Chapter 20. Piecing together the past

Voldemort lay motionless in his chair, his snake-like eyes fixed on a single point visible only to him. No one could tell where she was lying, only that the chair stood against the wall near the fireplace, and the Dark Lord's head was turned towards the window. Voldemort hadn't uttered a word during the agonizing wait, and when the maimed Tail entered the room, he didn't even acknowledge his presence. His body appeared lifeless, with the flickering reflection of the fireplace flames in his eyes, and a scar from a sword visible on his open chest. Several minutes, or perhaps more, passed while he remained in that position, and all this time Tail stared at his master in unabashed horror.

"My lord," Tail crawled towards the chair and hesitantly addressed him. "My lord, I've brought..."

Voldemort didn't move or even twitch a muscle on his face in response. He continued to gaze intently into the distance beyond the broken window.

"You're not listening to me, are you?" Tail finally gave up and collapsed onto the floor.

For another minute, he thrashed about on the floor beside the chair, gradually moving closer to his lord, when Voldemort finally raised an eyebrow and whispered through his motionless lips:

"I was defeated by a girl..."

Voldemort sat up in the chair, his face contorted into a twisted smile.

"Can you believe it, Tail? I was defeated by some girl!"

"My lord, you're too hard on yourself..." Tail muttered. "Perhaps you needed to regain your strength after returning..."

"You know, Tail, there's nothing better than self-criticism... Have you ever heard of it? Of course not. Come on, Tail, laugh with me at my failure..."

Voldemort stood up from the chair and lowered himself to be face to face with Tail, painting a smile on his face and laughing.

"Come on, where's your smile, Tail?"

But Tail couldn't bring himself to do it.

"Come on, Tail! Let's laugh together at my failure..."

With great effort, Tail forced himself to smile, looking straight into the Dark Lord's eyes. It was a mistake.

"...and let's forget about it forever!" Voldemort exclaimed. "Crucio!"

Tail's cries of pain and Voldemort's laughter filled the empty space. After savoring his suffering, Voldemort lowered his wand. The smile instantly vanished from his face. Paying no attention to the whimpering and wheezing Tail writhing in pain on the floor, Voldemort approached the window and looked at the night sky.

"We'll forget about it forever when I reduce her to dust."

"I've brought... I've brought... news... my lord!" Tail finally managed to utter through his wheezing.

But Voldemort completely ignored him, completely absorbed in his own thoughts. His mind was buzzing with ideas, and the mysterious inner genius of the darkest wizard in history gave birth to plan after plan. He stood in front of the window for about a minute before a knock sounded on the door. Voldemort remained rooted to the spot, and only after a short while whispered:

"Tail, come on, open the door, don't be so inhospitable."

Catching his breath, Tail crawled towards the door. It opened, revealing Snape standing on the threshold. Glancing at Tail with disgust, he quietly asked:

"May I come in, my esteemed lord?"

"Ah, it's you, Severus!" Voldemort replied, without changing his position or expression on his face. "Come in."

Snape entered the room, without looking he stepped over the sprawled tail on the floor and stopped at a respectful distance from Voldemort.

"Well, what brings you here, Severus?"

"Allow me to report, my lord. I bring you some news that will make it easier for you to destroy Harry Potter..."

Voldemort turned on his heels in one swift motion and gave Snape a withering look. Snape responded with the most impassive expression on the planet.

"Potter can wait," said Voldemort. "Right now, I am most interested in that girl d'Arc."

"Jeanne d'Arc is an ordinary student from Gryffindor at Hogwarts, with outstanding grades in many subjects, and she completely ignores the existence of discipline, regularly breaking school rules, and by some Merlin's way, she ended up on the Triwizard Tournament champion's list."

"Enough of that, Severus," Voldemort said coldly. "When we met, I saw many interesting memories in her mind. Medieval France, the trial of the great Jeanne d'Arc, the national heroine of France, who spoke to voices of saints, her battles, and her burning at the stake."

"My lord, I cannot know what goes on in the mind of every student at Hogwarts, but I can bet on her rich imagination. After all, it was in her notebooks that I sometimes read remarkable compositions, sometimes tinged with vulgarity, which embarrassed me in the middle of the lesson. And as if that wasn't enough, she sometimes drew paintings worthy of the hands of the most skilled masters, depicting strong young men in armor and on horses."

Voldemort paused for a moment.

"Really?"

He glanced at Snape with disappointment in himself and immediately boiled with anger.

"What do we know about this cursed girl? Her origin, house, favorite places?"

"All we know is that she arrived in England last summer from France and immediately enrolled in the fourth year. My people tried to track her after she returned to London, but her traces were lost soon after the train station, and her current whereabouts are unknown."

"Is that so? She couldn't have vanished into thin air!"

Voldemort blazed with anger.

"Find me this cursed girl and bring her to me. I want to kill her personally."

"But, my lord, what about Potter then?"

"I want Potter to be brought her head, Severus. Let him know what happens to those who challenge Lord Voldemort."