"It seems the intimidation worked pretty well."
Regulus Black muttered to himself. Even in death, the Dark Lord's power was enough to instill fear throughout the entire wizarding world.
The line of marching skeletons was advancing and about to reach the Weasley family's tent. Mr. Weasley, who had been celebrating inside, immediately sensed that something was off—the noise outside no longer sounded like joyous commotion.
A quick glance outside told him everything he needed to know, and he hurried back in to get the children out of there.
Regulus Black activated the invisibility cloak—once Harry Potter's, and one of the Deathly Hallows. But after falling into Regulus's hands, it had been reforged into a soul-bound artifact with magical attributes.
The one currently in Harry Potter's possession was just a high-grade replica, made with demiguise hair. Regulus had even added a composite invisibility array to it, just so Harry could use it for a longer period.
But it had been quite a while since Harry last took it out, and no one knew whether it still worked.
Harry Potter had also rushed out of the tent. Unlike the fleeing wizards, he seemed more interested in finding out what Death Eaters actually were.
Long black robes, tall black hats, skeletal masks. They carried torches and occasionally tossed out small fireballs that didn't do much damage.
Fourteen—no, more than twenty Death Eaters had appeared before Harry's eyes.
"Looks like Lucius did manage to gather a few companions after all."
Regulus Black watched their movements closely. Just as previously agreed, they were only here to burn tents and incite panic among the wizards. No one's life was actually in danger.
Harry charged at the group of Death Eaters, only to be bumped and shoved multiple times by the panicked crowd.
What was that kid thinking? Did he think of himself as some kind of 'Potter the Great'? Did he really believe he could take on Death Eaters by himself?
Regulus Black walked over and cast a quick Stupefy to knock him out.
In the original story, the so-called Savior was knocked unconscious by a kick. At least this time he wouldn't have to suffer that kind of blow.
Regulus used a branch to pick up Harry's wand, his mind racing with possibilities.
"Shiny!"
Regulus called out someone else's house-elf by name.
"Who's calling Shiny? Shiny is here! Shiny doesn't know you."
A house-elf with a sharp voice suddenly appeared, but she didn't recognize Regulus Black at all.
"Imperio."
Regulus had no time for explanations, and he certainly couldn't let this house-elf remember him. Without hesitation, he cast one of the Unforgivable Curses—the Imperius Curse—to take control of the chatty elf.
"Give this wand to Barty Crouch Jr. Just say you found it. Go."
He pointed at the wand on the ground and cast a counter-curse to remove the prior Imperius Curse placed on it.
"Shiny found a wand! Shiny will give it to Master!"
Repeating the command, Shiny picked up Harry's wand and vanished, reappearing at Barty Crouch Jr.'s side.
"Where did you go just now? And whose wand is this?"
Barty Crouch Jr., hidden under his invisibility cloak, had just been thinking of asking Shiny to take him back.
But before he could even call her, the cowardly little elf had already disappeared—faster than her own master, no less.
He hadn't expected her to return on her own, wand in hand.
"Shiny saw a wand on the ground! Shiny picked it up! Shiny gives the wand to Master Barty!"
As soon as she finished, she felt dizzy. Everything she had just said had been a forced command, and now that she was done, she regained her clarity.
"Shiny doesn't understand... Why did I pick up a wand and give it to Barty Crouch? Shiny doesn't remember."
The little elf fell into a confused silence. She had no memory of anything that happened while under control.
Whatever the elf was thinking didn't matter now. What mattered was that Barty Crouch Jr. was absolutely thrilled. He had wanted to join in the chaos caused by the Death Eaters from the very beginning, but had been holding himself back. Part of it was due to the lingering effects of the Imperius Curse placed on him by his father, Barty Crouch Sr., and part of it was because he had no wand.
A wizard without a wand is like a soldier without a gun.
But fate works in mysterious ways. Shanshan brought over a wand she had found, and the moment it was placed in Barty Crouch Jr.'s hand, the Stunning Spell on him vanished. It was clear that someone had orchestrated this deliberately.
Naturally, Barty Crouch Jr. noticed Shanshan's unusual behavior. Whoever was behind this, their intentions were clear.
His lips were so dry. Every time Barty Crouch Jr. got excited, his mouth would feel parched, and he would instinctively want to lick his lips.
He tore off his Invisibility Cloak and threw it to Shanshan. From now on, he would no longer need to hide. The thought alone twisted his face with excitement.
The group of troublemaking Death Eaters had already passed by and hadn't noticed Barty Crouch Jr., who had been wearing the Invisibility Cloak moments earlier.
But they were all cowards—not one of them had dared to kill. Though their actions could be seen as pledging loyalty to the Dark Lord, it simply wasn't enough.
Barty Crouch Jr. knew that his moment to prove his loyalty had come. Those useless fools didn't even dare to cast the Dark Mark.
How could Death Eaters kill without the Dark Mark? How could they wreak havoc without the Dark Mark?
"If you won't cast it, then let me do it. Let everyone tremble under the Dark Lord's mark. Morsmordre!"
Barty Crouch Jr. pointed to the sky and waved his hand. A beam of green magic shot straight into the heavens, exploding like a firework.
At first glance, the Dark Mark resembled an illusionary light display conjured by a leprechaun. It was a massive skull made up of countless glowing green stars, with a large serpent slithering out of the skull's mouth like a flicking tongue.
As it appeared, it rose higher and higher. The glowing green light lit up the dark night sky, making it resemble a newly formed constellation.
Whenever Voldemort grew stronger or appeared nearby, the mark on a Death Eater's arm would burn painfully, becoming clearer and turning red.
As long as Voldemort pressed the Dark Mark on a Death Eater's arm, he could summon the others. They would have to immediately Apparate to his side and await orders.
Conversely, when a Death Eater touched the mark burned into their own left arm, Voldemort could sense the summons and Apparate to them as well.
The Dark Mark was Voldemort's invention, a magical spell that combined functions of a contract, locator, communication, summoning, and sensory perception.
In the distance, seeing the Dark Mark in the night sky, the fleeing wizards were even more terrified—if only they had four legs to run faster.
At that moment, Harry Potter happened to wake up. As he looked up and saw the Dark Mark in the sky, the lightning-shaped scar on his forehead suddenly flared with pain.
"Harry Potter! Harry Potter! Where are you, child?!"
Shouts came from afar—it was the Weasley family. After evacuating, they realized Harry hadn't followed and, worried something might have happened to him, the entire family had come back to look for him.
Seeing someone had returned, Barty Crouch Jr. knew others might follow, so he immediately left the scene.
"Harry! Thank goodness you're here—we thought we'd lost you."
Since Ginny had gone to a friend's house and hadn't followed the rest of the Weasleys, it was Molly Weasley who had come back and happened to be the first to find Harry.
"What is that?"
Harry pointed to the Dark Mark in the sky, a symbol that felt eerily familiar to him.
"That's the Dark Mark, Harry. Only Death Eaters would do something like that."
Molly Weasley's voice trembled as she spoke, though not necessarily from fear. As a member of the Order of the Phoenix, she had never been afraid of Death Eaters. The tremor in her voice could just as well have been from surging adrenaline.
"Stupefy!"
Suddenly, several Aurors appeared from five directions and fired spells at Harry and Molly.
Luckily, the two ducked just in time. The five spells collided at the center and dissipated harmlessly.
"Get out of the way! That's my godson, Harry Potter!"
A figure barged in and knocked over one of the Aurors, rushing straight toward Harry.
"Oh my God! Can't you people look more carefully? That's my wife, Molly, and Harry Potter!"
Arthur Weasley immediately rushed toward his wife as well.
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