Peter Pettigrew scrambled toward the bedside.
Barty Crouch Junior showed no reaction to what had just happened, his vacant eyes still fixed on the ceiling.
At Voldemort's command, Barty Crouch Senior stiffly and chanically recited a series of complicated spells.
With each spell that was lifted, Barty Crouch Junior's eyes gradually regained clarity, and his body began to tremble faintly.
The mont the Imperius Curse was broken, Barty Crouch Junior suddenly sat upright on the bed, gasping for breath as though he had just been dragged back from drowning.
At first, his eyes were filled with confusion. Then he saw his father standing beside the bed under the Imperius Curse, saw the giant bloated snake coiled nearby, saw the despicable Wormtail... and finally, his gaze seed to pierce through Nagini's body itself, sensing the master he truly served and longed for within her.
An intense, almost fanatical joy instantly replaced all confusion and weakness, and an unnatural flush spread across his pale face.
"Master!"
Barty Crouch Junior's voice was hoarse, yet overflowing with indescribable excitent and reverence. He practically rolled off the bed and threw himself before Nagini in worship.
"It's you! It truly is you! You've co to rescue your most loyal servant!"
"Yes, Barty," Voldemort's voice ca from within the serpent's belly, carrying a trace of satisfaction. "I have returned. And you... you will serve once more. We need a plan, a plan that will allow the Dark Lord to return completely. And you will be the key to that plan."
Barty Crouch Junior raised his head, his face shining with twisted loyalty and happiness, as though all the years of imprisonnt and tornt had been repaid in this single mont.
"Always at your service, my Master! Whatever the plan may be, even if I must give my life for it!"
...
After so ti.
The attic was filled with dust, rotting wood, and the faint lingering scent of blood.
The giant python Nagini lay coiled upon the cold floor. Her once sleek and powerful body now twitched slightly, her scales dulled, with so areas even marked by ominous black burns.
Her heavy breathing ca in uneven intervals, sluggish and dying, every breath sounding painfully strained.
From within the belly of that collapsing serpentine body, a cold voice echoed into the mind of Peter Pettigrew, who crouched trembling in the corner.
"Wormtail..."
The voice was muffled and distorted, as though coming from deep underwater, yet it still carried an icy authority.
"This body... will not last much longer. Greengrass's curse is like a parasitic growth. It is continuously burning away Nagini's life force and... tornting as well."
Peter Pettigrew cautiously edged a little closer, though he still did not dare approach the giant snake too closely as it writhed in pain.
"Ma... Master... wh-what should we do? Do we need... more dittany? Or so other potion? I... I can steal so..."
"Those things can only temporarily ease the most superficial pain. They are not a true cure."
Voldemort's voice was cold and sinister. "What we need is a genuine resurrection ritual! A ritual that will grant a truly powerful body of my own! Not this... hiding inside Nagini's belly like so parasite!"
Peter nodded frantically, as though grasping at a final lifeline.
"Yes, yes! A resurrection ritual! The bone is already there, and the servant is here, we have two of them! Master, we... we'll go capture an enemy imdiately! Anyone will do! We can use his blood..."
"Idiot!"
Voldemort's furious rebuke struck Peter's nerves like an icy whip, making him recoil violently.
"Do you think the filthy blood of any random Mudblood is worthy of serving the Dark Lord's rebirth?!"
"Master is right, Wormtail."
Barty Crouch Junior struggled to sit upright. With trembling fingers, he brushed his light blond hair away from his forehead, revealing a face deathly pale yet burning with fanatic loyalty.
"How could ordinary blood possibly be used for the Master's resurrection? This ritual must carry symbolic significance. It must completely wash away the humiliation!"
Voldemort fell silent for a mont after hearing Barty's words, as though suppressing the rage and agony churning within him. When he spoke again, his voice had beco even colder.
"That boy... Harry Potter."
At the ntion of that na, Nagini's body convulsed violently beneath the force of Voldemort's hatred.
"His mother's sacrifice left ancient protective magic within him. It was that magic which brought about my humiliation. I will use his blood..."
Peter blinked his small eyes in confusion, becoming even more bewildered.
"Then... then why are we using his blood? Wouldn't that make it even more dangerous?"
"Precisely because it is protective magic, you shortsighted fool," Voldemort replied in a cunning, sinister voice. "The blood of an enemy... by using blood infused with protective magic... it will not rely recreate my body!"
His voice rose slightly as Nagini's tail repeatedly slamd against the floor.
"It will also allow to share that power! That power born from Lily Potter's sacrifice, flowing within her son's veins! Once that happens, the protection his mother left behind will no longer be able to harm . Instead, it will beco my shield!"
Barty's eyes shone with fanatical excitent. He leaned forward eagerly, his voice trembling.
"I understand, Master! Brilliant! This is not rely resurrection, but conquest! A desecration and mastery of that ancient magic! By using the boy's blood, you will not only obtain a new body, but also turn his mother's protection into your own!"
"Exactly..."
Voldemort's voice lowered once more.
"So it cannot be just anyone's blood, Wormtail. It must be Harry Potter's blood. This matter is critical. It must be flawless. I waited thirteen years. A few more months an nothing."
His voice turned cold and commanding, leaving no room for disobedience.
"Now, cast aside your fear."
Nagini's head slowly turned toward Peter, her scarlet tongue flicking out with a hiss.
"Your task is to ensure that Nagini survives until everything is prepared. Then, Barty..."
The snake's head shifted toward the gaunt figure.
"...you must find a way to bring that boy to ."
Nagini let out a faint, pain-filled hiss, as though echoing the dark soul hidden within her.
Heavy breathing filled the attic, each breath sounding like a broken bellows struggling to function.
"Master... do I simply wait here?" Peter Pettigrew asked in a trembling voice.
"Wait... but not idly, Wormtail."
Voldemort hissed coldly. "That ddleso woman... Bertha Jorkins... before she died, I managed to extract so rather interesting information from her mind."
Barty Crouch Junior imdiately raised his head, his eyes gleaming with eager anticipation.
"Master, do you already have a complete plan?"
"Hogwarts..."
Voldemort slowly spoke the na.
"Dumbledore, that senile fool, has actually agreed to host the Triwizard Tournant."
He paused while Nagini's tail continued striking the floor impatiently.
"And more importantly," Voldemort continued, his voice filled with malicious amusent, "for the sake of 'security,' he has invited the retired Alastor Moody to serve as Hogwarts' Defence Against the Dark Arts professor."
"Moody?"
Hatred and caution flashed across Barty's face at once. "That crippled old madman who's constantly suspicious of everyone?"
"Precisely."
Voldemort's voice grew cold once again. "This is our opportunity... Barty, I need you to leave this place."
Barty imdiately struggled to his feet, as though receiving the greatest honour imaginable.
"Always at your command, Master! What would you have do?"
"Find Moody. Subdue him before he reaches Hogwarts."
Voldemort's tone was calm and ruthless. "Using Polyjuice Potion, you will take his appearance. Then you will go to Hogwarts and assu his position as Moody."
Barty instantly understood, a knowing smile spreading across his face.
"Then I can deliver Harry Potter safely from that heavily protected nest directly into your hands!"
"Exactly..."
Voldemort's voice carried unmistakable satisfaction. "Dumbledore believes he has strengthened his defences, but he has no idea that the man he trusts most will beco my servant. And then, Barty, you will present our prize... to , before everyone."
"I will, Master!"
Barty's reply was almost a moan of devotion. "I will not fail you! I will beco Moody, I will watch over the boy, and I will deliver him into your hands!"
"Very good," Voldemort said in satisfaction.
"As for you, Wormtail..."
Voldemort's voice suddenly turned icy as Nagini's head slowly shifted toward the cowering figure.
"Your task remains unchanged. Care for Nagini and , and guard this place. If, before my complete restoration, either she or I suffer any mishap because this body collapses..."
The threat remained unfinished, but the murderous intent within those words was already enough to make Peter tremble violently.
"Y-yes... yes, Master!" Peter squealed, throwing himself face-first onto the floor.
Nagini let out a long hiss filled with both pain and satisfaction.
___
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