Chapter Forty Nine

Harry took several deep breaths to try and calm himself down, panic was rising within him as more and more people arrived. The nearest masked figure moved forward, and dropped to his knees, kissing the hem of Voldemort's robes.

"Master. Master!" he crooned, the others following suit.

After a few moments they moved back, one by one, to form a large, but incomplete, circle. Voldemort looked around and nodded, he didn't seem to expect any more people and took a few, elegant steps forward, into the circle. Bellatrix stayed back, tucked away in the darkness.

"Welcome, Death Eaters." Voldemort said, quietly, almost softly, "I can hardly believe it has been thirteen years, thirteen years since we all stood together and yet, you answer my call as though it were only yesterday. We are still all united under my dark mark… or are we?"

There was a frozen silence and Voldemort glared around the circle, his nostrils flaring, "I smell guilt! There is the stench of guilt upon the air!"

Many of the masked figures bowed their heads, not one of them wanting to meet his gaze.

"I see you all, whole and healthy, with your powers intact… such prompt appearances! And I ask myself… why did this band of wizards never come to the aid of their master, to whom they swore eternal loyalty?"

No one spoke, no one even moved. Voldemort didn't seem to want an answer though, he was revelling in their discomfort.

"And I answer myself." whispered Voldemort, "They must have believed me broken! They thought I was gone. They slipped back amongst my enemies, and they pleaded innocence and ignorance and… bewitchment. And then I ask myself, but how could they have believed I would not rise again? They, who knew the steps I took, long ago, to guard myself against a mortal death? They, who had seen proof of the immensity of my power, in the times when I was mightier than any wizard living?"

There was still only silence in an answer. Harry struggled against his ropes but they still held him fast, he wasn't going to escape; until- if they let him go.

"And I answer myself, perhaps they believed a still greater power could exist, one that could vanquish even Lord Voldemort. Perhaps they now pay allegiance to another, perhaps that champion of commoners, of mudbloods and muggles, Albus Dumbledore?"

The mention of Dumbledore's name sent a ripple around the circle of death eaters, as they shook their heads in protest.

Voldemort ignored them, "It is a disappointment to me… I confess myself, disappointed."

"Master!" one of the death eaters screamed, throwing himself forward to Voldemort's feet, "Master forgive me! Forgive us all!"

Voldemort laughed and pointed his wand at the man, "Crucio!"

The death eater shuddered on the ground, thrashing around and screaming. Harry thought that the nearby houses must hear the noise, they would send for the police? For help surely? But did he want them to come, Harry wasn't so sure.

He wanted to escape, of course he did, but muggle police coming along, against this many dark wizards would only end in a blood bath.

Voldemort raised his wand, "Get up Avery," he ordered, "Stand up."

The sobbing death eater stood up and took his place in the circle.

"You ask for forgiveness? I do not forgive. I do not forget. Thirteen long years… I want thirteen years of repayment before I forgive you. Bellatrix here, has paid some, of her debt already. Haven't you?"

Bellatrix stepped forward, into the circle and nodded, "Yes my lord."

"Bella?" said another of the masked men, Harry recognised his voice as Rodolphus Lestrange, Bellatrix's husband. For once he sounded scared, "Bella the baby, what happened?"

Voldemort looked over to him and narrowed his eyes, silencing the man.

"Part of her sacrifice has also paid of a small amount of Rodolphus's debts. You should thank her." Voldemort smiled.

Rodolphus looked between his wife and his master, "Than… thank you, wife."

Bellatrix straightened herself up, "Our family will always be loyal."

Voldemort smiled and nodded, "True, I would hope that all of you will now be loyal."

There was a nod around the circle.

"Good." Voldemort said, "I heard about the fun Bella led you in at the Quidditch World Cup. I see you are all still up for a bit of muggle torture when you feel like it? Good fun I am sure, but would that energy not have been better focused on finding me? Helping me return to strength?"

Another figured stepped forward, just a few, careful steps.

"My Lord, if we had had any sign, or whisper of where you where, we would have run to your side at once, with out a second thought, without question." it was a woman's voice that echoed from the mask this time.

"Alecto Carrow, you and your brother were at the game, were you not?" Voldemort asked.

Carrow nodded, "Yes Master, we ridiculed and hurt those muggles in your name. Destroyed the ministry's work in your name!"

Voldemort glared, "And yet, you ran!" he spat, "When one of my loyal followers sent my mark into the sky you ran!"

Carrow bowed and backed off.

"You all ran, Rodolphus, dragging his wife away from my power." Voldemort hissed, "But she knew her work was done. It was the distraction that was needed you see..."

There was a moments pause, as Voldemort looked around the circle.

"Some are missing, Azkaban took them. They will be free though, the Dementors will flock to me; they are our natural allies." Voldemort said, "Macnair! Destroying dangerous beasts for the Ministry of Magic now, so Bellatrix tells me? You shall have more worthy victims than that soon, Lord Voldemort will provide..."

"Thank you Master, thank you." muttered Macnair.

He moved on, to two of the largest figures in the group, "And here we have Crabbe and Goyle? You will both do better for me this time, will you not?"

The two figures bowed messily and nodded, mumbling their agreement.

"The same goes for you, Nott." Voldemort hissed at the next figure in the circle.

"Of course my lord." He said, "I submit myself before you, I am you most-"

"That will do." Voldemort said, with a lazy wave of his hand, he reached a large gap in the line, "Here once stood seven. Three, gave their lives for my service, we will honour and remember them, one is too cowardly to return, he will of course pay the price for his fear. Two I believe have left me forever, they will both be killed of course."

That was six, Harry counted, who was the last one?

"And of course we have my most faithful of servants." Voldemort smiled, Harry saw Bellatrix flinch slightly, "He has already re-entered my service, he never really left. He is at Hogwarts, that faithful servant and it was through his efforts that our young friend arrived tonight..."

Harry looked at him, his heart racing again. Voldemort was talking about him, it was someone at Hogwarts that had sent him here. There was a loud murmur around the circle of death eaters.

Voldemort rolled his lips into a mean smile at Harry, "Yes, Harry Potter has kindly joined us for my rebirthing party. One might go so far as to call him my guest of honour."

There was a long pause around the circle, as the death eaters looked around each other and to Harry Potter. The death eater next to Crabbe or Goyle, it was impossible to tell them apart under their masks, Nott Harry thought, stepped forward.

"Master, we crave to know… we beg you to tell us… how you have, achieved, this… miracle of sorts. How have you managed to return to us?" he asked, slowly and carefully.

Voldemort smiled, "Ah, what a story it is, Nott. And it begins and ends with my young friend here."

He walked over to Harry slowly so they were standing next to one another, the snake still circling around Harry's feet.

"You know, of course, that they have called this boy my downfall?" Voldemort said, softly, his red eyes fixed on Harry's scar that started to burn so fiercely Harry wanted to scream, "You all know that on the night I lost my powers and my body, I tried to kill him. His mother stood in the way, protecting him against my spells, she would have died for him and very nearly did. She, unwittingly provided him with a protection I admit I had not foreseen… I could not touch the boy."

Voldemort raise one of his long, white fingers and put it very close to Harry's cheek. Harry resisted the urge to move away, he was not going to show he was scared, he was going to be brave whatever happened.

"His mother left upon him the traces of her love. This is old magic, I should have remembered it, I was foolish to overlook it… but no matter. I can touch him now."

Harry felt the cold tip of the long white finger touch him, and thought his head would burst with the pain. He screamed into the cloth, still stuffed in his mouth. Voldemort laughed softly in his ear and took the finger away, turning back to his death eaters.

"I miscalculated, my friends, I am not too proud to admit my curse was deflected and it rebounded upon me. Aaah… pain beyond pain, my friends; nothing could have possibly prepared me for it. I was ripped from my body, I was less than spirit, less than the meanest ghost… but still, I was alive. What I was, even I do not know… I, who have gone further than anybody along the path that leads to immortality. You know my goal, to conquer death. And now, I was tested, and it appeared that one or more of my experiments had worked… for I had not been killed, though the curse should have done it. Nevertheless, I was as powerless as the weakest creature alive, and without the means to help myself… for I had no body, and every spell which might have helped me required the use of a wand."

Voldemort looked down longingly at the wand in his hand and smiled.

"I remember only forcing myself, sleeplessly, endlessly, second by second to exist. I settled in a faraway place, in a forest and I waited. Surely, one of my faithful death eaters would try and find me, one of them would come and perform the magic I could not, to restore me to a body… but I waited in vain."

Voldemort paced up and down, as a shiver ran around his troops. He waited a few moments before continuing, seemingly wanting to make sure that the death eaters knew they were not forgiven.

"Only one power remained to me. I could possess the bodies of others. But I dared not go where other humans were plentiful, for I knew that I would be recognised and the hunt for me would start once again. If there was one good thing to come from the mudblood living was she told everyone I was dead, and the fools at the Ministry believed her. I sometimes inhabited animals, snakes, of course, being my preference but I was little better off inside them than as pure spirit, for their bodies were ill-adapted to perform magic… and my possession of them shortened their lives; none of them lasted long." Voldemort almost looked said at the idea, "Then, four years ago, the means for my return seemed assured. A young, foolish and gullible wizard wandered across my path in the forest I had made my home. Oh, he seemed the very chance I had been dreaming of, for he was a teacher at Dumbledore's school… he was easy to bend to my will! He brought me back to this country, and, after a while, I took possession of his body, to supervise him closely as he carried our my orders. But my plan failed. I did not manage to steal the Philosopher's Stone. I was not to be assured immortal life. I was thwarted, thwarted once again, by Harry Potter…"

There was a long silence. Harry felt a flicker of hope inside. He's beaten Voldemort before, he was younger and less powerful then as well. Maybe there was a chance, a tiny chance, but a chance he would get out of this.

Voldemort shook his head, "The servant died when I left his body, and I was left as weak as ever I had been." he continued, "I returned to my hiding place far away, and I will not pretend to you that I didn't then fear that I might never regain my powers… yes, that was perhaps my darkest hour. I could not hope that I would be sent another wizard to possess and I had given up hope, now, that any of my death eaters cared what had become of me..."

There were a few weak noses of protest from the death eaters but Voldemort took no notice, he didn't seem to care about their excuses.

"And then, not even a year ago, when I had almost abandoned hope, it happened at last… a servant returned to me. Bellatrix here. She had news of an old trinket of mine, causing havoc at Hogwarts and put the pieces together, she worked out that, at least a part of me was still alive and came to find me." Voldemort said.

Harry saw Bellatrix whimper in happiness at the sound of Voldemort's praise.

"She found me, though it took a while." Voldemort said, "I was a small spirit in a large forest but find me she did, and made plans to get me home. It was not a smooth journey, Bellatrix stopped at an inn for some food and who should she run into other than Bertha Jorkins, a witch from the Ministry of Magic. She asked too many questions, what was a high born lady doin muck with torn robes? Bellatrix managed to trick her into coming back with her, so we could question her together. And, with… a little persuasion, poor dear Bertha became an excellent source of information for me."

He turned to Bellatrix and ran a long finger down her cheek, "You always have been good at getting people to talk, my Bella."

Bellatrix giggled slightly, "Thank you my Lord."

"Bertha told us about the Triwizard Tournament, that it would be played, this year, at Hogwarts. She also told me that she knew of a faithful death eater, who would be only too willing to help me, if I could only contact him. She told me many things… but the means we used to break the Memory Charm upon her were powerful, and when I had extracted all useful information from her, her mind, and body were both damaged beyond repair. She had now served her purpose, I could not possess her so we left her, wondering the forests. My Bella has such a cruel mind." he purred, "We did laugh leaving the poor woman wondering the forest, gazing at the trees."

Harry was horrified, they couldn't even be bothered to kill her, she was just broken, wondering the forest somewhere. She was almost certainly dead now. It could be argued she was better off dead. There is no way either Voldemort of Bellatrix would have let her live if there was any chance Bertha could have told someone about them.

"I had no interest in shortening the life of the only person who'd come to find me by possessing her, I would need her again, of this I was sure. However, Bellatrix is a skilled witch and she is more than capable of following my instructions. I gave her the task, instructions that would give me a rudimentary, weak body of my own, a body I would be able to inhabit while awaiting the essential ingredients for my true rebirth, a spell or two of my own invention, a little help from my dear Nagini." Voldemort looked down at the snake next to Harry, "A potion concocted from unicorn blood and the snake venom Nagini provided, I was soon returned to an almost human form, and was strong enough to travel."

Voldemort paused again, as though he was delighting in reliving his time travelling with Bellatrix.

"There was no hope of stealing the Philosopher's Stone any more, for I knew that Dumbledore would have seen to it that it was destroyed. But I was willing to embrace mortal life again, before chasing the immortal. I set my sights lower, I would settle for my old body back again, and my old strength. I knew that to achieve this, it is an old piece of Dark Magic, the potion that revived me tonight, I would need three powerful ingredients."

Bellatrix's head dropped for the first time, she looked as though she was questioning what had happened. Voldemort didn't seem to notice though.

"One of which, flesh of a servant, meant my poor Bella had to return home, and make the flesh she would later so willingly give up, for her master. She found a young girl from the village to care for me, tortured her into behaving and doing as she was told. She is of course now dead, Nagini was rather grateful for her sacrifice." Voldemort smiled, "The next ingredient was my father's bone, that was here and easy to get, as long as we were here so here we would have to come. But blood of a foe, that was more difficult."

"Really?" Harry thought, "Pretty sure most people hate you."

"It was suggested that I use any old wizard who would do the job. Any wizard who hated me as many still do. But I knew the one I must use, if I was to rise again, more powerful than I had been when I had fallen. I wanted Harry Potter's blood. I wanted the blood of the one who had stripped me of power thirteen years ago, for the lingering protection him mother gave him, would then reside in my veins, too… but how to get at Harry Potter? For he has been better protected than I think even he knows, protected in ways devised by Dumbledore long ago, and of course his mother, still stands fiercely by his side. Dumbledore invoked an ancient magic, to ensure the boy's protection as long as he is within his relations' care; not even I can touch him there. Then of course there was the Quidditch World Cup… I though his protection might be weaker there, away from some of the crowds that follow him."

Voldemort glared back at Harry sending another stab of pain into Harry's head from his scar.

"I was not strong enough to kidnap him then, and Bellatrix was busy with other tasks. It was not long before the boy was back off to Hogwarts and under Dumbledore's protection. So how could I take him? Why, by using Bertha Jorkins's information, of course. Use my faithful Death Eater, newly returned to me. I stationed him at Hogwarts, to ensure that the boy's name was entered into the Goblet of Fire. Use my Death Eater to ensure that the boy won the Tournament, that he touched the Triwizard Cup first, the Cup which my Death Eater had turned into a Portkey, which would bring him here! Beyond the reach of Dumbledore's help and protection! Beyond the reach of his mudblood mother and her never ending love for him! And into my waiting arms."

Voldemort took a few steps towards Harry, "And here he is! The boy, you all thought would be my down fall."

Harry braised himself, something bad was going to happen.