Would you like to play a game?
AN: Another fragment found in an old folder that was part done and forgotten. Again, its not one I'm going to continue, but I thought I should just post it for people to read.
-o-o-o-o-o-
The War was lost, Harry Potter did not wake from Death and Hagrid had to carry the banner of Harry Potter nailed to a banner to witness the fall of Hogwarts. Most surrendered at the sight of the horrifying banner to Voldemorts rule, some ran and escaped the battle to build the Resistance.
A few years later, Luna Lovegood watches a muggle film whilst escaping a snatcher and gets some... ideas.
-o-o-o-o-o-
Halloween 2004
Luna turned slightly and looked into the shop window, the reflection showed the man following her, a long coat like that of an auror, but faded and well worn, a hand was hidden up the sleeve, the other flexing with agitation, thin cheeks and a haunted but hungry stare.
A stare following her as she walked through the muggle streets of Leeds.
His face was familiar and his name on the tip of her tongue, something to do with an ostrich or a crow, definitely a bird. Crow, corn, ah yes, Runcorn. He'd obviously fallen on hard times from the look of him, the glares, comments and space around him also told her that he must have smelt quite bad as well.
She took the next turn and entered the shopping center, a glance at the map as she passed showed a nearby food court with an attached cinema. Heading in that direction, she smiled at the busy flow of shoppers, moving through them, she quickly ducked behind a pillar and watched as he passed her before noticing he had lost sight of her.
He muttered something under his breath and began to slowly turn around, looking for something. The pain on his face and the flinches told her he had performed some sensory enhancement spell to find her.
She quickly moved into the food court, her head down, trying not to draw attention to herself. The scents would cover her tracks, but she needed to hide.
She joined the queue for the cinema and looked at the screens, the next film was starting in a few minutes, he would look elsewhere and a few hours would give her space to avoid any other hunters. She smiled as she paid for the ticket, such an odd title, it must have something to do with carpentry.
-o-o-o-o-o-
Fenrir Greyback woke up suddenly, his heart hammering in his chest as if he'd run around the Black Lake at Hogwarts. He looked around for threats but couldn't see much or smell anything but a pungent odor, something muggle, bleach?
He started to get up but found his arm suddenly burning. He stopped and looked at a silver bracer around his right forearm. A chain of the same material connected it to a silver panel in the middle of the floor. He felt something pricking his flesh under the bracer and yanked on it to break free, he managed to hold the scream within and he felt his flesh tear under the metal, blood dripped from the injuries, the silver slowing his healing immensely. He realized the nausea was being caused by the silver slowly poisoning him, his skin felt hot and itchy where the silver touched.
Using the light given by the small window in the door he saw an hourglass in the corner, it was rather larger than normal, strange animals ran around the frame. The door and walls were just out of reach as well. He looked around and found a letter in his back pocket, he opened it to find a pocket knife and a vial with a wispy silver mist within.
The envelope had only 2 words written on it 'break me'. Realizing that he had no other source of information, he did, the mist rose from the shattered vial and a soft, musical voice began to speak.
"Fenrir Greyback. Let us play a game. You should have already discovered that you have been chained by one arm to the floor, be careful as the inside of the bracer is covered in barbs, they aren't deep enough to kill you before your curse heals you, but it will definitely hurt. A lot. The door is unlocked and a light has been left on outside to give you a chance. Should you escape this building, then I will not hunt you again unless you come to my attention. You are far from any help, all magical items on your person have been removed. Anything you have on your person now is because I have allowed you to have it.
Once your time runs out, the barbs will revert back to their original material and form, muggles know it as silver nitrate, the liquid version I have used will enter your body and your blood stream, it will quite quickly kill a werewolf through poisoning your blood when it reaches your brain and heart. The bracer was formed around your arm using magic to ensure a nice close fit. The runes carved into it ensure that it will endure anything you can do to it, the only way to disrupt the enchantment is to finite it, which in turn will release the silver nitrate.
The chain connecting you to the floor is high quality steel covered in a layer of pure silver coated in essence of wolfsbane and several other anti-werewolf components, the floor section has been bolted into place with seven-inch-long bolts driven into the reinforced concrete floor and secured.
The hourglass holds enough sand to show you how much time you have left. You have three hours to decide whether you are a wild animal snared by a hunter, or a man captured by the enemy. Should you not escape in time, the door will seal and you will die of the toxic liquid flowing in your blood. You have everything you need to escape, how you do it is up to you. Your time starts now."
He looked up in horror as he heard the sands begin to fall. Panicking he took hold of the chain, the links burning his flesh as he tried to tug and break them, soon the burning became too much and he let go of the chain before he scrambled around looking for a way to escape before his eyes fell on the pocket knife.
Luna walked away from the building, standing just inside the edge of the wardline and left the area in a swirl of motion as the portkey immediately activated. The wards collapsed after she left, the sickness in the land rushing back in to taint everything there once more. The wind blew dust over the ruined town in her absence. An old and partially melted manikin sat at a chair watching the shattered television as from below in the cellar the werewolf began to scream, threaten and beg for help.
-o-o-o-o-o-
The Auror stood over the body that had been discovered by the Nomaj soldiers on patrol, the military police sat in their humvee on the radio with their command arguing about the strangers and jurisdiction. His partner finished sweeping the site for magic, finding only some very faint traces on the man's possessions.
He took a deep drag on his cigarette and breathed it out before turning to her, "Any idea what happened?"
She glanced up at him before returning to her checks, "I might, you?"
He chuckled at that, "Well I think he got very lost, ended up here and got partly eaten by animals."
She grunted in annoyance at his laziness as an investigator, "The missing arm is self-inflicted, those are knife marks, although he used his teeth to tear the flesh at one point, you can see what is likely his own blood and flesh in his teeth. Cauterization on the stump is odd, no sign of fire, but plenty of heat, perhaps a chemical reaction. Dragged himself here, lot of rads, so he went through a hot zone."
He shook his head at her quick analysis, "Any ID?"
"None," she said as she stood up and walked over to him, "But we don't need it."
He blinked in surprise at that, "What?"
"Thats Fenrir Greyback," she said as she pointed at the body, "I'd recognize the bastard anywhere. At least I know why I was assigned this case now; I'm going to make the Captain grin for a week solid for this."
He snorted at the imagery of the indian woman and the brute of a captain together, "You got history?"
She glanced at him for a second before shrugging and answering his question, "My twin sister and best friend were butchered by this monster, back before the Fall."
He froze in shock, unsure if he should offer commiserations or not, "Holy crap, Parvati, you gonna be okay?"
"I'll be fine." she said as she took the pack of cigarettes from him and lit one, taking a deep drag before continuing, "The fuckers dead, no more victims."
He paused for a moment before motioning vaguely to the east, "You know that this is gonna have fallout with England."
She stared at the body for a minute before chuckling, "Only if they find out. Mark him as a John Wolf, no ID or personal effects to ID him, Greyback fucks off on a hunt and never returns, they won't connect it to this."
He pulled a notepad out and made a few notes, "Cause of death?"
"Suicide." She said before she rushed through the last of the cigarette, flicking it away into the dust at her feet, "Bled out from his injuries by the look of it. A dedicated suicide. Saw it happen a lot with his victims."
He looked up and around them at the arid and desolate landscape, "What gets me is, what the hell was he doing out here?"
Parvati shrugged and ate a mint, "Nevada or the NTS? no idea, but I'm just glad he's dead. Let it go. I'm not going to be the one who finds his killer." She sighed and looked towards the lights on the horizon, "At least he never started hunting in Vegas, it's a full moon in a few days, that would have been a nightmare."
-o-o-o-o-o-
Lucius Malfoy awoke, his heart hammering in his chest as if his lord had just crucio'd him. Opposite him he saw a figure in the dark, a third to another side of the room, the light slowly built up as the muggle light brightened. He looked down at the pain in his stomach and opened his robes to find a cut had been stitched shut like a muggle had done it. Badly at that, no training, an amateur.
Bellatrix Lestrange and Augustus Rookwood both groaned as they carefully sat up as well, Lucius chose to hide the wound rather than show weakness to the others.
They all sneered in disgust at the room as they looked around, whilst clean, there was a distinct chill to the air and the floor as shown by their breath in the air, the dull lighting did not help the image.
From the wall opposite the door a section glowed for a moment and then changed to appear like falling snow before a voice came from the light.
"Hello everyone, I'm glad to see you've survived the drugs, it would have been annoying if you hadn't. Now, it's time to play a game. Each one of you holds pieces of the key to escape this. If you manage to get out of my tests then you can walk away, no grudge, no tricks, no changing the rules at the last minute, I will never lie to you, no stabbing you in the back.
Each of you has brought suffering and pain upon others, each of you have a black heart, withered and rotten at your core. But I have provided a way to atone. Before you are a series of rooms, they all share a theme. Your task is to get through them, collect the parts of the key, put it together and escape.
As an incentive, your wands are waiting for you at the exit, alongside them is a portkey to safety. All you have to do is grow as human beings, overcome the sins of your past and find that which is hidden within each of you. If you have not triggered the portkey in 4 hours of your trials starting it will leave you behind and you'll have to make your own way to safety.
Your time starts now."
At that the door to the room unlocked and opened slightly.
Bellatrix sneered as she stood, "What can mudbloods and muggles do to us?"
They looked at each other and began to walk towards it as a group. Each trying to hide their injuries they'd each noticed as they awoke, refusing to allow the others to see weakness and turn on them. Arrogance in every step, they left the room.
After all, they had nothing to fear.
Luna smiled as she watched on the television screens as the group began to move, she so enjoyed playing with others. Especially watching their eyes and faces as they began to understand.
The three looked up at the figures before them, the Lestrange brothers bound in barbed wire in turn wound around clock parts. Funnels waited under their forms, ready and waiting to collect the offered blood, a float waited within a clear glass box, connected to the lock of the door. A third funnel waited with a shard of metal, sharp all the way around.
As all three entered, the door behind slammed shut and sealed, as a voice came from above them.
"The first test. Once you lusted after their flesh, their knowledge, their influence. What will you do to save them? The wires are very strong, the door forward won't open without a balance being made, someone must pay for your crimes, but hurry, every second is paid in blood."
At that the clocks started and the three watched as the wire tightened, digging into the brothers as the cogs slowly moved. Both began to scream as they awoke to the pain and drops of blood began to fall into the funnel below.
-o-o-o-o-o-
Draco awoke from his drunken stupor, the grogginess rapidly falling away to his fear as he found his left hand clamped around something and his right free, it felt like he was laid back on a metal bench with leather buckles holding him in place. His right hand was free, but he couldn't reach the buckles to escape.
A strange cage was holding his head in place with a nozzle aiming at his nose, a tube of what looked like rubber led from the nozzle to a thick glass container which was held in a metal frame to his right, in easy reach of his free hand. The tube led to the far side and bottom of the glass and wound around out of his reach to the nozzle above him. A metal mesh stopped him from simply grabbing the tube and pulling it away from the nozzle.
A hiss of noise, burst from his right, and a square of snowy light appeared in the dark, grabbing his attention.
"Hello Draco Malfoy, you have lived a life of wealth and privilege, every whim catered for, every impulse supplied. You are cunning and devious, well, here neither trait shall save you. Today you make a choice, to live or to die.
As you will have noticed, your head is held in a cage, the lock is by your right ear. The key to this lock is within the container to your right. This container also holds a potion of my own devising. Acidic only in contact with flesh and then it has a short lifespan when it does so, it will burn, melt and sear for a second. Thats it, just one second of pain and it becomes smoke. It is also saturated with dark magic, there is no healing it, any damage will be permanent.
In your left hand is a trigger, squeeze your hand and the nozzle above you will drip some of the potion upon your face. If you wish to live, you must either reach into the container with your right hand and take the key, ruining the hand in the process, or you can use the trigger to lower the level of the potion for a different price.
You have an hour to decide. If you are not free by the time the hourglass beside the container empties, the remaining potion will be sprayed at speed at your head. The choice is yours, what will you sacrifice in exchange for your life?
But in the end, the choice will be whether you live or die, Draco. Live. Or. Die."
-o-o-o-o-o-
Voldemort conjured a throne like chair and sat, motioning towards his Director of Law Enforcement to begin. He tried to remember the man's name, but he was of such little relevance to him, that it completely eluded him for the moment.
The man bowed low before motioning to a house elf to offer the Dark Lord refreshments and a file. "My Lord, as you are well aware, we have had a string of unusual murders, most of which are your followers, however, a small number seem to be remaining and former members of the rebellion and similar subversives. If I may?"
At Voldemorts wave of a hand, the Director continued, photo's attaching to a timeline on the board behind him, most with a black border, but a few with a red border. "We have investigated the scenes of the crimes and found the following. Please note that we don't have a timeline in full, I've tried to gather them in what I believe is chronological order."
He put his wand away, slowly as to not concern his master and pointed out the first picture with a pointer, "Pansy Parkinson, her neck was snapped, actually twisted around to face backwards, the murder site had over a hundred pictures on the walls, all attractive young girls, each one had a number printed on the back, only one of which would have released the muggle padlock on the device surrounding her neck and lower jaw."
The checked his file and continued, "No witnesses to her capture or murder, a few fragments of a glass vial were found in corner with an odd spell residue. Her body was found in an abandoned apartment in the Knockturn Slum, the Neighbour's summoned the auror's when the stench affected their business. They did not hear any noise to cause them concern prior to this."
He pointed out the next image, "We believe Fenrir Greyback died after Parkinson but as we still haven't found him, we're not 100% sure. His pack have confirmed that they have received no contact these last months and are searching for him. He has few allies to hide him and his enemies have not published a capture of him. I have a team liaising with the ICW currently to find him or his remains."
He pointed to the next one, "Cormac McClaggan, Flight Instructor at Hogwarts, found beaten to death by 20 bludgers on the school pitch. The pitch was surrounded by wards to cause pain equivalent to a cruciatus and anti-apparition charms. His remains were found naked with a nearby shattered broom, we identified his remains by the fact that he was missing from the staff and there was no sign of him packing. The ruined broom was his own which helped us confirm his identity. We found a snitch in the central goal ring which was a portkey to just outside the wards containing him, as a member of staff, the portkey would have worked or the school wards would have taken control and sent him directly to the hospital wing."
"Next, we have Ronald Weasley," the director said as he pointed to the next image, "Former sidekick to Harry Potter, currently the Hogwarts caretaker after providing evidence to the courts against the surviving members of Dumbledore's Order and swearing fealty to yourself. He was found in the ruins of Grimmauld Place using Family Magics and a relic of his House, a clock of some sort. It has been confiscated and sent to the Unspeakables for reverse engineering. He was contained in a room, surrounded by spiders' nests of an Australian breed, they have been destroyed in full, none escaped the process, we have no sign of any having escaped prior to our arrival. One of the nests held the key to the door to let him escape, behind the door was his wand, the antivenom and the way out. He had been there a while as the spiders had begun to use his body as an additional nest."
"Walden Macnair," the director continued as he pointed out another image, "He bled out from numerous bite wounds, his body was partially consumed when he was found. We found over four hundred rats in a pit; they had begun to eat each other in hunger. At the bottom of the pit was a key to the sealed door."
"Gregory Goyle," he pointed out next, "Killed by ice picks embedded through his eyes, he was part way through crushing his own genitalia when he died. Found in his home when he did not attend work that day, as an auror, his silence was an oddity that was immediately investigated."
"This next one was Percy Weasley, technically, our first survivor." He pointed out the next image with a red border, "Covered in scars stating 'I will not tell lies', his mind was broken by the experience, we gained nothing from his interrogation. He is currently contained in St Mungos Long Term Ward, they do not expect him to recover and have been unable to gain any useful information from him. He was found wandering Hogsmeade, alone and naked."
"This next one stood out as it was a change of style from previous attacks. Rather than a single target, this was a group of victims. Not only that, but there were a significant number of victims alongside them." He pointed out a group of pictures all next to each other.
"Bellatrix Lestrange was found frozen to death with an open stomach wound at the entrance to an unspeakable research facility in Antarctica, we only found them when you sent us to investigate following her signal for aid. It took us several hours to find and retrieve the bodies due to its security and location. We lost three aurors just reaching the site and reactivating the beacon to allow safe portkey use. The facility was originally closed due to an experiment with dangerous and obscure animals breaking containment. Other victims found in the facility included the following:
Lucius Malfoy found with a stomach wound but death from potion overdosing; Rodolphus and Rabastan Lestrange dismembered by muggle wire and clockparts; Augustus Rookwood was electrocuted to death, he also had a stomach wound; Narcissa Malfoy drowned in freezing water, we found signs of a bubblehead charm on her necklace alongside warming charms, likely to prevent death by cold; Albert Runcorn was crushed to death by a heavy weight covered in broken glass; and Rita Skeeter who was scalded to death from steam, basically she was boiled to death."
"Moving on, we have Cornelius Fudge," he pointed to the next image, "He was found having bled to death, he had a barbed fish hook in his skin for every bribe he'd taken, all he has to do is remove them and walk out the door to be free. There was a book listing every bribe he'd ever taken which matches the number of hooks. He was found by his wife in his holiday cabin where he usually entertained his mistresses."
"Dolores Umbridge, while no great loss to the ministry," he said as he pointed to the next image, "was found having overdosed on veritaserum in her home, there was a transcript of her final words as there was an enchanted quill with a dictation charm recording her, she had begun to talk about every crime in her life she had committed, it appears she had resisted until thirst drove her to her final moments. We believe there was a compulsion charm on the glass to start her talking. From this discovery, we found that a number of her quills had been used in the Percy Weasley case. Unspeakables are currently investigating her invention to see if we can break the enchantment and use it to gain information from Weasley. As a side note, Aurors have used this confession to close one hundred and seven cold cases and missing peoples reports. A record of her blackmail material has been provided to yourself, Obliviation's have occurred on all who have read the list baring myself and I am willing to have that knowledge wiped should you desire it."
"Mundungus Fletcher," the director said as he pointed to the next image, "Was found crushed and burnt to death through use of a galleon enchanted with a gemino curse as well as a flagrante curse. Aurors were called in when his apartment in the Knockturn slums collapsed under the weight of the metal."
"Antonin Dolohov," was discovered in the muggle world and a report of his death was sent through the liaison at Scotland Yard when his wand was discovered at the crime scene as well as the oddities of the enchanted machinery. He was found having burnt to death in a space expanded crematorium, had to crawl through fire to reach his wand at the far end of the cremation system. Obliviation's were used to remove any records on the Muggle Side and that point of contact with their world has been terminated."
"Next, we have an odd case which seems rather personal with what occurred to the victim." He pointed to the next image, "Ginevra Weasley was the third Weasley to be targeted. She was overdosed on a mix of Amortentia and a Lust potion, and by overdosed, her heart would have exploded within her chest without a healer seeing to her within a few hours. She was then provided bladed 'objects' which she then used in her confusion. She died from blood loss and extreme internal trauma."
The director paused and gestured to a separate board with notes and images displaying his teams investigations into the attacker. "This was also an oddity as the attackers traps so far have shown that you can escape them but at a cost to yourself to do so. This one didn't seem to have such an option, or we were unable to find it. This case has also allowed us to refine our search to a much smaller pool of individuals. We believe that the attacker was avenging the death or similar of a loved one with close ties to Dumbledores Order who was most likely betrayed by them. Potentially they had been betrayed rather than it be someone else. Unfortunately, most of this pool are abroad or dead, those that remain in your Realm are either in Azkaban or swore eternal servitude to you rather than be executed for their crimes."
He gestured back to the original board with a second red bordered image, "Draco Malfoy, our second survivor found disfigured by an acidic potion. No residue of the potion remained for analysis, but it was not an amateur that produced it. His only purpose now is to father a more suitable heir for the Malfoys, he is unable to perform his other duties. He recognized the voice of his captor, but cannot place it, any attempts to recover the memory produce a violent reaction from him.
"Marietta Edgecombe was next," he said as he gestured to another picture, "Found in one of the secret tunnels leading into Hogwarts. We found traces of Devils Snare, a highly flammable gel and a few muggle matches."
"Our most recent case was that of Alecto and Amycus Carrow. Of which Amycus is our third survivor. She is now a drunk and mentally ruined wreck; we collected a full memory of the incident from her. Again, the voice was recognized but not identified, but it matches the one from Draco Malfoy. It also causes a reaction from Percy Weasley when he hears it. She chopped up her twin brother to escape."
He put aside the list he was reading from and stood before his Lord at attention, "In nearly all cases, a small broken vial was found with a note saying break me attached, the Unspeakables have informed me that the spell residue is incredibly complex, intricate and beyond their understanding without better samples. Beyond the memories, we have no record of the other messages and they are unable to recreate it from the samples that remain."
He gestured to the photos behind him, "We know the attacker to be female, of similar age to Draco Malfoy as Amycus taught during that period. She is english and well informed of matters. She likely has an accomplice aiding her, possibly more than one. Some muggle connections, if not muggleborn herself. The most likely suspect would have been Hermione Granger, but we have confirmation that she died following the Fall of Hogwarts. She was killed by Bellatrix Lestrange and Fenrir Greyback, although there were some theories that her body may have been someone else dosed with Polyjuice to die in her place." He shook his head at that, "Highly unlikely as some of our allies or agents would have found some sign of her by now, so we are happy to rule out that theory."
Voldemort nodded as he tapped the arms of his throne in thought, "Adequate. However, I want better progress by your next report about the case. Interrogate the Azkaban prisoners if you require, they bore me and one may have information that would be useful to your investigation." He frowned at the photo of Bellatrix, increase Delphini's guard while you are at it. It's likely the killer may target her as well."
He stood and waved the minion away, "You have a week."
With that, he apparated back to his stronghold, safe behind its wards and protections. An elf rushed up as he sat at his table, placing the expected meal and drink before his Master. Voldemort took a few bites and a long sip of the fine wine before glancing at the old elf that stood to one side.
He frowned in confusion, that wasn't his usual elf and he was sure he recognized it from somewhere. He blinked his suddenly heavy eyes and frowned as he tried to draw his wand to cast a crucio at the beast for daring to look at him.
He stared at his hand in horror as the wand fell from loose fingers and he fell back in his seat, fighting the lethargy that suddenly struck him. The elf calmly walked over and took his wand, muttering about half breeds and vengeance for his master.
-o-o-o-o-o-
With a start Voldemort awoke sitting in a simple chair in a strange room as a throbbing agony burned through his jaw and tongue. He tried to open it in a moan, but felt the end pull on the roof of his mouth. He moaned around the metal as he looked around, finding a set of manacles had been chained around his arms, he could feel the icy cold of the runes pulling the magic from him, preventing him from casting any magic.
Before him was a table with a muggle claw hammer resting on it, runes were engraved into the metal of the head and shaft, the handle was a strange material that was soft, yet firm in his grasp. The runes were part of an enchantment he had seen on a set of daggers from his youth at Borgin and Burkes. Whatever damage was inflicted with them would be saturated with dark magic, making healing the injuries incredibly difficult and at best they would leave deep scars in their wake. The enchantment ran under the handle, so he expected it had been modified in some fashion.
Beside it rested a small glass vial with a silvery mist within and a note saying "Break me."
With a hiss of rage and agony, he threw the vial at the ground and as expected, he heard a voice come from it.
"Hello Tom Marvolo Riddle, I've heard that you are looking for me, well, here's your chance. Ascend beyond your current state and we will meet, face to face. Fail and fall from grace. On your wrists are magic suppression manacles of my own devising, to escape, you simply have to remove them from your person and leave. A barbed spike has been implanted in your jaw and through your tongue to restrict your casting of magic. Feel free to remove it at your earliest convenience. I have provided the hammer to assist you in both matters."
A section of the wall shifted and rose, a thick window of glass separated him from what was beyond. The voice continued as it explained what was happening, "However. In the next room, I have gathered all your horcrux, believe me when I say that I have been very thorough in collecting your new ones. Each is held within a container over a blender with blades coated in basilisk venom. One cut and the horcrux will be destroyed. Every ten minutes, on the chime, one of them will be destroyed at random. The question is, how many Horcrux remain? Out of fairness, I will warn you that a significant number had to be destroyed before the remainder were gathered here. If you fail to escape by the time of your last Horcrux being destroyed, the sprinklers above will release mustard gas into the room upon the next chime. As a kindness and a hint, I have given you the same amount of time you gave him. Good luck and let the games begin!"
-o-o-o-o-o-
With his tongue torn and his jaw twisted by using the hammer to pull the barbed spike from his mouth, Voldemort coughed as he struggled to open the door before him, his skin was blistered and his lungs damaged by the mustard gas he had suffered through in his attempt to escape.
His right hand held the blood covered hammer in a fierce grip, the focus of inflicting pain and suffering on his captor a strong motivator.
With a groan of pain, he pushed open the door to find the Director who had not long ago been updating him, slumped and bound in a chair, around his neck were 2 vials on a chain. One containing the silver mist as before, the second holding a multicolored liquid that appeared to have an almost whimsical appearance and motion.
Yanking the silver vial from the man's neck he threw it to one side and watched as it shattered, the mist rising and, as expected, the accursed voice came from it. "Hello Tom, and well done. I'm sure you recognize the individual before you. Within the conjured vial is polyjuice potion already prepared with one of my hairs. It will not be viable for much longer, so be aware that time is short. As long as someone drinks it, you will discover who I am, there is a mirror if you wish to use it, or you can use the individual I have supplied. What you do with the information you will gain is up to you. Or. You can walk away with no further attacks from myself. My conflict with you will be over. But remember that there is a price for everything in this life. The choice is yours."
Snarling, Voldemort grabbed the vial, wincing slightly as his skin on his finger began to bleed as he opened the vial, grabbing the mans jaw to force it open and pour it down his throat.
Stepping back, he looked down as the man turned into a slight woman with fine blonde hair and pale blue eyes. He frowned as he recognized the woman from somewhere but she was obviously of such little importance he couldn't even guess at her name.
It was enough for him to search for her once he returned to his Kingdom, so he raised the hammer and proceeded to beat the disguised man to death, rapidly caving his transformed head in and releasing some of his frustrated rage and hate at the woman for actually inflicting such pain and danger to his existence. He would even use her soul to bind the first of his new Horcux. He glanced at the hammer in his grip, it would be ironic to use her own tool as the vessel for his soul.
After a few moments of work, he was forced to stop due to gasping for air in his tortured lungs. Dropping the hammer, he staggered back and leant against the wall as he recovered from his exertions. But the air wasn't coming and he saw that his left hand had begun to swell, forcing the damaged skin to bleed more.
As he slid to the ground, the mirror on the wall lit up from behind to show the womans face looking at him, she smiled and began to speak, her voice came from a corner of the room where he saw a strange black orb that seemed to be watching him from near the roof.
"Just so you are aware Tom, the pain you felt when opening the polyjuice was a conjured and magically shrunk syringe with a more than terminal dose of the Venom of Conus Geographus within it. A pretty little snail which is nicknamed the cigarette snail, you'll understand why shortly. Upon delivery of the venom, the syringe would have ceased existing, leaving the very real venom in your system. By now, you should have reached the third symptom. You should have already passed the numbness around the point of entry, swelling in the extremity and should have begun feeling a shortness of breath. Next will come a headache, followed by nausea with abdominal cramps, then slurred speech, shallow breathing which may progress to respiratory paralysis, decreased level of consciousness which may progress to coma, decreased reflexes, paralysis may develop in the stung extremity, generalized weakness and then death."
A wide grin broke across her face as she watched him gasp air into his straining lungs, "Enjoy what remains of your life Tom, I know I will."
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