[TWD x Resident Evil] — Chapter 269 - The New Death Eaters

"Lady Witch!" Barty Crouch Jr.'s voice was thick with barely contained excitement, edged with something close to worship. "I, Barty Crouch, will give you everything!"

Hermione looked at him, fervent, trembling, practically vibrating, and kept her voice flat. "You cannot join the Witch Cult yet."

"What?!" It hit him like a Stunner. His head snapped up, color draining from his face all at once. "My Lady! Why? My loyalty is absolute! I can prove it!"

He yanked out his wand and moved to slash it across his own arm.

"Stop." Hermione raised one hand. An invisible force clamped around Barty and held him still.

She looked sideways at Tom Riddle, exasperated. "Tell me — what exactly is wrong with the followers your original body collected? Why does every single one of them go straight for the self-harm-to-prove-loyalty routine?"

Tom stroked his handsome chin and spread his hands, utterly unashamed. "What can I say? Perhaps this is what they call charisma."

Hermione gave him a long, slow eye-roll.

She turned back to Barty, softening her tone. "Don't panic. I'm not questioning your loyalty."

"Then..." He exhaled, still tense, still watching her.

"There's an important task I need you to handle."

"Please give the order, Lady Witch! Whatever it is, I will not refuse even at the cost of my life!"

Hermione nodded. "Voldemort's been beaten back for now, but he still has Horcruxes. He'll return eventually. That said — after losing face so spectacularly at Hogwarts, his reputation has hit rock bottom."

Her gaze slid over to Lucius. "Death Eaters like Lucius here, who were never all that devoted to him in the first place — there must be quite a few of those, wouldn't you say?"

Lucius said nothing.

His face cycled through several unpleasant colors. It was true, yes, but being called out publicly, with witnesses, still managed to sting. The heat of humiliation crawled up the back of his neck.

But the one saying it was the Lady Witch. He didn't dare breathe a word. He just lowered his head and stared at the floor.

Hermione ignored him and continued. "Your task is to use this moment. Reach out to the old followers who are wavering, or who've grown dissatisfied with Voldemort. Bring them over."

"Form a new organization." She paused, then said simply, "Call it the New Death Eaters."

"This New Death Eaters will serve as the Witch Cult's secret arm in the wizarding world. You'll run it, and you'll report directly to..." She pointed at Tom. "...him."

The light came back to Barty's eyes immediately. He didn't hesitate for a moment. "Yes! It will be done!"

To continue serving his master, the younger version, but still, it was everything he'd ever wanted.

"Good." Hermione nodded, satisfied. "Malfoy Manor will be one of your primary safehouses. When something important comes up, I'll send a summons signal."

She rose and walked over to him, wand extended, and pressed the tip gently against the Dark Mark burned into his forearm, the skull, the serpent.

Under the wand's light, the black mark shuddered, twisted, and dissolved. What replaced it was a small, elegant apple design, barely larger than a coin, giving off a quiet silver glow.

"This is the Witch's Mark," Hermione said. "It works similarly to the Dark Mark, transmits messages, issues summons. When it calls, come to Malfoy Manor."

Barty studied the new mark on his arm. He could feel it: a warmth, steady and clean, nothing like the cold dread the Dark Mark had always carried.

He bowed his head. "As you command, my Lady."

"Right. We're done here." Hermione clapped her hands once and glanced at Tom. "You can go back to your construction site."

Then she was gone, no sound, no ceremony, just empty space where she'd been standing.

The great hall of Malfoy Manor went quiet.

Lucius Malfoy and Barty Crouch Jr. looked at each other.

The silence stretched.

All those twists and turns. Two different masters. And somehow, after all of it, they'd ended up... colleagues.

And from the look of things, Lucius would now be answering to this man who'd just arrived.

Something complicated moved through Lucius's chest. He showed none of it. He arranged his face into a smile, the kind that looked more painful than any frown.

...

The Marvel Universe. New York.

Hermione came back, bringing Tom Riddle along with her.

He lasted approximately one second before Disapparating, off to his construction site, presumably at a dead sprint.

Hermione made her way to Stark Tower, Avengers Tower now, and took the elevator to the top floor.

She'd expected quiet. She did not get it.

The common lounge was blazing with light. Music drifted through the air, warm and unhurried. The smell of food and wine had already reached her in the corridor.

Tony was holding a glass, gesturing as he talked to Pepper, clearly very pleased about something.

Banner and Natasha were seated off to the side, talking quietly between themselves.

Steve, Thor, and Hill were arranged around another section of the room, all of them wearing the loose, easy smiles of people who'd just finished something hard.

The Avengers, it seemed, were having a party.

Hermione wasn't surprised to see them. She'd expected as much.

What she hadn't expected was the girl at the bar, young, wearing a casual hoodie, holding a glass of juice and taking in the whole room with wide, curious eyes.

Skye.

What was she doing here?

Space folded, and Hermione stepped through into the center of the lounge.

The spatial distortion hit like a tripwire.

"Who's there?!" Thor moved first, Mjolnir in hand before anyone else had processed what happened.

Natasha was on her feet in the same breath. Steve stepped forward, putting himself between the group and the source of the disturbance. Tony wasn't suited up, but the device on his wrist had already lit up, casting a faint glow across his knuckles.

Then they saw her.

The tension collapsed all at once.

"Hermione!" Tony's face split into a grin. He set down his glass. "You're finally back! I have something to show you, wait till you see what I've been working on."

"Hermione." Steve's shoulders dropped. He smiled, warm and genuine.

Pepper was already moving toward her, and she pulled Hermione in and subjected her to the customary squeezing-and-ruffling that had apparently become tradition.

Natasha and Banner exchanged a glance. They were both smiling.

Thor let out a booming laugh. "You defeated Ronan and the Collector! The tale of the Cabbage Witch is being told across the cosmos!"

Hermione's expression went flat.

She let it pass. There were more important things.

"What did I miss?" she asked.

Tony leaned against the bar. "You were gone a long time. Things happened."

"With Ultron's help, we tracked down a HYDRA remnant cell. The Avengers went in and wiped out their largest base in Sokovia. Clean sweep."

Hermione blinked.

She'd known Tony would build Ultron. She'd always known that.

But something wasn't adding up.

Why had Ultron helped them? Why hadn't he turned on them immediately?

➤ Next: The State of Earth