The First Chess Match: Birth of the Death Eaters

"Chapter Four: New Forms of Torture"

Professor Minerva McGonagall was looking forward to finally getting a good night's sleep. She had spent Monday night tutoring Meena Gupta for her O.W.L.'s, used Tuesday night to compose new study schedules for her fourth and sixth year students, and had been up until 2 a.m. the night before grading exam papers and essays for all her Transfiguration classes. Besides all that, she could finally rest that night knowing that for the first school night since February, neither James Potter nor Sirius Black were serving a detention. Relaxed and ready for sleep, McGonagall sat awake in her bed, reading a book and enjoying the silence.

A loud knock suddenly shook through the room. Professor McGonagall huffed in vexation as she got out of bed and headed to the door. She opened it to find Filch and his cat in the darkness of the hallway.

"What is the meaning of this, Argus? It's well past midnight. You know better than to disturb me after hours."

Filch gave her an evil smile. "Begging your pardon, Professor. I just thought you'd like to know that I found four Gryffindors out of bed past curfew-and one of 'ems a prefect!"

As she opened the door more to illuminate the hallway, McGonagall saw the faces of her four biggest problems as Head of Gryffindor House: Potter, Black, Lupin, and Pettigrew.

As if he knew exactly how to push her buttons more, Sirius jovially chirped up and said, "Oh, what a lovely dressing gown, Professor McGonagall! You should wear pink paisley more often. Makes you look dead sexy. Right, James?"

"Definitely. I'm sure if you wore more things like that around Hogwarts more students would pay attention during Transfiguration."

"Would you please desist from speaking! You are already in dangerous territory," shouted McGonagall.

James only shrugged. "Since when are we not in dangerous grounds?"

"Territory, James..." Remus said, shaking his head as he corrected his friend. "She said territory. 'In dangerous grounds' doesn't make any sense. It's grammatically incorrect."

Sirius laughed. "It's all the same, isn't it?"

"Yes, you're still in deep trouble," Filch finally said, interrupting the boys' cozy conversation.

"So, what will be this time, Professor? Detentions or chores?" asked Sirius in a bored tone that denoted a lack of both fear and respect.

Suddenly all eyes were on the professor. Everyone was awaiting her judgement, and she assumed by their grins that the boys were expecting another simple detention or three. It was this cavalier attitude towards punishment that kept the boys eager and willing to break the rules. She knew that in order to make an impression of any kind, she would have to finally buckle down and invent a new form of punishment. She needed to impress upon them the importance of their studies and the rules. She also needed to punish them in such a way that the rest of the students couldn't see them as martyrs to the cause of mischief-making. A dark idea flitted into her mind. It was too harsh...but no, that's what these boys need!

"Since it would appear that none of my prior attempts at disciplining you boys have curbed your desire to become immature delinquents," she austerely began, if only to be swiftly interrupted by the unstoppable comedy team of Black and Potter.

"Ooo...hear that mates? We're 'immature delinquents' now." Black asked Potter, "That's a step up for us, right?"

Potter bit his tongue as though he was searching his memory for some deep buried fact. "Yeah...I think you're right, Sirius. Last time she called us 'amoral rabble-rousers.'"

"Nah, then it's a step down, really. 'Amoral rabble-rousers' could be used to denote irksomely clever revolutionaries, and there's something noble about that, really."

"Right."

"Really, James, I was thinking a step up from further back. You know...the classic McGonagall put-down of 1973..."

All the boys now smiled as if remembering an inside joke. James replied, "Oh, yes! When she said that put together, we were 'the intellectual equivalent of a retarded cave troll.'"

"I never said that! I said that 'your actions suggested the intellectual equivalent of a retarded cave troll.'" McGonagall cried in defense of herself.

"It's all the same, isn't it?" Sirius said, wittily repeating himself from earlier. In a fit of frustration, she finally venomously spit out their punishment. "Until O.W.L.'s are over, none of you is to partake in any extra-curricular activities, school-endorsed or self-motivated. You will each report to a private and silent study hall to be overseen by me in the hours following dinner and before bed. The next time you are caught breaking the rules...you will be facing suspension or even expulsion."

The four boys were stunned. Lupin looked confused, Sirius aghast, and James' mouth gaped wide open. Peter was just delightfully surprised to escape the death penalty. Apparently, he was the only one of the four not able to comprehend the ramifications of McGonagall's sentencing.

"But...Professor..." Lupin politely began, only to be interrupted by a desperate James.

"The Quidditch Final is in a matter of weeks! You can't possibly expect Sirius and I to not show for practices!"

Sirius vehemently supported James' case. "If you go through with this, Professor, you won't just be punishing us, but all of Gryffindor."

"Professor McGonagall, please reconsider. Can't you just take points away?" Lupin asked.

James cleverly added, "But only just enough so that Sirius and I can still get Gryffindor the House Cup by winning the Quidditch Final?"

McGonagall responded, "I'm not punishing Gryffindor; you are. You're blatant and repeated disrespect for the rules is also disrespect for your fellow classmates. What's worse, is that in some twisted way, until now, your classmates have worshiped you for your foolish behavior. No more. No more, boys. That is my final word. I'll see you tomorrow directly after dinner in my classroom. Bring plenty of work to do and be prepared to be as silent as the grave. None of you will sit together, and if I catch one sniff of mischief making, maybe I will let Filch take you down to the dungeons. Now, before you tempt my anger even more, go to bed!"

********

When Lily Evans came downstairs from her dormitory and into the Gryffindor common room, she was astounded to see half the furniture overturned, books lying all over the place and the entire Gryffindor Quidditch team in the midst of a heated meeting. Potter and Black were standing next to one another, seemingly trying to defend themselves against the rest of the team, which was gathered around the one couch left standing. Quickly Lily noticed the palpable amounts of tension radiating from the group. The team's captain, the well-liked and good-looking Frank Longbottom, was seated on the couch, looking none too happy with whatever the two boys in front of him were saying. Frank's best friend, Gideon Prewett, stood behind the couch with his arms crossed and body taut and ready for action. Fabian, Gideon's twin brother and fellow Chaser, sat on one of the arms of the couch and actually looked up when Lily came in and greeted her with a smile. She was happy to know that Fabian, for whom she harbored a small crush, was pleased to see her, but she also could tell that he was upset, and even slightly embarrassed to be seen in such an unpleasant situation. Orion Covington, who was usually seen laughing and skipping around Hogwarts in boyish abandon, was pacing by the fireplace and shooting the occasional nasty look at Black and Potter. Besides Fabian, only Alice Shepherd, a sweet, tomboyish sixth year and the team's seeker, seemed to notice Lily's arrival. She left the bickering group of boys to themselves and quickly joined the puzzled and worried Lily.

"What happened, Alice? What's going on?" Lily quickly asked.

Alice ran her hand through her brown hair and sighed. "Potter and Black got into some big trouble last night, and McGonagall has punished them--and all of us--by not allowing them to partake in practices until O.W.L.'s are over."

"Oh boy, what did they do now? Have they committed murder yet, or did they only burn down the Shrieking Shack?"

Alice shook her head, "That's the weirdest part about it, Lils. All they did was get caught out of bed. I mean, they've done tons worse and McGonagall's punished them much less harshly."

"Is it really that bad? I mean, you didn't say they couldn't be in the final. If it's only just practices...it's not so terrible, is it?" Lily asked this with true sympathy in her tone. As much as she didn't like Black or Potter, she had always gotten along well with Alice and the other members of the team. Even if she did believe Potter and Black had finally gotten what they deserved, she didn't want to see everyone else suffer for their idiocy.

"Lily! She's punishing all of us for something that they've done! Slytherin's got a new seeker this year: Cressida King. She may look sweet and little, but she's bloody quick and ruthless on a broomstick. I'd like to say I'm not afraid, but I am. There's an excellent chance she'll get the Snitch before I even see it! We need Potter and Black, and the whole team for that matter, on the top of their game. There's no way we can afford to face Slytherin otherwise."

"Point taken, I suppose. But, Alice, what on earth happened to the common room?"

Alice blushed and looked down before replying. "When Frank found out what had happened he went ballistic. I've never seen him so angry before...hell, I've never seen him all that angry. He really took it badly and as you can see..." Alice motioned reluctantly at the mess in the common room. Frank and Alice had started dating in the winter and they were a notably sweet couple. Frank was popular, clever, handsome and well-liked, and rather than date one of the vapid girls in his year who frequently threw herself on any Quidditch star, he had fallen for the bashful Alice. Though she was kind and on the Quidditch team, Alice wasn't considered one of the prettiest or most popular girls at Hogwarts. Their relationship, and the honest amounts of love shown by both, had made them one of the most well liked couples in Gryffindor.

As she pondered how the usually mild and laid back Frank could have possibly created the mess before her, Lily was distracted by the loud and incensed voice of Frank himself. "I can't believe the two of you arrogant little berks! My God! With the Quidditch Final in less than two weeks...we need to work as hard as possible if we're going to beat Slytherin this year! And you two...just flouted the rules and have ruined it for all of us!"

"Calm down, Longbottom, it's not like it's our fault McGonagall completely over-reacted," said Sirius. Lily shook her head. It was typical of Sirius Black to defend himself even when he was clearly wrong, just as it was typical of James Potter to follow suit.

"Besides," James added, "Even if we can't practice for a few weeks, we still have a much stronger team than Slytherin. It's in the bag."

"That's not the point!" cried a frustrated Orion Covington.

Sirius asked, "Then what is?"

Gideon Prewett answered, "Your little shenanigans have hurt the team. You might think it's fun to break the rules and do as you please because you're James Potter and Sirius Black, but you're a part of a team, you're a part of Gryffindor, and you have a responsibility to not let either group down."

"If you're questioning our loyalty, I don't see the point. You all know we'd do anything for you guys. We'd do anything for the team...anything for Gryffindor," said James.

Fabian, clearly not as eager as the rest to continue arguing, now said, "James, we're not questioning your loyalty. It's just...sometimes you break the rules."

"Sometimes?" cried Frank. "They break the rules all the time."

Fabian continued, "And maybe you two don't mind accepting the consequences, and maybe Remus and Pettigrew don't either, but the rest of the House does. For Merlin's sake, the team does!"

"I'm tired of this conversation...this really shouldn't be happening. I thought more of both of you than to expect you'd let your pranks escalate into this," said Frank sadly and with the tone of a disappointed father.

Sirius replied, "But Frank, it's not our fault! McGonagall's punishment was way out of line."

"And we weren't pulling some prank, we were just--"

"Breaking the rules?" Lily interrupted James' reply. "Like you always do?"

James quickly ran his hand through his hair in a nervous response, while Sirius rolled his eyes at Lily's comment. "No one asked you for your input, Evans," Sirius said. "Besides, this is a Quidditch team meeting--players only."

Lily quickly countered. "That's interesting because you're talking loud enough for the entire school to hear."

Sirius was about to say something sharply in reply, but James suddenly stopped him. "Look, maybe Evans has a point. Maybe we should walk away from this discussion, calm down, and come back to it later, after we've had a chance to think about all sides."

Lily couldn't suppress a snicker. She couldn't believe such high, moralizing language was coming from the mouth of egotistical and rabble-rousing James Potter. "Something funny, Evans?" Sirius asked hotly.

"No, nothing." She quickly shook her head.

The ever placating Alice rushed to Frank and said, "C'mon Frankie, let's go to breakfast. I think James is right. Let's calm down, and think about things. Then, we'll come back to this conversation and we'll try to find some sort of solution."

Frank nodded and followed his girlfriend out of the common room, holding her hand tenderly and bowing his head down in discontentment. The Prewett boys followed them, but Orion stayed in the room, paring Potter and Black down with his dark eyes. When he began to speak there was an edge to his voice so sharp it could have killed. "All I can say to you guys is that you screwed up royally, and now the team might suffer for it. I think Frank said it best when he said that he expected better of you. Just try to be your best on game day, and stay out Frank's way until he's calmed down. I think he has every right to punch both of you to the ground, but he's a good guy, so he won't. You're lucky Frank's captain, and not me, because I'm not sure I'm as nice as him. See you later, chaps." Orion then nodded to Lily who was still watching everything, "Good bye, Lily. I'll make sure Frank remembers to clean all this up. Neither you nor any of the other prefects deserves the chore."

"Thank you, 'Rion," Lily replied in a small voice. She felt as though what Orion Covington had just said was not something she should have overheard. She noticed that for once James and Sirius looked ashamed at themselves. James was looking at her in embarrassment, trying desperately to avoid eye contact. Sirius, though, made broad strides toward the exiting Orion, trying to make amends.

"Orion! Wait!" he called. "I need to talk to you."

Orion paused, and turned, "I'd like to, but I don't have the time. Professor Dumbledore asked to see me about something and I don't want to be late. Maybe we'll talk later. I don't know."

With that, Orion left the common room, leaving Lily feeling awkward, alone with Potter, Black and the disheveled room. Suddenly Black spoke, and not to Potter, but to her, "Well, I suppose that makes you happy."

"Excuse me?" Lily said, unsure of why he was launching an attack on her.

Black replied, "Well, weren't you just saying the other night that James and me need to stop being nuisances and start taking our studies more seriously?"

Lily blustered. The truth was she couldn't quite remember what she had said to the boys, but she was certain those weren't the words she used. Then again, she couldn't deny to herself that was what she wished Potter and Black would do.

Almost reading her mind, Black said, "Well, Prefect Evans, I suppose you get your wish. McGonagall wants us to study, so we're going to study. What do you think about that?"

"Sirius, she has nothing to do with this," protested James.

"I'm not so sure about that, James," he continued. It looked as though Sirius had just realized something, and Lily was afraid to find out what it was. "I think 'Little Miss Prefect Princess' here did go to McGonagall and complain."

Lily cried, "No, I didn't." She felt trapped. Not only was she being verbally assaulted by Black, but there was also the threat of being hexed or cursed by the boys. Potter was known to hex first years for merely 'the fun of it', as he had once confessed, and Black was equally as skilled with hexes and was so angry right now, Lily couldn't doubt that she was in danger.

Sirius said, "Maybe you didn't do that, but I'll bet it was you who told Filch where we'd be last night. I bet you were eavesdropping the whole time you were in Potions class, just waiting to catch wind of something to condemn us for."

"No! I wasn't!"

James yelled. "Sirius! Stop!"

Sirius turned around to face his best friend. "Don't be blind, James!"

"Yeah, well, you're being deaf," said James. "Evans just said it wasn't her. I don't know about you, but I'm willing to believe her. Besides, remember what Filch said last night? We were right where 'he said we'd be!'" It wasn't Evans. Think who else could have--and would have--overheard us...Snivellus."

Sirius paused, turned around again, and asked Lily, "Did you do it, or not? I promise I'll believe your answer...so please tell the truth."

She replied, "I didn't go to Filch or McGongall, nor did I overhear "your plans" during Potions. I was too frantic trying to remember the Strengthening Solution to even care what you and your fan club were talking about."

James laughed. "Shut up," Lily said, but he didn't.

"Here that? She thinks we have a fan club. Maybe you want to join?" James asked, his face once again alight with mischief and joy.

Without bothering to hear if Sirius would make some quip in response, Lily moaned and ran towards the portrait hole. She had already endured enough torture for one morning.

*********

Question no. 83: Explain the difference between nightshade and wolfsbane, taking into consideration each plant's physical appearance, natural habitat, magical properties and usefulness in the potions lab. Lyra winced as she came upon yet another question on Snape's practice exam that left her feeling both hopeless and befuddled.

"Severus," she politely asked. "Aren't nightshade and wolfsbane the same thing?"

He quickly snatched his glance from his book and looked at her in annoyance. "Quiet, Covington. This is a practice exam for your O.W.L.'s. I'm not allowed to answer any questions."

"But..."

"Shh...silence is golden," Snape replied. He then returned to his reading, a thickly bound and ancient looking volume entitled The Darke Artes of Briton, leaving Lyra feeling even more confused and much more frustrated. They had been studying together for over a week now, and while Severus claimed to have brought Lyra from remedial levels to O.W.L. readiness, she wasn't so convinced. She had learned much, but the more she took Snape's ridiculously difficult and tricky practice exams, the less confident she felt about what she had learned. O.W.L.'s were less than two weeks away and with each moment that dragged by, Lyra's stomach filled with more dread.

"Oy! Severus!" The shout came from across the Slytherin Common Room. Lyra briefly glanced up to see Evan Rosier and Claudius Wilkes come bounding towards the table.

Snape welcomed his friends with a snap. "Can't you two see I'm working here?"

"Forget the dunce for one moment and listen to us!" replied Wilkes. Burying herself into Question no. 84, Lyra attempted to ignore the insult and the duo's arrival.

Snape finally asked, "What?"

Both boys exchanged smirks that smacked of sadistic joy. "There's going to be...a rally."

"A rally?" Lyra asked, utterly confused.

"Quiet, Covington. You're supposed to be studying," said her tutor.

And you're supposed to be helping me, Lyra thought to herself but lacked the courage to say.

Rosier elaborated, "Rudolphus and Vex are organizing it. A bit of a morale booster for the team before the Quidditch Finals."

"And a bit of a party, too." Wilkes clucked.

"Anyway, Rudolphus knows of a hiding spot in the dungeons that we can use. The night before the match, the team..."

"...along with a few of our closest friends, allies and confidants..."

"...is getting together down there to invoke ancient rites of Slytherin to help us in our quest to defeat those slags in Gryffindor."

"What else?" Snape asked, sensing there was more going on behind his friend's looks of intoxicated pleasure. "What else is going on?"

Wilkes grinned and Rosier, snickering, bowed his head. Wilkes replied, "We're going to kidnap a Gryffindor mudblood and tie her up in the dungeon for the night..."

"...she'll be our sacrifice. The Iphigenia to our Trojan War, if you will."

"You're going to kill a little girl?" Lyra cried.

Snape snapped at her. "Shh! Quiet, Lyra! Do you want to get us into trouble?"

"Do you want to get into trouble? I'm all for team spirit, but murdering an eleven year old girl is a bit over the top."

Wilkes moaned. "God, Covington, you're worse than that mudblood St. Evans."

Rosier elaborated. "We're not going to kill the girl."

"Nah, of course not."

"You know, just tie her up and jinx her a bit while we indulge in some of Lestrange's prize Bordeaux."

Snape finally joined the conversation, his voice now oozing with interest. "Bordeaux? Ooo...you didn't mention that. That sounds lovely."

"All apart of the plan, Sev," Rosier said proudly, clapping Snape on the back.

Wilkes said to Lyra, "Look, it's not going to be that bad. I mean, it was your own brother's idea."

"Vexin?"

"Well, yeah, Lestrange just wanted to sneak in some liquor."

"Vexin said we needed a spiritual aspect to our rally. He made a whole speech about it at practice tonight."

Snape asked, "Well, wait...Vexin's a clever guy. How exactly can he imagine you'll actually get away with this? If Dumbledore doesn't expel you, McGonagall will flip...and then you have Potter and Black and their Gryffindor cronies; they're always eager for revenge when something like this happens."

Neither boy had any response. They both guiltily shrugged, and traded turns looking down awkwardly. Rosier finally answered, "Well...we still have a few weeks to plan."

"You're all insane," Lyra bluntly said.

Wilkes shot back. "Well you're mentally incompetent."

"Huh?"

"Why else do you need to be tutored?"

Lyra was about to say something in response when the table was suddenly surrounded by an entire posse of popular Slytherins, including Bellatrix, Rudolphus, Vexin, and Genevieve.

"All right, everyone?" asked Rudolphus.

Rosier, Wilkes, Snape and Lyra all nodded politely as Bella took the reins of the conversation. "So, Lyra, I suppose Evan and Claudie have already spilled the beans on our little shindig already?"

"How many times do I have to tell you...don't call me Claudie! Especially in public!" said an embarrassed Wilkes through gritted teeth. Snape and Rosier were chuckling, while Rudolphus defended his girlfriend.

He leaned into Wilkes and quietly, but threateningly, said, "And how many times must I tell you not to speak back to my girlfriend."

Triumphant, Bella balanced her hand on her hip and smirked. She said to Lyra, "Well, I was going to invite you of course...but you have to study, don't you?"

Snape, who had been cooly assessing the scene until now, suddenly spoke. "Actually, Lyra's made quite a bit of progress. I think she could outscore half of the class now."

"Really?" a surprised Vexin asked. Everyone seemed equally struck with disbelief by Snape's appraisal of his student's performance.

"Yes. You all don't give her enough credit. She'll do quite fine on the O.W.L.'s. Honestly, Bella...it's a stupid excuse to use to slight one of your supposed friends. I would have expected a little more tact from someone of your rank."

Genevieve gasped. All the boys likewise were left stunned. Each of teens at the table now looked at Bellatrix, eagerly awaiting the Queen Bee's reaction to this slight. Only Lyra dared not to look at her friend. She could only look across the table at Severus. She was astonished not by the harshness of his words, but by the bravery it had taken for him to say them. Lyra was jealous of the boy, jealous of the courage and cleverness that he possessed and she had always so obviously lacked.

Bella finally spoke, in a mocking, infant-like tone. "Aw...little Severwus has a crush on Lyra...and what? Do you want to defend her honor or something?"

"I think you've entirely missed the point, Black."

"No...no...I don't think so." Bellatrix was shaking her head and laughing in malicious delight. "It's okay, Snivellus. Only, you don't have to bother. Lyra's used to my little jokes. Besides, she wasn't going to go to the rally anyway."

Lyra finally exclaimed, "Maybe I was!"

From the moment she had heard about the rally, Lyra had thought it sounded like an awful, disgusting and stupid idea. However, something made her speak up and contradict every instinct in her body. Maybe it was Snape's show of courage against the crowd, or perhaps she was tired of Bella thinking she was too weak to become a true pure blood. Nevertheless, she had said it, and now, she couldn't take it back.

Vexin said, "Okay...we'll see you there, little sister. Next Friday...midnight. Bella can show you the way."

Yeah, Lyra thought grimly, show me the way to Hell...

*********

Far away from the commotion and angst of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Charles Stonebridge was nervously watching an old friend pace in front of a roaring fire. As usual, this friend had come uninvited and with some very distressing

plans to discuss. Though Stonebridge was a long supporter of the Knights of Walpurgis, an underground wizards' guild devoted to the preservation of pure blood lines, he had begun to become wary of the politics that the group espoused. Actually, he was wary of this "friend's" influence over those politics. But like Lyra against her more popular schoolmates back at Hogwarts, Stonebridge lacked the courage to openly challenge this more powerful man. Instead, he was obliged to sit and nervously watch as the inevitable chaos that would be the future took its shape.

"So often at the Knights' meetings, Stonebridge, the name of Grindelwald comes up," said the man now standing still, facing the fireplace. "And I am reminded of the effect that name had on me as a boy. The fear, the awe, the power...I can remember it was what inspired me originally to change my own name."

Stonebridge asked, "Is that so?"

However, his question was not answered. "I used to be in complete awe of Grindelwald. Can't you remember it? The shock that one man could dare attempt to reform the entire wizarding world. He led an army against the Ministry, openly killed and tortured muggles, and until Dumbledore finally stopped playing ten-pin bowling and challenged him, he was unopposed. He showed me that magical talent shouldn't exist with limitations. We must seek our own greatness...whatever the challenges...whatever the costs."

"And you have done so, my friend."

He shook his head. "Not yet. Not quite yet. How can I have fulfilled my full potential while the Order of Walpurgis still orders me around with its archaic rulings. I need to take control."

Stonebridge delicately replied, "It is true you are perhaps the most powerful wizard of our day. It is true that you possess the rare gift of parseltongue. It might also be possible that you are indeed the Heir of Salazar Slytherin, but the Elders of the Walpurgis Council know you are a half blood."

"Why should that matter, anyway?"

"Rules are rules, Tom."

He angrily replied, "Don't call me Tom! I am your lord. I am the Dark Lord. I am Lord Voldemort."

"Yes, my lord," said Stonebridge. "But how, in your...er...infinite wisdom do you plan to bypass the ancient laws of the Knights of Walpurgis?"

Lord Voldemort began to pace again. "I will manipulate the desires, fears and passions of the members. I will promise them victory. I will ensure that all mudbloods will go punished."

"But you yourself are a half blood."

"No more...I gave up that heritage when I adopted my new name. You must understand that, Stonebridge," Voldemort said.

Stonebridge said, "Even if I do, what if the Knights of Walpurgis don't? What if they see through your political ploy and call you out?"

"You forget," he replied, "that I am a gifted Legilimens. I will see through their minds and will find the right button to push."

"That still doesn't answer my question, T-my lord," said Stonebridge.

Voldemort smiled. "Well, if politics fails, I might be forced to mold the Knights of Walpurgis into...new life..."

"Do I want to know what exactly you mean by that?" he asked.

"No," replied Voldemort, his smile growing even more evil. "You want to offer me a glass of wine and a warm bed to sleep in."

Stonebridge was forced to comply. He got up from his chair and walked towards the wine cabinet, all the time completely unaware that he was being watched by a woman hiding under an Invisibility Cloak outside the window. Voldemort knew. He could sense with his Legilimency the existence of another potent mind close by. He knew, but only chose not to mention it to Stonebridge. The time could come when this secret could prove vital strategically.

Outside the cottage, as oblivious to Voldemort's plans for using her as Stonebridge was to her existence, Aurelia Covington stood in silent victory. She could write to both Dumbledore and the Ministry that she had located both Stonebridge and Voldemort. In Aurelia's mind, she had quickly stumbled upon a lead of extreme good fortune. If only she knew she had stumbled upon the beginning of something far more sinister than that.