So last night I went on a mad writing spree and got three chapters written in the matter of two hours or so as I watched my Red Wings game. This was the first to be written, and there is one more for this story which I will post within the next 48 hours or so, depending on how I feel. Hope you like it! =)

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Artemis

            I abruptly sat upright in bed, grasping my left forearm. I was breathing heavily, sweating profusely. My mind tried to comprehend what had happened; I must have had a nightmare, something unusual in itself. But all I could remember is a green light…

            I removed my hand from my arm to see the Dark Mark menacingly peering up at me. It had faded slightly since January, giving me no problems, but now it was throbbing uncontrollably. I hadn’t felt a physical pain like this in a long time, if ever. I tried to shake the feeling as I started to climb groggily out of bed, but it was still there.

            Making my way downstairs, I tried to think of why it would be bugging me like it was. Perhaps I had slept on it wrong? No, I decided. That didn’t make sense. Usually the tattoo would be a way Voldemort would’ve communicated with us, sending us subliminal messages. I wondered if that was what was happening now. But since I had quit, wouldn’t it have stopped the connection?

            My thoughts were interrupted when I walked clear into someone, causing me to fall to the carpeted floor below. I looked up to see a huge, bald man staring down at me. He had a bewildered look upon his face as he offered me a hand, pulling me back to my feet.

            “You really should be more careful, Artemis,” he stated.

            I brushed myself off, rolling my eyes in the process. “I’m fine Butler. I was just thinking, is all. I didn’t see you there.”

            Butler laughed, something I hadn’t seen him do much of in my eighteen years of life. “I don’t know how you didn’t see me. You can’t miss me!” He was right about that. Butler stood at almost seven feet tall, and he had a huge muscular frame. On more than one occasion, he had been described as a mountain, and I could definitely see the resemblance.

            I shook my head. “I know, I know. My mind really isn’t the right state at the moment.”

            I noticed him frown slightly before he said, “Well, breakfast is ready in the dining room. Feel free to help yourself.”

            Stepping around him, I made my way to the dining room. Almost immediately, I found my mother feeding the twins. She glanced up at me for a moment before noticing one of the boys dumping his Cheerios all over the floor.

            “Good morning, Arty,” she greeted, kneeling down to start picking up the circular cereal from the floor.

            “Morning, mother,” I mumbled quietly. I sat down next to where she had been seated. My mother finally sat down next to me, placing the cereal she had picked up on the table in a little pile. “I see Beckett is giving you a hard time again.”

            My mother smiled, but I knew she was worn out from the twins. Myles and Beckett were a handful. Adorable, but a handful. They had taken after mother’s side of the family and had her curly blonde hair and bright blue eyes, where I had taken after my father. Myles was very similar to I was in my youth, and was always “experimenting” with his stuffed toy, Professor Primate, whereas Beckett was more of the typical boy, though he had intriguing interests in food.

            “Yes, I just wish he’d eat!” she sighed.

            “I want espresso,” Beckett giggled.

            I thought I saw Myles roll his eyes as I said, “Espresso is not for young children like you. That’s for people like mother and I.”

            Beckett pouted, hoping it would work, but my mother was a lot firmer with the twins than she was with me. She was hoping by not babying them as much, they wouldn’t have turned out to be so troublesome. I knew she wasn’t going to budge.

            “Nope, you’re going to eat your cereal like a good boy,” she stated flatly.

            Once Beckett had joined Myles in eating, my mother turned to me. “So how are you this morning, Arty?”

            I smiled slightly, hoping she wouldn’t see how much pain I was still enduring in my arm. “I’m alright, mother. A little tired is all.”

            She smiled back at me. “I bet you are. You’ve never had a party like that before. It was a lot of fun, wasn’t it?”

            I thought back to the night before. It was pretty fun. I hadn’t had that much fun in a long time, if ever. Lots of goofing around and competition-free Quidditch. I hated to admit it, I was glad my mother made me have the party.

            “It was,” I eventually choked out. I was waiting for her to say something about Audrey. And I didn’t have to wait long.

            “Your girlfriend is really nice,” she said. “How long have you two been together?”

            Oh wow. I hadn’t even thought of that. No one had ever asked me that question. I had to think for a minute before I answered. “It’s been about nine months,” I stated.

            “And she hasn’t gotten tired of you yet?” she teased, but when she saw my expression she quickly changed her tone. “No, but seriously. I’m happy for you, Arty. I’m glad you finally found a girl you like. Just don’t be like your father and I.”

            I knew right away what she meant. My mother and father weren’t together for but a year before they got married, and not a year after that I was born. I surely didn’t think Audrey and I would be having children in the next two years, regardless to whatever else happened in our lives. But for how quick their relationship had played out, I knew my parents truly loved each other, and didn’t regret any of it.

            “We won’t be, mother, I promise,” I smiled. “If we do end up married one day, we won’t have kids for a while. I’m too young to be a father.”

            “That’s my boy,” she ruffled my already messy hair.

            I stood, walking to the other end of the table so I could get some pancakes. I placed some on a plate and began to walk towards my seat when I stopped next to Myles. I ruffled his hair real quick before continuing my walk back to my chair.

            “Artemis simple-toon,” he said, sticking his tongue out at me. Oh how I loved how he tried to pronounce simpleton and just couldn’t. It was just so cute, albeit a tad insulting. I was such a good big brother to them.

            I sat back down, and began eating my pancakes in silence. My mind went back to focusing on what my tattoo’s pain could mean. It was puzzling, and not to mention irritating to me. I needed to know why it was acting up, but who could I ask about it?

            And that’s when it hit me. Maybe Malfoy was having the same problem I was. After shoveling the rest of my breakfast down my throat, I decided to go wake up my cousin who was sleeping in one of the guest bedrooms. He was the only one my parents had let stay, for various reasons.

            I went up to the room, opening the door without knocking. Immediately, I saw him sitting upright in bed, clenching his arm like I had been. He glanced up at me, back at his arm, and then back at me.

            “You too?” he asked.

            I shut the door and sat down next to him. “Yea, I was just coming to talk to you about it. What happened to you?”

            “Had a weird dream, and I woke up holding it,” he answered me.

            That was intriguing. I needed to know more. Maybe we had had the same dream, and maybe he could remember more than I could. “What was the dream about?” I dug further.

            “I dunno. All I can remember is a green light,” he sighed.

            I frowned. “I had that same dream, and that’s all I can remember too.”

            He shook his head. “Something isn’t right. I can tell. I just don’t know what it is.”

            “You don’t think that he’s up to something, do you?” I asked.

            Draco shook his head. “I have no idea. It’s hard to say what he’s up to, if he is at all.” He paused for a moment. “Though none of us have heard from him since the incident…”

            “Not even the Death Eaters?” I asked.

            “I mean… they had to have,” he said. “They didn’t quit like we did.”

            “Very true.”

            The room fell into a silence. Neither one of us spoke for several minutes. And that’s when I realized something. I stood abruptly, turning to him. “Your dad told us a story once, about someone who quit the Death Eaters like we did. And I remember him saying something about the tattoo… something about them losing all contact with the Dark Lord until they became a target. You dad said that they killed that man.” I paused for a moment as the idea sunk into my head. “You don’t think that could be happening to us, do you?”

            My cousin didn’t say anything for a few minutes. “It’s the only thing that makes sense. But… how would we know for sure?”

            “We wouldn’t without some kind of inside intelligence,” I admitted. “Somehow we have to figure this out before we have no time left.”

            “They have a meeting tomorrow night,” Malfoy added. “In my manor. He’s been using it for meetings. We can sneak in, try to overhear them scheming.”

            It was risky, but I knew it was what we were going to have to eavesdrop on the Death Eaters to figure out what their next move was, whether or not it had anything to do with our pain. Whatever the case was, we needed to know if we should fear for our lives or not.

            “Very well,” I sighed. “Leave it to me. I’ll figure out how we’re going to get in, get the information, and get out. Just… give me some time, and silence, and I’ll scheme this up.”

            Malfoy knew how my brain worked, so he got up from his bed and went into the bathroom, leaving me alone. It was time I did what I did best: plan dastardly deeds.