Ooh, here we go, this is so fun! I'm writing chapters at the moment that I've been itching to write for a year. And because I've been planning this for so long, and have got a plotline sussed and everything, the humour may dwindle slightly to give way to more… err… well; these may not be as funny as previous chapters. I know most of you like a good ol' bit of humour, and it will still be there. But these next few chapters are just a smidge darker…
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The Death Eaters receive some upsetting news
Lord Voldemort sat down on a crumbled gravestone glumly and put his head in his hands. Why did he bring his minions along? Why had he done that, and then been outsmarted for the fifth time by that obnoxious bespectacled Potter brat.
Needless to say Voldemort felt a tad embarrassed as Harry Potter vanished, fairly unharmed, back to Hogwarts to warn everyone of his return.
Voldemort snorted. He had been hanging around for ages, but thanks to his sock and a large menacing looking cauldron… well, basically Harry had witnessed nothing more than Voldemort having good fun torturing him before challenging him to a duel. And he had lost.
Well how damn typical.
"Ah well," he shrugged, pretending not to care. "It was fun while it lasted."
The Death Eaters shuffled uncomfortably in their black robes and hats.
"Rather dingy place, this, isn't it," Lucius observed casually.
There was a general murmur of agreement, and then silence. None of the Death Eaters knew quite what to say.
Then Rabastan spoke.
"My Lord," he said. "Even though you lost to a fourteen year old boy… again-" Rodolphus kicked his brother on the shins.
"What he means to say," Rodolphus said. "Is that Harry Potter might have won this time, but there's always next time, eh?"
Voldemort glowered up at them. He was hardly in the mood to be comforted.
"Potter didn't win," he mumbled. "He's deluding himself."
The Death Eaters looked at each other worriedly.
"Err, sorry to have to tell you, my Lord," Dolohov coughed. "But, Harry Potter won that little battle back there."
"He cheated," Voldemort said sulkily. "He seemed to have some sort of access to the underworld thing going on back there. I mean did you see dead people popping out left right and centre to help me? I don't think so!"
The Death Eaters glanced at each other.
"My parents didn't come jumping up out of their graves to defend me now did they?" Voldemort grumbled. "What kind of parents do they think they are?"
The Death Eaters were just about to point out to their leader that he had actually killed his father and grandparents, and that was hardly an act that would lead to them feeling inclined to defend Voldemort in any way, but thought better of it, as angry blood red sparks flew from Voldemort's wand.
There was yet another uncomfortable silence as the Death Eaters tried to find something to say.
Voldemort looked glumly at a weather beaten and ragged looking owl which had dropped a sealed envelope into his lap, sighed, and broke the seal, taking out the letter.
"Well," Rodolphus said, in a valiant attempt to raise the team's hopes. "Even if Potter did escape and got back to Hogwarts, there's always the back up plan…" he barely noticed as Voldemort stood up slowly and passed the letter to Lucius, whose face turned as white as a sheet. "…which we thought through time and time again, and can't fail. In fact I'd bet my left eye that Barty's captured Potter right now, if not finished him off complete- what's wrong?" He noticed the pale faces of the Death Eaters as each of them read the letter.
Voldemort opened his mouth and spoke.
"It's from Snape," he said, in a quiet voice that was strange for him to use. "Scratch the back up plan. It failed. Barty's been captured."
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Ooh…