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Necessary Sacrifices	By : magentasouth Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Hermione/Voldemort Views: 31254 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I neither own nor profit from any part of the Harry Potter universe

Chapter List
- 1-Ch 1
- 2-Ch 2
- 3-Ch 3
- 4-Ch 4
- 5-Ch 5
- 6-Ch 6
- 7-Ch 7
- 8-Ch 8
- 9-Ch 9
- 10-Ch 10
- 11-Ch 11
- 12-Ch 12
- 13-Ch 13
- 14-Ch 14
- 15-Ch 15
- 16-Ch 16
- 17-Ch 17
- 18-Ch 18
- 19-Ch 19
- 20-Ch 19b
- 21-Ch 20
- 22-Ch 22
- 23-Ch 23
- 24-Ch 24
- 16
- 17
- 18
Voldemort stood at a balcony on the
fifth floor of the castle looking out over a turbulent ocean.� Young Malfoy had just departed with the
memory Potter had had the gall to ask for.�

He sneered.� He had chosen the memory
carefully and suspected it would give the boy something to think about.�

No doubt Draco would be back soon with further demands from the brat.�
He couldn�t quite believe it.� Not only had the wretch kissed Hermione, but he had dallied with Severus too!� Of all the..�
There were currently only two
individuals for whom he might..possibly..under very particular circumstances be prepared to risk harm
to himself and Potter was apparently in pursuit of both of them.�
He knew he should be pleased at
this news.� Used correctly it could bring
the boy grovelling to his door..

but then he would be here and Severus would almost certainly be quite distressed if he
harmed him..

Hermione, he wasn�t sure about.� She had
responded to a fantasy of killing him only this morning but he suspected that
she would, in the wake of the hormones, be even more protective of the little
scab than Severus.� She would rattle on
at length about how he was her friend.. and �please� and �I�ll do anything� and then he would be loath to upset
her by killing the boy.��
This was exactly why he had chosen
to remain apart from others.� Connections
complicated matters.� Today he had wished
to spare the chit pain and tomorrow he would be dropping his head into the
gallows for Harry Potter to pull the chain.��

No.. this was quite
unacceptable.��
He snarled at the grey tossing
waves.�� He had a meeting shortly with
the inner circle.� It would be
inconvenient to reschedule it, but he did not feel focused enough for the
matters they would be discussing.�� His
mind drifted back to Severus.�� He had
been stunned when the man had apparated before him.� Over time he had forgotten how dark and
coltish the Potions Master had been when he was young.��

And after the glamour, Severus� mind had been on fire with adoration and raw desire...alight with desperate
need.� He had tasted it in his kiss.. felt the devotion and delight as
Severus had pleasured him.�

He had been tempted by him.. by
his purrs as he�d curled at his feet, being stroked and massaged.� He�d considered for a moment how it might be
to invite the man back, in his younger form.. he�d considered it so concretely that he�d �wondered how Hermione might react.. whether he would have to be concerned that she might favour Severus..��
And then..to
find Potter in his memories..� to find Severus
concerned for the boy..�
It was more than disappointing.�
It left him ..feeling..something
he found unpleasant.� Difficult
to put a name on the feeling. �He
was not used to this possessiveness he experienced about Hermione and..apparently also Severus.�
��
Unwilling to arrive late only in
order to ruminate on the unpleasant business further,� he spun on the spot and apparated into the
dedicated meeting room he set aside for the inner circle.�

He had used blood and memory wards around the room.� Not only did the witch or wizard need to be
part of the small list of bloods keyed to the ward, but they had to possess a
memory fragment shared by all others in the inner circle.� None of them knew which memory it was.�

The ward was quite unique � one of his more recent designs.� Anyone failing to pass muster would be
apparated into a cell in the dungeons instead of the comfortable room.�
He strode to his chair immediately,
eager to get the meeting over with.� All
but two of his servants were already present and sitting at the large boardroom
table.� Refreshments were waiting and he
glanced at Lucius Malfoy at his right, who was
sipping at his tea as if he were at a stockholders meeting.�

All three Lestranges were arranged on his other
side.� Bella at his immediate left seemed
unsure whether to behave like an eager or a smacked puppy. �Rodolphus had a firewhisky before him but he noted that it was
untouched.� Good.� The man did not see fit to indulge until
important matters were handled.� Rabastan was talking quietly but animatedly with Rookwood.�
He let his eye wander down the
ranks of the most faithful, marking those who had ascended since Severus
exclusion.� Mulciber
and Nott were old hands but Rosier junior and Avery junior, Rowle,
Yaxley and Travers were all new blood, replacing Severus,
Lestrange Sr. and Rosier Sr., and supplementing for
the global focus his campaign was now forcing him to take.�

The two who were inexcusably late were Dolohov and
the universally-despised Pettigrew.�

The latter apparated in at that moment, flustered with nose
twitching.� Clearly he had been
somewhere in his animagus form until very recently.
�My Lord!� I am so sorry!� I didn�t mean to be late!� Please Master.. mercy!� he fell to his knees immediately, grovelling and
snivelling.�

At his right, he heard Lucius sniff in disgust.� Agreeing entirely he wordlessly tossed the
cruciatus at the disgusting little worm and returned to stirring his tea.�

Dolohov was still absent.� That wasn�t at all like him.�

He summoned the man impatiently and turned to the others, dropping the
cruciatus on Pettigrew out of pure expediency.
�Get up, wormtail � you have disrupted the
meeting quite sufficiently already.� If we might begin.� I
will hear...Yaxley.. first, I think.��

He sipped at his tea and listened to the report on Yaxley�s
infiltration of the ministry.� Apparently
he had recruited three new assets, one within regulation of magical creatures,
one in the international magical trading standards body and one.. he seemed overly pleased.. within the department of magical law enforcement.� He presented a short report from the totality
of his gained assets to date � now numbering almost thirty and becoming
difficult for him to manage alone.�� Upon
inquiry he thought that perhaps two of the group might be suitable to initiate
immediately and a further ten within a month to two months.�

Musing on whether to meet them in anonymous secured locations next week in
order to test them and perhaps take some of the slack off Yaxley,
he realised that Dolohov had yet to arrive.�

�Where is Antonin!� he demanded abruptly.��

He focused on him but could not determine more than that the man lived.� Perhaps..also that
he was angry.�

�Yaxley.. I have a suspicion
that something unfortunate has happened to Dolohov �
it is entirely unlike him to ignore a summons.�
Go and determine whether he has been taken.� Report to me when you
know.� ��
He should perhaps have waited to
summon the man.� His arm would burn now
without respite until he saw him.� That
would be inconvenient for him should he be transported to Azkaban.� �

He shrugged the matter off and turned to Lucius. �Tell
me of the Wizengamot and the business community, Lucius� he prompted, sitting back to hear of the advances
in those areas over the last week.� Lucius had seemed calm and relaxed so he assumed that there
had been some significant
advance.��

In his peripheral vision he was irritatingly aware of Bella�s simpering struggle
to be well behaved.� She sat as if
imitating Narcissa Malfoy.� He observed Lucius
eyes flicking over her in distaste and held his smile inside.��

The meeting dragged on interminably after that.�
There were advances in most quarters.�
Apparently the large money was undecided which way to lean at present
but Lucius had cultivated an asset serving with him
on the Wizengamot � a notable achievement in light of
controls against exactly that eventuality.��
Over the next briefs he learned
that Wizarding elite in Germany and Spain (and their respective managed territories
in Austria/Switzerland/Holland and Portugal) were making favourable
noises.� To have the vast magical domains
attributed to the two controlling nations supporting him would be extremely
advantageous.� Russia had been in support
almost from the beginning but most of Eastern Europe was too fractured in terms
of wizarding elite to be of use.� France,
unfortunately, was definitely almost entirely in support of the ministry of
magic status quo while Italy was waiting on developments.�

The Scandinavian domain would remain neutral to territorial disputes as always.
�

Nevertheless France and Italy were comparatively small in terms of power and
territory.� Allied with Spain, Germany
and Russia, and with Scandinavia keeping its nose out of the matter, he would
essentially possess Europe and Italy would fly to his side � they tended always
to support the stronger power, whatever it might be.� France would then be contained and no
threat.�

He instructed Rowle and Rosier to determine what it
would take to cement Germany and Spain�s support. ��
Mulciber
informed that the werewolves in Britain were supporting him at an estimated
rate of 40% and sought assurances about their rights post conflict, to mobilise
the masses. The centaurs were against him to circa 85-90% but unlikely to join
any marked battles that might eventuate, provided they did not take place on
their designated territories. �The trolls
were still without any kind of approachable organised structure and would
remain equally useless for the light. �The giants were busy in internal squabbles and
had been aggressive to his contact � they might be more amenable to dialogue
from one of their own.�� Goblins were
remaining neutral and would deal with whatever power ended up in control. �Similarly, the Fae
wanted nothing whatsoever to do with the matter and would continue to ignore
whatever side was in control.�

Rabastan reported on the veela
and vampires.� The veela, such that they had
a council, were currently in support of the Ministry of Magic but were unhappy
with conditions.� Most of their number were obliged to work in the sex industry and they
were classed under the magical creatures act with all pertaining laws, lacking
access to basic wizarding rights.� Rabastan thought they could be turned if promised better
rights and conditions � but this, just as with the werewolves, would likely
alienate most of the pureblood supporters who wanted magical beings controlled.�
Rabastan
apparently narrowly escaped becoming a meal in his overture to the Vampire
elite within Britain.� Evidently they had
interpreted it as a slight that a mere emissary was sent to speak with their
leaders.� He reflected on his choice to
send Rabastan.�
It had been partially in order to feel out their reaction and partially
due to the relative expendability of the man.�
He was not nearly diplomatic enough for such a task.�

Ideally � Lucius or Severus would have been the
better candidates for the mission.� He
was certainly not about to place himself in a room with ten ancient
vampires.� That would be..unwise.�

Lucius was too valuable within the ministry and
business realms and Severus..��

He paused.�

He would previously not have sent Severus due to the man�s questionable
loyalty, however...now..�

He considered the proposition.� Severus
was certainly persuasive.� He would be
able to convince the vampires that any meeting with the Dark Lord had to be held
under carefully controlled conditions for everyone�s benefit.��

But..Rabastan had been
attacked.. sending Severus
would be adding insult to injury.� He
could be killed.� The matter required
further thought. He laid it aside and listened to Rodolphus
report on the status of the recruited dark army, which was growing at a rate of
about 5 recruits per week on average.� It
was currently battle ready to perhaps slightly less than 60%.� 3000 soldiers all told, assigned to eighty
camps across Britain.� Rodolphus informed him that the so called �outer circle� of
death eaters was stable at present, although discontented murmurs circulated in
some quarters which he would personally address.
Bella quite lucidly reported on the leanings of the three greater and
fourteen lesser gangs in the wizarding world.�
He had assigned her this role for simple expediency.� Her natural tendency toward spontaneous ruthless
violence and insistence upon respect for his name was quite well suited to
dealing with the vicious and unpredictable creatures that ran the wizarding
organized crime syndicates. �In his
opinion there were a lot of wizards among those
groups who were more than a little unbalanced � and indeed she had formed
contacts quite easily there.�

Bella informed them that two of the major gangs � the Edici
Rapru and the Abramelis
were offering an alliance while the third �Occunati�s
Scourge�- the strongest and natural enemy of the first two, was resistant, due
to the leanings of its enemies.�

Of the smaller gangs, the majority would go with the stronger power � which
would be the Dark Lord if the Edici and Abramelins aligned.�

The power of the gangs was not in fighting � although they would be useful
there, it was in their organised crime networks � particularly in the case of
the larger gangs, which interconnected with those in Europe and the Americas.� They could acquire resources and funds easily
through these channels in return for funds and assurances of their role post
conflict. �They had a stake in the issue
as they made a lot of profit from illegal traffic in dark items, however they
also faced a hardening regulatory environment and harsh punishments � they
would wish a world in which they became privileged legal channels for trade in
those markets without ministerial recourse to justice.� They would offer him a fixed discount on all
purchases providing he eliminated their competition � the Scourge.� However it might be better to wait and talk
with the stronger gang to see what they might offer after they had had another
week to sweat on the matter.�
Rowle
reported on the public sentiment within Britain which was currently �70%-against�,
however this shifted to �75%-for� if only the twelve oldest and most powerful
families were considered � these constituted 20% of the population but 80% of ministry,
trade/finance and academic roles � and represented over 80% of total wealth.� Rowle also sought
control of media outlets � �with the exception of Rabastan, he had had the least success this week as two of
his reporters in the daily prophet had been placed under investigation.� They had no concrete ties to the death eaters
but it was likely that the scare would push them away even so.�
Dolohov.. absent.. had
been expected to report on the temperature in the United States and Latin
America.��

Voldemort wondered whether he had been detained there or in Britain. It would
be far simpler to reclaim him in the British Isles. �
Travers reported that the United
Arab Wizarding Community were tentatively in support of whoever would offer
them assistance in their own domain to develop their shielding against the
increasing muggle incursions and to modify their territory to be able to
produce the rare potions ingredients they were currently importing at great cost.� They were also seeking trade agreements and
this might push them to unified support.�

India, like the United Arab Wizarding Community, was in support of whomsoever
would offer them the best deal � they were looking for bidirectional defense promises in light of their ongoing conflict with
the Chinese wizarding community.�� China, in contrast, was a relatively closed
wizarding community � Travers had done well even securing a meeting with an
official - and they explicitly wanted to remain aloof from the situation in
Britain.� They did not care who ruled the
tiny irrelevant island, as they said.�

This was all rather to be expected.�
India and China were inextricably linked and he could not risk becoming
entangled in their conflict.� Both
communities were stronger than Britain, even if all of its forces were
marshalled in one cause � which they currently were not.��

He considered the Arabs.. They had considerable forces
and a bilateral trade deal could be mutually beneficial to both domains in
light of the respective herbological strengths.� He would have to act quickly and offer
more.� He empowered Travers to begin
hammering out a deal and warned him that if Dolohov
were incapacitated, something would have to be done about the Americas to be
certain that they would not interfere should it come to open warfare.�
Finally it was Wormtail�s
turn.�

�Hogwarts has been very quiet apart from the business with the Granger
mudblood.� Harry Potter was in Snape�s
quarters for the first half of the week but now he�s wandering about like a
lost lamb.

Keeps meeting up with Lucius� boy
though.� I�ve seen them together
twice.�

The last time they met, Dumbledore was there somewhere too.� I could smell him.� And then Potter ran off to the room of
requirement again��
Alarmed, Voldemort interrupted.
�When was this?!��
Wormtail
flinched and looked afraid.� �An hour ago... perhaps almost two now.� I can�t get into the room of requirement when
someone�s in there, as you�d know M�Lord.� Dumbledore left after Harry went in.��
Voldemort leaned back and steepled his fingers, narrowing his eyes and gazing
preoccupied at the water jug.

�continue� he said curtly.
The rat was nervous now at his
reaction and stumbled on his words.� �The
Weasley children are upset.� The boy
wanted the mudblood and is very upset at her being missing - the girl is still
after Potter but he doesn�t want anything to do with her. �I�ve seen him shaking her off at
breakfast.��

I heard the Weasley boy and girl in an empty classroom talking about some offer
Dumbledore made them.� They didn�t
mention what it was but the girl seemed to want to take it while the boy didn�t
like it.� The other Gryffindors are all
talking about quidditch and classes and who they want
to date mostly.� Don�t even seem to notice
Potter�s absence much.��

He talked to a blonde girl today before Malfoy�s boy
came.� Called her �Luna��
�The lovegoods�
Lucius interjected.�
�The mother is dead � a spell accident I believe..
the father runs that hack paper � the twiddler or something isn�t it?� Draco mentioned the girl once or twice.� Apparently she is pretty but mentally unstable.� A ravenclaw.��
Voldemort frowned at him. �If she
were mentally unstable, would she really be a Ravenclaw?� Perhaps she has a strange sense of humor?� Her father
runs a paper.. What is his alignment?��
Rowle
spoke up ��Not particularly
supportive of the Ministry, but rabidly against you, My Lord.��
Voldemort nodded slowly.� �What else can you tell me about their
meeting, rat?��
Wormtail
dithered.� �Um..� they hugged.�
Harry seemed to be comforted by her.�
Before they met he seemed depressed.�
Afterward he was better.� They
talked about...rubbish.. some
kind of creature i�ve never hear of that lives in
swarms by the forbidden forest or something?�
She told him he couldn�t think in the castle because of some other
animal or something that was infesting it.

L-Lucius could be right..she
seemed not right in the head.��
Voldemort frowned and debated
internally.� He could bring her
here.� One more piece of support removed
from Harry�s world.� Her father would be
anxious not to have her sent home in weekly parcels.

Hermione might enjoy..�

No.� Stop that thought.� Hermione was not a factor in any of his
decisions in this room.�

�Acquire her.� I want to see her here by
tomorrow evening.��
Lucius spoke
up after a moment.� �Draco may be able to
do it.. I am not certain however.� There is a risk of exposing him.��
Voldemort shook his head.� �Not Draco.�
He is needed for other purposes.�
Nott � your son is in Ravenclaw, isn�t he?��

The man hesitated and then nodded.�

�Theo has not trained in these type of missions, my Lord...��
Breathing in pensively, Voldemort
made the choice.� �He will succeed.� He is a Ravenclaw.� Abductions are logistical puzzles rather than
endurance races.� Contact him immediately.� If he is in her house, he can most easily
capture her during the night.� You will
meet him at the apparition line in the forest.�
I assume he knows how to disillusion himself and others?!��

Nott nodded.�
�Excuse me then, my Lord, I will go
and...get onto that..��

He stood and disapparated with a visibly heavy burden.�

Voldemort frowned at his empty chair.�
�What else Wormtail?� he demanded� The rat�s eyes flicked from side to side as
if he was looking for cover.�
�uh.. I
don�t know..um..there�s going
to be a new teacher for defense now that Snape�s gone
missing.� Don�t know who yet.� Someone new.�� Female.� The teachers were talking about her. Saying things
like She�s young.�
She�s quite good.� She�ll keep
them in line.� That
kind of thing.� Didn�t
mention any names.� That�s
all.��
Nodding, Voldemort turned his
attention away from the fat ugly little man and back to the group.� �Well then.�
You all know what I wish for you to do in the coming fortnight.� I do
have some information, that you have no doubt been wondering about..� I can confirm � Severus
is here.� He will not be returning to
Hogwarts.� He is busy with a private
project at the moment, however you will see him here
at the next meeting perhaps.��
There were uneasy glances between
the various faces.� Clearly others had
been suspicious of Severus too. �Lucius alone seemed pleased.

Voldemort hesitated and then continued with the final piece of information he
had decided to offer, in order to circumvent rumours

�Furthermore.. Hermione Granger is also here.� She is not a prisoner-�
gasps and growls of disbelief went up.�
He noticed Wormtail looked pleasantly
surprised. �but has..SILENCE.. You will not interrupt me!� The group stilled immediately and avoided his
eyes.� He glared and continued icily. �The
girl is not a prisoner � but chose to defect and serve our cause, knowing
that to do so would likely mean a painful death for her in light of her blood
status.� She brought me an extremely
valuable gift in the process, an object that will be of critical importance in
the future.�

The girl is exceedingly bright � recorded as Hogwarts highest achieving student
since my own attendance and she was also Harry Potter�s best friend.� The boy thinks himself in love with her in
fact.� Therefore � she is of worth.� Should I at any point learn that any of you.. or indeed any of those under your respective commands.. have harmed the
girl in any way, I will be quick to make a very painful example of the party
responsible.. and I shall carry responsibility up the chain of command.�

Do not allow your wand...your hand..or indeed any other body part .. to
�accidentally� slip.� I will show no tolerance for misunderstandings on
this matter.�

That will be all � you are dismissed.��
He pushed his empty teacup back and
leaned back in his chair.� Many of the
men before him stood and cut a bow before disapparating.�

Lucius, Bella and Rodolphus
remained, he observed.�

Bella was once again unable to restrain herself.� She was leaning forward with shining eyes,
looking at him adoringly.�� He frowned
and was about to dress her down when Yaxley apparated
back into the room.� �My Lord � Antonin is being held by the ministry.� He blurted.� �Both my contacts in the auror division
confirmed that a maximum security prisoner was transported into the ministry
two hours ago.�� He stood uneasily.�
Voldemort groaned internally as he
pinched the bridge of his nose.� �We will
have to reacquire him� he said in a low irritated voice.� �Lucius.. Ideas?��

The blonde looked troubled and swallowed.

�Not..yet, my Lord..�
How high up on the ladder are your auror contacts, Yaxley?��
The other man shook his head
unhappily. �Not high enough.� One is a
recent recruit and the other a benched special detective sergeant.� It�s unlikely that he could spring Antonin and if he tried and failed he�d be lost as an
asset.��
Voldemort scowled.� Of the men he�d recently dismissed none were
really strategists, although several were commanders and diplomats.. Rodolphus was probably the pick
of the bunch as battle strategists went.�
Bella would only get in the way.�

He drew his wand and flicked it at her.�
�Your hex is released Bella � you are dismissed.� I would talk with Iago,
Rodolphus and Lucius
alone.��
Bella�s face fell.� She looked like a child who�d just dropped
the ice cream they had so rejoiced over.�
�Yes my Lord� she responded disappointedly and stood,
disapparating on the spot.�
�You three will remain here.� I shall return shortly.��

He stood and disapparated back to his study.�� When he got there he groaned in annoyance.�

�What in Merlin�s name is going on here?!� I instructed
you to practice the hex upon her, not invite her to tea!��
Hermione looked up at him smiling.
�I know.. But I completed the hex successfully three
times and.. well.. she was really nice about it.� You didn�t say I couldn�t have tea with her.�

Her name is Angela � she works in an office in surrey.� Apparently her boyfriend is in the dungeons
somewhere too she thinks.� They were
watching a rerun of bride of Frankenstein when some men came into their house
and took them.�

She seems a nice person.� What�s going to
happen to her?!��
He struggled not to snarl at
her.� This was a waste of time that he
may not have to spare.� Antonin had served him for decades.� If he broke, there was much that might fall
out.��

Bending quickly, he turned the frightened muggle woman�s face toward him,
staring into her eyes and plunging into her unguarded mind.�� After a few minutes he released her and
turned back to Hermione.� �She has
betrayed her boyfriend with three different men, one of them his close
friend.� Apparently she was bored and her
boyfriend�s penis is too small.� She
remains with him because he has a good job and she likes his apartment.� She plans to marry him and then become
pregnant, in order to be assured of an income when she leaves him.� She also cheats on her taxes and her timesheet,
steals her neighbours paper at least once a week and her colleagues yoghurt
whenever she believes she will not be caught, lies to her friends about how
they look in clothing and dislikes all animals.�
Her name is actually Katherine.�
She may not be evil but she is
not a particularly nice person.� She is
going back to the dungeons.�� He flicked
his wand at the violently blushing woman and she disappeared.
Hermione frowned indecisively as if
unsure whether to object.� He cut off
that line of thinking with an axe �Now! I desire your assistance on a matter of
some urgency.� One of my men has been
taken by the ministry and I must reacquire him before he reveals his secrets
under interrogation.� They have had him
for almost two hours..I anticipate he has been under
interrogation for perhaps an hour and a half now.� He has
learned to resist veritaserum, however with higher doses he will break
eventually.� We have perhaps five or six
hours at the most to reclaim him.

Are you willing to contribute your thoughts on how to go about his
rescue?��
He examined her surprised and then
flushed, pleased, face.�

She nodded, seemingly awed.� �I..I�ll help if I can.� She said softly.� He nodded back curtly, relieved and offered
his hand, pulling her tightly against him and apparating her through the
dangerous wards.��
Identical gaping expressions appeared
on Lucius, Rodolphus and iago Yaxley�s faces as he
released the girl and she looked about, bemusedly, recognising Lucius and Rodolphus, even if the
latter did not remember her.�

�Hermione will assist.� He informed the others shortly and shot them all a
measured look. �I will retrieve Severus also.�
Begin in my absence.�� He turned,
ignoring Hermione�s shocked wide eyed look at being left with the three men,
and disapparated to Severus side.��
The man, still in youthened form, did not
jump a foot in the air at his master�s appearance behind him, but he did stiffen sharply. �My Lord..� he said with trepidation.�
Voldemort did not bother addressing
his justified fear but stated simply �Antonin has
been taken.� I require you to assist in
planning his rescue.� Immediately.� Whatever that is � put it in stasis.��
Severus complied wordlessly and
turned, his eyes betraying the emotional disorder within him.� There was a flicker of hope there also.

�I..I am so sorry.�
Please forgive me� he whispered.�
There was no time for this and he
informed the Potions Master as much, opening his arms for him to come to
him.� The man swallowed unhappily at the
rejected apology and embraced him tightly, his face laid
against the silken shoulder before him.�
They disapparated immediately back to the
conference room, where it seemed that.. inexplicably.. the young girl had taken charge.� She was instructing Yaxley
on the various plans she needed � at present she wanted the plumbing and
ventilation plans. �

He released Severus absently, stunned and pleased at this development.� Maps and floor plans were already arrayed on
the long table, which had been lowered.�
�Severus?!!�
Voldemort�s attention shifted to Lucius, who looked like he was seeing a ghost and a male
stripper at the same time. �

His potions master nodded absently and moved to join Rodolphus
at the floor plan of the holding cells in the ministry.�
Voldemort exchanged a slow look
with Lucius who seemed confused ..
even distressed.�
Turning away he joined the others examining the ministry floor
plan.� It was a transparent 3D map,
marked with departmental tags.� �The holding cells and auror interrogation
rooms were on the second floor below ground.�
Above the cells were the Minister for Magic and his support staff �
heavily warded and guarded, and below was the department for magical accidents
and catastrophes � full of highly trained magic reversal experts and obliviators and highly warded due to the research division
contained within.

The second floor held a large open area with bullpen desks that would be full
of aurors, in the back of this area a corridor led
off to the prisoner facilities.� Behind
this area was a metre thick wall of stone and steel surrounded by tonnes of
earth below a busy street.��

It was, for obvious reason, a difficult to reach spot.� Rodolphus had seen
the same thing and looked quite concerned.�
He was looking at the entrance and the atrium.�
�My Lord..
A direct assault will probably fail, irrespective of numbers� he said
quietly.� �There are three bottlenecks �
at the floos, at the elevators and at the second
floor foyer.� Should we manage to get in,
we would not get out again.� It won�t
work.��
The young Severus nodded
thoughtfully.� �We will need to use
deception to gain access. It�s a risk.�
Whoever we use � we could as easily be gifting them to the aurors as regaining Dolohov..��
�Excuse me?!� Did you say Dolohov?!�
The girl�s voice piped up sounding annoyed.�
Voldemort turned to her and raised
a hairless brow.� �Yes. What of it?��
Her face darkened.� �He almost killed me last year in the bloody
ministry of magic.� I was in St Mungos for weeks.��
It doesn�t matter.� Forget I
mentioned it � Do portkeys work inside the
ministry?� Inside the aurors department?��
Voldemort found he was still
preoccupied with the first part of her comment.�
She�d almost died last year?� He
wondered what the hex had been.� She
didn�t carry any scars now..�
�Yes.. theoretically.� Rodolphus
responded to her query curtly. �Although I expect anti portkey
wards can be set if it is suspected
that they are needed.� ..but it doesn�t matter much either way - we have no way of
getting one to him since we cannot get
into his cell��
She nodded and leaned down over the
intricate map she was looking at.� It was
like a lattice.. a webwork of lines delineating vague boxes.�� After a minute she looked up again.

�Can living creatures be portkeys?��
Everyone else had stopped poring
over the floorplan and was watching her.� Voldemort looked from face to face.� Yaxley seemed to
have a calculating expectant expression.�
He seemed to have accepted that the girl might be useful.�

Yaxley, he remembered, was a halfblood
once-removed on his mother�s side.� He
was a useful man.�

Rodolphus was visibly sceptical and was trying to
catch Lucius eye in the hopes of seeing his
opposition to her presence reflected there.�
Lucius on the other hand was entirely
uninterested in Rodolphus at present.� His gaze was fixed on Severus.� He spared Hermione a puzzled glance, as if
unable to comprehend that he was currently working with her, at least
technically � he had not offered anything of use.��
Severus was watching Hermione with
bright fascinated eyes.� �Yes.� Living creatures can be portkeys.� You already have a plan.�� It wasn�t a question.�

Voldemort looked at the girl with surprise. �Do you?� Explain it!��

She shook her head faintly.� �Not a plan
yet really.. just maybe an
Idea.� � how
good are snakes at remembering and following directions?� Can they crawl up pipes � what factors determine whether they can or can�t crawl
up a pipe?��

Otherwise can insects be imperiused?��
Voldemort felt the smile on his own
face break out uncontrolled.� She did have a plan already.� Clever, clever, little girl.� She was his...
This brilliant mind in this delicious little body.�

He crossed to her, standing behind her and examining the pipe plan.�

�The memory and ability to take directions depends on the species.� Adders are quite clever � in terms of
concrete instructions they can remember up to about ten different
directives.� However they have a visual
memory for directions.� It would be
insufficient to tell the snake to go ahead twelve lengths and then turn right
and then take the first left.� The snake
would need to be taken through the path it is to follow.�

That is achievable however.��

A snake must be at least a third the width of the pipe they intend to scale
otherwise progress will be slow and difficult.�
How wide are the pipes?��

Insects can be imperiused but their memories are not
well suited to retaining long detailed instructions.� A snake is a better option.�

You intend to send a snake as a portkey into the cell
or interrogation room?��
Hermione shook her head again.� �No.. there aren�t any direct links to the interrogation room, and
the cell�s toilet is fed by a separate tank � but there are air vents that feed into the corridor.�

The snake, if it got there, would have to wait till the door was opened..��

Severus had come to join them and stood on his other side.� �Invisibility potion� he interjected.� I don�t see why it wouldn�t work on reptiles
as well as people.� It reacts on an
atomic level.��
Hermione looked up at him, her eyes
lingering just a moment too long, although she didn�t mention his changed
appearance.� Seconds later Lucius had joined them too on Severus other side.

�How is the snake supposed to get through the door?� he enquired seriously.� �interrogation can
continue uninterrupted for several hours.�
No doubt they will wish to avoid every risk in their questioning of Antonin.��
The small girl at his side bit her
lip.� �Perhaps we could create some kind
of distraction that might pull the aurors out of the
interrogation room?.. there�s
still the problem of figuring out whether he�s in a cell or an interrogation
room though � and which one.� The snake
could go into the wrong room and become trapped��
Voldemort peered at the map.� �Show me the route they would take�� the girl traced the thin white line that fell
from the surface level down to the fifth floor then branched back up and down,
dividing off at each level and branching again twice on the second floor before
it reached the prisoner corridor.

She blinked �They?!� You want to send
more than one?��

He nodded.� �We will send one snake for
each door in the corridor.� Their
activation will be a bite and I will ensure that they only bite a person
bearing my mark.� If the other snakes
become trapped they will be found when the invisibility potion wears off.� They will therefore have to portkey their target to a neutral location that cannot be
traced back to me, else the remaining snakes may
arrive unexpectedly, bearing a squad of aurors.�

Severus.. go and..� he
trailed off, remembering the man could not leave the room due to the
wards.� �Damn.� Do you have sufficient invisibility potion
for this task?��
The young man at his side looked
thoughtful.� �I have enough.. the question is only how long
the effect must last.� Standard
invisibility potion lasts no more than an hour.��
�Capsules�� Hermione offered.� �Slow release as they�re digested.� You�ll need to create three with varying
thickness shells in order to have a slow release of doses.� If you shrink them, the potion should be
unaffected, right?��
Voldemort looked back to Severus who
wore a dubious expression.� �Perhaps.. I�d need to test it.��

Hermione responded immediately.� �So test
it.� We�re short on time.� How do you want to teach the snakes the route
t..my Lord?��
He snorted.� It had sounded like a stutter � he would have
been angry if she had slipped and called him by his name before his
servants.� He waved at the 3d map before him , copying it.�

�Do not concern yourself with that part.�
I will take care of it.� Lucius � go and prepare a secured site for the portkeys to vent to.��
The blond, with a last longing look
at Severus, nodded and apparated away.�
Voldemort turned to Rodolphus, Yaxley and Hermione.� �You need to consider how to get the snakes
into the pipe in the first place and how you will distract the auror division
sufficiently to draw officers out of the interrogation rooms.� I shall return when the snakes and their
invisibility preparations are complete.��

He turned toward Severus, offering his arm for the man..boy...no
man.. to
hold onto him.� Severus did not hesitate
but, ignoring the arm, moved to embrace him.�

Voldemort narrowed his eyes at Rodolphus and Yaxley, who were watching with similar speculative expressions, and disapparated with
Severus back to his lab.��
Upon arriving the man hesitated
only a moment before releasing him and turning away to his finished potion
stores, searching through till he found the stocks of invisibility potion.�
Voldemort would go and select volunteers
from his reptile environment shortly..but he lingered
a moment curiously.�

�What will you do about Lucius, if I allow you to
rejoin us?�� He questioned the young
Potion Master�s back softly, standing behind him.��
The dark head fell slightly and it
took a long time for Severus to respond��

�It was always you.� Since the day you
called me to you.�� Lucius
knows it.� He will be difficult
nonetheless.�� I do not know what I can
do to prevent that.�� I want to be with you, my Lord.�
�Voldemort laid his hand on the slender
shoulder, squeezing slightly.� �I shall
return soon.� Prepare the capsules to
test�� He disapparated.

Hermione mustered the two men
across the table from her.� Rodolphus Lestrange looked quite
hostile while Yaxley looked more curious than
anything else.�
�Why did you betray your friends?� Rodolphus demanded suddenly.�
She blinked, unsure whether it was
a question or a general berating.�

�Look, we need to think of a distraction.�
You can question me later, surely. �I don�t want to have nothing to offer when the
Dark Lord returns��
Rodolphus
narrowed his eyes at her.� �You don�t
fear him. Why is that?� It�s sensible to fear him.� Merlin � I�ll freely admit that I fear him � I�m certain Yaxley does too.�

You aren�t bothered though.� You�re more
worried about disappointing him than
being cursed.��
Hermione growled in
frustration.� �Fine!� You continue to have a think about me over there and I�ll come up with some plans, ok.��
She dragged a chair out from the
table and tossed herself into it. It was an executive chair with a swivel and
rocking motion.� Expensive.� She rocked on it absently while staring
through the wall, considering various ideas.�
�We...could launch a large raid
elsewhere and put in an anonymous tip?�� Yaxley offered quietly. �
Rodolphus
didn�t comment but continued to scowl at Hermione, apparently still preoccupied
with her.�
�Maybe..�
she responded to Yaxley.� �But how would we ensure that nobody else is
taken or killed?� It could end up even
worse.� Are there even Death Eaters
standing ready to attack at.. what..
um.. eleven at night on a
Thursday?!��
�Yes.� Rodolphus
answered with certainty, apparently tuning in again on this matter. �There are about three hundred available at any given
time.�

But I agree - it could turn into a massive clusterfuck
if we actually warn the aurors of an attack and then dump our soldiers in the thick
of it.��
Yaxley
pulled out a chair and sat down across from her pensively.� After a minute of low mumbled growling, Rodolphus followed, sprawling himself in the chair and
staring at her with his dark blue eyes.
After a little while she asked �What
about a lot of smaller attacks and a lot of false alarm reports too?� We could make them panic and think that a
massive force was involved but use only minimal forces and go for big visual
impact.� Explosions,
lots and lots of Dark Mark�s in the sky and fire.� That would cause them to panic.��
Rodolphus
nodded slowly.� �It would be safer for us
to do that.. and probably
easier to organize.� We could target places
that store chemicals and accelerants..lumberyards,
large wooden structures,� things of that
nature.� That kind of place makes a big
mess but usually isn�t really guarded.. well � except by muggles.�� Throw up twenty or thirty decoy marks in
addition to the real marks and they�d have most of the auror department out
chasing, trying to figure out what was real and what was decoy.� It still probably wouldn�t pull interrogators
off Antonin though.��
In fact they�d probably put more security on, expecting a rescue
attempt.��
Hermione nodded slowly.� �Yes.�
You�re right.� It has to be
something unrelated to the death eaters.�
Something like a problem in the actual ministry
of magic.� Something
mundane but dangerous.��
Yaxley
looked up at her with wide eyes. �The spell damage research division is below
the auror department!� They have some
kind of alarms in there I think.� There�s
a kind of lockdown when they have an accident.��
I�ve got a couple of people in there.. Don�t
know if they�d be working this late �
I doubt it, but sometimes there are damaged spells and objects left there
unattended because the alarms will go off if anything goes wrong.��

The alarms go off throughout the entire ministry.� There�s an evacuation procedure for when the
damage is dangerous and not fully contained.�
Maybe... we could set off that alarm somehow?��
Hermione smiled broadly at the
man.� �You�ve got it.� That�s what we�ll do.� How do they work?��

The situation became less encouraging the more she learned about it
unfortunately.� The alarms were magical.. no wires or switchboards to
hack.� There had to actually be a
dangerous spell in their vicinity to set them off.� And to set off the evacuation alarm it had to
be something that was spreading somehow and might affect other floors if not
dealt with.��

She returned to the pipe map, tracing the path to the third floor research
division.�� It wasn�t really any worse
than the second floor.� In both cases the
snake would have to drop from a vent in the ceiling onto the floor. There was
no way to get back up to the vent.�

If they did get a snake to carry some kind of dangerous expanding spell into
the research division, it would have no way of getting out.�� But... perhaps if it were a portkey too...it could somehow self activate and escape? �
�We need a dangerous expanding
spell that can somehow be carried and set off by a snake...� ��

Author note.
Review replies can be found at
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Necessary Sacrifices