Chapter 2
Carrick landed easily on his feet at the front gate of the Manor, but the Potter boy fell, only his hand in Carrick’s grip stopping him from landing face first in the dirt. He hastily scrambled back to his feet, and Carrick gave him a tight smile before striding forward, heading down the wide front path to the Manor. He slowed his pace when he realised he was practically dragging the small boy along behind him. Potter’s wide eyes were darting all around as he hurried along beside Carrick.
The front doors of the Manor were wide open, and Carrick strode in, stopping in the entrance hall. An elf popped into the room, and Carrick told it to request his Lord’s presence as soon as possible.
He glanced down at the boy when the elf popped away, noting how the boy’s eyes were wide and riveted to the spot the elf had stood in. Before he had time to ask the boy anything, he could hear footsteps heading towards them.
Lucius Malfoy strode into sight first, head high and expression somewhat sneering and irritated, no doubt at being interrupted from whatever he’d been doing. Barty Crouch Jr followed him, also looking unimpressed.
The Dark Lord appeared a moment later, regal and imposing even from a distance. Carrick quickly smoothed his shirt and straightened his posture, swallowing nervously.
‘Montgomery. For what reason have you interrupted us?’ Lucius asked, his voice cool.
Carrick glanced down to push the boy forwards, only to realise that at some point, he had let the boy’s hand go, and he’d disappeared. He looked around frantically for a moment, before spotting the boy trying to slip behind a large potted plant. He strode over quickly and pulled the boy out, guiding him back to the centre of the room and presenting him to his Lord.
‘My Lord, I believe this is Harry Potter. I have brought him to you.’
Silence reigned in the room for a long minute.
‘Harry Potter. Why do you think this is him?’ The Dark Lord eventually asked, expression and voice unreadable.
Carrick reached down and brushed the boy’s fringe from his forehead, frowning slightly at the flinch from the boy. ‘I was in Surrey, my Lord, when I passed through a set of wards. I was surprised, obviously, at finding wards in such a neighbourhood, so I was looking around trying to work out why they were there, and I found the boy.’
‘You just walked into the wards. Just like that.’ Lucius said flatly.
Carrick shifted his feet. ‘Well, yeah. Yes. Um, I could feel them – sort of tingling as I passed through. Then when I was talking to the boy, I could feel them pulling at me, but I could resist it. Then when I took the boy out, there was nothing. He just followed me straight out. I don’t know if there was a silent alarm or something, I got out of there as quickly as I could.’
The Dark Lord looked him over appraisingly. ‘Barty, tell me what you think.’
Barty Crouch Jr stepped forward, and Carrick’s confusion must have been evident. ‘I’m good with wards.’ Barty shrugged. ‘Tell me again what they felt like when you entered.’
Carrick described the tingling sensation again, and Barty hummed. ‘But you felt them trying to drag you out?’
‘Yes. Well, eventually.’
At Barty’s raised eyebrow, he continued. ‘They weren’t trying to drag me out straight away. I talked to the boy for a minute first.’
Barty hummed again, considering.
Suddenly Carrick straightened. ‘They only started dragging at me when I realised who he was and wanted to take him away.’
Barty snorted derisively, then turned to look at the Dark Lord. ‘My Lord, I believe these are the worst wards I have ever heard of. No doubt they are new and put up by the Light side. Those idiots have no idea how to design wards, especially as they think wards are Dark. They try to only use Light elements, but that makes them so ineffective as to be useless. I think, my Lord, that these wards were designed so that nobody who meant to take the boy could enter. But Montgomery entered the wards before he knew the boy was there, so he didn’t intend to take him when he entered. Then, when he did intend to take him, the wards responded. But with no real power behind them, all they could manage was a weak pull, rather than actually expelling him like a proper ward should.’
The Dark Lord nodded thoughtfully. ‘That sounds about right.’ He sighed. ‘Well done, Carrick, for bringing the boy. We shall take some time to adjust our plans accordingly, now that we have him. And I shall consider a suitable reward for you, Carrick. For now, you have my thanks.’
Carrick’s face heated as he bowed his head, a flush of pride burning in his chest. He turned and headed for his quarters, knowing he was dismissed for now.
Behind him, a small boy lingered, wary and waiting, as the adults stared down at him.
‘Barty, take him to a suitable room and ward the door. Then come back to my office. We have much to plan.’