The Dark Lord's Pet Princess

44. Peter's Blunder

During the Quidditch world cup, several death eaters ran amock and caused chaos, until someone raised the dark mark in the sky, causing them to flee.
Voldemort was displeased by their behaviour, and angry that so many had denounced him to stay out of Azkaban.
Shortly after the world cup ended, the trio made their way to the Crouch family home, to free young Barty who was being held captive by his father.
They placed Barty Crouch senior under the Imperius Curse, and decided to move into his house, since it was in a much better state than the Riddle manor.

On the last day of August, Peter and Barty jr attacked the ex auror Alistor Moody and placed him inside a trunk, so that Barty could disguise himself as the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher.
Once Barty had taken the Polyjuice potion, he headed to Hogwarts as Moody, so that he could complete Voldemort's plan.
Barty was to place Harry's name in the Goblet of Fire, forcing him to compete in the Triwizard Tournament. He would then make sure Harry was the first to get to the cup, which would be turned into a Portkey, so would deliver Harry to the graveyard where the Riddles were burried.

Voldemort's plan was long and convoluted, but Larissa was unable to talk him out of him.
Since Voldemort didn't want Larissa to leave his side, as he relied on her, she was forced to spend all her time stuck inside the Crouch house.
It was Peter's job to make sure Barty Crouch senior acted normal and didn't break free of the Imperius Curse.
Unfortunately, after many months, the old man was able to throw off the curse just enough to escape and make his way to Hogwarts.

With their prisoner gone, Larissa was terrified that they were going to be discovered.
So she convinced Voldemort to allow them all to travel back to the Riddle manor.
She was worried that their plans were going to be ruined and that Voldemort would have to end up sharing her body again.
Luckily for everyone, Barty Crouch jr was able to find his father and kill him, before he had a chance to spill the beans.
When Larissa got this news from Barty, she was overjoyed.
"There's no need to worry anymore. Barty has dealt with the problem. Although, it's probably not safe to go back to Crouch's house. It's best if we stay here" admitted Larissa, once she had finished reading Barty's letter to Voldemort and Peter.

"That is good news. You are in luck Wormtail. You are very fortunate indeed. Your blunder has not ruined everything. Barty Crouch senior is dead" announced Voldemort.
Peter was quivering on his knees in front of Voldemort, who was sat in his chair by the fire.
"My lord, my lord I am so pleased. And I'm so sorry that I let him escape" apologised Peter.
"I do not wish to hear anymore blubbering from you Wormtail" snapped Voldemort.

The dark lord turned to face Nagini, who was curled up in a coil beside his chair.
"Nagini, you are out of luck. I will not be feeding Wormtail to you after all. But never mind, there is still Harry Potter. You shall have your chance to devour him very soon" promised Voldemort.
"I look forward to it" hissed Nagini in Parseltongue.
Nagini slithered out of the room to find herself an alternative meal.
"Now, Wormtail, perhaps one more little reminder why I will not tolerate another blunder from you" snarled Voldemort.
"My lord, no, please, I beg you" sobbed Peter desperately.

Voldemort ignored Peter's cries and raised his wand.
"Crucio!" He said in a cold voice.
Peter screamed as though every nerve in his body was on fire.
Larissa turned her head, unable to watch him writhe on the floor in pain.
She had seen Voldemort torture numerous people, but watching him do it to someone she knew well, was harder.
He had never used that particular spell on her, as he had preferred other methods of hurting her. And she knew that he wouldn't use it on her now, for fear of damaging the piece of his soul which was inside her.

"Stop this" begged Larissa, as she took a step closer to Voldemort.
The dark lord lowered his wand, easing Peter's suffering for a moment.
Even though the spell had been removed, Peter lay crying on the floor, too afraid to get up.
"It's clear that you have a soft spot for this little rat" mocked Voldemort.
"I do not wish to see you endlessly torture him for your own amusement" replied Larissa.
"He failed me, so I am teaching him a lesson. Hopefully next time he will follow my instructions more carefully and not let prisoners escape" admitted Voldemort.

"Barty Crouch senior is a far superior wizard to Peter, so he was always going to break out of the Imperius Curse eventually" informed Larissa.
"Perhaps you should have placed the curse, then maybe he wouldn't have escaped" suggested Voldemort.
"He is more powerful than me too. There's a reason people thought he was going to be the next Minister for Magic. He is very talented"
"Don't you mean, he was very talented. He is dead now. Killed by his own son"
"I'm not saying that I couldn't have also killed him. I'm just saying that he was strong enough to break out of that enchantment, no matter who placed it".

Voldemort scoffed, "You couldn't have killed him. You've never killed anyone before. You've never even hurt a fly".
"That's not my fault. You always insisted on sending me on non dangerous missions. And most of the time you kept me at your side, so that I wouldn't be put in danger" reminded Larissa.
"That is true. But things will be different when I get my body back" admitted Voldemort.
"Yes, they will be. I served you for 12 years, and sacrificed my body for you. I've done my service. And when you have your body back, I will be free to do as I please".

"Is that so?" Questioned Voldemort.
"Yes. I will not be bullied by you again. I will not be your pet princess ever again. I am my own person, I do not belong to you" informed Larissa.
"Well, until I have my body back, you have to do as I say. Until I get a new body, you are still mine" replied Voldemort.
"I'm counting down the days until I can leave your side"
"While you're doing that, you can take this cringing bit of filth back to his room. I do not wish to look at him anymore".
Larissa sighed and pulled Peter up from the floor, before dragging him upstairs towards his bedroom.