Chapter 16!
Lucius Malfoy stood outside his Master's office fiddling nervously with his robes. He had failed in destroying Harry Potter three days earlier, and knew that he would soon pay the price for that failure. He just hoped the information he had acquired would be enough to save his life.
"Enter," the cold hiss sounded from behind the closed door.
Composing himself, Lucius took a deep breathe and entered the lion's den, praying his master would have mercy.
"Luciusss, you show your cowardly face at last. Three days ago I sent you on a very important mission, one which you failed, and now you return, why?" Voldemort asked glaring murderously at his servant.
"My Lord please, I had to hide in the forbidden forest for days, I only returned home yesterday. Dumbledore had every teacher searching the grounds and I couldn't risk being caught. But my Lord, if I may, I have very important news you may like to hear."
As angry as Voldemort was, he couldn't deny himself the right to hear the news Malfoy spoke of. After all it could be prudent to his plans.
"This better be good, Lucius."
"Thank you my Lord." Malfoy said clearly relieved. "My son owled me yesterday, it seems that while Potter was recovering in the hospital wing, a large black dog could be seen keeping a vigilant watch by his bedside."
"Sirius' Animagus form." Voldemort said leaning forward in his chair and looking to Wormtail for conformation. At his servant's nod he hissed, "Go on."
"My son decided to watch the dog and Potter and sure enough, Black being as careless as always, revealed himself. Draco noted that when Potter awoke Black treated the boy like a son, and Potter seemed to care deeply for the convict."
Voldemort nodded, he already knew that Harry had a soft spot for Black, so what was Lucius' point.
Lucius, sensing his master's inpatients quickly made his point clear. "Draco overheard Black speaking to Dumbledore after Potter had left the hospital wing to check on the Fire Wolf. Black said he would be staying around the castle for the next week or so to make sure Potter was alright and out of danger. My point my lord, is that since all attacks on Potter himself have failed, maybe we should try a different approach. Weaken him, and then attack."
Voldemort sat forward and placed his chin on steepled fingers, obviously intrigued. "Your suggestion?"
"His heart, my Lord, first we attack his heart."
Lucius Malfoy was greatly relieved the next day as he stood with his fellow Deatheaters in Voldemort's large conference room. He may have been tortured because of his failure to kill the Potter boy, but at least Voldemort had let him live, for the information he had gathered.
Not only that but Voldemort had taken his suggestion to heart (if he had one) and had formulated a plan overnight that he had gathered his Deatheaters to hear that very day. So he waited patiently for his master to arrive as his comrades talked quietly around him.
"The boy wasn't as easy to kill as you thought, was he Lucius?" Goyle sneered and Garbe chuckled beside him.
"'I will take care of Potter for you my Lord.'" Garbe mocked using Lucius' earlier words. "Great job you did there, Lucius. I don't think Potter will give us anymore trouble from now on." He and Goyle laughed unabashedly for a few minutes before settling down and waiting quietly for their Master to arrive.
"As you already know," the cold voice of their Master broke the silence and sent chills down their spines, "Lucius failed to kill Potter, but we had a long discussion last night about how to proceed. Lucius informed me that Black, Potter's godfather, will be hanging around the castle until after Halloween to keep an eye on the boy. Now I have decided since we can't seem to kill the boy we go after the one thing he leaves vulnerable, because of Lucius' excellent suggestion." Quiet whispers rang through the room as Malfoy shot a smug look to Garbe and Goyle. "To bring Potter down, we must weaken him. How?" Silence reigned again, "Idiots, we must first destroy his heart, kill the people he loves and weaken him to the point where he breaks and begs us to kill him." Excited whispers ran through the room again. "Wormtail!"
"Yes my lord?" Wormtail asked stepping forward and bowing.
"Go to Hogwarts, sneak in as a rat, find Black and kill him." Voldemort ordered laughing a strangely chilling laugh. "We'll see how Potter likes that, you have until Halloween"
"Yes, my Lord." Wormtail complied bowing again and exiting the room in an excited fashion.
"Now Wormtail will take care of Black, does anybody have any news for me? We all already have been informed that Potter is an Animagus, so don't bother trying to tell me that." Voldemort asked sitting in his chair and staring at his followers.
"Sir, if I may?" Crabbe asked stepping forward and bowing. At Voldemort's nod he continued, "A while ago, Goyle sent the Jellitor to kill Potter but it was defeated, I did some checking around and found the reason Potter lived at the attack. It seems, my Lord that a Mystic Knight is currently residing in Hogwarts."
Gasps and shocked whispers rang through the room again.
"Silence!" Voldemort bellowed before turning to Crabbe again, "Are you sure?"
"Positive my Lord. I don't know the whole story but I do know that the Jellitor was defeated by a Mystic Knight."
"Why have they not shown themselves before?" Voldemort mused rubbing his chin thoughtfully.
"I could be that they only arrived at Hogwarts this year?" Nott suggested.
Voldemort pondered this stroking his large snake Nagini absentmindedly.
"My lord?" Garbe questioned hesitantly, "What about the new girl that defeated my trolls during the summer. Could she be the Mystic Knight Crabbe speaks of?"
Voldemort nodded thinking that over, "Mystic Knights have been known to be called upon before their seventh year, if a powerful enemy surfaced, some as early as their sixth years. But never fifth years."
"Maybe this was an extra special case," Malfoy said pointedly, "She did, after all, defeat five trolls with ease."
Voldemort nodded, "I agree, good work Crabbe. Garbe, with Wormtail gone, you're the only other Animagus small enough to scuttle around the castle unnoticed. Go to Hogwarts and fetch the girl. I don't care how long it takes, I want Jessica Lock, we'll soon find out just how powerful she is."
Well here's another chapter for you, not as long as it should be but I wanted to put only Voldemort and his follower's in this chapter. Please tell me what you think. Cheers!