Nagini and Leonie arrived to find Lanlock already trussed up by Snape.
"That was fast," Leonie said, covering her mouth in surprise.
Nagini, less reactive, seemed more surprised that Lanlock was still alive.
"Huh?" Leonie glanced around, puzzled. "I thought another Dark Lord was trying to capture me? Where is he?"
After a moment's thought, Leonie realized the Dark Lord must have escaped. No wonder he's a Dark Lord; he managed to slip through Tom's fingers...
But worry began to creep into her eyes. Since the other Dark Lord had escaped, she remained in danger!
And Tom and the others wouldn't be here forever.
After Tom leaves... Am I really going to have to fight a Dark Lord?
"Ahem..." Leonie casually suggested to Nagini, "I doubt he's gone far; the goblin's still here, isn't he? Maybe... we could catch up to him now?"
Nagini shook her head slightly. Once the Socket Spirit escaped the area where the counter-curse was set, catching him was impossible. Far too much time had passed; a legendary wizard would have been long gone by now.
...
Hearing their voices, Lanlock looked up and saw the pure-blood Veela, clearly the group's target.
He couldn't help but smile bitterly, his voice low. "Are we really that unlucky?"
The goblins had crossed paths with Tom Riddle and his Death Eaters many times, but only now had they become the target.
"What are you talking about?" Leonie asked, looking at Lanlock. She didn't like this goblin—in fact, she didn't like any goblin.
"It's nothing..." Lanlock's tone was dejected. "I just meant, he doesn't have the guts to come back."
Forget about rescuing the Veela, Lanlock doubted the Socket Spirit would even bother trying to rescue him.
He had resigned himself to his fate.
Whatever happens, happens, he thought. He could only hope his imprisonment would be relatively comfortable.
Otherwise, it would be unbearable torture for a physically strong, long-lived goblin like himself.
"Severus, take this thing away."
With those words, Tom Riddle left, signaling Nagini and Leonie to follow.
Snape, watching them go, levitated Lanlock away.
...
Meanwhile, in a filthy, stinking sewer, a red-eyed rat scurried through the muck.
After looking around, it stopped.
Having run who-knew-how-far, the Socket Spirit deemed it safe enough to transform back into human form.
...
Silently recalling Lanlock's bewildered expression, he muttered, "Don't blame me; I couldn't escape with you in tow."
There wasn't a trace of remorse in his voice.
For people like them, backstabbing was commonplace.
Besides, he hadn't actually stabbed him in the back; he'd simply abandoned him.
He knew Lanlock would betray him without hesitation, given the opportunity.
"Don't worry; I'll put everything you've prepared to good use."
Not long ago, Lanlock had secured the final conditions required to complete that special dark magic; all that remained was gathering intelligent life forms from various races to fuel this terrifying spell.
"Although I can't come back to save you..."
The Socket Spirit chuckled, his voice echoing in the sewer, "Why even mention it? That fairy should be dead by now, right?"
With a crack, the Socket Spirit vanished.
He reappeared in a deserted area on the outskirts of Paris.
"He's dead, and those stupid fairies won't listen to me..."
The Socket Spirit attempted to use the Dark Mark. I still need to keep you idiots around.
He needed manpower. Since the fairies were no longer useful, it was best to keep his foolish subordinates.
But there was no way he was going to rescue them himself.
Using the Dark Mark to warn them to retreat would have to suffice.
As for whether they escaped... well, that was in their hands. If they survived, he'd continue using them; if not... oh, well.
The Socket Spirit was concerned. After all, no one had dared defy Tom Riddle in the magical world these past few years.
He didn't dare approach those people casually; if he were betrayed, he wouldn't even know what hit him.
He didn't want to live in constant fear, even while hiding... so using someone he trusted was best, even if that person was an idiot.
...
The streets of Paris were ravaged, as if splattered by heavy artillery.
Lucas and Ivo, already near death, felt the Dark Mark on their arms suddenly sear with heat.
"...Imagine?"
Ivo, bleeding profusely, didn't quite comprehend the sensation.
Only when the Dark Mark became scorching hot did he realize... their great master was truly summoning them!
Ivo and Lucas exchanged a glance, both seeing the joy in the other's eyes... Finally, they could escape, retreat!
As another wave of silver light streaked across the sky, Lucas's previous worry and lingering fear had vanished.
Lucas dove to the side, dodging the slash, the already scarred ground splitting again.
Then, under Harry Potter's gaze, Lucas gave him a cryptic smile.
This made Harry uneasy.
He frowned slightly and swung his sword again, but in the next second, he heard the familiar crack. Apparition!
Harry Potter didn't hesitate, slashing to the side almost instinctively.
This time, he wasn't disappointed.
Overjoyed, his reaction slowed, and without Lucas to shield him, Ivo was sliced in two.
Even as he fell, the upper half of his face wore a joyful smile.
...
Harry Potter's face darkened; he had let Lucas escape.
But experience told him this wasn't the time to regret it. Harry decided he should go help Malfoy and the others... he couldn't let any more escape.
"Huh?"
Seeing Harry bound across the long distance to his side in a few strides, Malfoy was puzzled. "Scarface?"
Harry anxiously quickened his pace. "Malfoy, you..."
Then Malfoy seemed to understand. "Oh~ I see, Harry, you took care of them, right? Not bad, almost as good as me."
"No, one got away."
Harry shook his head dejectedly. "What about you? Did yours escape?"
"How could they!"
Malfoy pointed with his baseball bat at an oddly-shaped heap not far away. "Look~ there it is."
...
Harry Potter fell silent.
Hermione Granger and the others arrived just then. "Did you handle everything?"
"No, one got away."
Harry asked expectantly, "What about that old man over there?"
"He's passed out."
Fleur Delacour smiled and pointed behind her. "He's over there. We caught him."
...
Harry Potter fell silent again. Well, so I was the only one who messed up, right?
---