I stare into the fire in the common room, gazing into the flames and dwelling on my thoughts again. My head has been a huge mess these past few days, not that I was not aware this could happen at Hogwarts before I came here - I just didn’t think it would happen to me. However, I’ve underestimated my ability to overthink things - just as I’m doing now. So, clearing my head, I close my eyes and concentrate on the heat coming off the fire and remember the first time I met a fire witch. Hours Witches rarely meet with other variations of our species, but when you’re a student of darkness you must meet one of every kind, and myself and Nadia did. However, the first other kind of witch we ever met was one of a fire clan. Raudur, her name was. To be quite frank, I had never met a more evil witch outside our Hours Clan. Cruel, harsh and destructive, Raudur burnt an entire house filled with Muggles down right before our very eyes. The screams of the people dying inside, the crying of an infant, did not stir myself and Nadia, but nor were we laughing and screaming with enjoyment as Raudur did. Orange eyes blazing, red hair wild around her sharp, exotic face, we were genuinely terrified of her. But oh, we learnt so much from that woman. So much about what truly defined evil. Darkness isn’t a guise you wear like a cloak, darkness cannot be feigned. It is a parasite within you that grows and consumes until you are completely at one with the deep, dark black. As I sit here by the fire, faced with the task of finding my darkness once more, I return to my teaching, recalling all I had ever been taught. I remember the children burning in the house that night, the group of fishermen killed slowly and painfully by frostbite by the Ice witch Nadia and I learnt from later on, the old man crying over his crops as his livelihood was destroyed by a green witch who payed us a visit. I picture their tears falling to the ground, the tearing anguish in their hearts. And once I am done, I feel joy swell within me. No pity comes, only glee. I am a true hours witch. I know who I am.

‘’Natasha?’’ A voice causes my eyes to snap open and me to turn round in a flash, only to see Harry Potter himself standing behind me. ‘’You okay?’’

I crease my brow confusedly, unaware of how strange I looked a moment before, smiling cruelly in the firelight with my eyes closed and my face accented by the glow of the flames. ‘’I’m fine.’’ Is my plaintive answer.

‘’Right - ok.’’ He laughs awkwardly and turns away, but I know I can’t let him go. It’s the perfect opportunity for a bonding conversation.

‘’Are Ron and Hermione around?’’ I enquire, knowing full well they were not.

‘’No.’’ Answers Harry glumly before silence follows. However, I realise he’s actually settling in the common room and the boy takes a seat as I return my previous poise of staring into the fire. I can’t go back to my memories now, though, otherwise he’ll sense my true nature. Believing that I am actually evil is working at this moment for me, pretending that I am actually dark inside.

I turn to look at Harry as he takes out a book I don’t recognise and finally see the chance to start a conversation. ‘’What’re you reading?’’ I move to take a seat next to him on one of the plush red velvet couches and look over his shoulder.

‘’Just something for potions.’’ He says in a bored voice. I examine the page and find it to be dull, understanding his tone.

‘’Wow. That’s as boring as you can get. Do scholars never learn that writing textbooks such as these are a waste of time?’’ I comment boldly, actually sharing my real opinion.

Harry laughs. ‘’I wish they would.’’ He snaps the book shut before turning to me. Obviously he has no sticking power when it comes to school work - unless it’s Defense Against the Dark Arts. ‘’You don’t have any interesting news, do you?’’

‘’Gossip?’’ I question, raising an eyebrow.

‘’No, no, just - do you have anything interesting to talk about.’’ He answers, grinning slightly. It’s looking at his face at the moment that makes me realise he's had a bad day and just wants to talk to someone. ‘’I dunno, tell me about your home.’’

‘’What - Russia?’’ I crease my brow.

‘’Yeah.’’ He turns to me. Clearly this isn’t an interrogation, but neither is it light hearted conversation. I can sense he wants to know more about me. ‘’What’s it like?’’

‘’I…’’ My voice trails off. What part of it can I tell him? ‘’Well, it’s in the remote countryside...the nearest city is Norilsk - but that’s still very far away.’’ I begin, catching his attention as I gain a slight Russian accent. ‘’There’s always snow - and nearby a pine forest that is dark and mystical, where you can find the most wonderful creatures - creatures that haven’t even been recorded yet, creatures that both fascinate and terrify you. Wood nymphs come out of their dens and sing you as you walk, but the songs are not really songs but more wild, howling crescendos that drift through the night and call the wolves to their side.’’ My voice starts to become far away as I recall the home I miss more than I let on. ‘’There’s no Muggle pollution - the sky is a dark blue-black every night and the stars bright against the dark canvas of the evening. Sunsets are lilac and purple and it often seems like a galaxy has appeared just to say goodnight, there are so many swirling, dark colours. Even the rain in mystical, when it patters on the roof and grows steadily louder until it seems the skies are raging to keep the snow away. But the snow always comes; quiet and soft in the night, muting footsteps and turning the world white in a second, calling forth the white hares that emerge from their burrows and bring their magic with them. Swirls of ice appear on frosted windows, enchantments comes from nature, and winter brings a whole new feeling. A feeling that, even without magic, there is still magic with us - all around us.’’

Harry’s been silent as he listened, apparently spellbound, but speaks as I end my monologue, my thoughts moving into my head as I stare into space.

‘’It sounds...beautiful.’’ I’m surprised by this comment - I’ve picked up that Ronald and Harry - and most of the other teenage boys in my year - are hopeless at appreciating the beautiful things in life, but it seems my account of my home has touched Harry and actually triggered him to speak genuinely.

‘’It is.’’ I say dreamily, memories flooding back. Hours Witches see the beauty in nature, but not like other people - they like dark, wild surroundings; misty pine woods, echoing caves, towering mountains, and I appreciate the same nature. Scotland does little to compare to Russia, but it still captivates me, in a way - though it’s slightly too tame for my liking.

‘’What about your home, Natasha?’’ Harry turns to survey me, eves curious. I can see now, that he’s trying to learn more about me, but I can’t figure out why. However, I can't say much of my home without stirring suspicion, so I choose my words carefully and give nothing away.

‘’My home is no where near as special as it’s surroundings - Nadia and I lived in a remote hall until we came here with a few distant family members. They weren’t anyone special.’’ I answer. A little of the statement is true - we did board in the hall before the mission, but we were students and the lowest of the low, living among High Priestesses of Darkness, not only learning our lessons but running their errands and waiting on them with honour. But, thinking about the vast building in which I grew up, I suddenly find myself drifting into a faraway mood again, describing the details of my old home. ‘’It was like a labyrinth - a castle-like hall built in the seventeenth century - with frosted windows and secret corridors that, when you follow them, make you feel like you’ll never turn back. And when the wind blows and the snow falls, the eeries howling of the wolves and the wind rocks you to sleep in the big attics with their twisting staircases and hidden nooks and crannies where treasures can be stowed and secrets can be kept. The fires in the rooms are not golden and red but instead of black and blue flames that are the only source of light in the dark rooms in which you felt both safe and secure but also on the edge of adventure. The dark hall felt both ancient and lifelike...as if you never knew quite what was coming…like home.’’

My words don’t make sense to Harry, I can see that. Most people define home as somewhere they feel safe, somewhere they can forget their cares and relax, a warm building in which everything is cosy and warm. But that’s not my idea of home - Voronserdtse Castle, the hall I speak of, is. Everything about the castle whispers darkness and there’s no light to be found there. When I was a child I used to be scared of wandering the dark corridors, though Nadia was always at home, and even now shivers run down my spine as I think about it - but over time I have learnt to love it because of the darkness in my heart, and the shivers do not upset me, more make me long for me home.

There’s another pause as my speech ends and Harry is silent. Realising that he’s dwelling on what I’ve said and that I said too much, I quickly question him, snapping out of my previous mood. ‘’What about you? Where would you call your home?’’

Harry creases his brow, eyes turning to look at me and becoming less far away. ‘’It’d have to be Ron’s home, where his family live. A house called The Burrow.’’

This information makes me frown, a little perplexed. ‘’Do you live with Ronald’s family, then?’’

Harry laughs. ‘’I wish. But no, I have to live with my Aunt and Uncle most of the holidays. They’re Muggles.’’

I can’t help but screw my face up with distaste. I loathe and detest Muggles, and, judging by Harry’s vocal tone, his Aunt and Uncle would do nothing to prove me wrong. ‘’They’re not pleasant, I take it?’’

‘’Nope. Not at all.’’ Harry answers. ‘’I mean, they’re family, but I’ve never been able to regard them in the way I do Ron’s family, who have basically adopted me.’’

I smile at the humour in his voice but my expression soon becomes reflective as I think of my own family. ‘’Family is like that.’’ I say, my voice a little far away and holding melancholic ring to it.

Harry looks at me curiously. ‘’What about your family, Natasha?’’

‘’I…’’ My answer is hesitant as I try to think of a way round it. I can never lie - my deceiving skills are atrocious so I tend to have to bend information if I’m asked direct questions such as the ones Harry is putting to me. ‘’I have a Mother.’’ I state a little rigidly, then turn to him, my next comment dismissive. ‘’But I don’t see her often.’’

Harry nods, once again appearing to dwell on what I’ve just said. Suddenly, Nadia’s words echo in my head, words she spoke to me in an argument with her a week ago: ‘‘You don’t realise that he’s the enemy, do you?’’ Suddenly, alarm races through me and I know that I have made a mistake. By opening up to Harry Potter, however slightly I did it, he now knows more about me. And Nadia’s right, he is the enemy. And I must stick to the plan.

‘’Well, your life certainly sounds exciting.’’ Suddenly he’s speaking again, adding a laugh at the end of his sentence. However, his words simply make me resolute in the fact that I will give no more away.

‘’Compared to yours? Pffft.’’ I use humour as a fallback.

He laughs again and I feel a sense of achievement. Despite not wanting to be chummy with him, I seem to have succeeded in being so - which was one of Mine and Nadia’s aims, you could say. As always, the plan has returned to me and my focus has returned. There’s more silence - every comment between us seems to be followed by a pause and I suddenly have an idea. Myself and Nadia have to begin to strengthen the mental bond between him and the Dark Lord, and the first step of that is to enter Harry’s mind whilst both of us are present, me using Nadia’s strength and power to plant the seed of darkness within there. But I’ve never actually attempted to enter his mind yet - I didn’t know him well enough and you have to have some knowledge of your victim before you try and enter their head. Now, though, Harry’s opened up to me slightly and I know more about him personally than I did before. So technically I can attempt to read his mind.

Moving my gaze to look at him as he stares awkwardly into the fire, I raise my right hand from my side ever so slightly and flex it before concentrating my eyes on his face. I feel a blockage in my head as I attempt to enter his, but then suddenly it clears and images begin to flash through my head. Memories, secrets, emotions, all of them hit me swiftly and I struggle to gain control for a few seconds. Potter himself is silent, though his face constricts a little and he rubs his head as I begin to gather myself and dig deeper. I feel fascination and an image of myself flits before my eyes - I can’t see anything now except for what’s in his head - then the words ‘she doesn’t quite add up’ echo round my head on Ronald Weasley’s voice - I’ve presumably stumbled upon a memory. I don’t let the personal content of this throw me off , though, and simply focus on making things clearer - the key to planting the seed of darkness in your victim's mind is to have complete control in the moment of action. It takes more energy, however, and I struggle keeping my grasp on his conscience without Nadia’s magic to fuel me and I feel myself falter. The image of a black dog, padding along what looks to be a station platform, flashes before my eyes as I lose control, energy spent. More images follow on, flickering before my eyes for a second before being replaced by another. That Ravenclaw girl, Cho Chang, dancing with another boy, a young woman grinning as her hair turns from bubblegum pink to bright purple in the blink of an eye, a golden key fluttering through the air with fragile wings….they mesmerise me as I flash through his memories, each one intriguing me more than the next and proving I do not know Harry Potter as well as I thought I did, despite having been informed of his past, character and situation by the high priestesses of the cult and the Dark Lord himself.

More images flash by but I feel myself becoming weaker as they do so. I need to pull out of his mind, but at the same time I want to stay, I want to find out more about the Boy who Lived. I won’t deny it, I’m curious. Too curious.

One second, the image of the great hall’s house banners switching from the green of Slytherin to the scarlet of Gryffindor is flashing before my eyes, the next, the sight of the next memory affects me so much that I pull out of his mind in shock. ButI can still see it.  the vision remains in my sight even as I fall back onto the couch gasping. The dark lord, with his snake like, heartless eyes alight with pleasure, wand outstretched, smile spreading across his gaunt white face, stares straight at me, unmoving. It’s clearly one of Harry’s memories, but it makes me gulp with shock all of a sudden. I’ve been reminded of my purpose and mission - and what will happen to me if I fail.

‘’Natasha! Natasha, are you alright?’’ Harry leaps into action as I fall back, eyes wide and still panting, approaching me with alarm.

‘’I’m - I’m fine.’’ I say after a pause, but my expression does not change. ‘’I’m fine.’’ Despite the fact every inch of my body is aching after I exhausted myself reading his mind, I jump up and abandon my bag to rush out of the common room, glad to get away from the boy. He’s a reminder of what might go wrong, what might happen to Nadia and I, if we fail. Suddenly the reality of the mission dawns on me and I feel another such of fear. Can we do it? Can we actually-

‘’Tasha!’’ There’s a cry as I walk into someone - someone who scowls down at me when I step back, dazed. ‘’Tasha, where have you been? I was just coming to find you!’’ Nadia snaps, eyes fierce - as if I’m the uncooperative one. She notices my expression a second later, though, creasing her brow as she looks at me. ‘’What’s wrong with you?’’

‘’I read his mind’’ I answer quietly, exhaling then look up at her. ‘’I read Harry Potter’s mind.’’

‘’What?’’ Nadia stares at me, then moves swiftly to pull me to the side and into a disused classroom, shutting the door to turn back quickly. ‘’You did it?’’ A smile begins to spread across her face.

‘’Yes.’’ I answer, sighing. ‘’But only for a short time...I didn’t have the energy.’’

‘’Tasha, this is excellent news! Phase two of our mission can now begin!’’ Nadia says - she’s animated and her grin is wide. In my daze, I observe how Nadia hardly ever smiles - she’s to dark, too hard, to be happy often. She was always the dark one from the beginning, born into the cult I joined as a child, the one who always did everything right, even down to hating my Aunt like I’m supposed to.

I seem to slip into my head and forget where I am, my mind wandering. My Aunt, Reka. She’s the impurity in my family, she’s the one who makes me fear my darkness. Or was - I don’t even know if she’s still alive. Reka, a water witch, was sent away when I was around seven years old, having previously taught myself and Nadia the details of water magic. The High Priestesses of the Cult thought she was a bad influence on me as we became closer and summoned my Mother, with whom Reka argued ferociously before being cut off completely from my family and later expelled from her own cult. My Mother never mentions her now and I never ask.

My Mother. My cold-hearted, unforgiving Mother who has never had it in her heart to love me, to whom I am dutiful to but have never held affection for at any point in my life. I only ever see her once a year, and even then, family gatherings are formal. She detests me, I know, for not being dark enough, but I still hope everyday that I can prove her wrong.

‘’Tasha? Tasha, what is wrong with you?’’ Nadia’s voice calls me from my thoughts harshly and I l know I should tell her, know that she will help me. Moving to sit back on a chair, I look up at her and finally speak.

‘’Nadia...what do you think will happen to us if we don’t succeed?’’

She looks at me sharply. ‘’Nothing will happen to us because we will succeed.’’

‘’But-’’ I begin.

‘’Tasha, stop doubting yourself, for gods sake. I am sick of this. Sick of you being so weak.’’ Nadia’s words catch me off my guard and cut like a knife. ‘’How many times do I have to drill it into your head - you won’t get any better if you don’t stop overthinking everything.’’ She looks at me and shakes her head. ‘’Why are you so sure you’ll fail? Just stop whining and concentrate on the mission.’’

‘’Nadia, if we fail, then we’ll be killed. Do you realise that?’’ Suddenly my voice is hard as well, affected by the biting insults she’s just thrown at me.

‘’Of course I do.’’ She says obstinately. Unlike me, the words of other people do not seem to affect her in the slightest. ‘’But as I say, we won’t fail.’’

‘’And why are you so sure of that?’’ I demand, standing up. ‘’Nadia, we’ve got to construct a mental bond between Harry Potter and the Dark Lord, we’ve got to befriend our victim and we’ve got to lure him to his death! Does that sound easy to you?’’

‘’It won’t be easy if you make it difficult.’’ Says Nadia through a clenched jaw. Her eyes are glittering stormily like they always do when she’s containing fury. ‘’We’ll die if you’re weak and give up. You are the one at fault, Natasha.’’

I’m silent for a second, cursing because I know she’s right again. I will get us killed if I don’t do it and lose heart, the assassin if I don’t cast aside my doubts. There are always two warring sides of my character - the one who doubts and pities and the one who is strong and dark. And I need to stop messing around and chose the latter. Looking up at Nadia, who is still glaring at me, I speak clearly and feel energy return to my body as my voice becomes determined.

‘’If I managed to read Potter then phase two can begin, can’t it.’’ I say, making eye contact with her.

‘’Yes.’’ She says, face still stoney but eyes watching me closely.

‘’And phase two means we plant the darkness, yes?’’ I remember the plan we formed before we left Voronserdtse, the first step of constructing the mental bond between Harry Potter and the Dark Lord involving me planting a seed of darkness into Harry Potter’s mind that will connect the two and grow to enhance the visions the two will share once it’s been set there. I need Nadia’s energy to complete the process, and it’s a difficult procedure that will rob me of my energy briefly even if she’s supporting me, though, and a task that needs to be worked out.

‘’Yes.’’ Nadia looks at me, then takes a step forward. ‘’I take it you’ve finally seen sense, Tasha?’’

I look up at her, but don’t reply. ‘’So we simply need to get Potter relatively unsurrounded by friends and vulnerable enough to allow me to read his mind easily.’’

‘’Yes, but we can’t just corner him and do it conventionally.’’ Answers Nadia, concentration returning. ‘’It’ll be too suspicious.’’

‘’Then how are we going to do it?’’ I question. ‘’He needs to be focused on something or somebody else but we can’t do it randomly. We’ll need enough time to do it and to prepare ourselves so I’m not sent into a comatose.’’

‘’Someone, you say…’’ Nadia says, creasing her brow but smiling. ‘’Tasha, I’ve got it.’’

‘’What?’’ I stand up and take a step towards her.

‘’Draco’s always going on about how he’d love to duel Potter, so-’’

‘’Draco?’’ I can’t help but interrupt, giving Nadia a taste of her own medicine. However, she simply continues.

‘’Malfoy’s always going on about how he’d love to duel Potter.’’ She repeats. ‘’And I bet if I gave him a nudge and you did the same to Harry then…’’

‘’We could set them up to duel and whilst they’re concentrating on the duel, complete phase two.’’ I finish, eyes lighting up.

‘’Yes.’’ Answers Nadia, smiling. ‘’It’d be easy. You can inform Potter that Malfoy has been jeering about Cedric Diggory or something behind his back, and I’ll do something similar with Malfoy. Then they’ll be at each other’s throats and I can nudge Malfoy to challenge Potter and you do the same with Potter. Simple.’’

‘’But how will it be excusable that we’re there?’’ I question, creasing my brow.

Nadia shrugs. ‘’’Spot’ them going out and insist you come with them or something. It won’t be difficult, considering you’re all chummy with Potter now and Malfoy his very easy to win over.’’

I laugh with a hint of scorn. ‘’I’m not ‘chummy’ with Harry Potter.’’

Nadia raises her eyebrows. ‘’Well, he’s certainly chummy with you. He keeps trying to wheedle you into conversation.’’

‘’That’s not a bad thing.’’ I snap. ‘’That way I can get closer to him, work on accessing his mind.’’

Nadia looks at me warily. ‘’So long as you don’t open up to him. He is our victim, Tasha.’’

‘’I am aware of that.’’ I say coldly.

‘’Good.’’ Is Nadia’s short reply before her tone becomes resolute. ‘’Now, let’s refine phase two.’’

We both fall to discussing the plan, figuring out how we’re going to manipulate the two boys and be present so as to begin to construct the mental bond between the Dark Lord and Harry Potter. My confidence returns and I remain resolute throughout, realising that I have been whiny and weak. But when my mind goes back to the conversation with Potter, I will admit that I enjoyed it, in a way. People have never wanted to listen to me before - the high priestesses had no time for discussion and Nadia is not one to make conversation or maintain any level of tact when talking to me - you can’t exchange small talk with Nadia. But just talking about myself, about my home, with Potter, made me feel better. I feel that, when I’m not reminded of my identity, when I’m not with Nadia or thinking about our mission, that a great weight falls off me.

The problem is, it shouldn’t be like that - and it won’t be like that. I have to determined, to be strong, to be ultimately dark. And that means only being friends with Harry Potter for the sake of the mission and feigning my friendliness, not actually feeling it.

It’s late when I return to the common room, the sky outside dark, the clock hands pointing to midnight, and I don’t expect anyone to be there, but I find myself to be wrong. Climbing through the portrait hole, I hear the Harry’s voice, followed by Hermione's, and walk forward to see the three of them, Harry, Ron and Hermione, crouched before the common room fire and apparently talking to it. I creep forward, curious to find out why exactly they are having a conversation with the yellow and orange flames that shed a warm light throughout the room. However, the addition of a fourth voice to the discussion stops me in my tracks and invokes panic within me that I desperately try to extinguish. Standing on tiptoe and looking over the trio’s heads to get a glimpse of the fire itself, my suspicions are confirmed. It’s Sirius Black.

He must be using floo contact to communicate with Harry - who yes, I know, is Sirius Black’s Godson. Nadia and I were fully informed of the details by the Dark Lord himself. And we were also told to fear him.

Sirius Black is certainly a danger to us. He could be aware of Hours Witches and the like, not to mention he’ll not hesitate to kill myself and Nadia if he discovers our intentions. We were told he could have classified information as well, meaning he could already know about mine and Nadia’s mission. Which is why the sound of his voice, familiar to me ever since myself and Nadia read Peter Pettigrew’s mind, invokes such fear within me.

Stumbling back, my shoes scuff on the floor and I hear Hermione whisper ‘’Someone’s coming - go!’’ before the three of them turn to see me and realise they were a little late. It’s obvious that I witnessed enough of their conversation to realise they were talking to Sirius Black and they interpret the fear on my face for different reasons.

‘’Natasha-’’ Ronald begins, stopping as Hermione treads on his foot. They want to play dumb with me, I can see that, and without waiting for any more to be said, I stride past and up the stairs to the girls dormitories, trying to keep my face expressionless and subdue the fear in my heart. But even though I partially succeed, I can only think of one thing as I walk.

Why did I ever think Hogwarts would be safe?

Chapter Ten - Nadia.

(Grace Waterson)

On the night of this “meeting” between Potter and Draco, I purposely stay up much later than usual. Several people stay in the common room late into the night, so nobody particularly pays attention to me, sat in the corner behind my Ancient Runes textbook, trying to make it look like I’m doing my homework when, in reality, I’m watching Draco intently. He’s sat in one of the armchairs in front of the fire, waving his wand at a bit of paper and watching it fly around - it becomes clear pretty early on that he’s just killing time before the meeting.

Throughout the evening, students gradually trickle away up the stairs to the dormitories, laden with heavy books under their arms, ready to drop them all on the floor by their beds and crash out. I can’t really find myself identifying with them; nighttime is the time of day when I feel the most awake, most alive. There’s something about the deterioration of sight in the darkness that heightens all of the other senses, making you suddenly aware of anything and anyone around you. Or maybe that’s just me; I grew up in darkness, so it’s only fitting that I would find it my comfort.

A pair of seventh year girls finally wander over to the girls’ dormitory stairs, each carrying a stack of parchment and textbooks, and chatting sleepily to each other as they leave the common room. Once they’re out of sight and can no longer be heard, I realise that it’s only Draco and me left in the common room. Draco seems completely oblivious to me as he watches his piece of paper flit around about half a metre above the coffee table in front of him. There’s something refreshing about the childishly innocent grin on his face as he makes it rise higher in the air, before making it drop down into a Quidditch-like dive. He’s Seeker for the Slytherin team, I found out when I went to the team tryouts at the weekend. I don’t know what I was thinking by going, I really don’t. It was a good job I didn’t get selected; I’m here on a mission, not to actually get involved in this school. Tasha must be rubbing off on me, I think with scorn.

Suddenly, Draco’s piece of paper falls down to the ground as he pulls away from the spell, and stands up from the sofa. He waves his wand at a couple of books and pieces of parchment scattered around the floor so that they arrange themselves into a neat pile on the coffee table. He then tucks his wand into his back pocket and makes for the exit of the common room.

“Where are you going?” I hiss as he’s about to step out. He whips round like lightning, obviously unaware that I am in the room with him. Of course, I know where he’s going - he’s going to meet Harry - but there’s no way I can tell him that I know that, is there?

“Why is that any of your business, Volkov?” he retorts, although I can tell he’s uneasy as he was caught off guard.

“You’re not supposed to go wandering around the castle at night.” I say, standing up and putting on my most sickening Hermione Granger-like voice, and he looks at me weirdly.

“Like you st-”

“If you go now, I could easily get you told off.” I cut across his reply. “However, if I come with you…”

“What’s your problem, Volkov?” he spits, furious.

“Move it.” I say, shoving him through the entrance to the Slytherin Common Room. “We’re wasting time.”

Before Draco gets a chance to complain otherwise, I’m out in the corridor with him, casting a wandless disillusionment charm over the two of us. Draco doesn’t even know I’ve casted it - it would be a bit difficult to explain how a fifth year can perform advanced wandless magic - but it will make sure that we don’t get into trouble with anyone like Filch.

“Who said you could come with me?” Draco hisses as I lean against the wall, waiting for him to move so that I can follow him - I have to keep reminding myself that I’m not supposed to know where he’s going.

“I did.” I say, rolling my eyes as though it’s the most obvious thing in the world. “And I’m not leaving, so you can either waste your time arguing with me or just accept it.”

I watch with a smirk as Draco’s face twists in irritation for a few moments, as though he’s trying to find a way of persuading me to stay behind. However, he eventually seems to realise that there’s truth behind my words and that there’s no way to get me to stay behind. He looks me square in the eye, his face dead straight.

“You’d better not interfere.”

“Perfect.” I rub my hands together and smile. “So, where are we going?”

*    *    *    *

The night is cold and the sky is a clear, midnight blue as we make our way silently towards the Black Lake - where Draco is scheduled to meet with Potter. Surprisingly, despite our hold-up outside the Slytherin common room, Draco and I are there first; something which Draco seems pleased about.

Whilst Draco fires a couple of hexes into the bushes as practice, lighting up the immediate surroundings with flashes of eerie bright-red light, I decide that it would probably be best if I’m out of the way for when Harry and Natasha arrive. I scan my surroundings and manage to make out a large tree only a couple of metres away from where we are currently, and I wander over to it. Hitching up my long black skirt and tucking my wand into the bun I currently have in my hair to free my hands, I grab hold of the first branch and carefully clamber up until I find a branch that I can sit on.

Harry and Natasha still haven’t arrived, so I I block Draco and his spell casting out of my mind and take a moment to look around at my surroundings. The darkness soothes me, and the gentle noise of the breeze sifting through the leaves of the trees all around reminds me of Russia; it reminds me of home. Patches of the silver glisten all over the Black Lake as the moonlight reflects off the deep blue water, which lies still as a dead body, waiting for something to happen.

A twig snaps to my left but I spin round and find that nothing is there. Potter must have brought his invisibility cloak, I think, and I wait for Natasha and him to come closer and reveal themselves. As I expected, a few moments later Potter appears out from under the invisibility cloak and strides over to Draco, his wand out. I see no sign of Natasha, but that doesn’t worry me - she’s probably under the invisibility cloak still.

“Potter.” Draco acknowledges his opponent’s presence, a grin on his face.

“I see you didn’t bail out on me this time, Malfoy.” Harry replies, possibly making a reference to an earlier duel that the two have had, probably before Natasha and I came to Hogwarts.

As the two boys bow to each other - the traditional start for every magical duel - I decide that they’re sufficiently distracted enough to get Natasha’s attention without drawing attention to myself.

“Tasha.” I whisper, just loud enough for her to hear and I hear the sound of leaves on the ground crunching beneath her feet, presumably as she steps back to try and work out where I am. I whisper her name again, and then wait. For a moment I think that she still hasn’t worked out where I am, but then I hear her voice from the bottom of the tree.

“Nadia,” she whispers up at me, getting my attention before she whips off the invisibility cloak. “Catch.”

She throws the cloak up to me and I am pleasantly shocked when I manage to catch it - what are the chances of actually managing to catch something invisible being thrown at you in darkness? But I don’t have much time to think about it, as I watch Natasha carefully and quickly climb up the first few branches of the tree so that she’s level with me.

“It worked.” she breathes as she sits down next to me on the branch.

“Of course it did.” I reply sharply, turning my attention to the duel between the two boys - it’s getting rather intense as shouts and bursts of different coloured light shoot in all directions. It’s hard to see who’s winning, but I don’t care at the moment. Right now all I’m focused on is getting into Potter’s mind.

“Right,” I mutter under my breath, edging along the branch. “We need to get as close to them as possible.” Natasha murmurs in agreement and follows me along the branch until it forks out into a “V” shape almost directly above where the duel is happening. I sit on one side and Natasha sits on the other, and we begin our work.

As always, I start. Out of the two of us, I have more dark power whereas Natasha has the better mind-reading skills. Therefore it makes sense that I am the one to use my dark powers to wrench the mind of our victim open, whilst Natasha is the one to play around inside. We’ve practiced this many times throughout our childhood, though this is the first time we’ve used it in a serious situation. This is what all our practice comes down to. We have to get it right.

I focus all my attention in on Harry. My intense concentration makes me forget about the fact that it’s dark, and I can see his mop of unruly black hair clear as day. He darts back a#nd forth, dodging spells and sending out new ones, yet my focus never wavers. I’ve got a hold on him. Now it’s time to do my job - time to fill my head with darkness in an attempt to open his.

I think about the things that make me angry, fill me up with my dark magic. I think of Madame Elena calling me to her on my fifth birthday, telling me how I came to join the cult, how I was abandoned in the wood, how “nobody wanted me”. I think of how the elders were going to kill me when they found me, until they realised that I was an hours witch like them. I think of my early years; growing up desperate to impress my teachers, the beatings I received whenever I cried, my teachers shouting at me to strengthen up. I let my body fill with rage at my younger self; how weak I was, how pathetic I was, how naive.

And all of a sudden I’m in. I feel the switch in my mind as images of my younger self are replaced by images of a dark-haired boy. I wait painfully for Natasha to enter with me - once she’s in then the strain won’t be as much on my mind. But for now I have to remain focused as I go whizzing through Potter’s brain, witnessing memory after memory after memory flying past in a blur, trying to make sense of something and failing. I can’t stay in much longer or I know I’ll pass out - I have painful recollections of the time that happened, when one of my teachers wanted to test me to see how long I could hold out for until I collapsed.

Suddenly the weight is lifted as I sense Natasha’s presence beside me and I loosen my focus slightly to allow her to take over. I don’t leave the head - I need to stay there as Natasha’s “anchor” into Potter’s head - but it’s easy now, and I mentally step back and relax.

Natasha’s presence in Potter’s head is so strong I can practically see it, buzzing around through his memories, trying to work out where to plant the “seed” of darkness. I don’t precisely know what she’s doing - I was taught to open and she was taught to plant, and we never learnt each other’s skill - but I can tell that she’s struggling slightly. And as the moments pass, I know that she’s taking longer than usual, something might be going wrong. But then, unmistakably, I sense the seed of darkness being planted inside the head of our victim, strengthening the connection between the Dark Lord and Potter. I pull out of Potter’s head just in time to see Natasha fall backwards to the ground.

“Natasha!” I forget the duel happening below and I jump down from the tree to make sure that she’s alright.

“I’m fine.” she gasps, sitting up and brushing the mud off her skirt. “Did I do it in time?”

“Yes, you did it.” I say, offering her a hand to help pull her to her feet which she refuses, choosing instead to stay sitting on the floor a while longer to collect her breath.

“Natasha!” the duel seems to have stopped, as I hear Potter’s voice calling over to see what's happened. “Volkov.” he adds when he sees I’m here too.

“Potter.” I reply abruptly.

“What are you doing here?” he asks.

“Just making sure my friend is okay,” I reply, knowing full well that that isn’t the answer he was looking for.

“Yeah right - making it look like you care about her when you were the one that just pushed her out of a tree, more like,” he retorts.

“How dare you.” I spit, pulling my wand out of my bun and advancing towards Potter with it held out in front of me. Natasha says nothing, but when Potter pulls out his own wand too, Draco - who has been standing nearby - lets out a little laugh.

“Don’t waste your time, Potter. You’ve already lost one duel tonight; you’re just embarrassing yourself.”

“I did not lose.” Potter argues, glaring at Draco.

“You stopped the duel in order to see whether your girlfriend was alright.” Draco shrugs. “You were the one who resigned, so you lost.”

Potter lets out a noise of frustration.

“The night is long and we have plenty of time.” I say slowly. “Fancy a rematch, Potter?”

“Bring it on.” he replies.

“Well if that’s how tonight’s going to play out, I’m siding with Volkov.” Draco smirks, coming to stand beside me and pulling his wand out.

“Well Natasha’s with me, so it’s two on two.” Potter replies, holding his hand out to help Natasha up off the ground. I smirk as Natasha refuses the offer.

“I am not getting involved in this duel, and neither are any of you.” she says, her voice dangerously serious as she talks to all of us. She then turns and looks Potter in the eye. “But if I did, who says I’d side with you?”

There’s a deathly silence all around as Potter’s mouth gapes open and Draco and I turn to each and smirk.