Cavorting with Death

3

Just wanna say a massive thank you for all the support! I'm glad you're enjoying my story just as much as I enjoy writing it. Your reviews really mean a lot so keep em coming!

Chapter is a bit longer than usual so let me know if you like it that way. If not I'll stick with 6k words per chapter that seems to be the general norm.

Enjoy...

Chapter 3

CwD

July 3rd, 1996

"Mercy my Lord! Mercy...!" The writhing body of a man screamed out in unimaginable agony. The ferocity of the torture curse driving the twitching man into the throes of insanity.

"I grow tired of failure after failure my slippery friends." A silky voice drawled as he reluctantly released the Unforgivable Curse as crimson eyes burned with unadulterated malice.

The voice sneered before banishing the whimpering man back with a wave of his wand; the body scraping across the floor until it reached the gap in the ranks of where all the other Inner Circle members looked on fearfully.

"Get up Jugson."

"Y-Y-Yes M-Master."

The commanding presence gave one last look of contempt at the staggering man before he raised his eyes at the rest of his black-clad followers.

"Events are moving too slowly and that angers me my followers. No longer do I have the prophecy because you all, my most faithful, failed to acquire it and the half-blood upstart who continues to escape from my grasp has still not been brought before me. Both of which, were at the Ministry the day the country had found out I... had... returned." He growled, his aura rolling off his body causing the individuals in the room to asphyxiate slightly.

The Dark Lord Voldemort twisted his bone-white wand between his thumb and index finger, its tip sending out dangerous green and black sparks, as he stood in front of his Inner Circle. His faithful familiar Nagini busy away in the corner, consuming the last house elf of Malfoy Manor.

"Have I not been a forgiving and merciful Lord?" Voldemort asked no one in particular.

"Y-Yes my Lord." An unfortunate voice replied unaware.

Voldemort's eyes narrowed at the voice, his ire was already palpable.

The familiar sound of hissing echoed off the walls causing the individuals in the room to tense up as the ancient language of Parseltongue swept through from his yew wand like a bullet, impacting the foolish Death Eater in the middle of his forehead.

At once, the ill-fated man's head caved in from the middle as if it was falling into itself. A nauseating, putrid odour secreted throughout the room like a plague causing the other Death Eaters to retch and gag. Its smell was so horrendous that even Nagini paused her eating just to hiss violently at the source of her discomfort.

Voldemort looked dispassionately as eventually the voice that was screaming itself hoarse, suddenly cut off. All that was left of the foolish Death Eater was a glob of blood and mushy flesh. Bits of hair and bone peeked out from what remains of skin that was visible.

Lucius Malfoy grimaced as the blood and gore seeped through his once pristine floorboards, his already pale face, even paler after the devastation he had just witnessed.

"Wormtail." The cold voice said in a soft but deadly whisper.

The disgusting human-rat immediately prostrated himself in front of the Dark Lord.