Rodolphus Was Laughing in Anger

As for Lockhart's warning, the Death Eaters, Rodolphus included, had all dismissed it as words in one ear and out the other. None of them believed the Ministry of Magic could react so quickly.

Even back in Azkaban, if they hadn't been so desperate to taste freedom, the Death Eaters wouldn't have let the remaining three Aurors off so easily.

Of course, they didn't know that this had actually bought them precious time. If the Death Eaters had taken just a few minutes longer to leave, the outcome might have been very different.

So after they landed, Rodolphus made sure everyone was all right, then led them toward a village somewhere in northern England.

This village was naturally nothing like Hogsmeade, a settlement inhabited exclusively by wizards. It was more like Godric's Hollow or Ottery St Catchpole: a small-to-medium-sized community where wizards and Muggles lived side by side.

There were roughly seven or eight wizarding households here, along with a very small wizarding pub and several Floo Network connections.

Rodolphus, Bella, and the others knew the place, of course. Although these Death Eaters hadn't been in touch with Wizarding Society for over a decade, they assumed that the various wizarding communities couldn't have changed much.

In their minds, the Wizarding World was practically unchanging. A wizarding settlement looked much the same today as it would a hundred years later.

So after Apparating for the second time, the Death Eaters surged toward the pub, full of menace. They'd been pent up for over a decade, and now they finally had the chance to cause some trouble!

Bang!

Rodolphus kicked the pub door open and strode inside with an air of utter arrogance, leading the Death Eaters behind him.

They saw three wizards gathered at the bar, chatting, and the pub's owner