Chapter 2: London or How to Frame Sirius Black

I needed to be extremely productive in order to frame Black, ensure Pettigrew's fame, and take care of the Longbottoms before the magic boost from Samhain night ended.

I was flying to London with Black, who had been imperioed. Why didn't we apparate? By doing so, he might have had an opportunity to resist the curse. Additionally, I was utilizing this moment to evaluate my own skills, which had proven to be quite impressive thus far.

Lord Voldemort had a magic reserve and recovery speed that were ten times greater than the average wizard's, making him second only to Dumbledore in Britain. The majority of his abilities were focused on causing harm. He was highly skilled in a wide range of advanced spells, particularly those related to dark, soul, battle, and mind magic. While he had less expertise in transfiguration, potions, rituals, and runes, his proficiency still far surpassed the necessary level for mastery. He was capable enough in Light magic to cast a Patronus, although that was his limit. However, he had no knowledge whatsoever in household magic.

What would a magical battle look like? If it were simply a matter of waving a wand and uttering an incantation, a gun or even a crossbow would be more efficient. The act of waving a wand and chanting spells was primarily done by school children. However, there may be exceptions with the Unforgivables- properly enunciating them helped to prevent excessive energy wastage.

At Voldemort's level, simply pointing the wand and concentrating on the desired outcome was usually sufficient to affect the target. Basic spells such as the cutting curse could be cast rapidly, without exceeding the rate of regeneration. When it came to speed and strength, the damage caused by a bullet was the same no matter who fired it. While Incendio might only light a piece of paper for an average 11-year-old, in the hands of someone like Riddle it could be as powerful as a highly explosive missile. By focusing intensely, individuals could control the speed and power within their capabilities.

Naturally, a wizard could be fatally shot in the head by a sniper rifle unless they had cast a kinetic shield before engaging in battle. In such a case, bullets would have no effect until the shield's energy is fully drained. A third-year wizard's shield might withstand multiple shots from a handgun, while an average adult wizard's shield could endure a grenade launcher. Riddle, on the other hand, could endure an onslaught of artillery shells.

Lord Voldemort was busy casting his usual protection charms on himself, including shields against various elements, mental attacks, and radiation. This seemed overly paranoid to the speaker, who questioned if only Moody or Albus would have such a shield.

Next, there were camouflage charms that encompassed concealing magic, aura, sound, heat, and smell, as well as repelling attention, standard invisibility, and invisibility to radio waves. Riddle despised muggles, yet he was far from being foolish.

My reserves depleted by a quarter, with four tenths dedicated to maintaining all the charms and one tenth to controlling Black. He is a tough bastard.

Without thinking, I instinctively grabbed the vials from my pocket. All of the potent potions were toxic, requiring knowledge of the appropriate dosage and the potential interactions. Riddle possessed this knowledge and, due to his paranoid nature, prepared all the concoctions himself.

After consuming approximately one-third of the recommended safe dosage, my focus returned to Black. Sadly, it seemed unlikely that I could maintain control over him indefinitely using the Imperius curse. Executing him would be imprudent, considering his substantial wealth. However, I pondered the best method to access his funds, but so far, I had no suitable ideas. Consequently, I resolved to confine him in Lestrange's dungeons temporarily. Once I orchestrated his demise, no one would notice his absence.

A gentle Seco - and a transfigured air bottle were filled with a liter of Sirius Black's blood, followed by one finger and ear. These will be the remains of the terrorist after the explosion. Two additional spells were used to temporarily replace Black's missing body parts with prosthetics.

Black and I finally arrived at a cluttered back alley in London, where we were met by the Lestranges and Pettigrew. Peter consumed a potion to confuse the outcomes of the truth serum and legilimency, making them not eligible for use as evidence. In the end, he would be the sole individual left alive, serving as both a survivor and witness.

Bella gave Sirius a family dagger with the Black crest, along with two nondescript amulets to prevent Aurors from arriving too early by blocking apparition and magic detection. Pettigrew succumbed easily to the Imperius curse. With concealment charms in place, we all entered a nearby office building.

We walked into a lecture hall where the teacher was discussing a topic related to accounting. Approximately fifty listeners were lazily jotting down notes.

It's time to start our show. Bellatrix and Rodolphus set up wards to prevent apparition and magic detection. I made two popping sounds and lifted concealment charms from Pettigrew and Black.

"How could you betray James, Sirius?!" Peter Pettigrew screamed.

"Death to the Mudblood!" Black shouted.

They started screaming more nonsensical nonsense and hurling nonverbal insults and curses at each other, hitting innocent bystanders.

Black activated the amulets with his free hand in order to give the appearance that the shields were created by him. When the muggles began to panic, I instructed Black to use an area stunner, causing half of them to freeze. After another activation, only the two wizards remained in motion.

"Toturnull!" Black's curse struck Peter Pettigrew's wand arm, causing its bones to disappear. This is followed by a stunner and an Imperio (just an empty word).

Everything had to appear convincing. Black barricaded the door and began to attack the shocked muggles with a ritual knife at each of the five pentagram corners. Despite his frantic efforts to resist the Imperius curse, he continued to rant about James being a blood traitor and expressed relief at no longer having to pretend to be a muggle sympathizer. He also spoke about Pettigrew's willingness to sacrifice himself as a human bomb to destroy Dumbledore and gain favor with the Dark Lord.

This ritual actually existed: a powerful Dark wizard would place another wizard-sacrifice in the middle of a blood pentagram, with live and dead muggles surrounding them. Once the spell was cast, all the muggles would perish, and the caster would then have the power to make the wizard in the center explode whenever they wanted, no matter the distance. The explosive "bomb" could be easily triggered under the Imperius curse. Voldemort had attempted this ritual several times before, but it proved ineffective against Albus or Moody. However, I had no desire to complete it this time.

This ritual possessed two highly beneficial attributes. It consumed a tremendous amount of the caster's energy and released such an abundance of dark magic that conducting it without a permanently shielded area would be considered insane, as it would risk encountering the full force of the DMLE. As long as Bella maintained the ward, no one from the outside was aware.

However, the muggle witnesses were unable to see Bella; they only saw two amulets floating in the air. Suddenly, one of the amulets started changing colors and emitting squeaking sounds. Black turned to try and stabilize it, fearing that the Aurors would disrupt his work if he didn't.

Black was under immense strain, causing Pettigrew to break free from Black's nonexistent Imperius curse and the stunner that I had dispelled. Taking advantage of Black's distraction, Pettigrew courageously pulled out a steel construction rod from a muggle who was nailed to the floor and stabbed Black in the throat. As a result, Black collapsed.

The wound was not fatal, as I ensured that Black did not lose too much blood. Peter dropped the rod and grabbed Black's wand. While Black attempted to cast a spell without his wand, Pettigrew unleashed a powerful curse. I hastened my reactions to shield myself, Pettigrew, and some muggles from harm, as the Lestranges also prepared their defenses.

"Re.." Peter began.

A replica made with Black's blood was immediately swapped with him. Though just a useless statue, it would pass for him. The real Black, shocked and transformed, was placed in my pocket.

"... ducto!" - Peter finished.

The explosion was spectacular, resulting in Fake Black being reduced to ground meat and his blood covering the walls. His finger flew across the room, and half of the muggles were also minced to pieces. The survivors suffered heavy injuries, and the blast hole went down three floors. Peter Pettigrew, who was brave, went into shock due to a concussion and a broken leg, so I had to take him under complete control.

The Lestranges lowered their shields and left without any harm. Peter continued to act as a hero by calling upon the Aurors and the Order, then he healed one of the muggles before becoming physically exhausted. Recognizing that he could no longer provide assistance, he apparated to a member of the Order on duty, rather than to St. Mungo's. He will soon share his story with an older man from the Order, who will notice signs of Dark curses related to "Black". Healing Peter would require at least 2 hours, unless Abus was willing to use Phoenix tears. Even then, he will need to spend time speaking with Peter, checking his memories, and offering comfort.

I disappeared through apparition. There would be no evidence as the dark magic emitted by the amulets overpowered any other magical signs. After a few more apparitions, I reached the Lestrange manor.

It has always reminded me of The Winter Palace in St. Petersburg. The entire family greeted me - Edward, the Lestrange patriarch, who is Rodolphus' and Rabastan's father and was Tom's classmate and one of the first death eaters. Rodolphus and Rabastan, who are brothers and death eaters, were also there. And my favorite was Bellatrix Lestrange, formerly known as Bellatrix Black, who is Rodolphus' wife and the most devoted death eater. Being around them made me feel at ease. In his younger days, Tom assisted them in breaking a family curse and later saved Rabastan's life. They were among the very few in my organization whom I could trust.

"My lord, will you stay?" - Bellatrix asked.

Lord Voldemort was fixated on gaining power and achieving immortality, with no interest in wealth. He wore clothes that were transfigured and resided in the manors of his servants, primarily the Lestranges'.

"Not now," I answered. "Here is Sirius Black. Put him in the most secure cell and grow him new ears and fingers. Keep in mind he is an animagus. He must not have an opportunity to commit suicide."

"Little Siri is an Animagus? We'll get him a comfortable cage!" Bellatrix didn't even acknowledge their blood relationship. We went down to the dungeons and soon a large black dog was locked in his new cell, wearing a magic blocking collar and sleeping under the potion of living death.

The edest Lestrange asked if the security was excessive. He was Tom's friend and one of the few people who could speak to him in such a manner.

"You're right, my friend. Add wards against house elves and something of your own. Maybe golem guards for constant surveillance. Don't go in. I will not risk the black fortune and Wormtail's cover in Dumbledore's ranks. Maximum security."

Rodolphus asked if there were any more orders.

"Yes. I need two houses, permanently. Each under Fidelius. And two house elves. Also prepare a ritual room to raise three corpses and a white zombie."

Playing with the dead didn't seem to bother anyone in this area. The dungeons were frequently utilized for the purpose of transforming muggles and unfortunate enemies into zombies and inferi. Occasionally, we even managed to create liches, which were corpses capable of using magic. It was the houses and house elves that opposed Voldemort's methods.

Edward asked if you, my Lord, had decided to settle down.

"Yes," I said, refusing to elaborate.

"Do you wish to gather all your servants, my lord?" - Bellatrix intervened. "Everyone must know that the Potters were defeated by your hand!"

"Later, Bella. I will go to the Longbottoms before Samhain is over."

She pleaded to accompany me.

"I'll take care of it myself. If you want to be useful, go and do what I just ordered."

I departed from the manor and made my way to the boundary of the wards before apparating to the Longbottoms. Unlike Wormtail, their secret keeper was not a traitor, but he divulged everything while being tortured; at that point, his body was too degraded to even become an inferus.