Pettigrew looked murderous now. However his response was stopped by the return of Barty Crouch. The Death Eater was followed by three other people. The first was a much older man also wearing Death Eater robes with the hood thrown back. Next, was a middle-aged witch wearing a simple grey robe. Following her was a boy Harry's age that he recognized. It was Theodore Nott.
"Potter," his Slytherin classmate sneered. "I always said you should be chained up. Now look at you." Harry held his tongue. He was more interested in ripping out Wormtail's throat then dealing with this little pimple on Hogwarts's arse.
"Soon, Potter," Nott tried to taunt in his most threatening voice. "Soon my family shall be exalted above all others! The Dark Lord has promised this to my father. You and Malfoy will be dust at my feet."
A sharp cuff to the head silenced the boy. "Hold your tongue, boy," the old wizard demanded. If you are to serve the Master, keep silent and know your place."
"Yes, father."
The man turned to Harry. "Mr Potter, Alvin Nott at your service. A long time ago I was friends and a business associate with your grandfather. You favour him as did your father. It is too bad you ended up on the losing side but it is the fate of the Wizarding World that is at stake."
"Come to me now, my oldest servant," Voldemort called in his hissing voice from his place in the centre circle. The small figure remained kneeling in the same position even as he spoke.
"Yes, Master," the eldest Nott answered instantly. He turned to comply - Harry completely forgotten. The wizard motioned to his wife and son to follow.
"Alvin Nott, you shall stand at the top of the circle." Nott moved to the smaller circle facing the small figure.
"Persephone Nott, you shall take the circle to my left hand." The witch looked nervous but instantly complied.
"Theodore Nott, you shall take the circle to my right hand." Theo strutted forward full of confidence.
"Thank you my servants. Indeed the Nott family will stand unparalleled in the ranks of my Death Eaters for all time for their commitment to the cause. Now we shall begin."
Theodore Nott took one last chance to shot Harry a smug grin as Voldemort started to chant in a rhythmic pace. Harry couldn't understand the language and something told him he was better off not knowing. Soon the three members of the Nott family were standing in the same position with their heads tilted back and arms dangling loosely at their sides. They started swaying slightly in their positions. Harry was so focused on the ritual that he barely noticed when Peter and Barty moved to positions behind some of the nearby tomb stones.
Voldemort stopped his chant but the sound of it continued to linger in the evening air. It was hard for Harry to describe but it was like the very sounds were trapped within the light breezes moving through the graveyard. The tiny figure now stood up and faced the elder Nott male. It raised its skinny arms, saying:
"Magic of the servant - you shall sustain your master!"
At Tom's final words the circle at the elder Nott's feet lit up with strange runes. As the light grew brighter, Nott Senior started to scream in agony as an odd white mist started to flow from the small circle to Voldemort's larger one. His wife and son ignored his screams and continued to sway rhythmically in their place in the circles. Alvin Nott gave a final scream and then collapsed to the ground. The white mist swirled around inside the confines of the circle.
Now the figure turned to face the Persephone Nott. Again, it raised its arms. In a much deeper voice, it said:
"Wife of the servant - you shall give life to your master!"
Now it was the witch's turn to scream. But where her husband's mist was white, now it was a green mist that glowed in the torch light. In a short time that seemed like forever, she too collapsed to the ground. Now the green mist swirled in with the white - intertwined but not mixed.
The figure now turned to Theodore Nott. Harry's classmate was still oblivious to the fate of his parents. The figure raised its arms for a third time.
"Child of the servant - you shall give flesh to your master!"
Theodore's fate was even worse than his parents. A red mist wafted off the boy wizard and as it did, his flesh decayed before the witnesses' eyes. What fell to the ground was a bare blackened skeleton.
The white, green, and red mists swirled around the small figure in an increasing vortex. But somehow Harry could clearly hear the Dark Lord's next words.
"Gifts of the servants - restore your master to the mortal plane!"
The mists emitted a bright glow each in their own colour. It was so bright for a moment it hurt to look directly at it. Then the glow subsided. Harry looked for the small figure in the circle. But that is not what he saw.
Standing in the figure's place was an adult version of the teenager Harry met in the Chamber of Secrets. The same dark hair and build - a handsome man of middle years. Harry was in shock. The man standing naked with his back to Harry looked perfectly normal from what he could see.
"Robe me, Wormtail," the man commanded. Peter scurried over to the man and wrapped a fine silk robe around his body. The man fastened up the front of the robe and then turned to Harry. Voldemort made a casual gesture and the torches all lit.
Across the now lit distance, Harry could see the face of the 16 year-old boy he'd met two years ago in the man in front of him. But his skin had a greenish caste to it and something about his features suggested a snake. But it was the eyes that were different. Even in the torch light Harry could see a red glow to the man's eyes.
"Hello, Harry Potter, it is good to finally meet again properly after so many years."
"Well, forgive me if I don't shake your hand," Harry responded sarcastically. Voldemort laughed.
"So much like your father, Harry. He would have been proud of you. Three times I offered him a place by my side. The Potters are distantly related to the Slytherin family and he would have held a position of honour in my organization. I would have even accepted his Mudblood wife. It is power and ability that matters most and I see myself as a practical man. But he threw each offer in my face much the same way you just did. Too much Dumbledore's man to see the opportunity in front of him."
"Dumbledore has nothing to do with it," Harry shot back. "Maybe it is the Potters refuse to kneel down to a want-to-be dictator looking for revenge for having been raised in a Muggle orphanage!" Voldemort hand smashed out across Harry's face, stunning him.
"What would you know of it you arrogant little wizardling! Muggles have no place interacting with the Wizarding world. They are like a virus infesting the planet - destroying everything that touch or fail to understand!"
"Thanks to you I know all too much what Muggles can be like," Harry responded. "My relatives made it all too clear what they thought of magic. Of course their hatred extended to people of other nationalities, religions, political opinion, and sexual orientation. But you are no different - you just replace magic with non-magic and nothing changes."
To Harry's surprise, Voldemort chuckled. "And there is your mother in you. How touching. But soon it won't matter. Wormtail, give me your arm."
At the Dark Lord's demand, Peter offered his bared left arm. The Dark Mark was a vivid black even in the torch light. Voldemort touched it with his wand and an instant later a magical pulse rippled out from the mark. That done, the wand disappeared up his sleeve and he turned back to Harry.
"My servants shall be here shortly and then not long after your time with us will be at an end young Potter. Until then, I suggest you try to relax and enjoy the beautiful night sky." The statement that this would be his last night went unsaid but well heard. With that he turned and walked away- Peter and Barty following close on his heels.