The Adventures of a Death Eater

Chapter 7: Dangerous Game

I know this part is a little long, but I just couldn't decide how to seperate them. =)

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Audrey

Nikkie and I were walking the grounds, heading towards Hagrid’s hut for Care of Magical Creatures. Nikkie was excited to see Harry. Personally, I didn’t care. I was just ready to get the day over with. We approached Harry, who was standing at the halfway point. I sighed as they greeted each other, hugging tightly and gently kissing.

I turned away from them, only to see Artemis approaching me. He had an anxious look upon his face. Ah… his beautiful, perfect face. I found myself staring at him… again. I shook myself out of the daydream just when he stopped in front of me.

“Hey, Audrey,” he greeted me, then he turned to Nikkie and Harry. “Mind if I steal her for a moment?”

Nikkie shook her head. “No… just keep it PG.”

I shot her a glance before following Artemis off the path. I followed behind him for a moment before catching up. Was there a reason he pulled me aside like this? Suddenly, my mind began to race and I became nervous. It was silent until we stopped in front of a large oak tree. A large, gray rock sat in front of it. Artemis sat down on it, and then looked up at me.

“Sit with me for a moment?” he requested.

“Sure?” I sat down next to him, still utterly confused about this meeting.

It was quiet for a moment before Artemis said, “I’m sure you’re wondering why I brought you here, aren’t you?”

I nodded slightly. “A little.”

Artemis sighed. “I just want to address a few complications… before we get any more involved with each other.”

Complications? I was confused, lost, and concerned all at the same time. What did he have to tell me? “What do you mean, Artemis?” I asked.

He sighed again. “Audrey… there’s a couple things that you don’t know about me, and I think it’s only fair that you know the truth.”

The truth? What was he talking about? Was he the liar my tea leaves warned me of? Maybe he was, but I was positive it wasn’t terrible. Or at least I had hoped.

“Artemis what is it?” I pressed on. “You can tell me anything.”

He glanced at the sky for a moment. “Well… let me start with the easier one.” He paused. “Certainly we’ve seen a lot of different creatures while we’ve been here.”

“Well yea. It’s Hogwarts,” I replied. “We’ve seen it all. The better question is what haven’t we seen?”

Artemis nodded. “Yes, something like that. But I want you to look at me. Really hard. Do I look different to you?”

I looked at him. All I saw was Artemis. The same Artemis I had always known. I didn’t see what he was getting at. “No,” I said. “You look the same as you always have.”

“That’s not what I meant,” Artemis stopped me. “Compare me to other people. What’s different?”

I looked again. I still didn’t see anything too unusual about him. Paler than most people but that was it really. “You’re pale,” I decided. “That’s it.”

Artemis nodded. “That’s because of what I am.”

“What you are?! What do you mean?” I questioned.