The Trio Who Returned, Chapter 03
by Technomad
Peter Pettigrew was not contented. While he was happy to be free when so many of his brothers were in Azkaban, life as the Dark Lord's personal chew-toy lacked appeal. Voldemort treated him with casual contempt, and most of the Death Eaters despised him, both for having been a Gryffindor and for having betrayed his friends.
Worst of all, his love life was nonexistent. When he had complained to Voldemort, the Dark Lord had laughed and pointed to his new silver hand. "I knew about that, Wormtail. Why do you think I gave you a silver hand? I wanted you to come into money!" At this, all the Death Eaters had laughed; even though not laughing at one of the Dark Lord's jokes could be dangerous, Pettigrew knew that they honestly thought this one was hilarious. He had summoned up a sickly smile, while secretly wishing all of them were dead.
Sitting on the front steps of the Riddle House, overlooking Little Hangleton, he watched as the moon arose over the sleeping town. The moon shone brightly, in a clear sky with just a few clouds scudding along. Behind him, in the house, he heard Bellatrix Lestrange's high-pitched gasps of pleasure, and even though he thought Lestrange was insane and a menace, he couldn't help envying the Dark Lord for having her in his bed.
As he sat there, feeling sorry for himself, he noticed movement near the graveyard. At first, he couldn't believe what he was seeing, and squinted to see better.
He hadn't been mistaken...it was a woman! A beautiful woman, with her curly hair pulled into a long thick ponytail, and huge dark eyes in a delicately-carved face. She came toward him slowly, and even though he was supposed to be on watch, he forgot to sound the alarm. Such a lovely being couldn't mean any harm!
"Peter..." she whispered, her voice somehow carrying across the space that separated them. "Peter, darling, I want you."
"M-m-m-me?" stammered Wormtail. With an effort, he got his voice under control. "You want me?"
"Yes, darling Peter, I do want you. Come with me, my love," she purred, staring into his eyes. As she gazed at him, Wormtail found himself forgetting about keeping watch, about the Dark Lord, about the Cause, about everything but this alluring answer to his half-despairing prayers. Willingly, he arose, and followed her away from the house. She turned and led him toward the graveyard.
Once they were in the graveyard, under the shade of the trees, she turned and took him in her arms. "Do you love me, Peter?" she whispered.
"Oh, yes! Yes!" Wormtail had longed for this day. Staring into her eyes, he felt his will eroding, as if he were under the Imperius Curse. She came closer, and kissed him. Even when he felt needle-sharp teeth in his neck, he did not resist.
Hermione looked up. "He's under control. You can come out now." Harry and Ron appeared, seeming to materialize out of the shadows. Hermione gave them a predatory smile. "For such a weak little fellow, his blood is rich and thick and full. Fancy a taste?"
Hungrily, Harry and Ron leaned forward, before standing back. "No, Hermione. I don't think I could keep myself from finishing him off, and we need him alive, for now," said Harry.
"Besides, we fed before we came here," explained Ron. "Down in London. All it took was flashing some cash around in a seedy Muggle pub, and then pretending to be drunk as we staggered out. Our dinners came after us, and caught up to us in a dark alley. Shame, really," he smirked. "I'd thought it would be more difficult. As it was, we left them floating in a sewer."
"Which will give that sewer a bad name, I think," drawled Harry. "You have him under control, Hermione?"
"He's a puppet in my hands, Harry," Hermione replied. "I can see through his eyes and hear through his ears any time I want, and he'll never know the difference."
"Never mind if he knows the difference. Will Voldemort know?"
"I'm honestly not certain. I don't think he'd recognize the symptoms; vampires are rare here in Britain. In any case, we can send this one back and see what happens. If he gets killed for being a spy, we're none the worse off."
"And that couldn't happen to a more deserving person," observed Harry. "Very well, Hermione. He's all yours. I give him to you freely."
Hermione drew her wand and pointed it at the wounds she had left on the Death Eater's throat. "Stypto!" The wand flashed, and the wounds closed up. "No need alerting the Death Munchers prematurely, and Wormtail here won't tell...will you, Wormie?" She patted his cheek mockingly. "And when your Hermione calls for you, you'll come willingly, and tell me all you know, won't you?"
Wormtail shook himself. He felt as though he'd lost several hours...the moon was in a different part of the sky from where it had been before, and it felt like dawn was about to break. The last he remembered, it had been an hour or so past midnight.
"Wormtail! Where are you, Wormtail?" The high cold voice of Lord Voldemort broke into his reverie, and he hurried inside. When he had made his obesiances to the Dark Lord, he stood, waiting to find what his master wanted.
"You look happy, Wormtail," the Dark Lord observed. "If I didn't know it was impossible, I'd think you'd found a woman who'd lower herself enough to let you touch her." Suddenly, Voldemort was all business. "I have decided what we're to do next. Gather the other Death Eaters, Wormy, and I shall inform them of my latest plans."
"What do you see?" asked Harry.
Hermione lolled in an easy chair, her eyes rolled back in her head. In a monotone, she murmured: "I see Voldemort. He's talking to some Death Eaters. I can see Fenrir Greyback, Bellatrix Lestrange, and some others I don't recognize."
"Can you tell us what they're saying?"
"They're planning to attack Azkaban. They want to free Lucius Malfoy and the other Death Eaters there, and kill the Aurors who are guarding the prison."
"Oh, are they now?" Harry smiled. No...he showed his teeth. The rictus twisting his face could not be described as a smile.
"They'll be doing it in a couple of weeks, I think. At least, that's what they're saying where Wormie can hear them. However, we'd best get cracking and prepare a proper welcome for them…shouldn't we?" Hermione's expression was predatory and hungry.
Her two male friends both winked.
The Ministry of Magic was deserted, or nearly so, this late at night. When three bats flew down into an alley near the main entrance and changed into people, there was nobody about to see them except a drunk mumbling in an alley. Nobody'd ever believe him.
Since his father worked there, Ron took command, leading them into the familiar phone box with its memories of their other visits to the Ministry. One trip down later, they were standing in front of the security booth.
"Name and purpose of visit?"
"Ron Bilius."
"Harry Evans."
"Jane Smith. I'm here to do research." Hermione caught the security wizard's eye, and stared deep into his eyes. "Let us pass!"
As though he were in a trance, the security wizard produced three badges with their false names on them. Dazedly, he opened the gate and allowed them entry, murmuring "Enter freely and of your own will…mistress, masters." Then he went back to his work as though they weren't even there.
Once the trio were a ways down the corridor, Harry murmured, too low for any but another vampire to hear: "What did you do to him, exactly, Hermione?"
Hermione's smile was not pleasant. "Oh, I took control of his so-called 'mind.' I checked while I was in there, and he's not a Death Eater…but he's simple enough that they could use him. He's about as bright as I imagine Crabbe or Goyle are."
Ron's expression became crafty. "Could you take control of either of Malfoy's goons?"
"Easily, I think. I could even do it without them being aware of it. Wouldn't it be a hoot, if he were fighting for You-Know-Who, and all of a sudden his two tame thugs pulled wands and started blasting Death Eaters…not to mention our dear friend Draco?"
All three of them laughed. The sound was like stones sliding over each other.
After a few minutes, they found the offices they were looking for. The wizard who was on duty was half-asleep, and they had no trouble taking control of him. "It's a bit like the Imperius, isn't it?" Harry commented. "Do you think we might get in trouble for doing this?"
Ron grinned a wolf's grin. "Let 'em try! We're already dead, aren't we? The laws aren't set up with us in mind!"
"Don't be an ass, Ron," snapped Hermione. "We're nearly helpless by day, and Aurors know how to put us out of their misery. Don't get cocky just because you can do some new tricks!"
"Here we are!" Harry held up a set of plans. "The blueprints for Azkaban Prison!"
Hermione, Harry and Ron all bent over the papers. "Now, all we need to do is tip off the warden and guards, on the Q.T….
END Chapter 03