Originally Malfoy Manor scene was not going to be here, but after the breakout, and because Voldemort's plans are going further I thought I should add it. Thanks so much for the reviews! Also I'm just bringing up a small thing in this chapter while showing a few Death Eaters, I learned on wikipedia that Thorfin Rowle accidentally killed a Death Eater named Gibbon… I thought I might play with that idea, get some more killing curses out of my system…. Anyway in case you haven't noticed, a lot of the last few chapters have merely been filler. This one does have some filler in it but it has very important information… sort of, mostly about Voldemort and his plan, though it is not really information… more foreshadowing I guess, anyway enjoy.
Chapter 7: News of Azkaban
Malfoy Manor remained as quite as ever these days; its gate remained forever closed. Still no one was seen treading its straight drive, the hedges on either side had grown brown with death, and the carcasses of albino peacocks littered the ground as no one was around to feed them. It might seem as though no one lived there any longer, perhaps its occupants were all dead? No one, magical or muggle alike could discover the answer. If they Malfoys were all gravely ill as the story went then they enjoyed their privacy indeed, enchantments had been cast around the manor, enchantments so powerful that no one could possibly penetrate them, and no one knew that the Dark Lord now resided in the house, possessing the dead body of Lucius Malfoy.
On this exceptionally cool night (though fall was fast approaching) every occupant of the manor sat in its spacious living room. Lucius, with his fingers crossed, sat on an emerald green, velvet armchair. Lord Voldemort's red eyes glowed brightly in his eye sockets, his skin was sallow and washed out, as though he had died (he had of course) or else had not seen sunlight for several years. The other occupants of the house sat across the vast sofa. Draco, Narcissa, Pansy, and Scorpious watched their captor, the Dark Lord, intently. He seemed to be in deep thought, tonight, after all, was a very important night. Inexplicably, and quite suddenly Lucius's hand pulled out Voldemort's yew wand and aimed it at the ceiling. Extremely complex incantations flew from Lucius's lips, uttered in the Dark Lord's voice.
There was a slight haze which faded quickly, and seconds later the sounds of many quiet pops filled the air. Suddenly the room was full of thin, sallow, and unkempt looking men in women (save for Bellatrix Lestrange who stood out in the mix because she was quite healthy looking), all clutching wands, and clad in thin prison garb. They all turned to face Lucius, who was now standing at Voldemort's will. Immediately each one fell into a deep bow, including Bellatrix, the Malfoys on the sofa stared, still reeling from the surprise of having several dozen people Apparate into their living room. Lucius's hand aimed Voldemort's wand at the ceiling once more, and again Voldemort's voice issued from Lucius's mouth, uttering complex incantations. As predicted a haze clouded everyone's vision, but faded quickly. Then Lucius turned and scanned them all with the Dark Lord's eyes.
"Welcome," Voldemort's voice hissed. "Twenty two long years it has been…."
"My lord!" one man in the group cried. "It is an honor to be in your presence again! We'd though you'd perished."
"Silence Avery, Lord Voldemort is not killed so easily. I have gone further than any Dark sorcerer in history down the path to immortality. Once more I remark… twenty two years, and here you all stand before me, in the body of dear Lucius. You've all come back to me… I must confess… I am… disappointed."
"But, my lord—"
"Silence Yaxley! All of you, hauled off to Azkaban like dogs when Harry Potter defeated me on the grounds of Hogwarts School itself! Not one of you attempted to escape, only dear Bella here managed…."
"Yes my lord!" Bellatrix shrieked passionately. "And I remained loyal to you all of these long years!"
"Indeed, and you assisted me by killing Lucius, so that I might gain full control of his body. Lord Voldemort rewards such deeds… however… he must punish ineptness. Though I am not without understanding, all of you were defeated, and most were wand-less, you have no choice but to be taken to Azkaban, and you stand here before me, alive and well, there is an accomplishment."
"Y-yes my lord! We survived! We're here, loyal to you now!" cried the slightly hunched form of Alecto Carrow.
"But… there is one that even the merciful Lord Voldemort cannot forgive." said Voldemort through Lucius. The scarlet eyes of the Dark Lord flicked to a Death Eater in the very back of the gruff group.
"ROWLE!" Voldemort bellowed pulling his wand. Each of his followed stood, extending their own wands toward Rowle who got up slowly, dropping his only weapon and slowly raising his hands in the air, as though no one would kill him if he did.
"M-my Lord!" Rowle stuttered. "I-I've always been l-loy—"
"It is not a question of your loyalty, but a… criticism of your… aim."
"I-I do not—"
"Your aim with a wand! Tell me exactly how poor Gibbon died." Voldemort demanded.
"G-Gibbon—"
"You killed him!" Bellatrix shrieked somewhat madly. "You killed Gibbon!"
"It was a-a mis—"
"A mistake?" Lucius's head titled to the side slightly, a sneer plastered on his sallow face. "Lord Voldemort cannot forgive such mistakes. Because of you one less Death Eater stands before me, unable to serve."
"But I am here!" Rowle said hopefully. "I am able so serve."
"No, you are not. This is a time of great importance; I cannot have a follower that is prone to mistakes, especially if these mistakes take the lives of one of my other followers. If Lord Voldemort allowed such ineptness what kind of leader would he be?"
"But—please f-forgive me my lord!" Rowle cried desperately. Scorpious looked away, he knew what to expect….
"No, no I think not Rowle. I must rid myself of inept wand wielders such as yourself."
"My lord!" cried Rudolphus Lestrange. "My lord, please, allow me the humble service of killing him. I have always been loyal to you, it will give me great pleasure to murder this man who has murdered one of my fellows!"
"No!" Fenrir Greyback growled. "Let me my lord, I've not had any meat for years! Even if it is the meat of Rowle… much less sweet… still tasty…."
"NO!" Bellatrix shrieked crazily. "I've been most loyal to you! Please my lord allow me to rid you of this annoyance! I beg you to let me serve! Please!"
"Dear Bella, have you forgotten about your next task?"
"Oh… no my lord, never!"
"Good, will killing him not satisfy you? Must you kill Rowle as well?" Voldemort inquired, prompting looks of slight confusion from the rest of the Death Eaters.
"No! No! Killing him will satisfy me my lord!"
"I thought it would, do not waste your power on this clumsy traitor."
"Then allow me!" Rudolphus cried. "Please, my wife gives up the opportunity for someone else, so allow me to kill Rowle!"
"I think not my husband." said Bellatrix tonelessly as though she did not even know she was married to this man. "I believe the Dark Lord has other ideas."
"You are correct Bella." Voldemort hissed, Lucius's head turned to look upon the Malfoy family.
"Scorpious!" Voldemort snapped. "Perhaps you would do the honor of killing Rowle?"
"NO!" Narcissa shrieked hysterically. "My grandson will not commit murder tonight!"
"Spoken like a true volunteer!" Yaxley chuckled.
"Indeed," Voldemort agreed. "Will you, Narcissa, kill Rowle? Redeem yourself…."
"No." Narcissa stated indefinitely.
"No?" Lucius's eyebrow quirked. "Very well… Lord Voldemort wastes not his time on filth like you Rowle. Anyone who wishes… kill him."
"AVADA KEDAVRA!" rang the voices of everyone in the room except for Bellatrix (who had been appeased with the promise to kill another, much more important), Narcissa, Draco, Pansy, Lord Voldemort, and Scorpious who turned away from the horrible sight as dozens of blinding flashes of green light lit up the semi dark room, a deafening whoosh… and then a dull thump. Rowle lay ridiculously sprawled upon the floor, his body… smoking from the impact of all the Killing Curses… his face contorted in pain… perhaps it hurt to be hit with so many….
"Very well," Lord Voldemort said quietly as the Death Eaters stowed their wands. "Bellatrix, are you ready for your next task?"
"Yes my lord!"
"Good, but for now we must wait until the opportune moment, come now, my loyal servants, Narcissa will make you all a hot meal, and I'm sure Mrs. Pansy Malfoy here will whip up a large batch of hot tea. Scorpious, fetch wine, Draco… dispose of Rowle. Come my servants, eat and drink to your freedom, and for the reign of Lord Voldemort to come!"
XxX
Albus, Phil, Hugo, and Rose soon began to realize that homework in third year was as hard and numerous as ever, especially from Professors McGonagall and Longbottom. McGonagall wanted them to work on transfiguring pocket watches into working silver whistles while Longbottom wanted a ten inch report on Venomous Tentacula. Rose was loaded with even more homework then all of them put together because of Arithmancy (and she did not seem to have the slightest problem with her mother teaching it, nor did she mind Charms, Hugo on the other hand positively dreaded it as Ron usually pestered him to get the spells right and encircling both Rose and Hugo like an angry hawk, ensuring they paid attention and perfectly cast whatever charm he told them to perform). On top of all this Albus was totally distracted waiting for the results of the Qudditch tryouts, he remembered his father telling him that usually results were given at the tryouts, however over the years Professor McGonagall had become increasingly harsh on cutting people and insisted that the captain take a week to pick who exactly would be given each position.
Naturally Albus found sleep difficult the night before the morning that results would be posted, so he stayed up until three in the morning overdoing his essay for Longbottom and ensuring that he could completely transfigure his pocket watch, finally his insomnia ceased and he immediately fell asleep in the common room. He was awoken the next morning by a very excited Hugo who insisted he promptly look at the notice board. There the results were posted on a large piece of parchment which read,
Gryffindor Quidditch Tryout Results
Keeper— Geoffrey Wood
Chasers— James Potter (returning, and captain), Thomas Bourne, and Demelza Wood
Beaters— Eliza Bell and Brian McAvery
Seeker—Albus Potter
The first practice is scheduled for next week Saturday at eight o'clock sharp, just after breakfast.
Albus nearly fainted; he was seeker just like his father! He could barely wait for Saturday.
Saturday came in the form of a cloudy, cold, and rainy day. Albus had attended Divination class they day prior to and the aging Professor Trelawney had immediately predicted his impending doom to take the place the next day, Albus couldn't help but think that the rain and clouds were bad omens. However he soon discovered it went along surprisingly well because James suggested they all cast the Impervious charm on their faces to prevent rain from minimizing their visibility. Despite the cold that practice was the most fund Albus had had since… summer at the Burrow with James, Lily, Rose, and Hugo as well as his parents. Plus Hugo's grandmother Molly was a superb cook…. However he concentrated less on that and more on circling the pitch and attempting to catch a glimpse of gold in the rain streaked air. He was barely aware if whatever else was going on, but he noticed that the beaters were particularly excellent. Finally he caught a slight glimpse of gold near the ground in the very middle of the pitch.
He dove like a hawk, ready to latch talons upon its prey and caught the Snitch easily. James praised him, saying that was the fastest he'd ever seen it done. True, Albus hadn't even realized that practice had only been going on for three minutes. He released the snitch and caught it thrice more before practice ended, each time it was increasingly difficult, as though the snitch was beginning to learn his tactics. He relished the challenge however and was even happy to finish the rest of his homework for the weekend that night Sunday was as dull and gray as Saturday had been, all the same he was still happy as he had more Quidditch practice, James insisted they get it in whenever they could as the Slytherins constantly stole the pitch. He was, however, slightly disappointed walking down the marble staircase to the Great Hall for breakfast Monday as he had no practice to look forward to, only lessons, though it was a beautifully warm morning, uncommon since fall was fast approaching….
Albus took a seat at the Gryffindor table between Hugo and Phil, across from Rose. He glanced at the staff table as the morning post came in, Hermione, he noticed, was busy checking work as she drank her morning coffee, Ron was talking with Professor Longbottom whilst shooting suspicious looks at Hugo as though he should be studying like Rose who was indeed pulling a random book out every now and then. Albus glanced up as a particularly ugly barn owl flew towards Rose, landing on the table precariously to someone's pumpkin juice. He dropped the morning addition of the Daily Prophet in front of Rose who absentmindedly grabbed it and stuck a Knut into a pouch tied to the owl's leg; it stole a bit of toast from Hugo who cursed angrily causing Ron to sprint over to them as the owl took flight.
"Oi! Hugo! No cursing in the Great Hall, ten points from Gryffindor!" Ron snapped irritably. "Why aren't you studying like your sister?"
"Dad…" Hugo grumbled as several people around him sniggered, Albus included, though it was not intentional. Ron snapped something about it being important for him to pass his exams (despite the fact he did not care too much about it himself in school) and then blundered off in a foul mood toward his seat at the staff table, a group of Slytherins laughed and pointed at Hugo who scowled and pushed his toast away.
"Dad's a right nutter when it comes to education…" he muttered.
"Yeah." Albus agreed absentmindedly as he picked up his goblet for a drink.
"I don't know why you think it's so bad." Rose commented as she began to unroll the Prophet. "Dad always lectures me but I agree with him, we should all study hard, this is school after all."
"You sound like mum." Hugo grumbled.
Albus was expecting some retort from Rose but he muttered a curse word as he spilled pumpkin juice down his front when she suddenly gasped. Phil grinned, holding back his laughter, Albus shot him an angry look as he attempted to mop the juice off his shirt, then he looked irritably at Rose.
"What is it?" he snapped.
"There's been a mass breakout from Azkaban!" Rose squeaked. Suddenly everyone at the table within earshot was quite interested, even Hugo who seemed to completely forget about his father embarrassing him moments ago.
"Well go on," Phil prodded. "What's it say?"
"'Last week Friday evening there was an apparent mass breakout from the most secure wizarding prison Azkaban, Ministry of Magic officials have only just released the news late last night in a press conference with Minister of Magic, Percy Weasley.'" Rose began. "And then it's just a great long speech detail about Percy vowing to catch the escaped prisoners… hold on… alright. 'Escapees include only known Death Eaters, among who include the feared werewolf Fenrir Greyback as well as dozens of others. The Ministry believes this is not an isolated incident since no non Death Eaters escaped, best estimates believe that Bellatrix Lestrange is attempted to gather up the other followers of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named—"
"Oh come on!" Albus snapped irritably. "He's dead now, why cant people just call him Voldemort?"
Several Gryffindors winced and once snapped at Albus to be quiet. Rose continued to read.
"'— to carry out his plans and possibly take over the Ministry of Magic, though Auror Dean Thomas dismissed this as a credible threat.
"' Several guarding Aurors of Azkaban were killed, evidence shows that the Cruciatus Curse was used on at least one, possibly for information on how to bypass certain security enchantments. Also it seems the savage brutes that escaped killed on of their own, the body of escapee Thorfin Rowle was found near Surry only three days ago, his body showed signs of being hit by not one, but several dozen Killing Curses. The Ministry warns that all escapees (whose pictures and descriptions can be found on page C-7) are highly dangerous and are not to be approached by any means. If you see one of these Death Eaters report it to the Auror office at once. A reward of one thousand Galleons has been offered for information on any Death Eaters, and two thousand Galleons have been offered for information on their suspected leader Bellatrix Lestrange (see photo on page C-7). The Prophet will continue to report on this investigation, Rita Skeeter will attempt to interview head of the Auror office Harry Potter sometime today about the breakout.'"
"Well don't expect an interview from dad then." Albus said irritably as Rose concluded. "Dad always said Rita Skeeter wrote nothing but rubbish, he says all her accounts about Severus Snape in her biography about him were not true."
"Yeah, all Rita Skeeter writes is trash, I've seen some of her articles about the Triwizard Tournament your father took part in." said Rose dismissively. "Still, do you think these Death Eaters pose a real threat?"
"I suppose they do." Hugo put in.
"Well Bellatrix Lestrange is certainly dangerous." Phil bit icily. "She tortured my gran and my grandpa into madness."
"Didn't they share a ward with Gilderoy Lockhart?!" squeaked a girl to Albus's left. "He was a great wizard in his time before his memory was wiped."
"He was a fraud!" Phil, Albus, Hugo, and Rose snapped in unison.
"Do you reckon that Smith'll pound down Defense Against the Dark Arts work?" Hugo asked nervously. "McGonagall and Longbottom give us enough homework already!"
"Dunno…" Albus trailed off, glancing up at their Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher Avery Smith, an Auror the headmaster Kingsley Shacklebolt had appointed. He was reading a copy of the Daily Prophet intently, and knowing him he would definitely use the mass breakout as an excuse to work them overtime in his class….
"And we have Defense Against the Dark Arts next!" Hugo groaned.
"And a double period." Rose pointed out.
"Great." Hugo grumbled.
Indeed, Professor Smith was every bit intent on using the mass breakout as an excuse to work them overtime in their Defense Class. The moment class began Smith launched into a lecture about being prepared for certain dangers such as Death Eaters and that they would need a good knowledge of defense and magic and whatnot, most of it Albus found incomprehensible as he could not keep up with the speed at which Smith was talking. It went on like this for the entire first half of the period before Smith revealed the lesson he would be teaching them today.
"So," said Smith eagerly. "in light of these recent events I will be teaching you a very useful spell for your personal defense. Normally you are not taught this for a while… but I think it is prudent that you learn now."
Albus was expecting something incredibly hard and complex and was not looking forward to it at all. Rose, however, could not seem to take the suspense, her hand shot into the air after Smith finished his sentence as the professor eagerly called on her.
"Yes Ms. Weasley?" he asked.
"Professor, what exactly will you be teaching us?" Rose asked as eagerly as Smith. They seemed to be the only two excited about whatever complex spell Smith was about to make them do.
"The Stunning Spell!" Smith practically shouted. Rose smiled happily and pulled out her was so fast it nearly snapped when it accidentally hit her desk.
"Stunning spell eh?" Hugo asked in Albus's ear. "Sounds like something we can use against Zabini or Goyale…"
"Yeah," Albus replied absentmindedly as Smith spoke again.
"The Stunning Curse, Stupefy, is a valuable spell in your defense arsenal, when used properly it will… well obviously you know because of the name, it will stun your opponent. I've had to use this spell a number of times in my day as an Auror." Smith said reminiscently. "Well I've just told you in incantation, please divide into pairs of two and cast the spell at your partner."
Smith flicked his wand enthusiastically as the class sat up, their desks flew to either side of the room and they lined up on either side forming two columns, each partner facing the other, Albus faced Hugo, standing next to Rose who was facing some girl whose last name was Davis, or at least Ablus thought it was.
Smith stood at the head of the two rows, watching eagerly.
"Begin!" he cried.
"Stupefy!" Albus called in unison with Rose and several others. A feeble jet of red light shot out of the tip of his wand and disappeared quickly. Rose however successfully cast the spell, stunning Davis. Most everyone else had produced the same result as Ablus, they all glared at Rose angrily, most especially the Slytherins.
"Excellent!" Smith cried. "Ten points to Gryffindor. Now other side have a go!"
There were more cries of "Stupefy!" however the other side of the room was no better then Albus… Phil actually seemed to do the best, the slow moving jet of crimson light he cast flew toward his partner but eventually extinguished before it got too close. Hugo, if it was possible did worse then Thomas Goyale who only managed to produce a single red spark; Hugo's was a bit more like a puff of smoke.
This continued for a while. Each time Albus's side attempted Rose stunned Davis, and Albus had to admitted that he was getting a lot better, each time Hugo's side tried no one was hit, but the class was steadily improving as the hour wound down, finally Albus succeeded and more points were awarded to Gryffindor. He left the lesson that day with an eccentric Rose and a disappointed Hugo; Smith's lesson had got him thinking… who exactly facilitated that mass breakout?"
XxX
Work had been horrible, absolutely exhausting. Job as head Auror was no easy task, especially with everything he had to do about that mass breakout, half the Auror office had to be sent to Azkaban to repair the damage and reinforce protective enchantments, not to mention just about ever single reporter from the Daily Prophet had approached him, asking for an interview. Ginny had apologized for it all as she worked for the paper but it didn't much make Harry feel better.
"Oh, Mr. Potter!" cried a feminine voice. Harry suspected Umbridge for a fleeting moment but when he turned around he was facing Rita Skeeter.
"What do you want?" Harry asked rudely before he could help himself.
"I was wondering if I might have a word." said Rita, pulling out an acid green quill and a piece of parchment, several people stopped to stare at the two, after all it was an odd place to conduct an interview… in the middle of the Ministry of Magic Atrium.
"I've had several words with you over the years Rita and none of them appeared in the articles you wrote following. So if you'll excuse me I'll be going." Harry snapped, leaving Rita Skeeter behind in the Atrium, utterly livid.
Okay, so you're wondering why I bothered to have that scene with Rita and Harry. You'll find out in the next chapter. I already established Rita writes more crap then ever now for the Prophet. By the way this is the longest chapter I've written for this fic so far. Also you'll be happy to know that there's more Voldemort to come in the next chapter, though at the end, he and Bellatrix get to have some more leg room to be evil. Lastly… I've been thinking, I think I like the Harry/Hermione pairing better then Harry/Ginny…. My next fic might include that, after all this is only my take on a book 8, and there was only two things I felt I could change without going into like Alternate Universe territory, number one was Bellatrix, number two was Voldemort's other Horcrux.
