Of Butterflies in a Hurricane

*


There was silence in the rather small room as the Death Eaters stood nervously. The mark had burned on their arms less than a few minutes previously. Now, they were all looking around the small room uneasily.

One window allowed the sunlight to shine in, falling across the floor in a long, oblong shape. The cloaked Death Eaters shifted nervously, some peering around the others as if looking for the reason they had been summoned.

There was a collective jump as Voldemort appeared in a swirl of black smoke. His features were angry; his scarlet eyes narrowed in fury as he regarded his group of devoted followers. He walked closer to where the group was bunched.

The Death Eaters restrained themselves from flinching. A few stood proudly, not daring to appear frightened by their livid master.

Voldemort advanced upon them, glaring down at them all. He had his wand clenched in his hand as he walked up and down the row of shivering Death Eaters. Their eyes followed him religiously as he swept up and down the line.

Finally, he turned and took in the whole group. "Do you know why you are here?" he hissed in his cold and dangerous voice.

The Death Eaters hesitated, clearly unsure of what they should do; answer or remain silent. Fortunately for them, Voldemort continued. "In that room behind you was once housed a prisoner. Do you know who that was?"

Again, the Death Eaters said nothing, hoping he would go on, which he did. "That prisoner has now escaped due to lack of vigilance by my faithful servants." When he said "faithful servants", his eyes flashed and his grip tightened on his wand.

The Death Eater at the far end let out a small whimper, barely audible, even in the silence of the room. Voldemort's eyes snapped to him. He strode over to him now, glaring down through his slitted eyes.

"Anything to add, Dolohov?" he asked, his voice high and cold as always, though more deceptive than usual. The other Death Eaters watched, some apprehensive, others with unmistakable glee.

"M-my lord, he overpowered me. I had no chance to--"

"Overpowered by a seventeen year old boy with no wand and no particular strength?" Voldemort interrupted the man, who trembled.

"My lord, are you saying that my son has escaped?" Lucius' swift, silky voice came from under the hood of a man a few feet down. Voldemort turned to Lucius and gave him a hard look.

"He has, no thanks to his guards." Voldemort’s expression was once more an expression of repressed fury as he turned down the line. Two people went rigidly still as he approached them. "Crabbe, Goyle, you have once more failed in my trust to guard a possession of mine."

"My lord," a deep grunt came from one of the hoods. "We were guarding. Zabini came out and Dolohov wished to go in. We let him and heard yelling but it stopped. We figured the boy had--"

"Silence!" Voldemort ordered them. "Did it not occur to you to check anyway? You are dismally inadequate."

Crabbe and Goyle said nothing and Voldemort seemed to have finished with them for the time-being. Instead, he moved down the line to where a tall figure stood, holding his head proudly.

"Zabini," Voldemort addressed him, his voice suspicious.

"Yes, my lord?" Blaise answered swiftly and unafraid.

"You saw the prisoner before he escaped. Did he show any tendencies then?"

"No, my lord. He was weak," Blaise replied disdainfully. "He had no power to attempt an escape. He was quite secured. I'm sure he could not have escaped when I saw him. His bonds were locked tightly and he had no access to a wand. I don't believe he could have gone without the pure ineptitude of someone else."

Voldemort said nothing for a moment as Blaise finished. Blaise continued to look haughty and distant as he waited for his lord’s response. His manner was fearless as he faced his lord.

"And Nagini? My only truely faithful servant has been killed." As he said this, his eyes flashed dark red and he glared around at all the Death Eaters. "Very few of you know what she was to me, but those of you who do know the weight of this situation. Not only has a questionably loyal servant disappeared, under the nose of those appointed to guard him, but he has managed to kill Nagini."

The Death Eaters remained silent but the tension was visibly increased in their stances. The air was thick with apprehension as Voldemort's anger hovered around them. They knew it would not be too long before someone would be punished.

Voldemort turned sharply to where Lucius stood, hidden under the dark hood. "Lucius, you are to find your son and bring him to me. He needs to learn a little loyalty. Think of this as a redeeming activity. Perhaps, if you are successful, I will overlook some of your past lapses in judgment."

Lucius bowed low, grateful to be let out of the current punishment. "Yes, my lord."

"And hurry, won't you?" he asked in a threatening voice. Lucius nodded and was gone in a crack.

Voldemort turned to the remaining Death Eaters, his face twisting into a cruel smile as he watched them all. Blaise remained standing as though bored by the proceedings. His head was held high while he waited for the punishment to be given. He could have been doing much better things with his time.

Voldemort started to say something then paused. Instead, he turned to Blaise. "Zabini, you may leave. Go back to your post and keep an eye out for Draco. We do not know what he may do. If you find him, bring him to me immediately."

"Of course, my lord," Blaise replied, his dark eyes glittering. He bowed and also Apparated out of the room.

This left only a few trembling Death Eaters, and one who stood off to the side. Voldemort beckoned one forward, waiting until the trembling Death Eater was situated in front of him.

"Dolohov," he addressed the man. "Perhaps you also need a little reminder of what it is to be my servant."

Dolohov's eyes widened as Voldemort raised his wand, a cruel smile on his lips. "Crucio!"

Dolohov immediately dropped to the ground, writhing and screaming in pain. The rest of the group watched him, no emotions showing on their faces as the man before them shrieked and thrashed.

Voldemort kept him like this for some time until he decided to stop. He pulled away his wand, leaving the panting man on the floor. Voldemort looked up at the remaining Death Eaters, as though daring them to challenge his authority. When none did, he spoke.

"Let that be a lesson for future mistakes; there will be none. Now, leave me."

There was a flurry of cloaks and cracks as the Death Eaters Apparated out of the room. Only one was left. He seemed to know that the Dark Lord had not finished with him and desired his presence.

Voldemort turned around slowly and caught sight of the man. He waved his wand and a high-backed chair appeared out of the sky, dropping to the floor with a loud thud. He sat down in it imperially.

"Snape," he greeted the man. "What do you have to report?"

Snape moved forward, dropping his hood. His sallow face looked pale in the singular light from the window. He stood before the Dark Lord calmly.

"My lord, the giants have destroyed a small village outside London. There was general panic. Many Muggles have died; the Muggle Ministry keeps telling them it's because of hurricanes. The attack on the London Underground went well, though, we lost a few in the battle. Members of the Order showed up halfway through."

Voldemort scowled as he heard this. How were these Order members learning of his plans? He supposed there must be a spy in his ranks. He disregarded it for the moment, though, wanting his more pressing questions answered.

"And have you discovered where Potter has disappeared to?"

"I have not," Snape replied swiftly. "After he left Godric's Hollow, there have been no sightings and none of the trackers can find him."

"Well, he can't have disappeared off the edge of the map!" Voldemort hissed in a menacing voice. "Are you sure he is not at the Headquarters?"

"I cannot tell. The place is sealed to me now that I am no longer in their trust. He could be there, but it would be pointless to try and get in. I was not the secret-keeper. Dumbledore was, and with his death went the location of the Headquarters."

Voldemort scowled again. This was not what he wanted to hear. His own servants couldn't keep track of a single boy. It was not that difficult to follow someone, keep undercover, and learn his habits. At times, he wondered if he oughtn’t do all this himself.

"Have you heard anything of Draco?"

"No, my lord. He is quite adept at disappearances as Potter I'm afraid. He will be difficult to find and catch, especially if he doesn't want to be."

"Have you any theory as to how he escaped?" Voldemort's voice was dangerously cold as he spoke to Snape. He watched him carefully, like he thought maybe Snape had been an accomplice.

"The most likely is that Dolohov is a very stupid man and easily overpowered and manipulated. Draco is a smart boy. He could have done it all by himself if he chose to."

"But did he do it all by himself?" Voldemort asked, his eyes flashing viciously.

"I don't know, my lord. It is possible he had help, but there is always that possibility with everything in a war."

Voldemort was not pleased with the answer. He couldn't believe the boy had managed to escape under the watch of two Death Eaters and his trusted Nagini. But now Nagini was dead, killed by an Electrocution Curse straight through her body.

He had thought she was well protected. Even the Killing Curse could not have punctured her skin. He had noticed the tiny slit on her scales through which the curse had entered. He knew she was a powerfully magical creature and he had expected her to be protected against even the simplest spells which is why he had added only protection against the more deadly spells. He wanted to know how a simple spell had led to her downfall so easily.

At the moment, though, his priority was to find Draco and Potter. He needed to know where they both were to ensure that nothing went wrong in his plans. He had not expected Draco to attempt an escape, or to actually succeed. Potter had given his Death Eaters the slip in broad daylight too! It was imperative to find out where he was.

He didn't like the idea that Potter was out there somewhere, biding his time, probably figuring out a way to kill him. Voldemort nearly laughed at the thought. How would Potter kill him? He had the protection of his many Horcruxes. Even if Nagini was dead, he still had at least six left. He doubted very much if Potter had even ever heard of a Horcrux.

He looked up at Snape, who had been waiting patiently for some direction. "Very well, Snape. Return to your task. I want to know where Potter is, quickly!"

Snape nodded and bowed low then Apparated away, leaving Voldemort alone to contemplate on the many questions that needed answers.

***

Blaise sighed as he reappeared in a dark alleyway. He walked out casually, brushing off the Muggle clothes he wore. He looked around disdainfully, taking in his surroundings. He stood on a busy Muggle street; full of honking cars, people dragging children down the street, and business men hurrying along in their suits and ties.

Blaise straightened his posture into his well-bred stature and started down the street. He received a few approving glances from several people as he continued down the road. He disregarded them all. It was not his job to pay attention to the blathering people who were attracted to him. He had a job to do, after all.

He came to where the tall buildings ended and the road stretched on before him, turning into fields as it went out of town. He paused for a moment, seemingly deciding which way to go. In the end, he turned to his right and took a small walking path which wound past the buildings bordering it on the one side.

Blaise followed it past the end of the buildings and down into a dark, ominous forest. He didn't hesitate, only plunged in, still following the narrow path.

He wound through bushes and in-between tall tree trunks. He was always on the alert, listening for any kind of sound. He went further on, pushing aside branches and letting them pull together behind him, throwing the path into darkness.

He stopped after about ten minutes. He stood, listening intently. Around him, he could hear the chirp of birds and rustling of leaves. There was a trickle of water somewhere off to his left. The path before him split a little way on, veering to the left or right.

Instead of continuing on the path, Blaise stepped off and into the underbrush. He grimaced as brambles caught his clothes, attempting to restrain him. He just pulled out his wand, blasting them apart as he went. He didn't care about secrecy at this point. He was so deeply ensconced in this forest that it was pointless anyway.

He held his wand down by his side as he approached the middle of a cluster of trees. Here, there was barely enough light to be able to see by. Blaise disregarded the uneasy feeling that had come over him and pushed on.

He pushed aside tree branches, crunching bushes and sticks in his way. He crept cautiously forward, sensing something was near. He stopped again, listening hard.

After a moment or two, he stepped to the side. He put a Silencing Charm on his body as he sneaked through the bushes. His body was obscured by the shadows as he went further.

Finally, he came to a large tree. It sprung up before him, towering up many feet above him. He placed his hand carefully on the trunk and stood motionless for a second.

He cautiously moved around the large trunk, his expression knowing and satisfied. He walked to the other side of the tree, finding it was just a normal trunk. He stepped back, bringing up his wand once more.

He pointed it directly at a spot near the base of the tree. With a slashing motion, a large X appeared on the tree and the bark began to peel away. Blaise stepped back, smirking maliciously.

The bark peeled away to reveal a small opening near the base, just barely big enough for a very small person to fit through. Blaise took a step forward and bent down.

"Well, hello, Draco. Fancy seeing you here."


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A/N: Chapter 15, yay! We're nearly halfway through... :) Please review!