HP: Harry From The Ancient House Of Black [ Chapter 63 ]

"You have power! Power that could have served the Dark Lord, if not power that could make you a new one! Instead you choose to play the Game. We should wipe them all out, just as the Dark Lord would have wanted."

"Your Dark Lord was a fool." Aries voiced had turned to ice. "And so are you." Lucius made to leave but Aries stopped him at the door. "Tell me about Barty Crouch." The sudden change in topic and tone seemed to surprise the Malfoy Lord.

"Why would you want to know about him? I think you could ask him yourself."

"Not him." Aries said with a shake of his head. "His son."

"Oh." Lucius had a glazed look for a moment, as if remembering something. "He was a fanatic. Not like Bellatrix but close. He did help torture the Longbottoms after the Dark Lord was destroyed. But he died in Azkaban a few years back. Barty was one of the Dark Lord's most trusted followers, and he was a member of his Inner Circle."

"The Dark Mark that scared you and your friends away at the World Cup. Remember it?" Lucius gave him a look of annoyance.

"He cast it." The look of shock was almost priceless.

"How do you know this?"

"The subconscious mind remembers things far more clearly than we do. It catalogues everything we see. I looked into Potter's mind and saw Barty Crouch Junior clear as day. There was no mistaking it." The surprise on Lucius' face was genuine and it was somewhat of a relief to Aries.

"I see that the Dark Lord has not called you back into his service."

"The Dark Lord is dead."

"Is he?" Aries enjoyed messing with Lucius. "I wonder how he will feel, knowing that you never sought him out. You never suffered in Azkaban like his more loyal followers. You lied and you cowered behind a mask."

"If the Dark Lord has returned then you had best get your priorities straight Aries Black." There was a hint of a threat in Lucius' voice. "He does not share power."

"Neither do I Lucius." The challenge was clear and Lucius made to leave again. "Oh, and Lucius? Should the Dark Lord return, and you drag Draco down your path of racism and destruction, there is nowhere in this world that you will be able to hide from me. I will destroy you for destroying my brother. That is not a threat. It is a promise."

An hour passed that Aries sat in silence, simply thinking. If the Dark Lord had yet to recall Lucius then it seemed that he was lying low, waiting for something.

Thanks to Sirius he knew that Voldemort was not alone, rather Wormtail and Barty Crouch Junior were assisting him in his endeavors.

But what were they? The death of Thomas Potter seemed likely and Aries had a hunch that the Dark Lord was connected to Potter's name coming out of the Goblet of Fire.

The real question was where did Wormtail and Crouch fit into the picture? Did the Dark Lord require a care giver? Were they slowly bringing in the old crowd or were they accomplishing simpler tasks?

There had been no mysterious disappearances, besides Bertha Jorkins, and the Dark Mark had not been seen since the World Cup. So, what was the Dark Lord's plan?

Aries had plans in preparation for his return, but he also had a sinking feeling that the Dark Lord's return and the tournament were somehow connected.

"Lucius was fuming when he left earlier." Cassiopeia said as she took the seat Lucius had vacated earlier. "I figured I'd give you some time to cool off."

"Thank you, Aunt Cassi." He gave her a warm smile. "Your wisdom, as always, hits the target." She gave him an expectant look and he considered where to begin.

They corresponded with letters often, but they lacked detail as neither wanted to risk them being intercepted.

"Ginny Weasley came into the possession of a diary, one with the imprint of a sixteen-year-old Tom Riddle. Through the diary Riddle possessed the girl, forcing her to write messages in blood on the wall and petrify students with Salmrissa."

Cassiopeia showed no surprise, but Aries recognized her calculating look, attempting to make connections with what she was hearing to what she already knew.

"As I told you before, Riddle is my predecessor. The problem is that Riddle is Voldemort."

"An imprint?" Cassi said more to herself than to Aries. "That sounds like a portrait, though portraits cannot possess or affect anything outside their portraits. The exception being the portraits of Hogwarts' prior Headmasters who can sometimes affect the magic of the castle." They made eye contact for a moment.

"I know of no magic that can do such a thing to an object."

"Neither do I and I have found the Hogwarts' library to be lacking, which is unusual. The magic itself does not sound dark. If anything, it was Riddle that was dark. But my search has been fruitless, I had hoped you might find something I could not."

Cassi gave him a nod, no doubt already thinking of where she would look. "And Lucius?"

"He gave her the diary." Aries leaned forward, rubbing his temple. "A member of his Inner Circle given a diary that belonged to the Dark Lord himself. There must be some importance there. It makes our plan for this summer important."

"You think she might provide the missing key?" Cassi was clearly skeptical but it did not convince Aries to abandon the plan.

"Yes, I believe she will. And what of the other?"

"Remus works diligently, with a fervor I did not believe him capable of. It will be ready by the beginning of summer."

"Excellent." Aries leaned back, giving his aunt a worried look. "This tournament has accelerated our plans, but so far everything seems to be working out. Almost too well. I think it's time we began implementing the Guard."

"Already?" Cassi had long disapproved of this plan, rather than her normal skeptical behavior.

"Dumbledore and the Dark Lord have their armies, I believe it is time we started one of our own."