Voldemort's cold, high voice commanded the attention of his gathered Death Eaters. His crimson eyes, glowing with malevolence, scanned each follower as he addressed them.
"My loyal Death Eaters," Voldemort began, his tone changing to mocking and disdainful. "I'm sure you're all wondering about the fate of the boy who lived."
The Death Eaters, cloaked in shadows and standing in a circle, exchanged glances. Most of them thought that this was it.
Surely the boy was killed if the dark Lord was here.
"I'm sure you all are intelligent enough to guess that I was successful in getting Harry Potter's blood for my rebirth. My mere presence must have given you this thought without having to tell you this."
Voldemort informed them, as he was sure that some of them were not in their right mind at that moment due to the fear that he had instilled during his speech.
"But there was one variation that happened. Together with Harry Potter, another boy came to the graveyard. Cedric Diggory."
On hearing the name, many of the Death Eaters were remembering the events that had happened during the past few days. How the dead body of Cedric appeared at the end of the Triwizard Tournament, and then the following day, how Harry Potter was concluded as the main suspect behind his murder.
"See, after I was reborn, I wanted to kill the boy immediately. After all, I wanted to show the world that their very hope, the one they thought had been able to escape death and cause my demise, is nothing more than just a chance.
I tortured both of the boys with Crucio. Harry and the other boy were struggling against each other." Voldemort was reminiscing as if it were such a laughable matter. "Haha, both of them looked so funny, as they were fighting against each other like savages."
But then, in such an enjoyable moment, I was careless again. Unknowingly, the two have rolled in pain and were just a few distances away from the Triwizard Cup.
The portkey.
They both got up and began running toward it. Harry was running just behind the other boy, leaving his back a clear target. At that moment, I knew it was now or never. I cast the killer curse directly at Harry."
The dark Lord paused, and all the Death Eaters felt as though they were not just listening to their master but actually living the very moment. How Voldemort took pleasure in torturing Harry Potter and Cedric Diggory, and how they tried to escape using the Cup.
The Death Eaters waited, wanting to know the final conclusion. But they all were experiencing different reactions. The ones like Wormtail and Lucius were puzzled by this whole situation. Wormtail knew the dark Lord was lying as he was present there by his Lord's side, while Lucius saw the living body of Harry Potter. In fact, it was nearby, in his mansion.
Snape, on the other hand, was feeling his heartbeat accelerating. What sort of fate was destiny for the boy Harry?
At that moment, all the Death Eaters present felt Voldemort's rage simmer on his face.
"But what would you expect of a half-blood?
Harry Potter, trembling with fear, witnessed his coming demise. He saw the green light of the Killing Curse forming at the tip of my wand. And what did he do?
He dodged."
Voldemort spat the word with disdain. "He darted to the side like a scared animal, evading the spell that should have ended him."
All the Death Eaters immediately understood the reason behind Voldemort's anger. But unlike what they expected, Voldemort did something totally different next.
A sinister laugh erupted from Voldemort. "But, do not fret, my loyal servants," Voldemort sneered, a cold, humorless laugh escaping him. "The Potter boy did not escape unscathed. Oh no, far from it."
"As Potter dodged, the Killing Curse found another target. Cedric Diggory, the unwitting participant in this twisted game, bore the brunt of my wrath. The curse struck him down, extinguishing the feeble flame of his life." A perverse satisfaction gleamed in Voldemort's eyes as he reveled in the memory of the boy's demise.
The laughter of Voldemort continued, "If only you could see the eyes of the chosen boy. The movement, he realized, was that he had traded his life for another one. Him being the reason behind Cedric's death."
"At that moment, the body of Cedric fell on the cup and activated the portkey. His body disappeared together with the Cup. And Harry Potter was left all alone. He felt lost. I could see the pain, despair, and guilt he was going through. Then I got an idea, I'm going to let the boy live for a moment before I kill him. I wanted him to suffer. He was on the brink of collapse, and I saw the potential of him turning against his own."
Voldemort said that he left the graveyard afterward, leaving the boy alone with his thoughts. The dark Lord then walked toward Snape and looked him directly in his eyes.
"But something unexpected happened again. I thought that the day afterward, Harry would return to Hogwarts, but till now, the boy is still missing." Voldemort said.
"Snape, I'm sure that the old fool Dumbledore must have a hand behind Harry's disappearance. You must try to get this information as soon as possible."
Then Voldemort moved to Corban Yaxley and Walden Macnair and addressed them. "Yaxely and Macnair, you two must also use all your connections at the Ministry of Magic to know about the whereabouts of the boy."
The two Death Eaters immediately fell on their knees and responded, "Yes, my Lord."