A low, mournful howl cried off in the distance as the lone wolf sang to the moon. His pack mates joined him, creating an eerie melody that drifted through the night. Thinking that He recognized the call, the feeble life form turned towards the song, as if hoping to see the caller through the woods. The fire crackled merrily in the corner of His vision and the man stroking the fire shivered.
His voice was hoarse, still weak from fatigue, as Voldemort hissed, "Scared, Wormtail?"
"N-n-no, My Lord," the pathetic man stuttered. His tiny, watery eyes darted around the clearing just like a rat searching the room. He really was a pathetic excuse for a man – short and squat with no redeeming qualities other than his ability to follow orders to the tee. Why, if Wormtail hadn't been such a good listener, then Voldemort would not have been able to assume the pathetic from He now inhabited. Granted it was weak and useless, but for the first time in thirteen years He had a body of His own. He required Wormtail to milk Nagini, the last snake He had possessed, every day, so that Voldemort could maintain this form. Should Wormtail abandon Him, He would be forced to repossess Nagini or another animal. He watched His servant fret about the fire, throwing a couple of dry sticks to keep the flame alive. Poor fool; had he been more apt at magic he could have simply magiked a flame. Still, he was cleaver, tricking the great Dumbledore into believing that he was on their side, while secretly passing information along to Voldemort. The man even faked his own death when he was cornered by Black years ago, and yet again escaped from his former friend's hands just a month or so ago. That's why he was here – he was seeking protection from the person he framed. Wormtail was nothing but a benign parasite: sucking the blood of stronger creatures but doing no real harm in the process.
Nagini lifted her head, her tongue flicking out, tasting the air. "What do you smell?" Voldemort asked in Parseltongue. He noticed how uneasy Wormtail looked as He spoke to the snake.
"It's a wolf, my Lord," the snake replied, tilting her head as if trying to see past the trees. "Shall I kill it?"
There was a rustling in the underbrush and Wormtail jumped to his feet, his wand shaking in his hand. Nagini hissed and reared back, ready to strike.
A white nose poked out from between the bushes, followed by a white face and deep, dark brown eyes. The white wolf flashed a toothy smile and said, "It's good to see you again, my Lord."
Voldemort's face cracked into a smile. "Audra," He said happily. "It's been… so long."
The wolf extracted herself from the bush, her beautiful white fur reflecting the light of the fire. She looked the same as ever, piercing brown eyes, sharp toothy grin, and soft sleek fur. She threw her head back and howled a deep, sorrowful moan to the night sky. She held the note for a minute before it was echoed far off in the distance. Audra smiled apologetically at the people around her. "Sorry, I was letting them know I found you," she explained. "The pack has helped me track you for the past week."
She transformed, changing in front of His eyes back to human. He hadn't seen her in thirteen years and she was still as breathtakingly beautiful as ever: dark cinnamon skin that had been kissed by the sun, warm caramel hair, sharp yet soft features, and defined muscles. Her smile was dazzling white, crinkling the corners of her small, chocolate eyes. She had a natural glow that surrounded her, an aura like that of the ocean – infinitely wide and just as deep.
Her brow furrowed, taking in His pathetic form. "My Lord, you're," she paused, looking for the correct word. She crept closer to Him and Nagini hissed, obviously not pleased. Audra stopped and regarded the snake. "I'm not going to hurt Him, Nagini," she said to the snake, reaching out her hand. It was a test of courage, sticking her arm out there, completely vulnerable to the dangerous snake. Nagini looked at her hand, flicking her tongue as she did. Audra continued to stretch and Nagini remained still, allowing for the woman to touch her. Audra stroked the snake on the underside of the jaw, where the scales were soft and sensitive to touch.
Voldemort smiled. "Still good with animals," He commented, His voice hardly above a whisper.
Audra nodded. "This one is intelligent," she said, indicating the Nagini. "I've never met a snake with this advanced a thought process. Except for you, of course," she added as an afterthought.
She turned back towards the being, taking in every detail of His useless body. It looked as if He was a human infant midway to adolescence. His arms and legs were abnormally long, as if the hormones to grow had been turned on but the torso remained the size of a two-year-old's. His almond-shaped eyes were un-proportionately large for His head and His nose was completely reduced to a slit. His sallow, grey skin hadn't seen the harmful sun in its existence, nor had the bones received the much needed calcium to grow. Gently she touched His face. It was so strange feeling her touch again; her hands were calloused and rougher than He remembered, but she was careful not to cause Him pain. Carefully, she sat and lifted Him into her lap, cradling Him like a mother holds a newborn. She was warm and comforting, her healing aura washing over Him like a calm tide.
"Alchemy, my Lord?" Audra questioned. Alchemy was an extremely advanced piece of Dark Magic, requiring the proper combination of elements to create a human body. The hardest part is getting the soul to accept the body, since necromancers who use alchemy are doing so to bring someone back from the dead. Since Voldemort's soul was already wandering the living world, it was simpler than it should have been; a good thing, seeing as Wormtail was nowhere near the caliber of wizard needed for necromancy. However, Wormtail did flounder with the spell, which is why Voldemort was now stuck in this useless form and not a stronger one. Still, Wormtail continued the enchantment, milking Nagini to use her venom as an anchor to the living world. Audra could do it, Voldemort thought, she's strong enough to do the spell correctly.
"My Lord, alchemy goes against my very nature as a druid," Audra answered; she must have heard His thought – she did have that ability, especially when He was weak. "We can try another method later. For now, we need to get you back to England."
"And how do you propose that?" asked Wormtail, finally finding his voice. "We can't apperate, we can't portkey, and we can't fly. What do you suggest? We walk?"
"Only about twenty or so kilometers to the next town," Audra corrected. "I'm having a car delivered." She pulled out an iphone and checked the coordinates of their location. Voldemort watched as she consulted the virtual map, her thumb flicking the screen and moving the map.
Curiosity got the better of him. "What is that?"
"It's an iphone," she replied. "One of the best cell phones in existence. I know one of the programmers, so I'm test piloting the newest network: 3G." He still stared at the contraption as if it was from Mars. "It's a muggle invention," she continued, "A way to keep in contact with each other. This phone here," she twitched the phone, "was one of the first to pioneer the concept of picking up the internet on a phone, creating the smart phone wave. It's wonderful, having everything I need at the touch of a button."
"And why are you using muggle things?" Voldemort hissed.
Audra gave Him a look. "I've been living mostly in the muggle world," she said. "After I was convicted of being your Second, the Ministry wasn't too quick to offer me a job. Fortunately, the United States and British muggle governments hired me as an assassin; I'm one of the best in the world."
She returned her gaze to the phone, sighed, pressed a button and put it in her pocket. "Megan's agent is behind schedule; the car hasn't been delivered yet." She looked up towards the waxing moon apparently trying to judge how much time she'd have before she shifts. Audra, Voldemort remembered, was a werewolf; and an extremely powerful and dangerous one at that. "Shit," she whispered, "I must of lost track of time. It looks like the moon is tomorrow."
She turned towards Wormtail. "I don't suppose you can make the Wolfsbane Potion?"
Wormtail suddenly looked very nervous. He began mumbling and backed away from where Audra sat.
"Well then, I highly recommend that you're nowhere near me tomorrow night," she suggested seriously. "I will be of no harm to you, My Lord," she added, looking down at Him. "Only the piece of shit is in danger.
"Aren't you supposed to be dead?" she asked Wormtail, looking up at him with her head tilted.
Wormtail began wringing his hands, obviously wishing he was somewhere else. He continued stuttering and muttering incoherently. "He faked his death," Voldemort answered for him. "About the only brilliant thing he's done."
"And why would you do that?" Audra continued to question. Although she knew the story, she continued to press on, as if she was completely clueless to the situation.
"Black was going to kill me!" Wormtail squeaked.
"And why would he do that? You did nothing?"
"Ah, and that's what the world thinks," commented Voldemort. "Wormtail here was the Potter's Secret Keeper. Not Black, as you believed."
Audra looked skeptically at Wormtail, sizing the man up to the deed he had done. Finally she nodded. "Very impressive; I would have never thought you capable of that. I take it you were the spy within the Order as well?"
The rat had an expression somewhere between confusion and nervousness. He nodded, and mumbled something that sounded like "you", "Black" and "dating".
Audra understood. "Black and I broke up before I joined the Death Eaters. He didn't like the fact I was joining. I cut ties with all of them shortly before seeking out my Lord."
Voldemort squirmed in her arms. "Are you hungry, my Lord?" she asked motherly. It was amazing how the instinct could still kick in even though she was barren. Voldemort nodded, His large almond eyes almost pleading for food. "Here," she said, carefully standing and handing Him to Wormtail. "You take care of Him and I'll get us dinner." And with that she transformed into a wolf and ran off into the night.
Wormtail was shaking so much from the contact with the Dark Lord that he nearly dropped Him. "Careful!" Voldemort hissed at the man. Clumsily he began feeding Voldemort.
"My-my Lord," Wormtail began shakily. He didn't know how the Dark Lord would take this bit of news. "Do, do you know who she is?"
A sudden wave of energy hit the servant in the gut as Voldemort lashed out at the fool. "Of course I know who she is. Audra is my Second-in-Command and my most faithful servant."
The verbal blow hurt worse than the physical one; after all Wormtail was the one who sought Him out. "M-m-my Lord, she's a Mendez sister."
Voldemort was caught off guard. "Mendez," that name sounded familiar.
"The Mendez sisters are three of the best aurors," explained Wormtail. "My Lord, she could be a spy for the Order."
Voldemort thought about the possibility. But no, it was completely absurd. Why would someone go to the lengths she did if they were a spy? It made no sense. Voldemort shook His head. "No, she's not," He said aloud. "And if I hear one more thing out of your mouth about her, I will kill you." He knew He shouldn't have been that defensive about her. After all, she is a mudblood.