Still not JK Rowling. Still broke.
Malfoy Manor
At the same time that Dumbledore was meeting with his Order, Voldemort was pacing the halls of Malfoy Manor. If Voldemort was inclined to humor, he might have found it amusing that he and Dumbledore spent so much time pacing over the same problems.
Where was the boy? Was He the one behind this? Had Dumbledore's puppet cut his strings? Voldemort had no idea.
Behind Voldemort, whimpering like the snivelling coward he was, Wormtail approached.
"M-my Lord... Perhaps... Perhaps if you were to seek the b-boy?" said the stuttering rat. Voldemort resisted the urge to cruciate the insufferable lump of cowardice, and said, "The boy will be found in time, Wormtail. Bring Lucius to me. "
Wormtail couldn't get out of the room fast enough.
Lucius Malfoy was sitting in his private study. Although he had received word that Draco was alright, something bothered him. Draco seemed too calm, too collected for a sixteen year old that witnessed his first massacre. By Merlin, Lucius remembered well the first one he had witnessed, when he and some Death Eaters had attacked a Order protected village. He had been violently sick. Draco seemed, unaffected. His ruminating was disrupted by Wormtail. Lucius made no effort to conceal his contempt for the man. He was weak and pathetic.
"What do you want?" he asked harshly.
"M-mr M-Malfoy, the D-dark Lord requests you." the filth said.
"Then I shall see him. " Lucius said, sweeping out of the room, his long cloak flapping behind him. As he approached the drawing room, Lucius's initial bravado faltered. He knew he was not on good terms with his master at the moment. He was grateful to the Dark Lord for liberating him from Azkaban, but he knew it was so he could watch Draco struggle and fail in his task. Lucius entered the drawing room and knelt before Voldemort.
"My Lord, how can I serve you?"
Voldemort looked down at the man who had once been his most trusted servant.
"I need you in the Ministry Lucius. I need to know who is responsible for the train incident. I am sending Bellatrix for more people to grow our numbers. " said Voldemort.
"I am.. disgraced at the Ministry My Lord. It will be difficult to appropriate material to identify these new players. "
"You must find a way, Lucius. Or it will be your son who pays the price. "
"My Lord, if I knew what I seek..."
Voldemort lost his patience then.
"CRUCIO!" he shouted.
Lucius Malfoy screamed as Voldemort looked down at his writhing servant.
"Break the Ministry, Malfoy. Take as many as you need. Kill whoever stands in your way. When you have taken it, summon me. I will find what I seek myself. " said Voldemort, as cool as if having a polite albeit trying conversation. He didn't let up on the curse until he had given his orders.
"Bury the Ministry, Lucius, under a pile of ash and corpses."
Ministry of Magic, London
Trevor Fimple had worked the security desk at the entrance of the Ministry for more than fifteen years. It was easily the most boring job to have. Since You-Know-who's supposed downfall, no one tried to break into the Ministry. If the Aurors brought in prisoners, they had a private access point to avoid detainees escaping. Trevor just spent every shift doing the same thing every day: Reading the Daily Prophet and solving the Rune puzzle, waking from the monotony long enough to scan an employee's security badge before lapsing into the boredom induced haze.
A witch wearing magenta robes stepped up, handing her badge over.
"Morning Trevor. Solved today's puzzle yet? " she said.
"Not yet Martha. " said Trevor, setting aside his paper and scanning Martha's badge with his wand.
Martha grinned as she replaced her badge in her handbag, and said, "The answer to question seven is the Staff of Merlin. " grinning again as she passed through the doors to the atrium.
Trevor shook his head and picked up the paper, grinning as he located question seven. Martha had been right.
As he dipped his quill and prepared to fill in the blanks, an enormous explosion shattered the entry doors and sent them crashing to the floor. Trevor leapt to his feet, drawing his wand. People in black robes and masks were rushing in. A second blasting curse soared towards the security desk and sent Trevor slamming into the wall, cracking his skull. Sliding down the wall to sit on the floor, Trevor looked up through dazed eyes as a Death Eater pointed it's wand at Trevor. The last thought he had before the killing curse struck, was that he hadn't even gotten to finish his puzzle.
Lucius Malfoy entered the lifts with Travers and Yaxley, riding it up to level one. As the doors slid open, a cool female voice said, "Level one, Minister for Magic and support staff." Stepping through the door, he approached the Minister's office, blasting it off its hinges.
"Good Morning Mr Scrimgeor. The Dark Lord sends his regards. Avada Kedavra!" said Lucius. But Rufus Scrimgeor was an Auror for many years, even heading up the department before becoming Minister for Magic. His instinct kicked in and he ducked behind the huge mahogany desk, pressing a button on the underside of the desk. The button was linked to the Minister's personal bodyguards, elite Aurors, and allow them to apparate directly to the minister. Eight of them appeared, immediately exchanging spell fire with Lucius and the other Death Eaters. Yaxley sent three flying, but they controlled their fall and came up casting spells of their own. Meanwhile, Scrimgeor was dueling Lucius, although the minister didn't know who it was yet. Lucius was blasted out of the office, almost breaking his wand as he landed in the corridor. Scrimgeor was on him like the lion he resembled, casting spells. When Lucius got to his feet, his mask had slipped off and Scrimgeor shouted " You are a traitor Malfoy, to yourself and wizardkind! "
Lucius growled, "Incarcerus! I am not a puppet to that muggle-loving fool! Avada Kedavra! " Lucius missed with the binding spell, and the green light of the killing curse missed Scrimgeor by an inch.
Yaxley and Travers, dealing with the elite Aurors, had managed to kill three, but the others were just so well trained. They weaved like weasels, struck like cobras, and were relentless in their spells. Yaxley ducked under another stunning spell, and responded with the most powerful blasting curse he could manage. Luck ran out for another Auror as the spell punched a hole the size of a quaffle in the man's chest.
Scrimgeor and Lucius's duel had moved them well away from the office and into a wider corridor which held the Minister's personal secretary, but the woman had long since fled. Lucius stumbled as a cutting jinx sliced his thigh, causing the wound to pour blood.
"Look at what all your pureblood beliefs have gotten you! You bleed the same as any others. "
The minister glared at Lucius and stood, military straight and bellowed "Avada Kedavra!"
Lucius did not duck out of the way in time, and the curse caught his arm as he leapt to the side. He was dead before he hit the ground. Yaxley and Travers ran out in time to see Lucius fall and disapparated instantly. Scrimgeor limped to his office, noting that of the eight guards, only two were still alive, but in no condition to fight.
All throughout the Ministry, dozens of employees had been killed, and more than a dozen Aurors, not including the bodyguards, had also died in the assault. To the Wizarding World, it appeared to be a minor victory for Voldemort, but in truth had been an epic failure, which resulted in Voldemort torturing Wormtail with the Cruciatus curse until the rat broke, and Voldemort, claiming mercy, killed Wormtail.
†*
Durmstrang, Siberian Mountains
Harry sat in the near barren common room of Korolevskiy, on a straight backed wooden chair and looked around the room. Fifty-four students watched him as he spoke.
"... and if you think that Voldemort will stop once he conquers all of Britain, you will think again. And Dumbledore, he stands for the Light you say? He wants power as much as Voldemort. We do not. We want true peace, which will only exist if the only thing that matters is magic. Where, Pureblood, half-blood or Muggleborn, you are welcome as a witch or wizard. "
By the time he finished, several of the students were nodding in agreement. It was said that students of Korolevskiy were more open minded, and they would sway others with their intelligence. A blonde haired boy in front stood and said, "You haff made good point Igor. But eef we leave Durmstrang, where we will go? Who you propose we follow?"
Harry Stood up and waved his hand in front of his face, the glamour falling away and revealing his true self.
To Harry's surprise, none of the students were surprised. In fact, Harry watched as a group of them actually exchanged a handful of galleons with another small group.
"I haff told you eet is 'Arry Potter! He alvays touch where is the scar! " said the spokesperson who had questioned Harry.
"You all knew? " said Harry.
"Da, we know" said a Russian boy named Pavel, one of the few who spoke English with very little accent.
"You're Russian is not so good. You speak much about Britain and not about Russia. And like Kristof said, you always touch the scar. " Pavel's dark eyes flicked up to Harry's scar.
Continuing, he said "Durmstrang usually follows the Dark, or Grey path. But Voldemort is too powerful. Too Dark. What he do to himself, it is not Dark magic, it is Evil. "
Harry looked up in surprise.
"What do you mean Pavel? "
"Horcruxes. " Pavel replied, causing everyone in the common room to shiver slightly.
"Durmstrang teaches many Dark Arts Harry Potter. We see the signs of a split soul. But Voldemort? He split his soul many times. It is why he look like he does. "
Harry resolved to ask more on the subject, but something far more important had to be asked first.
"Will you join me?" Harry asked.
Pavel and Kristof exchanged looks with their fellow students, then nodded.
One of the few Durmstrang girls said "We will join you Harry Potter, and we pledge our lives to Lady Imperia. "
"Who is Lady Imperia?" Harry asked, though he thought he knew. The girl was supposedly a Seer, but far better than Professor Trelawny.
"The one you call Hermione Granger. " said the girl simply.
A/N
I had originally planned for Voldemort to kill Lucius, not Wormtail. But I want the Ministry to have one last victory. So Lucius had to die. And the rat, well, We all knew the rat had to go. Until next time, Hasta luego.
