Chapter 1

Chapter 1

It was summer vacation and Abiageal was in his room, his father had been very clear, as soon as a meeting of the Death Eaters took place in the Raglan family manor, Abiageal was not to show herself and make as little noise as possible.

Lord Voldemort's horrible voice echoed throughout the house, reaching Abiageal's room ( she had left the door ajar ) and she heard almost the entire conversation.

"We're currently understaffed," he rose from his chair at the head of the table. "One of you will have to convince your son to join us."

He walked all around the table, he was not very tall, but he commanded respect more than anyone else in the room. Surely it was his cruelty and that he was unpredictable, Abiageal would never know what drove people to follow him in his madness to obey him.

Although Abiageal would soon learn what drove wizards and witches to join Voldemort.

There was a long silence, it was understandable, none of the Death Eaters really wanted to sacrifice their son. Voldemort spoke again but Abiageal did not understand what he had said then, an avalanche of "my son would be perfect for the mission" reached Abiageal's ears. She did not pay attention until the moment when a voice that she would recognize among a thousand rose among all the other voices.

"It would be a real honor for me and my son if you would choose Theodore," Theodore Nott Senior announced.

Theodore Nott Senior was a renowned and feared Death Eater, he was loyal and he was one of the few who had not lost hope when Voldemort had been defeated in October 1981. Voldemort wanted Theodore Nott Junior in his ranks.

No. This could not be happening. It was impossible. She did not want to believe she had heard that sentence correctly. She had to act and fast. She could not do this to Theodore, she had to stop him. She had to stop them.

So Abiageal had done the only thing that seemed logical to her, she had come out of her hiding spot and she went down to the huge room that originally served as the Dining Room. Her father made big eyes, his look a cross between anger at seeing that she openly disobeyed him and fear of the next words that would come out of her mouth. And he was right.

"I'll do it."

Tom Riddle turned his head, suddenly interested in the young witch's presence. A smile that gave Abiageal goosebumps, but she did not back down. Voldemort did not protest, the Raglan family was just as loyal to Tom Riddle's cause as the Nott family was.

Voldemort had not waited for her to prove her worth before Marking her as one of his own. Abiageal Raglan was therefore the third woman to bear the Dark Mark after Bellatrix Lestrange and Alecto Carrow.

Abiageal was in the garden behind her family's mansion. The dress she wore because she was horribly hot bothered her, she could not stand the material anymore even though it was her favorite dress until three days ago, she would have liked to put on a cardigan to hide the Dark Mark, but the strong heat prevented her from doing so, she could not stand it for more than two minutes.

Her gaze was fixed - troubled by the tears that refused to flow down her cheeks for the moment - on the horrible tattoo that took up eighty percent of her left forearm.

Finally, the tears rolled down her cheeks and Abiageal did not try to hold them back or wipe them away. She was crying and it was not a pretty sight; she was not crying like those girls in books where the boy they love tells them 'you're still beautiful even when you cry', with a look full of love. And Abiageal was glad no one was there, with her.

Abiageal did not really know why she was crying. That decision she had made three days ago, was a logical and rational one. She had had a choice to make, and she made one. End of the story.

However, if Abiageal was crying, it was because she feared Theodore's reaction when she told him the ( terrible ) news. She was not ready for such a confrontation.

When the front doorbell rang out into the yard, Abiageal's tears had already stopped, but the path her tears had taken down her cheeks was still visible. Abiageal quickly wiped away the last of her tears before getting up and going to open the door. Theodore and their mutual friends had all decided to spend the afternoon at Abiageal's house, surprisingly enough, it was the only one in the group of friends that had a swimming pool.

Marcus, Adrian, Blaise, and Draco were right in front of her. None of them seemed to be bothered by the Dark Mark that was - still - on his left arm. The parents of the four wizards had probably already told them what had happened. Which meant that Theodore must have known, too. Abiageal swallowed hard. This was not a conversation she wanted to have.

"Have you told him yet?" Marcus Flint asked when all three of them were behind her.

Abiageal just shook her head from side to side. No, she had not done it yet.

"Are you planning on keeping this a secret for long?" Draco asked.

Draco's sentence challenged him. 'Are you planning on keeping it a secret for much longer?' That meant he didn't know, which seemed logical, if he had known, he wouldn't have waited before showing up at Raglan Manor. The idea did not displease Abiageal, if Theodore did not know it, it could not hurt him. Unfortunately, the two Slytherins had made a pact a long time ago, and Abiageal had never broken her word. So she could not keep such a secret. She had to face the consequences of her actions. She had to face the consequences of the decision she had made.

Adrian was about to speak but Abiageal did not give him time to speak.

"I'll tell him, okay? So in the meantime, you keep it a secret. He has to hear it from me and no one else."

"We'll give you two days," Blaise said.

Abiageal sighed but she nodded. How was she going to tell him? She had no idea.

Abiageal was about to go back up to her room to get her cardigan when Marcus followed her.

"Abby! Wait!"

The young Slytherin stopped walking and waited for Marcus.

Marcus Flint was slightly older than Theodore and Abiageal, he was part of the Slytherin Quidditch team, he played Seeker. He had a bad temper, the slightest negative remark about him would make him lose his temper. He was quite violent, but strangely enough, not with his friends, they were the only ones who could say the worst things to him without getting the slightest reaction. He liked to flirt with people, as long as he could get something out of it, he did not care about the person's gender. Abiageal had never understood how students could still fall into the trap or even how Marcus managed to get everything he wanted by flirting; she did not find him particularly attractive...

Adrian Pucey was Marcus' teammate, he was one of the three Chasers of the team. He was not the most popular boy in the group. He hung out with Draco because the latter had influence and as many knew, it was better to be friends with Draco than to be his enemy. Adrian was the most honest of the group, he did not cheat and did not live for the sole purpose of harming others. He lived his little life quietly without worrying about others.

Marcus stopped when he reached her, keeping a certain distance and Abiageal appreciated the effort.

"He'll understand, you know? I think it'll take him some time, but he'll understand why you did it."

"You think so?"

Marcus just nodded and strangely, Abiageal felt reassured. Abiageal went upstairs to get that famous cardigan she could not bear to wear in this heat. Theodore would be late, which was not unusual for the only son of the Nott family. Punctuality was Theodore's worst enemy and anyone who knew Theodore even a little bit knew that.

She stayed alone in her room for long minutes, she needed to be alone before facing Theodore. She was scared. She and Theodore had only just found each other again and she did not want to lose him a second time.

Theodore and Abiageal had been friends when they were younger, Theodore was, at the time, Abiageal's best friend, he was the only person she was comfortable talking to; they had grown up together, Abiageal's mother took care of Theodore when Mr. Nott was at work. Then, after their first year at Hogwarts, the two friends had taken different paths and their friendship had gradually ended at the same time.

They had found each other the same way their friendship had ended. Gradually and without understanding how or when, they had become friends again, as if they had parted ways the day before. There had been no awkward moment where they had to get to know each other again, it was truly as if they had never parted ways.

Theodore had been here for about half an hour, the five boys were in the pool having fun like they had never had before. She was sitting under an umbrella and she was watching them with a small smile on her lips, Theodore looked so happy, she did not want to tell him about the latest news in his life, she did not want to spoil his happiness. The conversation would wait until later.

Theodore stepped out of the large in-ground pool, walking towards Abiageal before sitting down next to her.

"Why don't you join us?"

"Not really in the mood," she said, smiling weakly.

"Sure?"

"Yeah, go have fun."

Theodore stood up before running and jumping into the pool, splashing everyone in the process. Abiageal had to find a way to talk to him without risking losing him a second time. It would not be easy, she was not going to tell him she did not want to study Divination with him anymore and take Study of Ancient Runes instead, it was more serious, more important.

Marcus, Adrian, Blaise and Draco left until a little after the sun had set. Theodore, on the other hand, was still there, he was going to spend the night at Raglan Manor ( or even longer, he did not want to be at home, alone with his father ). She had no choice now. She had to tell him.

"What's going on, Abby?"

The second they all left, Theodore demanded an explanation, he was far from being as stupid as people thought. And even less when it came to Abiageal, he knew right away when something was wrong with her but he had way too much respect and consideration for her to force her to talk when she did not want to do it with an audience in front of them.

"I don't think there's a good way to say this, so I'm just going to tell it like it is. You're going to get upset, you probably won't understand why, but before you start yelling or screaming, let me explain everything to you, okay?"

Theodore, normally, liked the fact that she was incapable of sugarcoating things, she said what she thought as she thought it without knowing that sometimes the person she was talking to could be hurt or might not be ready to hear such a truth. At that precise moment, Theodore wished she would make an effort for him.

"OK. That's okay."

Abiageal took a deep breath before taking off her cardigan completely - she had changed, she had put on her pajamas before putting her cardigan back on, but now that she had taken it off and she could not help but let out a sigh of relief - and revealed the Dark Mark. She looked into Theodore's blue eyes with her green ones, her face closed, no emotion visible, as if she had not spent several hours crying.

"As you can see, I have the Dark Mark because it was the only logical solution available to me. Lord Voldemort needed a new recruit, you were the one who was normally chosen but I stepped in and took your place."

"Abby! How could you think that was a good idea or that I could agree with this decision?"

"It's too late to change your mind anyway."

"Stop trying to be rational for once in your life!"

Abiageal sat silently on the bed in the guest room Theodore was going to occupy, Theodore was pacing in front of him, mumbling in Italian and Abiageal did not need to understand Italian to know he was not saying anything nice. She got out of bed, pulled her pajama shorts back into place properly and walked towards the bedroom door. Theodore stopped talking and looked at her, incredulous.

"Hey! Where are you going?"

"I'll give you some time and space to digest the news. I'd rather leave. I don't like it when you're the one leaving, it brings back bad memories. So, we'll talk tomorrow morning if things are better for you?"

Theodore had to react, and quickly. Abiageal was not the kind of girl who asked for reassurance, in fact she was not like other girls at all and he knew that the hyper-rationalism she displayed was a way for her to protect herself emotionally.

In three strides, Theodore was in front of her, he wrapped his arms around her. Abiageal remained with her arms close to her body, she was stiff as a board; she was not very comfortable with hugs, kisses on the cheeks, holding hands, and other displays of affection.

Anyone else would have gotten offended, but not Theodore, he was used to it and he knew that even if she did not hug him back he still felt special, if it had been anyone else Abiageal would not have even let him near her.

"Nobody's leaving, Abby, okay? Not you. Not me."

"Okay."

Abiageal believed Theodore's words, maybe it was because she was convinced he would never lie to her or maybe it was because those were the words she was so desperate to hear that she was willing to believe them blindly.

And finally, every muscle in Abiageal's body relaxed and she placed her hands on Theodore's hips, just above his pants. For the first time in her life, Abiageal hugged Theodore back.

"It's going to be okay, okay?" he repeated. "I won't abandon you, okay?"

'I won't abandon you' was worth all the 'thank you' in the world in Abiageal's eyes.

Theodore stepped away from Abiageal, he took Abiageal's left hand in his before setting his eyes on her arm. He shook his head from side to side as he saw the Dark Mark soiling, blaspheming Abiageal's soft and beautiful skin. His jaw clenched involuntarily, he was angry with himself. He should have been there that day, he should have been the one to join Voldemort, not Abiageal. He should have never told her he did not want to bear the Mark, she was in this situation because of him and there was absolutely nothing he could do to get her out of it. It was too late and it was all his fault.

Theodore took Abiageal back in his arms, it was the only way he could protect her. He would not let her meet the same tragic fate as her mother. He had still just found Abiageal, he did not plan on losing her anytime soon and if Voldemort wanted to hurt her, he would have to go over his dead body.

"We are in this together, okay? No matter what he asks you to do, I'll be by your side. I won't let you go. I won't abandon you. You won't be alone during this."

"No...it's my decision, you don't have to be involved...I'm supposed to protect you from all of this, Theo."

"There's no way, Abby. End of discussion."

But that was far from the end of the conversation, they both knew that very well. But, the most important thing for now was that Abiageal knew that she would not go through this ordeal alone.