Chapter 3: the rest of the meeting
"At any rate, it remains unlikely that the Ministry will mine before next Saturday. If we cannot touch the boy at his destination, then it must be done while he travel's."
Well, Duh, Christine thought.
"We are at an advantage there, my Lord," Yexley spoke up again, "We now have several people planted within the Department of Magical Transport. If Potter apparates or uses the Floo Network, we shall know immediately."
"He will not do either, the Order is eschewing any form of transport that is controlled or regulated by the Ministry," Snape replied.
"They mistrust everything to do with the place," Christine added.
"All the better. He will have to move in the open. Easier to take, by far."
Yes, it is, she thought.
"I shall attend to the boy in person. There have been too many mistakes where Harry Potter is concerned. Some of them have been my own. That Potter lives is due more to my error than to his triumphs."
Oh great, someone is going to be blamed, I just hope it's not me, she thought.
She noticed that the Dark Lord looking up at the person. He continued, "I have been careless, and so have been thwarted by luck and chance, those wreckers of all but the best made plans. But I know better now. I understand those things that I didn't understand before. I must be the one to kill Harry Potter and I shall be."
Of course you will be, my Lord, she thought.
There was a scream of pain.
"Wormtail, have I not spoken to you about keeping our prisoner quiet?"
"Yes, m-my Lord," Wormtail stuttered as he ran from the room.
Why don't you just use the Cruciatus Curse on him, she thought.
"As I was saying. I understand better now. I shall need, for instance, to borrow a wand from one of you to kill Potter."
Please, not my wand, I have to go to the Burrow for a talk with Molly Weasley, she thought.
"No volunteers? Let's see…" The Dark Lord said looking around the room, "Lucius, I see no reason for you to have a wand any more."
"My Lord?" asked a very pale Lucius Malfoy.
"Your wand, Lucius. I require your wand."
"I…" Malfoy started. Then he glanced at Narcissa and must have decided to obey because he passed his wand down the table to the Dark Lord.
The Dark Lord examined the wand and asked, "What is it?"
"Elm, my Lord."
"And the core?"
"Dragon- dragon heart string."
"Good," said the Dark Lord. He drew his own wand and compared the lengths. It seemed that for a mere second that Malfoy expected the Dark Lord's wand in exchange for his.
"Give you my wand, Lucius? My wand?"
A few people giggled.
"I have given you your liberty, Lucius, is that not enough for you? But I have noticed that you and your family seem less then happy as of late… What is it about my presence in your home that displeases you, Lucius?"
"Nothing- nothing, my Lord!"
Even I can tell you're lying to him, Christine thought
"Such lies, Lucius…"
All of the sudden Christine and some of the other Death Eaters heard the snake enter the room.
Oh great, here comes Nagini, she thought, as the snake made its way to the Dark Lord. It crawled up to rest on his shoulders. He absent mindedly stroked the snake while his eyes were boring into Malfoy. "Why do the Malfoys look so unhappy with their lot? Is my return, my rise to power, not the very thing they professed to desire for so many years?"
"Of course, my Lord. We did desire it- we do," Malfoy said. Narcissa made a stiff nod; And Draco let his eyes flicker once at the Dark Lord, then looked away.
"My Lord, it is an honor to have you here, in our family's house. There can be no higher pleasure," Bellatrix said leaning towards the Dark Lord.
"No higher pleasure. That means a great deal, Bellatrix, from you."
Bellatrix's face flooded with color; her eyes filled with tears of joy. She said, "My Lord knows I speak nothing but the truth!"
"No higher pleasure… even compared with the happy event that, I hear, has taken place in your family this week?"
She really looked confused as if someone used the Confundus Charm on her.
"I don't know what you mean, my Lord."
"I'm talking about your niece, Bellatrix. And yours, Lucius and Narcissa. She has just married the werewolf, Remus Lupin. You must be so proud."
A lot of the Death Eaters laughed, but the snake didn't like the outburst because it started hissing. Bellatrix's face turned a blotchy red.
"She is no niece of ours, my Lord. We- Narcissa and I- have never set eyes on our sister since she married the Mudblood. This brat has nothing to do with either of us, nor any beast she marries!" she cried over the laughter.
"What say you, Draco? Will you baby-sit the cubs?" the Dark Lord asked.
The laughter got louder.
"Enough," the Dark Lord commanded stroking the angry snake, "Enough."
The laughter died at once.
"Many of our oldest family trees become a little diseased over time. You must prune yours, must you not, to keep it healthy? Cut away those parts that threaten the health of the rest."
"Yes, my Lord. At the first chance!" Bellatrix replied.
"You shall have it. And in your family, so in the world… we shall cut away the canker that infects us until those of the true blood remain…"
The Dark Lord raised Lucius Malfoy's wand, pointed it at the suspended person, and gave it a tiny flick. The person came alive with a groan and began to struggle against the invisible bonds.
"Do you recognize our guest, Severus?" asked the Dark Lord.
Snape looked up at the revolving person's face. All the Death Eaters were looking at it, for now they thought that they were given permission to show curiosity. It's Professor Burbage, she thought.
When the person revolved around to face the firelight, she begged, "Severus! Help me!"
"Ah, yes," answered Snape.
"And you, Draco?" the Dark Lord asked, stroking the snake's snout. Draco shook his head jerkily.
"But you wouldn't have taken her class," the Dark Lord said, "For those of you who do not know, we are joined by Charity Burbage who, until recently, taught at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."
There were a few noises of comprehension around the table and someone laughed.
"Yes… Professor Burbage taught the children of witches and wizards all about Muggles… how they are not so different from us…"
Gibbon spat on the floor. Professor Burbage revolved to face Snape again.
"Severus…please…please…"
"Silence!" commanded the Dark Lord as he gave Malfoy's wand another twitch, "Not content with corrupting and polluting the minds of Wizarding children, last week Professor Burbage wrote an impassioned defense of Mudbloods in the Daily Prophet. Wizards, she says, must accept these thieves of their knowledge and magic. The dwindling of the purebloods is, says Professor Burbage, a most desirable circumstance…She would have us all mate with Muggles…or, no doubt, werewolves…"
Nobody was laughing because they all heard the anger and contempt in the Dark Lord's voice.
"Avada Kedavra."
The flash of green light illuminated the room. Professor Burbage fell with a crash onto the table. Several Death Eaters leaped back in their chairs, and Draco fell to the floor.
"Dinner, Nagini," the Dark Lord said softly, "You are all dismissed, except for Black."
They all got up and left the room. On a few faces Christine saw some gloating expressions. After all of them were gone, she got up from her seat, walked towards the Dark Lord, knelt at his side, and said, "My Lord, let me explain." And prepared for the worst.
"Christine, you don't need to explain anything. I understand why you were late. I am a little disappointed that the Order didn't trust you with the real date, but maybe they will tell you where they will hide the boy. I have a mission for you. You are to find out where they are going to hide Potter next. You have until the Ministry falls to find out. You are excused from any meetings and outing that I call until then. I may or may not hold you accountable if you fail this mission. And only you can know this at this time, I am soon going to leave the country. Do you understand?"
"Yes, I do, my Lord," she replied.
"Dismissed," the Dark Lord commanded.
Christine quickly got up and left, thankful that he decided not to punish her tardiness. When she got outside the Manor gates, she turned left and walked three miles. Then she looked around to see if she was alone. When she saw that she was, she pulled out her wand and said, "Expectro Patronum!" She watched the wolf form of her patronus race to the Burrow, warning her of her arrival in five minutes.
She turned and disapparated.