To Become a Death Eater
The night before the second trial, Luna was summoned to Flitwick's office, and we said our goodbyes sadly. I fell asleep late, worried about Luna, and ate a hurried breakfast of mostly bacon before heading down to the lake, clad only in a swimsuit under my robes. When I arrived, I found that I was the last one on the platform, I rolled my shoulders, disrobed, and blocked out the cheers or Bagman talking. I was solely focused on getting to Luna. When the start sounded, I dove into the water, sprouting gills and long fins immediately. I flew through the water, determined to stay ahead of Potter, who was placed second, a tie with Krum. I figured if I was the one in the lead the whole time, whatever spells or attempts on his life would be accidentally directed to me. As I neared the village, I began to yell in Mermish. The Merpeople looked up, surprised, and I yelled a greeting to them as I swam past, finding the post that Luna was tied to immediately. I untied her, and was struck with an idea. I quickly conversed with an official looking Merman, who agreed to my plan. I theorised that if someone was going to attack Potter, they might as well do it here. I swam Luna to the surface, waved to the crowd before sending a Patronus to Dumbledore, who was standing a ways off. I carried her to shore, kissed her forehead, and dove back down into the water. I arrived to find Krum sawing at one of the lines with a rock, while Harry was waiting with Ron, apparently looking for Fleur. Krum swam up with Hermione in tow. I ducked behind a rock, watching Harry as he waited. After a little, he began sawing at Fleur's line with the rock, grabbing the little girl and Ron. He struck out for the surface, making it halfway before whatever spell or potion he was using ran out. I jumped in, expanding my foot fins, and gripped the three of them, kicking powerfully towards the surface. The Merpeople swam up around us for a little, watching my progress with amusement. Finally, after what felt like days, we breached the surface. I towed the unconscious trio to the shore, Ron and the little girl waking up slowly. I heaved them onto the rocks, before drawing my wand, body shifting back to normal. I aimed it at Harry, and spoke.
"Ennervate." He coughed, spitting up water, and sat up. I gripped his shoulders, and spoke.
"Are you alright?" He nodded after a moment, still coughing, and I sat down. All of a sudden, Luna engulfed me in a hug.
"You moron! Why did you go back?" I looked carefully at Harry, and spoke to her.
"I had a bad feeling about it, and I went back to check. Besides, if I hadn't, Harry would be dead." She nodded, before releasing me, and punching my shoulder.
"Ow!" She shook her head, and we stood. I noticed Dumbledore, in deep conversation with a Merperson who was at the shore, screeching back and forth, until they seemed to reach a conclusion. He stood, and walked over to the other judges, conversing quickly. After a moment, Bagman spoke, using the Sonorus Charm.
"The judges have listened to the Merpeople's accounts, and find that Fleur Delacour, who used a Bubble-Head Charm to good effect, but was stopped by a grindylow, is awarded twenty five points." She shook her head, obviously not happy with her score, and they moved on.
"Next, we have Dugan Kehoe, who finished well within the time limit by using his powers as a Metamorphmagus to outstanding effect, forty points. But, as the extenuating circumstances of the situation were explained to us by the Merchief Mercus, he is awarded a total of fifty points for saving the life of Harry Potter." The spectators roared, and I smiled, hugging Luna to my shoulder.
"To Viktor Krum, for an excellent use of partial Tranfiguration, and returning second within the time constraints, we award forty points." He looked mildly surprised.
"And to Mr. Harry Potter, for using gillyweed to great effect, and for attempting to bring back all of the contestants, even though he returned outside the time constraints, we award forty-five points." Everyone applauded, and I sighed.
"The final trial will take place June the 24th. The champions will be notified exactly one month before the task takes place as to what they are to do. That is all." We stood, and headed towards the castle, hand in hand.
-
After the introduction to the maze, I knew I had the Tournament in the bag. First, there was maze navigation, which I was amazing at; two, I was planning to fly above the pitch the eve of the task to get a good view of the maze; three, I was getting a head start; and four, I was the best spellcaster of the lot. It was currently the eve of the 24th, and I was soaring high above the pitch, plotting my course. Technically it was cheating, but I was cheating to help someone, so it balanced out in my mind. Once I had figured out a good path, I winged my way back to my window, landing and finding Luna sternly watching. I made to hop back out of the window, but she waved her wand, shutting and locking the door.
"Shift back, Dugan." I sheepishly shifted, and watched her nervously.
"Did you fly over the pitch?" I nodded, and she sighed.
"Good, I didn't want to tell you too." I was shocked.
"What, you and I know that you need to beat Harry in order to keep him safe, so it was a good idea." I sighed in relief, and she smiled.
"Now, you need to get some sleep." I crawled into bed, shortly followed by her, and we slept through the night in each other's arms.
~
The morning of, I was summoned to the back room once more, after being told my family was there. I was hit by a brief thought of my parents waiting, but that was crushed when I saw no one. Molly, Arthur, and Bill had shown up for Harry, and I stood in the same corner I had on the night my name was called. Viktor and Fleur were both talking to their families, and they looked like they weren't going to stop, so I was resigned to my fate of being alone, when Luna walked through the door and over to me.
"Hey." I smiled, and asked her,
"What are you doing here?" She shrugged.
"I asked Dumbledore whether you had any family coming, and when he said no, I asked if I could be here with you." I hugged her, and she spoke into my shoulder.
"And it also got me out of class today, so that was a plus." I laughed, and withdrew from the hug.
"So, what do you want to do?" I shrugged.
"We could just sit at the entrance to the maze all day and talk." She nodded.
"Sounds good to me." We walked down, and spent the day talking about the articles Skeeter had written about Potter. When night began to fall, people began filling into the seats, and I stood in the small area before the entrance with the other three champions after a goodbye hug to Luna. McGonagall explained the rules to us, stating that Hagrid, Moody, Flitwick, and herself would be patrolling the edges of the maze, and to send up red sparks if we needed help. Bagman read off the champions, and, as I was the first pointwise, it was my turn to enter at the sound of his whistle. I did, moving quickly and purposefully, and promptly got lost in the hallways of hedges. I hexed a Skrewt, dodged a boggart, and had a nasty run in with a spider that I almost had to kill, but an Impediment curse stopped quickly. By this time, the other Champions had long entered the maze, and I was beginning to lose hope when I sighted the Goblet, but in my way was a sphinx. She leaned forward, paws slowly creeping towards me, and spoke.
"In the morning I walk on four legs,
At noon I walk on two.
In the evening I walk on three.
What am I?"
Not hesitating, I spoke.
"A man." She frowned, and stepped out of the way. I ran past, and reached the cup at the same time as Harry. We lunged for it, both caught it at the same time, and were whisked away by what had to be a Portkey.
We landed in a murky cemetery, and I stood immediately, drawing my wand.
"Kill the spare!" Out of nowhere I heard someone shouting the Killing Curse, and I Apparated on instinct. I appeared some distance away, as the Killing Curse smashed a tombstone to pieces.
"He-he has gone, my Lord. Apparation." The rasping voice spoke again.
"Smart boy. Now, proceed with the ceremony." I froze, rooted to the spot, as a wizened old man tied Harry to a tombstone, and raised a knife.
"NO!" I dove into the man, knocking him away, and he tumbled to the ground with me.
"What is this? The spare returns, and I see his face. It is the Kehoe boy, I have wanted to speak with him for a while now. Complete the ceremony. Petrificus Totalus!" I was rooted to the spot, and turned slowly to face a small bundle on the floor, poking out of which was a bald, flat face on an almost childlike head.
"Voldemort." The grotesque face smiled.
"Charmed. Now, I have heard tell that you defeated Dumbledore in a duel two years ago. Is this true?" As the other man completed the ritual, Harry screamed in agony behind me, causing me to wrench at my bonds, but to no avail before looking at him and nodding.
"You should consider joining us. I will send someone to you over the summer to talk." I struggled fiercely as the other man interrupted by picking the bundle up, unwrapping it, and revealing the most disgusting thing I'd ever seen-it was hairless and scaly-looking, a dark, raw, red-dish black. Its arms and legs were thin and feeble, and its face was flat and snakelike, with gleaming red eyes, and dropping it into the cauldron before mixing a host of disgusting things into it, such as Harry's blood, the bone of Voldemort's father, and his own hand. With white steam pouring out of the cauldron, it emptied, revealing a tall, pale man with snakelike eyes and literally no nose. He pulled on a set of black robes handed to him by the man, before speaking.
"You don't know how long I've waited for this, Potter. Summon them, Wormtail." The other man, Wormtail, did so by allowing Voldemort to summon the Death Eaters by pressing his index finger against the Dark Mark on his arm, and Voldemort gave him a new hand made of silver to replace the one he had cut off as the Death Eaters arrived, me making some headway against the Petrifying Curse. When the Death Eaters arrived, he addressed a few of them by name, (Avery, Lucius Malfoy, Walden MacNair, to name a few) before telling of how he returned and his close connection to Potter, before trying to humiliate Potter in combat. I yelled out suddenly,
"Tom! I need to speak to you." He froze, and turned.
"What did you just say?" I struggled coming up with a plan, and spoke.
"I wish to see if your cause is great enough for me to join. As you know, I have defeated Dumbledore in a duel, so now I must see whether I can beat you. If you beat me, you win, I join your cause and act as a spy for you in Hogwarts on Dumbledore, who is relying heavily on me as of late. If I win, Harry and I here return to Hogwarts unharmed." He laughed, high and cold, before waving his wand, dissipating the spell that held me. I fell to the ground, and drew my wand once more. The Death a Eaters formed a circle, and he spoke.
"You tempt me, Dugan. I accept, on one condition: if I win, you are branded with the Dark Mark here and now, before returning to Hogwarts." I nodded, and we strode to opposing ends of the circle before bowing.
"Do not forget what happens if I win." He smiled, and waited.
"Oh, I insist, Voldemort. You cast the first spell." He laughed once more, and, without speaking, shot a Stunning Spell at me. I blocked it wordlessly before sending a Disarming Spell at him, which he dodged. I was busy thinking of my next spell, and didn't have time to block his Imperius Curse, but threw it off easily enough before retaliating with a Cruiciatus curse.
"Enough with the spells, Riddle. Let's get creative." I whipped my wand towards the ground, and the grass rose up, forming a hail of arrows that turned into a large snake, slithering towards me before bursting into a cloud of smoke that condensed into a ball of fire that raced at him before turning into a whip that turned into a floating axe, which he barely blocked. He grew impatient, and lifted his wand to point directly between my eyes.
"Avada Kedavra!" I dove out of the way, as did the Death Eaters behind me, and waved my wand, sending a wave of Fiend Fyre at him that he dispersed with a flick of his wand, before sending a wave of white light at me. Not thinking, I slashed my wand, forming a strong Shield Charm, and the light hit it with a bell-like noise, knocking me flat on my back. I was frozen, and outwardly swore, while inwardly it was all going according to the plan.
"I have won, Kehoe, and I shall brand you myself." I floated up to face him, and he rolled up the sleeve of my left arm to the edge of my forearm, before pressing his wand into the spot and muttering a spell. I screamed, the burning pain too great to bear, and watched as the Dark Mark was branded into my arm, before he released his wand, and the spell vanished. I collapsed to the ground, arm burning, and he turned to Harry before initiating a second duel. As they fought, their wands had the same reaction as Dumbledore's and mine, except theirs was a golden white. After fighting for as long as he could, Harry broke away, and used a Summoning Charm on the Goblet before grabbing me, we were whisked into space, me barely having time to pull my sleeve over my arm before we landed at the entrance to the maze. I crumpled to the floor, and watched as Moody pulled Harry away. I called to Dumbledore, and, when he leaned over me, I whispered to him.
"Get Moody! He's the spy!" before Madam Pomfrey got to me. Dumbledore turned, and raced after the pair, McGonagall and Snape close behind, while I was carried to the Hospital Wing. I wouldn't allow her to inspect my arms or legs, owing to the Dark Mark, and told her it was from a Cruciatus Curse. She left, and Luna burst into the wing.
"Are you alright? We saw the Portkey flash, and when you didn't turn up I was terrified!" She hugged me, and I put my right hand on her shoulder.
"He's back, Luna. He's back and and he branded me." I rolled back my sleeve, showing her the Mark, and she sighed.
"Well, it would have happened sometime. What happened?" I told her how the Portkey had taken us to a graveyard, and what had transpired during the two duels. She gasped when I told her about dodging the Killing Curse, and heaved a sigh of relief when I told her of how we escaped.
"Harry saved me." Just then, Dumbledore entered, followed by a severely aggravated Snape.
"It's him, I know it! Ask the Potter boy, he'll surely tell you so." They arrived at my bed, and Dumbledore sent Luna from the Wing, leaving me alone with the two men, curled up on the bed.
"Dugan. Did you receive the Dark Mark at the cemetery? I spoke to Harry, and he omitted a certain part of his story, which I found suspicious." I sighed, before nodded and pulling up my sleeve, showing him the Mark. Snape recoiled, and Dumbledore nodded.
"I thought as much. Did Voldemort do it himself?" I nodded, and spoke.
"He said he'd send someone to meet me over the summer. Do you think I should meet them?" Snape looked at me, flabbergasted, and was even more surprised when Dumbledore nodded.
"You can't seriously be considering this, Dumbledore." He nodded gravely, and I spoke.
"It's the only way we have right now to get close enough to Voldemort on a regular basis. How is Harry?" Dumbledore shrugged, and told the story of how they had saved him from Barty Crouch Jr., which I found interesting. Snape was taken aback, and collapsed into the nearest chair.
"This is strange. This is very strange." Dumbledore chuckled, and I smiled.
"So, I figure I'll start making regular trips to Hogsmeade over the summer, if that's alright." He nodded, and left to go address the students, leaving me with Snape. He sat in silence while I writhed, before drawing his wand.
"Here. Let me take some of the pain away." He muttered a spell, and the pain slowly began to fade away. I thanked him, and he nodded, before rising.
"If you must know, I'm Voldemort's informant at Hogwarts, but I'm actually working for Dumbledore. I'll be here to help you next year with the Mark if it pains you." I nodded, and lapsed into a nervous sleep, overwhelmed by the planning.
-
It was mid July, and I received an owl from Voldemort himself, telling me to meet him in the Shrieking Shack that day. I notified Dumbledore, who wished me luck, before I walked to the Whomping Willow, and called for Ernest. He arrived, Petrified the tree, and streaked off to who-knows-where. I chuckled, and crawled through the passage and arriving in the Shack after a while. I found him sitting in one of the torn up chairs, twirling his wand between his fingers, the snake curled around the legs.
"My lord."
"Ah, Dugan. We must talk." I sat in another chair, and waited patiently.
"I am planning a breakout from Azkaban, to retrieve my most loyal servants. You will head the attempt, and, if you fail..." He left the threat hanging in the air, before continuing, talking through the nuances of the plan while the snake slept peacefully.
"I'll contact you once more when I am ready. Do not fail me." He Apparated away, taking the snake with him, and I shuddered, snakes not being one of my favourite animals, before crawling through the tunnel and finding Dumbledore at the other end.
"Come with me." Once we were inside, he asked me to recount what Voldemort had said. I did, and he sighed.
"I figured he would ask you to do something dangerous, but this is incredible." I nodded, and he spoke.
"Continue to aid him until we can find the Horcruxes, and then we shall strike." I nodded again, and headed to the library, intent on reading up on the wizard prison, Azkaban.