Harry Potter: The Making of a Dark Lord

Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor, Diagon Alley

Griselda Marchbanks waited patiently at one of the tables outside Fortescue's in Diagon Alley. She was to be meeting with a representative of the Bulgarian Magical Testing Authority in a few minutes. She thought it odd that her Bulgarian counterpart would want to meet at an ice cream shop, but she supposed that Fortescue's was something of a British delicacy for foreign visitors.

As an influential member of the Wizengamot, Madam Marchbanks had no financial or political reasons to work at the Ministry, but that did not stop her from serving as the Chief Magical Examiner in Britain. In fact, she considered it her civic duty. She cared deeply about the education of wizarding Britain's youth, and in her 155 years she had tested nearly the entire population. She was an institution in magical Britain, and held quite a lot of influence in the Wizengamot.

Seated at her table, Marchbanks eyed the empty Ollivander's Wand Shop next door with some apprehension. She knew in her heart that Ollivander, one of her many friends, was almost certainly dead. Amelia Bones had warned her two days ago about the return of Lord Voldemort, and that she needed to take precautions with her security.

She was only meeting with this unknown wizard because the request had come through the Bulgarian Ministry and they were meeting in a public place. She felt safe surrounded by so many people.

An approaching shadow captured Marchbanks' attention. A young, good-looking man of perhaps 30 approached her table. He smiled down at her for a moment, then tapped his wand lightly on his chest.

Madam Marchbanks, who had just begun to return the young man's smile, gaped as the man dispelled his glamour to reveal black Death Eater robes and a skull-like mask.

"Wha—," she began, but never finished her sentence. The Death Eater's invisible companion shot a point-blank severing spell at her neck, and her head rolled cleanly from her shoulders and onto the ground. Those at nearby tables suddenly found themselves sprayed with thick arterial blood.

Passersby stared dumbly at the scene for a second, and then there was a lone scream. People began fleeing in every direction, no one having the courage to challenge the murderers in their midst.

The Death Eater and his invisible companion turned toward Fortescue's and unleashed a torrent of fiendfyre, heedless of the people inside. They maintained the spell for thirty seconds, unchallenged by any Aurors or spectators, until the ice cream shop was a raging inferno.

Those inside would not have had enough warning to protect themselves or to extinguish the fire. Devilish-looking snakes and dragons were forming out of the blaze, threatening to spread to nearby buildings and burn Diagon Alley to the ground.

Two Aurors on duty near Gringotts finally ran toward the scene, shouting and shooting stunners haphazardly in the direction of the lone Death Eater they could see. The masked Death Eater smirked once at them, then apparated away. His invisible companion shot off a Dark Mark and then disappeared by portkey, leaving the green skull to hover menacingly over the chaos and destruction in Diagon Alley.

Ministry of Magic, 3rd floor corridor

Arthur Weasley knocked on the door to Rufus Scrimgeour's office and waited for his secretary to unseal the magical door. As the Head Auror, Scrimgeour's office was one of the most secure rooms in the Ministry. No one could enter the outer reception area without being admitted by Scrimgeour's secretary, and Scrimgeour's actual office lay behind a password-protected door.

As Head of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts division, Arthur submitted weekly reports to Scrimgeour about the latest attempts at muggle baiting and illegal charms. Today he could report that they were close to apprehending the perpetrator behind a string of attacks on muggle public bathrooms. Someone had charmed dozens of public toilets to spew their contents upwards when they were flushed. The unfortunate muggles would usually be hit in the face by a geyser of foul water.

Hearing no response from within the office, the Weasley patriarch tried the door handle on the off chance that it was unlocked. To his surprise, the door swung open. Entering cautiously, he looked around the outer office and found it empty. Scrimgeour's secretary was not at her desk, but Scrimgeour's office door was hanging open slightly.

Weighing whether he should interrupt whatever Scrimgeour was doing, Arthur approached the open door and peered in. He could see very little within the room without entering it. He heard the sound of rustling paper, but no voices.

"Rufus?" he called out hesitantly. "Are you in there?"

There was no response from inside.

Something isn't right, Arthur thought warily, drawing his wand. He was all-too-aware of the dangerous elements within the Ministry. Though he wasn't much of a fighter, neither was he a coward.

"Rufus?" he asked again, very loudly. "Are you alright in there?"

Growing alarmed at the silence, Arthur debated whether he should approach one of the Aurors in the offices next door. He didn't want to look like a paranoid fool if nothing was amiss, but he wasn't too keen on entering Scrimgeour's office by himself. Something just didn't feel right to him.

The decision was taken out of his hands when the door beside him suddenly exploded off its hinges, connecting with Arthur and sending him careening to the floor of the outer office.

"Protego!" he screamed, instinctively raising a shield despite lying dazed on his back. It saved his life. A strong severing curse ricocheted off his shield and hit the ceiling.

"Reducto!" Arthur returned, but his target was disillusioned and the spell was wide of the mark.

Backpedaling quickly toward the exit, Arthur was unprepared for the onslaught of silent spell fire that erupted from his right. He blocked a blasting curse, but was unable to evade the follow-up spell.

He felt a sudden pressure in his head and everything went black.

.....

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