Contents
CHAPTER ONE
Overview
In Little Hangleton, elderly gardener Frank Bryce investigates lights in the long-abandoned Riddle House and discovers Lord Voldemort, Wormtail, and the snake Nagini. He overhears a plot involving Harry Potter and the recent murder of Bertha Jorkins. Voldemort kills Frank to protect the plan, and Harry awakens far away.
Summary
In the village of Little Hangleton, the derelict Riddle House looms over a decades-old mystery: the sudden, unexplained deaths of the wealthy Riddle family. Suspicion once fell on their gardener, Frank Bryce, but a lack of evidence freed him, and he continued tending the grounds despite village gossip.
Now seventy-six, Frank sees lights in the abandoned manor and, suspecting local boys, enters to investigate. Hidden outside a lit room, he overhears a cold-voiced master and his servant Wormtail discussing feeding, a snake named Nagini, the Ministry of Magic’s vigilance during the Quidditch World Cup, and a delayed plan centered on Harry Potter.
Wormtail nervously proposes using another wizard instead of Harry, but the master—Lord Voldemort—insists on the boy for reasons tied to a thirteen-year wait. They reveal Bertha Jorkins was captured and murdered after yielding vital information, and hint that a loyal servant at Hogwarts will aid their scheme. When Nagini alerts them to an eavesdropper, Frank is discovered.
Confronted, Frank defies the unseen speaker and demands he show himself. Voldemort has Wormtail turn the chair, and Frank, horrified by what he sees, is instantly killed by a flash of green light. Two hundred miles away, Harry Potter jolts awake, connecting him, ominously, to the murder.
Who Appears
- Frank BryceElderly gardener of the Riddle House; investigates lights, overhears Voldemort’s plot, and is murdered.
- Lord VoldemortHidden, weakened dark wizard; plots to use Harry Potter, admits killing Bertha Jorkins, kills Frank.
- Wormtail (Peter Pettigrew)Voldemort’s fearful servant; nurses him, suggests a substitute victim, is reprimanded, obeys orders.
- NaginiVoldemort’s giant snake; scours the house, alerts Voldemort to Frank’s presence.
- Harry PotterDiscussed as the target of Voldemort’s plan; wakes suddenly after Frank’s murder.
- Bertha JorkinsMinistry witch referenced as captured and murdered; her information enabled Voldemort’s plan.