Kassandra Bauer and the Goblet of Fire (Book 4)

Chapter 27: The Death Eaters.

Voldemort looked away from Harry and examined his own body. His hands like large, pale spiders, his long white fingers caressed his own chest, his arms, his face; those red eyes whose pupils were slits, gleamed brightly into the darkness. He held up his hands and flexed his fingers, his expression was rapt and exultant. Snyde bowed to Voldemort. And Voldemort didn't notice Pettigrew, who was twitching and bleeding on the ground.

I tried working on my bounds again. I managed to get a part of them loose around my fingers. "If... if I can just..." But Voldemort looked at Harry and circled him like a Shark to its pray. 

Snyde presented Voldemort his wand. One of his long fingered hands taking it and gently caressing it. And then he raised it and pointed at Pettigrew, was was lifted to the ground and thrown against the headstone where Harry was tied. He fell to the foot of it and layed there, crumbled up and crying. Voldemort turned his eyes upon Harry, and laughing again. 

"Welcome back, My Lord." Snyde greeted bowing.

"Rise." Voldemort ordered.

And Snyde rose. 

Pettigrew's robes were shining with blood, now. And he was wrapped in the stump of his arm. "My Lord..." He choked. "My Lord... you promised... you did promise..." 

"Hold out your arm." Voldemort demanded.

"Oh, Master... thank you, Master..." 

Pettigrew extended his bleeding stump for an arm, but Voldemort laughed again. "The other arm, Wormtail." 

"You heard the man." Snyde smirked.

"Master, please...please..." Pettigrew begged.

That bastard didn't deserve to plead for mercy. 

Voldemort leaned down, and pulled out Wormtail's left arm; he forced the sleeve up past Wormtail's elbow, and I saw a large, red tattoo on his forearm; a skull with a snake, protruding from its mouth- the exact spitting image from the Quidditch World Cup in the sky. The Dark Mark. Voldemort examined it carefully, while he ignored Pettigrew's sobbing.

"It is back." Voldemort declared. "They will all have noticed it... and now, we shall see... now we shall know..." He then pressed his white long forefinger to the brand on Pettigrew's arm. 

Harry shouted in pain. And Pettigrew led out a fresh howl; Voldemort removed his finger from the Mark, and I saw that it was now jet black.

Voldemort then had a cruel satisfaction look on his face. He straightened up, and threw his head back and stared around the dark graveyard.

This was my chance. My hands were freed, but my arms were still tied up to the post. I tried to lean down and see if I could bend and reach my wand. My legs were still bound, so I couldn't really move my legs either. This must've been how it felt for Luke when he was trapped in the Cave with the Snow Monster. At least I wasn't hanging upside down.  

"How many will be brave enough to return when they fell it?" Voldemort asked, his gleaming red eyes fixated on the stars. "And how many will be foolish enough to stay away?"

"The ones who avoided Azkaban at any rate." Snyde commented.

Voldemort then looked at me. I stayed very still. I was frozen, I may as well have been Petrified. "Ah, I remember you, girl. From 3 years ago." He said. 

I started to say something. But he couldn't understand what I was saying. 

"What?" Voldemort asked.

I mumbled some more.

Voldemort was clearly getting frustrated. "Could someone please, remove her infernal gag!" He demanded.

Snyde took the gag off my mouth.