Voldemort laughed, laughed without restraint, until the others felt their skin crawl.
Then he looked at Snape. "Do you need an assistant?"
Snape froze for a moment, then his lips curled into a cruel smile. "Yes, Master. I very much need an assistant."
Only then did Wormtail remember something. Repeated memory modifications had even dulled his reactions.
"No, Master, I want to stay by your side."
Voldemort gave him no chance to refuse, handing him straight over to Snape before leaving that very night.
He had no intention of telling Wormtail what he was going to do.
The Defense Against Dark Magic Office.
Douglas was reading an essay Ron had written, "On the energy absorption efficiency of Dementors." He had no idea who had taught Ron this trick, taking an unconventional approach to his experiences in practical class by focusing specifically on Dementors.
Ron described in depth his reaction to the Dementors' black mist while standing before the mock Azkaban, even attributing his interference with Draco to the Dementors' influence. Then he very earnestly compared Dementors to air conditioners in the Muggle World, even making a show of calculating some sort of cooling coefficient.
Douglas strongly suspected that the Twins had written to Ron. Either that, or Ron had reached the age when his family bloodline awakened.
Lupin knocked and came in.
"Douglas, Hagrid hasn't shown up to teach for three days running."
Douglas looked up and raised an eyebrow. "Oh? I thought he'd frightened another student to tears and was hiding in his hut brewing mead as an apology. Has Professor McGonagall docked his pay?"
Lupin shook his head, pulled out the chair opposite the desk, and sat down. He had clearly just returned from the Forbidden Forest; there was even a pine needle caught on the shoulder of