The Otherwhere

Prologue

"Wormtail, Harry Potter has to disappear as soon as possible! If your plan fails, you know what you will suffer from!" The voice was loud and shrill.

Peter Pettigrew ducked involuntary.

"Master, everything will be happen exactly as planned," he then said obediently, not without eyeing Nagini fearfully as she hissed threateningly at him.

Voldemort's red eyes were full of hatred.

"You better not forget about Snape. This will happen in his lesson. If something goes wrong, you will be wishing you had never been born, Wormtail!"

"The Death Eater's son was selected and prepared very carefully, Master. The plan will succeed."

"What about Veritaserum?" Voldemort asked harshly.

"He won't be able to remember a thing, Master. He doesn't even know he's under the spell. The preparation went ahead without any problems."

"Harry Potter," Voldemort hissed menacingly. "Your existence will be banned from the Earth, and then ...."

He trailed off, unable to suppress the evil laugh that spilt from his lips; he could almost taste his victory.

The perfect plan

"I hate Potions," Ron growled.

He was on the way to the dungeons with Hermione, Harry and his sister, Ginny.

Harry grumbled something under his breath.

"It's so important!" Hermione protested. "Think about it, we need all the lessons we can get to pass our NEWTs!"

Her only answer was a loud groan from both guys.

Ginny just grinned. She was only a Sixth Year, but at the same time, one of the rare students who had managed to skip a level in some classes - like Potions. Snape was still truly unfair to all the Gryffindors, but he knew all too well that abilities like potions brewery were badly needed in the upcoming war. And nobody had any doubts that the war would be coming soon.

This thought made her sober up quickly. Many people had died in the last two years, and even the Ministry had admitted publicly that Voldemort really was alive again. Not to mention Voldemort's continuing attacks on Harry.

She involuntarily gave him a quick look - not that he would have noticed her, anyway. For Harry, she was just the little sister of his best friend. She slowed down and was quickly left behind by the other three.

"My, it's Scrawny. And like always, with a hopeless glance at the almighty Potter," an arrogant voice behind her mused.

Ginny clenched her teeth. She hated the nickname Malfoy had given her. The Slytherin had been more evil than ever since he had come to know she was sharing Potions lessons with the Seventh Years.

"Grow up, Malfoy. This is getting old," she spat.

"Oh, really?" He was blocking her way, knowing Crabbe and Goyle was directly behind him.

Ginny had fought with him every so often for the past half year. As opposed to Harry and Hermione, who just ignored him when he was spitting out his niceties, she wouldn't let him get away with it.

"Who, of all people, would want a scrawny little girl on his claws? A girl, who practically consists only of freckles and red hair? A flobberworm is more attractive," he went on.

"Maybe that's the reason you got together with Parkinson," she retorted sweetly. "Seems to be the proof of bad taste, she's positively the meaning of ugly."

Malfoy's eyes narrowed.

"You better watch your tongue, Scrawny," he threatened, and Crabbe and Goyle were coming uncomfortably near her. "You don't want to end up as a toad, now would you?"

He held up his wand. Ginny had foreseen this, and with lightning speed, she kicked him in the shin with all her strength.

Malfoy gave out a surprised shriek and almost dropped his wand.

Meanwhile, some of the Gryffindors had noticed Ginny in trouble and gathered around her.

"Ginny? Everything all right?" Dean Thomas asked, throwing an accusing glance at Malfoy, who was furiously rubbing his shin.

"No problems," Ginny answered, grinning. "Let's go, we're late."

She passed Malfoy as if he were invisible.

"This isn't over, Scrawny!" he hissed under his breath.

Unnoticed by the other Gryffindors, Ginny waved him off behind her back.

Draco ground his teeth together audibly. She would pay, that much was for sure!

***

"Today, you will be working on the Painkiller Potion," Snape said quietly. Even so, everyone heard him very clearly because of the deep silence in the dungeon. Nobody wanted to risk House points. These principles applied to everyone this year, even the Slytherins had learned this the hard way.

"You will be working with your usual lab partners. I doubt that any of you can follow the instructions properly ...." His piercing stare was wandering over Harry and Neville, and the last was visibly shrinking under his gaze. "But the final result should be blue. You will test the final potion with your partner. If brewed correctly, you should be able to ignore all pain - for a limited period of time. As an extra note, for those who can remember, this is the reason why the potion cannot used against the Crucio curse."

Snape finished his lecture and silence followed.

"Well? What are you waiting for?" he snapped finally.

Ginny teamed up with Neville, sighing under her breath. Heavens knew, why Snape had assigned Neville as her lab partner, of all people. Neville was nice and a good friend, but as a partner, he was simply a disaster.

Near her, Malfoy and Blaise Zabini were busy working on their potion, and behind them, Harry and Hermione.

Snape sauntered between them, his sharp eyes noticing even the slightest mistake.

"Mr Potter," he said, sneering. "If you are not able to read the instructions, you should think about attending a normal muggle school instead. Not that you would be any more successful there. Ten points from Gryffindor."

Harry's face reddened in anger, but he knew all too well that protesting would just cause Snape to take more points off.

Ginny was concentrating hard on her work. This was a really difficult potion, and some of the ingredients were rather dangerous. Between following Snape's instructions she also had to prevent Neville from destroying it completely.

Draco's stare literally bore a hole in the back of the small Gryffindor. He let Zabini continue working on the potion, while he thought hard about different methods to give Scrawny a payback for the embarrassing scene earlier.

Suddenly, Seamus Finnegan and Lavender Brown's cauldron exploded. Dripping hot liquid splashed everywhere, and all students hurried to get away from the mess.

A few droplets hit Ginny's arm, and she hastily tried to get it off, as it was burning her skin. She turned to search for a rag or something, and collided with another person.

"Ow! You prat, watch where you're going!"

The person merely tried to push her out of the way. Ginny now saw who the person standing in front of her was.

"Malfoy! What are you doing, are you mad?"

The Slytherin threw her an absent glance, and Ginny stared back. His eyes were expressionless, and he was moving like someone who was deep within a nightmare. She saw him take something out of his robe, and move to Harry and Hermione's cauldron, which was deserted. Nobody else was looking in their direction as everyone was still busy getting away from Seamus and Lavender's potion.

"No!" Ginny cried, grabbing his hand. As a result of their struggle, the contents fell into her own cauldron.

It immediately started to shake and boiled over. An eerie noise began to sound, becoming louder and louder. It was shrill and piercing and getting on Ginny's every nerve.

Ginny just looked down her cauldron, stunned, Draco's hand still in her hard grip.

Then her cauldron exploded too, and both of them were pushed back violently.

***

"Is anyone hurt?" Snape bellowed. Some minutes had passed since the second cauldron had exploded and the air was sick with smoke and the sound of people coughing.

Almost everybody shook their heads.

Ron was looking around nervously.

"Where is Ginny?" he said aloud.

"Draco!" Pansy Parkinson shrieked at the same time. "Draco has disappeared!"

Snape opened his mouth to lecture her for screaming, but shut it abruptly. There was only empty space where Ginevra Weasley's cauldron should have been.

And his two brightest students were effectively missing.

***

A rat. Just a rat, in a hidden corner of the Potions' dungeon.

But this rat was shaking in fear. Speaking of which, it had every reason to be.

A gate through space and time

Ginny's fall was softened by something soft under her. Something, that wore a black robe just as herself and had blond hair ...

"Get off!" Malfoy pushed her violently out of the way, and Ginny landed in the sand.

Wait a second, sand?

She looked down, and then up again. Her eyes almost bulged out at the sight of their surroundings.

The sun was shining blindingly against a clear, blue sky. Everything around them was just - sand. Far away at the edge of the horizon, one could see the beginnings of a mountain range.

"What the hell ...." Malfoy too, was staring at the unfamiliar scene on front of them. But he recovered quickly. "How did you bring me here?" he hissed at Ginny. "You bring me back immediately, you silly cow!"

"Me?!?! Who was the one who threw that stuff into my cauldron?" Ginny started to fume.

"I don't know what you are talking about! You better bring me back, or ...."

"Or what? You may have recently discovered, that I too, haven't the slightest idea where we are!"

"Then you better think fast," he replied with his usual arrogant manner.

Ginny was very close to grabbing a handful of sand and throwing it into his face. She got up and promptly stumbled over to the remains of her cauldron.

"I know what you were trying to do, Malfoy! You wanted to get Harry in trouble, again! But this time, you fooled yourself!"

"I repeat, because maybe you're not only dumb, but also deaf: I don't have a clue what you are talking about. The last thing I remember is watching Brown and Finnegan's cauldron explode!"

"It must a habit for you, to lie through your teeth!!" Ginny became aware that they were standing in a desert yelling furiously at each other. She inhaled deeply. "Couldn't we just think about how we can get out of this nightmare, instead of ripping each other to shreds?"

"You think! It's your fault!"

"You ...oh, get lost!"

Ginny stomped away without looking back.

"Hey! Where are you going?" Malfoy yelled.

"Away from here!" she answered sarcastically. "Just stay there and get burnt to a crisp, if you want to."

After some minutes, she heard him following.

Ginny's head was spinning. What was this? Where were they? Malfoy's refusal to simply tell her about the stuff he had thrown into her cauldron made her even madder. And that wasn't helping her in the least to think about the situation.

She became aware of another thing, and she stopped abruptly.

Draco had made up the distance between them and was just about to run into her.

"Did you forget to how to move your feet, Scrawny?" he asked, growling.

Ginny didn't reply.

"We don't speak English anymore," she whispered to herself.

"What kind of shit are you talking about now ...." Malfoy went quiet, too. He looked so baffled that Ginny would have laughed, if the situation was a little less than earnest.

"We don't speak English, and yet we're able to understand each other. Do you know any foreign languages? I don't."

"Some", he answered. He was so shocked he forgot to add a menacing remark. "But nothing similar to this. And - it feels like we're talking in our mother tongue. I even think this horrid language!"

"Me too." Ginny sighed and tried again. "Malfoy, honestly. What did you want to throw into Harry's cauldron?"

"Nothing! I didn't even think about Potter, I thought about taking reven ... forget that. You must have been dreaming!"

"I didn't." Ginny counted silently from one to ten. "You crashed into me and tried to push me out of the way. Then, you took something out of your robes und made your way to Hermione and Harry's cauldron. I grabbed your hand, and because of that, the stuff fell into mine."

"This is just ridicioulus." Draco stuck one hand into his robes, took it out again and stared at some green, thin fibres sticking to his fingers. He smelled it, and paled alarmingly.

"What's that?" Ginny asked, worried.

"Rajahin."

"I don't know that. What is it?"

"It's very rare. This plant grows only on a specific island in the Pacific Ocean." His tone was flat and emotionless.

"And ... what's the plant's effect?" Ginny didn't like his tone in the slightest.

"It opens the Otherwhere. Tell you what, Scrawny, we're screwed."

***

They both remained silent as they went along.

Ginny was curious, but she didn't say anything. She really didn't know if she wanted to know the truth.

Their surroundings were changing a bit. The sand had vanished, making space for raw stones. Some bushes appeared too, but they were dry and cripples.

"Okay, I give up. What the hell is the Otherwhere?"

Draco remained silent.

"Malfoy!!"

"I don't know how this stuff came to be in my pocket," he answered finally. "It's just luck that I know what it is. Father did ...." He broke off and started again. "The Otherwhere is a portal, and it is opened with the help of Rajahin. It's a gate through space and time. We could be anywhere and anywhen."

"Then we should just find another Rajahin plant and go back!"

"Right," he sneered.

"You know something, so spit it out, Malfoy!"

"You just don't get it, Weasley. You really think the plant is growing here in abundance, when you find it only on one single island on the entire planet? Second, we don't know the way back! Suppose, we make it, and open the portal a second time, who knows where it sends us then? And maybe it sends us back, but into the future, or the past? And third ... stupefey!"

He was so fast, Ginny didn't even see him moving, pointing his wand at her. She stumbled back, waiting for the hex to hit her. But nothing happened.

"See? One problem after the other." Draco sounded grim.

Ginny wanted to yell at him, until she realised his meaning.

"We're not able to use magic?"

"We're just damned MUGGLES," he spat out. "In the past, the Otherwhere was used get annoying people out of the way ...."

They looked at each other. And both knew what the other was thinking.

Ginny finally said it aloud.

"Voldemort."

***

"What does that mean, you do not know what happened?"

Lucius Malfoy was outraged. He certainly knew what had happened, but admitting it would have been suicide. He had proposed Draco in front of the Dark Lord to carry out the mission, to finally get Potter out of the way. He himself had used the Imperio on his son, and traded the Rajahin. But now it was important to send the others on the wrong track. Maybe there would be a chance for Dumbledore or Snape to lose their jobs. He didn't waste a single thought on Draco - he wouldn't come back. That was regrettable but final.

"That means we do not know what happened!" Snape fumed. "None of the ingredients would have evoked such a reaction, and you know that only too well, Lucius!"

"But ... where could the children be?" Molly Weasley was pale as a ghost.

Harry kept his eye on Lucius Malfoy, his anger was faked like he was acting a role. And Harry did know that he was a Death Eater. But Malfoy ignored him.

"Molly, we'll do everything to find Ginny and Draco," Dumbledore said, but even his voice wasn't free of worry.

Narcissa Malfoy only stared at the floor. Her face was as pale as Molly's. She avoided looking at her husband.

Hermione was very close to feeling pity for her. She didn't give a damn about Malfoy's fate, but Narcissa's sorrow was visible.

"We weren't able to find out what had been in the cauldron because it vanished too," said Dumbledore calmly. "We are now checking everything else that might provide any clues."

"In my opinion, it's been far too long," Lucius answered icily. "I will make sure the Ministry knows about your failure to keep the children safe. Who knows who will vanish next."

His eyes darted over to Harry quickly and then and fell back immediately on the headmaster.

"Do as you please." Even Dumbledore's voice was sharp now. "You will not change anything."

"Who knows?" Lucius repeated. "Narcissa, follow me."

Narcissa Malfoy nodded slightly and followed her husband. Hermione, who was sitting next to her, watched with wide eyes as Draco's mother let something small right beside her.

The Malfoys disappeared.

"I bet he's in it," Ron blurted out.

Hermione retrieved the small object from the floor and stared at it thoughtfully.

"What's going on, Hermione?" Harry asked quietly.

"Narcissa Malfoy. She dropped this on her way out. It's a note."

The other people in the room were listening too.

"What does it say?"

"Professor Dumbledore," Hermione said, adressing the headmaster.

"Yes, Miss Granger?"

"Do you know something called The Otherwhere?"

Arthur Weasley made a shocked sound. Molly looked confused. Snape jumped up as if he had been bitten by something.

Dumbledore's eyes darkened to a dark blue.

"Yes," he replied simply. "That means we have a huge problem."

***

It was burning hot.

Hours ago, Ginny had pulled off her thick cloak and rolled up the sleeves of her sweater. But she was dripping of sweat - her clothes were, of course, winter ones.

Draco, too, had his cloak over his shoulder. His normally pale skin was alarmingly pink by now.

He will scream when he lies down. That sunburn is awful.

Nobody spoke. Besides them, there was no one else in sight. As they walked, the location had been changing again, and here and there were plants and even green grass.

Ginny's feet began to hurt. She wasn't used to walking such long distances, but didn't want to show any signs of weakness in front of Malfoy.

Suddenly, something in front of them moved.

The small animal, looking like a cross-breed between a fox and a lizard, lifted its head from a flat stone and hissed dangerously. Ginny noticed that the tongue was split like a snake's.

Draco backed up some steps, and she fought the impulse to hide behind his back.

The animal hissed again and vanished quickly.

"Do you hear that?"

"What am I supposed to hear?" Even Malfoy sounded tired.

"Water. Must be over there."

Ginny followed the sound. And there, in front of them, was a small stream of water flowing down between the stones. Really, small rins.

"Thank Merlin."

"Maybe it's poisonous." Draco eyed the water sceptically.

"Malfoy - do we have any choice?"

Ginny splashed some water onto her face. It was cool and tasted a little bit coppery.

Hesitantly, Draco used his cloak as a towel, wrapping the wet cloth around his red arms.

Both had noticed the sun going down.

"It will be dark soon," Ginny finally said.

"I'm not blind," came the frosty answer.

"Let's stay here," she suggested. "For the night, I mean. At least we have water."

"What, here?" The surroundings weren't by any means as comfortable as Draco was undoubtedly used to.

"Well, sorry, your Highness," Ginny said with sarcasm. "The next hotel is just ten thousand miles away, I forgot."

"Bitch."

"Snob."

***

Neither Draco nor Ginny were really sleeping.

Ginny looked up at the foreign stars and shivered in the cold night breeze. As hot as it had been during the day, the temperature was now reaching frosty grades. The stones under her body were hard, and the cloak barely helped to make it any more comfortable.

Draco's condition was even worse. The heavy sunburn around his shoulders and arms effectively prevented him from lying down. So he sat crosslegged, dozing from time to time, only to snap his head up at the slightest noise.

Long after midnight - Ginny was still thinking in "normal" Earth time - a high-pitched, shrill scream pierced the night. It was coming from a far away wall of rocks.

She jumped up, Draco not far behind her. Both stared into the darkness, shaking despite themselves.

The scream wailed up again, and a howling snarl followed.

Ginny crossed her arms over her breast and continued shaking.

"Merlin, what is that?" she whispered weakly.

"I don't care as long as it doesn't come near me." Malfoy replied meekly.

Outworld

The first thing Ginny asked herself, as she slowly awakened, was why somebody had transformed her bed into a heap of stones. She blinked and tried to pull her blanket over her head, but even the blanket had vanished.

"What the ...." She came to her senses and looked around. "And I was hoping this had all been a nightmare ...."

"We are simply not that lucky,", a voice answered grumpily from the right. "It's very kind of you, Scrawny, to finally wake up!"

Draco sat quite a distance away from her, watching her angrily.

"You should have woken me!"

"I tried, Weasley. No wonder you are always the latest in the mornings. Even a Troll can't shake you awake!"

"You are and will always be a jerk, Malfoy."

"Look who's talking. Bitch."

Ginny rolled her eyes and got up. There wasn't any chance she'd be able to get along with the ferret. By Merlin's beard, why had it had to be Malfoy, of all people, to be stranded here with her. Even Neville would have been a better choice, whilst he wouldn't have helped, by any means, at least he wouldn't be so annoying.

Malfoy's thoughts obviously took the same direction.

"Scrawny Weasley of all people! I would have preferred even a Ravenclaw, but no, I was thrown outside my world with a stupid, ugly Gryffindor!"

Ginny was boiling inside. She wanted to give some obscenities back, but the sound of rolling rocks reached her ears at that time.

"I don't know what you're doing, Mr Genius, but the "stupid, ugly Gryffindor" is walking away before something else gets here."

She tried to pass him, but he grabbed her arm in a hard grip.

"Scared, Scrawny?" he asked maliciously. Again, Ginny heard the sound, but this time it was closer. Very close.

He flinched, and Ginny pulled her arm out of his grip.

"Who, me?" she answered mockingly. "You're the one wetting his pants now."

"In your dreams!" he snarled. "Go look for it, if you're so brave!"

"Should we continue arguing, or do you want to leave this place now?" Ginny didn't wait for his answer before walking in the opposite direction. "There must be humans somewhere on this damned world!"

"Cannibals, with your bad luck."

She didn't answer. She had decided to let him talk as long as he wanted, she would just ignore anything he was spitting out. The sounds yesterday night and this morning were troubling her far more than his yapping. She seriously couldn't rely on Malfoy, she knew that all too well. He would be the first one to run away if something bad happened.

As they moved on, the bushes and plants began to disperse again, and the ground went up. In front of them, rocks began to appear which soon became mountains. It was hard to estimate how far the mountain range stretched, seeming to stretch on endlessly.

Soon, Ginny was hungry. That was the next problem - there wasn't anything one could eat, supposing they were crazy enough to taste a foreign plant.

Then, an enourmous canyon appeared in front of them. It dropped sharply, maybe fifty metres deep, and the ground was filled with white objects one couldn't identify. There was a small path on the side that wound its way down.

"Looks like an invitation," Ginny murmured, and stared down at the path thoughtfully.

She sighed and started to follow the path, very carefully, as not to slip. Behind her, she could hear Malfoy cursing, but following.

Ginny was close to pressing her hands to her eyes, but that would have been a death warrant. The path was flooded with small stones and gravel, and it was dangerously slippery.

Then, it happened, as she had feared. Ginny tripped and lost her balance. She screamed and anticipated the long fall down. Instead, her arm was grabbed in the last second, and she was pulled back onto the path.

"Don't you dare leave me here alone!" Draco loosened his hold on her arm immediately.

"I saw myself dead on the damned ground," Ginny gasped. Her voice was shaking.

"Close call." He sounded not half as arrogant as usual. Obviously, her near-demise had shocked him, too.

More careful than ever, they made their way down. Ginny wanted to sigh in relief, when they finally reached the ground. The path between the canyon walls was wide and flat, and their crunching footsteps produced eerie echoes.

Ginny could now see clearly what the white objects she hadn't be able to make out from above were, and paled.

"Bones," she whispered.

"Human bones," he corrected.

"How do you know that?"

"Oh, please." He rolled his eyes. "Since when do animals have skulls that shape?" He pointed in one direction, and Ginny swallowed.

Many bones were lying around, and between them, some other shiny things. Draco bent down and picked something up.

"Part of a sword. Broken off."

"A battlefield?"

"Obviously."

Ginny recognized half rotted arrows and even a spear. She tried to take it, and the wood crumbled between her fingers, even as the point shimmered dully in the small amount of light down here.

Draco had spotted a dagger and picked it up.

"Better than nothing," he snarled.

Ginny took the spear point, and together they continued to follow the path. An eerie silence surrounded the deserted battlefield, nothing could be heard apart from their footsteps and breathing.

"But this means, there are other people in this world," she stated.

"If they still exist," he answered dryly. "This wasn't exactly a nice, small massacre, and ...."

He was trailed off as the sky went dark over them. A big animal flew over the canyon and shook his wings lazily.

"A Dragon!" Ginny suddenly felt more hope. At least, Dragons existed back home, too.

The Dragon - or whatever it was - let out a sound like singing and circled over the canyon. Others followed, a whole herd. The leading one repeated its song, and the herd drifted to another direction.

Draco and Ginny looked up at them until the last had disappeared from view.

***

"No!"

Molly and Arthur exchanged a desperate look.

Dumbledore himself, looked old and tired.

"There is no way for us to find out where the two of them are. The Otherwhere opens to a random time and place, they could have been thrown in any thinkable direction. It's impossible for victims to find a way to return."

"That means, Ginny is as good as dead?" asked Ron unbelievingly.

"She lives," Dumbledore stated. "And also Mr Malfoy. But - it is very unlikely we will ever see them again. Believe me, it is not easy for me to tell you this."

"But there has to be a way to open this portal again!" said Molly. Tears were running down her cheeks as she clung desperately to Arthur.

"Mrs Weasley, we are of course able to open the Otherwhere. But as Albus said, it could lead us into a completely different world." Snape was much more gaunt and paler than usual.

"How ... how could this gate be opened anyway?" asked Harry. He too, was shocked.

"Well, there is a plant which is very rare. Putting it into any boiling substance, and the Otherwhere is opened. Its name is Rajahin, and using it is forbidden on pain of death."

"Harry, I believe it was a plan to get you out of the way," Sirius said quietly. "Narcissa has proven that she knows exactly what happened. And from who else other than her husband, could she have obtained this information? Lucius must have had his son carry out the plan."

"Do you really think Draco Malfoy would be stupid enough to take this risk? He is a jerk and an asshole, but he's not dumb."

"We are only speculating," answered Dumbledore instead of Sirius. "But I dare suggest that Draco himself had been used without his knowledge."

"I don't believe that," Ron said angrily. "He would jump at any chance to get rid of Harry!"

"And risk his life?" Hermione asked sceptically.

Molly had had enough.

"I don't care who is guilty! I want my daughter back, even if I have to open the Otherwhere myself!"

"No," Arthur said emphatically. "Molly, it hurts me as much as you, but we won't see Ginny again - ever."

Deep silence followed his words.

***

"You tell me he is what?"

Lucius Malfoy and Peter Pettigrew flinched. Both stood in front of Voldemort, whose eyes were bright with fury.

"A perfect plan, Wormtail?" Voldemort scoffed. "Such a perfect plan needs a perfect punishment! Crucio!"

Both men screamed and writhed in pain, twitching on the hard ground. The Dark Lord was fuming with rage, and let them suffer an unusually long time.

Other Death Eaters were standing around them, heads bowed. Nobody knew how much Voldemort's fury would escalate, and none dared to test their luck.

Finally, Voldemort lifted the forbidden curse.

"You have lost my trust," he said icily. "Your son would have been a good Death Eater, Lucius, and you have denied me that, too. That Weasley girl ... couldn't it at least have been Potter's dearest friend? You both deserve more punishment. Nagini!"

The snake hissed greedily.

"Do as you please." Though his face was emotionless, there was a smirk hidden in Voldemort's voice. Then he turned and left the room.

Behind him, the screams extended, echoing eerily into the night.