Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters.
Triumvirate of power.
Once they had left Hogwarts grounds, the trio had disapparated to a closer location to where the signal was coming. From there they had started their search, at first through the air, and then running through the dense forest since it was impossible to see anything through the many trees. They were so intent on finding their targets that they nearly cursed Myrtle when she appeared in front of them. Dragon stopped suddenly, causing Phoenix and Gryffin to nearly run into him.
"Myrtle? What's wrong? I thought you were going to keep an eye on Riddle."
The ghost was looking frantically around. "It's a trap, Harry! While you are here looking for Professor Snape and his friend, the Dark Lord is heading towards Hogwarts. He somehow knew that you would find out about Snape and that you would come and save him."
Dragon cursed lightly and turned to his two friends, who were looking at each other in concern. "What should we do? We can't leave Snape and that Tonks girl out here on their own."
Phoenix looked up at him seriously. "That's not what worries me most, Dragon. What we really should try and find out is how Riddle knows so much about what's going on in the castle. He must be very sure about us leaving and it didn't take him long to find out."
Griffin nodded in agreement. "It sounds to me like he has a spy, in Gryffindor no less."
Harry had to admit that they were probably right, the Dark Lord wasn't one to leave much to chance. "It shouldn't really surprise us, I mean, how much could help him to have a spy in Slytherin? It's not like anyone would trust them because of all the prejudices."
Hermione sighed. "Yes, yes, but right now we're getting off track; no one can argue that the Dark Lord is cunning, as long as you're not involved." She turned towards Dragon in time to see a grin appear on his face. "Anyway, before we can take any action against the Dark Lord, we need to find out who that spy is and incapacitate him before he is able to do more damage."
Before one of the boys could reply, Myrtle's voice filled the silence. "That's easy, the Riddle snake was boasting about no one suspecting that Creevy boy would do anything bad while taking his infamous pictures."
Dragon gapped at her. "Colin? Why on earth would he help the Death Eaters?"
The ghost shrugged lightly. "I'm not sure, Peevees was screeching something about his sister not being able to defend herself against a few muggles, but that's all I can think of."
Phoenix shook her head. "Knowing how passionate Colin can get about things that could be more than enough. We'll have to find out later about what happened exactly, for right now we've got to make a few plans, we need to make sure that Voldemort doesn't succeed and that our nightmares don't come true."
A few hours later, all the habitants of Hogwarts were having breakfast in the Great Hall. The Gryffindor table was strangely silent; everyone had noticed the trio's absence and while the rest of the Hall was speculating on where they could have gone, the Gryffindors all had the feeling that something bad was going on. At the teacher's table, Dumbledore had informed James, Lily, Sirius, and Remus of what had happened the night before. To say they were angry at not being warned before would be an understatement. But as Dumbledore told them, there was nothing they would have been able to do since no one knew where the children had gone to.
Everyone was so involved in their own thoughts or conversations that no one noticed as the Hall slowly started to fill with snakes that silently began to slither around collecting wands from pockets, bags, and any other place the students would keep them. No one noticed them moving about until suddenly a Ravenclaw girl bent down to get one of the books in her bag to continue with her argument of Charms and saw the small reptile sliding out of her bag with its tail firmly wrapped around her wand.
"My wand!"
At her shout, most people went to find their own wands out of reflex, finding that they had disappeared from their keeping places. The faculty rose as the cries of anger and distress spread through the Hall but before they could do anything about it, a group formed by most six and seventh year Slytherins rose from their seats, pointed their wands towards their teachers and as one, shouted the disarming curse.
While their combined power was no match to Dumbledore's, they managed to disarm most of the faculty. Then, as if they had been waiting for that moment, the doors slammed open, and a large group of men dressed in black robes entered the hall, quickly taking positions around the room with their wands trained towards the children.
The children, who had been screaming when the Death Eaters entered the room, fell silent as a menacing figure entered the large room. With Lucius Malfoy and Peter Pettigrew standing at either side of him, the Dark Lord presented a terrifying image. Dumbledore clutched his wand harder but Voldemort just smirked.
"Try it, old man, and a lot of these children will die at the same moment. My loyal ones have received orders to fire the killing curse as soon as any of you try to harm me. Now, why don't you put that down? We wouldn't want to harm any of your precious babies, now, would we?"
Very reluctantly, Dumbledore lowered his wand and threw it on the ground in front of him, signalling for Sirius, James, Minerva, and Filius to do the same, as they were the only ones that still had a wand.
"Now, let the children go."
Voldemort looked almost amused at those words. "I don't think you're in a position to make demands, old man. Anyway, I'm not stupid enough to go do that, after all, they are my assurance that you won't do anything and that Potter, when he gets here, won't do anything against me." With a wave of his wand, he vanished the teacher's table and forced the teachers to move towards the students' table. Once everyone was seated, he transfigured Dumbledore's seat to a throne like chair and took place in it, regarding the room with a satisfied smirk.
His attention moved once again to the old headmaster, who was seated at the front of the Ravenclaw table.
"Everything seems to be ready, now we only have to wait for Potter and his little friends to find the traitor and the woman and to return here; I'm sure they will be surprised at what they will find." His gaze moved towards the Gryffindor table. "As for right now, I believe it's time for some of my most loyal young ones to join me."
After that, one after another, Slytherins, a few Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs were called towards the Dark Lord, and after swearing undying loyalty to him, they were marked like all his other followers. When the last Ravenclaw took his place next to the gathering Death Eaters standing near the door, Voldemort turned to the last table.
"And lastly, the proud Gryffindors, loyal to the end, symbol of light, but even there my little snakes reach giving me one of my most useful followers." After pausing for the words he had just said to register in everyone's minds, he raised his voice again, summoning the last one of his new followers. "Creevy!"
The Gryffindor boy stood up proudly, in midst of the disbelieving glares from his peers. Ignoring his brother's horrified cry, he stepped up to his soon to be master and knelt in front of him.
"Your blood may not be as pure as the others' but your loyalty has been proven without a doubt. Without your tips, we wouldn't be here right now so I have decided to mark you as one of my own. Do you swear to serve me and protect me from now until you die?"
The boy's voice didn't waver as he spoke. "I swear it, Master."
With a sly smirk, Voldemort extended his hand and Colin put his arm in it. At the same moment that the Dark Lord started to chant the marking curse, the arm in his hand moved sharply. Voldemort lost his voice as he was suddenly pulled towards the boy, in a movement that belied the teen's strength. Before anyone could do anything, Colin's other hand moved to the man's back, and without a second thought, he sank the dagger that had appeared in his hand in the monster's back.
A/N: Happy Christmas to you all