He looked the same as ever. Face, whiter than skull and a snake-like nose with slits for nostrils.
'My robes,' commanded Voldemort.
Wormtail who had been sobbing from pain, clutching the stump of his hand, got up from where he had been sitting and stepped forward with the clothes.
'And, my wand,' said Voldemort softly once he was properly attired.
Pettigrew pulled it out of his pocket and then bending on one knee, presented the wand to his master.
He held the wand in his long, thin fingers and flicked it lightly, sending Wormtail flying backwards into the gravestone. Satisfied that it was working perfectly, he now raised his head and looked at Harry.
'Welcome, Harry Potter, welcome to my new re-birth ceremony, ' said Voldemort, ' I will attend to you but first we have to wait for my invitees to arrive. Wormtail, come here and give me your hand.'
'Thank you, master,' wheezed Wormtail, eagerly stretching the useless stump of what remained of his right hand.
'Not you right hand, you wretch,' sneered the Dark Lord, 'Your other hand'.
'Master please,' cried Wormtail.
Irritated, Voldemort grabbed his left hand in his own and pulled up the traitor's sleeve. Harry saw the tattoo of the Dark Mark on his skin. It was vivid red in color. The Dark Lord pressed his index finger to it and watched in satisfaction as it turned as black as night. As soon as he had pressed it, HArry's scar throbbed in pain once more. He almost did not hear the soft 'POP' made by the sound of Apparation.
There were more 'POPS' and 'CRACKS' as wizards Apparated in between the gravestones. Harry could not see their faces because they were all hooded and masked but he knew at once who they all were.
They were followers of Lord Voldemort. Death Eaters!
Nearly, twenty of them.
All of them, slowly approached the waiting trio. They were all looking at their master in disbelief. Voldemort patiently waited until they had all assembled around him in a circle and paid him obeisance by bending down on one knee and muttering, 'My Lord'.
'Welcome, friends. It's as if only yesterday when I called you and you came so promptly. All of you came here eager to prove that you still remain loyal to me and loyal to our cause but not one of you tried to look for me, not even when my most faithful servant fired the Dark Mark in the sky. Yes, I know it all. Wormtail here, has told me everything since he joined me at the end of the last year,' said the Dark Lord softly but as he spoke a shiver had run through the watching group.
'Master, we are all eager to know how you were reborn, how you managed to come back to us,' came the unmistakeable voice of Lucius Malfoy.
'Ah, Lucius, it is a thrilling story but I wish to do it justice by telling it in a more suitable setting, rather than doing so in a graveyard in a Muggle-infested village,' said Voldemort with unhidden contempt in his voice.
He turned once again towards Harry. 'They have called this boy my downfall, haven't they? The Boy-Who-Lived, they call him, don't they? A boy whose blood was today used in my re-birthing ritual.' said he, laughing softly. 'Well then, we shall see. Let's match the powers of Lord Voldemort and the Boy-Who-Lived. He will be given his chance and as I take his life out of him, I will prove my infallibility to those who thought I, the most powerful wizard alive, could ever be killed.' As he said this, his vivid red eyes roved once over his followers and a second shiver ran through them. Turning to Wormtail, he said, ' Give him his wand and we will see what can the famous Harry Potter do.'