A/N: So, about a year ago I started this fic and began publishing it really impulsively. But, of course, I'm a Slytherin Capricorn and therefore a major perfectionist. There was too much I didn't like about it and wanted to change so I deleted it after about 5 chapters and decided to just start over. And here we are! I plan to update weekly but if life gets in the way the, well, obviously that won't exactly happen. But I will try!

DISCLAIMER: As usual, I do not own any aspect of the Harry Potter world. I am not making a profit to write this. All aspects of Harry Potter are owned by JK Rowling. The only pieces of this writing that are owned by me are the non-canon plots, the original characters, and the non-canon character developments. Yes

WARNING: There will be some dark themes in this fic. Mention of abuse, death, stuff like that. You have been warned.

This fic will bounce back and forth between Bellatrix's time at school and "future" time (1980 and beyond). I will provide dates so you don't get too confused. It will also mostly be from Bellatrix's point of view but there may be times it's from another character's point of view. Just depends on what the contents of the chapter are and what I feel works best. I hope you enjoy!

P.S. I love reviews. (;

April 1980

Order of the Phoenix Headquarters

"It has been brought to my attention that there is a spy among us," Albus Dumbledore spoke to a room full of members of the Order of the Phoenix. If there were anyone whispering to each other before Dumbledore started his discussion, they stopped at these words. Severus Snape stood behind him, hidden in the shadows. He knew he was not welcome among the Order members—especially those obnoxious twits he had gone to school with: Pettigrew, Lupin, Black, and Potter. The raven-haired wizard watched as the eyes and ears in the room perked up at the word "spy" before turning his attention back to Dumbledore.

"However," Dumbledore continued, that blasted twinkle never leaving his piercing blue eyes, "We have a spy of our own. Severus, will you please step up and join us?" He stepped back, reaching his hand out as if he were introducing a grand act at a muggle circus rather than introducing a reformed Death Eater that nearly everyone in the room despised.

As Severus came out of the shadows and into full view, he held his head high, arrogantly ignoring the shouts of disbelief and anger that arose from the crowd. He could especially hear Potter and Black shouting. "You can't honestly believe this greasy git would actually turn against his beloved Dark Lord," Black said, his grey eyes dancing in fury. Of course the man that had been disowned by his own family filled with Death Eaters would be so angry he looked as though he would hex the other wizard into oblivion. Potter piped up as well, shouting, "He would rather spend the rest of his life rubbing the slimy snake's scaly feet than help any one of us!"

Severus sneered in their direction. The petulant fools had no idea what he was capable of or what was really happening. They would have been sorry if he had never showed up… If he had never gone to Dumbledore and promised to help. If I had never begged the old wizard to save Lily from the fate the Dark Lord was planning for her... he thought. He was risking his own neck offering such a thing, but of course these idiots had no idea what he was risking, nor did they care.

Dumbledore simply smiled politely, ignoring the shouts for a few minutes. Finally, he cleared his throat and spoke once more. "Silence, please." The room gradually went quiet again. It was no surprise that the witches and wizards in the room held such a high respect for Dumbledore. He was, after all, one of the most powerful wizards alive and certainly the most powerful wizard in the Order of the Phoenix. "I know there has been some… tension… between Mr. Snape and some of our younger Order members…" He allowed his twinkling blue eyes to roam and settle on the Marauders, all of whom were still glaring daggers at the Slytherin at the head of the room. "Regardless, our guest has come to me with invaluable information… and I have asked him to stay and help up in our quest to vanquish Lord Voldemort." Angry murmurs started up again before the old wizard raised a hand to silence the crowd yet again. "I do not want to hear any more on the subject tonight. Our business is done here. Have a safe journey home. Word will be sent when the next Order meeting is planned." He turned toward James Potter, Frank Longbottom, and two pregnant witches: Lily Potter and Alice Longbottom. "If I may have a word before you leave," he whispered to the four as the other members of the Order stood up and left the tower, little by little.

"What was that about?" Sirius had whispered to his best mate, "Should I stick around in case you need help wrangling the greasy bastard?"

James chuckled and shook his head. "Whatever it is Dumbledore wants to talk to us about, it must be private. If it's something we can share without jeopardizing anyone's safety, you will know immediately, mate. Promise. I'll see you later." Sirius pursed his lips and glared daggers at the Death Eater on the other end of the room. He sighed before finally nodding his head towards James, giving Lily a tight brotherly hug, and leaving the Order headquarters.

James, Lily, Frank, and Alice stayed behind, quietly and slowly getting ready to leave. They waited until everyone had gone, save for Severus and Dumbledore, before turning to their former headmaster to find out what it was he had wanted them to stay behind for.

"Now that I have you alone," Dumbledore started, his face faltering from the usual, cheery twinkle just barely enough to cause the younger few to worry. "The information that Severus has provided us is especially important to you. I would like to tell the Order in due time, but I wanted to inform you first… There has been a prophecy regarding Voldemort and an infant due near the end of July." Both women's eyes widened as they instinctively wrapped their arms around their growing abdomens, hoping to protect the babies they were carrying. They both knew that their babies must be the ones this so-called prophecy was speaking of—why else would Dumbledore be giving this information to them before the rest of the Order? James and Frank didn't catch on to the news quite as fast. "The prophecy states that a child born at the end of July will have the power to vanquish the Dark Lord. We believe this prophecy may be about one of the two children you, Lily and Alice, are carrying. The Dark Lord knows of the prophecy, which is why Severus has come to me… We are going to put you in a safe house with a Fidelius charm. You will not be able to leave. You may be in hiding for a long while but you must understand how important this is."

James and Frank looked at each other, each attempting, and rather failing, to hide the fear that was growing inside them. Gryffindors really were not excellent at masking their emotions. However, they had to be strong for their wives… For their sons. "A safe house sounds fine with me, as long as my wife and child are kept from harm," James said and Frank quickly agreed, taking his wife's hand as he did so.

"Is that all then?" Alice asked. "We are going to be in separate safe houses, under the Fidelius charm? What about the spy in the Order? Do you know who that might be?"

The elder wizard shook his head. "Unfortunately, I do not know, and neither does Severus. The spy has been working closely with Voldemort and has been careful to not be seen… And I want you four to think about who you want each of your secret keepers to be. No one will know except for you and I. Choose wisely," he said, eyeing the four individuals carefully. He stood, releasing some of the tension in the air. "You are free to go home for the night." He smiled as if he were dismissing them from a class rather than a meeting discussing the danger they were all in.

Severus watched as Lily quietly stroked her engorged belly, looking rationally distressed, yet somehow almost calm and thoughtful, before walking over to her. "I did it for you, you know," he said quietly. He had to speak to her, even if it was the last time she would acknowledge him. He had to know if their friendship was destroyed forever.

The witch looked up into the dark eyes of her old friend. He did it for her? "Why?"

"You were my best friend. I hate that Pott—er—I ruined that." Severus stopped and took a deep breath before continuing. "When I heard about the prophecy and knew that you may be involved, I had to help in some way… I had to keep my best friend safe…"

Lily nodded, though did not look particularly ready to forgive him for their past problems. "Thank you, Severus," she said. There wasn't much else that could be said. They hadn't been friends for years. After everything that had happened, she couldn't just forgive him with one gesture, if he really was using the gesture to help and not to turn on the entire Order and her. Using his given name was already a difficult step for her to take. She missed her best friend but… Too much had happened…

The corner of Severus's mouth twitched upwards slightly at the sound of his given name on the witch's lips. It was something he hadn't heard in years. Something he often longed for in ways he would never admit out loud. She didn't say much else, but that one smidgen of a gesture told him that their friendship could be salvaged. It would just take time… But he knew that he couldn't lose her again. Thanks to his being able to find Dumbledore and warn him of the prophecy, it was likely he would get the time to make amends with the stubborn witch.

Lily turned away from the wizard that was once her best friend and her first connection to the wizarding world. She turn to her husband to let him know she was ready to leave. The Order would hear about the prophecy at the next meeting and she was sure plenty more questions would be asked, more people worrying about her and the baby, and more people arguing about what should be done. For tonight, she wanted to go home.

When the last of the Order had gone, and all that remained was Dumbledore and Snape, the old wizard turned to the young Death Eater. "Do you know what to do?" That damn twinkle was back in his eye.

"Yes, sir."

The elderly wizard stepped out of the room, leaving Severus Snape alone at last.

Death Eater Headquarters

The warmth of the fire covered his body from head to toe as the Floo network spun him around and around before making it to his destination. Floo was never his preferred choice of transportation simply because of the nauseating spinning paired with the overwhelming warmth of the flames. After years spent in the cold Slytherin dungeon at Hogwarts, he certainly was not a fan of too much warmth. Severus Snape came out of the fireplace into a large, dark room. The fireplace was the only source of light in the room and he watched as the dull green glow from the flames behind him changed into the usual red-orange that filled the room. There was the faint sound of intense chatter in the next room. That was where Severus turned to head to next. That was where the Dark Lord would be.

He walked into the room and, at the sound of his footsteps on the cold tile, the chatter in the room stopped and the fierce eyes of Lord Voldemort slowly turned toward him. Severus, ignoring the rest of the eyes that were now focused on him, walked right up to the man that sat in a large chair at the head of the room.

"My Lord," the wizard said with a slight bow that made his greasy hair fall over the sides of his face, shielding the others in the room from his peripheral vision. "I have infiltrated the Order of the Phoenix, as you asked. Dumbledore trusts me and has asked me to be his spy." Severus kept his face in stone as he spoke in a low voice to his master. He was determined to make this plan work. He was going to be a double agent. He refused to let his guard down and immediately began to strengthen on Occlumency shields in his mind.

A cruel smile spread across the thin lips of the dark wizard at the high end of the room. "Severus…" For a moment, Severus thought he was caught and the Dark Lord had seen through him. He could feel the skilled Legilimens attempting to penetrate his mind but he was a master at Occlumency. He had to have mastered occlumency long before becoming a Death Eater… Especially a Death Eater that was going to betray the most powerful dark wizard of all time.

"You did well, I see," the cold voice of Voldemort spoke again. "You will continue to go to these meetings at the Order. Bring me all the information you can. We will crush our enemies. We will end this war. And we will rule all of both the wizarding and muggle worlds." With that, the crowd in the room applauded at the idea of finally winning this war. Severus smirked, satisfied that his plan was working, and smug that his Occlumency shields had held against Lord Voldemort himself.

With a slight raise of his hand, the excitement in the room died down for the Dark Lord to speak. "We have received the information we were waiting for. You are all dismissed for the night. Do not forget your missions. We must all be on full alert in order to take control of what is rightfully ours." He waved his long pale hand and there were murmurs of "thank you, my Lord" and "good night, my Lord" as Death Eaters started to leave the room.

Severus watched as one witch stayed still, eyeing him suspiciously and glaring. Bellatrix Lestrange sat in the corner and had been looking almost bored through the whoops of excitement from her fellow Death Eaters. Next to her stood a tall wizard with dark, sandy blonde hair. Severus saw his mouth form the word "Bella" before the raven-haired witch broke her gaze and turned to the blonde. Although he was not her husband, he held out his hand to help her out of the chair she sat in and she followed him out of the room to where they both disappeared into the Floo.