But there needed to be a grand gesture and something else…
Barty chuckled. Weasley. Didn't he deserve something for his mindless brown-nosing? Perhaps the loss of his father would be enough and it was a good choice; the older Weasley had just been appointed to the Wizengamot and some Muggle Affairs thing the Dark Lord had ranted about.
Yes.
Yes.
It would be brilliant.
The Dark Lord – his new father – would be pleased.
"The next time I see you, old man, it will be to kill you." Barty promised gleefully. He bounded back up the stairs and into the kitchen. "Winky!"
Winky cowered in front of him.
"Go heal him." Barty ordered. "And bring me Weasley's correspondence. I have some planning to do."
Winky's ears flapped unhappily, her big round eyes filled with tears, but she nodded and popped away.
Barty grabbed an apple, biting into it enthusiastically as he went out to enjoy the sunset.
o-O-o
Another Friday meeting. An extended one with all that had happened during the previous week.
Sirius stretched and eased the kinks out of his neck as he waited for the others to arrive. Remus had agreed to attend although he was currently encased in a chair and napping. The full moon and the lycanthropy had taken its usual pound of flesh. Bill was also there at Bertie's request; he sat in a chair reading an old book he'd gotten out of the library. The contrast of his rebellious muggle clothing and the intent studious expression amused Sirius. He wondered if he had looked the same once upon a time.
His connection to the wards tugged on him and he knew the rest of the War Council had arrived. He revived Remus and Bill set his book down with a sigh that spoke of being irritated at the interruption to his reading. Sirius's lips twitched as he assured the young curse-breaker he could take the book home with him.
Within moments the study was filled with the most senior members of the British Magical government, the bustle of getting settled, refreshments arriving and the exchange of small talk although Sirius noted Amelia seemed quiet.
Sirius cleared his throat. "We should begin." He nodded at Cornelius but Amelia held up her hand before Cornelius could speak.
"I believe I should go first: the monitoring wards in Little Hangleton were tripped yesterday night at approximately nine-thirty."
Everyone suddenly sat up straighter.
"Why weren't we informed immediately?" demanded Cornelius and Sirius had to agree with him – they should have been informed.
Amelia sighed. "Let me explain. As soon as the wards pinged, Wood and Cambridge responded to investigate and reported back that Pettigrew, a snake and what looked to be a small child – a toddler – were inside the Manor. I was about to contact you when they made a second report that Pettigrew had left on foot so I held off on the assumption that there would be more to report. That was around ten o'clock. He made a visit to the cemetery in Little Hangleton and according to Wood collected some bones from Tom Riddle Senior's grave."
Both Bertie and Dumbledore exchanged a knowing look at that piece of information and Sirius's jaw tightened.
"Pettigrew returned to the Manor around midnight at which point things basically went pear-shaped." Amelia said. "Cambridge watched as the muggle caretaker, Frank Bryce, was killed by the toddler in the presence of a large snake."
"It is not a toddler then," Dumbledore said gravely, "but a homunculus bearing what remains of Voldemort's soul."
"From the memory I watched I suspect he's possessed a two year old innocent magical child," Amelia said, "unfortunately Bryce's murder happened too quickly for Cambridge to intervene and he took a step back in his horror at what had happened, stumbled over something and alerted the snake to the fact that something or someone else was present – it reacted anyway. He quickly conjured a mouse to account for the noise and portkeyed away to prevent discovery." She paused and took a gulp of her drink. "Wood remained behind as he was hidden in a different location outside and watched as Pettigrew apparated away with the toddler and snake. He was unable to place a tracking charm and unable to follow given the danger of following an apparition trail straight into a trap."
"Bugger," said Sirius. They'd been so close.
"Wood anonymously alerted the muggle authorities to the death and returned to base." Amelia sighed. "I felt it wasn't worthwhile disturbing your sleep to inform you of what had happened given the result and our meeting now."
Sirius sighed heavily. He saw her point and he could see her guilt at what she must perceive as a failure of the Rat Squad. "Missions and plans go pear-shaped, Amelia. Nobody knows that better than myself."
She nodded. "And plans rarely survive engagement with the enemy," she smiled sadly at Sirius, "I had the same training, Sirius. It's just…disappointing. If they had remained at the Manor, we would have had them in our sights once we dealt with the treasure hunt."
"Well, we still learned many valuable things from this encounter." Bertie soothed. "Namely, that our intelligence is correct; Pettigrew is working to restore Voldemort and he is with Voldemort back in this country."
"We've also confirmed that he's replaced his familiar as we learned at the Gaunt place." Bill said. "He's travelling with a snake."
"He's gained some form of a body – whether a child or a homunculus in which to house what remains of his soul." Dumbledore chimed in. "But not one that I believe Voldemort intends to remain within given the theft of the bones of his father."
"Yes," Sirius said dryly, "I noticed you and Bertie got very excited about that."
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