Part Two: Sacrifices

A week previously

Malfoy Manor

Wiltshire:

Lucius slammed his hand down so hard upon the table that his goblet of wine toppled over and spilled onto the dining room floor.  "I will not tolerate this constant failure, blast and damn it! How hard can it be to find two bloody wizards?"

Bellatrix smirked, eyeing her brother-in-law with unconcealed glee. "Something wrong, brother-in-law? Did your werewolf pet fail you again, I presume?"

Lucius shot her a withering glare before snapping his fingers and summoning his house elf. "Clean that up!"

"At once, Master." Skippy said and clapped his hands.  The spilled wine and dented goblet vanished and the elf presented his master with a fresh glass of wine.

Lucius took it and waved the creature away. Skippy vanished with soft ‘pop'.

"What has gotten you in such a temper, darling?" asked Narcissa.

Lucius took a deep calming breath and picked up a caviar canapé.  He knew he should not allow his temper to get the best of him, it was bad for the digestion. "Greyback, the imbecile! I send him hunting Snape and Potter, the thing which he claims he does best, being what he is, and he still hasn't managed to lay hands on them. Now he claims they have . . .vanished without a trace! It is positively maddening."

Bellatrix licked her oyster spoon and gave him a tiny malicious smile. "Maybe when he returns . . .you could skin him and make a rug out of him, eh, Malfoy? Then, whenever you got the urge to stomp something, there he'd be."

"Your idea has merit . . .for once," Lucius said grudgingly.  "But I need him for now.  We are not so numerous that I can afford to kill off one of number. But maybe I shall indulge myself with a few rounds of the Cruciatus Curse after our master is restored."

Bellatrix paused in mid-bite, the canapé forgotten in her hand.  She leaned forward, her eyes glittering maniacally. "The Master!" she hissed, making it sound like an endearment. "Yes, let us speak of his return.  How long before we can perform the ceremony?"

"A while," Lucius said casually.  "You know we need more sacrifices and magic to draw upon. That lickspittle Pettigrew is not enough. He is weak and in order to give our master a strong viable body we need someone his equal in magic."

"And where can we find someone?" asked his wife, sipping her mushroom consommé.  "Snape and Potter were close to his strength, but they are missing."

"Someone is right here, Cissy, one who claims he is the only wizard the Dark One ever feared."

"Dumbledore!" the two sisters cried in practically one breath.

"Yes.  The old phoenix himself," Lucius chuckled mirthlessly.

Bellatrix began to laugh.

"Something amuses you, sister-in-law?"

She dabbed her face with a delicate lace dinner cloth, small giggles still escaping her. Her bosom heaved with the force of her mirth. "You do, brother dear. Just how do you propose to get the old fool to agree to the ceremony? Invite him for tea?"

"Perhaps."

Her eyes narrowed and she twirled one long curl about her finger. "What are you up to, Lucius? Losing your eye hasn't made you lose your edge . . .has it?"

"On the contrary, Bella," her sister cut in.  "Lucius is as sharp as ever."

"Thank you, Cissy." Lucius patted her arm tenderly. "Sorry to disappoint you, Bella, but I am not going mad yet."

"No? You certainly sound it, trying to go after Dumbledore. He could incinerate you with a flick of his finger-poof!" She snapped her fingers and snickered. "How do you plan to hold him, Lucius?"

"By making him an offer he can't refuse, sister dear."

Lucius smiled.

Bellatrix shivered, for his smile made a shark look innocent.

"And what offer is that?"

"The lives of his precious students, of course."

Bella licked her lips.  "Tell me more."

* * * * * *

Two days later:

Susan Bones had finished filing the papers upon her aunt's desk, all of the cases that had been finished or counted as incomplete.  It had taken the better part of an hour to file all of it, since she had to do it non-magically, but the task was complete and now she was free to take a walk before going home. She had eaten a light dinner of sandwiches just before finishing up, so she wasn't hungry. She tucked a strand of her relentlessly curly strawberry blond hair, she had decided not to braid it today, behind her ear and called out to Amelia, who was in the other part of her office reading the daily reports, "I'm going for a walk, Aunt Amelia. I'll be back in twenty minutes."

"All right, dear.  Enjoy yourself.  Is the filing done?"

"Yes, Aunt Amelia." Susan called over her shoulder.  Then she was gone out the door.

It was warm out, so she removed her light windbreaker and tied it about her waist. Underneath she was wearing a sleeveless turquoise cami and denim shorts, she looked no different than a dozen other sixteen-year-olds her age.  Except that she carried a Ministry pass in her pocket as well as her wand.  Ever since she had learned from gossip in her aunt's office that known Death Eaters were still at large, she refused to stop carrying her wand.  Her grandmother and uncle had been killed by Death Eaters and she knew because of her job, her aunt was also a target. And so, by extension was she.

The Ministry of Magic was right in the center of downtown London, not a very promising area to be walking, but Susan couldn't stand being inside any longer and even walking down the dingy street was better than staying indoors.  She rode up the lift and stepped out of the red phone booth nonchalantly.

Hardly anyone was about, the heat was stifling in mid July.  Susan walked confidently down the pavement, looking into the store fronts casually, pretending to browse.  Her hand rested lightly on her wand as she walked.

She had just walked past the local pub, a fish and chips stand, and a sixpence store when she felt eyes upon her. She spun and half-drew her wand.

Only to find there was no one there.

Cripes, I have to stop jumping at shadows! She scolded herself. She forced herself to relax and shoved her wand back into the pocket of her jacket. Then she turned around and kept walking.  It was nice to be out in the fresh air and sunshine, even if the heat was sweltering and the only people she passed were a drunk snoring against the side of a building and a tall man wearing a broad-brimmed hat.

She paused to wipe the sweat from her brow and shove her hair back again when the Stunning Hex hit her.  Before she could hit the pavement, however, the man in the hat moved and lifted her up into his arms. "Sweet dreams, child," he whispered, his ice-blue eyes glinting in triumph.

An instant later he was gone and there were no witnesses to the kidnapping of Susan Bones.

* * * * * *

Edgecomb residence

Clancy Street, London:

"How long do you think it'll take your mum to return from that restaurant, Marietta?" Vince asked, teasingly running his hand up her back. She was curled close to him on the sofa in front of the fireplace, where a portrait of Marietta's father hung. The wizard was snoozing, however, and so took no notice of what was going on between the two teenagers.

Marietta lived in a comfortable flat in wizarding London, and she and Vince were relaxing after a long day of exploring various shops and eateries, taking tour buses through the major attractions in London, like Big Ben and the Tower of London, as well as the Ministry of Magic. They had run into a classmate of theirs, Susan Bones, while touring the Auror Department, she had been helping her aunt out with a backlog of old case files.  They had chatted a bit until Marietta's mother, Elise, had gotten off of work in the Floo Department and said they should go home for supper.

Elise had volunteered to go and get dinner from Chang's Authentic Chinese Cuisine, which was an excellent Chinese restaurant a few blocks from her flat.  Vince and Marietta had stayed at home, saying they were tired, which was true, but they were tired of being monitored by adults.

Now that they were alone, they decided to take full advantage and indulge in some snogging, among other things. So Vince looked questioningly at his girlfriend and asked when her mum would be home.

Marietta shrugged. "She'll probably be home in about half-an-hour. She likes to talk with the owner, Rosetta Chang. She's Cho's mum, in case you didn't know."

"Really? Uh . . .that's cool," Vince said, but he was more interested in getting closer to Marietta than hearing about her friend's mum. He gently put her arm about her, and when she didn't shrug it off, hugged her close.

The light blue and green patterned sofa was very comfortable, and a small rock fountain was tinkling in the background on a side table.  Tall glasses of iced pumpkin juice rested in front of them on a tray upon a low table of teakwood, a gift from Cho's mother to Elise one Christmas. The sitting room was papered in tasteful cream wallpaper with blue birds and white roses upon it and frilly curtains on the windows.  It was quite obviously a woman's room and at first Vince had felt uncomfortable in it.  He wasn't used to such delicate looking furniture and was afraid he might trip and break something with his big clumsy feet.

Only now, sitting on the sofa, his arm about Marietta, did he feel comfortable. He fingered his silver crossbow amulet his da had made for him and leaned in closer, whispering, "I really liked our walk about London, Marietta, but you know the part I really liked?"

"What?" she had turned to face him, her pert mouth inches from his own.

"You," he said and then he captured her mouth, kissing her long and deep.

Marietta relaxed into his embrace with a sigh.

They heard the Floo flare and jumped apart guiltily, expecting to see Elise Edgecombe frowning down on them.

What they saw instead were two people in the black robes and terrifying silver masks of Death Eaters.

Marietta screamed. "Get out of my home, you freaks!" She reached for her wand, only to have it blown out of her hand by a quick Disarming Charm. "Run, Vince! Call the Aurors!"

"Incarcerus!" shouted the smaller of the two, and ropes shot out and wound about Marietta's slender form, holding her fast. She was still swearing when they stole her voice with a Silencing Charm.

It took a few minutes more to subdue Vince, who managed to block most of the standard hexes the taller masked figure threw at him, but eventually he too succumbed to a cloud of Somnolent Solution, when the Death Eater removed the stopper from a gaseous elixir and tossed it at his feet.

It was a powerful sleeping gas used by Aurors to control crowds in a state of panic and Vince was knocked out in two seconds.

"Little bastard!" hissed the tall Death Eater, kicking the prostrate form.  "Blood traitor whelp!"

"Stop it, Bella! We need him undamaged for the rite, remember?"

Bellatrix spat, then chanted another Restraining Charm and levitated Vince and Marietta through the Floo.

Narcissa made certain that everything was in order before following her sister, leaving no traces of their presence for Aurors to trace.

* * * * * *

That same night:

Hermione remained blissfully unaware of the kidnappings of her fellow students, situated as she was in her home in the Muggle town of Atherby, near Somerset. She had just finished brushing her teeth and combing her hair, and was curled up on her bed in her pink pajamas, reading a new Arithmancy book she had just purchased two days before at Diagon Alley.  Flourish and Blotts had delivered it to her by express owl post this morning as they had not had the book in stock in the store and had to special order it.

She lay on her stomach on her quilt, which had been made for her by her grandmother, it was a Starred Beauty pattern, done in rose and gold tones with a white border to match the colors of her room. She also had a matching throw pillow.

Her walls were a pale rose covered with star charts and a calendar and pictures of a few Muggle teen heartthrobs, as well as a corkboard with notes posted all over it for future projects. Her furniture was white oak, handcarved and old, it had been her maternal grandmother's and willed to her granddaughter when she passed away.  There was a nightstand, long dresser, and a small vanity which barely had any make-up on it. A Gryffindor banner was pinned above it and Hermione's school trunk was set next to a desk crammed full of papers and notebooks, her summer study projects.  A bookshelf built into the wall across from her bed was full of books of all kinds, neatly shelved and alphabetized.

Fuzzy pink slippers peeked out from beneath her bed and she gently placed an old much-loved floppy-ear stuffed dog on her pillow. Crookshanks was napping on the bed beside her.

The window next to her bed was half open, it was beastly hot even at night and  she welcomed any stray hint of a breeze.

"Listen to this, Crooks," she turned the page and began to read aloud to the part-kneazle.  "The number nine is thought to be the most powerful number in numerology, since it is three times three, a triple trinity . . ."

"How very interesting," said a smooth deep voice.

Hermione jerked up and the book went flying as she saw a silver mask at her window. "W-What . . .? Oh blessed God, a Death Eater!"

"Indeed." There was amusement in the other's tone. "They say you're a smart witch, so save yourself the trouble and don't struggle."

Crookshanks awoke and hissed, all the fur upon his back standing on end.

The Death Eater started to climb in through the window.

Hermione scrambled off the bed, her hands held before her in a defensive gesture. "Please, don't hurt my parents!" she cried. Then she cast a Repelling Charm.

But the Death Eater blocked it.  "Not bad, girl.  But not good enough! Petrificus Totalus!"

Hermione tried to block the spell, but she was not trained in wandless magic and she felt it take hold, her whole body going stiff and numb. She didn't even feel it when she hit the floor.

The Death Eater smiled behind the mask and stepped forward to pick up the paralyzed witch when he felt a furry whirlwind land upon his shoulders. 

Hissing and growling, Crookshanks attacked, trying to defend his helpless mistress.

The Death Eater yelped and jumped, but at last managed to seize the gallant cat by the scruff and toss him hard against the opposite wall. "Take that, you furry menace!" He growled, rubbing his shoulders, where blood welled through his black robes from four sets of clawed paws.

Crookshanks slid down the wall to lie in a furred heap upon the floor.

The Death Eater pointed his wand at the unmoving animal, debating whether to kill it or not, then he shook his head.  Killing the cat would only leave traces and that was not what he wanted.  He lifted the girl in his arms, placing her over his shoulder, wincing as he did so.

"Bloody cat! Should have drowned you at birth!"

Then he carefully expunged any traces of his magical signature with a swiftly chanted Erase Aura charm and climbed back out the window and onto his broom. Mission accomplished.

Once we have incarcerated them in the catacombs beneath Hogwarts, then I shall send the ransom note to the old fox in the office and see if his bleeding heart will shed more blood for the students he professes to protect. Blood and magic enough to resurrect my lord from the ether and bring him back from the Void.  He inhaled sharply of the night air and chuckled.  Ah, the sweet smell of success! Now perhaps those fools in the Ministry will realize we are not to be taken lightly, simply because the Dark Lord is gone.  Four children stolen away, three from prominent Ministry officials, their wards useless against us.  At long last, vengeance shall be mine, and once again the world shall tremble at the name of Lord Voldemort.