A/N I don't own any of the characters, they all belong to J.K.Rowling unless otherwise specified at the beginning of each chapter.
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It had been years since Voldemort had been resurrected, but nothing had changed. He was still out their, still had followers, still persecuted others that weren't like himself.
Six years ago he had returned, and still he swatted away each attempt the ministry made to capture him like they were irritating flies, not worth the effort of squashing.
The Dark Lord he was in both name and style. He kept court, surrounded himself with his followers. His court was unpottable, untraceable, and heavily warded. If one found out and sought to tell another, they were dead before the words of betrayal could pass their lips. They could not write it. They could not speak it. They could not capture the memory of his court and place it in a penseive.
Spies were everywhere, for both the Death Eaters and the Ministry, everyone was suspect, and no one could be trusted. Friends of years, of centuries could no longer be trusted. For each witch or wizard that died with the dark mark, another five rose to take their place.
Those that deserted, or denied their connections to the Dark Lord went back to the fold. Where they were either welcomed or punished.
The court had a style that was more fitting for a king than a Lord. Full of whore's courtesans, mistresses, some that were explicit property, and others that belonged to nobody and were passed around and used by everybody. There was often entertainment to be had, muggle baiting, auror torture, duels and hexes that were passed out to encourage 'friendly' competition.
Voldemort was no fool. He knew that they had to be able to work together, and a divide down the middle of his death eaters was no good. But the point of the games was top keep them guessing, for them to find out who was the strongest amongst them. It was also rather entertaining at times to watch them squabble, and if it annoyed it, there was always an 'enlightening' way to deal with that.
Life had changed, revolved around bloodshed, death, and war. A shadow of what it was. Unrecognisable now when compared to lives before his second uprising.
The light side fought on, Dumbledore, Potter, Granger, Weasley, Lupin, and others so numerous that they could not all be named. Lessons taught by Professor Moody of 'constant vigilance' were now used more than ever.
Marriages between people that had known each others for weeks, months rarely longer than that. Minutes snatched by loved ones in between battles. Short notes and love letters flew around the world with familles hoping that they would arrive at their destination. The numbers of widows continued to rise. Everyone knew someone that had been lost to which ever cause they happened to be fighting for. Their was an increase in children with single parents, young babies that had been conceived in the midst of a one night stand, where people were desperate to feel something other than guilt and remorse.
Both sides still fought with a ferocity unmatched. Determined that they should claim victory. The war dragged on.
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Interested? Should I continue? The next chapter is pretty much finished, the sooner you let me know what you think, the sooner it's up!
