Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy sat in their parlor, dumbstruck when they heard the news. They could not speak, nor make a sound. The only sounds were that of the crackling fire and the wind as it howled outside.
It had only been a few minutes ago when the wizarding community was informed of the sudden death of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. The event seemed surreal. In what was to have been another triumphant moment in the Dark Lord's conquest, squashing that very last thing that could possibly oppose him, in turn became the very thing that would ultimately be his demise. Of all things, it had been an infant child that did this. How was it possible? If the Dark Lord could easily slaughter James and Lily Potter, how was it their child, who was barely a year old, not only survive the curse, but somehow kill him with it.
Narcissa's sister, Bellatrix Lestrange, paced back and forth in the parlor. There was a certain madness in her eyes, more so than usual. She appeared liked a raging bull that been kept in cage for far too long and was ready to unleash hell onto all that would come in it way. Her pace quickened and her snow colored face began paling into a bright red. In a fit of rage Bellatrix took out her wand and blasted a bust of one of Lucius' ancestors down the middle.
"Curse the Potters!" Bellatrix yelled. "Curse them and their damned son! I hope they ROT!"
Narcissa stood up. "Sissie, please calm down" she said in a gentle voice.
"Calm down?!" Bellatrix retorted. "The Dark Lord is gone. MY LORD IS GONE!"
In another fit of rage, Bellatrix blasted out half the windows in the room. The glass shards fell down into the garden below.
"That Potter spawn must suffer! I want him to pay!" Bellatrix screamed. "If I ever get the chance, I'll make sure I have him under the Cruciatus Curse so long he loses sanity."
"Bella, please calm down," Narcissa said.
"No, I won't! That boy took away my lord. He's gone all because of the filthy mudblooded child! A mudblood killed MY lord! A MUDBLOOD!"
"Enough, Bellatrix!" Lucius shouted firmly. "Throwing tantrums like this will not help."
"You call this a tantrum?" Bellatrix replied.
The room began to shake with uncontrollable force. Books began falling of their shelves. Bust and small trinkets fell from their places and shattered one the hard floor. Lucius stood up and pulled out his wand. He flicked the wand at his sister-in-law and uttered "Stupefy!" Before she realized it, Bellatrix was thrown back to the other end of the room, hitting her head on one of the shelves she had knocked over. The room was quiet now.
Narcissa rushed over to her sister.
"Are you alright?" Narcissa asked.
Bellatrix's eyes opened.
"No," she said. Not until he has the justice he deserves. Not until every last Mudblood and blood traitor has met their deaths. Until they are all gone I will not know peace. They all must die! Every last one!"
Narcissa extended a hand to her sister, but Bellatrix flicked her off. Bellatrix stood up with Narcissa following suit.
"We cannot let the Dark Lord die in vain. His work must continue. I will lead in his stead."
"Bella, it's over. We lost this war," Lucius said. "We cannot go without the Dark Lord. It was him the people feared, not us. Without his presence the Ministry will not hesitate to come for us all in for force. It's only a matter of time before each of us stand trial before the court. The smart thing would be to lay low. Lie and say we were under the Imperius Curse."
"You're a coward, Lucius," Bellatrix roared. "After all you have done for the cause, when the Dark Lord needs you most, you're willing to abandon him?"
"The Dark Lord doesn't need me. He's dead."
"Dead, but not gone! As long as those who remain loyal to him continue to be, even now, he will still be with us. We can continue his work in his memory. We can make it happen. Generations from now, people will still shudder at the name of Voldemort."
Lucius and Narcissa both shuddered at the mention of the Dark Lord's name. Bellatrix grinned at this. Even in death her lord's name still rang with great power. She knew she was onto something. Even though their leader was gone, the war did not have to end. His work could continue. However, the Death Eaters could not be as bold as they once were. They would have to serve in secret; in the shadows, but when the time was right, they could take their vengeance. It would require a great deal of patience and time, something Bellatrix hated, but a sacrifice she was willing to make in order for lord's goals to succeed long term.
"Are you sure about your decision, Lucius? Will you not remain loyal to the Dark Lord?"
Lucius looked at his sister-in-law. The sight of madness was still in her eyes, but it did not seem so unruly at the moment. It was a concentrated madness.
"Narcissa and I will not be able to publicly support this. We must operate in the shadows for now, but in time we'll make sure the Dark Lord's work continues."