"Avada Kedavra."
The flash of green light illuminated every corner of the room. Charity Burbage fell with a resounding crash, onto the table below, which trembled and creaked. Several of the Death Eaters leapt back in their chairs. Draco Malfoy fell out of his onto the floor.
"Dinner, Nagini, said Lord Voldemort softly, and the great snake swayed and slithered from his shoulders onto the polished wood.
What preceded this sentence was an apprehensive silence as the Death Eaters regained their composure. Draco had quickly picked himself off the floor and took his seat, his cheeks flushed with embarrassment. He then looked around as if expecting every occupant of the room to be looking at him, laughing at his vulnerability. Although no one seemed to have noticed.
Meanwhile, Nagini drew closer to Charity's corpse, which lay in the center of the table.
"What other information have you acquired?" Voldemort demanded, addressing Severus Snape and Yaxley, looking at each of them in turn. He ignored Nagini, who had already begun to ingest the body.
Yaxley spoke first.
"Yes, my Lord," he said, still determined to receive recognition from his Master. "It appears that the Order have recently added five new members to their ranks."
Voldemort remained silent, indicating that he should continue.
"They are five teenage - ," but before he could complete his sentence, the Death Eaters broke into raucous laughter once again, as they had done at the revelation that Bellatrix's niece had married a werewolf. Yaxley's face, which had been previously shown with pride, had now turned an ugly discolored red and he had an unpleasant sneer on his face.
"Wait!" screamed Yaxley, trying to silence the other Death Eaters. "I did not finish my sentence!" No one seemed to be listening. If anything, it only caused their laughter to increase.
"However, they are no ordinary teenagers, my Lord," said Snape and even though he did not raise the volume of his voice, it was heard clearly through the racket. Hereupon, the laughter ceased.
Yaxley now wore a highly unpleasant expression on his face, watching enviously as everyone turned to look at Snape.
"They are five teenage superheroes."
The attentiveness in the room immediately sharpened at these words. All of the Death Eaters were now listening intently, gazing at Snape and Voldemort.
"Is that so?" said the Dark Lord, but his voice had a pleasantly amused quality to it.
"Yes, my Lord," replied Snape. "They protect Jump City, California in the United States."
"How did they come to join the Order?" asked Voldemort.
"Apparently, their reputation precedes them. While they are American superheroes, they are also very well-known in other parts of the world, including Great Britain. Albeit only to the Muggle population. They are known as the Teen Titans. It is most likely that the Order learned of their existence through the Muggle media. It was Minerva McGonagall who approached them the previous week and asked for their assistance. Obviously, they accepted. They are now a part of the Order of the Phoenix."
"There is also a possibility that they will be present next Saturday, when the Order moves Harry Potter from his relatives' home. It has not been confirmed, but it a very distinct possibility."
Nagini had now ingurgitated the body from the head to the torso. However, the process seemed to be progressing very slowly. Although no one seemed to be paying this much heed at the moment.
The Dark Lord had a smirk on his face, as if this news did not faze. On the contrary, it seemed to interest him.
"Very well. What information do you have on these 'Teen Titans'?" Voldemort inquired interestedly.
"We retrieved a news article from a Muggle tabloid that contains a brief summary and individual biography of each member, as well as their role in the team. Their pictures are also included."
As Snape said this, he rummaged through the pocket of his cloak. After a few seconds he pulled out a shrunken piece of paper, and his wand. With a flick of his wrist, the sheet returned to its regular size. From the frayed edges it could be concluded that it had been torn out from some place.
"Read it," said Voldemort slowly.
Snape complied and immediately began to read.
"' The Teen Titans consist of five teenage superheroes, each with special abilities. The team is led by Robin who, though lacking any powers, is highly trained in martial arts and wields a wide range of weapons. Beast Boy, though small in stature can shift into the form of any animal, living or extinct. He is also the main jokester of the group. Starfire, an alien from a distant planet called Tamaran, possesses the ability to fly, shoot green bolts out of her hands and eyes, and immense strength. She is also inherently the most sensitive Titan, but will not hesitate to attack if innocent bystanders or her friends are threatened. Cyborg, who is half-man and half-machine, uses his built in weapons and raw strength. He is the technical side of the team. Last but not least, is Raven. She possesses a large number of powers that include telekinesis, levitation, teleportation, rapid healing, empathy, telepathy and precognition among other things. Raven is said to be the most mysterious member of the group. She is also the most mature, often giving sage advice to the others about various subjects. This puzzling Titan is obviously of invaluable aid to her team and cares greatly for her friends, even to the extent of self-sacrifice.'"
Once Snape finished reading the article, he handed it to Voldemort. The Dark Lord took the paper in his long-fingered hands and brought it before his eyes. He stared at the sheet for several seconds, before he finally set it down, picked up Lucius' wand, flicked his wrist and levitated the object into the air. With another flick, he enlarged it past its original size, so that the other Death Eaters could clearly read the text and see the pictures of the Titans. The biographies were divided into individual sections with the corresponding image.
The leader, Robin, was of average stature but slightly muscled. He had short, spiky black hair and wore a mask that covered only his eyes, but effectively concealed his identity.
Beast Boy was, as described, small and short. He had pointed ears and a fang that could be seen sticking out of his mouth. However, the most peculiar thing about this particular Titan was the fact he was entirely green. His hair, eyes, and even skin were green. He also wore a silly grin on his face.
Starfire was overall an attractive girl. She was tall, had dark red hair that stopped at her lower back, bright green eyes and a kind face. Although, she did have strange eyebrows.
Cyborg was a hulking man. He was African-American and stood about six feet tall. The armor-like material on his body added to his bulk as well. He could seem very intimidating but in this picture he did not.
Finally, there was the Raven girl. She was above her average height, with pale skin, violet hair and eyes, and a small red gemstone on her forehead. Despite, the unusualness of the color, it did appear to be her natural hair color, including her eyes. Her face showed no emotion, but she was obviously very attractive as well.
All of the Death Eaters were staring intently at the pictures and they seemed unable to tear their eyes away.
"We retrieved something else as well, my Lord," said Snape with a look of arrogant pride in his black eyes. "Since the Titans are currently not in their home, we were able to easily infiltrate their Tower and managed to acquire brief footages of some of their battles."
Once again, he dug his hand in his pocket and pulled out a small glass vial. It was full of what appeared to be Pensieve memories. However, upon closer inspection, although it did greatly resemble them, were not memories. There was a distinct difference. Whereas, memories were neither gas nor liquid, the strange substance in the vial was slightly more solid.
"These were the only ones that were on hand."
"Good. Very good," said Voldemort, the smirk still lingering on his snake-like face. "Do you know which particular battles you retrieved?"
"Yes, my Lord," said Snape. "There are three in total, and they are arranged in chronological order. The first is a brief snippet of how the Titans first met. The second is consisted of two separate clips, but they are of the same battle. And the last one shows them battling a former member of their team who betrayed and tried to kill them."
The Dark Lord no longer had a smirk on his face. His red eyes now held a contemplative look in them.
"Interesting," said Voldemort quietly. "Hand me the vial then."
Snape quickly held out the vial in his outstretched hand for Voldemort to take. Voldemort enclosed his fingers around the object and took it from Snape's hand as he released his hold on it. After gazing at the substance within in deep thought, he tore his gaze away from it and it landed instead on his Death Eaters.
"I will allow you all to watch these three battles. It is vital that we be aware of what we are up against. Size is no guarantee of power. Do not underestimate your opponents. It is pride that comes before the fall of man."
"It is also important since there is a chance that they may be present at the moving of Harry Potter. I have been thwarted too many times to be thwarted once more."
"Yes, my Lord," murmured the group collectively.
With a simple movement of his wrist, a large screen materialized in front of them. However, it had the shape and appearance of a Pensieve, and was tilted in such a way that the people in the room could view its contents. As the images began to play out, the Death Eaters looked on with extreme curiosity; Nagini finally finished consuming the body of Charity Burbage.
The screen had now vanished, the video having just ended. An eerie silence lingered in the room. Everyone seemed too afraid to speak or make any noise whatsoever.However, the expression on the Dark Lord's face was indecipherable. Nagini had slithered back onto his shoulders, and he had resumed stroking her head with his long white finger.
The previously roaring fire in the grate had now been reduced to embers and the vicinity had considerably darkened.
After several more minutes of silence, the Dark Lord spoke.
"It seems that these children may cause a problem," said Voldemort softly.
Each person in the group was unnaturally still. Muscles tensed and no one dared to even breathe.
"Something must be done," murmured the Dark Lord quietly, just as the flames finally burned themselves out and the embers were all that remained.