Gifts of the Harrygi

Mars was particularly bright tonight. It glowed down through the long shaft of stone that opened into the cave from above, shining as bright as his eyes. At the edge of the shaft above him, the moon, now a waxing crescent, could just barely be seen. Not a sound could be heard, except for the dripping of water in some back cavern and the drumming of his long, spiderlike fingers on the rocks. And the impatient hissing of the large snake on the floor as it slithered about in increasingly shorter circles. "Patience, Nagini," he said softly, not taking his eyes off the dusky sky above, "You will eat soon enough. It just may be him if he's not more punctual."

It was indeed at that moment that there was a popping sound behind him. "You are almost late, Rookwood," he said without turning around, "I would hope you have succeeded in what I asked of you."

"Indeed I have, my Lord," Rookwood knelt down and extended a golden orb, "It did take some time to get the right persons in place to accomplish..."

"Thank you, Rookwood," he snatched the orb off him, "Remain here."

He strode off into an adjoining chamber. Rookwood rose back up and glanced about, nervously edging away from the snake, which now seemed to be staring at him in hunger. From the chamber next to theirs there came a low voice uttering something, although the exact words were inaudible to him. Soon his superior returned, looking quite contented. "Very good Rookwood, you have served me well," he commended his underling without the slightest degree of joy, "Now, your arm, please."

Rookwood extended it. The yew wand touched the scar on his wrist, which started glowing black. Within moments the air crackled with more pops as dozens of hooded and masked wizards appeared out of thin air, forming a circle around the two of them. They all bowed in reverence. "Welcome, Death Eaters," he proclaimed softly, pushing Rookwood into the circle with the others, "I have summoned you here for a very important assignment, one that once successfully completed will leave me completely invincible. Our time to execute it is short, and it requires great skill, courage..."

"I will be happy to do it, my Lord," the shortest figure in the circle stepped forward eagerly, "I will not fail you, you can..."

"...and will require someone OTHER than Wormtail," he shoved the figure contemptuously back into place. He strode slowly around the circle, stopping occasionally to glance over several followers, then moving on. He came to a full stop by the middle of the circle. "You two," he told the two tall figures standing together there, "You will execute the first phase of the plan this very evening. It is perhaps the most important part, so I expect nothing but success from you."

"We will not fail you, my Lord," said the figure on the left with a subservient bow. He marched onwards a few places in the circle. "Lucius my dear friend, I am counting on you to undertake the second phase," he told the now bowing figure before him, "Do it well and we may even be able to trick the stupid, ignorant, foolish Ministry into think maybe..."

There was an abrupt blasting sound from the other side of the cave, making everyone jump. "Sorry, just, just thought I heard something," one of the hooded and masked figures fell prostrate, "Forgive me, Lord."

Growling, he raised his wand upwards, contemplating punishing his wayward follower, but decided that any of the curses he had in mind weren't warranted at the moment. "My precious Bellatrix," he stopped before yet another figure, "You shall carry out the third phase. This shall be the most dangerous part of this whole assignment, one you may well not survive. Regardless, I expect nothing less than success in it."

"To have died in your service can be the greatest honor a true wizard could possibly achieve, my Lord," she told him. He ignored this and walked back to the center of the circle. "Once all has been brought together here in this grand cavern," he announced grandly to his followers, "We will execute this plan at the proper moment. And then not even a god could stop me, certainly not that meddlesome Ministry or the accursed Order. When it is achieved, I can personal kill thousands of Mudbloods each and every night, and destroy the Ministry without their ever knowing it. And most importantly, no matter what protection is around him, I will manage to finally kill, without having to lift a finger..."