High in Lord Voldemort's favor was not a particularly comfortable place to be. Everyone knew that, no matter how much some coveted the position. Most of the Death Eaters, especially in the Inner Circle, were adept at finding things to keep them busy away from Headquarters when they knew the Dark Lord was in a mood. Sirius, Bella, and Dolohov did not have that luxury at the moment. There was no one else the Dark Lord trusted who could help to deflect his ongoing fury, and none of them had regular business or political obligations they could realistically fall back on. And so while Rookwood went to work, the Travers siblings made themselves scarce, and faithful Rodolphus puttered around getting rid of bodies before they started to putrefy and tending to Lord Nott in the infirmary, Sirius attended another dreadful meeting.
Dolohov came prepared. He went out early that morning and found a profoundly ugly muggle man for the Dark Lord to torture and kill first thing. They all took turns with the Cruciatus before Voldemort had Sirius cast a Transmogrifian torture curse and a silencing charm. And then they mostly ignored the muggle writhing on the other end of the table while they got down to business.
The Dark Lord was running dangerously low on feasible strategies. He had decided the disastrous setback at Foulness (and afterwards) had rendered his previous "kid glove" approach to the Ministry untenable. They needed to do something to force the aurors to stop using Unforgivables again, and as quickly as possible, so he could stop being so paranoid about the Imperius. The problem was, he no longer had the same resources he'd previously relied on. Narcissa was in the hospital. Elaine Avery was quickly selected to compose his propaganda about the Ministry failing to protect wizarding families while dithering with muggles in London, but there was no one well-placed to take over politicking at the Ministry in the short term. He had killed Felix Mulciber and thus lost half their long-term Imperiused agents in the Ministry at once, some of whom no doubt would realize what had happened to them and soon sound the alarm. Rookwood of course was still in place, but he had grown increasingly ineffectual as Crouch had made moves to segregate the war-related departments from the rest of the Ministry bureaucracy including the Department of Mysteries, both for security reasons and to consolidate power around himself.
Bella was all for an aggressive and violent assault on the Ministry, but the odds were not in their favor with the loss of some of their better fighters and the risk of even more Imperiused sleeper agents cropping up. If they tried to attack sooner rather than later to mitigate the risk from the Imperius, then duelists like Dolohov, Sirius, and Rodolphus would not be at their best due to residual Cruciatus damage (Bella was faring rather better than the others in that regard, annoyingly). Further direct assaults on Barty Crouch Sr. or Minister Minchum were out for similar reasons. The aurors had shown themselves to be too strong to overwhelm by force of arms. A scorched-earth strategy of just the Dark Lord and Bella going in with Fiendfyre might work with the element of surprise... or it could end in disaster. Voldemort was not willing to risk it, knowing Albus Dumbledore would leap at the chance to fight one-one-one behind Ministry lockdown wards; such wards would be no barrier to the headmaster's phoenix.
And so Bella received a round of the Cruciatus, and the conversation reluctantly moved on to subtlety.
Dolohov proposed now was the time to activate Rookwood within the Ministry as part of an Imperius-based offensive targeting their most problematic enemies. The trouble was, Rookwood no longer had easy access to anyone in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Office of Obliviation, nor the Minister's Office, except by chance encounter in the elevator or cafeteria or in the rare, larger interdepartmental meetings. His access was actually worse now than Felix's had been as a civilian several months ago. He may not even have opportunity to replace Felix' Imperiuses that had just dropped. Nor was Rookwood nearly so deft with the curse as Felix had been; they could not expect him to hold half so many. There were still no other Marked Death Eaters in the Ministry, and most of the un-Marked Death Eaters and sympathizers were in non-war-related departments. None of their potential agents in the DMLE or Minister's Office were zealots. None were likely to be proficient in or perhaps even willing to try using the Imperius curse. Dolohov floated the idea of using the Travers siblings, since they were Sacred Twenty-Eight and not yet wanted by the Ministry, but Bella pointed out their family head and ex-auror Torquil Travers would hear about their presence in the Ministry almost immediately. He would quickly guess their treachery and either turn them in to the aurors himself or lock them down with family resources. They could only use the Traverses if they killed off Torquil first, but even that wouldn't solve the problem immediately since neither Sullivan nor Megaera was heir to the family seat.
Dolohov was punished for the idea.
"Even if we still can't get our best people close to Crouch or Minchum or whoever, we can still buy ourselves time with chaos," Sirius suggested, feeling he should probably contribute something to the discussion or risk being tortured for lack of participation. There was a sudden clatter from the other end of the table, and Sirius glanced over to see the Transmogrifian had run its time. The still silenced muggle man was attempting to scramble off the slippery table and escape. A difficult feat with his weak and shaky limbs.
"Avada Kedavra. How do you mean?" Bella asked, killing the muggle in the same breath.
"Felix was under the Imperius curse with the instruction to curse more of our people, yes? We can do that to the Ministry to extend our reach."
"Ministry verkers vill not be so skilled as Felix vas. Not even so good as Rookvood. Curses vill malfunction left and right," Dolohov said raggedly.
"Sure, but it will still put the Ministry on the defensive and make it so they can't trust each other either." He completely agreed with Dolohov, of course. Using the Imperius this way would not cause nearly so many problems for the Ministry as it had for Voldemort, because there was no one in the Ministry they could possibly Imperius who would be able to then go curse someone else as effectively as Felix had done. And because no one in the Ministry was liable to be as dangerous under the Imperius curse as an actual Death Eater was. Most people had no reason to practice curses or other kinds of combat magic once leaving the Hogwarts Defense Against the Dark Arts curriculum. They would put a strain on Ministry resources for sure, and probably end up sending more innocent people to St. Mungo's for mind healing from inexpertly cast curses, but the strategy was unlikely to get many if any people killed so long as the aurors and hit wizards kept themselves isolated.
"The DMLE might just batten down the hatches even more," Voldemort said.
"Well, if they do all hide in their offices, at least they won't be out Imperiusing us," Sirius countered.
"You would reduce us to a war of attrition."
"If we are not in a position to mount a stronger offensive now, then we must buy time until we can be ready to do something else."
Dolohov at least nodded along silently.
Voldemort frowned but seemed to give in. "I suppose it is a reasonable step in our current circumstances, and fairly low risk since most if not all of the curses the Ministry discovers will be transitive in nature and won't lead directly back to our people."
"What will the command be, then?" Bella asked. "It has to be simple or it will never work. Kill Crouch? Kill Moody?"
"Two commands," Dolohov said. "One to kill any member of DMLE if given chance, and one to cast Imperius on higher-ranking official if given chance."
"Layer it," Sirius said confidently. He was speaking from experience, after all. "The ones Rookwood and the others curse directly shouldn't be the ones attacking Crouch and the aurors. They should only be ordered to curse other, higher-ranking people to do the killing."
"That makes the attack command less effective," Bella said.
"Potentially, but our people can cast a wider net that way and draw less suspicion to themselves. We're in even deeper shit if we lose Rookwood and the others right now. The only way an Imperiused secretary is going to take down an auror is by luck anyway, regardless of who curses them."
Voldemort snorted. "True. We shall proceed with the two-tiered approach, for now. We certainly don't want Rookwood to be discovered and promptly Imperiused against us. And we shall continue to train up our Imperius-resistant colleagues. Those who are yet un-Marked need to be fully initiated." He glanced at Sirius. "Make sure your halfblood understands that being a mediocre duelist is no longer an option. If she and the others do not improve quickly, I will undertake their tutelage personally."
"Yes, my Lord," Sirius said. It was clearly a threat, in no way intended as a gesture of respect. Not that he thought Audrey would ever be foolish enough to mistake it for one. He didn't think he'd be able to save her from being forced to kill her first muggle, unfortunately. He couldn't shield her as he had shielded Richard all year, not when Voldemort had a specific intent for her like this.
"What can we do politically? Besides mere propaganda?" Voldemort asked.
Sirius quickly suppressed his inappropriate urge to laugh. He, Dolohov, and Bella were probably the least qualified members of the Inner Circle to comment on convoluted British wizarding politics. Sirius looked at Bella, who snorted. "Oh, come on. If you're looking to me to be a political advisor, it's all assassinations. You know that."
"Crucio," Voldemort snarled. He held it a good while, long enough for Dolohov to finally get his breath back from his last round. "Yes, Bella, I know your first solution is always to kill the problem, but I need you to put aside your own interests and act like the Black you were born!" He glared down to where she huddled on the floor, having slid off her chair. "Well?" She wheezed, and her lip trembled, but she couldn't yet manage to speak. Voldemort rounded on Sirius. "What do you think, Heir Black?"
"Ahh... Crouch and Minchum still have the majority on their side in the Wizengamot, right?"
Voldemort and Dolohov both nodded.
"Er... Can I get a list of who's actually on the Wizengamot before I try to make heads or tails of it? I honestly haven't been paying attention to politics besides the occasional comment Cissy or Uncle Cygnus made in my presence." Voldemort's eyes flashed red. "I'm sorry, my Lord!"
"Crucio." The pain eclipsed every other thought in his mind, but it was mercifully brief.
"Antonin, make a note that Rodolphus is to have no contact with anyone incapable of resisting the Imperius curse. I need someone able to comprehend British politics who I can trust, since the only Blacks remaining to me are apolitical psychopaths. Fine. What else? Is there any other way to get rid of Crouch?" Voldemort said irritably.
"At the moment, I doubt it," Sirius said softly, rubbing his aching shoulder. At least it hadn't dislocated again. "I looked around for him at St. Mungo's yesterday as best I could without being incredibly suspicious, but from the sound of it, he was there only long enough to be stabilized before they shipped him to the hospital wing at Hogwarts."
"And you English make your school stronger than your Ministry," Dolohov said wryly.
Voldemort steepled his fingers. "A frontal assault on Hogwarts is also out of the question, yes, but there are covert ways into the castle."
"There are?" Bella asked, as she hauled herself back into her chair. Figures she as a Slytherin Black and therefore queen of all she surveyed hadn't had much use for exploring the less public parts of the castle. She had other people to prowl on her behalf if she wanted illicit booze from Hogsmeade.
Voldemort smiled, always pleased to know more than his followers. "There are three passageways out of the castle not protected by the wards. Two lead to Hogsmeade. One leads to a cave on the far side of the lake."
Huh. Sirius didn't know about the passageway leading to the cave. He did feel vaguely smug to know about five passages Voldemort didn't, though. He would keep the knowledge to himself, of course.
Voldemort noticed his faint grin and raised an eyebrow. "You know of the ways out of the castle?"
"Some of them, my Lord, yes."
"Oh? Which?"
Damnit. Shouldn't have used the plural. Or smiled in the first place. It was hard to maintain his focus on very little sleep and quite a lot of torturing. "The one behind the statue of Gregory the Smarmy," he offered. That was the easiest to find, surely Voldemort had to know about it if he knew about any. As for the other... it was a tossup between several, and he didn't want to give any of them up if Voldemort didn't already know, certainly not the ones inside the castle. Well then. "And the one under the Whomping Willow."
Voldemort blinked. "Since when does Hogwarts have a Whomping Willow?"
"It was planted my first year."
"Where does the passage go?"
"To the Shrieking Shack."
"Which is...?" Voldemort questioned. He seemed to forget some of his anger with the unexpected tangent. Thank Merlin.
"The most haunted house in Britain, if you believe the brochures in Hogsmeade," Sirius said flippantly. The Dark Lord liked it when he managed to be nonchalant or even tell jokes in otherwise tense meetings, so long as he still took the important bits seriously. He was rewarded with a head tilt.
"It can't be that haunted," Bella grumbled. "It wasn't there when I was in school."
"Then it got very haunted, very quickly. The villagers say the screams are ghastly."
"You've been through the passage, I take it?" Voldemort asked. His eyes were alight with a curious enthusiasm. It was different from the gleeful expression he sometimes during meetings.
Sirius nodded. "On a dare."
"Tell me about the passage."
"Well, once you get past the tree that's actively trying to kill you, then there's a very tight tunnel I could barely crawl through parts of that leads directly into the cellar of the Shrieking Shack."
"And what was in the shack?"
"Something very large and hairy with entirely too many teeth. I decided not to stay for long. Luckily, it couldn't fit back through the tunnel to follow me."
"A monster, not ghosts? And yet the house was built for humans?"
"Presumably."
"Fascinating. Perhaps a transfiguration experiment gone very wrong, as happened to the MacBoons. I wonder why the tunnel exists, though? Clearly, the willow was planted to cover it up."
Dolohov grunted, far less interested in the discussion than the Hogwarts alumni were. "Maybe house and monster vere also placed to cover passage, once it vas discovered. Does it matter?"
"Perhaps not... The passage behind Gregory the Smarmy is more easily accessed and should be perfectly suitable so long as it remains open." He looked at Sirius expectantly.
Sirius shrugged. "It was last time I checked. Of course, Dumbledore might have a ward guarding against adults but not underage students or something, and I wouldn't know about it. What do you want to do with it, though? A single file line of Death Eaters entering the castle won't be able to do much. If they're discovered too early, Dumbledore can pick them off one by one, and they won't be able to apparate away."
"Indeed, no. It would have to be a mission of stealth. One or two people only who know precisely where they are going and take all precautions to avoid detection. Particularly since there's a good chance at least some of the Hogwarts staff know about that passage, since both you and I did."
"Would they know about the other two you mentioned, my Lord? Obviously Dumbledore must know about the Whomping Willow passage as well."
"The one behind a mirror on the fourth floor... possibly. The one through the caves I am certain none but I can know of." He smiled with secret satisfaction. "We can discuss the merits of various passages later, though. As to what to do... well, if Crouch is to be laid up at Hogwarts for a prolonged period, that is an obvious target."
"He won't be," Bella said with certainty. "If the aurors contrived his injuries as you suspect, then he'll be back at work tomorrow at the latest."
"The window closes too soon, then. Nor should we contemplate assassination of Albus Dumbledore, attractive as the idea may be. But... we could still try to target Crouch through his son."
"Kidnapping?" Dolohov asked.
"Exactly. No doubt the boy has been forbidden to leave the grounds, maybe even forbidden to leave the castle, but if we can get inside..."
"Then we will finally have leverage over his wretched father," Bella said happily. Her pain appeared completely forgotten. It really wasn't fair how she could do that.
"Wasn't somebody cultivating him already?" Sirius asked cautiously.
Bella nodded. "Rodolphus has been reaching out to him for over a year, first through young Richard Avery, more recently through Regulus. It hasn't been going all that well, though," she said apologetically. "Reggie said in his last letter that little Barty got freaked out when Dolph attacked his father's manor the first time. No doubt, he'll be doubly freaked out now that we've killed his mother."
Dolohov smirked. "Vell, kid does not have to come villingly. Imperius or Stupefy."
"I wonder if Crouch would respond more favorably to our taking his son hostage, or to his son taking our Mark? Under the Imperius, of course," Voldemort mused.
"It would be faster to just take him and start sending bits back to Daddy," Bella said helpfully.
Sirius was rather appalled by both options. He remembered poor Barty at Richard's birthday party. The boy was desperate for attention and approval, and he was sure now it was his father he was trying to please. He was a fragile thing liable to shatter in such a way as to never be put back together. It would be a tragedy if he were either dismembered or Marked in order to pressure his father. "We should at least give him the option of joining willingly, don't you think?"
"How villing can he possibly be if ve kidnap him from his room?" Dolohov asked skeptically.
Sirius shrugged. "Who knows? I've met him, though. He's got major self-esteem issues. If we tell him his cooperation will be central to the war effort, he might leap at the chance."
The others considered this and one by one nodded thoughtfully. Of course, Sirius was actually betting the opposite, that Barty would be more motivated to resist if he were told up front he's being used to manipulate his father. And then, maybe, Sirius would be able to contrive the lad's escape more readily. Hopefully. He was probably only delaying the inevitable.
"I will think on it. We will need additional information before we finalize a plan to take him, in any case. Bella, when will Cygnus' funeral be?"
"I... don't know yet. We haven't had time to plan."
"You, or rather Narcissa and Lord Black, should have it next week. In public. And extend invitations to the Prewitt, Crouch, and Malfoy families to join the public processional to honor their dead as well."
"Why?" Sirius asked cautiously.
"Because the Blacks will not be cowed by terrorists, and yet the Crouches will not join them in solidarity even for mourning. There is propaganda value in that. Next week, because you must meet with your brother Regulus to obtain the information we need in order to penetrate Hogwarts." Voldemort leaned back in his chair, looking much happier now that they had hammered out something of a strategy for the next few weeks. "Alright. Other business... I doubt any Order targets will present themselves anytime soon."
"If they do, I will kill them," Bella said.
Voldemort smiled knowingly at her. "Even while planning your father's funeral, dear Bella?"
She nodded. "It would be vengeance for him. He would have it no other way."
"Well, I won't stop you, then. But you will take both Antonin and Sirius with you should an opportunity arise, and either may veto your plans if they find them too reckless. Now is not the time for you to be lured into a trap. My highest counsel cannot lose the feminine touch."
Bella grinned and preened. Sirius snorted. Whatever Bella brought to the war council, it was nothing stereotypically feminine.
"Very well. Bella, fetch Rodolphus in to finalize our plans for the Ministry, then. Actually, no, send him home and tell him I will meet him there, and that your home is closed to any and all visitors except myself, Antonin, and Sirius until further notice. Nor is Rodolphus permitted to leave home except to come here on my express summons. He is too valuable to risk even here at headquarters. He may continue outside correspondence via owl post only. Sirius and Antonin will take over the trainees he was working with. Someone else can manage the infirmary."
Bella nodded seriously and stood up. She didn't even argue about Rodolphus needing to be free to attend his father-in-law's funeral. She may be mad, but she understood the Dark Lord just as well as Sirius did. Of the remaining members of the Inner Circle, Rodolphus was the only one who could be so isolated without arousing suspicion and damaging his future usefulness.
"Oh, speaking of the infirmary, how fares Lord Nott?"
"He sleeps still," Dolohov said neutrally. Sleep being a word that here meant is in a coma so deep he doesn't even gag when potions are poured down his throat.
Voldemort frowned in irritation. "He might still wake up. Remind me, who is heir to his estate at present?"
"His first cousin once removed, I believe."
"And the wards will automatically transfer to them if he dies?"
Bella and Sirius both nodded. That was pretty standard of old familial holdings.
"I'll take a look at him later. After I've spoken with Rodolphus and Rookwood and taken care of some things at his manor. There are certain items and experiments in his keeping there that must not be left unattended." Sirius' ears perked up at the mention of items not to be left unattended.
"Yes, my Lord."
"If he fails to awaken or dies, keep it quiet. I don't want to deal with the fight over his estate right now."
"Yes, my Lord."
To Sirius' surprise, the Averys received new summons to work for the obliviators on Thursday. They had only just been released from the mass obliviations for the Inferi in London the previous evening.
"Did you do something while we were out, Sirius?" Richard asked whilst hopping around trying to tug his right shoe onto his left foot.
"No."
"Strange. It's not the full moon, is it?"
"No."
"Maybe it's just a dragon. Something ordinary," Elaine said tiredly. She had been up half the night drafting pamphlets and letters to the editor for the Daily Prophet on Voldemort's behalf.
"Hopefully," Sirius agreed.
"Keep an eye on Dad, won't you?"
"I will." He cast a glance back towards Winston, still busily composing his eulogy for Evan Rosier. The thing already filled six rolls of parchment, and Sirius was certain no one would permit Winston to read it at the funeral, but it was at least keeping him occupied.
As soon as the Averys had apparated away, Sirius walked out into the garden. Once he had crossed sufficient hedges to be out of sight of the house he pulled out his watch. He was both relieved to see Portrait Moody waiting for him, and disturbed because he knew it would be bad news. "Please tell me a dragon flew over Kent or something?"
Moody shook his head. "You-Know-Who burned down the entire town of Little Hangleton."
Ah. The place where horcrux number two had been before Moody and Dumbledore destroyed it. "So he knows someone is after them. Any evidence he knows who?"
"Maybe. From the sound of it, he killed every muggle he came into direct contact with in the village, and at least two of the dead were train station employees who might remember seeing myself if he thought to look for that."
"Well... that confirms my suspicion that the 'important item at Lord Nott's manor' the Dark Lord decided to check on yesterday was a horcrux."
The portrait swore. "Do you think it's still there?"
Sirius shook his head. "At the manor? Unlikely. I'm betting he decided to move it to store with the other one temporarily in case Nott ends up dying, and that's how he discovered what happened."
"Damn."
"Hey, maybe they'll be easier to find if he decides to move them. Or maybe he'll straight up give one to me to guard. Wouldn't that be funny?"
"Keep your head, kid. It's not a joking matter."
"Easier said than done. He's going to be so violent the next meeting. I'm entitled to my gallows humor. And before you ask, no, I don't want out."
The portrait shook its head. "You might be the bravest Gryffindor since Godric himself."
"No, just the one with the worst sense of self-preservation. Any other news?"
"No. We're still leaving Rookwood alone, and Albus is waiting to see what You-Know-Who's final plans are before he does anything to modify the protections on the Hogwarts passages."
He nodded. "How are James and Euphemia?"
"Coping, I suppose." The portrait shrugged. "There's no reason for me to spend much time there."
"Give them my love."
"You know I can't do that," the portrait pointed out with a raised eyebrow.
"I know." Sirius smiled sadly and closed the watch again. He resumed his walk around the Averys' garden. He had initially been scheduled to work with Audrey on her dueling skills this afternoon, but he was sure she and Gloriana had received the same summons as Richard. He turned left into the little hedge maze and started running through the standard Occlumency exercises. He would enjoy this moment of peace while it lasted. Maybe he'd even sneak a visit to Narcissa and Lyra, while he could. Voldemort would be burning his arm and scouring his mind again soon enough, he was sure.
Author's note: Poor Voldie. Turns out resisting the Imperius does not make minions otherwise particularly helpful for strategic planning. Dolohov's the most useful one, but he's so depressingly foreign... Thus the strategy of "protect Rodolphus Lestrange from being suborned at all costs so there is still someone sane, trustworthy, and native to talk to." Anyway, another exposition-heavy chapter, but things should get interesting again very soon now that Voldie knows that someone knows :)
And thanks for the reviews, much appreciated. Still aiming for Saturday updates, but may end up being the week after next. We'll see how inspired I get in between the actual work I'm supposed to be doing...
