Harry Potter: Another Chance

Disclaimer:

Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling.

I own nothing but the original characters I create.

"Dialogue"

'Thoughts'

-Author notes-

Chapter 407: So, Where is it?

"I don't see anything but trees…" A burly man clad in black robes muttered while pacing in circles, his eyes scanning the dense forest.

"Are you sure it's here?" asked another equally large man, mirroring the first's movements.

"Yes, I'm sure!" A third figure, crouched low to the ground, sniffed the air and the grass in frustration.

"Crabbe, Goyle, shut your mouths and let the rat work," snapped Bellatrix Lestrange, her icy voice cutting through the air.

Instantly, silence fell.

Despite their thick-headedness, even Crabbe and Goyle Senior knew better than to irritate Bellatrix when she was in one of her moods. And right now, her mood was downright murderous.

"Ahh!" Bellatrix let out a shriek of frustration, flinging her black umbrella to the ground before smashing a nearby tree branch with her bare hands. "Nothing but grass, flowers, and trees! What a disgusting place!"

"Miss Bellatrix!" Goyle yelped, panicking as her discarded umbrella left her exposed.

The sun in this part of Britain was mild, but it was still daylight, and vampires were notoriously vulnerable to sunlight.

"The sun!" Crabbe shouted, pointing skyward. "The sun!" He scrambled to retrieve the umbrella, fearing she would burst into flames at any moment and attempted to return it back to her.

"Do you two think I'm an idiot?" Bellatrix hissed, her sharp yellow eyes narrowing dangerously.

She pulled back the black robes covering her arms, revealing pale, glittering skin. With a flick of her wand, her flesh shimmered as if made of diamonds.

"I can protect myself from sunlight just fine."

"Magic…" Crabbe mumbled, scratching his head.

"…But vampires can't do magic," Goyle added, equally confused.

"They're simpletons, Lady Bellatrix," Wormtail muttered as he slunk closer, his hunched figure casting a shadow over the grass. "Your… gift isn't exactly common knowledge among the Dark Lord's ranks."

It was well-known that vampires couldn't wield magic in the same way wizards and witches could.

However, rare vampires could awaken unique "gifts" that set them apart. These abilities elevated their status, often placing them above even older, more experienced vampires.

Bellatrix's gift was an extraordinary one at that....she retained her ability to perform wand magic. While her spells were largely limited to dark magic, it was still a formidable advantage when combined with her vampire speed, strength, and senses.

This, coupled with her fanatical loyalty, had made her Voldemort's second-in-command with no contest.

"Forget about me." Bellatrix scoffed, her lip curling disdainfully. "Focus on finding those traitors."

The cowardly Wormtail needed no further prompting, returning to the ground to sniff and crawl like the rat he was.

"This place… it feels familiar," he muttered, frustration clear in his voice. "I know I've been here before, but the protections… they've erased it from my memory!"

The group had narrowed their search to this field, but there were still miles of forest and grassy plains to comb through. The wards around Potter Manor rendered it completely invisible, even to seasoned dark wizards.

If they could at least find the edge of the wards, they could attempt to break through using the bludgeoning approach....a crude, brute-force method of dismantling magical defenses. But until then, they were grasping at shadows.

An hour passed with no progress.

"Bloody hell!" Bellatrix screamed, stomping the ground in frustration. Her yellow eyes blazed with fury.

"At this rate, I'm going to miss my Lord's conquest of Hogwarts! I won't allow that to happen. I need to be at his side when he claims his victory!"

"This is bad," Goyle muttered nervously.

"Very bad," Crabbe agreed.

Wormtail felt their eyes boring into his back, their unspoken accusations weighing on him.

"Don't look at me like that!" he snapped. "I'm trying my best!" He could feel the noose tightening...if they failed to locate Potter Manor, their deaths at Bellatrix's hands were all but guaranteed, and even if the Dark Lord would likely scold her for that...that was not going to help them right now.

Bellatrix's patience finally snapped. She raised her wand and began hurling fireballs in every direction. "That's it!, I had it!"

"Lady Bellatrix, please stop!" Goyle ducked behind a tree, narrowly avoiding a blazing projectile.

"You traitorous fools!" she shrieked. "Get over here! I'm going to rip your skulls out and turn them into a necklace!"

Wormtail, trembling, was about to transform into a rat and flee when something caught his eye.

One of Bellatrix's fireballs exploded midair as if it had struck an invisible barrier.

"Wait!, Wait Lady Bellatrix!." he cried, pointing. "There's something there!"

Bellatrix's eyes gleamed with predatory delight. She had not missed it either. "There is something there!" She stalked forward, wand raised.

"Did we find it?" Crabbe asked hesitantly.

"Is it finally over?" Goyle added.

"What do you mean we?" Bellatrix sneered. "I found it. If you imbeciles were more useful, we'd have done this hours ago! " Why didn't we do this from the beginning?"

" Well, that would have completely given away our intentions to the ones inside the house," Wormtail said without thinking.

"Silence!" Bellatrix snapped, her gaze sharp enough to cut steel. "So what? Do you think I'm afraid of a pack of cowardly traitors hiding behind wards?"

" No... of course not. " Wormtail hurried to say. " As long as My Lady is with us, there is no enemy to fear!"

Ignoring him, Bellatrix approached the spot where her spell had collided with the invisible barrier.

"Now… let's get in there." Her voice was brimming with eager anticipation.

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