Chapter 162
Wormtail finally appeared before Barty Crouch Jr., a swirl of dark smoke bursting from his small body as the summoning spell dragged him through the void of Dark Magic.
He arrived still in the form of a rat.
When he saw that the one who had summoned him was Barty, Wormtail immediately canceled his transformation, returning to his true human form.
He grabbed Barty by the shoulders, his face tense with desperate hope.
"Junior! Did you find the Dark Lord?!" he demanded.
Before beginning their search, the two had made an agreement: if either of them found any clue about the Dark Lord's location, he must immediately summon the other.
So when Wormtail was summoned, he assumed Barty had found Voldemort.
But Barty shook his head slowly.
"No… I haven't found him yet," he said grimly. "But I think I've found the place where he's most likely to be."
Wormtail stepped back, disappointment flashing in his eyes.
Although he hadn't wanted Voldemort to return before had even feared the idea he now had no other choice.
Every road was closed to him. Without the Dark Lord's protection, he would soon be captured again or killed by the Ministry.
So now, his only hope was that Voldemort would return if only to grant him safety and a purpose again.
Barty continued, "I summoned you, Wormtail, because there's a place where only you can find the Dark Lord."
Wormtail blinked in confusion.
"What do you mean by that, Junior?" he asked, uneasy.
Barty placed a firm hand on his shoulder and said, "It's very likely the Dark Lord is hiding in the forests of Albania, feeding on unicorn blood to stay alive. The forest is full of magical creatures, and only you can communicate with them since your Animagus form is a rat. You can talk to them, gather information, and find out exactly where he is."
Wormtail's eyes widened in astonishment. He hadn't expected such brilliant insight from Barty.
He stammered nervously, "Th-then… what are we going to do now?"
Barty grasped his hand. "We're going there now."
In an instant, they disappeared.
They reappeared moments later on the banks of the Albanian forest, near the eastern coast of the country.
As soon as they arrived, Barty began explaining the plan in detail.
"This forest is filled with unicorns," he said. "Their blood is rare and powerful refreshing, even. I'm certain the Dark Lord is here, crawling somewhere among the trees, trying to regain his strength."
Wormtail turned toward him and saw a mad gleam of excitement in Barty's eyes. The younger man's face was lit by a sinister grin; the thought of finding the Dark Lord thrilled him deeply.
"So," Wormtail asked, "should I transform back into a rat and start looking for him inside the forest?"
Barty nodded.
"And what about you?" Wormtail asked nervously.
Barty smiled faintly. "I'll follow after you, but not immediately. I don't want to frighten the animals."
With that, Wormtail transformed once again into a rat and scurried into the shadows of the forest.
Minutes passed.
As Wormtail ventured deeper, he began to feel a heavy, dreadful aura pressing against his tiny body a chilling atmosphere thick with darkness and mystery.
He couldn't tell where it came from, but he could feel it.
He had wandered in every direction but couldn't locate the source of that terrifying energy.
Then suddenly, a squirrel appeared, climbing up the trunk of a large tree toward its hollow nest.
Wormtail let out a low, squeaky sound a quiet signal meant to catch the squirrel's attention.
Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, the squirrel heard him.
It turned its head, eyes narrowing, and spotted the strange orange-brown rat below Wormtail, of course.
The squirrel descended cautiously and said, "What do you want, strange rat? I've never seen you here before."
Wormtail replied confidently, "That's because I ran away from my family! I was just born recently, but I wanted to explore the world on my own."
The squirrel believed him easily enough; it sounded like a reasonable excuse.
"Well," said the squirrel, "you chose a terrible time to wander. Don't you know? All the animals are hiding! Something dreadful is happening in these woods."
That was all Wormtail needed to hear. He had found his lead.
Feigning innocence, he asked, "What do you mean? I told you I ran away from my family. But… why is everyone so afraid? What's happening?"
The squirrel glanced around nervously, then leaned closer and whispered, "There's a place deep in this forest filled with a terrible presence. The older animals say an evil spirit lives there inside a dark cave. And with it slithers a giant serpent, ten meters long."
At once, Wormtail understood.
This was the same dark aura he had sensed earlier the same terrifying energy he hadn't felt since the Dark Lord's fall.
But this time, he did not feel fear.
He had been trained to withstand such darkness.
He steadied his voice and asked cautiously, "Do you know where this cave is?"
The squirrel's fur bristled. "Are you mad, little one? Do you want to die?"
Wormtail quickly shook his head, pretending to panic.
"No, no! That's not what I meant! I just wanted to know so I don't accidentally wander in there by mistake. I don't know these woods very well!"
The squirrel relaxed a little, convinced by Wormtail's trembling tone.
It came closer, lowering its voice.
Then, leaning toward the rat's ear, the squirrel began to describe the location of the cave…
To be continued …