Chapter 07 – Dark Developments

In a dark chamber, some extreme distance away, a familiar meeting was held. At the core sat an ominous figure in a black cloak. The hood pulled over his face to conceal the ravages of time. His breathing had become labored since his last encounter with a familiar trio. His faithful servants, many of who had managed to elude capture by the authorities, had, too, suffered the scars of recent battles. That same trio and their mentors had thwarted his plans time and time again since fate had first united the three. His last defeat had cost him dearly; his body withered to the point of near uselessness, and the hopes of another successful resurrection rested on his servant's success in their search for suitable donor.

"My Lord," a member of his elite guard bowed as he approached the throne. "We have located them."

"Good, tell me, what is their condition?"

"One has progressed as planned; however, the other has become self-aware of his abilities."

"This is quite unexpected. What is his progress?"

"Sire, he was trained in advanced methods unknown to us. We had spies observing his growth for the time you would require him to serve your needs."

"I am intrigued to this training; can we use it to our advantage?"

"Sire, I'm afraid there had been other complications, and we may not be able to use that one. We can easily retrieve the other, and you can use that body as you see fit."

"Good, we shall wait until the other has grown a few more years, we don't wish to injure it at such an impressionable age. Maintain a watch on the other; if he grows too powerful in his abilities, we may be able to turn him to an ally. I want close contact on those three meddlesome 'heroes' until it is time for them to be brought before me." He lifted a withered hand, evident of his current condition, and waved the faithful follower away.

"As you command, my Lord." The servant bowed as he retreated from the throne, trying very hard not to make eye contact with the dark lord. With a smooth turn, the Lieutenant left his commander, only to impress his authority over his subordinates waiting past the chamber's doors.

"You two, come with me," he commanded as the three soldiers marched through the pristine halls. "He wishes both to be closely watched for now, any new developments must be reported to me immediately. You have your instructions, now leave me."

The two saluted and left the outer chamber to their vehicles. Their task was simple: to maintain surveillance without being seen. Their training in counter-intelligence by the government was useful to the Dark Lord. That was the only reason they were allowed to live and join the ranks. These two had special abilities that allowed them to blend into their surroundings with near perfect invisibility. This was a rare skill only a few had mastered, making these two perfect spies.

Within a few minutes the two spies arrived at the docking bay and prepared for their journey to carry out the orders they had been given.

In the outer chamber, the Dark Lord's Lieutenant further prepared his specially trained team of assassins to capture the three 'heroes' to be brought to the Dark Lord. They needed to prepare for the coming conflict, knowing one of the three had powers none of these soldiers could dream of, time and surprise were on their side. It was time to plan the traps. The time to capture those closest to them in the trap would soon be at hand.

Back on Privet Drive, a rather large man smugly looked over his newly reclaimed home. It was finally free of that weird nephew of his; he and his tramp had finally left.

"Petunia, my pet, I think we need to celebrate. Potter's finally gone for good. We can finally have that room of his cleaned out of his trash. I don't want that freak or that tramp he brought here back."

"But what about what they said about his inheritance? He will be the rightful owner on his birthday."

"Rubbish, you don't actually believe what that little tramp of his claimed, do you? We have a legal deed to this property. I'll have our barrister verify it, if you don't believe it."

SLAM. The front door's glass nearly shattered from the force of it being slammed shut.

"Don't get up, I'm back." A raven-haired young man simply stated.

"POTTER! What are you doing back?"

"Hermione left with her boyfriend, and I needed someplace to stay," he shrugged.

"Don't get so excited, I'm not leaving this time until start of school. And I'm NOT about to put up with your crap while I'm here. So unless you want a visit from Dumbledore or Moody, I'd suggest you stay out of my way, fat man, do you understand me?" he commanded all the while sticking Uncle Vernon in the chest with a finger.

"And that goes for that slob of a son of yours too." With that last statement the young man that standing in front of them left for his room.

"Oh, and by the way, fat man," he added, "unless you want to replace the door to my room every day, I'd suggest losing the locks. Not that I'd have a problem blowing to door apart, but I don't think you really want to watch me practice my… special skills."

Uncle Vernon stood speechless; he was in a state of shock at the return of the one person he thought he was finally rid of. He was so close to having his house back the way he wanted it, so close and now his nephew was back for the rest of the summer. This was the first time since Harry discovered his heritage that he was to remain until the first of September. Uncle Vernon considered confronting the boy and forcing him to go elsewhere, but the memory of what Hermione told him in private still rang in his head. No, it was best to let this sleeping dog lay.

"Hrumph... looks like we're at the mercy of that old kook again. It may be best if we just leave the boy alone. Petunia, tell Dudley he's back and he shouldn't be bothered," he ordered as he picked up a decanter filled with a single malt beverage.

"He's only been gone a couple days, I wonder what happened?" Harry's aunt inquired, knowing no one would answer.

"Just leave the freak alone, understand?" he said as his hands shook while pouring a glass of the beverage.

"Yes, dear. I'll see to it he's fed, and come September he'll be gone."

"Good, now where's my dinner?" he demanded. The simple fact that Harry had returned was nearly enough to spoil his uncle's appetite, almost, but not enough.

For the current occupant in the smallest room in the house, it was destined to be a long summer. He flopped on the small lumpy bed, and thought about how to pass the time, he scanned the stacks of school books left in the room, and smiled at the titles. Memories of those classes made the boy think about his classmates and closest friends; he wondered what ever became of them. Toby had gone on to become an Auror with top grades in his class; Stephen began the same training, but never completed it. He was lured away to join forces with the Dark Lord, taking his unique skills. Wendy came to mind, and a happy smile crept across his face, the hours they spent in mindless chat sessions before finally going to sleep were calming memories in this troubled time. She went on to healer training, and was working at St. Mungo's. Wendy was one of the healers helping care for the Longbottom's that Christmas when Harry visited two years ago. He laid there and thought of days past, not paying attention to the time.

A quick check of the clock and it was half past nine at night. A quick shower wouldn't hurt,he thought. He rummaged through the various drawers until he found a pair of old boxers, threadbare and an old hole-filled tee shirt. He finally found a stash of clean bath towels in the wardrobe's drawer. Every stitch of clothing was quickly discarded, with the plan to use a cleaning spell since they were the only things that fit properly and would have to last a while. The bath towel, although fresh and clean, was also thin and threadbare, he observed, as it was wrapped around his body, under his arms out of habit.

He peered into the hall to check if anyone else was out and quickly crossed the span to the bathroom. The hot water bellowed steam into the small room. When the room was filled with plenty of steam, the towel was discarded, as was his guard. Under the hot relaxing flow of water, hair and body were lathered thickly, washing the stress of the long day. After a long, lingering rinse, the water was finally turned off.

The shower curtain was thrown back expecting to find a towel on the counter; instead Dudley was standing at the sink, brushing his teeth, grinning at his own reflection. Dudley, hearing the curtain open, with out thinking turned to face his cousin with a trademark rude remark, and was face to face with a totally unexpected sight, a naked woman with bright pink and red striped hair who was dripping wet.

"AAHHHH!" they screamed in unison. Dudley was shocked at seeing a naked woman standing a few feet from him, and Tonks, more laughing then angry, screamed back.

"When you've had your eye-full, boy, would you mind handing me that towel?" she said to the startled teenage boy.

"W-Who are you?" he asked as he handed her a washcloth instead.

"The name's Tonks, and I'm a friend of Harry's. If you don't mind, this won't dry much and will cover less," she smirked.

"Uh… I'm… I uh… here." He finally looked away and handed her the towel.

"I'm staying here for a while, as Harry's guest, got a problem with that?" she asked.

"Uh… no… I, uh, I'm his…"

"I know who you are, and I also know what you are. Stay out of my way, or I'll turn you into a toad or a slug," she said, almost hoping he'd try something. She was actually disappointed when she realized he was as big a coward as his father. She push her way past him and disappeared into Harry's room, leaving him standing there slack-jawed, Harry's had two girls in his room in one week's time and he's never had one come into the house.

Tonks dried and pulled on the clean clothes she found in Harry's room and let out a chuckle at the chance meeting. Remus will kill him if he finds out, or maybe just bite him during the next full moon, she thought happily to herself.

Author's note:

The following may prove mildly disturbing and has graphic scenes of tortureand violence.

"So tell me, my boys, I gave you Krum to do the dirty work, all you had to do was point out the target. How did you decide on that girl? I would have expected our friend to have been more then mildly upset."

"My lord, Vincent said they…"

"Greg, you lie… you said you saw them snoggin' in the Three Broomsticks last year."

"But you said that he was still seeing the bitch."

"Now, boys, let's not start using that kind of language, no reason to demean the dead that way. How this unfortunate mistake occurred really isn't important. What is important is your service to me. Now, I understand this was your initiation task. And as a special treat, I'm going to have one of my more skilled people give you your reward for your accomplishment. Is there anything else you would like to say before you receive what is due you both?"

"Master, we tried our best. Really…"

"I'm certain that you have, but you both seemed to miss the fact that Harry was seen most of the first several months with the Weasley girl, and since Christmas, he and his Mudblood friend had seldom been apart. I really find it difficult to believe that you couldn't find a more suitable target."

"We told Krum to try and 'do' the Granger girl, but he wouldn't. She was his date at that Yule ball, so maybe he still likes the bitch."

"That means you should have been more forceful with him, or still, the Weasley bitch would have been a better choice. Bella, my dear, would you please take these you boys into the dinning area and prepare them for dinner? I'm sure they are simply dying to join me for a meal."

"I would be happy to get them ready for you, my lord. Come on boys, you need to get cleaned up." The two had expected sever punishment for targeting the wrong person, but the prospect of becoming the Dark Lord's new favorites excited them both. Crabbe and Goyle followed Bellatrix Lestrange into the adjacent room in the large house eager to further please the Dark Lord.

Since the assassination of Cho Chang, the two boys managed to escape the grounds of Hogwarts before they could be caught. It had been less then two weeks since the event in question, most of the time had been spent hiding by day and traveling to the Dark Lord's home in Little Hangleton. There, the main headquarters for Voldemort's army, Death Eaters met and reported to the Dark Lord. It was here, too, that Lord Voldemort felt safe from Dumbledore's prying eyes.

Since returning from the defeat at the Ministry at Dumbledore's hands more then a year earlier, he reflected on why he had always failed in his battles with his old master. He had truly embraced the dark path as did all those that voluntarily followed him. Each of his recruits, before they earned the Dark Mark on their left arm, had to prove their undying loyalty to Lord Voldemort, by performing a task of his choosing. The assignment given to Crabbe and Goyle had been completed, but the final result was less then satisfactory. This 'minor' fact had been lost on the two Slytherin boys. It was well known that Voldemort would only give the Dark Mark to faithful followers who had sworn to serve him for life. This was the moment the two boys had anticipated since they left Malfoy's core group.

They followed her into the large banquet hall where Lord Voldemort typically entertained those he sought to recruit to his army. As they entered the massive hall, they watched a dark cloaked wizard with shinny, slicked-back hair deposit a number of vials on the end of the table. The wizard departed without ever turning to see who entered the room from the other side, his duty performed to the Dark Lord's satisfaction. He knew the contents of the vials would only be used to prolong the torture of two unknown victims. Atrocities will occur in a war, he had rationalized, and he knew his position would be compromised if he did not produce the potions required to exact strengths. Now was not the time to attempt a rescue of these two poor unfortunates and risk exposing a strategic advantage.

Here the boys found the reward promised them. Bellatrix led them to the massive table which had only a single place setting, with a portable grill set up next to it, for the purpose of preparing a freshly cooked meal for the dark one. The smiles vanished when Bellatrix turned to them with her wand pointing directly at them.

"ADHAERO CRUX CRUCIS" she screamed as the pair were flung across the room and impaled on a matching pair of wooded beams that formed an "X". Both their arms and legs had spikes protruding from them as they watched their blood ooze from the fresh wounds.

"Now, boys shall we have some fun?"

She pointed her wand again at them and before the gravity of their situation was realized and before they began to realize their immediate pain, she uttered "Silencio" to prevent the screams from spoiling her master's dinner. They mouthed screams that no one would hear, as she waved her wand one more time stripping them of all human dignity. The two former students hung nude impaled to a pair of X's while Bella pleasantly hummed a merry tune while she began her work. She picked up the vials left on the table and with the assistance of an aide, she poured the contents into each of the victims. She picked up a familiar jeweled encrusted dagger from the table, and with the skill of a surgeon, she began her work.

Massive strips of flesh were carefully pealed from the still living carcasses, "You see, boys, this is my favorite part. Now you may wonder about those vials," she casually informed them. "There were two different potions your old professor supplied us. Yes, I can tell you didn't know. He's one of us. The first potion was to prevent you from loosing consciousness and spoiling my fun, and the second was to stop any excessive blood loss. We can't have you 'expire' too soon, now can we?" she cheerfully cooed to her boys.

Her work on Goyle lasted a little longer then she expected, due to his large girth, but she managed. His flesh had been removed from just under his neck to his knees. She finished her initial work on Crabbe a little faster, just as her master entered the room.

"Ah, Bella, my dear, I see you're a little behind schedule. Do you need more practice?"

"No, my lord, that one had a bit more to remove then I expected. We should have your dinner prepared shortly."

"Wonderful." He paced in front of the two boys, their silent screams of pain continued, while he explained. "When I was a mere shadow of my former self, I was forced to live in various forms. One such was that of a wolf, and I was forced to survive on the dead and decaying carcasses one would find in the forest. Bella, I don't think they're paying attention. Can you have them focus on me for the moment?"

"Sorry, my lord," she replied sweetly. "Listen to your master, or this will last much longer then you really want," she snapped at them as she ran the blade through non-vital areas, to gain their attention. She raised the dagger to her lips and licked the crimson from the blade.

"Thank you. Now, where was I?" He pulled a chair from the table and sat in front of they as he continued. "You see, as a wolf I had, from time to time, run across some poor unfortunate that had the misfortune of losing the way in the forest. That was when I gained a taste for, a different kind of cattle. And Bella here has been so wonderful as to learn the techniques of preparing select cuts. I allow her this pleasure she so enjoys, since she is one of my most faithful servants. Now, I believe my dinner is at hand."

Bella took the dagger and slit through the exposed muscle of Goyle's abdomen first, spilling the contents of his lower anatomy to the floor. His silent screams of pain increased while he watched his intestines dangling from his body. He cut was skilful enough to not nick the organs, leaving them intact.

"You see, fellas, I learned that most people can live a while with most of these 'parts' removed. Here's what I'm looking for." She carved a large organ from his abdomen and placed it on a silver plate. She then carefully sliced the large liver into manageable sized pieces and carried them to the grill, opposite where Voldemort sat. She skillfully sautéed them with some fragrant herbs and laid them on his plate. He slowly cut each bite as the previous owner watched his flesh being eaten by the Dark Lord.

Crabbe, watching his friend being consumed while still alive, continued his screams as Bella now turned her attention to him.