Audrey

I sat in Professor Snape’s class, attempting to make a random potion out. We had been having class for two weeks now. So far, I was enjoying Advanced Potions Making II; potions had always been one of my better subjects. We were working on potions (go figure) and having a wonderful time doing it. By “we,” I meant Artemis and myself. We weren’t dating, or seeing each other, or anything like that; we were just good friends for now. But every day, it seemed as if we were getting closer.

“Hey,” I asked, “can you pass me the beetles?”

He rolled up his sleeves. “Sure.” Artemis passed me the tray with our crushed beetles, but I took notice to something else. His left forearm, from right below his wrist to right to before his elbow, was bandaged up. This puzzled me greatly.

“Artemis, what happened to your arm?” I inquired.

He glanced at it. “Oh. You mean this? I injured it playing Quidditch before school started. It’s really nasty.”

I raised an eyebrow. To be honest, I was a bit skeptic. With his skills, I didn’t see how it was possible for him to be injured.“Really?” I asked him.

He nodded. “Yes really.”

“How did you manage to do that?” I pressed on. “The greatest keeper shouldn’t be injured so easily.”

Artemis sighed. “I know, I know. But I was… eh, playing with my family and my little brother tried to score and I lost control for a second while I blocked it. So… I kind of fell and tore it open real good.” He paused. “There was blood everywhere.”

I nodded slowly. “Yea… I bet.” The location of the bandage seemed unlikely for the cut he was describing.

“I’m… uh… a little accident prone,” Artemis stuttered. “I’ve been injuring my arm a lot recently.”

I watched him with careful eyes. Something just seemed fishy about his story. But, then again, maybe it was just the potion we were making. It was hard to tell at the moment.

We finished up our work right on time for Snape to grade them. He went around the classroom, stopping at each group’s cauldron to tell them what they did wrong. I don’t think I had ever heard Snape compliment someone; he always liked picking fun at all the screw ups his students made. He approached our cauldron with single-minded determination. He wanted to humiliate us, I could tell. He glared at it between curtains of long, greasy, black hair. After a few moments, he pulled away.

“Congratulations you two,” he muttered, his long nose wrinkled in disgust. “You actually managed to create a nearly perfect potion. Twenty points to Slytherin.”

Class ended and Artemis went off to his next class without me. I think he had Charms and I had Divination. So I made my way up the tower alone. I got to class before anyone else. Professor Trelawney was gazing into a crystal ball. Her fluffy brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail and her eyes were magnified by her glasses.

“Ah… hello Miss Taylor,” she greeted me.

“Oh… hey Professor,” I answered. “What are we doing today?”

“Reviewing tea leaves and how to read them,” she replied. “I suggest you find a partner.”

I took my seat in the front of the class. Slowly, more students came into the class. I frowned when know-it-all Hermione Granger sat next to me. It meant she would be my partner. This was bound to be an eventful reading. She and I had never been the best of friends, which confused me as to why she was sitting next to me in the first place.

As class started, we all sat there drinking our tea, listening (or daydreaming as I was) to what Trelawney was babbling about. Once she started to talk about what peoples’ tea leaves meant, I started to pay attention again. It would’ve been bad if she had gotten to me and I hadn’t been paying any attention at all.

She came to Hermione and me. “Well?”

Hermione took my cup and stared at it for a moment. “Well… this here shows that you’re in love.” She looked over at me. “And this means that you’re being lied to, not catastrophically, but still lied to.”

Trelawney took the cup, observing it carefully. “You are correct, Miss Granger.”

I rolled my eyes, taking her cup in my hands. Lied to? By who? I shook it off and focused on trying to read her tea leaves. “Well… Hermione. It says that you’re over-worked. And… you’re kind of infatuated with two people: one who will never want you, and the other’s one of your best friends,” I rattled off.

“Who are you talking about?” she asked. “I’m not infatuated with anyone.”

“I dunno! The tea leaves don’t give me names!” I responded. “And they surely don’t lie.” Except that one time, Harry had The Grim in his, I thought silently.

Trelawney took the cup from me and looked at it. “And correct.”

She walked away, moving on to the next table. I paid no attention to what she was talking about. I was just glad I had gotten know-it-all's tea leaves right. I drifted off into my own thoughts. However, I was interrupted by someone clearing their throat. I turned to look in the direction from which it came.

“Excuse me,” Hermione mumbled, “but uh… I heard that you and Artemis Fowl kind of have a thing.”

I sighed. Why was everyone making a big deal out of it? “Why does it matter if we do?” I asked.

“I was just curious,” she said.

“We’re just friends,” I hissed, “and even if we weren’t I don’t believe it is any of your business, Granger.”

That shut her up real good. I turned away from her. She really did think she knew it all. People like her really irritated me. I rested my head on my arms and drifted off into my own thoughts. I was so glad I had a free period next.

*****************************************************************************************************************

Artemis

As class started, I stared at the black bandage around my arm. I knew I hadn’t injured it. My fingers tugged at it; my sapphire eyes could see the tattoo though it was covered up. I could remember when and how this all began. It was only a year prior, believe it or not.

At first it was all a game. Malfoy’s father had been a Death Eater ever since he was in Hogwarts, since before the first rumors began about the Boy-Who-Lived. I wasn’t sure how Malfoy got into it, but a few weeks after he had, he invited me to a meeting of the Death Eaters. I don’t even know why I went.

I remembered how cold it was that night, how there was no snow but it was too cold for just a sweater. I followed Malfoy and my uncle into a graveyard. The path was long and twisted to the meeting place. I couldn’t believe what Malfoy was telling me just earlier that day. Voldemort had returned, and that he was alive and well. Voldemort was seeking revenge. I could remember laughing at him, telling him that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was dead, long gone. However, Malfoy just laughed right back at me. I felt like a fool not long later.

So, dressed in black robes, my cousin, uncle, and myself made our way towards the heart of the graveyard. All I could remember from that night was seeing the unexplainable. Voldemort was in fact alive and out for blood. He was seeking followers. I wasn’t sure what made me do it. Maybe it was Malfoy or my uncle, or maybe it was a charm cast upon me. But regardless, ever since, I’ve hid my left arm under robes or made up accidents.

As Professor Flitwick told us about the charm we were going to be practicing that week, I thought of Audrey. Yeah, maybe lies were bad and always made things worse, but I was always lying to people. It was nothing new; I had been living a life of lies as long as I could remember.

“Mister Fowl,” the professor hissed, “are you paying attention?”

I thought quickly. “Actually my arm is really bothering me.”

“Oh? What happened to your arm?” he asked.

“Quidditch accident,” I lied. “Tore it open.”

With a sigh and a shake of his head, he waved his wand towards the door. It opened. “Go to the infirmary.”

I stood. “Thank you, professor.” I gathered my things and left Charms class. I knew I wasn’t heading to the Hospital Wing. I made my way back to the dungeons where our dormitories were. I’d be able to sneak back in before anyone got to the common room.

I went up to my bed. I sat down on my bed, and immediately began yanking my bandages off, throwing them to the ground. My eyes stared at the tattoo branded to my forearm. The skull and snake peered at me, reminding me of the life of lies I lived.

I was a Death Eater, a follower of the Dark Lord. I was evil. And there was nothing I could do about it. We all were just pawns in his game. He wanted Harry Potter dead. It was simply that. We were his tools; Voldemort was building an army like the world had never seen. And I was part of it.

How could I be like this at such a young age? I thought to myself. I was only a few weeks shy of my eighteenth birthday. Yet I was well on my way to one of two things: greatness or death. And being on the side I was, it was more likely the latter. But I suppose I was ready to die. I had nothing to actually live for. My mind flashed back to Audrey. What would she think of me? Would she still care for me if she knew I was a Death Eater? And what about my other secret?

I sighed, glancing in the mirror in front of me. I was so pale; my skin was nearly translucent. I smiled, showing my teeth. Something I rarely ever did and I had a good reason. My eyes focused on my teeth. Yeah, nearly perfect and sparkling white, but there was one flaw. My canines were long and extremely pointed. Today, they were even longer than usual. I was hungry. You see, I was a vampire. I was for as long as I could remember. I had no idea how I was managing to survive right now. It wasn’t like I was able to drink off of random students.

This was the life I lived. I proved to be one of the bigger roles (and surprises) in Voldemort’s followers. No one suspected a vampire. Just by being one it gave me an upper hand against most foes. I already had taken part in a few battles against the Ministry of Magic. But of course none of them ever knew it was me. And due to my success, I had made it into Voldemort’s inner circle. I don’t know if I was proud of that or not, but… I was among the top-ranked Death Eaters now.

My mind kept floating back to Audrey. We were friends, but yet she didn’t know me at all. I knew I was going to have to tell her, before we got too much more involved. But to be honest, I was scared to tell her. What if she changed her mind about me? What if she hated me after that? I guess I deserved whatever I had coming to me. She deserved the truth and she was going to get it.

I knew she had a free period, but I was sure she’d be spending it with Nikkie. So I decided I would talk to her before our next class. It was a long walk to Care of Magical Creatures, and it was a pretty secluded walk as well. I would have plenty of time to talk to her about it.

Not too long later, I decided to pick my bandages off the floor. I rolled them up, stowing them under my pillow. I sighed as I noticed a large owl sitting on the windowsill. It was my owl, Ares, more than likely delivering news from home.

“Thanks boy,” I said, patting his fluffy head and taking the letter from him.

I flipped it over to see my mother’s handwriting. She wrote me every week. I think she was afraid of me growing up. What she didn’t know is that I had done a lot of growing up already. She didn’t know I was a Death Eater. And I didn’t want her to either. It would scare her. I put the letter in the pocket on the inside of my robes. I took a deep breath and exited the dormitories. Time for me to tell the truth for once…