Riddle And Grindelwald (Book 3)

30. Death At Dinner

Genevieve felt as if she had lost her daughter all over again, only this time she could not grieve, because she couldn't afford to let Tom see her upset, because then he would want to know what had happened.
She knew it had been wrong to expect her daughter to choose her over her lover, when she refused to do the same and give up Tom.
Despite his many flaws, Tom always kept his promises.
So, he broke back into Azkaban and freed the death eaters who were imprisoned there.
Unlike the last prison break out, this one was not mentioned at all in any papers. As Scrimgeour didn't want the people to know just how powerful Tom really was, or that his army was now back to full strength.

In order to distract herself from her disagreement with Mathilde, Genevieve tried throwing herself into the death eater meetings, most of which were very dull affairs.
Shortly after the Azkaban breakout, Tom held a large gathering at the Malfoy Manor, which all death eaters had to attend.
It was rare that they all sat down in the same room, at a dinner table, especially without their masks on. As secrecy has always been so important to Tom.
The death eaters were not the only attendees that evening, for a young woman hung in the air above them, barely conscious.
Her name was Charity Burbage, and Tom had kidnapped her before the meeting, for he planned on making an example out of her.

After waiting for what seemed like hours, the final two death eaters finally arrived; Snape and Yaxley.
Snape took a seat opposite Genevieve, on Tom's left hand side, while Yaxley sat halfway down the table.
"You are very nearly late. So, what news do you have for me?" Tom asked Snape.
"My lord, the Order of the Phoenix intends on moving Harry Potter next Saturday at nightful. They will take him to the home of someone in the Order. I think there is little chance of us taking him once he is there. Unless the Ministry has fallen by next Saturday" answered Snape.

Tom turned to look down the table at Yaxley.
"Well, will the Ministry have fallen by then?" He questioned.
"My lord, I have successfully placed Pius Thicknesse under the Imperius Curse" revealed Yaxley.
"That is good. But I will need Scrimgeour surrounded by my people before I act. One failed attempt on the Minister's life will set me back a long way. So, it seems unlikely that the Ministry will have fallen by next Saturday. If we cannot touch the boy at his destination, then we must attack him while he travels" sighed Tom.

"The Order is eschewing any form of transport that is controlled by the Ministry. So they will likely use brooms to transport Potter, as the boy is an adequate flier" admitted Snape.
"If he is being moved in the open, it will make it easier to take him... There have been too many mistakes made when it comes to Potter. But I understand now why I failed before. And I shall need another's wand to kill Potter with" announced Tom.
All the death eaters kept their mouths shut, terrified that he might take their wand.

"No volunteers? How disappointing. Lucius, I see no reason why you should have your wand anymore" continued Tom, as he got out of his seat and made his way towards the Malfoy's.
Lucius's hand shook as he handed his wand over to Tom.
The man was a shadow of his former self, but it brought Genevieve no happiness to see how far he had fallen.
"What is it made of?" Tom asked Lucius.
"Elm and dragon heartstring, my lord" answered Lucius, as he began to sweat profusely.

"Hmm. Why do the Malfoy's look so unhappy with their lot? Is my rise to power not everything that they have desired, for so many years?" Questioned Tom.
"Of course it is, my lord" insisted Lucius weakly.
"My lord, it is an honour to have you here, in our family house. There can be no higher pleasure" announced Bellatrix enthusiastically.
"No higher pleasure, that means a great deal coming from you, Bella" replied Tom.
"My lord knows I speak nothing but the truth" grinned Bella.

Genevieve rolled her eyes and folded her arms.
"Calm down you psycho, and stop taking credit for things that aren't yours. This is the Malfoy Manor, not the Black family home, so you cannot claim that it is an honour to have us in your family house" reminded Genevieve.
Tom smiled, "My wife has a point. And is having me here really the highlight of your week? Afterall, we all know of a happy event in your family that took place this week".
"I don't know what you mean, my lord" frowned Bellatrix.
"I'm talking of your niece, Bella. She has just married the werewolf, Remus Lupin. You must be so proud" mocked Tom.

Several people around the table began to laugh at Bellatrix's humiliation, and Genevieve was one of them.
"She is no niece of ours, my lord. Me and Narcissa haven't set eyes on our sister since she married that Mudblood. That brat of hers has nothing to do with either of us" insisted Bellatrix.
"Many of our eldest family trees become a little diseased over time. You must prune yours to keep it healthy, and cut away the parts that threaten the rest of the tree" replied Tom.
"Yes, my lord. At the first chance!"
"And you shall have it"
"Thank you, my lord".

Suddenly a loud cry of misery sounded down from the cellar below them. And Genevieve knew it was Ollivander crying out in pain.
"Wormtail, have I not spoken to you about keeping out guest quiet" snapped Tom.
"Yes, my lord" mumbled Wormtail, who scrambled out of his seat and headed downstairs to keep Ollivander quiet.
"Now, I wonder how many of you can recognise our guest tonight?" Quizzed Tom, as he pointed Lucius's wand up at Charity Burbage, causing her to drift towards him.

"Severus please, help me" whispered Charity, as she looked down at Snape, who's expression remained blank.
"For those of you that don't know, we are joined here tonight by Miss Charity Burbage, who until recently taught Muggle Studies at Hogwarts. Yes, Professor Burbage taught our wizarding children how Muggles are not so different from us" revealed Tom.
Several people at the table gagged and even spat on the floor at what Charity had done at Hogwarts.
"Severus, please" begged Charity once more.

"Not content with corrupting and polluting the minds of wizarding children, Professor Burbage recently wrote an impassioned defence of Mudbloods in the Daily Prophet. According to Professor Burbage, the dwindling of the pure-bloods is the most desirable circumstance. And she would have us all mate with Muggles, or doubt werewolves" revealed Tom.
There was nothing Genevieve could do to help the woman.
All she could do was watch as Tom lifted his new wand and shouted the Killing Curse.
"Avada Kedavra!".

A flash of green light illuminated every corner of the room.
Charity fell from the sky and landed on the table with a loud thud.
Several of the death eaters jumped out of their seats, and young Draco Malfoy even fell to the floor.
But Genevieve did neither.
As the wife of Lord Voldemort she had grown used to watching him perform brutal acts. And she knew what was expected of her, which is why she didn't flinch as her husband killed yet another innocent person.
"Nagini, dinner" Tom said softly, as he looked down at the snake at his feet.
Nagini hissed and slithered up onto the table, so that she could devour Charity Burbage, leaving no trace of the murder that had just taken place.