-- The Riddle House --
"Lucius", he said, with his gaze towards the fire, "Bring me the boy".
"M-My Lord", he said, trembling, as if each word he said pained him terribly, "My Lord, the- the boy?"
"Yes, Lucius", said Voldemort, in his calm, cold voice. He was trying his best to keep his blood from boiling.
"B-But my Lord", said Lucius, now trembling uncontrollably, "My Lord, the b-boy. He has- he has".
Lucius tried to speak, but was unable to utter a single word. Voldemort shifted his gaze from the fireplace to his servant.
"He has what, Lucius!?", he snarled.
"M-My Lord. The boy-", he tried to speak, and now sunk to his knees, "My Lord! Forgive me my Lord!", he had now gotten hold of Voldemort's robes, "I tried, my Lord! This- This happened because of him!"
Malfoy pointed towards the corner of the room, where Karkaroff stood. He, too was trembling and as soon as Malfoy's finger pointed towards him, he quickly sunk to his knees and got hold of Voldemort's robes as well. He had been captured, after he fled four years ago, and had to pay the price. He had been tortured with the Cruciatus Curse for many days and nights and put under the Imperius Curse many times too. He did not want to give Voldemort another chance to punish him. He felt he had already been tortured to the point where he could bear it no longer. The deep wounds on his face and arms were emphasised in the light of the fire.
"M-My Lord! It wasn't me! It wasn't my fault! It was-", he started.
"Silence!", Voldemort shouted as the slits in his eyes grew thinner. The atmosphere had become tense and cold, despite the bursting flames of the fire. Voldemort looked at his servants, who still had his black robes clutched tightly in their hands.
"M-My Lord-", said Malfoy.
"What is it that troubles you, my servants?", Voldemort asked.
Voldemort's voice was once again calm, but the depth of his voice had deepened to such an extent it sent shivers down Karkaroff's and Malfoy's spines. The room had become much more chilly.
"M-My Lord", said Malfoy, not daring to look into his master's cold eyes, "Harry Potter. He- He has escaped."
-- The Burrow --
The three of them ran far away from the Burrow, before Hermione stopped abruptly. Following her lead, Ron and Ginny stopped too.
"We ought to apparate now", Hermione said, panting, "Hold my hands."
She stretched out her hands for Ron and Ginny, who got hold of them. When they opened their eyes, they had reached a place familiar to Ron and Hermione.
"What is this place?", Ginny asked, looking around as if it was the most beautiful place she'd seen.
"The Forest of Dean", Ron answered, "We've been here before. When we were with Harry."
Hermione put many protective charms around the area, while Ron and Ginny set up the tent. The place didn't look different at all. It only felt different. When the sun starting to set, Ginny went inside the tent to get some sleep while Ron and Hermione sat outside the tent, looking out for any Death Eaters or Snatchers. A while later, when she was sure Ginny had fallen asleep, Hermione took out a book from her bag. It wasn't a very thin book. It had a black leather cover and said 'Harry Potter' in Harry's handwriting on the first page. Ron looked at it suspiciously.
"What is that? Harry didn't keep a diary, did he?", he asked.
"He did. But he never let anyone find out", Hermione said as she opened the book and pointed towards a line in a page, "Look. He's written about a pensieve. Dumbledore showed him something about Voldemort's parents. He's written about it here."
Ron read the page twice meticulously.
"'The Riddle House'? D'you think Voldemort could be there?", Ron asked, tearing his gaze from the diary.
"No Ron, I don't think he's there", she said, emphasizing 'think', "I'm sure he's there."