Draco Malfoy
Draco Malfoy felt terrified as his father led him inside Grimmauld Place. His father's hand, pressed against his shoulder, was shaking slightly.
"What is he going to do?" Draco whispered.
"I … do not know," said Lucius. "He is angry. You must bow. You must beg. You must plead. You must promise to do whatever he says. I mean it Draco—we are in very serious danger here, all of us. Apologise and promise to do whatever he asks.'
"I will," said Draco.
"Lucius," a tall, blonde brutish Death Eater stepped forward to greet him. "The Dark Lord is waiting."
"Thank you, Rowle," Lucius said, curtly. Sounding more like his usual self. Draco didn't look at Rowle. He kept his eyes straight ahead as his father led him down a corridor full of mounted elf heads on the wall and into a room at the end.
There, sat on a large throne, Lord Voldemort was waiting.
"Bow," Lucius whispered, sinking to his knees.
Draco quickly did likewise, keeping his gaze lowered.
"You have brought him?" Voldemort said, his voice sending a chill through Draco's bones. "Brought your own flesh and blood to face the wrath of Lord Voldemort. Tell me, Lucius—does this mean your loyalty is true? Even above your family?"
"Always, my lord," said Lucius.
"Or, are you merely acting out fear? Too scared and too cowardly to stand up to me and defend your family?" Lord Voldemort sounded like he was taking great delight in ridiculing Lucius.
"No, my lord," Lucius said.
"You are Draco?"
"Yes," said Draco.
"You will address me as my lord,"
"Yes, my lord," Draco said quickly. He felt at any moment the psychopath in front of him could kill him or cast crucio.
"A pureblood—Lucius tells us you are a firm believer in the old ways. In blood supremacy," said Voldemort.
"Yes, my lord,"
"That you have gone out of your way to make things miserable for mudbloods at Hogwarts."
"Yes, my lord."
"And yet, you fought alongside mudbloods and blood traitors to oppose me," Lord Voldemort's tone turned ice-cold. "You took up wands alongside the enemies of Lord Voldemort."
"My lord, it was a mistake …" Lucius began.
"Silence, Lucius," Voldemort said, sharply. "I speak to Draco."
"I … I didn't … my lord … I mean, I …" Draco didn't know what to say.
Voldemort smiled like a cat toying with a mouse.
"Don't stutter. Speak, straight-backed and proud. Lord Voldemort can't abide cowardice. Stand up and explain why you fought with the enemies of Lord Voldemort."
Keeping his gaze lowered, Draco stood up. "I … wanted to protect my friends from the Dementors—my lord. They were on the train. I didn't want to see them get hurt."
"Are you sure?" Voldemort said.
"Yes, my lord."
"The Dementors would not have harmed pure bloods. They were to target mudbloods only. You do wish to see mudbloods gone from Hogwarts?"
"Yes, my lord."
"And yet, you fought alongside them …"
Draco sensed now was the time to stay silent.
"I can't afford to have traitors within my ranks … or those whose loyalty may waver," Voldemort said.
"My lord … I assure you. My family …" Lucius began.
"Silence," Voldemort said.
"How will you prove your loyalty, Draco?" Voldemort asked.
'Anything, my lord."
Voldemort nodded. "We will see," he said. "I will give you a chance to prove yourself."
"Thank you, my lord, I will do anything," Draco said quickly. He felt a surge of hope that he may get out of this.
"And yet, there needs to be some sort of punishment for aiding mudbloods, wouldn't you agree Lucius?"
"I …yes … but, please, my lord … he is just a boy …"
"Age is irrelevant, Lucius. When I was his age, I didn't side with mudbloods and blood traitors," Voldemort said sharply. "Tell me, Lucius … would you be willing to take Draco's punishment in his stead?"
"Yes my lord," Lucius said, quickly. "Please—do what you like to me, but don't harm, Draco. I beg you."
"You helped bring me back to power, Lucius. I will grant you this favor."
"Thank you, my lord," Lucius said.
Draco felt horrified. What punishment would Voldemort inflict on his dad?
"Draco, you can now take the first steps in proving your loyalty to me. You know the cruciatus curse?"
"Yes, my lord," Draco suddenly got a sinking feeling.
"Then you will perform the cruciatus curse on your father."
Draco's mouth dropped open and his blood ran cold. "My lord … I … I can't … no …"
"Do it Draco!" Lucius snapped.
"Do it!" Voldemort demanded.
Draco stared at his dad. He was on his knees, his face pale, his eyes bloodshot and his receding hair tangled.
"Do it!" Lucius urged. "Draco … he will kill your mother."
With a shaking hand, Draco raised his wand. He felt total revulsion towards himself for what he was about to do and a surge of hatred towards Lord Voldemort.
"I …"
"Do it!" Voldemort said again. "Or I will kill your father and your mother in front of your eyes. Pyrites! Bring her!"
The door opened and Percival Pyrites entered, leading a woman who Draco barely recognized as his mother. Her hair was turning white and she was wearing a maid's outfit. She looked as dejected as anyone Draco had seen. Her hands were bound with rope, tight enough to make her wrists bleed.
"Mother!" Draco called. He went to move towards her, but Lucius pulled him back.
His mother kept her head down, not acknowledging him.
"Now, Draco, do as your lord commands."
Hating himself, Draco raised his wand and pointed it at his father.
"Do it, Draco," said Lucius.
"Crucio"
Gilderoy Lockhart
Gilderoy Lockhart sat at his desk, his head in his hands. This was an absolute disaster—a total catastrophe.
Two Hogwarts students had been murdered—one savaged by a werewolf. Many more had been injured, including two others who had been attacked by the same werewolf. One was still missing. One Auror was dead—Gordon Butcher, he had splinched himself and bled out.
On the positive side of things, his Aurors had, for the most part, repulsed the attack and even captured a Death Eater. Graham Montague had been apprehended single-handed by Cedric Diggory. The rest of the Death Eaters had fled once reinforcements had arrived.
In all, it had been a disaster. The attack had been well planned and coordinated.
He grabbed his half-empty glass of whisky and hurled it at the wall. Two students murdered! The press were going to have a field day. People would be calling for his head. There was no way to spin this to a positive.
He took a deep breath and thought hard. Perhaps he could saddle some of the blame on Dumbledore? He was in charge of Hogwarts, after all. The safety of the students was meant to be his priority. The Aurors had done their job—Shacklebolt, Dawlish, Diggory and the Flints had fought bravely against the Death Eaters. The rest of the Aurors had arrived on the scene quickly—barely 10 minutes, which was the required time for the quick-response force.
He considered his options. The attack had concluded barely 30 minutes ago. The Aurors were still on the scene administering aid and investigating. The Prophet wouldn't have reported yet. If he could get in touch with Rita Skeeter—promise her an exclusive interview, take her to the scene, throw in a signed book and maybe even dangle an Order of Merlin in front of her, he felt certain he could spin this and minimize the impact.
That was decided. He would contact Rita immediately and head to the scene with her. Actually, going to the scene was a smart idea—it would make it look like he cared about the community. Maybe the Prophet could even photograph him healing an injured student or patrolling the woods along with the Aurors?
Next, he would arrange the execution of Graham Montague. That had to take place immediately. The public would demand it.
He jumped as the door to his office crashed open. It was Percy Weasley, his glasses askew and looking in a state of shock.
"Percy, I'm sure your brothers are fine …" Lockhart began, quickly.
"There's been another attack, Minister!"
"Another … what … attack … what?" Lockhart said, foolishly.
"In Durham—the Magical Law Enforcement patrol! They've been murdered!"
Lockhart felt his heart sink. This was turning from bad to worse.
The Death Eaters
"Six dead!" Bellatrix Lestrange crowed to laughter from the other Death Eaters. "Did you see the look on his face as I cruciod him?"
Rodolphus chuckled. "You spend too long playing with your food, Bella. I killed more than you—three." He looked very smug at this. "No messing around—pure business."
"What's the fun in killing if you can't make them scream a bit first?" Bellatrix demanded. The Death Eaters laughed again.
"Yes, you all did well, Lord Voldemort is pleased," Voldemort said. Everybody immediately fell silent. "Our campaign of terror is striking fear into the hearts of the wizarding world, and my own plans are moving forward. Nott, what is the total Ministry losses?"
Abaddon Nott stepped forward. "Six members of the Magical Law Enforcement Patrol, my lord," he said, bowing low. "One Auror—splinched. Two Hogwarts students—one was a mudblood."
"Yes, nicely done, Dolohov," Lord Voldemort said. "We are one step closer to ridding Hogwarts of the filth."
The Death Eaters cheered and Yaxley thumped Dolohov on the back.
"And yet, two students died … who was the other?" The Death Eaters fell silent, perhaps noticing the chill in the room.
"Sue Li, my lord," Abaddon said, bowing once more.
"Mudblood?"
"Half-blood, my lord."
"Didn't I specifically say to murder mudbloods and Aurors only?" Lord Voldemort fixed his gaze on the brutish werewolf Greyback. The beast hadn't even cleaned the blood from his robes. He was repulsive.
"My lord … I …"
"I don't wish to spill magical blood, I gave you a direct order and you disobeyed. Crucio!"
Gilderoy Lockhart
"And you can see there some of the brave Aurors who fought against the Death Eater attack!" Lockhart said, leading Rita Skeeter over towards where Shacklebolt, Diggory and the two Flints were.
"As I'm sure you remember, it was my decision to make Shacklebolt, here, the Head Auror—and he's proven to be an immediate success. Haven't you, Shacklebolt?" Lockhart said. He didn't notice the look of distaste he received from the Head Auror.
"It was also my idea to implement the Auror Initiative—boosting the ranks with the likes of Diggory and Flint. I taught them both at Hogwarts, and I'm pleased to see them following my footsteps in fighting the forces of evil," Lockhart said.
In his mind, he ticked off all that he had done so far with Rita.
Get a photo of himself tending to a dazed student—check.
Assured her that the situation was now under control-check
Shown off his Aurors—check.
Reminded her that the Auror Initiative was his idea—check.
This was all about damage limitation. Now, it was time to cast the blame in Dumbledore's direction.
"I was dead against the students being allowed to go to Hosgmeade. Dead against it. I raised the point once or twice with Albus, but he insisted it would be ok—with my Aurors and his teachers on duty. But … well, you see what happened. The Death Eaters did attack and I am going to insist—insist—that all Hogsmeade trips are cancelled."
"You really think Dumbledore is to blame?" Rita Skeeter arched an eyebrow.
Lockhart chose his words carefully. Dumbledore was still idolized by many, and he didn't want to upset people—but at the same time, he wanted to pass the buck.
"I believe letting students visit Hogsmeade was a mistake, yes. At the very least, he should have been there, rather than remaining at the school You can't blame the Aurors for this—they fought bravely, and as you know, numbers are stretched. We couldn't pull Aurors away from other duties to protect Hogsmeade, or You-Know-Who may have hit Diagon Alley or Saint Mungo's or the Ministry instead! If Dumbledore himself had been here, this wouldn't have happened. And I rather expected more of his staff members would be here to protect the students—Hogwarts and his students are Dumbledore's responsibility. Professor Tonks was here, of course—gallantly protecting the Hogwarts students. It was my suggestion to have an Auror as the Defence Against the Dakr Arts professor—a shrewd move, if I say so myself."
Lockhart suppressed a smile. The next step was complete—sow the seeds for blaming Dumbledore and his staff.
"Before her death Madam Umbridge advocated bringing Hogwarts under Ministry control," Rita said.
Lockhart started at that. It was true, Umbridge had suggested it, but he didn't think anybody else knew.
"She did," Lockhart admitted. He had considered it. Having control over Hogwarts would definitely increase his own personal sphere of influence. But he also felt it could turn people against him. No, it was better not to rock the boat too much. "I refused—despite mistakes, I believe Dumbledore is the best man for the job."