"Well that is just typical" said Hermione when they had recovered from the shock.
"We had better clean this up" said Kingsley "and get you two to a safe place"
"We were perfectly safe until you turned up" said Harry coldly.
"Well I am sorry" replied Kingsley, sarcasm dripping off his words "Next time I find an old friend after 10 years I will ignore it shall i?"
"Well if this is what you bring with you maybe you should" retorted Harry
"Oh shut up both of you" yelled Hermione and Draco together. Harry and Kingsley looked over at them.
"Harry it is not their fault that these guys attacked us, and Kingsley don't get on you high horse" Hermione said levelly.
"Sorry hun" Harry said, mollified.
"Don't apologise to me" Hermione said pointedly.
"Sorry Shack" he said turning to face the Minister. He held out his hand. Kingsley took it in his and they shook.
"It's alright Harry. You have every right to be angry. They probably followed me"
"So now that we have all made up shall we get going?" Draco said already moving off towards the nearest body.
"Yes lets" said Harry.
It took them nearly 2 hours to bury all of the bodies and clean the forest of blood. They headed back to the house in silence. When they got to the house they all got out their wands and started repairing it. When it was back to some semblance of normality they went in and Harry poured them all a drink.
"How come you two have wands?" Draco asked when Harry returned with the drinks.
"We had Ollivander make them especially when we left. Just in case" Hermione answered.
"In case of this?" Kingsley queried
"Yea" she responded and drained her drink.
"So how's about you tell us how someone that I killed 10 years ago could be alive today" Harry turned and looked at Kingsley.
"Well, sit down and I will tell you everything I know"
They sat. Harry and Hermione on the sofa, Draco and Kingsley on the armchairs they had vacated earlier. Harry summoned more drinks from the kitchen and they sat, waiting for Kingsley to start.
"Well, where to begin? As you know 10 years ago Voldemort was defeated at the battle of Hogwarts. The Death Eaters were all caught and executed, so that it could never happen again. Only Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy were not executed they were stripped of their money and titles and were allowed to remain free. I use the word free loosely as they were given a permanent bodyguard to make sure they abided by the rules. However last year Lucius went missing. We could not find him and when we went to the house all we found was Narcissa, dead. Her throat had been cut and her ring finger removed."
He paused for a minute to look at the reactions of his audience. Harry and Hermione were leaning forwards, waiting for him to continue. Draco was leaning back with his eyes closed. It was still hard for him; Kingsley realised, to talk about this.
"As a precaution we went to where we had buried Voldemorts ashes and we found the urn missing. At this point we went to high alert. We scoured all the old hideouts that the Death Eaters used to use but to no avail. Then we heard the news." He paused again because he heard Draco sit upright in his chair. He motioned for Draco to continue.
"We got an owl from Hogwarts saying that there was shrieking coming from the Shrieking Shack. They had tried the passageway to it but it was sealed. So me and the Minister went to investigate. We had to force our way through the barriers in Hogsmead, because the wards at the Hogwarts entrance were just too powerful, and we crept up to the house. There we met Death Eaters. New Death Eaters, they were wearing the black hood and mask of the original Eaters but they had a different design. Instead of the Dark Mark it was a red Manticore on a dark green background. They call themselves the Disciples of Doom" we fought our way in and up to the top room. There we found..." Draco faltered and Kingsley continued.
"We found a ritual. Voldemorts Urn was in the centre of a circle of candles and there were three figures around the circle chanting. They were throwing up a barrier that we could not penetrate. Then one of the figures stepped forwards and started speaking."
"Arise again O lord of all. Accept these offerings of servants new and old. Blood of the slain, flesh of the willing, ashes of old and Life of the Faithful". "
"At each offering he pulled out an item. A vial of blood then a human finger, He knelt down and took the lid off the urn and poured the offerings in and then puller a dagger. He reversed the blade and plunged it into his own chest. He fell gasping and finished the call."
"Take these offering and be reborn!"
Kingsley took a deep breath before continuing.
"A blinding flash exploded out from the urn and there was a huge explosion. When we could see again we saw that the other two cultists had been killed by the explosion. However there was a figure standing in the centre of the circle of now extinguished candles. He was tall and broad shouldered and clothed in a long black robe with the hood up. He turned to face us. The face was obscured by the hood so we could not see anything except the mouth. Then he spoke.
"So you have come, I had hoped that Potter would come to witness my ascension. However you will do."
"He raised his hands to the hood on his cloak and pulled it back. His eyes were the cat-slits that we were expecting but the face. It was a face that we had not seen since the battle of Hogwarts and yet, it was one we could never forget."
Again Kinsley stopped and looked over at Draco. He nodded and pick up the story.
"It was Ron Weasley"