Harry Potter and the Prince of Slytherin

Chapter 10: The Quidditch World Cup (pt 3)

"There are those among my Inner Circle, Mr. Misericorde, whose insights and opinions are so valued that I will permit them to question me. You are not one of them. Do you understand?"

"I ... Y-yes, m-m-my Lord," the man said from the floor. "P-please for-for-forgive my impertinence."

With obvious difficulty, he pulled himself up off the floor and removed a gold badge from his lapel, which he then placed on a nearby table. Then, he moved to stand next to a young woman who sneered at him contemptuously.

"Miss Vespertine?"

That same woman stepped forward and then snapped her fingers. From outside of the boy's field of view a man stepped forward. He wore a white robe that came down to his knees with a belt cinched at the waist. Below that were white breeches tucked into white boots, while his head was covered by a plain white hood and a featureless mask the color of bone.

"This is the uniform which our people will be wearing, though its base features will not be so apparent. Behold!"

She tapped her wand to the man's shoulder, and instantly, the featureless white ensemble changed shape and color until the man appeared to be wearing wizarding robes of lime green and canary yellow, with a black balaclava mask covering his face. On his chest were three black letters, two uppercase separated by one in lower case: McA. She tapped the man's shoulder again, and his clothing changed once more, with the robes darkening to a rusty brown and then reshaping into an Auror's long coat. The balaclava morphed into a fedora, but the face beneath it was not revealed but instead remained covered in shadow. Then, she touched him a third time, and the entire ensemble darkened further until it was jet black, while the fedora changed into a pointed hood over a terrifying skull-like mask.

The uniform of a Death Eater.

"How will you determine which combatant will be dressed appropriately when the attack begins? Not all of them will be wizards after all."

"We need not bother, my Lord," the young woman said with a smile. "While a loyal wizard will be able to change his uniform's appearance with the touch of his wand to the form of his choice, for those who are either acting under the Imperius or who are mercenaries—whether wizard, Muggle or ... otherwise—the uniform has an additional function. Witnesses will perceive it as taking whichever form the onlookers would fear the most, whether a Death Eater, an Auror, or ... an Australian Muggleborn hooligan."

She smirked at that last remark before continuing. "Naturally, all the Muggles we have enslaved for this mission will appear as Australians, since they will be wielding Muggle weapons instead of wands. And there is one final innovation, my Lord. Each uniform will have a Portkey sewn into its material. When the signal is given, every one of our people will be transported away from the campsite to an appropriate location."

"An ... appropriate location, Miss Vespertine?" the boy said with some amusement.

She chuckled demurely, but there was no mistaking the cruelty beneath her good humor.

"Yes, my Lord. Those who we deem loyal or of value to the Cause will be conveyed to one of several safehouses across Wizarding Britain. Those we deem expendable—including all the Muggles, naturally—will be sent to a particular spot in the North Sea about ten miles off the coast ... and 200 feet below the surface!"

The snake laughed again, and this time, the boy joined him, gasping out a strange sibilant "ki-ki-ki" to show his mirth.

"Ingenious, Miss Vespertine. You are a credit to your family. Please convey my appreciation to your Grandfather when next you see him."

She smiled and bowed respectfully.

"And finally, Mr. Norvegicus."

Another man stepped forward, one who the boy recognized at once.