Chapter 16:
Two figures crept along a quiet corridor in the depths of the Ministry. Their silver masks glinted in the light shining from the office at the far end. They slipped to just outside the door and listened quietly.
"I've told you Dolores, I can do nothing at this point but hope Gawain decides to keep you as his secretary. I will fight this impeachment, but you are on your own." The Minister's words floated through the cracked doorway.
A simpering, girly voice pierced the air, "But how are we going to get those Half-breeds out of the work force now? You know he won't help! You simply must help me!"
The two outside the door looked at each other questioningly. The larger figure shrugged and they turned back to see Minister Scrimgeour with his back to them and his wand laid away nearer to the small, frog-like witch Umbridge. The shorter one nodded and they burst through the door, binding the short witch and freezing the older man. The shorter figure levitated them to two chairs that were in the large office.
The Minister's eyes were narrowed, flashing back and forth between the two Death Eaters. Umbridge was merely sitting there, a look of slight surprise on her face.
"Minister Scrimgeour, we're here to aid you in leaving office and to question you on the identity of the new Minister."
The Ministry had recently forced Rufus Scrimgeour out of office due to his lack of progress in the war. The results of the vote for the new Minister were not to be published until the day of the swearing in - an attempt to keep the new Minister from being attacked by Death Eaters and Imperio'd.
Minister Scrimgeour had not accepted defeat easily however, as the two had just overheard. They were there to change that. The Dark Lord wanted someone in office that He could control. All they had to do was get a name and dispose of the ex-Minister.
The shorter figure held their wand straight at the Minister and he could see their red, insane eyes through the silver Death Eater's mask. He was rather afraid that he could even identify the figure behind the mask, which meant he had a fairly good chance of recognizing both figures, which he wasn't sure he wanted to admit to himself quite yet.
Sure, he had been an Auror for many years, Head Auror for a time even, and then Minister; but even he wasn't that confident about going up against the Lestranges.
Binds went around his body and tied him to the chair just as he felt them lift the Petrificus spell. "I don't know the name, so its better to not even bother," he said defiantly.
"Don't know the name? Oh I think, Mr. Minister, that you do!" Said Bellatrix in a sing-song voice. "Why else would little Miss Froggy over here be asking about her joooob? Hmmmm?" She circled him, her eyes gleaming in their madness. The Minister glanced towards the other, whom he assumed to be Rodolphus Lestrange; the man stood lazily against the closed door, wand trained on Dolores. He turned his eyes back to the female Lestrange.
"And since I'm to die anyways, what good would it do me to tell?" He asked angrily, knowing his situation was futile. He hadn't even thought to bring his Portkey in his pocket. How Alastor would laugh at him.
"Oh no good a'tall, but it might save you a good deal of baaaad," responded the insane, Azkaban escapee in her sing-song voice.
"They always said that what doesn't kill you makes you stronger," he replied.
"Ah, but make no mistake, you will die Minister. We're simply giving you an option of how," sneered the formerly quiet Rodolphus.
Bellatrix added, "Just a name, dear sir, just a name." She was practically prancing around in front of him.
He ran his options through his head, perhaps I can lie? Yes, that was it! I'll be dead when they find out anyways, I'll just send them to someone they can handle. "Moody."
"Old Mad-Eye himself!" Bellatrix began to cackle, "See that wasn't so hard dear Minister!" Her eyes were practically glinting off her mask.
The Minister glanced away and saw Rodolphus shift his wand away from Dolores and onto himself. He thought, well at least they didn't figure it out, and prepared to be killed.
As Rodolphus was pronouncing the words of the Killing Curse, the Minister peripherally saw movement in Dolores' chair. He turned and saw a young woman sitting where Dolores once had, her leather clad legs crossed and her face formed in an aristocratic smirk.
"My dear Minister, I do believe you lied." She stood up and said in a voice extremely like Dolores', "Gawain Robards will never pass the law for me!" The young woman raised a perfectly arched black eyebrow at him and said in her richer voice, "I suppose you should have been more careful where you talk of such important issues, no?" She turned towards the other two Death Eaters.
"Mother, Father, I think it fitting that he be our first kill as a family, no? Considering it was him," she glanced at him, loathing in her greenish eyes, "that came up with the bill so many years ago against D.E. children, along with the Longbottoms."
Rufus Scrimgeour looked between the three figures. So this was the famed Lestrange daughter. Her parents are frightening, but this one, the Minister mused, is plain deadly. They might be insane, but she is clearly in control of her sanity. He suddenly felt power infuse his body and looked up.
The two masked Death Eaters had their wands trained on him; their daughter's hand was waving slightly.
She smirked at his watchful gaze, "Oh I'm very sane. So sane that there's no wand needed." She winked at his wide eyed look. "Enjoy the afterlife, Minister, because getting there will be Hell." With that she snapped her fingers.
He felt his body tremor and then pain pierced his every limb. He panted at the sudden pain and then almost fainted as a Crucio was applied to him alternately by the elder Lestranges. He was going out of his mind at the pain. It felt as though every one of his bones was on fire and that his skin was splitting open cell by cell. Had he been able to, he would have been convulsing in a ball on the floor. Then the Crucio stopped and the young one walked over to him.
She leaned into his ear and said softly, "Every bone of your body is slowly splintering, piercing your veins and you will die slowly, as every cavity in your body is filled with your life blood." She walked around his back, her touch on his shoulders causing him to almost change his groans to screams at the pain of his skin hitting the splintering bone.
She murmured in his other ear, "This is for all the doubt you placed on Severus Snape, the freedom you've given to that whore of a secretary, the lies you've told to keep your position, and perhaps ironically, the money you've slowly been siphoning off Harry Potter." She watched his disfigured face for a response.
His eyes opened wide in astonishment, questions clearly present, just before they were pierced by his facial bones and his heart went into shock.
She straightened up and looked at her parents. "I think that we're done here."
She waved her hand to clear the room of magical signatures and also to reveal the dead and mutilated body of Dolores Umbridge in the corner. She sneered at the body and commented, "She didn't put up much of a fight, the bitch. Gave over the name in a heart beat."
Rodolphus nodded, "We weren't sure if it was you or not. Nice imitation glamour."
She shrugged and glanced at her mother, "We should get Mother home. Lucius and Draco are coming for dinner and she'll need a rest before we have the meeting with the group."
With that the three disapparated from the room, leaving the Minister and Secretary to be found the next morning by none other than Percy Weasley, sneaking into the office to pretend he was Minister while he thought it was empty.
Hermione walked to the library as her father levitated Bella to their bedroom. She had passed out during the apparition. Hermione shook her head softly and sighed. Once she had entered the library, she picked up a text she had been reading the night before and went to sit on the plush forest green velvet couch. She immersed herself in The Spells that Bind, ready for a good, long read.
Her father, having laid Bella to sleep on their bed and taken a shower, walked into the library to see his daughter curled up on the couch, dozing. He walked over and picked up the book she was reading, looked at its cover, and chuckled to himself. Seems she's keeping a few secrets herself. He placed his hand lightly on her hair and petted it softly. He picked her legs up, sat down, and laid them back across his lap as she began to wake.
"V, we need to talk dear one. V, wake up please." She swatted the air. "Oh come on V. You're twenty-four, up you get." He pushed her off the sofa.
She woke with a start and sprung into a crouch, "Who … wha?"
He chuckled and drawled, "You'd have been a goner."
She glared at him and sat back down, "Hush, I'm just comfortable around you."
He raised an eyebrow, "Sure dear one." He leaned back, "We need to discuss to.."
"Mother?" She interrupted.
He shot a glare at her, "Your mother will be fine; she isn't all that she used to be is all. I was going to say, we need to discuss tonight." She rolled her eyes. "You're still young V. Let me help, I've known Him longer. We're going to have Lucius, his son, my brother, the twins, and a few others that we feel we can trust. This can end very poorly and you know it."
She sighed, "I do know it. I do also trust Draco and the twins, and accept your trust in Lucius. The others like Zabini, Yaxley, Urquhart, Pritchard, Carrow, Belby, and Bullstrode will simply have to have an eye kept on them. I know how to deal with them, should the case arise." Her eyes hardened for a moment, "I don't think that any of them would betray though. We made sure to only approach those that have had a particularly hard time of it. I suppose we'll see."
Rodolphus nodded, "Indeed. So are you going to tell me why you're reading about bonds? The Dark Lord isn't planning anything we can't reverse is he?"
She shuddered, "Gods, no! It's nothing, just a bit of light reading." She shrugged and hoped he would leave it alone. The less her parents knew of everything the better, for now at least. They didn't have to hide what they didn't know. "I suppose we should go speak to the Dark Lord about how the mission went?"
"Actually, He asked for my report alone this time. I think He may want to talk to me about you, dear one." His eyes flashed slightly. "I don't like this game you play, but if you promise me that you'll be safe, I'll go along with it."
She looked at him, "Father, do you or do you not want to be tortured constantly? Plus with you on His right hand and me holding it, He will be less suspicious and watchful. Right now it's the only thing I can do. I will not let you and Mother suffer more for this." She stood up and began to pace.
"Alright, I'll accept that. You're old enough to make decisions; I don't have to like it. I feel as though I should be protecting you, not the other way around," he said somewhat dejectedly.
She knelt at his side, "Father, you went to Azkaban to save me. You stayed on the Dark Lord's side to save me. I've learnt that this war is not black and white. The Order has done some things just as horrible as the Death Eaters. I just want it all to end. I want diplomacy to reign again. That is what I work for. If I can get these Death Eaters on my side, or at least to listen to me, I can begin to work on some of the Order. I accept that not everyone will want to work together, but we can sure as Hades try."
She patted his knee, "Now just make sure you shut out the part of Gawain, and feed Him Moody. The old Auror can handle the lower members that the Dark Lord will send out to get him. You will be restored to right hand and not have to go on many missions." She kissed his cheek lightly. "Go Father, I can feel Him preparing to call you through my own mark."
He knew his daughter was sensitive to other's emotions, so he slipped his mask back on and apparated out of the house.
She rose up and scratched out a note, changed into her phoenix form and popped away to give Moody a slight warning of why Death Eaters would be knocking at his door soon.