Under the Influence – Voldemort's Loyal Servant
Disclaimer: I am not JK Rowling. JK Rowling I am not. I am not her immediate family, distant family, unknown family, or her publisher, editor, or associate. I am a fan of her writing and I have used her characters to create this story which was imagined by me. However, I will not ever in my lifetime own or control the Harry Potter series. Disclaimer, disclaimer, disclaimer!
The evenings were as most evenings were in the manor. The room was dimly lit with white dripless candelabras, the portraits whispered amongst each other but the rest of the manor was laced in silence. The dark lord sat at the honorary end of a counter-height cherry wood table. A black velvet tablecloth was draped over the place his elbows rested. His white skull-like head was hidden in his long fingered hands. He was in deepest reflection of which no one knew, but no one would be crazy enough to ask. Most of the death eaters were absent tonight in order to give the dark lord the ample atmosphere for his deep pondering. As she watched him she would notice a smile creep to his pinkish lips which would quickly be dismissed by a frown moments later. One thing was certain: whatever he thought about was serious.
Bellatrix stared out the large glassy window of the manor. The rain outside slowly dripped down the gutters making a gurgling drip-drop sound. She sat cross legged in an old wooden chair pretending to stare out at the storm, while the only thing she could focus on was her master's reflection. She could not stand him looking so unwell. She twisted her coarse hair between her overgrown fingernails nervously. 'My dear lord… my dearest lord. Oh he does not look well does he? I wish I could speak with him but he is too focused.' Bellatrix remembered distinctly the last time she had interrupted nights like tonight, a painfully simple cruciatus curse had been enough to put her right. The dark lord had only seemed too elated. She sighed in her silence and cast him an admiring gaze which he did not return. His slit red eyes were closed. He did not notice her. She wished she could cheer him up. She wished that for one lousy night he'd stop obsessing over the rotten Potter boy. Honestly, the boy hardly thought of him at all. He always seemed to wing the moment and win. It was understandable that the dark lord did not want to be thwarted again but this was getting ridiculous. He could use a tip from the twat.
Curiously enough, Bellatrix considered herself spontaneous. It was always much easier to act on pure guts than it was to follow a plan, although, she made it work in harmony. Suddenly and surely spontaneously, an idea fell into head. It was a brilliant idea but also terrible and dangerous. 'He would surely kill me if this went wrong… oh but it shouldn't… no… that Snape man has been tricking him all along, I know it, and I know it inside. How hard could it be to trick him the same? Bella, Bella that's a bad idea… a dreadful plan. But surely I'd succeed. But what if you didn't Bella?' Bellatrix moaned slightly. Her mind was arguing with her. She swiftly turned her head to see her master still unflinching from his position at the table. She made her decision without thinking it through and she was at her feet before she realized the storm had stopped. Her feet seemed to guide her through the room and the elegantly carpeted hallway that followed it. She swung open a door that unleashed a terrible odor. Severus Snape stood tall, hands behind back looking at her with a raised brow. Bellatrix did not fear him. She merely envied him and regretted the dark lord's ignorance to see through the bastard. Her black eyes narrowed to his level. Though he stood taller than her, there was a distinguishable look of surprise on his face.
"Bellatrix." He spoke curtly.
"Snape," She spoke swiftly, "It would appear that Wormtail requires your assistance."
"For?"
"He seems to require some shining potion for his silver arm. It looks like it's rusting."
Severus rolled his eyes, "Wormtail should know better than to make requests of a superior-"
"But he doesn't." Bellatrix finished for him quickly. "Now kindly return his summons because I don't want to hear him whining anymore."
Snape stared at her angrily. She knew he was looking for something to say to her but he seemed at a loss for words. He seized a black vial from the far shelf and stormed out of the room.
As soon as he was out of sight Bellatrix began to search the shelves of potions desperately. Surely Snape had the room long memorized but how were these potions organized? By category? Light and dark? Bottle size? Quantity? Her dark eyes scanned the room in furious need over the faded labels. Perhaps they were arranged alphabetically?
'Pepperup… Polyjuice…Scintillating solution… yes they're in alphabetical order!' Bellatrix thought eagerly as she moved desperately to her left where the letters descended. She finally found a tall blood-red vial with the desired tag. She smiled as she held it affectionately in her hand. She quickly made her way over to the cabinets where she withdrew an empty vial hastily. Snape would return any moment, she was sure. She pulled the cork from the empty vial with her teeth and emptied the contents from the red vial into it. The pretty scented potion sent a steam heart into the air as it was transferred into the new bottle. Bellatrix put the stopper over it and swiftly stored it in her dress. She stared at the empty vial nervously. She could not leave it that way; Severus would surely notice it was missing. She pointed her wand at the empty vial.
"Aguamenti," she hissed as she heard feet moving on the stairs. The little bottle filled with water but looked no different as she put the stopper over it again and returned it to its proper place. Her work was done. She disapperated on the spot before she could have an unwanted confrontation with the greasy-haired man. She reappeared in the kitchen which was opportunely, empty. She laughed manically as she conjured a slab of steak that fell neatly onto a plate followed by cooked bacon and onions. The plate steamed magnificently. The dark lord would not deny himself a tasty supper while plotting the downfall of Potter would he? 'No he would not.' Bellatrix assured herself after seeing many other Death Eaters try to butter up to the man in the same fashion.
Bellatrix's feet seemed to glide over to a cabinet where she extracted a bottle of elderflower wine. She poured the man a generous glass of white-clear liquid and located the potion from the insides of her dress. Without stopping to reconsider or foolishly think things through, she had emptied her bottle into the wine glass. The wine did not discolor. It bubbled for a moment and then returned to normal. Bellatrix traced her index finger around the rim of the glass. Perfect. This was too perfect.
The tall dark woman emerged from the kitchen smugly, like a server, her wand hand was pointed at the steak plate which she steered across the room to the Dark Lord's place. Her free hand clutched the wine glass which she held at the level of her own head. An optimistic, but dark smirk had settled on her face. The dark lord took no notice as she set his dinner inches away from him.
"My dear lord," she said briskly as she noticed his red eyes snap open, "I ask for forgiveness for my interruption, but I'd like to make sure you maintain good health. I've prepared a dinner for you." There was no hint of goodness in her voice as she said it. It was nearly nasty.
The dark lord eyed her and then nodded as he pressed the wine glass to his lips. He took a sip. Bellatrix remained immobile.
"It would be in your best interest Bella to leave me to my work again." The dark lord said in a cold high pitched voice. Bellatrix felt a rush of warmth at the sound of her beloved nickname.
Yet, knowing a dismissal when she heard one, Bellatrix vacated the dining room knowing that it would only be a matter of time…
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A/N: So yeah, I know obviously, Voldemort would probably recognize a love potion if he was slipped one, but would he really check from Bellatrix? I don't think so. Humorous chapters to follow! Hope you are enjoying it so far!!!