"We'll have to move fast," Tom informed the room at large. "The follower we sent back to Germany is likely talking with all of Grindelwald's other people as we speak. We must do everything we can to prepare ourselves before we meet with them in three hours."

"Three hours?" Gonson repeated in disbelief. "Why do we have to meet with them so soon?"

"Grindelwald's followers will be told shortly that we murdered the second wizard who accompanied the first here tonight," Tom reminded them. "If too much time passes while they continue to believe that their follower is dead, they will likely kill our friends as revenge, and if they realise that their follower isn't dead, our missing friends will be murdered later as a result of my failed plan."

The Death Eaters, who were all listening attentively, were stunned to hear this.

"This plan you keep mentioning sounds awfully dangerous," Black commented seriously from the middle of the crowd. "From what you suggest, Avery, Lestrange, Macnair, and Gibbon could be killed no matter what the other followers believe concerning this wizard's false death."

"The danger is nothing," Tom reassured him, "for with this plan we shall get all of our missing friends back without having to trade anyone valuable in."

"What, so you ain't gonna trade in Jonathan, then?" Dolohov asked thickly. He had been revived only a minute ago and was still slightly hurt from the stunning spell that Harry had used upon him. He was amongst those who were most confused about what was happening.

"There is no need to exchange Jonathan for our four friends now," Tom informed the Death Eaters firmly. "Grindelwald's people made it possible for me to avoid a sacrifice tonight when they gave me a weapon…"

When his friends were confused, Tom indicated the unconscious wizard on the ground, who was lying in a continuously growing pool of his own blood. Very few of the Death Eaters seemed to understand where Tom was going with this, but Harry felt his heart soar in happiness as he realised what was going to happen…

"Rosier, Black, Gonson, start healing the follower so he is – at least – awake. Fix his immediately problematic injures, but leave the rest."

The three Death Eaters who had been called began following Tom's order without hesitation.

"What're we going to do with that follower?" Dolohov asked.

"We're going to trade the follower in for our friends, naturally," Tom said as though it were obvious. A smile formed carefully upon his lips. The Death Eaters weren't any less confused.

"Do you think they're going to accept him instead of Jonathan?" Nott asked slowly. "I mean, if they sent this wizard here, surely they don't care about him all that much…"

"We shan't be sending him back how he is," Tom assured Nott lightly, appearing more confident and satisfied with every passing second. "We shall be sending him back as Jonathan."

A few of the slower Death Eaters glanced at each other, still confused, and shrugged unconfidently as if to excuse Tom's madness. Nott, however, was amongst those who understood what was going on.

"PolyJuice Potion?" Nott suggested, smiling.

"Of course," Tom responded. "I brewed the potion initially to be sure that we could transform Jonathan at any time, to confuse Grindelwald's people if they ever found us here… but I believe this is a far more interesting use for the potion."

Harry felt himself grinning in elation. Grindelwald's people would never guess that it was really one of their own followers being traded in for Avery, Gibbon, Macnair, and Lestrange. By making it seem as though Harry attempted to kill the blond wizard, Tom was ensuring that Grindelwald's followers would believe Harry was being forced away from Tom's group. By Nott apparently murdering the follower in the end, Grindelwald's people would think that Tom's friends were insane, thus very dangerous to attack in general…

"The rest of you, be ready to leave within half an hour," Tom ordered, "I want to have the time to inform you all about what will happen in Germany tonight…"

The Death Eaters began moving around in all directions, keen upon preparing themselves for the likely fight that would break out tonight. Harry was still happier than ever, unable to believe that they had such a promising plan ready. He watched the moving Death Eaters, viewing their apprehensive and eager expressions as they headed from this room. Their minds were buzzing with thought as they talked hurriedly…

But then Harry noticed one simple, important flaw in Tom's plan.

"Gonson, Rosier, Black," Tom called to the three Death Eaters who huddled around the unconscious wizard on the floor, "if you lack the ability to fix even this one wizard, I'm afraid I'm going to have to start making you work for all hours of the day to improve your skills."

The three Death Eaters mumbled some apologies, trying to work harder at these words. Tom appeared close to joining them in their endeavour to heal the captured follower, but Harry stopped him before he could go.

"Tom, wait…"

Tom looked back at him. The visible change from happiness in Harry's expression seemed to confuse him. "What's wrong?"

"Their minds," Harry said shortly, his voice low enough so the nearby Death Eaters wouldn't hear him. "Grindelwald's people know Legilimency; they'll see everything we're planning…"

Harry stood for about a minute, waiting for Tom to say something. He opened his mouth to speak, but he appeared unable to say a word to ease Harry's worry. There wasn't one Death Eater who knew Occlumency, and it wouldn't be wise for Harry and Tom to go to Germany on their own…

"We may need some help with this," Black's voice called from across the room. "He really is bleeding quite terribly…"

Tom's eyes flickered to bleeding follower on the ground, but his mind seemed to be occupied with contemplating the problem Harry had brought to his attention. He wasn't at all pleased…

"We need our friends to be there," Tom observed quietly.

Harry said nothing, knowing this was true.

"I shouldn't have told them anything…"

"We had to tell them," Harry reasoned. "We couldn't have just left them in the dark."

Tom glared into space now. Harry knew he probably didn't agree that the Death Eaters deserved to know his plans now…

"We could always go there alone," Harry suggested, not at all confidently.

"They will attack us on our own," Tom commented. "We'll be too weak…"

"We could have your friends waiting nearby," Harry said. "That way Grindelwald's people won't have to see them."

"Which would be too suspicious," Tom muttered. "Too obvious…"

Before Harry could again suggest leaving the Death Eaters here, inspiration seemed to strike Tom. His smile made Harry feel more relief than he could have expected, even before he voiced his thoughts.

"We shall mask our friends!" Tom announced triumphantly, a smile breaking across his face. "Their expressions – and thus minds – shall not be seen at all!"

Harry felt a sudden stab of fear, which momentarily overpowered his relief, but he tried to ignore it.

"What is more, this will doubtlessly scare Grindelwald's people," Tom continued, not noticing the change in Harry as elation gripped him. "The masks shan't be elaborate, yet it will be enough to warn them of our power…"

Harry found slight amusement in this idea, and he tried to focus on that. It would indeed be very interesting to see how Grindelwald's people would react to a swarm of masked and unreadable Death Eaters, who had apparently just murdered one of their followers without reason… He shouldn't be so alarmed at the idea of the Death Eaters wearing masks for this, even if it meant that they would, perhaps, wear the masks continuously from this day on when they were sent off on assignments…

"That's a brilliant idea," Harry said honestly, trying harder to push away his unease…

Tom's smile broadened at Harry's words. He seemed very satisfied with himself for finding a solution to this problem.

"We shall tell the others about this plan when they are all ready," Tom said. "It shan't be too hard to make them wear the masks without question… For now, however, I must help Gonson, Rosier, and Black heal the follower, so you must excuse me."

"Of course," Harry said, knowing that Tom would have a lot more luck than the three Death Eaters with healing the follower. He was secretly thankful that he had the excuse to be away from Tom for a moment… "Good luck."

Still smiling, Tom turned away, not wasting a moment before joining the three Death Eaters in their seemingly difficult task. Harry watched Tom go for a minute, thinking deeply…

He knew that he shouldn't have blindly agreed to the idea of the Death Eaters wearing masks when facing outsiders like Grindelwald's people. He felt immensely guilty when he reflected that this could have been a massive turning point in Tom's plans for his friends, and he, Harry, had just let it happen. Harry honestly couldn't know whether or not something as simple as masks could affect time, but it did make him a little anxious. Yet he knew that if Grindelwald's people guessed their plans, it could lead to a lot of death tonight…

Harry supposed that he could be worrying about this too much, but he couldn't be sure. The only thing that calmed him down was reflecting upon the fact that he could stop the Death Eaters wearing masks in the future, once they sorted out the problem of Grindelwald's people… He just hoped that Tom wouldn't like the idea of uniforms too much.

Looking up, Harry saw that Tom was succeeding in healing the captured follower, even if the progress was evidently slow. He was about to go and help Tom, to begin a discussion on the exact details of his plans, when someone else caught his attention. Between a few large groups of Death Eaters talking hurriedly about their theories on what would happen tonight, Nott could be seen standing on his own, staring into space as he twisted a wand in his hand distractedly. Harry headed towards him.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

When Nott's bright eyes found Harry's concerned ones, he attempted to change his expression to one that wasn't quite so anxious and unwell, but it was too late; Harry could already see into his open mind.

"I'm fine," Nott responded as confidently as he could.

Harry took a moment to think about this, hearing Gonson, Black, and Rosier talking sheepishly to Tom while he continued to heal the captured follower for them.

"You don't have to leave Albania tonight if you're too shaken by earlier," Harry said seriously, knowing that Nott wasn't any happier than he was at the idea of being forced to murder – even falsely. "If you'd rather stay here, I'll talk to Tom about it."

"You don't have to do that," Nott said quickly, clearly worried by the idea of bothering Tom. "I'll be fine going to Germany…"

"Are you sure?" Harry pressed, seeing Nott's pale face strain under his attempts to look stronger.

Nott didn't answer immediately. When he opened his mouth to speak, Harry saw in his mind that he was struggling with a silent wish to stay here, but someone spoke before he could voice this.

"I'm sure Nott will be stable enough for tonight's events after half an hour or so of preparation, Jonathan," Tom's voice called from Harry's right. Tom had evidently been listening to the conversation as he finished his work. He was walking closer to Harry and Nott, leaving the half-healed follower with his friends. "You needn't worry about his condition. If this job was too much for him to take, he could always leave."

Tom was impassive as he spoke, but Harry thought he sensed a shade of annoyance coming from him. Harry hoped that Tom would be able to understand Nott's unease at the idea of having almost murdered someone, but he knew there was a thin chance of that happening, especially if Tom was already irked…

"We shouldn't force him to travel tonight, if he's still uneasy about earlier," Harry said carefully, "and we shouldn't force him to fight either if it comes to that. If he isn't able to focus–"

"Then we shall replace him when it becomes a problem," Tom interrupted. "We need all the people we can gather tonight, Jonathan."

Harry wanted to argue, to try and help Nott – who was obviously nervous about everything – but Tom wouldn't allow it. To Harry's surprise, however, Tom wasn't harsh when he spoke again.

"If everything goes well with Grindelwald's people tonight, there will be nothing to worry about concerning the health of our friends," Tom said, a shadow of a smile forming upon his lips at the thought. "Nott won't need to do anything tonight, except stand by us all."

"But we'll need a few people to stay here," Harry observed. "We may as well make Nott protect this land with a few others, so someone more willing can come with us to Germany."

Tom thought about this for a moment, his smile fading. The scepticism past his otherwise unreadable expression suggesting that he didn't much like the idea of treating Nott fairly in any way. After a moment, however, he seemed to give up trying to argue against the idea of him staying here.

"Very well," Tom said softly, "if you believe it is for the best…"

"I do," Harry said firmly.

Tom watched Harry for a moment. A soft smile broke out upon Harry's lips at the sight of Nott appearing more relieved than ever. Tom seemed to be thinking about something, but Harry couldn't guess what.

"Thank you," Nott said, speaking mostly to Tom. "I'm sorry for the inconven–"

"Don't be sorry," Tom said, his somewhat too-serious expression not going unnoticed by Harry. "You should be only thankful, for apologies should only be used at the most serious times, as the final option; weakness."

Nott's eyes met Tom's for a time. He opened his mouth to say something in response to his leader, but lacking the words he needed, he merely nodded, looking away shortly after. He began leaving as politely as he could.

"However," Tom said more loudly than before, causing Nott to look back, "I do believe this means that you must stay here too, Jonathan…"

Harry turned to Tom at the sound of his fake name, surprised. It took him a moment to register what Tom meant. He stared in disbelief. "Why would I have to stay here?"

"Well, beyond the fact that you'll be an obvious target for Grindelwald's people," Tom said, his dark eyes cold, "if Nott is so affected by what happened earlier, I'm sure you aren't in any better condition to fight."

Harry couldn't believe what he was hearing. He knew that Tom was doing this in anger rather than care, for there were a hundred ways for Harry to join Tom tonight without drawing attention to Grindelwald's people, and Tom's cold stare told him that he was only allowing Nott to stay here for this.

"I don't have to stay here if it's a problem," Nott suddenly said, trying to help. Harry shot him a warning look, which made him stop talking. Tom ignored him completely.

"You can look after the others, since you seem to care for them all so dearly," Tom continued, as though this was a completely rational suggestion, as opposed to a cruel punishment. "If murder unsettles you, I'm sure you would prefer this."

"I want to fight," Harry stated, irked and worried by Tom's suggestions. "I want to be there with everyone – you can't make me stay here!"

"You don't have to fight when you are evidently opposed to it," Tom stated. Harry understood that he had offended Tom somehow, but he felt this was all rather harsh. Lowering his voice, Tom added, "Since you are so opposed to murder, why not further avoid the risk of seeing it?"

Harry was positively glaring at Tom now.

"I want to do this – you know I do!" Harry exclaimed, struggling to keep his voice quiet enough to not disturb the other Death Eaters.

"You forget one thing, Jonathan," Tom commented silkily, "while you reside in my land, you are under my command and thus must do what I say."

"You can't make me stay here," Harry reminded Tom, getting more annoyed than ever. "I could leave this place tonight, and you wouldn't be able to do anything about it!"

Tom responded nothing to this while he stared at Harry. When the quieting Death Eaters caught his attention, he attempted to smile, but it was short lived and he had nothing to say.

"If you won't let me go to Germany," Harry began more quietly than before, "I won't let you transform that wizard into me. Your four friends will die and Grindelwald's people will find you all here."

More of the Death Eaters were turning their attention to the argument between Harry and Tom. They were awed and somewhat fearful of Harry's threat. The silence was growing. Tom didn't fret over Harry's suggestion, however.

"There is more than one way to get the last ingredient for the PolyJuice Potion," he reminded Harry more softly than ever. A smirk, more genuine than his last smile, formed while he thought. "We could find your hair, for example, upon any pillow you sleep upon…"

Harry didn't know what to say to this. He didn't really mean what he said about leaving, unless Tom really meant what he said about Harry being as good as too weak for this job…

"However," Tom continued, his smile fading and his voice becoming less falsely tranquil, "I must own that it would be a great loss if you were to leave for good…"

Tom began pacing the room a little, being sure to not walk too far away from Harry. Knowing that Tom was likely only trying to annoy him, and knowing that Tom had already succeeded in that, Harry guessed that he might make a better decision now; a decision that wasn't just a punishment for treating Nott fairly…

"Since you seem so keen to join us, and since you would plan such a threat in even a short amount of time to convince me of your seriousness, I cannot refrain from believing that allowing you to do as you wish is my best option here," Tom explained calmly, as though Harry had passed some sort of test. "You may accompany me to Germany tonight, if you wish…"

Harry felt as though some sort of weight had been lifted off of him, even if he was still annoyed with Tom for scaring him like that. He didn't know how to tell Tom that he was thankful without actually saying 'thank you'. He was happy with Tom's change of mind, but felt that a proper 'thanks' would be too kind…

"I'm glad we reached an understanding," Harry said after a time.

Tom stopped walking to look at him, a soft smirk on his lips once more. He was perfectly aware that Harry had chosen these words on purpose, but he seemed genuinely amused by this, rather than offended. The way he gazed at Harry suggested that he hadn't meant what he said before. He was just annoyed with Nott, and thus wanted to warn Harry where his patience and tolerance ended.

"I must concur," Tom voiced softly in response to Harry's last comment. After watching Harry carefully, he asked, "How do you wish to join us tonight? PolyJuice Potion? Invisibility Cloak? By mask?"

"By mask," Harry answered, knowing he would then look like the Death Eaters. "But with the cloak ready for emergency."

"Very well," Tom smiled.

Then, rather swiftly, he turned to all of his friends.

"Since I have all of your attention, I do believe we should begin discussing my plans for tonight. Again I must remind you all, we will have to move fast…"

–X–

"Which one are you then?" Harry heard Dolohov ask thickly.

"That's Gonson, Dolohov," Rosier said impatiently, speaking beyond a dark cloak, which made him almost indistinguishable from all of the other hooded figures nearby. "You can tell by his voice."

"Well I can't tell, can I?" Dolohov asked, in a statement more than anything. "How should I know what everyone sounds like?"

Harry walked past the talkative Death Eaters without saying a word to any of them. He was wearing the same dark cloaks that they wore, so no one could tell who he was, as planned. They were gathering outside of the protection of Tom's land – some of them for the first time in months – while a bright moon shone high above them in the sky. Everything rustled in a heavy breeze, illuminated only marginally by the moon and the lights from a few lit wands.

When Harry was standing besides Tom, the Death Eaters seemed to gather that it was indeed Harry under the dark robes, and many of them turned their hoods away to continue conversing with the others. Tom was staring up at the moon, thinking carefully. Harry watched him for a moment, understanding that Tom knew precisely who he was.

"When are we leaving?" Harry asked in a low voice.

Tom smiled softly at the sound of his voice. "Momentarily…"

Unlike everyone else, Tom didn't seem at all nervous at the idea of rescuing the four captured Death Eaters from Grindelwald's people tonight. Also unlike everyone else, he was not remotely distracted by the panicked and struggling follower, who now looked exactly like Harry and who was being held in the strong grip of Mulciber, Dolohov, and quite a few others.

"Do you have the cloak, Harry?" Tom asked gently, still staring up at the sky.

The Death Eaters began hushing each other at the sound of Tom's voice, many of them asking the others what Tom had said; to which no one responded assuredly. Mulciber silenced the follower, like Tom had asked him to do earlier.

"Yeah, I have the cloak," Harry assured Tom.

Tom appeared satisfied, for he looked down from the sky to smile at Harry, even if he couldn't see his face.

He then turned to his seemingly faceless friends, who, beyond their dark cloaks, wore masks that revealed neither face nor any sign that actual humans inhabited the clothing. Tom had decided that dark masks were better than masks with eyes or even face structure visible. Harry had to admit that this did make all of Tom's friends appear more sinister than they might have otherwise been.

"Prepare yourselves, all of you," Tom said in a confident, carrying voice. His suddenly official tone caught the Death Eater's full attention. "Though we shall doubtlessly succeed in our endeavours this evening, we shouldn't dither in our determination to be prepared for a fight."

The Death Eaters mumbled some words of nerves and excitement to each other, but Tom didn't give them much time to speak.

"You all know of our plan," he stated without question. "If any of you get lost on your way to Germany, I will personally ensure that you later regret your carelessness. Have I made this clear?"

Words of agreement were said, while the Death Eaters attempted to look more ready.

"Then off we go," Tom announced simply.

The next thing anyone knew, he Disapparated with a loud 'crack'.

More cracking sounds filled the air after him while Death Eater disappeared with a swish of their dark cloaks. Harry span on the spot too, following everyone to the western edge of Albania. From there they would fly across the sea towards Italy, Disapparating through the country to fly across the boarder of Switzerland, Disapparating though Switzerland to be as close to southern Germany as they could be. They would be meeting Grindelwald's people there.

This was the only quick way to travel to Germany if they wanted to avoid the attention of the nearby Ministries, who wouldn't trust a large group like this to visit countries without a registered Portkey to aid them. Not only would registering a Portkey take too much time, Tom – and a few of the Death Eaters – had to keep themselves hidden from Ministries in general, in case something concerning a past crime put them into needless danger…

It only took about an hour and a half for all of them to move across Europe towards Germany, neither engaging in conversation nor truly seeing the whole rest of the group while Tom led them on, waiting for them silently at different meeting points. Harry was, to no surprise, one of the main people Tom waited for before moving on, but since he, Harry, was such a quick flier he worried for the slower Death Eaters, and had to remind Tom more than once that people would get lost if they hurried too much.

Finally, and with everyone in sight, they arrived at the meeting place in Germany.

Ahead of them was what appeared to be the ruin of an ancient Muggle church; the remains of walls and pillars that appeared to have been once beautifully carved now lay sprawled across the cold ground, between high grasses and weeds that swayed quickly in the harsh winds that were even stronger here than they had been in Albania. Statues of saints and saviours could be seen shattered in all directions, pieces of faces and hands giving the impression that carcases had been left, forgotten, forevermore…

Harry thought at first that they were the first ones to arrive here as he scanned the scene beneath the hood of his new cloak, but after a moment dark figures began making themselves known between tall, broken stone columns and upon grounds littered with stained glass… There were a lot of people here, for tens of Grindelwald's followers were emerging from the darkness, becoming visible whenever Harry didn't look, it seemed. Dark clouds were hovering low over Germany and the only light here came from a few of the Death Eater's wands…

Without a word, Tom, Harry, and the Death Eaters began walking towards Grindelwald's people. The two groups slowly met at the middle of the massive, ruined church. There were perhaps forty or fifty followers facing just over twenty Death Eaters, but this did not discourage Tom's friends. They followed Tom's earlier order and remained perfectly silent and still even after Tom signalled for them to stop walking, so he could move a few meters ahead. The leader of Grindelwald's people did the same, while Harry remained with the Death Eaters.

"How nice of you to join us zis evening," the scarred leader of Grindelwald's people greeted strongly, his words accompanied by a yellow-toothed grin. "I was not sure veather you vould arrive."

Tom smiled back at the older wizard, the glint of malice in his eyes going unmissed by very few of Grindelwald's people.

"Well, I never was one to go against my word," he spoke softly, causing every ear to strain in the hope of catching what he said.

The contrast in volume between Grindelwald's strongest follower and Tom might have been mistaken for Tom being the blatant weaker wizard here, but Harry understood very well that Tom kept his voice at this quiet level very consciously.

"This is not soon for me, moreover," Tom informed the yellow-toothed wizard coolly. "If I had wished to get here soon, I wouldn't have sent your last – living – follower here before joining all of you at a meeting place of my choice…"

While Harry stood amongst the Death Eaters, clearly hearing what Tom said, he knew that Tom was choosing his words very deliberately. He was not only reminding Grindelwald's followers that he had murdered one of their people without care, he was threatening them, very subtly, with a claim that he could have found and attacked their main base at any time had he wished to face them in a non-civil way.

The leader doubtlessly noticed this, but he did not drop his grin.

"You are very young for a vizard of such apparent power," he voiced, as though he didn't value Tom's last statements at all. The way he stressed 'apparent' suggested that he didn't believe Tom's power was anything more than an exaggeration. "How old might you be? Twenty-five, perhaps?"

"Younger, even," Tom admitted lightly. "I am but twenty-two."

"Very young, very young," the leader said, sneering while he found some sort of humour in the idea. The other followers appeared just as disapproving as they spoke in whispers.

"And how old might you be?" Tom asked, not displaying a flicker of changed emotion past his carefree expression. "Seventy-five? Eighty?"

The Death Eaters snickered while the yellow-toothed leader's nostrils flared. The smile slipped off his face somewhat as his dark eyes scanned the cloaked Death Eaters, trying to view the their hidden faces. Though he didn't look at all weak in age, there was no doubt that he was quite a few decades old while grey and white mixed with his otherwise black hair, lines carved deep into his brutal face.

"I vould not except someone as young as yourself to value ze importance of age, and thus ze importance of visdom," the leader responded coldly to Tom. "Ze fact zat you are here tonight, fighting ze dedicated worshippers of Grindelwald, proves this much."

Tom appeared mildly surprised. "I was under the impression that meeting with you tonight would mean that such fighting would subside."

"Ah, it vill," the leader assessed, "ze fighting vill end as soon as this exchange of your people is made, of course…"

A light smile crossed Tom's lips. "Then we shouldn't hesitate for a moment longer before beginning what we are all here for tonight…"

"I must agree." The leader grinned widely, before turning to the wizards behind him. He evidently ordered his people in German to bring the four captured Death Eaters forth, because only a moment later around eight followers were escorting Avery, Lestrange, Macnair, and Gibbon towards Tom.

"Mulciber, Dolohov, if you will…"

The eight followers and four Death Eaters stood close behind the leader of Grindelwald's people. All four of Tom's friends looked in poor condition, and a sudden fear gripped Harry when he realised that Lestrange appeared to be the most hurt while he wore an expression that displayed great fear, even though he was about to be handed back to Tom. Perhaps it was because he was going to be handed back to Tom, Harry thought…

The next thing that caught Harry's attention was himself, apparently, being dragged towards the centre of the church where both the leaders and followers stood. Harry had to move out of the way while Dolohov and Mulciber forced the transformed follower past him.

"Very good, very good," the leader of Grindelwald's people spoke softly, his dark eyes resting on the false Harry with great interest.

The false Harry had been put under a silencing charm as well as having a piece of material tied around his mouth to stop him wording German words, but the leader didn't seem to find any of this suspicious. He examined the false Harry for a moment before trying harder to see the Death Eaters faces, but to no avail.

"I vonder, I vonder…" the leader muttered, before his voice grew stronger. "Did you perhaps bring all of your friends here tonight?"

"No, not all of them," Tom responded. "Quite a few remained behind."

He gave no indication as to how many others remained in Albania, but it appeared as though the leader of Grindelwald's people had no interest in asking this. His dark eyes were resting on Tom again.

"Zen I vonder veather or not a particular friend of yours is present?" the leader began in a careful tone, "a follower who, if my information iz correct, murdered Thorfinn Rowle, a dedicated follower of Grindelwald who was sent to you earlier zis evening?"

Harry stared at the leader of Grindelwald's people, his heart suddenly beating rapidly. The leader surely hadn't just said 'Thorfinn Rowle'… that was impossible…

"The two wizards you send to us tonight did not disclose any information about themselves – not even their names," Tom informed the leader apathetically. "I can't be sure whether we did anything to the particular wizard you're referring to… however, I cannot pretend that one of my friends didn't murder one of your people."

Grindelwald's people began muttering to each other from the crowd, their voices hushed and angry. Harry could hear the blood pounding in his ears. Thorfinn Rowle was supposed to be a Death Eater that Harry had come across quite a few times in the past. It didn't make any sense that this wizard could be a follower of Grindelwald…

"But vere might ze vizard responsible for Thorfinn Rowle's death be?" the leader asked curiously, not able to hide the annoyance from his voice.

Harry supposed that it was possible for Thorfinn Rowle to be alive now, but he didn't have the faintest idea as to how he would become a Death Eater one day… Harry found himself becoming more and more anxious as useless explanations for this began running through his mind…

"I'm afraid that the particular friend of mine who murdered tonight is not with us currently," Tom informed the leader honestly, appearing not at all bothered by the thought. He then added, somewhat sarcastically, "I could always send him a message via us, if you wish."

"No need," the leader responded with another cruel smile. "I vas merely curious… Vonce ve have dear 'Smith' under our control vonce more, I am sure zat both of our groups can move on with our own ambitions quietly. You can go back to Muggle-Loving and so on, vhile ve prevail…"

Many of the half-distracted Death Eaters suddenly looked up at the leader of Grindelwald's people, before turning their heads to Tom in silent confusion.

"Muggle-Loving?" Tom repeated softly.

"Oh, do not tell me you have not heard zis expression before," the leader laughed. "Surely you are not zat cut off from vizards such as ourselves?"

The leader signified for the followers holding Avery, Macnair, Gibbon, and Lestrange to move forwards, while Tom nodded for Mulciber and Dolohov to do the same. The false Harry struggled against the grip of the two Death Eaters but didn't seem too reluctant when he realised that he would be returning to Grindelwald's people.

"I believe you are confused as to what it is my friends and I do," Tom informed the leader of Grindelwald's people quietly. "We are not, as you suggest, Muggle-Lovers in any way."

Harry felt his heart leap in anxiety while the followers took the false him into their own hands, leaving the four beaten Death Eaters to join the crowd behind Tom. He still couldn't work out how this wizard could possibly be Thorfinn Rowle, and he was panicking. What if he was making a mistake with letting that wizard go? What if he was meant to bring him back?

"Vell, I cannot imagine zat you vould be foolish enough to attack us, ze noble supporters of Grindelwald, if you vere not in many vays Muggle-Lovers," the leader pressed, half-distracted while he watched the false Harry being dragged back to his people.

"Perhaps we are foolish," Tom said delicately, "but that is a fair price for being dedicated Dark Arts fanatics…"

"You don't have to deny it," the leader said with a cruel grin. "It would be insulting to ze many filthy Muggle girlfriends I'm sure you all have vaiting at home; your whores."

The followers who understood English laughed when they heard their leader say this. Many of them began translating the insult to the others, who laughed too. Tom was visibly irked, and Grindelwald's people thought this was a triumph. Harry hoped that this just meant Lestrange might not have said anything about him and Tom, miraculously…

"You vill probably marry zese Muggle whores one day," the leader continued, playing to Tom's annoyance, "starting families and having veak Squib children who vill likely die at our hand… Ve shall not attack your group now; no, but we can not guarantee that ve'll spare your children if zey get in our vay."

Tom glared at the leader of Grindelwald's people now, perhaps especially annoyed while thoughts of his parents struck him. "We are pureblood, and we do not love Muggles, nor care about them remotely."

At this, the leader let out a cry of laughter, while many followers joined him.

"Do not claim vith your unvorthy tongue zat you are a pureblood!" he exclaimed in a disbelieving tone. "It vould be an insult to ze memory of any Muggle and Mudblood mothers and fathers of yours who vere killed by our ha–"

BANG!

Tom had attempted to throw a spell at the leader, but it appeared as though an invisible shield stopped him from doing this. Grindelwald's followers were all shocked by the noise and the lights that flashed from Tom's wand, yet they laughed when they saw that Tom's spell hadn't hit its target. They were confused when they saw Tom had conjured a dark, ten-foot long cobra.

"Iz zis truly your attempt to hurt–?" the leader began. His words were interrupted, however.

"Come here," Tom hissed quietly to the snake. His eyes were fixed on its long, powerful form. "Rest upon me…"

The snake began gliding towards him without hesitation. When it was close, Tom reached out his wand hand to touch its hard, scaly head. It was large enough to begin climbing its way up his body in the silence, resting upon his shoulders while he smiled softly.

"Something stopped my movements," the snake voiced quietly.

"I know," Tom said soothingly. His wand was still in his right hand while he stoked the snake softly. "Next time, there will be no wall…"

Harry saw that every follower and Death Eater in sight was staring at Tom, the followers gaping in what could only be described as pure shock. Many of them were blatantly unsure whether Tom was really talking to the snake or whether he was just lucky to be alive right now.

"I'm going to have to ask you to try again," Tom told the snake. "Attack that wizard once more…"

"Of course," the snake agreed. After a moment, it asked, "When, master?"

Tom seemed to be thinking about this, but Harry suddenly realised, then, that Tom was using magic slyly while he held the snake. Before the followers truly noticed this, and before any of them realised the shielding charm was being lifted, Tom's cold eyes snapped towards their leader's.

"Now."

Before Harry knew it, the snake slid rapidly off Tom's shoulders and began sliding at a quick speed towards Grindelwald's people. The leader, like many of the followers, didn't expect anything to happen until the snake was inches away from him. There was another loud 'BANG!' and the cobra recoiled somewhat, but was ready to fight again in only a second.

"Weg da!" one of the followers shouted furiously, pulling on the leader's arm to stop him.

The leader shook him off and raised his wand again.

"Herr, tut das nicht–" another follower began.

"Ich werde tun was ich will!" the leader screamed in frustration.

The Death Eaters began laughing while Grindelwald's people shouted in panicked, angry German. They thought that Grindelwald's people were overreacting to the fact that Tom had broken their shield charm, or the fact that Tom was an Heir of Slytherin.

"Herr–!"

The leader made violent slashing movements with his wand, cutting the snake in several places until it was decapitated. Grindelwald's followers froze. Then, quite suddenly, a follower did the same thing to the leader, until he was decapitated too.

When his head fell to the ground, Grindelwald's people seemed to loose any speck of restraint they may have had before. Wizards suddenly turned towards each other in the group and shot spells in all directions, causing the Death Eaters to stare and gasp in confusion. Flashes of hexes and cries of pain issued from the crowd, and when spells started heading towards Tom's friends they withdrew their wands.

"Wait!" Tom ordered his friends loudly.

The Death Eaters stopped, many of them confused as to why Tom ordered them to wait. Harry suddenly saw that some of Grindelwald's people were running towards Tom and the Death Eaters. Tom pointed his wand at them, seconds away from firing curses, before they spoke.

"Please!" one of them exclaimed, raising his hands in innocence as one or two others prevented him from getting hit in the back by his people. "Ve mean you no harm – ve vant only to help you! Ze Heir – ze Heir of Slytherin!"

Harry gaped at the scene in front of him as followers began kneeling at Tom's feet, many of them murmuring words in quick, overjoyed German. The Death Eaters didn't say a word, but many of them struggled to deflect spells that shot their way.

Tom saw their struggling and he began deflecting spells to with shocking ease. He put up a barrier to stop hexing from hitting anyone.

When followers began noticing that the wizards near Tom were being protected, many of them headed towards Tom too, enraging the followers of Grindelwald who had been fighting for the now dead leader. Only around ten wizards ended up bowing before Tom, while forty or so followers of Grindelwald appeared enraged to say the least. Wizards who couldn't get to Tom in happiness either Disapparated into thin air or got hurt, killed, and captured by Grindelwald's true followers.

"What's going on?" Rosier asked frantically from somewhere behind him.

Tom had no time to answer. Grindelwald's people were attempting to break past his Shield Charm but he wouldn't allow it.

Then, quite suddenly, another thing distracted Grindelwald's people.

The fake Harry was suddenly transforming back into his original form. As spells from the Death Eaters travelled through this side of Tom's protection as though it wasn't there. Grindelwald's people seemed to be under the impression that some sort of odd spell had hit 'Jonathan'. When they realised that Jonathan was beginning to look like their dead friend, many of the wizards holding him dropped him as though he were infected.

The fake Harry, who had been watching the fight closely, began running back to Tom against all odds. Tom let him through the barrier after only a moment's hesitation.

"Es lebe die Ritter von Walpurgis!" one of the wizards in front of Tom shouted almost madly, turning back to Grindelwald's true people.

"Die Ritter von Walpurgis sind tot!" a follower of Grindelwald spat. "Bald werdet ihr sterben!"

"What are they saying?" Harry asked anxiously as he walked closer to Tom. "Why are they joining you?"

"It would appear," Tom said quietly, yet strongly enough for his friends to hear, "that we aren't the only ones who now have something against Grindelwald's people…"

"How?" Harry inquired in shock. "Why would some of them start joining us?"

"Parseltongue," Tom answered simply. A mad smile was creeping upon his face slowly. "They are the Knights of Walpurgis, and they have found their true leader…"

Harry stared at Tom, but Tom didn't bother to attempt looking at him for long. The ten or so wizards who now stood before him, their faces torn between several emotions, were distracted him. Despite how many emotions they displayed, however, one expression they all shared in common was awe.

"Vat iz your name?" one of the closest Knights of Walpurgis asked.

Tom took a moment to think of an answer to this, the mad happiness he felt blatantly gripping him. He smiled only softly, gazing at the ten wizards before him as though he was being reunited with a group of people he had long since missed.

"I am Voldemort," Tom responded softly. "Lord Voldemort."


Dear Readers, I have a million things to say about this chapter, and my choices in it… but I'll save that information for later, due to lack of time.

Please excuse my doubtlessly terribly incorrect German. I don't know the language at all, but I'm trying my best, haha.

I'm facing a million problems in life right now, but I love this story too much to ever stop writing it due to real life. I'm still writing every day, but I'm slow.

Also, since my last chapter I'm now a year older, haha.

Hope you enjoyed this!