Harry Potter and the Secrets Revealed

Chapter 3

Foote and Chris

Deep within the forests of Scotland there was a large house right in the center of the woods. It was an old and dark house. It had many broken windows and the roof needed repairing. Dead vines covered the ancient stone walls. The back door was hanging off of one hinge. There were dead trees and shrubbery all around the yard. In fact none of the plant life was alive around the house. For someone to unexpectedly come across this house they would think they were on the road to hell. However, the broken down appearance of the house and the dead plant life couldn't install all of that fear. No, the main reason nearly all living things kept their distance from this place was that the house reeked of evil. The only living things that would ever come to this house were the people who would occasionally appear out of nowhere and go into the house and then disappear again. These people always came in large groups and were always dressed oddly. They wore silver masks to hide their faces and wore long, dark cloaks. Every one of them had a strange mark on their left forearm. It was that of a serpent protruding from the mouth of a human skull. To the wizard world this tattoo was known as the Dark Mark, and it was symbol of evil and death. The tattoo signified that you were a Death Eater, a minion to Lord Voldemort, the most feared Dark Lord the world had ever seen.

Tonight was one of the occasions when the Death Eaters came together to meet at the dilapidated house.

The newest recruit into Voldemort's ranks had been to the house many times before but it always sent shivers down his spine. His name was Zachary Foote. He had long black hair that was pulled back into a ponytail and although the silver mask covered his face, you could still see his stunning brown eyes through the slits. He was a tall, fit young man but his most important quality was that he was very important to the success of his master's plan.

Zachary had come to Voldemort claiming he had recently been inducted into Albus Dumbledore's Order of the Phoenix and was willing to give valuable information to him in exchange for power and money. He had to, of course, prove himself reliable and although to the dismay of some, he quickly moved himself up to the higher ranks and made himself very valuable to the Dark Lord's cause. Zachary always had to prove his loyalty, no matter what he did, as he could not have his arm branded without raising serious questions among the members of the Order and most importantly, Albus Dumbledore.

As Zachary walked towards the house there were popping noises all around him. He turned and watched as his fellow Death Eaters appeared at their master's call. Without saying a word to anyone they walked into the house of their Lord and went into the dark musky meeting room. The room's only source of light was coming from the fireplace that was nearly roaring as it consumed the wood. Although bright, it did little to heat the room this could have been because of the figure that stood before it.

Lord Voldemort stood in front of the fire, his back turned on the door. Everyone silently and quickly took their space in the Death Eater circle. After everyone had settled into place, Voldemort turned around, his face gleaming with delight.

"As you know," he began, "my plan to ensure Harry Potter's demise has become an international matter involving an unexpected but key element in the plan." He gave a twisted smile. "Thanks to Foote's information I was able to destroy any evidence that would lead the United States Aurors to our faction. I have an associate in the United States who will take care that our strategy will be a success. We will have a new and powerful ally joining our ranks who will have the utmost feelings of anger and contempt for our young Harry. And if everything goes accordingly, Potter will be dead before the end of his Hogwarts year." He paused momentarily to let the information imbed itself in his disciples. "Foote," he said turning to Zachary. "The success of this depends on your information, I must know IMMEDIATELY if Dumbledore's plans change. I do not need to remind any of you on the consequences of failure." It was silent as each reflected on the death of Hilary Frankinbocker who paid for her failed attack on the Minister of Magic. "You all know your assignments." Voldemort concluded and they were dismissed back into the dark eerie night.

Meanwhile, back in Salem, Massachusetts, Samantha Granger was arguing with the police.

"Listen, young lady," the county sheriff said sitting down at his desk, "the only thing that adds up your in your story is the fact that your parents were killed. There is absolutely no evidence that suggests that someone broke into your house and murdered them without getting to you, while you insist that there was someone else there. It doesn't add up."

"Are you implying that I killed my parents?" asked a shocked Samantha.

"Things look suspicious, that's all I'm saying," said the investigator after a pause.

"Why would I kill them? I have no reason to kill them!" shouted an angry Sam, slamming her fists on the chair.

"I'm not saying it was you. But I'm not saying it was the man you claim it to be either. What I am saying is things don't add up."

"LIKE WHAT?"

"Like how you managed to escape and not them."

"I have already told you, I woke up when I heard him break into our house. I then heard him walk up the stairs and into my parents' bedroom. Then I listened to their conversation and as soon as said that he was going to kill my family and me I went through the passageway to a shed in our backyard and ran here. How hard is that to comprehend?"

Samantha was now utterly pissed off. First her parents were murdered in their own home, she had come to the police station wanting them to catch whoever did it, and now she was being accused of doing the deed.

Okay so she wasn't completely honest with the police but what else was she going to tell them? That she saw a ruthless evil wizard kill her parents using a curse? Only in the wizard world would that fly and she was dealing with the muggle police here.

They kept her at the station for the rest of the night. They gave her some blankets and pillows so she could sleep, but Sam couldn't. She had far too much on her mind and was to scared and frustrated to sleep. That and the chairs in the police station lobby were really uncomfortable.

The next morning the police called Sam's neighbor Chris to come and get her. When he arrived he looked at her with a mixture of fear and compassion. However, he didn't speak to her until they were in his car and driving to his house.

"Sam I'm so sorry. You know you could've called last night, I would've come and gotten you," he said glancing at her in the passenger seat.

"I didn't want to wake you."

"Sam, we've been neighbors for a long time, you called me at two in the morning before to tell me you'd lost a tooth. Do you want to tell me the truth?"

"I was just so frustrated and confused, not to mention scared shitless-"

"That's alright I understand."

"How can you?" she asked incredulously.

"My parents were murdered too," he told her.

"Really? What happened?"

"Well they were working in the British Ministry of Magic in one of the departments. They were unspeakables you see and were on the verge of a breakthrough on something very important. Unfortunately an evil wizard found out and murdered them in their sleep."

"How horrible," Sam said, but noted the similarities between the deaths.

"Yeah it happened the summer before my older brother's last year at Hogwarts."

"What's Hogwarts?" Sam asked curiously.

"It's the wizard school in the U.K. It's said to be greatest school for wizards."

"Oh. How much younger are you from your brother."

"He was about a year and a half older than me."

"What do you mean 'was' older than you?"

"Uh, he and his wife were, um, killed by the same man that killed our parents."

"Oh," She said, and then felt like slapping herself; it just didn't occur to her that he would be dead. "You know Chris, I kind of wish that I had called you last night," Sam said after a long pause.

"Why?" he asked, pulling into his driveway.

"Because I am sore all over. They need to seriously think about getting more comfortable chairs in there or something," Sam said, slowly getting out of the car.

Chris just laughed.