[HP] Similar but different

It is already night, the stars and the moon are dark.

Little Hangleton slept in the almost impenetrable darkness in the valley.A heavy snow had just fallen from the sky, and a chill had settled over the church and the cemetery.There is no wind, and everything is as silent as death.

Suddenly, something made a crisp crackling sound, and a yew branch was overwhelmed and broke.

It was as if some kind of taboo had been broken.The air was suddenly filled with rustling, the squeaking of shoes sinking into the snow, and the whispers that followed.

"...The master hasn't come yet?"

"It should be soon."

Between the tombstone and the forest, many figures in black robes appeared faintly.The light of the snow was faint and inconspicuously reflected on their hooded and masked faces.Quietly and quickly, they formed a circle.

"Master hasn't summoned us together for a long time... What's the reason this time?" Someone asked, cautiously and curiously.

Before anyone could answer, several figures descended.Unlike most of the Apparitions, they ride on the wind and land exactly on the innermost point.At the last meeting, there were seven people in that small circle, but now it has become eleven.

The Death Eaters who arrived early gasped in unison.They didn't know anything before they came, but now...

"It seems to be the same reason as before." Lucius Malfoy's voice came from under the hood, "I can't believe it's the fourth time without me!" He seemed to be trying to suppress his tone Annoyed, but not very successful.

"Then you should think carefully about what else you are dissatisfied with the master." In the inner circle not far from him, a slightly gloating female voice replied, "Or according to the master, you pay off the 13-year debt Yet?"

Although everyone covered their faces, there was only one woman in the inner circle, Bellatrix Lestrange.

It wasn't the first time something like this had happened, and Malfoy was getting more and more aggrieved. "Don't you still want to move out of your old ways?"

"What do you mean by 'doing my old tricks'?" Bellatrix's voice rose sharply, visibly exasperated. "Aren't you, like Snape, trying to call our noble behavior of being willing to go to prison for the Dark Lord foolish?" huh?" she huffed, "I hope you remember why Snape isn't here!"

At least four people in the inner circle turned their faces away in unison.Under those close scrutinizing eyes, Malfoy suddenly fell silent.

Not far from Malfoy, a short wizard who stretched his neck retracted his head.He swayed slightly, his silver hand drooping quietly, while the fingers on the other side twisted together nervously.

More Death Eaters were sorting out the vacancies among them, trying to guess who the new lucky four were.But maybe the answer to that question was already there—in the ten Death Eaters who had originally escaped.

Malfoy obviously flinched, but that didn't appease Bellatrix. "Speaking of which, Lucius, I suspect that your mistake is even bigger than Snape's." She said sharply, "If that's the case, I advise you to get rid of that unnecessary expectation as soon as possible—maybe you You can't get the master's forgiveness in this life. What's more, can you really give everything for the master, even including abandoning the family name?"

Receiving more skeptical looks as a result, Malfoy couldn't hold back and wanted to defend himself. "I……"

But he was interrupted as soon as he uttered a word. "Quiet." Another man spoke.He stood upright near Bellatrix, his tone indifferent: "You don't want the master to say this, do you?"

Adam Bedwell—essentially Barty Crouch Jr.—was the first Death Eater to be identified as purely loyal, closest to, and most respected by the Dark Lord...

Malfoy was silent for a moment.Bellatrix glanced at little Crouch, and closed her mouth angrily, more jealous than resentful.

However, it turns out that Crouch Jr. was right.Because his voice had not completely dissipated, a new flying figure appeared in the sky.

Everyone immediately knelt down in unison.The figure quickly descended to the center of the circle, and the Death Eaters took turns kneeling forward, kissing the hem of the man's black robe, and muttering words of allegiance.

"Get up," said Voldemort, looking around. "Everyone is on time, and Voldemort is relieved."

There was a low voice in a circle, and many people answered "my pleasure" or something at the same time.

Voldemort looked satisfied.He was the only one among the people present who did not cover his face with a hood or a mask. His voice was not as low as the others' after piercing through metal, and could even be called clear; however, no one dared to raise their heads to face him. "Although there was no notice before, I think, after you get here, you should already know why?"

There was another round of voices, one after another "yes" mixed with jealousy or nervousness.Their breath condensed into mist under the effect of the cold, obviously thicker than before.

The dark tide was raging as expected, and Voldemort curled his lips silently. "I'm happy to tell you that this time, four people passed the test. They were all willing to give their all to Voldemort. Voldemort never wronged those who helped him, and they deserved to be rewarded for their loyalty— He opened his arms, accentuating his voice subtly, "New life, power, and most importantly, power!"

Before the words were finished, all 11 people in the inner circle knelt down. "We thank you for your generosity, master!" they answered in unison.

Voldemort waved lightly.An invisible magic power brushed through the air, and there seemed to be something under their knees, and they stood up again. "August, come to me," he said softly, "and the other three, come—"

The four Death Eaters stepped out.Voldemort waved his hand again, and some spheres emitting green light, like water droplets, appeared in the air instantly, floating and spinning, faintly illuminating the four silver masks with similar and different patterns. "Let our companions see—" His voice was still soft, but no one could hear the indisputable, "Boss, Geraint, Ranmallock, and Mordred—you remember Yet?"

The last sentence was obviously addressed to most Death Eaters.They stared at the masks and nodded silently.

"As before, some of you will get my orders from these four." Voldemort continued, unhurriedly. "You know how to tell the truth from the fake."

At this moment, almost no one said anything, and the lowered heads spread like waves.

"Since I have chosen them, it means that I have absolute trust in them." Voldemort added, "But if you have doubts about the order, you can still summon me alone—if and only if you think it is necessary."

Nodding silently for the third time, no one dared to object.

Voldemort was very satisfied. "Any questions?" He waved again.The gleaming green blobs disappeared, and the new Four Horsemen retreated to their original positions.

There was a moment of silence, and Malfoy finally broke it unwillingly: "Master, I think..." He seemed to be carefully choosing his words, "Do we have the honor to know that there will be new knights joining us?"

Voldemort shot him a half-smile. "If they can prove themselves."

Neither affirming nor denying, but Malfoy choked a little.Before he could think of the next sentence, someone interrupted hurriedly: "Is there any exact standard, Master?"

Voldemort turned his head. "Oh, Wormtail." He said the word slowly, with playfulness in his tone, "You seem to be very concerned about this?"

"I believe that everyone cares about this, Master." Wormtail muttered and replied angrily, "If there is a standard, then I think..."

Voldemort didn't intend to finish listening. "Are you trying to say you meet the requirements, Wormtail?" He interrupted abruptly, and started pacing in that direction.

As if he hadn't expected Voldemort to be so straightforward, Wormtail paused.Every silver mask around him turned towards him, and the tension he hadn't concealed before swelled and fermented. "I think... I should... yes." He stretched out his silver hand tremblingly, "I helped you...I offered my hand for your resurrected body."

As soon as these words came out, almost everyone held their breath.

Voldemort didn't answer until he stopped in front of the little man. "Oh?" His tone became softer, "Do you think the silver hand is not easy to use? Or do you think Voldemort is too stingy to reward you with the silver hand?"

Needles could be heard on the field, and Wormtail felt a thorn in his back from the stares of the Death Eaters in the inner circle. "No, no, master," he replied hastily, almost panicked, hearing the unkindness underneath, "I definitely don't think so!" The little courage he had managed to muster seemed to be used up when Voldemort stood before him .

"I can understand you, Wormtail." Voldemort sneered. "You can't go back to your friends, because you're a shameful traitor. When your transformation trick is exposed, you can only count on me." Giving you a new identity—” He dragged out the syllable, “Reviving Voldemort cannot be said to be a merit—”

Wormtail smelled a possibility, and raised his head unconsciously, his small watery eyes were full of hope.

But Voldemort wasn't looking at him. "But are you sure?" He asked, his tone was cold and strangely bewitching, "If you have everything I give you, you will still stay by my side and work for me?"

"Of course, master, of course!" Wormtail knelt down hastily, his unexpected answer made him change his tone with joy, and he desperately kissed Voldemort's black robe, "If I can get rid of the shackles of this body, of course I will Serve you more faithfully, master!"

Voldemort snorted coldly. "I'll think about it." He stepped away, ignoring Wormtail's sudden kiss to the ground, and took a mouthful of snow. "This is the end of today's party," he said when his figure had turned into a thick fog. "You can go."

Seeing the Dark Lord fly away from the hillside, some people, including Wormtail, disapparated impatiently.But more people stayed, hoping to get some information from the Dark Lord's confidants, in order to please the Dark Lord.

"Master, is it true?" Malfoy asked incredulously, "Wormtail can really join the knights with one hand? Could it be that I haven't done more than one hand in the past two years?"

Bellatrix immediately said: "Only from this point, I agree with you." She stared grimly at the vacant space of Wormtail, "If he gets the chance to get rid of that body, he will definitely take the opportunity to escape .”

This was echoed by several Death Eaters.As they talked, they looked at the Death Eaters in the inner circle, and then followed those gazes to the relatively taciturn but obviously important little Crouch.

Bellatrix noticed too.Although she was quite confident in her deduction, when it came to figuring out the Dark Lord's intentions, even she had to admit—no matter how reluctantly—Little Crouch was the best. "What do you think, Barty?" she asked aloud.

Crouch Jr. also stared at Wormtail's vacant seat.He seemed thoughtful, because he replied after a while, his tone so calm that it was almost cold: "For Wormtail, silver hands are enough."

This remark obviously meant something, and the rest of the Death Eaters looked at each other in blank dismay.Silver hand is enough?Was the Dark Lord just playing Wormtail casually?Or is the silver hand not just the silver hand?

The author has something to say:

Forget about Death Eaters?A wave of presence~