It was a dark, gloomy night at the wizarding cemetery, on the outskirts of the magical village of Hogsmeade. Two dark, coated figures, one as tall as the other short, slipped furtively into the deserted graveyard. The caretaker lay stiff and dead, slumped over the desk in the small gatehouse.
The two men silently made their way to the darkest, grimiest corner of the graveyard. A rickety, dirty-white fence separated it off from the rest of the tombstones. The gate swung creakily on its hinges, the sound echoing ominously. The shorted figure, wiping his sniveling nose on his sleeve, jumped forward to open the gate for his master. As they passed through, the wooden sign fell off the gate and lay on the ground. It read, in fading, peeling black letters, "Death Eaters section".
"Pass me the potion, Wormtail," said a bone chilling voice. The shorter man fumbled for a vial, producing a large, bright blue bottle that gleamed in the moonlight. The tall man discarded his cloak, letting it fall to the ground in a heap. He stretched out his wand, clutched in a bony hand, and said aloud "Kumametim Aaratez!"
A web of blossomed, stretching to cover all of the cracked tombstones. Voldemort, for that was the tall wizard's name, uncorked the vial a carefully poured the potion, using his free hand, over the web. He jerked the hand that clutched the wand, and the web fell, coating the ground and tombstones in gossamer, sticky-wet substance.
"Kumametim Aaretez!" repeated Voldemort, louder and fiercer this time. The tombstones wrenched themselves out of the ground, bones and dust flying in the air. The bones regrouped themselves, sinew and tendons spurting from the bones. Organs, rotted and decayed, flew out of the grave and positioned themselves in the body, whole and perfect once more.
As the skin covered the body of the last death eater, the men assembled, grinning fiendishly. Nobody noticed that the nearby grave, which was unusually small, had been opened as well. A gap in the fence, no doubt the product of a deer of fox, had allowed the potion to drip onto the tiny tombstone.
A slender, white ghost slipped out and made her way towards the Hogwarts castle looming in the distance.
Ginny Weasley examined herself in the large mirror above the dresser in her dormitory room in Hogwarts. Pursing her lips together, she spread the thick, sticky lip-gloss on her small, pert mouth. Apparently satisfied with her makeup, Ginny slip her long black robe over her miniskirt and tank top, then headed down to breakfast.
On the way down to the Great Hall, Ginny bumped into her long-time crush, Josh Koen, a Ravenclaw seventh year. Josh was about six feet tall, with perpetually tousled curly brown hair, and intelligent grayish-blue eyes. His body was well built, muscled and proportioned. Wherever he went, females gawked and gazed at his casual look, yet handsome personality and charm. He had been at the top of his year at his former school, Billabong School of Australia, but his father had been granted a job in the British Ministry of Magic.
Unfortunately for Josh, who had become fast friends with Harry Potter He had also become an enemy of Harry's rival- Draco Malfoy.
Through Ron's friendship with Josh, Ginny had gotten to know this new teen heartthrob, and had developed a large crush on him. Unbeknownst to her, though, Josh harbored his own feelings toward the younger girl, though he felt his favors were not returned, as she thought his.
Subtly stepping on the back hem of her robes so as to emphasize her figure, Ginny smiled flirtatiously, and said coquettishly, " Good morning Josh," and sauntered away, swaying her hips a little more than necessary.
Grinning roguishly, she entered the Great Hall and plopped herself down next to Elinora, or more commonly known as Eli, the American exchange student. Eli took one look at the sixth years' wide grin, and raised one perfectly arched eyebrow over her captivating emerald eyes.
"What puts you in such a good mood this fine morning?" she quizzically asked, a light Texan accent revealing her home state.
Ginny turned to Eli, her hazel eyes dreamy.
"I'm in love, "she murmured, absently picking up her empty fork and placing it in her mouth, expressing her surprise with a loud "eek!" upon tasting cold metal.
Furtively glancing around to make sure no one had noticed her blunder, Ginny spied josh as he stared at her, doubled over in laughter. Ginny turned a deep crimson and buried her head in her hands, trying to regain her composure.
Eli felt Ginny's embarrassment, as she herself had had a high scale crush on the Quidditch captain of the American team, George Maper, and had blundered in his presence. She shivered. Just thinking about her former heartthrob caused her nerves to tingle.
Eli heard someone call her name and, startled out of her reverie, she glanced up. Harry Potter, handsome captain of the Hogwarts Quidditch team, and whom Eli suspected had an intense crush on her, had walked through the doors of the Great Hall, flanked by his two best friends, Hermoine Granger and Ron Weasley. Hermione was well known for being the cleverest witch in school, and Ron was the president of the chess club, founded the year prior.
The trio, led by Harry, made their way toward the table Eli and Ginny were sitting at. As Harry seated himself in the conveniently empty seat next to Eli, the mail began to trickle in through the windows of the Great Hall.
Since Hermione and Eli both were expecting copies of the Daily Prophet, they simultaneously grabbed their goblets of pumpkin juice and plated of scrambled eggs so that they would not be knocked awry by the many excited owls. Deftly catching her copy of the newspaper, Eli opened it casually, and shocked, she gasped. There, on the front page, was a picture of a deserted graveyard, the tombstones disgracefully scattered over the ground. The headlines screamed, "Death Eaters, formerly deceased, awakened by Kumometin spell"
Eli heard Hermione react in a similar manner as she, to, unfolded the newspaper and read its unbelievable headline. She scanned the contents of the article below, and was further shocked to find out that the tombstone of a little girl had also been disturbed. The Ministry declined to disclose the girl's name, stating that it was the family's wish.
Eli was suddenly aware of warm, moist breath on her bare neck.
"What's going on in the world?" Harry asked, leaning over Eli's slender shoulder to glance at the day's headlines. His sharp intake of breath told Eli that he had also read the memorable headlines.
Eli searched the Great Hall to see if anyone else had seen the disastrous news. All around her, at every table, the students were wide-eyed, pointing at the newspapers that had become the focal point of everyone's breakfast. The food, once relished with glee, had been abandoned.
Harry tapped Eli's shoulder impatiently, trying to get her attention. Her attention at last acquired, he read aloud, " 'Ministry official Percival Weasley –Hey Ron1 look here! - officially disclosed to us that the bones of the formerly dead Death Eaters have been raised by the ancient and archaic Kumametim spell, which includes a web of magic on which a secret, difficult potion is poured, inducing the effects of which you have seen today. Unfortunately, the small, unnoticed grave of a little girl was somehow disturbed as well. Interestingly, her bones were not moved; although all around her grave lay havoc wreaked upon caskets, now empty of the bones they once contained. You can be sure that the Ministry of magic will act upon this and find the culprit…'" Harry trailed off, his handsome brow furrowed in concentration.
Ginny, all romantic thoughts gone, turned white under her summer tan. Everyone had been dreading this. Although no one would say it aloud, and the Ministry would not admit it, everyone knew that this was Voldemort's doing.
Suddenly Dumbledore stood, and the many occupants of the hall fell s absolutely silent.
"my dear students," he began in his characteristically sonorous voice. "as amny of you undoubtedly already know, the deceased Death Eater have been raised from the grave by someone most powerful, most probably the Dark Lord. Nevertheless, despite the Dark Lord's recent, ah, acquisition, your Hogsmeade trip scheduled for this afternoon will not be cancelled."
In response to the outbreak of murmurs, whispers, and overall noise, Dumbledore raised a large hand, and the hall fell silent once more.
"In light of the recent developments, however, Hogsmeade will be protected by well trained guards. Even so, It is highly advisable for all students to be accompanied by friends and fellow students."
"Dumbledore sat down again, and resumed his conversation with Professor McGonagall about the preparations for the upcoming Halloween dance. Apparently, the Headmaster was completely oblivious to the mass of wide- eyed, open mouthed students seated before him. Then, all at once, everyone started talking again.
Suddenly, the doors of the Great Hall blasted open, and a massive silhouette appeared, towering over the long tables. Hagrid stepped in, his wild beard and hair in wild disarray.
"Have ye heard th' news yet?" he asked to the gaping students.