Damaged Bridges

The Great Escape

Bellatrix cursed under her breath, out of earshot of the Dark Lord. Choose wisely he had said. But there were few Death Eaters of note left to choose from. Nearly the entire inner-circle had been captured at the Ministry at the end of June the previous year, and the Dark Lord had yet to authorise a mission to break them out, choosing to let them stew for a while in their disgrace.

Not that any mission to take Azkaban would be necessary soon. Dolores Umbridge was already making progress turning the wizard world on its head with her propaganda - muddying the waters. Up was nearly Down, White would soon be Black. And then the Death Eaters on the inside of Azkaban could be pardoned and released.

But for the time being, until the Wizengamot was turned, in Azkaban they would remain while the Dark Lord lay low, spending most of his resources on causing trouble in the Muggle world, which largely went unreported by the Daily Prophet these days.

Of the ones outside Azkaban, Severus Snape was already slated for the team to take Hogwarts, but Bellatrix didn't entirely trust him. And Wormtail was off-limits as he had so recently become the Dark Lord's favourite. Yaxley was no good, as he was one of the Dark Lord's moles in the Ministry - but at least as Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, he could keep the Aurors from interfering.

That left the Carrow siblings, one of whom was also an occasional Ministry asset. Alecto Carrow sometimes worked for the Operations division of the Unspeakable Office as a Private Contractor. But as Alecto was currently not in their employ, she would do. Indeed Bellatrix missed working with Alecto.

Not to mention that Alecto's position as a Ministry Asset could potentially be an advantage in giving the taking of Hogwarts cover, giving the operation an air of legitimacy as a Ministry affair. Her brother Amycus was a bit of a loose cannon, but Alecto had him wrapped around her little finger - and occasionally other body parts as well.

Fenrir Greyback might make a good addition to the team - he was eager to please the Dark Lord in the hopes that he would earn a Dark Mark. Then there were a number of other Death Eaters who had evaded capture during the last war, none of them part of the inner-circle, and a plethora of recent recruits to the fold - including Draco, who had taken the Dark Mark not so long ago. Bellatrix decided she would simply have to decide which were the most worthy from among them.

Finally, after several days, Bellatrix had put together her team and been ready to lead the infiltration of Hogwarts, with the map of the maze of tunnels beneath the castle which Wormtail had provided. Breaking into Honeyduke's after-hours without alerting the citizens of Hogsmeade was no challenge, and now they were making their way through the dark underground passages hidden beneath the castle.

Up the stone steps Bellatrix and her team climbed until they found themselves behind the stone inner-walls of Hogwarts and the timbers which blocked the secret entrance, just as Wormtail had described. Closely examining the ancient wooden beams, Bellatrix found the crack of which he had spoken.

Though she had very little but disdain for him, Bellatrix had to give Wormtail his due for having accomplished what no other Death Eaters could. He was right - simply expanding the crack would widen the hole in the magical protections which warded the castle. Checking the gold pocket watch in her robes, Bellatrix was pleased to see that they had made good time and were right on schedule. Nearly the entirety of the student body and staff would soon be in the Great Hall, as dinner was about to start...

~o0o~

Professor McGonagall felt a sense of unease as she sat down to dinner with Flitwick, Hagrid, and the others. Her stomach tied up in knots, she could barely consider eating. The absence of the headmaster in these troubled times was unnerving to say the least, and she had the strangest feeling that the other shoe was about to drop.