So Much for No Strings Attached

Chapter 38 The Death Eaters Return

Harry had returned to Le Fay Castle at nine o’clock despite the fact that the Death Eaters would not be called for another three hours. At the time Harry hadn’t understood why the Dark Lord had wanted Harry home so early. He had thought it was so he could limit Harry’s time with his lover.

 

It was only when Harry had arrived back had Harry understood. It might have been true that the kitchen elves were the ones doing the cooking there was a lot to do. They had to plan what to tell the Death Eaters and how.

 

Then there was Harry’s ceremonial clothes and mask that the Dark Lord had had Sirius pick up for him. The Dark Lord had wanted to make it clear to all his followers that his Heir was in a position far above them even the Inner Circle. Harry would be standing at the Dark Lord’s right the whole time since the last one to do that had been James Potter then that was saying something.

 

Harry was wearing a long, dark Slytherin green, hooded robe with a silver hem decorated in snake shaped emeralds glittering in the shadows that the flames of the candles cast within the ball room. The robe was clasped over an expensive unicorn silk, green tunic, black leather boots and trousers which would enable Harry to fight in should it come to that. He was, also, wearing a full emerald coloured mask decorated with silver snakes which matched his robes perfectly which was so unlike any of the other masks within the Death Eater ranks.

 

Harry was standing to the right of his father who had a glamour which made him look like a snake and thin black robe covering him. Harry had got a shock when he and Lucius had stepped out of the Floo to find the Dark Lord looking like that before them. This was the form that Harry falsely remembered from the battle in bowels of Hogwarts.

 

Harry had known of course that the Dark Lord used that form for appearing outside his Inner Circle or if he wished to frighten his followers. Lucius had informed him that after James had been kidnapped that was the only form the Dark Lord used so he was more than used to that form even if it instilled fear within the blonde Lord. Harry knew that his father was using the man-snake form to frighten his followers who had abandoned him to his lonely, painful exile at the time when he needed his supposedly loyal followers the most.

 

Sirius stood a few feet behind Harry melding into the shadows as his role of Harry’s body guard allowed. Only visible by a bright red mask which identified him as Harry’s as Sirius had said it was Harry he was loyal to not Harry’s father! Harry was pleased that the Dark Lord and Sirius had managed to work out what they were going to do even if Sirius had ended up being Crucioedin that meeting much to Harry’s ire.

 

Sirius and the Dark Lord had realised that Sirius wore his heart on his sleeve too much to pretend to be on Dumbledore’s side. Sirius would not be able to even pretend to hate Harry and James. Harry knew that his father had been hoping for another spy in Dumbledore’s camp especially as Dumbledore appeared not to be trusting Severus as he had done before but clearly that was not happening.

 

Then Tom had realised that Wormtail would not have been powerful enough to perform the Fidelis Charm even if had been appointed the Secret Keeper. Questioning Wormtail they realised that it had been Dumbledore who had performed the Fidelis Charm. The Dark Lord had decided to turn Wormtail over to the Ministry missing his recent memories but with the memories of Dumbledore performing the Fidelis Charm meaning that the Chief Warlock had sentenced an innocent Heir to Azkaban without so much as a trial.