Chapter 20: Games And Plots

"My Lord…" Lucius began, then he paused as Voldemort looked up from his examination of the Quidditch Display Table.

"Ah, Lucius. I was just examining this… quite a work of art, is it not?"

"Yes, my Lord." Lucius replied, slightly bemused by the direction of the conversation. "I purchased one of the best tables with hand-crafted models, each one carved by a master woodworker from the finest materials and painted by a professional artist to be as accurate as possible."

Voldemort straightened up and walked to the racks of figures set into a glass-fronted display case.

"And you have them all here, ready to be placed on the sides of the table so that you can watch the game from the comfort of your own home, in the company of those you approve of."

"Yes, my lord." Lucius responded, still trying to work out the direction that the conversation was about to go.

"And you even have the professional teams in a separate display case from the Hogwarts teams… and with little name-plaques. You certainly spared no expense."

"I… am a keen follower of Quidditch, my Lord." Lucius responded nervously, unable to decide how to interpret the Dark Lord's suddenly whimsical tone.

"So I see." Voldemort murmured as he examined the set placed on a golden stand as opposed to the worked silver of the other teams. "And pride of place goes to the Ballycastle Bats…"

"My second-cousin Finbar Quigley is a Beater for them and they were kind enough to loan me the use of their stadium when Narcissa and I got married." Lucius found himself explaining. "Narcissa supports them too, she's a close friend of one of their Chasers, Lunette Penumbra."

Voldemort made a slight sound of interest as he moved across to the Hogwarts display, then he leaned closer.

"So, Potter really is in Ravenclaw. Odd, considering both his parents were in Gryffindor. And Keeper…"

"He's made quite a reputation for himself." Lucius supplied. "Last year, he blocked every single shot the other teams made and took out a pair of sabotaged Bludgers. The only reason Ravenclaw didn't win was that in the final game, Gryffindor managed to catch the Snitch."

"Interesting." Voldemort mused, rubbing his chin. "Very interesting. And we'll be watching… which game is it?"

"Slytherin versus Gryffindor, my Lord." Lucius stated as he opened the cupboard and lifted out the Slytherin rack which was made of silver while the other three were wood. Voldemort watched as Lucius placed the rack in the special recess, then he placed the Gryffindor team into the second recess.

"And the models will move to show what the players are doing? How… modern."

Lucius winced slightly, but he had already prepared the rationalization. "It hasn't changed Quidditch itself at all, just expanded the enjoyment of it, my Lord. It's not that much different from having a permanent box at the stadium."

The Floo chimed and Voldemort smirked.

"I do believe that the first of your specially-invited guests has arrived, Lucius. Although Wormtail can't be with us due to the mission I set him, I look forwards to the reunion of all those loyal to me... except of course for those currently undertaking other vital missions."

"Like Severus Snape, my Lord?"

"Indeed. If he were not there to watch over his House, it would cause a great deal of suspicion. Do not worry, he will join us again when the time is right."

"As you say, my Lord." Lucius bowed, then he hurried out as the Floo chime sounded again.

.

.

Lucius carefully topped up the glass of whiskey in Voldemort's hand as the resurrected Dark Lord lounged in the throne-like chair which, under other circumstances, Lucius would have been sat in.

"Thank you, Lucius." Voldemort said magnanimously. "Please, take a seat."

Lucius handed the bottle over to Nicodemus Nott before lowering himself into the chair and checking his watch.

"My Lord, I believe that the game will be starting soon. If I may…?"

"By all means." Voldemort waved his hand expressively and Lucius fired a small spell to activate the table and its integrated radio.

"…lcome one and all to the first Hogwarts Quidditch game of

the season. I am your announcer today, Hieronymus Sundown.

Both teams today are fielding new chasers, both are second-year

students from notable families, Draco Malfoy and Ron Weasley.

The weather today is dry but slightly overcast, meaning that the

players are unlikely to be dazzled by the sun but still have more

than enough light to keep track of what is going on. A hush has

fallen over the crowd… and here come the teams!

Slytherin are first out onto the field with Chaser and Captain Marcus

Flint in the lead flanked by fellow-chasers Draco Malfoy and Adrian

Pucey. Following them are Miles Bletchley, their keeper and Terence

Higgs, their Seeker while the beaters Peregrine Derrick and Lucian Bole

bring up the rear.

Now it's the Gryffindors, led by their Keeper and Captain, Oliver Wood.

Following him are the three chasers Angelica Johnson, Alicia Spinnet and

Ron Weasley with their seeker Percy Weasley close behind. Bringing up

the rear are the Weasley Twins, Fred and George. Excellent Beaters but

I still have no clue which one is which.

Referee Madam Hooch swoops onto the pitch with the box containing

the balls and both captains move down to land beside her. They shake

hands as the other players take position and Hooch opens the box!

There goes the Snitch, so fast it's gone almost before anyone could see

it. The Bludgers are flying into the air… and Hooch throws the Quaffle!

The game has started!

Slytherin get possesion with Malfoy intercepting the Quaffle, passing

almost at once to Pucey who fakes left and does a drop-pass to Flint.

Flint rolls high, swoops left and does a back-pass to Malfoy who was

in the perfect position to catch it! Malfoy spirals through the Lion's

defence and side-passes to Pucey before peeling off. The Gryffindor

Chasers are boxing Pucey in and he does a back-pass to Flint, but Ron

intercepts with a diving grab! Lions have possession and Ron passes

to Alicia who passes to Angelina and back to Ron in a perfect triangle

pass, carrying them past the defenders. Ron rolls to avoid a bludger

and uses the opportunity to pass to Spinnet… GOAL! First goal to the

Lions! Ten-zero!"

Lucius winced slightly.

"That was a very good technique your son used." Voldemort noted, earning a surprised look. "Shame about the interception, but one can never expect the enemy to do what you hope they will."

Lucius remained silent as he considered the subtext of the apparently-innocent comment.

"And Slytherin now in possession, doing one of the best Serpentine

Slides I've ever seen, faking and jinking to prevent the Lions from

seeing who has the Quaffle… and Gryffindor target the wrong one!

Draco does a perfect distraction rush and opens the way for Flint

to charge past! Flint shoots… and Wood just manages to deflect

it, right into Pucey's hands! Pucey scores and it's ten all! A truly

amazing recovery by Slytherin!

Gryffindor take possession… and Percy spins out in a Kaltor Roll!

He dives down and Higgs is in hot pursuit! Percy weaves right,

rolls left… and a Bludger fired by one of the Weasley Twins hits

Higgs in the shoulder! Higgs breaks off… as does Percy! It was

a pre-planned ploy! Higgs won't be doing any real maneuvers

while he recovers from the impact… and Percy dives again! Higgs

tries to follow, but he can't! His control is lacking and he breaks

off looking furious. Percy pulls out, looking satisfied, for now the

Slytherin Seeker is not a factor! Slytherin need to rack up a huge

score if they want to win… can they do it?"

"Well, this seems interesting." Voldemort mused. "With the most important player effectively out, Slytherin are at a severe disadvantage. Does this remind you of anything?"

Lucius and several of his brighter guests winced at the reference to how they had virtually fallen apart a decade ago without the Dark Lord to unite them.

"Draco uses the distraction to slip past the Gryffindor team with

the Quaffle and blindsides Wood! Twenty points to ten with the

Snakes in the lead and Wood is looking furious! Gryffindor take

possession of the Quaffle. The Weasley Twins deliver synchronised

blows to the Bludges, opening the way for the Chasers. The Chasers

do a reverse triangle pass! That must have taken a lot of practise but

it works, they're through and Ron takes the shot… Draco dives out of

nowhere to intercept! He loops under the Chasers and spins past the

Beaters! He fires at the hoops… and Wood manages to deflect it! Flint

grabs the Quaffle and shoots… and Wood deflects again! What a save

by the Gryffindor Captain! He passes to Angelica who takes off with

the Slytherin Chasers in hot pursuit! Ron and Alicia do a scissors behind

her… and it looks like a Ghost Pass! Alicia has the Quaffle and the Snakes

don't realize! Alicia goes low and… and it's over! Percy Weasley has the

Snitch! He grabbed it as everyone was following the Chasers and with

Higgs still recovering, Gryffindor have won! What a short game it was!"

"Damn!" Lucius cursed before stiffening and giving Voldemort a nervous look. To his shock, the Dark Lord was actually smiling.

"Well, that was an interesting reflection of what happened a decade ago, wasn't it." He asked almost jovially. "I was taken out and without me, you could not hold out long enough to prevent the Light from claiming victory, hmmm?"

The silence that descended on the small group was both profound and filled with nervousness. Looking round at his followers, Voldemorts smile turned from amused to predatorial.

"But I have returned, as I foretold, my Death Eaters. Soon, I will lead you all into a greater world, one where you can claim all you wish and those who profane the Wizarding World by their presence and arrogant assumption that breeding means nothing will be taught their places!"

The room erupted in cheers and applause while Lucius bowed deeply in respect.

"My Lord, once more I can see victory with you to lead us."

"Indeed, my loyal servant. Of course, there is something that I need to find first. Macnair!"

"Yes, my Lord?" Walden Macnair bowed deeply as the others pulled away from him, leaving him standing alone.

"I wish to pay a quiet visit to a certain place in the Ministry. There is a Prophecy I need to hear in its entirety."

"Yes, my Lord! Erm, it may take a while to arrange, my Lord…"

"There is no real rush." Voldemort waved the concern away. "In fact, I believe that the best time would be during Lucius' Christmas Ball. Lucius, I must ask that this year, you make a point of publicly inviting Dumbledore and a few of his allies, the ones who move in your general circles but who have links to the Ministry themselves. I am aware that this will cut down a bit on your planned politicking but it will allow me full access to the Ministry, thus granting me the time I need to do my work uninterrupted. If you can, hint to Dumbledore's allies that you are training your son to take on the role of Lord Black in the near future. It will distract the old fool nicely and have him looking in the wrong places when it is our time to claim victory.

Lucius stared in near-worship as his Master displayed the ability to create new plans without any hesitation, plans which would work.

"Oh, Macnair, one other thing." Voldemort said, causing the Ministry Worker to look at him curiously. "I expect subtlety on this one. I know you are capable of it when you put your mind to it, so I expect you to do just that. Understand?"

"Yes, my Lord!"

.

.

Lucius returned from escorting the last of his usual guests to the Floo room and seeing them off, all of them quietly rejoicing with the knowledge that their leader had returned once more to lead them to their inevitable victory. As he entered his study, he slammed to a halt as he saw the trapdoor concealed under the rug was open and Voldemort was standing beside it, his face wearing an expression so neutral that Lucius knew that he was in trouble.

"Lucius…" Voldemort said in an overly-calm voice as he held up the letter that Narcissa had written. "Why was Albus able to find and destroy the book that I gave you? What were you trying to use it for?"

Lucius cringed as Voldemort almost lazily lifted his wand.

"I demand answers, Lucius." Voldemort almost purred. "And you shall give them to me."

Lucius stared in horror as Voldemort's wand pointed at him.

"Now, Lucius, I do believe you owe me an explanation… and for your sake, it had better be a good one…"