Prologue
Riddle Manor
Dimly lit, the room's furniture outnumbered the humans within, and even that was a sparse amount. Dark furniture, quite to the taste of the new owner, littered the large room in a disorganized manner. The curtains fluttered with a breeze that held no origin. The room held no windows, any light was provided by the candles that floated on the chandelier, and the large fireplace on the opposite wall of the room's only door. Bones of various vermin littered the area near a large, throne-like chair, as if a tribute offered by the large snake asleep near the fireplace. The Riddle Mansion was a dark, and quiet place.
Outside, on the extensively protected grounds, prowled a few beast that most would shy away from in the daylight, and that none would want to face in the dark of the night. The rain, making it difficult to see, made a trek to the doorway treacherous and deadly for those that strayed off of the chosen path. If one gained access to the grounds, the myriad of enchantments placed around the grounds would be sure to alert the occupants. The atmosphere provided an almost comically spooky headquarters for the most feared person on the planet. Within those walls, though, the horrors were real.
The master of this home had long since hidden the mansion from all that he did not deem worthy. Powerfully, he had constructed arcane rituals utilizing Blood Magic and the remains of some of his enemies in order to secure his premises. It would not do to have any Aurors intruding on him, or worse yet - Dumbledore.
"Crucio!" Voldemort spat, suddenly, breaking the silence and watching, in sick pleasure, as the woman below him squirmed in pain. Or was it pleasure? He could never tell with this woman. "You've displeased me Bella."
The woman in question looked up at the Dark Lord. "My Lord, forgive me. I was only trying to retrieve the prophecy. I was -"
"And yet, I was forced to show myself to save you." Lord Voldemort interrupted, his voice a mere whisper, but stopping her sentence before she could completely formulate it"Now, you have jeopardized many of my plans. No matter, you're lucky that I need you …. Otherwise, you might have found yourself permanently expelled from my order." He continued to pace back and forth, his shadow, produced by the limited light in the room, loomed over her trembling body.
The look of fear on Bellatrix's face was in stark contrast to her usual sadistic sneer. She was quivering. She lived to serve her Lord and Master. Where others had only sought power by following the man who must surely be the most powerful Sorcerer ever, she had already come from a Pureblood family of insane riches and power. She believed in his plans, his ideas for the magical world. She counted herself as a revolutionary, and even an original thinker. She was no mere Deatheater, but the right hand of the Dark Lord. Surely there was some way that she could redeem herself.
It was Potter's fault, of that much she was absolutely certain. She could've escaped had it not been for him. She knew that much. 'And the boy had the audacity to use MY curse on me!' She thought, all traces of her pain leaving her as she reflected back to the untrained, but surprisingly powerful Cruciatus curse used on her. It had caught off guard, that much was true, but the boy didn't know how to harness his hate for her. Was she lucky? She shook the thought out of her head. She was the most powerful witch in the world, superior to every magic user, besides her Master of course. She was sure that it was due to her skill with the curse.
Still, the boy proved to be troublesome. He didn't quit. He needed to be taught a lesson. And who to teach him better than she could? But, her Master, may he live forever, had strictly forbidden the boy to be hurt until he uncovered some great secret that had plagued him for years. Why was Potter so important to the Dark Lord? None of his followers could ever generate an answer that made sense. Yet, none of his followers had the audacity or even the stupidity to question the Dark Lord. They had promised to serve, and to serve faithfully until death, otherwise, the punishment would be worse than death. They knew to fear their master, not only was there a promise of death, but because they had witnessed what he would do to those that refused to obey him. Even she shivered at the sheer magnitude of his rage and the things he was capable of. She never wanted to be on the receiving end of those ministrations.
However, as maniacal as she was, Bellatrix had some form of a brain and the wherewithal to use it. Her Lord was honorable, unbeatable….. And yet, he had lost against a mere baby. Not an Alastor Moody, or a Dumbledore….but a puny child, that couldn't even be protected by his mother. His honor dictated that he destroy the boy, as an example more than anything else. But Dumbledore was continuously in the way and the boy himself proved to be extremely lucky. The boy had to have a vulnerability somewhere.
They could hardly storm Hogwarts, yet, and they didn't know where he lived; only that it was with Muggles. 'Would he then, have to take Muggle transportation home? There could be a way.' Her eyes lit up at the sudden thought that had come to her. Though she prided herself on her Pureblood ancestry, an uncle of hers had always told her to know thy enemy. That thought was only firmly entrenched in her mind when her Dark Lord had been tricked by a mere baby.
"You are dismissed Bella. Leave me. I must plan for a way to release our brothers, and you must find a way to redeem yourself to me. I will only be so lenient." The Dark Lord spoke, thoroughly distracting her from her train of thought. He hissed something and suddenly the large snake near the fireplace was awake, it's eyes, unnervingly staring right at her. To her relief, though she would never admit it, the snake simply followed her Lord out of the room and deeper into the house.
Though most of the inner circle has been captured by Dumbledore and his do-gooders, they still have a few Deatheaters that could be used, even if they were fresh out of initiation. The Dark Lord, though, probably wouldn't approve. She knew that much already. Though, on the other hand, he did not specify how she might go about redeeming herself. If she could remove a few obstacles from his path, she could easy claim the power that he offered to his favored followers. She could, perhaps, be the one elevated above all others.
She quickly stood, making sure that the Dark Lord was no longer in the room, and headed out into the hallway outside. She had seen what happened to the people that stirred as the Dark Lord was in motion. He wasn't exactly paranoid, but his skill with a wand and his arsenal of magic had reduced on unlucky person to a quivering mass of skin. A few turns and rooms later, and she stumbled across some of the newer recruits, lounging about, and fearing the Dark Lord's wrath.
"You three, we are going to take care of some business for the Dark Lord. Come with me." She spoke fast and with purpose, not allowing them to get a seed of doubt about her ability to command them. Though, to be fair, they did know much about her talent with the Cruciatus curse. Willingly, and without hesitation, they complied with her wishes. "Good, followers. If anything goes awry, I can simply blame it on their incompetence".
"Lady Bellatrix, what are we going to do for the Dark Lord?" A man, Shrivers, spoke aloud. He considered himself braver than his partners, though they had all joined the Dark Lord's cause willingly out of greed and a thirst for power.
"We, Shrivers, are going to exact some revenge for the Dark Lord. We have to be careful with our strike, and if successful, you three may be receive special recognition from the Dark Lord himself." Her answer, not truly giving any idea of the mission at hand until she could trust them, lit a fire beneath them. From the looks in their eyes, she knew that she would have no problem convincing them. Their horribly suppressed excitement told her everything she needed to know about them. Nothing would make them work harder, or follow orders better, than the opportunity to gain the Dark Lord's favor.
"We've been waiting for something like this." Shrivers said, chuckling with his friends. He had seen the rewards that the Dark Lord had given out when he was pleased with actions. The Dark Lord wanted perfection though, and in some instances it was difficult. Shrivers wasn't a powerful wizard, but he was ruthless and followed orders to a point. The Dark Lord had many uses for a man like him.
"You will pay Harry Potter." Bellatrix Lestrange whispered as her thoughts raced ahead outlining her plans and ideas to exact revenge.