes later.
Potter’s friends arrived a short while after - the dim one that was Ginny’s
sister and the other girl; Hermione. They joined the discussion and I really
couldn’t be less bored by what they were talking about. At one point I did
manage to glance up at Natasha, and she looked like she was having a great
time, laughing and smiling with the others. That, of course, just made me sulk
even more.

Eventually
the train started to slow, before stopping by a little platform that was barely
visible in what little illumination there was. Everyone stood up and pulled
their trunks out, and filed out of the compartment. I was the last out, behind
Natasha, and I sighed as I saw the whole length of the train bubbling with
excited teenagers. This was what I’d have to put up with for a whole year.

Chapter
Four - Natasha

(Lilia Le Fay)

“Firs’
years! Firs’ years follow me!”

I
turned to look at Nadia, wondering if we too were first years. Once again we
were feeling a little lost, surrounded by swarms of students and unsure of what
to do.

“Are
we first years, then?” I asked her curiously, not expecting an answer. Sure
enough, she shrugged, and, knowing she was more nervous than me, I decided to
take charge, approaching the giant of a man around which the first years were
clustering.

“Excuse
me, sir, but myself and my friend here are just starting Hogwarts but are in
fifth year...do we need to come with you?” I asked as pleasantly as I could,
despite feeling a little overwhelmed at being peered at by the enormous figure
of what I was told was the Gamekeeper. His beetle-black eyes looked slightly
confused and then he came round, as if remembering something.

“Volkov
and Grazinsky, is it?” He questioned. “Startin’ in fifth year?”

I
nodded, not quite sure what to say. He still seemed to be looking at us in a
strange way. I could see Nadia was looking wary again, wondering if this man
somehow knew who - or what - we were. To be honest, though, he didn’t look very
bright, and just seemed to be slow, so I sent her a look of reassurance before
turning back to him once more as he spoke.

“Well,
as you’re just starting and still need to be sorted, I take you in the boats.
This way.” He turned and began walking towards a small dock. Nadia and I
exchanged glances and followed him, slightly bemused to the strange way of
travelling to the school. Only the eleven year olds were coming with us, Harry
and the others, after waving to us from across the crowd, were heading in a
different direction. Nadia seemed to be thinking the same thing, also looking
irritated to be put with first years. We were above such things. But, having
been told Hogwarts was a sorry excuse for a school, I wasn’t surprised.

I
saw her look over the crowd of squabbling eleven year olds and clench her hand
by her side. In an instant, I nudged her and shook my head. I knew we shouldn’t
have done it at the station, either, and with her strength of mood at the
moment, Hagrid and the first-years would be sure to notice. We couldn’t go
subduing crowds with misery at Hogwarts - no suspicions could be aroused. She
looked irritated at me and held out her hand again, but at that moment the
Gamekeeper called to us from where he was ushering the first years into boats.

“Here,
yeh have yer own boat.” He said in a friendly manner. “Yeh might not want to
sit with this lot.”

Nadia
unclenched her fist and looked at me. There was a slight pause as we exchanged
glances and then I answered. “That’d be great. Thank you.”

He
smiled at my polite answer, which was surprisingly warm for me. “Ok, there yeh
go.” He gestures to the last boat in the line. “Yeh don’t have to row, it’ll go
by ‘self. Just steer with the tiller.” He said, stepping into a boat himself.
Leading the way, I approached the rowing boat and carefully boarded it, Nadia
following me. She was a little nervous, I could see, as she’d never liked water
much and couldn’t swim.. Usually, when we’re schooled in our magic, we’re kept
out of the way of others, but because of my blood I had been exposed to water.
Nadia, however, had not, and was always wary. You see, my Aunt, by some flaw,
had been a water witch, and I wasn’t too bad around it. To be honest, though, I
nearly hadn’t been chosen for the task because of my impurities. But I had
proven myself worthy and now, here I was. A dark witch ready for her mission in
life. To destroy Harry Potter.

I
reached forward to hold the tiller as the boat began to move and we came out of
the dock to gaze upon the magnificent sight of the castle. It glowed with
golden light from the windows, a dark, majestic building atop if the hill. Even
Nadia, often unappreciative of beauty, held her eyes upon it with a hunt of
pleasure. I could hear the awe in her tone, however much she tried to hide it,
as she spoke to me.

“So
this is it.” She said, eyes still on the castle. “Hogwarts.” She turned to look
back at me, black eyes dark in the night. “Are you nervous, ‘Tasha?”

I
looked back up at the castle and admitted to it. “Yes. But only of failing.”

She
nodded. “I am, too.” Then there’s silence again as we drift across the water,
both thinking our own thoughts. I knew our answers were lies, though, because
we were both scared of something different. The unknown. What we would face at
Hogwarts and what would happen if we failed. But I knew that it had been
difficult enough to confess one of her fears to me, and I left it at that.

Once
moored, Nadia and I climbed gracefully from the boat, being sure to mind the
skirts of our long black dresses as we stepped onto the shore. Unlike the other
students we weren’t wearing robes or uniforms - nothing would make us dress in
the clumsy combinations of the school. Instead, we still wore the colour of our
magic - a deep, dark black. A witch of our kind will never wear any other
colour; the same going for witches of other kinds. To signify their powers to
others of their kind, they will dress in the colour that binds their magic.
Dark Blue for the water witches. Dark, flame-orange for fire witches. Black for
the Hour Witches, our kind. And so on.

The
gamekeeper, whose name was Rubeus Hagrid, or so Nadia had informed me when
pulling up to moor (though where she learnt it I have no idea), followed by the
little group of first years, approached the great wooden door that fronted the
castle. Myself and Nadia followed, coming up at the back of the group as Hagrid
raised a gigantic fist and pounded three heavy knocks upon the door. I
exchanged glances at Nadia as it opened and the group began to pass through,
and she at once nodded and raised her head, smiling a beaming smile. We wanted
to make a good impression here - we needed to befriend as many students as
possible to get close to Harry Potter, and make a good impression on the staff
to avoid suspicion or other problems. Following Nadia’s example, I gracefully
climbed the steps up to the door and entered the castle with a smile on my
face, attempting to look awed at the interior and pleased to be there. But,
although I wasn’t distinctly feeling those emotions, I couldn’t help but
experience slight pleasure as I entered. Standing in the entrance hall, it
almost felt like I was home at Darkfell, although the warm atmosphere and cosy
feel could not be found there. There was no darkness to be found in the
bustling halls of Hogwarts. Well, except for Nadia and I, of course.

A
few seconds after we’d settled, the rest of the crowd chattering once Hagrid
had disappeared and Nadia and I silent as we stood there, waiting; a member of
staff strode into the hall briskly, addressing us once she came to a halt.

“Right,
are we all ready? Make sure you’re not untidy or anything and we’ll proceed.’’
She spoke swiftly and explained what the rush was on her next sentence. ‘’We’re
running late so we’ll need to get started at once. Now, follow me!’’ The doors
of the great hall opened and she led the whispering  group of first years
in, Nadia and I, now too nervous to care about first impressions, following
with straight, pale faces. Neither of us would admit we were nervous, but I
could see Nadia was trembling beside me and her stony facial expression was
simply to hide the fear she felt underneath. It had always been that way - she
had been the clever one, working out all the plans with cunning and precision
and I had been the brave one, going through with those plans as best as I
could. I wouldn’t go as far to say that I was stronger, only I was not so
nervous of people and could act more friendly - not that I was proud of it. I
never liked acting friendly, but often I had to for both of us.

The
member of staff, who had introduced herself as Professor McGonagall, directed
us to gather in a group, Nadia and I standing a little apart from it and simply
scanning the hall, examining everything. Nadia was usually more observant than
me, but had also shown that it was always beneficial. So I followed her tactics
and flickered my eyes over the room, noticing many gazes were held upon me and
her, among them being Draco Malfoy at the Slytherin table. Nadia didn’t seem to
notice him - she was to held on inspecting the line of professors who sat
overlooking the students, but I definitely did. His expression, though,
surprised me - instead of being sour and angry, he seemed simply interested and
when catching my gaze, looked down politely. Confused, I concentrated on the
Gryffindor table, finding Harry, Neville and Ginny there as well as the
bushy-haired girl and ginger boy that we met with them on the platform.
McGonagall started reading out the names as I responded to Ginny’s friendly wave
from the table as naturally as possible, though it was a little too stiff. The
problem is, from childhood we’re taught not to be friendly. Never to show
warmth except to our own kind. So Madam Elena, the leader of our Hour Witch
cult, was faced with a difficult task of picking two heartless and cold witches
who were not only strong and able spell casters, clever minded and fifteen
years of age, but also able to fit in with other teenagers so we could entrap
Harry Potter.

And
that’s why Nadia and I were chosen - not because we were especially talented or
dark-minded, but because we made a good pair and I could act friendly and
chivalrous - to a certain degree. When I was little my mother had almost
abandoned me because of my faults in that department - I had a tendency to seem
a little too warm - but in the end I had worked my water blood to my advantage,
showing I could be both dark and useful. However, I still had to watch out -
any sign of a natural friendliness from me meant danger, and I would have to
kill that feeling and bury it as best as I could.

The
sorting progressed and I realised that myself and Nadia were going to be sorted
last - probably due to our age. And, as it drew nearer towards the end of the
alphabet, I felt myself grow increasingly nervous, and could see Nadia had
stopped observing and was simply staring into space - a sign that she was
definitely panicking inside. I think our nerves could most likely be blamed on,
not the fact that we were scared of which house we were going to be sorted
into, but about sitting in front of a hall full of people - all our lives we
had only ever socialised within a close group of witches. Never had we met
anyone outside of our kind and never had we seen anything else of the wizarding
world. So you could understand why the tension was building as the letter ‘T’
was dealt with and the last three first years were called on the the letter ‘W’
- triplets, by the look of it, who all went into Hufflepuff. Desperately trying
to take my mind off the moment to come, I concentrated on Beatrice, Betty and
Belinda Wilkinson heading off to a cheering Hufflepuff table. But my attention
was soon called for, McGonagall raising the scroll she held once more and
calling clearly ‘Volkov, Nadia!’

My
concentration on the three triplets broke as I jerked my head round to look at
Nadia, who looked at me then moved to walk towards the stool. She figured it
out quicker than me - she was older so was therefore going first. I realised it
pretty quickly though, but after that my mind was on other things. I felt very
alone, standing there and watching tensely as she sat down upon the stool,
hands slightly trembling, face set in stone, and had the hat placed on her
head. However, neither she nor I had anything to fear about house matters -
only five seconds of silence passed before the Hat shouted at the top of it’s
voice;

“SLYTHERIN!”

The
table burst into applause as Nadia slipped elegantly off the stool and headed
for the table, wearing a slight smile and taking a seat next to a ginger boy
the other side of Malfoy. I had no time to watch Malfoy or Nadia, because the
next minute McGonagall was calling.

“Grazinsky,
Natasha!”

The
hall seemed so still as I approached the lone stool, McGonagall smiling at me
slightly as I moved to sit down. All eyes seemed to be upon me and I found
myself sweating as my self-consciousness returned. Taking a leaf out of Nadia’s
book, I set my face in stone and simply waited for it to be over. It would only
take five seconds, I thought, as the hat was placed on my head. I’d go into
Slytherin automatically.

“Five
seconds, mmm? You injure my judgement, missy.”

Startled
by the voice in my head, I jumped slightly, and tried not to blush as I
regained my mental control. However the hat, it seemed, was not finished with
me.

“Ooh,
look at that sorrow. Your heart it filled with misery, lass.”

I
forgot myself and felt confusion flood my brain. Sorrow? Misery? I was not sad,
only evil. This hat was off it’s rocker, surely.

“Insane,
you think I am?” It answers back with a patronising laugh. “You’ve been
rejected, my dear. You don’t want to see it but you’re not what you think you
are.”

I
was starting to think the Hat was just as evil as I was, trying to make me
doubt myself. With resilience, I retorted; “Stop trying to twist me and get
on with it.”

I
could hear it’s voice was grim now. “Oh, you’re dark you are. But there is
light in you, my girl. You just need a chance to find it.” I felt it move as it
opens it’s mouth to announce it. However, amidst the rebellion in my hat to this rude,
judgemental hat, dread swells alarmingly. Doubt. Of course I’m a
Slytherin, I tell myself, of course, of course….

My
grey eyes wander to find Nadia’s watchful black ones. Luna’s starry gaze
watches me from the corner of my eye. The hat clears its throat.

“GRYFFINDOR!”