Disclaimer: I don't own the Harry Potter series.
Chapter Two: Scabior's Mission
Something had definitely gone wrong - the Portkey was not supposed to flash like that. Scabior's prey had vanished, not even allowing Sacbior time to grab him and travel too. Had he apparated at the same time? No that wasn't possible. There were apparition wards, and apparition made a cracking sound not a flash of light. Then what? What had Finnegan been whispering when he grabbed the Portkey? Where could he have gone?
The other Snatchers were talking amongst themselves - annoying chatter that interrupted Scabior's thought process.
"Silence!" hissed Scabior. The incompetent, lower-ranking people he had to work with could be infuriating.
"But that wasn't normal," one of the others said.
"I know," grunted Scabior. "Search the area, while I check the holding cells." He used his own Portkey to arrive next to the cells holding the Goblin and the other two Mudbloods. Thomas Finnegan was nowhere to be seen, which meant the Portkey must have taken him somewhere else. Where to, Scabior could only guess.
...
"You idiot!" yelled Fenrir Greyback when Scabior had told him what had happened. "You'd better have something lined up to make up for this. Malfoy isn't going to be happy when we bring this measly bunch back to the manor."
"But I thought…" began Scabior. As far as he'd known, their group had only been responsible for finding Mudbloods and ticking them off the list. He was supposed to be taking them to the Ministry to be processed and tried, not to the Malfoys.
"You thought wrong then," said Greyback. "The Death Eaters are taking a special interest in any friends of Harry Potter, and not only have you failed to recognise one, but you've let him get away too."
"So what do we do now?" Scabior asked.
Greyback huffed. "We find Potter, or face the consequences when we don't."
…..
Luckily, finding Potter hadn't been hard. A tracing spell had been cast so that anyone that spoke the name "Voldemort" could be found, and Potter was stupid enough to use the name. Fenrir Greyback and Scabior were able to proudly present the Mudblood Granger, Harry Potter (although disguised with a stinging hex), and Ronald Weasley when they arrived a Malfoy Manor later that day. Their reputations as competent Snatchers were upheld.
