Exterminating the Remnants

Night at Bagnold Manor hung like a heavy, viscous curtain of darkness, pressing down upon the ancient vaulted ceiling.

The long table at the center of the hall remained intact, yet the lingering stench of scorched flesh and blood filled the air. The fire in the hearth had been dampened to a mere flicker, its ghostly green light dancing over the stone walls and illuminating Voldemort's increasingly pale, increasingly icy face.

He stood at the end of the table with his back to the others, his snake-like shadow stretched long and twisted by the firelight.

The silence was suffocating.

Bellatrix Lestrange knelt at the very front, her posture devout and fanatical. Her eyes were fixed on Voldemort's back as though every additional glance she was granted was an immense blessing.

Dolohov, Rookwood, and several surviving senior Death Eaters stood farther away. No one dared make a sound. Everyone knew their master was in a foul mood.

In the battle at Bones Manor, they had lost two fellow Death Eaters, Jugson and Gibbon, and had sent the rest of the Werewolf forces to their deaths as well. More importantly, Voldemort had been severely injured by Skylar in full view of everyone, a tremendous blow to his prestige.

(Note: Although this was the second time Voldemort had been thwarted by Skylar, the Death Eaters who appeared in the Little Hangleton graveyard were not the same group as those from last night.)

At last, Voldemort spoke slowly, his tone chilling to the bone.

"Skylar Malfoy."

When that name left his mouth, it seemed to carry a sharp, barbed hook.

"That little whelp from the Malfoy family..." Voldemort turned around, his red Snake Eyes narrowing slightly in the firelight. His voice was low and calm, yet filled with fury forcibly held in check. "He