Tony Walsh stood with his back propped against the trunk of a tree. He was at the edge of a small copse of hornbeam and chestnuts at the Malfoy estate. A pair of Death Eaters were walking slowly, just a few dozen feet from Tony. Tucked away from the moonlight, in the shadow of his tree, their simple human eyes didn't stand a chance at spotting him.
Strictly speaking, as a low-ranking Death Eater and mere dark creature, he wasn't even supposed to know that Malfoy Manor was a Death Eater stronghold, let alone be allowed to roam the property freely. He'd been given the location by Eden, however, and it wasn't breaking the rules if you didn't get caught.
While he had technically pledged his undying loyalty to His Majesty, the Dark Lord Voldemort, his real loyalties lay with Howard Eden and his organization. It made his embracing of Death Eater rules a bit more...flexible. Death Eaters treated dark creatures, in better cases, with disdainful tolerance. Howard Eden embraced them as they were and that went a long way.
Originally, Tony had anticipated being something akin to a spy or a sleeper agent among the Death Eaters. He would work with them as they asked, ready to do Eden's bidding when the time was right. Then, Fenrir Greyback happened. He hadn't expected that fight, let alone that he'd win it, but fortune favored the bold and he'd managed to nick an artery.
Fenrir was pissed and the horde of dark creatures that had pledged their loyalty to the Death Eaters suddenly had a new option for their internal leadership. His barbaric style attracted some of the stronger individuals or packs, there was no doubt about it.
Still, a sizable number of them preferred not eating children and were looking to him for guidance now, making him something of an unofficial-Alpha now, and thus much more useful to Howard Eden. It was something that he took pride in, having taken his assignment and slapped it into overdrive.
A piercing scream reverberated from the manor. It was brief, cut off as quickly as it started.
"Good thing the Dark Lord i'nt 'ere," one of the Death Eaters said. They weren't talking loud but between the breezeless night and the fact that his ears were fine tuned for hunting, he could hear them just as well.
"Yeah, that Lestrange likes to push the limit." The two stopped walking, staring back at the house as they spoke. "You meet her yet?"
"Naw, been keepin' ta meself mostly."
"She's a strange bird, lemme tell you. Brags about torturing that muggle all the time, like it's something I want to be doing." The wizard shook his head. "I'm not here for that. If it's gotta be done, so be it. I'm just tired of living in shadows, that's all."
"Huh," the other grunted. "I 'aven't done the cruciatus curse meself. I'd give it a go...just to see, ya know?" The two continued on their meandering, pitiful excuse for a patrol.
Tony caught a familiar scent and turned to see Howard Eden approaching from the manor. He stopped and talked to the passing duo, easing their suspicions before continuing on to the copse of trees.
"Your girlfriend is going to get herself in trouble with that muggle," Tony greeted quietly, stepping out of the shadow as Eden made it to the trees.
"What can I say?" he flashed a welcoming smile, "she's a fiery one."
"How can I help you, boss?" Tony asked, not wanting to get into that particular bag of worms. She was a bit of a psycho. Still, unable to help himself, he returned the smile. It was good to be around Eden, it felt easy.
Usually, they kept in touch via owl mail. It was sufficient for the little contact that was required to keep organized, and it was much less dangerous than face-to-face meetings.
"For starters, I wanted to congratulate you on your elevation in social status," Eden said, giving Tony a firm handshake. "It's well deserved."
It was little shit like that, shaking his hand without hesitation...that's what Tony loved about Eden. He showed no sign of fear or distrust. Granted, Tony was a bit of an apex predator, but still...it was nice to feel welcome.
"Thanks, boss-" Tony started, not really sure where to go from there. It wasn't like he was running things with the dark creatures. He had some pull, to be sure, but he doubted he could order them all around and expect them to listen. He was saved the need, however.
"I've managed to get one of our crew a job at The Howler, behind the bar." The Howler was a popular taphouse that catered more exclusively to werewolves. Other creatures weren't banned, but they weren't made to feel welcome either.
"Good porters there," Tony said, unsure what else he should say. It was an enjoyable enough place, but it didn't make sense for Eden to go through the trouble of planting someone as a bartender there.
"You're in a powerful spot right now, Tony. We have the chance to get you in a position to make a real difference, and I intend to do just that. Fenrir Greyback frequents that bar."
"Another bar fight?"
"This time with a little help. Our agent is going to slip a little something into Greyback's drink. Gonna tire him a bit...make him bleed easier. Nothing easy to notice, mind you, but an edge."
Tony pursed his lips and didn't say anything. Eden, sensing the discomfort, continued.
"I understand that it puts you in an awkward spot, Tony, I do. I have every confidence that you can beat his ass in a real fight, it has nothing to do with that…" Eden paused, troubled, and glanced at the manor.
"I think Voldemort is about to make a serious tactical error. One that we can capitalize on, if we're ready. That means I need you in ship shape, Tony. I can't risk you getting injured in a fight. It might not be honorable, but fighting for our freedom is about more than personal honor."
He was right. It felt like a dirty trick...it was a dirty trick...but what did that matter. When they were done taking over, he could go and find every one of those muggle bastards that had killed his pack. It'll be a lot easier with a massive pack to back him up.
"When are we doing this?"
Mike slumped back against the cushioned chair, whatever energy he had possessed now long gone. His throat was ragged and raw and each breath hurt as it passed his vocal chords. It was hard to tell if his arms and legs were still painful, or just numb...hell, if he couldn't see them he might not be certain they were still there.
"Aww," Bellatrix cooed, pouting a lip out and sitting heavily on his lap. It was uncomfortable and the intimacy of it pissed him off. He wasn't under imperius right now and the small part of his mind that was coherent wanted to lash out at her, punish her for the hubris.
But he didn't...he couldn't. He couldn't lift a finger right now, let alone a fist. She shifted her weight against his abdomen and he groaned at the discomfort. She started to stroke his cheek, like a mother trying to comfort a baby, only she had an amused and mocking look.
"Did I hurt you too much this time?" she stroked down his cheek and, in a flash, gripped his jaw tightly, forcing him to meet her eyes. "I asked you a question, worm."
He tried to reply, but the words stuck in his throat like they'd been barbed. A look of disgust passed over her face and she yanked his face closer to her.
"Speak up!" she shouted into his ear. "I can't hear you!" She turned, holding her ear near his mouth.
"I'm gonna cut your thro-" Mike rasped. She slammed his head back before he could finish the empty threat and a lightning of pain erupted through him again. It was short this time, she was interrupted by the door opening.
She turned to greet Eden as he quietly stepped in, completely forgetting about Mike even existing. It was insulting, but the reality was that until feeling returned to his body, he wasn't able to do a damned thing about it.
"The sound charm faltered again," Eden said before giving her a chaste kiss...or what started as a chaste kiss, anyhow. It rapidly morphed into something that Mike was grateful he could look away from this time.
"Well, I don't see the problem," Bellatrix replied breathlessly after a long moment, wiping her lips with a finger and a satisfied smile.
"Our leader does," Eden replied, returning the smile briefly. "If you want to keep it alive, you need to be more discreet, my dear."
He pulled his coat off and stepped past her and she stared after him, watching as he hung the coat on the back of a dining chair.
"Somethings wrong." It wasn't a question, but she watched him take a seat and waited for an answer anyhow.
"Yeah," Eden started, pursing his lips. He seemed deep in thought. Mike couldn't remember the last time he'd been entirely forgotten like this. Whatever they were going through, maybe he could capitalize on it.
"What is it?" She glided over to a chair across from him and sat down, grabbing one of his hands.
"I'm worried about this raid," Eden said after a long moment, "or ambush, whatever it is." He continued staring off into space for a moment before meeting her gaze.
"What do you mean?" she asked, leaning back as though he'd slapped her. Mike had never heard Eden speak against Voldemort, or not when she was around anyhow. "The Ministry is weakened." Mike thought she looked genuinely confused.
"It's a careless risk," Eden raised his voice. Not a yell, but...impassioned. "All this effort, raiding the Ministry of Magic, to assassinate some child?"
Bellatrix opened her mouth but didn't reply. Mike could almost see a battle raging behind her eyes. She and Eden had become a pretty close item, pretty quickly. But he knew she had a longstanding loyalty to Voldemort.
It was Eden's turn to lean in now and he reached across the table, taking her hand now. She didn't grab his back, but she didn't pull away either. "I'll follow his orders, Bea, but he's obsessed. We're going to raid the Ministry building in the hopes of ambushing a kid that hasn't even graduated school yet?"
"He has his reasons," Bellatrix said softly, but Mike could see that a small crack had formed in her armored loyalty. Eden did too. It wasn't much, but it was something.
"I'm just worried is all," Eden matched the softness of her voice and he squeezed her hand. This time she did respond, gripping his hand as well. "Worried that he is using us to fulfil a personal vendetta rather than do what's right for us all."
"He knows the whole picture-" she started, and she tried to pull her hand away but he held her tighter. Not forceful, but desperate to maintain his grip. A flash of anger crossed her face, but she didn't pull away again.
"Bea, it doesn't take a tactical genius to look at this," he drawled, worry etching into the lines of his face. "Right now, the Ministry and the public are confused. Hell, most of 'em don't think he's even alive. That has been paramount to our success. If we raid the Ministry of Magic, we put a big target on ourselves and we make life a whole lot harder in the process. The payoff is a personal vendetta for Voldemort...I mean it'd be one thing if we were wiping out the Auror's office or finding some superweapon, something tactically or strategically useful. But we're just gonna kill a kid?"
Bellatrix opened her mouth again but snapped it shut again, now unsure how to respond. The anger slipped from her features again, replaced by that confused, battled look.
"And on top of that, he goes scouting the place and kills a couple of guards first? If they weren't going to be on alert before, they are now."
He was right about that, warning your target beforehand wasn't exactly a good strategy.
"I know this hurts," Eden said softly, stroking the back of her hand gently, "it hurts me too. I wanted to believe he could really change things for us all...I...I'm just worried, is all."
Mike managed to squeeze a fist and wiggle his toes, all good signs that he might be able to strike soon if he got an opportunity. Now, he just needed to bide his time. He let his eyes droop and tried to slacken himself, not difficult since he felt exhausted.
If he could just get the drop on one of them, maybe both...he wasn't sure he could fight his way out of here, but damn he'd love to die trying.
Eden sat back in his chair, producing the stubby little wand from out of nowhere and twirling it in his fingers pensively. Bellatrix stood up and paced to the back of their little room to look out the window, needing some space to think.
Through his squinted eyes, Mike could swear he could see Eden looking after her, grinning. Then, Eden's wand was pointed his way. Before Mike could even react, he was back under Imperius.