Several Aurors had been discreetly stationed at Grimmauld Place since the house had been put under siege. Following Dumbledore's instructions and physically and magically sealing off the area. Barricades went up. Forget-me-nots and compulsions to stay home or away from the street were being scattered liberally. Dusk was starting to fall.
They nodded at each other grimly. After all the anguish that Voldemort had caused, they finally thought that it was over and life could return to normal. When the whispers came through the grapevine that Voldemort was still very much not dead, it had come as more demoralising than anything they had been witness to in the previous years. To get so close….
Dumbledore looked up at the house, his eyes were contemplative.
He spoke to Rita quietly, 'You know what you're up against. You must not be seen by anyone. In Tom's new form, I cannot be sure of his abilities. Whatever happens, do not get involved. You are our eyes in there. We need you to get back out here with as much information as possible. Which room they are in. How many of them are in there? We don't want to go in blind. To be able to take down both Kingsley and Moody so easily is worrying. We have been trying to avoid deaths, but,' Dumbledore paused, 'It will take us thirty minutes to do a full check of the building. If you're not out by then we can only assume you have got trapped or delayed. We have to go in after that. This situation cannot persist any longer. Voldermort is not coming out. We have our ways to get in.'
In her beetle form, Rita tilted her tiny head up and down in response. She had no intention whatsoever of getting involved in anything or staying longer than she needed to. She was, however, intent on finding out what was happening behind those walls. This gave her the bravery needed. Her life revolved around other people's business. With having a front-row seat to what was happening, why, people would be requesting her for interviews. She would dine out on this for years. She also supposed that if she could help bring Tom down, that would do a lot for her public image. Some people could be a little negative about her. Must be the jealousy of her success, she mused.
More Aurors had arrived and several healers were setting up equipment in the square as Rita took off. She flew up to the windows on the second floor, looking for cracks. There was no joy here so she flew higher to the third. She saw what she needed. A tiny little hole in the window ledge. Squeezing through she fluttered into a dark room. It was very quiet up here.
Her eyes adjusted to the darkness as she took in Muggle posters on the walls of scantily clad ladies. It was certainly a teenage boy's room. Though dust was everywhere. She suspected this was Sirius's old room. It was common knowledge he had walked out on his family to live with the Potter family. It was quite the scandal at the time. She'd known Sirius of course. All of the girls at school knew him. He was lovely to look at. Aristocratic and smart.
'Yes,' thought Rita as she made her way slowly to the door, 'Lovely to look at, but too much of a bully.'
She could be a bitch. This was also common knowledge, but even she could see Sirius and his gang always took it too far. She wasn't too surprised at Peter's betrayal. In hindsight, it was painfully obvious. Peter had always been the nastiest of the bunch. Sirius was reckless and arrogant, but he did grow up in the end. Hayley had been a good influence on him. James had grown out of it too. Seeing himself through Lily's eyes hadn't been pleasant for him. Everyone at school had known he was borderline obsessed with her and what Lily thought of him did matter to James a great deal.
Remus Lupin had always been the odd man out. He had been quiet and studious. He had never joined in with the bullying, but he had never tried to stop them either. He had always been a gentleman to Rita. She seemed to amuse him, although Rita never understood why. She knew, of course, about his furry little secret. James and Sirius had dropped enough hints and Rita had made it her mission to find out everything she could about everyone, but even she had her lines. It would destroy him if his secret about being a werewolf became public knowledge and for once at Hogwarts, she kept her mouth shut. But Peter. There had always been something about him that repelled her.
She was in the third-floor hallway. The attic covering had dust on it. She checked each of the rooms quietly. There was no sign of anyone. Moving downstairs, she quickly scanned the rooms on the second floor. They were all empty. Voices were carrying up the stairs now but they were muffled. She moved carefully down to the first floor. There didn't appear to be anyone here, but the desks and wardrobe looked like they had been turned over recently. Objects and clothes were scattered on the floor. Noises were underneath her. There were muffled voices and some banging.
Rita's curiosity peaked. She flew to the dark wall and made her way further down, blending in. The house was dark as well. She was as concealed as she could be but she was still cautious. She noticed all the people in the portraits on the wall had left.
'They must be hiding,' she thought. The light from the drawing-room flickered under the doorway as she crawled underneath, keeping close to the door frame. Scuttling into the safety of the corner, behind the armchair she went rigid and still. Confident that her presence hadn't been noticed she began to explore. She peered around the armchair and time froze. For all her life Rita would have the image in front of her emblazoned forever in her memory.
A huge cauldron was bubbling in front of her. All the furniture and family heirlooms had been put to the side, the portraits had been turned around.
A pungent smell filled the room. Hayley Black was strapped down to a large chair, wearing around her neck a large silver locket. It had a picture of a serpent engraved on it. Her arm appeared to be cut and bleeding. Rita had never seen her look so angry. She looked ready to burst a blood vessel. Her lips were moving, but Rita couldn't hear her voice. She was clearly under a silencing charm.
Peter had his wand pointed at her head. Kreacher appeared to be inconsolable, he was on the toddler mat with Iris, rocking her back and forth as she appeared to be in hysterics, although Peter had also put a silencing charm on her. Mad-Eye Moody and Kingsley were still unconscious. They looked rigid though. Rita surmised they were probably under a stasis spell.
Walburga Black looked every inch the deranged witch that mothers liked to scare their children about. She had been put under an Incarcerous spell and was currently on the sofa. It looked like she too was under a silencing spell. She was looking up in fury at Peter and her mouth was moving rapidly, but Rita couldn't hear the words. Rita sneered at him. Peter Pettigrew. Sirius was bang on the money. The greatest turd in the world.
Peter was standing there with his real face showing. Malice and cruelty radiated from the scum.
His snivelling voice cut through the quiet, 'Not long now. The preparations are almost complete. You should feel honoured, Hayley. Your sacrifice will enable the Dark Lord to regain his body. This is, of course, very precarious, very advanced magic. Very, very easy to get it wrong you see… so if it doesn't work with you, well, of course, he will choose the next best thing.'
He smiled in a sickly way and nodded at Iris.
Rita felt sick. If she were ever fortunate enough to witness Peter get a Dementors kiss, she would pay gladly for a front-row seat and enjoy every second of it.
'The closer the blood relative the better. It makes the effects so much stronger. However,' he nodded towards the two fallen Aurors and Walburga, 'In case of necessity, it is always wise to carry some spares. Direct blood isn't essential. Only preferred.'
Hayley looked sickly pale. Peter was describing this atrocity like a recipe. Peter ran his long, dirty nail down her throat, rubbing the locket gently, 'How fortunate the Dark Lord sensed this. To think the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black would try to sabotage the greatest Dark Lord in existence. Stooping so low as to steal one of his magical items. Tsk, Tsk. He said it would give great strength to him. Your magic is being siphoned, and will be used to power his most prestigious personal objects.'
Peter's face scrunched up in anger, 'What was it doing here? How dare the House of Black steal from my Master!' he screeched.
Hayley glared at him.
Peter smirked at her in sick self-satisfaction, 'No matter. Whatever the plan was it has backfired on you. We had already believed that the ritual would be successful with just you and the bones of his Grandfather, but this will be so much better. Much more satisfactory. The House of Greengrass just keeps giving and giving to the Dark Lord's cause, doesn't it? Maybe not as obediently as we would like, but still. Even if we have to force it from you, you always manage to deliver.'
'He's completely deranged,' Rita thought.
He got closer to Hayley's face as she cringed away from him, 'We'll burn your body and the spares down with this house afterwards of course. This ritual is a picky one. You can only use a Witch or Wizards blood once. After this, you will be useless to him. You will have served your purpose. Although, your daughter will certainly be useful in the future. We'll keep her as insurance and maybe other things…,' he added with a leer.
They all glared at Peter with the deepest loathing, 'My Master suspects Regulus and the elf had something to do with the theft of his property. If Regulus isn't already dead, he is most certainly on borrowed time. As for the elf, the Dark Lord will have his head nailed to the fucking wall as punishment.'
Kreacher shot him a look of pure loathing.
'He told me,' Peter whispered reverently, 'that he stared death in the face. That he existed for a time in that realm between life and death. The spirits whispered things to him. Truths. My Master knows all now. He came to me. I will stand at his side when he takes Britain for his. He will come back better and stronger than ever.'
The steady ticking of the clock focused Rita. She wondered where Voldemort was. The wraith didn't appear to be here. She suspected that the cauldron would hold the answer. She shuddered. There was dark magic, and then there was this. This was a whole different level.
Peter looked over to the clock and then the cauldron.
'It's time,' Peter spoke gently. His eyes glistened.
Rita decided now would be wise to let Dumbledore know just how dire the situation was. In this form, she had no wand. No way to prevent the inevitable. She had enough information and time was not on Hayley's side. She scuttled back to the doorway. Turning to give a last disgusted look at Peter she went to squeeze under the door.
'Ready,' she heard him say.
Peter waved his wand as the entire room sealed airtight shut.
'Fuck!' was Rita's only coherent thought at this point. She scuttled behind the armchair again and could only watch in horror. Peter slid the locket chain off Hayley's neck as she looked at him with utter hatred and defiance. She watched Peter reach into the cauldron and lift out the most enormous snake from the liquid. Thick, silver, and almost the height of Peter.
'Master,' Peter spoke reverently. The snake hissed at Peter and pointed his head towards Hayley and the locket. Peter moved the snake down to face the locket. After a moment the snake hissed again. In one moment the locket clicked open as Peter placed the object gently on the floor.
Kreacher looked up with a moment of clarity. Then his eyes flashed with anger. Iris had frozen. She sat staring at the warped scene in front of her. Her grey eyes fixated on the piece of silver.
'Her eyes are so like her father's,' Rita thought.
Kreacher looked helplessly at Hayley. Hayley shook her head minutely at him. Looking at Iris, then back to Kreacher. Kreacher understood. If these two monsters went for Iris he needed to get her out. Hayley looked despairingly at the other three. Moody, Walburga, and Kingsley. She caught Walburga's eyes. An icy calm had come over her mother-in-law. In defiance of Peter and Voldemort, she nodded to Hayley.
'Get Iris out when I say so,' Hayley mouthed to Kreacher. It was a massive gamble. Kreacher nodded. No one had ever attempted to apparate with a toddler. The force of it could crush her. Still, a tiny chance was a chance.
'Staying in this room of horror meant certain death, or worse,' Rita thought bitterly watching the vile look on Peter's face.
The locket shook as the mist slowly lifted. Like in a dream a young handsome man with pale skin and dark hair and eyes starting to form in front of them like a ghost. Knowing what she knew now about Tom Riddle, Rita thought him the most sinister creature. She knew immediately it was him. The grotesque, malevolent expression on his face confirmed it straight away. The snake hissed at the figure. The young man hissed back. They all watched the man take a ghost-like form in front of them. Rita could only watch transfixed as the man opened his mouth and the snake slid down his throat.
The man turned to Hayley and smirked meanly at her as he moved his mouth to her cut open arm and started to lick and bite the flesh as she grimaced and then opened her mouth to scream soundlessly. The face that gnawed at her arm looked bestial. The silencing charm that Peter had cast was still effective. She looked like she was in agony. Rita could hear this creature gulping down Hayley's blood as Hayley grew translucent as this thing grew more solid. Rita felt revolted and helpless.
After a few minutes of watching this vulgar display, Tom pulled away. Hayley had passed out from the blood loss. He moved to the middle of the room, twisting and writhing, the snake and man entwined. A dark mist surrounded him. And then a moment of silence.
The dark mist cleared.
Tom Marvolo Riddle in all his young, handsome glory stood tall, arrogantly gazing at each of them with a sneer plastered on his face. He slid on a dark suit that Pettigrew had let out for him. Rita looked down at Peter, who was on his knees, his nose almost touching the floor. Rita was panicking at this point. Thirty minutes. Dumbledore had said that would be when they smashed in. How long had she been in this godforsaken hellhole of a house? Not long enough, she knew. She looked rapidly around the room. There was no way out. The ritual was clearly a success. How soon before the mad bastard burnt this place down with everyone in it, including her.
'My wand, Wormtail.'
Tom's voice sounded young. His arrogant air seemed slightly absurd for a man who looked so young. His eyes were not the red colour they had been. Peter looked up at his Lord, in a sickly, worshipping sort of way.
He pulled Voldemort's wand out of the inside of his pocket and presented it to him with his head lowered in deference. Tom reached out for it with a smug, sanctimonious look on his face. His slender fingers reached around to feel the warmth of his wand and then Tom stood rigid. His eyes widened in panic.
'What?!' he whispered, 'No!'
There was no spark, no feel of magic form in the air.
Rita, Walburga, Peter and Kreacher froze for just a moment in confusion. It was Kreacher who was the first to respond. With a giant leap onto Tom, the little elf pulled himself onto Tom's head and apparated them both out of the room.
Peter looked shocked, the madness in his eyes flashing, 'What has he done with him?' he bellowed uselessly.
Walburga just sat looking harshly at Pettigrew. Her lips in a triumphant smirk.
His eyes flashed as his hands gripped his head and he attempted to pull his own head off.
'The wheels have well and truly come off the track,' Rita thought.
The adrenaline in her pulsed as Peter lifted his arm to backhand the old woman,' You old hag!' he screamed.
For years after, Rita couldn't quite explain where her bravery came from at that moment. Dumbledore had called it honour. Feminists called it the sisterhood. Rita eventually surmised she must have had it up to here listening to the bile the biggest turd on the planet kept spewing. Almost of its own accord, Rita's body transformed into human form in front of him. In his shock of seeing the bizarre sight of the Rita Skeeter appear in front of him, he paused for a moment. It was just long enough for Rita to grab the big glass vase next to her and smash him over the head with it, knocking him unconscious instantly, much to the immediate relief of Iris and Walburga.
'There is a lot to be said for a bit of savage, Muggle style fighting,' she said as she stared down at him. With Peter unconscious, his spells lifted.
'Hayley first,' Walburga said immediately.
Rita was already on her way. She took Peter's wand and used it to cut the straps, then floated her motionless body down onto the carpet. Checking for a pulse she breathed a sigh of relief, 'She's alive.'
Walburga breathed a sigh of relief as Iris waddled over to her mother. Worry clear on the little girl's face.
Rita cut Walburga free and handed her the wand, 'There are Aurors and Healers in the square. I'll let them know that it's safe and you're in here.'
Walburga nodded her thanks as she stumbled over to her daughter in law.
'Keep an eye on that scum,' Rita added for good measure.
Walburga nodded grimly. If she threw the killing curse at him the moment Rita left she would not have blamed her in the slightest.
Rita opened the window slightly. She decided not to transform as she made her way out of the property, as it probably wasn't a good idea to open the front door without warning with a dozen Aurors outside with their wands trained on it. She made her way outside into the square and the sight that greeted her stunned her.
It was darker now, but she could make out Tom clearly under the street lights. He was on his knees in the road with Kreacher pummelling his little fists hard on his head. Tom was trying to protect himself, but Kreacher was determined not to let go and was punching him as hard as he could. Rita was impressed with the little guy's tenacity. Dumbledore was staring at Tom with undisguised glee.
'Welcome back, Tom,' Albus said softly.
The Aurors were looking at the scene, clearly puzzled. Gareth looked like he had been hit with a Bludger as he stood mesmerized by the sight in front of him. Sirius was looking uncertainly at Tom.
Rita transformed into her human shape.
'Everyone,' she bellowed, 'Walburga's got an unconscious Pettigrew at wand point. Hayley needs a Healer urgently. There are two unconscious Aurors in there and an upset toddler. You need to get in there now.'
They stood for a moment, looking at her, perplexed as to why Rita Skeeter was giving them orders.'
Pronto!' she shouted at them, 'They're all in the drawing-room.'
They looked at Dumbledore in confusion. Sirius had already started running in. Gareth was close behind him.
'Do what Rita says', Dumbledore confirmed as the Aurors and healers started to move into Grimmauld. He couldn't take his eyes off Tom. Conjuring a pair of handcuffs he handed them to Amelia Bones. His blue eyes were twinkling.
'Madam Bones,' Albus said in a smooth voice, 'I present to you, Tom Marvolo Riddle. Also known as Voldemort, or if you prefer, the Dark Lord.'
Amelia spluttered, 'But how? He is nowhere near old enough. And his face…,'
Rita stepped in, 'That is indeed Tom Riddle. He was resurrected right in front of me. I saw it happen. So did Walburga and Kreacher. They will confirm this. Magic will confirm this. Pettigrew set it all up and it all backfired. It backfired in the most wonderful, dramatic way! I don't know how it did, but it did. Voldemort now has less magic than Filch! I'll be printing the full details in my news story for the front page if you want to read all about it in the morning.'
Amelia turned to Rita with a stern look on her face.
'Of course, I'll be happy to give you the first exclusive tonight at the Ministry headquarters,' Rita added rapidly.
Amelia nodded, still in a state of shock as she bent down to put the cuffs on Tom. He looked absolutely defeated.
As Amelia pulled him onto his feet, Kreacher started to kick his shins as Tom puffed in annoyance, trying to kick back. Several Aurors approached to take Tom away as Kreacher followed them up the road.
Dumbledore gazed thoughtfully at the scene.
His mind was already flexing itself, trying to work out just what had transpired here tonight.