Chapter Nine – Halloween Preparations

The next few weeks passed in much the same way for Matthew. During the day, he would coast through his lessons, having covered almost all of them before he came to Hogwarts, and every other evening would be spent in the Room of Requirement, scouting for potential recruits for his father's cause under the guise of helping them with schoolwork.

One thing that Matthew found particularly interesting was that over the past two or three weeks, some of the older students seemed to have caught wind of his study group and had begun to come along as well. He didn't mind, but it had surprised him; he would have thought the older students would be hesitant to admit to needing the help of a first year. As the size of the group increased, so did the Room of Requirement. It was now nearing the size of the Great Hall and Entrance Hall combined.

Everyone seemed to be slowly making progress. Susan was no longer becoming flustered in Transfiguration and Neville no longer fell to pieces in Potions lessons, though his fear of Snape still seemed deeply ingrained. Matthew had written to his father several time with reports of his progress, to which his father responded with approval.

One week before Halloween, Matthew was sat cross-legged on his bed, writing a letter to his father, several layers of Privacy Charms, Notice-Me-Not Charms and other security spells surrounding his four-poster. While he usually wrote to his father in the common room, this letter contained rather sensitive material.

Over the last few weeks, he had been thinking of various ways in which to make Potter try to stop Quirrell from getting the Stone. The first stage of the plan was scheduled to begin on Halloween night.

Finishing the letter and signing his name with a flourish, he smiled to himself as he read over the letter.

Father,

I am in need of some assistance for the first stage of my plan. Could you task some of your Death Eaters with procuring a mountain troll?

oOoOo

Two days later, high in the Rätikon mountain range in Lichtenstein, Bellatrix, Rodolphus and Rabastan Lestrange pulled their cloaks tighter around themselves, trying to ward off the cold of the mountains. Behind them trailed five low ranking Death Eaters, fodder for the troll, not that they knew that yet.

"Remind me again why we're doing this?" Rabastan growled, gritting his teeth against the cold air.

"Because the Dark Lord demands it." Bellatrix retorted, her tone biting.

"You mean, because the Dark Lord's kid demands it."

"That is irrelevant. If you value your life, you will do as ordered without question." Rodolphus said harshly. "The kid is powerful; soon, even Bella won't be a match for him in a one on one duel."

Bellatrix remained silent, though she knew her husband was right. She had trained Matthew in the art of duelling from a young age, and his prowess in the art was astounding. At the tender age of eight, he had been able to best several mid-ranked Death Eaters in a five on one duel. His duelling style was something to be marvelled at. While Bellatrix preferred a very direct, all-out approach, Matthew was able to use anything and everything in the surrounding environment to his advantage.

A large opening in the cliff face appeared slowly out of the mist. Bellatrix drew to a halt, raising her hand to signal the others to stop.

"I think this is the place."

The assembled Death Eaters drew their wands, the lower ranks peering apprehensively into the cave. Casting a Supersensory Charm, Bellatrix listened intently to the sounds emanating from the cave. While the howling of the wind drowned out most of the noise, she could just make out a low, grunting sound.

Dispelling the effects of the charm, she said, "As far as I can tell, there's only one troll in there."

Rodolphus nodded and turned to the group.

"All right, here's what's going to happen. You five are going in first and lighting the place up. If you can, try to disorientate the troll. We'll be right behind you. When we give the order, give the beast everything you've got, but don't kill it. If you do, you may as well toss yourself off the nearest cliff."

This was not the true plan, of course. The real plan was the five to enter first serve as a distraction while the Lestranges subdued and captured the troll. But Rodolphus wasn't going to tell them that.

"Okay, in you go."

The five Death Eaters made their way forward cautiously, their wands gripped tightly in their hands. Bellatrix smirked as they slowly entered the cave. The lower ranks were so easy to fool. They were so keen, so desperate to ingratiate themselves with the Dark Lord to be awarded a spot in the Inner Circle that they followed any orders given to them without question.

Light blazed out of the cave. There was a dull roar, followed by the cries and screams of the Death Eaters. Rabastan turned to the other two.

"I guess we'd better get in there."

Bellatrix twirled her wand in her hand and nodded. Rodolphus and Rabastan gripped their wands and the three ran toward the opening of the cave.

The first thing they saw as they entered the cave was the troll. 10 feet tall, it towered over the Death Eaters, who were darting wildly around the cave, dancing away from the large club it was swinging. One woman wasn't quite quick enough; the club smashed into her at maximum velocity and she flew through the air across the cave, crashing against the wall with a sickening crunch. She didn't get back up.

Bellatrix ducked as the club swung toward her, whistling over her head. Rodolphus raised his wand as he surged forward.

"NOW!"

Jets of red light flew at the troll, impacting against its skin. However, this seemed totally ineffective; the troll's skin was too thick.

Two more Death Eaters fell to the troll's club before another round of Stunning spells were fired. This second barrage had even less effect than the first; if anything, it only served to enrage the troll further. Bellatrix ducked under yet another swing and pointed her wand at the troll's leg.

"Fabricio!"

The troll roared in pain as a large metal spike speared through its hamstring. It dropped to one knee, hands grasping at the spike, trying desperately to remove it. The remaining Death Eaters took the moment to regroup in front of the troll.

"Stupefy!"

Five separate jets of red light soared through the air and impacted against the troll's face. The troll stared dumbly at them for a moment before falling backward, landing on the floor with a resounding crash.

Nodding in satisfaction, Bellatrix pointed her wand at the troll. Thick black ropes flew from the end of her wand, encircling the troll and binding its limbs together. Another muttered spell and the spike through the troll's leg vanished, the skin and muscle knitting together neatly.

Rodolphus sheathed his wand, looking around the cave.

"No use staying here any longer."

"What about the bodies?" a Death Eater asked. Rodolphus gave him a long, cold look.

"Leave them." He turned to Rabastan. "Do you have the Portkey?"

Rabastan nodded, pulling a short length of rope from within his robes. Passing it to Bellatrix, the men watched as she secured it to the end of the rope binding the troll's legs.

"Grab hold."

They all strode forward, reaching out and gripping part of the rope. Raising her wand, Bellatrix tapped the rope. There was a flash of ight, and the group and troll disappeared.

oOoOo

Arthur Weasley rubbed his face tiredly as he reread the memo lying on his desk.

All Ministry personnel are required to present themselves at the Auror Office for questioning about the death of Andrew Priestley. Failure to attend will be viewed as perverting the course of justice and will result in arrest.

Arthur sighed, leaning back in his chair. Priestley had been immensely popular with the general public, and his sudden and brutal-looking murder had the magical world in uproar. While Arthur had had very little to do with Priestley, he could see little point in an internal inquiry. He seriously doubted that anyone in the Ministry would have the gall to carry out such an act. He could feel in his gut that it was the work of outside forces, but he wasn't about to tell Moody how to do his job, or at least, while he was on the clock.

He didn't turn as the door to the small office opened.

"Morning, Arthur."

"Morning, Perkins." Arthur picked up the memo, reaching behind his char to pass it to his subordinate. "Seen this yet?"

He felt the parchment leave his hand. There was silence for a moment as Perkins read the memo.

Perkins harrumphed as he set the memo down.

"They're wasting their time. By the time they interview everyone here, the killer will have long gone."

"I expect they already are." Arthur replied. "I'm finding it hard to believe it was an inside job."

"What makes you say that?" Perkins asked, now pulling a small pile of parchment toward him.

"I don't know. Just call it a gut feeling."

Perkins didn't reply. Sighing, Arthur pulled his own stack of paperwork toward him and began to read.

oOoOo

A knock at his office door caught Voldemort's attention. Without looking up, he called out, "Enter."

The door swung open to reveal Augustus Rookwood.

"Ah, Rookwood. Come in."

Rookwood entered the office, closing the door behind him. Walking over to the desk, he sank down into the chair opposite Voldemort.

"So, what news from the Ministry?"

Rookwood smiled nastily.

"The Ministry is in disarray. Everyone is in fear, and they all seem to believe that it was an inside job. Any that don't believe that are too afraid to speak out in case someone interprets it as an attempt to deflect scrutiny away from themselves. As far as I can tell, the investigation is being led by Alastor Moody and Kingsley Shacklebolt."

Voldemort leaned back in his chair, thinking. Terror was what he had been aiming for with the attack, but if the investigation was being led by two members of the Order, maybe he could use this opportunity to remove two of Dumbledore's most trusted allies.

"Very good. Have they investigated you yet?"

"No, my Lord."

"When they inevitably do, leave a trail for them to follow. We will strike and remove them from the equation."

Rookwood bowed his head as he stood.

"Of course, my Lord."

Voldemort turned back to his desk as Rookwood left, but he had barely begun reading again when another knock at the door broke his concentration.

"Enter."

The door swung open to reveal Bellatrix, her hair slightly ruffled, flanked by Rodolphus and Rabastan, both of whom looked rather disheveled.

"I trust the mission was a success?"

Bellatrix nodded.

"We have captured a troll and it is currently secured in the dungeon."

Voldemort nodded.

"Very good, Bella. Dismissed."

oOoOo

Matthew and Draco were walking across the grounds towards the main castle doors on Halloween morning. As they walked toward the castle, a voice drifted across the lawn.

"...Leviosa, not Leviosa. Honestly!"

Turning his head, Matthew could see Harry and Ron walking a few feet away from them. Draco had noticed as well, though he didn't comment.

"It's no wonder she doesn't have any friends."

Someone knocked roughly into Matthew's shoulder as they barged past. He opened his mouth to berate them, but he saw a mane of bushy brown hair rushing toward the castle, head down.

"WEASLEY!" he barked, causing both Ron and Draco to jump.

"What?"

"Didn't your mother ever tell you it's rude to talk about people when they aren't present?"

Ron didn't reply, but simply glared at him before stalking off with Harry. Matthew stared hard at Ron's back.

When he had first begun to socialise with Hermione, he had done so simply for the sake of appearances and as a means by which to possibly convert her to his father's cause. Over the last few weeks, however, he had come to view Hermione as a close friend. It was quite surprising the speed at which someone could worm their way into your graces.

An owl fluttering down onto his shoulder caught his attention, a small, folded piece of parchment clutched in it's beak. Recognising it as one of his father's birds, he reached up and took the note from the owl, which flew away as soon as he had the parchment. Discreetly opening it up, he looked down and read the neat script.

Matthew,

As requested, I have managed to procure a mountain troll for you. It has been smuggled into Hogwarts, and is currently held under powerful protection in the dungeons. Give Severus a signal and he will release the enchantments holding the troll.

Be careful,

Father

Draco had been reading the note over his shoulder.

"A troll? Are you crazy?"

"It'll be fine." Matthew said. "It's all part of the plan."