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 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.”

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.