"Wormtail!" Bellatrix Lestrange's haughty voice rang out through the manor hall. "Go fetch me a bottle of wine. Now."
As usual, the short, stooped man should have appeared immediately, carrying a tray with a grimy bottle and a glass.
But this time, there was no response.
"Where has that cowardly rat scurried off to now?" Bellatrix muttered.
To be honest, she wasn't in the best mood.
A few hours earlier, the Dark Lord had personally led his most elite Death Eaters away from Yaxley Manor on a mysterious mission. Even she hadn't been told the target. Perhaps they were going to assassinate Minister for Magic Amelia Bones. Or Rufus Scrimgeour from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. In any case, by tomorrow, some important figure would surely be dead.
Bellatrix didn't care who the victim would be. What stung was that the Dark Lord had refused her request to accompany him, leaving her alone in this desolate manor instead.
The only thing that offered her some comfort was that before departing, the Dark Lord had entrusted her with something of immense importance.
Eight months ago, Yaxley Manor had become the Death Eaters' most secret operational base. Only a handful of the Dark Lord's most "loyal" followers knew its location. Bellatrix herself, along with Antonin Dolohov, had laid down layer upon layer of defensive enchantments around the estate.
It was an impregnable fortress.
At least, it was supposed to be.
She had just entered the wine cellar and taken down a bottle of Sussex red when her movements suddenly stilled.
For some reason, the manor felt unnervingly quiet tonight.
...
"Wormtail!"
Harry Potter stared at the short man standing before him.
Those watery little eyes. The dull, lifeless hair. The rat-like face with its pointed nose. And that right hand missing a little finger.
Harry would never forget that face. The man in front of him had betrayed his parents and sent his godfather to Azkaban for twelve long years.
If Jon hadn't immediately cast a silencing spell on him, Harry would have shouted on the spot.
"Oh, Harry…" Wormtail forced a smile that looked worse than a sob.
Mad-Eye Moody watched Wormtail with suspicion, his normal eye scanning the surroundings while his magical eye never left the man. Kingsley Shacklebolt appeared unconcerned, merely giving Harry's shoulder a light pat. The other two wizards didn't recognize the short man at all.
"No need to say more," Jon said quietly. "Harry, calm down. We're in the Death Eaters' stronghold."
Though his voice was low, it carried firm authority.
"Mr. Pettigrew, it's time to honor your promise to Dumbledore. You know how to get into this manor without alerting anyone. And you know where that woman is."
"Yes." Peter Pettigrew drew in a deep breath and forced himself to steady. "Follow me."
...
Five minutes later, Jon and the others had slipped into the manor grounds. They moved along a narrow path paved with small pebbles, all under the Disillusionment Charm—Harry also had his Invisibility Cloak with him.
Wormtail knew the estate well. He had lived here for more than eight months. With him leading the way, they encountered no surprises.
There weren't many Death Eaters left behind, and the defenses seemed lax. A red-haired Death Eater who looked somewhat dim-witted wandered through the garden and nearly brushed past them. Wormtail approached him casually, exchanged a few words, and then stunned him with a swift flick of his wand when the man wasn't looking.
They reached the manor's main door without incident.
Suddenly, a bronze serpent's head slid out from the door handle. Wormtail quickly signaled for everyone to step back. He rolled up the sleeve of his right arm, revealing the Dark Mark branded there.
The bronze serpent extended its thin tongue and lightly licked the Dark Mark.
The door swung open.
"Lestrange should be in the wine cellar," Wormtail whispered. "She has a habit of drinking a bottle around this time. Assuming nothing's changed."
"Who's back—oh? Well, if it isn't Wormtail." A lazy voice drifted from behind the door. Unlike the silent grounds outside, there were still a few Death Eaters inside the manor. "When did you head out?"
"Move. Now." Jon snapped sharply, the first to drop his Disillusionment Charm.
He raised his wand and fired a Stunning Spell at the Death Eater—
The man reacted quickly enough, dodging the spell in a rather clumsy roll.
Jon's Stunning Spell slammed into a wardrobe behind him, blasting it to pieces. Several standard-issue black cloaks and masks spilled out and scattered across the floor.
The others dropped their concealment at once.
Mad-Eye charged to the front. Facing the flustered Death Eater, he swung his staff viciously. A red flash struck the man squarely in the head, and he crumpled like a puppet with its strings cut.
Another Death Eater in the front hall, completely unprepared, saw his companion fall and scrambled for his wand in panic.
But in the next instant, dozens of grotesque tentacles burst up around him, wrapping tightly around his ankles at astonishing speed. He struggled desperately, flailing his wand in an attempt to drive them away. The strange appendages only coiled tighter, binding him from head to toe until he could no longer move.
The Headmaster of Durmstrang, Vance, lowered his wand and gave the others a slight nod.
"Follow me! The cellar's down these stairs!" Wormtail had already rushed into the manor, waving urgently for them to keep up.
...
After that unnatural stillness, Bellatrix Lestrange, standing in the cellar, suddenly heard a string of strange noises.
It sounded like—Fighting.
Was the manor under attack?
By whom?
The Order of the Phoenix?
Bellatrix frowned. The possibility seemed slim, but caution was always wise.
She slowly drew her wand and fixed her gaze on the cellar entrance.
With a loud bang, the wooden door was flung open. But when she saw who it was, she paused, lowering her raised wand slightly.
"Wormtail?" she said coolly. "What's all this commotion about?"
"Stupefy!"
A deep, resonant voice rang out from behind Wormtail. A tall, bald, dark-skinned wizard charged in right after him.
Caught off guard while her attention was on Wormtail, Bellatrix barely managed to dodge the Stunning Spell.
"Kingsley Shacklebolt! Damn it—wasn't he supposed to be dead? How is he here?"
Before she could retaliate, several more red flashes shot toward her. Barrels of wine exploded under the barrage of spells, crimson liquid splashing everywhere and soaking her robes until she looked as though she were drenched in blood.
This time, the attacker was a young witch in a pointed hat and black coat. She held her wand with elegant precision, sending spell after spell that forced Bellatrix steadily backward in disarray.
...
"They're down there!" the Death Eaters shouted. "They've broken into the cellar!"
The noise at the entrance and the clash of spells had clearly alerted nearly everyone in the manor.
But Mad-Eye Moody and Vance had already sealed off the stairwell.
Moody hobbled down several steps and swung his staff, effortlessly knocking the leading Death Eater unconscious.
Seizing the moment, Vance cast a spell that sealed the passage behind them, conjuring an invisible magical barrier between the cellar and the staircase.
Another Death Eater rushed forward, only to be hurled backward and sent flying ten yards away.
"Hurry up, Rosier!" Vance called out as he continued firing spells through the barrier toward the stairwell. "We can't hold them off for long!"
...
"Damn it!" Bellatrix Lestrange spat, utterly disheveled.
Shacklebolt, Wormtail, and that strange young witch were attacking her together—along with Harry Potter, who had appeared out of nowhere, and a boy she didn't recognize.
Her right arm had been struck by some bizarre curse and was now slick with blood—though with red wine splattered everywhere, it was hard to tell where the wine ended and the blood began.
She had no choice but to grip her wand in her left hand.
She hadn't managed to launch more than a handful of effective counterattacks.
Bellatrix drew a sharp breath. She had to Apparate out—now. They were clearly after the Dark Lord's secret. No matter what, she could not let herself be captured.
Her form began to unravel into black smoke—
But at that same instant, a golden rope shot forward at incredible speed and coiled around the smoke.
Bellatrix lost her balance immediately and fell from midair.
Without hesitation, she dropped her wand. Just before hitting the ground, she pressed three fingers against her blood-soaked left arm—against the Dark Mark.