(Chapter 10: Carrowed Away)

It was the start of December as Voldemort had unleashed Amycus onto the populace which proved to be highly effective in causing terror as the monstrous Carrow rampaged through Britain, fueled by warped magics that turned him into a near mindless monstrosity. Which the dark lord was using as his benefit both to call out Dumbledore and his pitiful order on why they weren't able to stop abomination and the fact that Fudge was lazing about and how his ineptness was costing the lives of ill-equipped Aurors who faced off against it.

Meanwhile, Matthew had been taking the time between Amycus's near mindless rampage and Dumbledore's reputation taking a large hit growing in the otherworldly powers of his patron and the new spells afforded to him by his bond with Fawkes. All of this in tandem with his conspiring with Rita and his check-ins Vamir to further sunder Dumbledore's reputation, as well as his date life with Tonks had left the warlock a rather busy man.

(December 8th, 2017, Manchester, 5:43 Pm)

It was 13 minutes till 6 in the evening as Matthew was going on another date with Tonks, who due to Amycus's rampages throughout Britain the past two weeks was stressed and as such needed date night with Matthew to take the edge off.

"Thanks again for doing date night with me Matthew, after all, that's been going on for nearly 3 fucking weeks I could use this." Tonks spoke in having needed this after having to deal with the mess Amycus had been leaving

"I'm sorry about all of what's been going on. It must be an absolute nightmare to deal with." Matthew replied in sympathy for his girlfriend

"More than you'd know. Between the manpower, we've been losing thanks to him, the budget cuts that Fudge made from wanting to be a fucking playboy and fund whatever debauchery he's into. On top of dealing with the fact, the whole Order is falling apart. I'm more or less stressed out to hell." Tonks told him as things were going to hell in a handbasket, to say the least

"Well with what I've been hearing this Adrian Stalin guy will probably fix things up for you at your job from what I've been hearing." Matthew said as from what he's gained from the papers that Adrian in the many things he was adamant in changing was the improving of the Aurors and the Law department

"You can believe me when I say that I'll be voting for him in the election. I mean between Fudge being outed as an absolute fuck-up and Dumbledore sitting pretty in Hogwarts where he's trying to 'wait things out' while the rest of us are getting screwed over here. Then you can believe I'll vote for Stalin, at least he'll not only make a change around here but actually start getting shit done." Tonks responded in having grown disillusioned with both the Ministry and Dumbledore as time went on

With her having done so because Fudge had reduced the Ministry to more or less his own personal playground and piggy-bank where if you didn't agree with him and his debaucherous way you were likely to sit stagnantly or face a pay cut for doing so. Meanwhile, Dumbledore was much too reactive and hypocritical in always preaching on about the greater good and the light while acting like a two-faced snake in the grass that was always plotting and scheming to hold onto what power he had left; not to mention instead of going on the offensive and actually doing something he just sat there safe in his cradle of power.

This was why Tonks felt herself being more and more pulled towards the views of Adrian Stalin who showed himself to be a man who was proactive in what he was doing, as the metamorphmagus felt inspired by his calls to action. Finally, someone who she could see was not only wanting to improve things and make sure that actual action was taken against things, then just sitting on their asses and waiting for things to go to shit before they acted.

"Well, any change for better or for worse is fine by me. I mean look at me, as I'd like to think that I'm living proof that change can be for the better." Matthew spoke in having like to think his whole life up till now was proof that change can be for the better

"Nice to see your still looking at things with a half glass full kind of view, meanwhile things are going to shit from where I'm standing." Tonks responded that at least someone could see the brighter side to things

"Of course I see things that way considering that I'm an immensely powerful warlock and I've got a super hot girlfriend who actually gets me as a bonus." Matthew told her considering that his life so far was going pretty fucking awesome

"Nice to see that I've still got you sticking around with me." Tonks said as she gave Matthew a kiss on the lips

"Of course I would. Since out of all the women in this place, I find myself to be quite lucky to have you. After all, who is more free-spirited, bold and overall such a warm person than you." Matthew replied with a smile of utmost sincerity on his face

"Glad you see it that way because I'll be damned before anyone else snatches you up." Tonks said with a small chuckle as she was lucky enough to have gotten to him first

"Trust me I won't be going anywhere anytime soon since there's nothing that they can throw at me that I can't handle." Matthew responded in knowing full well that between his own otherworldly powers and his own connections that he was damn near unstoppable

"I'll agree with you on that as hell, even I don't know what the hell your fully capable of." Tonks spoke as not even she knew the full extent of Matthew's power

"Oh trust me, Tonks, when I start to really let loose with what I can do...you'll definitely know." Matthew replied with a proud smile of his own in the immense amount of power he wielded

"Well with how things are going I'll be more than seeing you in action. Since the Death Eaters by doing what they've done with Carrow, then I'm pretty sure that war is gonna be coming a second time around. This time I'm pretty sure that the other side is gonna crush us in an instant." Tonks spoke with a sigh in knowing that with the new way the Death Eaters were operating that it was only a matter of time before they came to crush them

"Tell you what Tonks, I'll personally take care of this Amycus guy myself. Since I won't allow for a single moron who thinks he's all that to get you down, so think of this as one of your Christmas presents come early." Matthew told her considering that he wouldn't allow for this Amycus guy to cause any further trouble for Tonks if he could help it

"Matthew you really don't have to do this, I can handle it just fine." Tonks responded yet the young warlock remained insistent on this

"People do things for the ones they care about, so let me do this thing for you. For I care about you too much to see you be further stressed out or troubled by something that is well within my power to solve. Which is why I insist that you let me take care of this problem for you." Matthew spoke with utmost conviction in his voice as his seaweed green eyes piercing into Tonks's own bright violet ones

"...Damn you for being so charming. Fine, I'll let you take this one, but promise me you'll not only bring the bastard down for all the trouble he's caused. But also that you'll come back to me in one piece. Since it's been a while since I've found a halfway decent boyfriend and I'd rather not lose you to some mutant Death Eater." Tonks conceded as she cursed how persuading and charming Matthew could be

"Don't worry, I've got it all under control. For now let's just enjoy the rest of our picnic together, as I made apple pie for you." Matthew told her as he pulled out a warm apple pie

"..You know me so well." Tonks said before getting her own slice of pie while she and Matthew enjoyed the rest of their evening together

(3 days later, Liverpool, December 11th, 2017, 9:45 Pm)

It was a quarter till 10 as Matthew was using one of the new abilities that he'd gained from having Fawkes become his familiar, that being his gaining a shared vision through the phoenix's eyes. Which made tracking down the soon rampaging Amycus a breeze and soon made getting to the mutated Death Eater a breeze.

"I swear you just keep getting better and better the more you're at my side Fawkes." Matthew spoke as he petted the eagle sized phoenix

"Now then, let's get started now shall we." Matthew said as Fawkes let out a caw of agreement

With that in mind, Matthew accompanied by his phoenix to see Amycus's 8 and a half foot mutated form tearing through innocent men and women left and right with either brute strength or through shockwaves of lightning and blasts of frigid cold. For Amycus thanks to his experiments done to him by Voldemort now was a hulking creature that barely resembled his former self, his face an ogrish and malformed version of itself that had skin painfully stretched across his now massively enlarged form to the point of which it tore to reveal pulsating muscle.

His eyes electric blue orbs that held nothing but near mindless rage that twisted his mind to where the only thing he could think of was killing anything in sight, his hair stark white as snow and standing on end like jagged spikes of ice. With Amycus's skin being turned into a segmented armor-like carapace around 4 or 5 inches thick, that was shaded a dark electric and icy blue while both his arms were turned into lumbering battering rams that could tear a dire wolf in half with ease before he soon locked onto Matthew and let out a guttural roar that sounded too distorted to even be recognized as human.

That in mind Amycus charged after the warlock intent on pounding him to a pulp, as even in his warped and rage twisted mind he recognized him as the brother of the wretched Boy-Who-Lived which further sent the warped abomination into a frenzy. Yet Matthew stood in place as he saw the ever-approaching form of Amycus come closer before he soon drew on the magic between himself and Fawkes and from his hand shot out a flamethrower like stream of coral red flame that struck Amycus head-on.

For Amycus roared and bellowed in pain as the flames tore away at his armor like flesh as the pain that he felt only served to enrage him as he lept towards Matthew and swung with both his massive fists that crashed into the warlock. Luckily enough for Matthew, he was able to teleport himself in a burst of mist that accompanied by seafoam green energy some 20 feet away from Amycus, before launching a quartet of coral red and seafoam green blasts of otherworldly energy at the abomination of a Death Eater.

"Mental note, avoid getting hit by him. Since whatever he's on I'm not looking forward to having." Matthew said to himself in seeing two large indents in the ground from a combination of the brute force behind the attacks, the thin sheet of ice and lightning that arced from the impact

With that in mind, Matthew had used one of his more potent spells to see what he was up against concerning Amycus's mutated form and promptly blasted him with a 60-foot cone of frigid cold and icy winds, the keyword tried as Amycus's body seemed to absorb the attack and charge through it more or less unfazed. Which confirmed that elemental attacks concerning ice and possibly lightning would yield no effect on the Death Eater who slammed his massive fists on the ground, causing a shockwave of arcing lightning to race towards him at blazing speeds.

To which Matthew narrowly avoided as it ripped through a nearby car like it was nothing, causing it to nearly explode from the amount of voltage emitted; yet Matthew was barely given any time for a reprieve as Amycus was on him again with the Death Eater's right fist having being surrounded in chunks of ice. Which managed to strike Matthew across the left side of his chest and send him flying 15 feet into a brick wall before dropping to the ground in a pained heap, with Matthew feeling possibly two and a half of his ribs break from the impact of the blow.

With Amycus having bounded towards Matthew, yet this was stopped when Fawkes flapped his wings and launched a basketball-sized burst of flame at Amycus that once it struck exploded like a flash grenade to which it temporarily blinded the mutated Death Eater. This allowed Matthew a moment to recover and teleport on top of the abomination and raise his battleaxe that pulsed with seafoam green and coral red energy and unleashed the otherworldly power of his patron by hacking into Amycus's pulsating flesh and armor-like hide.

For eldritch energies that pulsed from Matthew's battleaxe exploded with great force as each strike tore out chunks of the armor-like hide and pulsating flesh that splattered thick blackish-red blood to spray from the wounds that hissed once they hit the pavement. Yet despite the progress made with Matthew using the otherworldly power of his patron to carve up Amycus's back with his battleaxe and Fawkes raining down shotgun-like blasts of flame at Amycus; the abomination roared in anger and soon smashed both fists into the ground.

This released an explosive shockwave of lightning and frigid winds that sent Fawkes and Matthew spiraling through the air, with Fawkes managing to catch himself and remain afloat in the air while Matthew was not so lucky and impacted through the window of a minivan. With Matthew retaliating with a wave of necrotic energy at the further charging Amycus that was momentarily stopped by it, but not before he managed to close the distance and punch Matthew through another car with bone-breaking force.

"Looks like you could use a little bit of help." A voice spoke as a hand helped the warlock to his feet

"Thanks, who are you by the way?" Matthew questioned as his head was still ringing with the black eye he now sported

"Apologies, but I thought you of all people would've heard of me. My name is Adrian Stalin and I felt that I couldn't sit by any longer while my people were being terrorized by this monstrosity. Which is why I've decided to come and help you fight it." Voldemort answered as he gave Matthew a healing potion

"Thank you, by the way, don't hit with lightning or anything ice-related. I tried and it went horribly." Matthew told the candidate for Minister of Magic

"Duly noted. Now then let's get rid of this abomination of a wizard once and for all." Voldemort spoke as he was all too happy to have a perfect opportunity to kill off Amycus

The moment Amycus saw his master help up the warlock who'd been causing so much trouble to their cause, but was also the boyfriend of the half-breed whore who caused him to be in this predicament in the first place made all sense of remaining sanity and anything resembling humanity be erased and give way to blind rage. This caused the enraged Carrow to charge after the two in a frenzied rage with it being a combination of Matthew drawing on his bond from Fawkes and Voldemort's own magic that the two launched twin fireballs at the abomination which exploded with near ground-shaking force.

With 2nd-degree burns covering the abomination's flesh as he roared in pain from the fireballs having seared away at his flesh, yet the pressure was kept going as Matthew dug deep into the power of his patron and drew upon the cruel darkness of the depths below. Before he slashed away at the air with his battleaxe that glowed an intense seafoam green and jet black with necrotic energies, the result was Amycus bellowing in agonizing pain at having the moisture violently ripped out of his flesh; causing the once hulking abomination to look far more gaunt and nearly emaciated.

Which caused the dark lord to be actually impressed at the amount of power that the warlock was able to fight with, yet his attention was brought back to the forefront as Amycus had attacked them by launching another shockwave of lightning at them. Yet Voldemort was prepared and with hands glowing with emerald light had managed to absorb the bulk of the elemental attack into himself, before retaliating with a blast of pure arcane force that struck true and managed to shear off more of Amycus's flesh in the process.

"Well with how things are shaping up, I believe this might help you fight more adequately." Voldemort spoke as he tapped Matthew's shoulder and cast a spell of haste onto the warlock

"Thank you and if you don't mind, I believe I owe him for putting me through a minivan." Matthew replied as he rushed the abomination once again

With Matthew now both emboldened by the haste spell and having fully gotten a grasp on how exactly Amycus fought decided to activate some of the powers of his battleaxe, so with a muttering of the command word his axe began to glow with a seaweed green haze around it. With him striking out at Amycus and landing a series of slashes that not only furiously hacked away at Amycus's flesh, but also caustically melted away ate away at his muscle and armor-like carapace as though he were being splashed by sulfuric acid

For Amycus tried to smash Matthew into submission, yet it was to no avail thanks to his enhanced speed and him teleporting around Amycus to keep his distance from the force of his blows that compounded by Voldemort adding on support by mercilessly blasting him with spells. Which came in the form of serpents made of caustic acid, waves of necrotic energy, flamethrower like streams of searing flame and oddly enough bolts of starlight to rain down on him; which made him realize the reason why he was made so durable from his master's experimentations so as to be a punching bag for his new spells.

All of which combined with Matthew's up close and personal assault began to quickly wear down on Amycus mutated form, evident by chunks of his flesh having been either sliced off and caustically melted by Matthew's battleaxe or being blown apart by Voldemort's spells. Which caused Amycus to roar in pain from being both physically and arcanely bombarded by both the dark lord and warlock who showed no mercy as they proceeded to rain down further punishment onto Amycus.

"Looks like we have him on the ropes." Matthew spoke after teleporting away from slashing out Amycus's eyes

"Yes, it does. Now then let's finish this bloody fool off once and for all." Voldemort spoke as he Matthew nodded before rushing back into the fray of things

That in mind Matthew channeled the otherworldly power of his patron and slammed his hand onto the ground causing the concrete to shake and crack apart before soon enough frigid sewer water rose up and formed a clawed hand the size of a school bus. Which raced towards Amycus like a runaway freight train who tried to fight against it as flashes of lightning and frigid winds being sent around from the mutated Death Eater who tried to fight against it, it was all in vain as the hand made of water soon crashed into him further crushing and shredding him the moment it made contact

All before soon grasping at him and lifting him into the air where despite his formidable strength it was to no avail before he was soon lifted up high enough for him to be a target for one of Voldemort's newest spells he'd been working on. With emerald light soon gathering in both palms before he soon fired out a thin yet brilliant beam of emerald starlight that hurtled towards a struggling Amycus, who for the first time had his eyes widen in horror as the beam of starlight raced closer and closer to him by the second.

The moment it did the night was filled with a flash of brilliant emerald light that illuminated everything in sight as the beam of starlight soared through the air for another 100 feet before dissipating, once it did it revealed that Amycus was nothing more than a charred corpse. With the confirmation that the abomination of a Death Eater had been destroyed, Matthew dissipated the hand made of sewer water and used his eldritch power over water to at least fix the streets to a less fucked up state before turning his attention to Adrian Stalin himself.

"Well for one thanks for the help, because that would've taken far longer to deal with by myself." Matthew thanked the Minister of Magic candidate for his assistance all the while unaware he was talking to the dark lord

"Think nothing of it, I just felt that it was enough waiting for things to get better and felt it best for me to go out there and handle things myself. Since I learned the lesson that if you want something done right, then you do it yourself." Voldemort told him as while he was playing things more covertly this time around he still preferred a hands-on approach to what he did

"Nice to see that you're a man of action that can put his galleons where his mouth his. Unlike Dumbledore who just continues to sit around doing nothing while stuff like this happens." Matthew spoke in thinking that if Dumbledore were the Leader of Light that he proclaimed to be then he'd be out here defending his people and trying to change things for the better

"Something that you and I both can agree upon Mr. Strid. Honestly, that old fool has been in power for far too long and its high time for a fresh change of things." Voldemort replied in knowing he could do a far superior job with things than Dumbledore

"If its any consolation besides your assist for having killed him, I believe you could do a greater job than him as well." Matthew told the dark lord in thinking Adrian Stalin could do a better job than the prideful goat

"Thank you for the kind words, now if you don't mind I, and my people have some cleaning up to do after the destruction caused tonight." Voldemort said as he refused to leave this place in such a state of disrepair

"I'll leave you too it then." Matthew spoke before he and Fawkes walked away from the scene

'I must admit, you are quite the powerful one, Matthew Strid. Perhaps in due time, you can be on my side.' Voldemort thought to himself as he began signaling for his underlings to help in doing cleanup

(5 days later, The Leaky Cauldron, December 16th, 2017, 2:48 Pm)

It was nearly a week later as Voldemort under his alias had an interview arranged with Rita Skeeter over his and Matthew's defeat of Amycus, which was readily accepted and as an added bonus had managed to reach out to Matthew and get him to agree to doing the interview as well.

"Still I can't believe I am here with the candidate for Minister of Magic Adrian Stalin and brother to the Boy-Who-Lived Matthew Strid. Both of whom have finally ended the rampage of notorious Death Eater Amycus Carrow." Rita spoke as her Quick-Quote-Quill was at work for the duration of the interview

"Now then for our two heroes are there any thoughts you'd like to say over this whole situation?" Rita questioned the warlock and dark lord

"I think it is only fair that Mr. Strid goes first. Seeing as how this young man was the first one on the scene to go after and face against that monster." Voldemort spoke as the spotlight was now on Matthew

"Well for one I was just happy that I was able to stop that thing in it tracks before it could cause any more damage. Since you should've seen that...monstrosity just tear through people like they were made of tissue paper and yet no one besides myself was there to help get people out of the way or lend a helping hand besides Mr. Stalin." Matthew spoke considering that it was rather shitty that there was no one there too so much as do crowd control or get people to safety

"I mean seriously you'd think Dumbledore and his legion of do-gooders would be all over trying to stop this Amycus guy. Yet they're not even so much as being seen on the case, heck the only one who was even trying to do something about it was a very special friend of mine. However, even she was bogged down thanks to her getting buried under the Ministry being so incompetent at their job that she has to tell families that their loved ones died on what I could assume was a near regular basis." Matthew spat in contempt of how Dumbledore and his underlings were practically nowhere to be seen when it concerned Amycus's rampage

"I shall also agree with Mr. Strid on the subject of Dumbledore's lack of doing anything to resolve the situation at hand. The man preaches about peace and doing things for the good of Britain to help keep on the side of light. However, when the time comes to actually do good and prevent dozens upon dozens of innocent magical blood being spilled where was he to be seen. I can tell you, sitting there at Hogwarts hiding away from the world instead of facing head-on what he's done and trying to at least defend himself in the eyes of the people he supposedly cares about." Voldemort spoke in finding it hypocritical of how Dumbledore said he was the leader of the light that would stand by his people and yet hides like a rat in the face of an actual threat

"Well..it seems as though both of you share a common disdain for Dumbledore. Care to elaborate on that?" Rita asked in sensing a common denominator between them in the form of a shared disgust towards the Leader of the Light

"Gladly." Both Voldemort and Matthew said at the same time
"For one it's more personal considering that its thanks to him that I not only got dropped off on the doorstep of the Dursleys who hated magic with every fiber of their being. But hated me so much because I could use magic and in my departed aunt's words, a filthy little shit spawned from a magic-using whore. That when I was 10 years old they decided it would be fine and dandy to try and murder me by tying me up and throwing me out into open seas. Luckily enough I survived. But did Dumbledore in knowing I was dead and gone do anything to make sure I was given justice for what would've been the murder of an innocent child? The answer to that is a giant no, as the man did nothing to even look into or get justice for what would've been my murder." Matthew spat in contempt of the fact that Dumbledore who practically orchestrated his situation did practically nothing to get justice for him along with his deadbeat parents

"..I-I am so sorry to hear that happen to you, my deepest condolences." Voldemort said in feeling genuine sympathy for the warlock

"Trust me after years of them using me like a human ashtray or beating me with a skillet till I had bruises all over because I accidentally burnt their breakfast..well I'm just glad it's over." Matthew responded as he was supremely glad that the Dursleys could no longer abuse him anymore

'First you screw me over and now you do it to an innocent child. I swear by Merlin, I am going to personally see to your demise once I'm in office.' Voldemort thought as he internally seethed with anger at how Dumbledore was so willing to overlook such misdeeds

"Once again on behalf of wizards and witches everywhere, I still hope you don't hold you being sent to what I could imagine as absolute hell against us." Rita spoke in having gotten more insight into Matthew's abuse under those sorry excuses for muggles

"I don't blame anything on you at all. If anything I hold it all against Dumbledore, because if it weren't for him running his mouth I would've been able to grow up with a happy family. If it weren't for his supposed Greater Good then my estranged parents wouldn't be so brainwashed and would've actually fought to keep me and my brother together as a family. Yet more importantly if it wasn't for Dumbledore thinking he knows better than everyone else, then I wouldn't have lived my childhood as little more than a slave to people who thought I should've been aborted from day one!" Matthew venomously ranted as his voice grew more furious and irate the more he talked about the Leader of the Light, that caused him to realize that the more time passed the more he grew to hate Dumbledore

With it being because of the Leader of the Light that his life for the majority of his childhood was very much a waking nightmare that quite literally nearly got him killed had it not been for his patron's intervention and because of that was on the shortlist of people he hated with all his heart.

"..Sorry if I got carried away for a moment. It's just that I can't abide by that man when I know without a shadow of a doubt that he's not the saint he proudly parades himself be. That instead he's a two-faced snake in the grass that will rot and destroy all he touches." Matthew added as he found himself for a brief moment losing his composure before righting himself again

"You're quite fine Matthew. If anything I and my readers would be very much impressed with how you're able to keep your composure when talking about such things, seeing as how even grown men would've lost themselves in a fit of rage. Or more commonly devolve into a sobbing mess of tears over discussing what you've gone through." Rita said in having to commend Matthew for nearly always being able to keep his composure

"Well, that's one of the few good things that came out of my experience with them. It is that if I wanted to survive being in that shithole and going forwards, then I had to learn to always keep my composure and never show, so much as a crack in my armor. Otherwise, I wouldn't be here today." Matthew responded in having learned firsthand at the abuse of the Dursleys that if he wanted to survive then he had to craft a near-impenetrable armor in his mental and emotional fortitude

"However, I think that this is enough about me. Since I think we should get the view of our future Minister on things. After all, without his help the defeat of that Amycus guy would've wound up a lot messier and more lives, as a result, would've been lost in the crossfire." Matthew added in wanting to deflect things onto the dark lord

"Thank you and sorry for what you must've had to go through. Which brings me onto why I can't stand Dumbledore and why it concerns the changes I wish to bring about." Voldemort spoke while mentally thinking of ways of which he could ruin Dumbledore once he took power

"Since this whole thing has revealed that things under Fudge and as an added result Dumbledore are woefully and laughably ineffective. For neither of them during this whole tragedy of which Amycus Carrow ran amok killing innocent witches and wizards, lifted a finger to do anything about it. All the while they pay lip service to the public while rotting our once-great society like a festering plague. Well, that'll all change once I become Minister of Magic." Voldemort added as it disgusted him how both Dumbledore and Fudge did nothing in all of this carnage

"And what do you purpose be done to fix the 'rot' caused by them?" Rita questioned in being quite curious as to what solution would be offered

"Easy enough really. A boost to the Aurors and our Magical Law Enforcement department, as well as a cracking down of domestic and external security. Seeing as how this has only shown that we need to bolster our defenses internally, instead of partying the resources needed to improve them. Unlike what Minister Fudge has done with the money that should go to making sure our fair citizens are kept protected from harm. But instead goes to him being a glorified manwhore nearly 24/7." Voldemort answered back in knowing that such a thing would only prove vastly beneficial to his countrymen as a whole and to his plans overall

"I'm sure our readers would be all for this, what with the reported resurgence of the Death Eaters and rumors that the Dark Lord has been making a comeback that it would be much appreciated." Rita spoke in knowing that the people would feel a great deal better in having a boost to internal defenses

"Another thing which makes me furious concerning Dumbledore. He proclaims that the Dark Lord has returned and is terrorizing the people and yet when the first chance to come to his people's aid happens, what does he and his followers do about it? Absolutely nothing. Meanwhile, I go out of my way to stop the problem at its source instead of having to wait for one more drop of magical blood to be spilled." Voldemort passionately responded as it made him furious how Dumbledore proclaimed to fight for the side of light, yet when given the opportunity to do so instead hid away like a sewer rat

"I agree with Stalin on this one, because I honestly expected Dumbledore to use this as an ample opportunity to get back into the people's good graces. Instead, he's hiding away at his little castle in Hogwarts where he can stand on his crumbling pedestal on high. Honestly, he's more of a sniveling vulture than a phoenix if I had to equate him to anything." Matthew agreed with how Dumbledore was hiding away like a pathetic coward

"As much as I'd like to see anyone come to his defense on this, the two of you aren't exactly wrong. With it being ever since the allegations against him came out nearly 2 months ago, he has all but gone into hiding. For we've tried to contact him to get an interview so he could say his side of things, yet it seems as though he'd rather hide away than come to his own defense. Which means he probably as much of a coward as you two proclaim him to be." Rita spoke with the Daily Prophet having tried to get interviews with the headmaster of Hogwarts only for him to shirk away from them and instead wall himself up at Hogwarts

"There is no probably about it Mrs. Skeeter, it is a cold hard certainty. This further proves that Dumbledore is not the courageous leader like he's fooled us all to believe. Instead he's a cowardly old man who'd rather stay in the comfort of Hogwarts than be out here trying to stand by his people." Voldemort replied as it was all but spelled out that Dumbledore was pretty much a coward

"Therefore once I'm elected Minister of Magic. Then I will do what my opponent and the current pitiful excuse of a manwhore Minister Fudge, as well as that coward Dumbledore won't do for the people. Which is to protect them from whatever may come, because they've proven themselves incapable of defending our countrymen from harm. So once I am made your Minister then I will ensure that our Aurors and our Law department are given the proper skills and tools needed to keep us safe." Voldemort swore as he would do a far superior job in running things than compared to Fudge or Dumbledore

"One thing that is for certain, is that it seems Britain will be far safer and better protected under you. Which is why if you wouldn't mind, I'd like to get some more detail on what you have instore concerning what it will take to clean things up. Not to mention Matthew's thoughts on your running for Minister." Rita spoke while Voldemort nodded in being happy to tell some of what he had planned

That in mind Voldemort gave a bit of what his insight would be concerning helping out the Aurors and Magical Law Department, which consisted of his not only boosting funding to both departments that had been drained to fund Fudge's manwhoring and debauchery. The Aurors would receive classes in combat training as well as studying under the 7 schools of magic and gaining equipment to better defend the public, while those in the Magical Law department would gain up to date training in current legal matters as well as a further refinement of the legal system that had been corrupted as of late.

With Matthew's thoughts on Adrian Stalin's candidacy being that he found that he was the most viable candidate who in his opinion could actually make a difference for the better and someone of whom had his vote when it came to his election. Soon enough the joint interview came to a close that both the warlock and dark lord bid each other farewell, leaving with good impressions of the other after the interview; although Matthew being wholly unaware he was right next to Voldemort the entire time.

"This has been a very productive set of days for myself." Voldemort said in feeling pretty good about how things were turning out

"Who knew that the brother to Dumbledore's golden boy was such a nice young man..hopefully I can get him to join my side. Or at the very least have him stay out of things once I come to power." Voldemort hoped as he continued to walk out of Diagon Alley with no one being any the wiser of his plans

(4 days later, December 20th, 2017, Malfoy Manor, 6:30 Pm)

It was a few days later as Voldemort was in a particularly good mood considering that with the new edition of the Daily Prophet having recently come out, both Fudge's and Dumbledore's reputations had taken a further hit while his own had risen from it.

"I must say that I love it when things go my way. I haven't been in this much of good spirits since the start of the 1st war." Voldemort spoke in feeling almost ecstatic about his good fortune

With it being thanks to the joint interview between himself and Matthew that both Dumbledore's and Fudge's reputations had plummeted even further, as the people were starting to chomp at the bit for both of their heads. Fudge as an example on his being called out as a manwhore and inept leader who cared more for using the Ministry's resources to party as hard and as much as he wanted resulted in him being practically booted from the Ministry and stripped of his power as Minister, while Dumbledore was now being called to be removed from his position as headmaster of Hogwarts.

"I must say my lord; it seems as though things are truly turning up for us. Something that I didn't think I'd say until much, much later." Lucius said in being actually surprised at how fast things were moving into place in their favor

"Neither did I at first, but when I actually started acting like a Slytherin instead of a power-hungry fool. Then everything simply began to line up and start going my way. After all, now that we're actually doing things how they should've been done from the start. Then we can finally start moving pieces into place for my inevitable ascension to power." Voldemort replied with a notable smile on his face at the fact that once he truly started embracing his traits as a Slytherin then it was the moment where he started to become indestructible

"Furthermore, it also has paid off that now my opponent in Fudge..if you could call him that anymore. Has been politically and soon to be socially neutered in terms of power. Which all but assures my chances of becoming Minister to be absolute." Voldemort added as with Fudge being all but reduced to a figurehead thanks to his blunders the Dark Lord's chances of being elected Minister were pretty much a slam dunk

"All of which I am elated for. Seeing as how I've been able to make sure that those in Wizengamot who would usually hold out in being neutral are more easily swayed to your side." Lucius said as thanks to how his master presented himself politically, it made bribing those who were on the Gray side of things to be more easily swayed to voting for him

"Excellent to hear Lucius." Voldemort spoke in being pleased that soon he'd have an assured victory on his hands

"However, with your permission, I do wish to ask you something of importance?" Lucius requested from his master

"You may ask freely." Voldemort told his underling

"Why exactly did you not only team up with the sibling to Dumbledore's chosen but also act so friendly towards him? For it has been on my mind as of late and I would wish to know the reason behind why. Along with why you chose to use Amycus's punishment in this manner?" Lucius questioned in wondering why his master was going through acting so friendly with Matthew as he had been and why he had used Amycus to such end

"That is quite easy to answer. For why I used Amycus's punishment the way I did. It was simply to try and not only force Dumbledore out into the open and hopefully take out some of his followers in the long run. It was also to use him both as a test dummy for some of the new spells I've been practicing with, as well as use him as a means to promote my plans to crack down on everyone using the Aurors and legal system. Not to mention getting the people further on my side. Since the people will all come to my side if they have something to galvanize against, so all I had to do is make Amycus the scapegoat and everything from there fell into place." Voldemort explained why he used Amycus as he had done so

"After all, spread some terror and chaos amongst the masses. Of which sadly enough had to be done if I was to be able to get them onto my side so readily at the expense of so many having to die for my cause. But eventually, once I came to punish Amycus and get rid of him being the thorn in my side. Then all of what I needed to get the people on my side and be ready to agree to whatever I'll want to eventually pass for law enforcement and domestic security." Voldemort added in knowing that while he sadly had to let Amycus rampage like a mad beast for his plans to work, it was all worth it for it all having come to fruition

"While that makes things much more understandable as to why you used Amycus, as you have. That still doesn't explain why you're acting so friendly with the brother to Dumbledore's golden boy?" Lucius questioned as to why his master was acting so chummy with Matthew

"That too is simple. All for the fact that thanks to him I'm able to expedite my plans at a much quicker pace than what I normally would've been able to." Voldemort answered back with a serpentine grin

"For you see it's in our shared hatred for Dumbledore that he winds up helping me in the end. After all, why make another enemy when instead I can use him to my advantage to help ruin Dumbledore. Besides, he's also quite a powerful mage as well which makes it a shame he was sent to live with such bigoted fools. But no matter, because between his power and his own force of personality. I feel a sort of...kindred spirit in him." Voldemort added back in finding that why should he be enemies to Matthew when the warlock served to be far more advantageous to him in being a friend towards him

With it being thanks to Matthew that he was able to far more easily take Fudge out of the equation on his path to political power, but also be able to sunder Dumbledore's reputation and hold on things far more quickly than what he would've been able to do on his own. Not only that but it was also something in the warlock that made the dark lord feel as though he had a kindred spirit in Matthew, with him having the same charisma and willpower to be something greater in this world that made him feel almost obligated to reach out to him under his alias.

"I see. Now another question I must ask is, will you be endeavoring to get him on to our side? For he would make a good addition to our forces?" Lucius asked in wondering if his master would try recruiting him onto their side

"No. At least not yet. I want my power as consolidated as possible before I do anything in reaching out any further. Because if I'm to make any notion of adding young Matthew onto our side, then I need to make sure nothing can threaten what we've built." Voldemort answered back in knowing that if he wanted to reach out further to Matthew and have him become allies to them then he needed a more solid power base

"Well if I may make a suggestion. Why not start reaching out through Bellatrix's niece. After all, the two of them are quite close from my understanding." Lucius suggested as going through Nymphadora would be the quickest way to get Matthew onto their side

"That..that actually isn't a half-bad idea. Not to mention she's quite talented when it comes to combative magic and from what our eyes and ears have reported. She's one of the Auror's finest in even surpassing James Potter, Sirius Black and even Mad-Eye. Good idea, as now I know who to go after once everything is in place. Not to mention I already have an idea of how I can easily get her onto my side." Voldemort replied in finding Tonks to be a suitable candidate to turn over to his side and already having formulated plans to gain her as one of his subordinates in his regime

"Good to know my lord. Is there anything else I can do for you?" Lucius questioned

"Yes, how is Operation Daybreak going and is Alecto's recovery going good enough to lead it?" Voldemort asked as to if his plan to break out his followers from Azkaban was going well

"Operation Daybreak is proceeding as planned and by the 5th of January at the earliest, we should be ready to proceed. On Alecto's part, she has made a full recovery and has taken well to the augmentations you've given to her my lord." Lucius informed his master which caused Voldemort to grow a serpentine grin across his face

"Excellent, as Alecto will make a fine assassin and saboteur once I come into power. Soon enough none of them will see her coming as my dagger to use to slit their throats in the night." Voldemort said with a malicious grin at the fact that Alecto would soon be ready as his personal assassin

"I will say, my lord that things are certainly looking to be in our favor." Lucius replied in being unable to feel that good fortune was on their side

"Indeed, I would say we are close to being unstoppable. Yet I would not do so before I wear the title of Minister and we can proceed with Phase 2 of our plans. Which is why for now we proceed with amassing more power and growing our forces." Voldemort told the Malfoy patriarch who nodded

"However, go forth and celebrate us being one step closer to assured victory and holding our country within ever closing distance our grasp. Within reason of course." Voldemort told him as now was a time to celebrate their coming closer to power

"As you wish my lord." Lucius said before departing

"Oh Dumbledore, your demise is so close at hand and the best part about it. I barely have to lift a finger to tear you down. At this stage in the game, it almost feels too easy, with how easily you'll soon be cast to the wayside" Voldemort said as his face curled further into a serpentine smile while malevolent glee and mirth seemed to almost radiate out of him

So with Amycus having been dealt with and Matthew unknowingly encountered Voldemort in person, it seems as though things are on an upswing for the Dark Lord. How will things favor as Voldemort inches ever closer to becoming the Minister of Magic, well you'll have to find out on the new chapters of Harry the Hexblade.

And cut as I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and everything that went along with it, as oh boy things are actually starting to look up for Voldemort which is an odd thing to say all things considered. But without further delay let's get down to it now shall we.

First up we've got a bit of a fluff scene between Tonks and Matthew with the former being stressed from both Amycus causing havoc and more importantly the Ministry itself which I hoped y'all liked since that will be popping up more in the story.

Following that up we've got Matthew unknowingly teaming up with Voldemort to get rid of Amycus, which I wanted to do in showing some of what Voldemort is capable of considering that he's packing a lot more punch than he is in canon.

Next up after that is a joint interview with Matthew and Voldemort in their shared hate for Dumbledore which I thought would be nice in showing how both of them are connected to their hate for him.

Lastly, is Voldemort giving a bit of explanation for his intentions behind everything and a bit of what he's planning once he starts getting a more solid power base built up.

So then with all that being said please favorite, follow, review and share this story out as much as possible and thanks for the support given to the story, as I really appreciate it. And remember reviews help the story a lot since it means quite a bit to me and who knows I may gain future ideas from them also remember flames will be ignored while criticism that's well thought out and reasonable will be accepted.

That being said this is Nomadic Chaos using the power of said chaos to give you guys good content to read, for the next chapter will focus a bit on Tonks coming to blows with the Order and Matthew popping by Hogwarts to spend Christmas time with Raphael.

Part 1 Theme Song: Bladed Vaults by Solution. 45

Random End Song: Red Giant by Alice in Chains