Snakes in the Grass

Chapter One

It was a little past three o'clock in the afternoon, and nothing much was going on in the Snatcher Camp. The four Snatchers there were on a lunch break that they had definally earned. Fenrier Greyback had made them run three miles before they were allowed to have breakfast, and another six before they were allowed to have lunch. They had already eaten their small serving of food, and was now lounging around while they still could. As soon as Greyback found out that they were finished eating, he would put them back to work. 

"I wonder when Scabior is coming back with that girl." Vera Hayse, the only woman in their group, asked. Although she was the only woman, she was lean and muscular, and had the appearence of a man if not looked at in the face. Her hair was cut short, and her breast, which were modest anyway, were pressed down by a strong wrapping of cotton. 

"He said they were leaving at nine, so it couldn't be too much longer, right?" Parker Leeson replied. Unlike Hayse, he was thick around the waist, but also tall; probably around six foot two, give or take a couple inches. Sweat was running across his dark skin, and fell in drops off of the end of his nose. 

"Maybe Scabior is just skipping out and leaving alone with Fenrier." Myer Dunn snorted while pulling all of his dreadlocks into a tight ponytail. 

"Nah, Scabior wouldn't do that." Leeson replied, "Besides, I was in the group she was training before the accident happened. She's real." Beside him, Adair McFarland nodded his head, then looked back down at the ground: He had been in that group, too. He never talked much, but every once in a while would offer a nod of agreement. He was known to mostly stare off into the distance, thoughfully. None of the other Snatchers knew what he was thinking about, but they didn't really care, either. They were only there to train, snatch, and get paid. 

"So she really did get blown up? I heard there was brain and everything splattered everywhere." Dunn leaned closer.

"No, theres's wasn't any brains. There was blood, though. Lots of it." Leeson cleared up.

"I wonder what happened to the guy that did it?" Hayse took a red bandana from her pocket and tied back what bit of her short hair was hanging in her face. 

"Probably killed." Dunn shrugged. "From what I've heard, she was his first choice."

"Well, anyone would be better than old wolfie over there." Hayse looked towards the tent that Greyback had been sleeping in by himself, then looked back at the group. He was still in the tent, and as long as he was there, he wouldn't make them doing anything.

"Cheers to that." Leeson lifted his canteen into the air before taking a drink. They all nodded. 

"What's up with that girl anyway? How did she get so good if she's underage?" Dunn questioned. Leeson shrugged.

"I don't know. But she was good. She did curses that adults don't even know how to do. But don't try to give her any crap. The first night, she cut off someones hand." 

"What did they do?" Hayse asked.

"They grabbed her butt. She may looked small and innocent, but she's a real tough cookie. I wouldn't mess with her." 

"Wasn't planning on it." 

"Get up, bums! What are you doing just laying around!" Greyback's voice came out of no where. All four Snatchers sprang up, standing at attention. None of them had noticed him leave the tent. "You have lots of things to do, and no time to laze around."

"Please tell me we aren't running again." Dunn breathed. Greyback shook his head, then waved his wand. A cleaning broom flew from his tent and into his hand. 

"No, we are cleaning."

They all looked at him in confusion.

"Easy enough." Dunn pulled out his own wand, but before he could wave it, Greyback knocked it out of his hand. 

"No magic." 

'But why-"

"Because, if you have time to talk, you have time to clean."

"What does it matter? We are in the woods."

"Yes, we are in the woods! Good job!" Greyback howled with sarcasm. "I want the grounds picked up, and the tents organized. For some reason uknown to me, the Dark Lord wants everything in order for Eleanor Snape when she arrives."

"What if we don't?" Leeson dared to asked. Greyback, instead of yelling, just gave him a half smile. 

"Would you care to find out?" 

Leeson was quiet for a moment, before replying.

"No." He finally said. Greyback gave them another cold grin before thrusting the broom at McFarland. 

"Wise choice. Now, I want everything cleaned up in a hour." He cleared his throat and looked at them. They all stared back. "Go on!' He yelled, and they all went to work. 

Greyback watched them for a few minutes, then went back into his tent. He sat at the desk that was on the opposite side of his cot, sighing.

He would have to move it to make room for the girl's cot, he thought. And that Scabior. Why was he so attached to her anyway? It wasn't like she was worth anything. He wasn't even sure why the Dark Lord was so confident in the pipsqueak. 

But yet, he hadn't seen a woman in three weeks, with the acception of that Hayse woman. But she wasn't even fit to call a woman. More of a man, really. Probably a lezzie.He wouldn't doubt it...

He grinned.

Maybe the girl would come in handy...

.Outside the tent, the four Snatchers were sweating in the day's. McFarland was sweeping at the ground with the broom he had been given, but he wasn't sure what exactly he was cleaning. They were in the forest, for merlin's sake. The ground was dirt. But even so, he quietly followed the orders he had been given. 

Hayse was in the tent, straightening up the clothes that had been thrown about. Even though she thought gender boundries were pointless, she couldn't help but think that they were typical boys, throwing there dirty clothes around instead of neatly putting them away. She slowly folded them and put them away, one by one.

A little ways down from the camp, Leeson was kneeled down by a stream, cleaning off the dishes that they had dirtied to make their pitiful lunch. He wasn't sure how he had gotten suck with this job, but it wasn't so bad. Atleast he was far away from Greyback. Ever since their first training with him, the werewolf had worked them all to death. The group had started out with twenty, and now there was only four of them left. But it was better to have four people who were strong enough to serve than twenty who weren't, he thought. He pulled the dish he had put under the water back into the air, exaimaned it, then stuck it back into the current.

High above everyone else, Dunn laid on a tree branch. The branch was connected to a tree right beside Greyback's tent. He usually wasn't one to be lazy, but what was the point of cleaning nature? THere wasn't one. The real test, he thought, was finding a way to outsmart the rest of them. They wouldn't find him up there until he wanted them to find him. And that was okay; atleast for the moment...

Although all of them had a different job to do, they all did one thing together. Every so often, one of them would look out into the distence, or stick their head out of the tent flap,hopeing to see a carrige far off, making itsway towards camp. Because if they saw it, it meant that their new leader would be there. Greyback would lose his authority, and a schoolgirl, not even of age, would decide what they did from that point on. 

And this, like the tasks they had at hand, meant something different for all of them.