Blood Vengeance

Chapter 1

Blood Vengeance

Auror Potter hated examining the scenes. The pure butchery turned even his stomach, and he had been through a war. The naked body was nailed spread-eagled to the floor, though one hand had ripped itself free from the large metal tent peg. Most likely, it was caused by spasms from the Cruciatus Curse. Harry could see splintered bone and torn muscle from where he stood. He shook the image from his mind and took notes.

Similar MO as the ten others he had found over the last six months: a mixture of magic and muggle torture methods, held captive for about eighteen hours of torture, craved up like a chicken and no witnesses. The building was an abandoned muggle store with repelling wards on it. He was dead for about a week. It was lucky that they found him so quickly, but Harry had found a recent Apparation jump site just outside the victim's mother's house. Hermione had figured out a way to trace jumps about a year ago.

Victim's name was Marius Jugson, former Death Eater. That was the clear link between all the victims, and why Head Auror Robards didn't assign a high priority to the case. No one seemed to care about the dregs of society being systematically murdered. From Old Nott to young Parkinson... no one cared. No one but Harry and he refused to take it easy. Jugson did his five years, as did the other dead former Death Eaters who had been given lighter sentences.

Harry didn't agree with some of the sentences, but only those who had committed heinous crimes were given life. However, he did agree that the country needed to heal. If they sent every suspected Death Eater to prison for life, Azkaban would be full, and half the wizarding population would be gone, leaving their families in misery. Jugson, he recalled, hadn't been charged with using any Unforgivable curses, and there wasn't enough evidence to prove any other crime other than association. His Dark Mark and participation in the Department of Mysteries' raid were enough to send him to Azkaban.

Jugson may have committed immoral and illegal acts, but he also could have been an ignorant follower of Voldemort, like Regulus had been. The killer didn't seem to care what the Death Eaters crimes, or lack thereof, were. Pansy didn't even have a mark. She just wanted one. The killer wanted blood, and Harry understood the lure of vengeance. He felt it himself when Sirius died. But he had restrained himself. This person wasn't and, quite strangely, had waited five years to get their revenge.

The murder, or rather, the execution of Jugson was a long, drawn-out process. Torture is generally used to elicit information or items from the victim, but nothing of intrinsic value was missing. The victim's clothing held several galleons, and no jewelry was taken. If Harry had to guess, the killer was looking for his next victim, but his superiors didn't support that theory. They just said that the Death Eater Killer, nicknamed DEK for short, was just sport-killing. Harry agreed with that, but the use of torture seemed too purposeful. DEK wanted something. Names, locations... something.

"Auror Potter, what have you got?" Proudfoot growled. He was the Senior Auror on the case.

Ron, Mike Corner and Terry Boot were also working under him. Harry hated Proudfoot. He was lazy and treated him like an up-jump child. Nevermind that Harry had finished first in Auror training, had two years under his belt, and a stellar arrest record. But he gave his report, for all the good it did.

"No jump points in the building other than the entry one. Wards kept out muggle eyewitnesses, but Ron and Terry are scrubbing the area for before they went up or his exit. Similar COD as the others: blood loss and heart failure. Trauma all over the body from Cruciatus and muggle instruments. A knife, some carpentry tools and a lighter were used, probably by hand. Stripped naked, but no sign of assault. Staked out with tent pegs and tortured for about seventeen hours. Lettering is the same," he rattled off.