The Dark Mark (The Girl Who Lived part II)

The Reunion

My dearest readers, the chapters of TGWL left are winding down. But as the adventures of Scarlet begins to end, there may potentially be another one that begins just beyond the horizon. I've been contemplating whether or not to make a sequel to TGWL. But instead of featuring Scarlet, the protagonist will be her daughter who travels back in time to the Maurauder's era. Please comment if you want there to be a sequel. -Sincerely yours, Chopinssonata

"Just in case, you'll have company alongside you if you do decide to change your mind". Voldemort added. But before I could ask him, he had already flicked his wand and transported me into a spot somewhere in the middle of the woods. I was a girl in the middle of a clearing in the woods, with nothing more than my transformation ability, my wand, a green ribbon that tied my hair back, and the clothes on my back. Though a tank top and a pair of shorts weren't exactly the type of clothes that one would wear on an expedition like this.

I was a lot of things right now. Confused, nervous, and frankly, a little afraid. But one off the things I was not, was alone. There was some sort of presence within the woods alongside me. Neither living, nor dead. There was the sound of a tree branch snapping behind me. I whipped my head around, my heart beating fast. I readied my wand. Inferi inched towards me. Just their appearance was enough to give even the bravest soul, chills. Nothing was natural about this. Though the world of magic defied everything "natural". But this was a whole new story. This magic was the type that should not have had existed. The nonliving..... the dead, shouldn't move as though it were. Voldemort apparated beside me.

"I can see you've met my minions". He said, petting one's head. I gulped. "They'll accompany you on my orders". "Yes, sir". Was all I could manage to say without my voice trembling. "Find the locket". Voldemort instructed. And off they went, dragging themselves across the ground at an amazing speed. "Well, you better get going". He told me, gesturing me to follow the pack of the undead.

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It took me a while to catch up with the Inferi. They may not have had the function of their legs, but sure were mighty fast. When I was finally at the front sprinting alongside the front row of crawling Inferi, my pace slowed. I was tiring out. And even though I showed these signs after what felt like miles of sprinting, they showed no sign of wearing down. No sign of tiring. They weren't human. They didn't even fit underneath the category, "living". Leaping over rocks and dodging branches was no easy task at the rate we were going. I was finally able to simply run without the fear of falling when we came to a clearing. Ahead of the clearing, a pond. Near the pond, a figure. From the distance, all I saw was a blur of color, but it was moving. It was alive. As we moved closer, I could recognize the shape. Harry.

I had high hopes for being able to retrieve the locket without harming anyone. But the Inferi thought otherwise. No, they didn't think. They had no thoughts. They were mindless zombies, following the commands of their master. To get the locket no matter what, or who was in the way. "Wait!" I screamed at them as they advanced ahead of me, eager to return the Horcrux to their master. But the Inferi responded how I expected, no matter how many times I pleaded with them to stop. I fumbled getting my wand from my back pocket as I dodged the branches that swung at me while others scraped me on the sides. But the pain and the thought to stop and examine myself didn't cross my mind. All I was focused with was saving Harry. Harry dove into the pond, not aware of the impending danger he was in. One of the Inferi dove into the water a moment after. Bubbles rose to the surface. I didn't need to see anything more to know what was happening. They'd gotten to him. They were drowning him. "Harry!" I screamed as I cannon balled into the pond after the inferi. The water was freezing. The temperature of the water would have had been equivalent to an ice bath. They were circling around Harry. He was still fighting them off. Through a space between the inferi, our eyes were able to meet. His eyes widened with shock. I gestured for him to move out of the way. I pointed my wand at the undead soldiers. A violet light was emitted at the end of my wand. A jet of flames shot out of my wand and at the Inferi.