A/N Apology to all my alerters: The chapter keeps deleting itself, hence its numerous emails, but hopefully it won't happen again!

Chapter 7

Bellatrix hated Tara for running away. Although she would not admit it, it mentally hurt her, seeing the only thing in the world that she saw as rightfully hers abandon her. All she wanted was for Tara to grow up, and be more successful in the dark art than her mother, but holding a letter she had just received, Bellatrix knew that wasn't possible. She was in the living room of her stolen house, sitting in an ancient arm chair, cockroaches and other vermin running circles around her feet on the dirt-coated floor. A fire had been lit in the centre of the room, onto which Bellatrix kept throwing various things that belonged to the muggles who had inhabited the house before: photos of little children with their parents, smiling, videos of weddings, births and birthdays, toys, now covered in dust. She had no feeling for anything she threw onto the crackling fire, and took pleasure in hearing the muggle memorabilia crackle in the flames.

Bellatrix started laughing as she reached the end of the letter, despite feeling as though someone had plunged a knife into the spot her heart should be in. From now on, Tara was no longer her daughter. She wanted nothing more to do with her: her name was poison. Bellatrix stood up and scrunched up the letter in her fist. She stuck it just above the fire, and ignored the pain of the flames licking her knuckles. Seconds later, she opened the fist, and the letter, which had turned to ash, fell into the heart of the fire. She watched the ashes turn to embers, and then went out of the house, into the cold November air, which shocked her lungs. She realised she hadn't been outside in months, and the harsh Winter sunlight felt like it was burning her. As she started up the street, a thought occurred to her: she couldn't just leave the house like it was. Someone would find he3r out. With this in mind, she shouted "Avada Kedava!" The green curse smashed through the front window, into the front room, and as soon as it made contact with the fire, it erupted, engulfing the entire house, as well as several houses near it. As muggles cautiously came out of their houses to see what the eruption was, they could hear Bellatrix's laughter, disappearing round the corner of the street.

Bellatrix apparated as soon as she was out of sight, appearing in the middle of a cemetery. Nearby, she could hear the sea, eating away at the immense cliffs which bore the brunt of it. She had been here once before, and only knew the place by the name 'Reaper's Court'. A shiver ran down her spine, making her smile evilly. She slowly made her way to the centre of the graveyard, mumbling to herself in gibberish. If anyone had been close to her, they might have caught snippets of what she was saying, but the graveyard was deserted. In fact, Bellatrix knew that a large area around it was deserted too.

She soon reached a towering, stone monument in the centre, and ran her finger over the name it bore- 'Tom Riddle'. Despite not being mentally stable, Bellatrix knew what had happened the night Voldemort had tried to kill Harry Potter: he had nearly been killed himself. Also, she knew that most Death Eaters would desert him, believing him to be pathetically weak, powerless or dead. However, imaging the Dark Lord's delight when she announced that she had remained loyal made Bellatrix's body fill with pleasure. For some reason, she knew Voldemort would be in this graveyard, not dead, but in hiding. She wanted to find and help him, and she knew exactly how to.

Bellatrix, my dear, it has been a long time," a voice said, emanating from an unknown source from behind Tom Riddle's grave. "You know me well enough that you found me here." Bellatrix's eyes widened: this was the moment she had been waiting for.

"I know how to restore you, my lord," Bellatrix said, turning around. She found herself facing a tall, cloaked figure, a black hood concealing the head. Voldemort was dishevelled and skeletal, and by looking into the hood. Bellatrix could see his red eyes, barely more than narrow slits in his head. "I know how to give you a proper body."

"How? I have searched: many have searched, and we all have failed. How can it be that you, a traitor, have found a way?" Voldemort spat at Bellatrix with disgust. She knew that he would be angry with her for killing the body of Tom Riddle he had given her.

"Please, you have to understand: my motives were pure. He didn't understand my dark ways," Bellatrix stuttered, a hint of desperation in her voice. "I want the real thing: you, not a mere, slushy memory." There was a pause of several seconds in which an air of uncertainty hung between Bellatrix and Voldemort.

"You are saying my magic went wrong?" Voldemort said in a fake-sweet voice. Bellatrix saw his bony hand, barely holding a long wand, rise and aim at her.

"Not at all! He was just...too human!" Bellatrix shouted. This explanation seemed to have done the trick, as Voldemort lowered his wand.

"Please, then, you have come here to restore me, alas capturing my interests, and when you have done so, I can promise you what you want," Voldemort said. The reward made Bellatrix set to work straight away. She had started chanting a long, complex spell, only stopping to wipe the sweat off her furrowed brow.

"My Lord, if you would step into the red circle, you will gain the body you had as a 16 year old," Bellatrix said, after two minutes of non-stop chanting. On the floor in front of Tom Riddle's grave, was a red circle imprinted on the dewy grass. Voldemort made his way to the centre of the circle, and almost immediately, let ,out a scream of agony. Bellatrix gasped: she must have done something wrong. She rushed towards him, and saw that he had turned into the 16 year old Tom Riddle. He was almost identical, although there was a glimmer of something in his eyes which hadn't been there before. Bellatrix sighed with relief, but a wave of pain washed over her body, causing her to scream in the way Voldemort had done. She fell to the floor as Voldemort rose, and the pain suddenly stopped.

"You fool! You've got the effects of the spell on your body too!" Voldemort sneered. He sounded more human now, hardly seeming like a mass murderer and the darkest wizard of all time. Bellatrix got up onto her feet. She felt a bit smaller, and as she stepped out of the circle, a brilliant plan entered her head. She turned to look at Voldemort, but found him staring intently at her, his reddish eyes fixated on her black pupils. He knew what she was thinking: he knew the plan. He lifted his wand, and with a single flick, his black hair turned blond, and his eyes turned sky-blue. He also grew several inches in the space of a few seconds. Bellatrix understood what he wanted her to do: if they were to follow her plan, and go back to Hogwarts, to kill Harry Potter, she would have to disguise herself. With a flick of her wand, her lank, black hair turned blond and curly, and her sullen face turned into the face of someone trust-worthy and approachable.

"As promised, your reward," Voldemort said simply. He leant forward and kissed Bellatrix, giving her what she had craved for so long. She was smiling she sunk to the ground...


Tara: Chapter 6 wasn't very good...not many hits or reviews...although thanks to those who did review!

Me: I know. I will rewrite it, but I hope this chapter is better. By the by, I know Voldemort is in Quirrel's body for the first book, but I am changing it for the story line :P

Bellatrix: I sure think this is better...

Voldemort: The review count must reach 42 or above for the next chapter...or I will get you...

Harry: Put nicely, please review! I want to see Bellatrix's plan unfold... :P