Chapter 9
Expansion
Alice found herself amazed at how quickly time seemed to fly by when she had actual things to do rather than be trapped inside a locket. There was certainly a new appreciation for the freedoms of having a body that she would never lose even as she came into the slight changes that had come with the Locket.
Another change was that she found herself more willing to be cruel again, and she decided to fix her little eye issue in a somewhat cruel way. She would not be hindered by poor eyesight forever, and the glasses had long annoyed her. She loved her own eyes, whether green or red, and would not hide them away behind the abominable lenses.
There was one little ritual, a rather illegal bit of Dark Magic, that would allow her to trade traits with someone, namely giving someone else her poor eyesight in return for that persons superior eyesight. She had to do a little extra research just to make sure it wouldn't accidentally change her eyes to theirs first, since the Dark Lord had never needed to perform this ritual himself and only knew about it in passing.
Once she was sure of that, it was all about picking her victim. Dudley or his gang would have been easiest, as she could easily steal them away for a ritual, but knew that would be a bit noticeable to the Dursleys. She might enjoy tormenting them a little, but she didn't want to push too hard. It would be a shame if she was forced to kill them when they tried to avenge their son. She would have to pick someone the Dursleys wouldn't care about.
While she could have gone after any random person with ease, her childish side preferred picking on someone who had wronged her, if only to make it feel a little more like justice. The Dark Lady agreed for crueler reasons and began to target an old school bully.
Olivia King had not been part of Dudley's gang, and wasn't the usual physical brute kind of bully. What she did do was put others down verbally. Alice Potter used to cry over the harsh words, as she was told over and over how unpretty she was. Luckily, Alice Riddle liked her looks just fine and was not so easily brought down. But Olivia had not stopped being the same spiteful little brat to others, including on occasion to Webby. Both sides of her brain agreed this was unacceptable behavior, and would be teaching the little girl a lesson.
The small tainted innocence inside Alice thought she might enjoy stalking her prey and plotting cruelty just a little too much, but Alice was used to pushing that voice back and moving forward with her dark side. She spent a while tracking the girl home, noting any friends that came over or other such interruptions that could come into play when she enacted her plan. It turned out she didn't need to be quite so thorough, as Olivia never had anyone over. Did King not have any friends? Well, goes to show that being a bully didn't always work out for people.
Her next step was to quietly break into the house and learn her way around. It was important to learn the layout of the girl's room when she would be alone. After taking note of that, it was all about timing.
Alice decided she would do her ritual on her ninth birthday. It was quickly becoming a thing to consider these rituals as birthday events. Megan was all too willing to help like the little minion she was. And so on the night before her birthday, they snuck together into the house, apparating straight into her room. Olivia King was not yet in her room, however, and the two found themselves waiting in the darkness.
"Don't you look at me that way, bitch!" Both Alice and Megan jumped at the voice of an adult man coming from the direction of the living room and looked at each other. Alice had to listen carefully, and even then the shouting had mostly gotten muffled and mumbled from within the room, but she saw Megan twitch with every word, her elven ears picking it up better. There was a grimace growing between them as they continued to quietly listen.
It was near an hour before the door opened and Olivia entered her bedroom somberly and moved towards the bed without turning on the lights. She didn't see the two figures in a corner of her room, and Alice could guess that teary eyes might have helped their stealth here. Megan was staring at her as though waiting for permission, but her eagerness at the little revenge for the school bully had faded.
Alice debated with herself for a moment if she wanted to go through with this anymore, and once more the dueling opinions of her two sides warred within her. Her inner child (or perhaps she should start calling it her inner Potter instead, with the way it had become so justice minded lately) wanted to give this up and give that father of Olivia's a piece of her mind. The Dark Lady was much more selfish, and desired to continue the ritual, but offered a compromise of also dealing with this father if it would placade the other side of her brain.
The two agreed and Alice nodded quietly as she came to her decision. Megan snapped her fingers and no noise within the room could be heard anymore. Olivia looked around with a start and rubbed her eyes, trying to find the source of the snap. Alice raised her right hand and her magic seized the girl.
Olivia King found herself going from the emotional turmoil of her father's latest drunken ramblings and insults to being terrified out of her mind as she was ripped out of her bed and felt like she was being held tightly in the hand of some massive creature. She screamed, not realizing no one could hear her.
"Megan, be a dear and make her quiet, please. Even if the other muggles can't hear it, I already don't want to hear it." Alice kept her voice cool and calm as she spoke, as if this didn't bother her at all. She was good at acting that way, even with a tinge of guilt at scaring the abused child so much.
The part-elf was quick to obey as always, her fingers snapping towards a drawer that sent a pair of socks flying at the girls mouth, stuffing it and muffling her screams of panic while also quickly making them stick so she couldn't just spit them out. Alice smiled just slightly and noted that she preferred the muffled screams to the full volume ones.
"Olivia, if you don't stop screaming I am afraid you will anger me further," she told the girl, who upon hearing this became quieter. "Much better. Now, I am going to let you down, and when I do, you shall kneel before me like a good girl and stay silent. Failure to obey shall be punished, understand?" Alice allowed her eyes to flash red at this, enjoying the cringe in her victims face. She might feel a bit bad for the girl, but that didn't stop her sadistic inner Dark Lady from loving every moment of this.
Olivia was dropped down to the ground with a thud. Her mind was reeling from the strange nightmare she seemed to have found herself, where that weird Potter girl and that Webby had her so helpless and pathetic. She didn't dare resist, however as she found herself on her knees quickly, looking up at them like a puppy to its owner. A very frightened puppy, at least.
Alice locked her eyes with the girl, and with a touch of Leglilimency allowed the images to flow. The had not been the first time Mr. King had taken out his anger on his child, though the man had at least the decency to not get physical with his daughter. The wife was not quite so lucky at times. Her victim flinched as she shared in the memories forced to the front of her mind, her frightened face now mixed with shame.
"I have a deal for you, King," she said, and noticed Megan perk up a little as she realized this would not be going quite the same as planned anymore. "How would you like it if I took care of a few issues with your dad?"
Olivia's eyes widened at that. Of course whatever answer she gave went muffled since she was still gagged with her own socks. Alice considered telling Megan to remove them, but the sound amused her so she waited. "No more drinking, no more hurtful words, no more hitting your mother. Nod if you think that would be fantastic." She grinned at the slow nodding that quickly followed her words, though she could already see the question of how that was possible in the girl.
"As you now know, Olivia, I can do spectacular things," she mused with pride. "But I won't work for free. I came here with the intention to take something from you, and now I see an opportunity for you to give it to me willingly." A willing offering was usually better for rituals then an unwilling one anyway, and increased the chance of success. "Since I offer you a better life, I think it is fair that you give that life to me in return." She paused as she saw some confusion at this demand. "I will have you swear your service to me. You'll obey my commands and give me whatever I ask of you. In exchange, I will make sure your home life becomes much happier."
She paused again to let that sink in, and noticed Megan frowning now. Oh, her poor little house elf was looking a touch jealous at the idea of her Mistress getting another minion. Alice couldn't help but find the expression simply adorable. She put a hand on her friend's shoulder to alleviate her worries a little. "Nod if you accept, King. This is a one-time offer." There was another nod and Alice found a victorious grin. There was not like take charge of people and turning them into her minions, and it was much better doing it with an enemy then a friend.
Her inner Dark Lady was practically purring in satisfaction. Best compromise with its other half it ever agreed to. Now all she had to do was stretch out the limits of her legilimency on a muggle mind ill prepared for her assault, and easily molded by her will. This was going to be fun.
HPHPHPHPHPHPHP
Olivia King took to grumbling and complaining under her breath when school had begun again. At first, the deal had seemed to work out entirely in her favor. Sure, her vision became blurry and she had to wear glasses (she supposed she'd never be able to call anyone else four-eyes again without making herself feel bad), but Potter had been true to her word, or rather, Mistress Riddle had.
Her father went from a bitter drunk to a pleasant father overnight. He was more hard working then before so she saw him less, but what she did see was a vast improvement, and he no longer bitched at her mother for anything. It took mom a while to get used to the new status quo, but eventually she came to trust that this new man was not going back to his old ways and came out of a shell that she had been living in for a few years. The rest of Olivia's summer was great, and the witch who made it happen didn't seem to be too quick to bother her again.
But then school began, and Olivia was instantly uneasy when she saw Alice Potter smirking at her. The cost was about to become apparent. Over the next week, she had been ordered around, told to carry Alice's books, or fetch some food or drink for her, or any other little choir that came to mind. The evil little girl took no small amount of pleasure in taking her former bully and turning her into a servant.
After that week, Olivia made the mistake of trying to disobey. She had tried to go home before Alice got to her and started ordering her around again. "Oh, trying to escape me, Olivia?" she heard behind her as a shiver of fear rose in her body. "That's quite naughty, my minion, and I think I'll have to punish you for that."
Olivia found herself teleported away to some secret room somewhere for those punishments, where the Dark Lady would practice some 'minor curses' on her while she begged for mercy. She was told that was a light punishment compared to what Alice's 'father' would have done, and Olivia didn't much resist after that.
The once outspoken bully was a much more demure figure by the end of her first month as Alice's servant. Her muttering had ceased after a few light punishments for speaking bad about her 'Mistress'. As intimidated she was, Olivia thought she had actually traded up a little bit in her lot in life. At least Mistress Riddle was often quite pleased with her obedience, which was a far cry to always coming home to a disappointed father.
Once she was trained into obedience, Alice stopped giving her petty tasks for her amusement. Olivia was not sure if this was because Alice had decided to move past some cruelty with her, or if it was because Megan always looked like she wished she was being ordered around as much. In any case, Olivia was given much different assignments as Alice designed a more specialized role for her within the group.
Olivia was made to wake up early every morning and start jogging every day. She was told to eat healthier. After a few weeks of this, she was told to get her father to sign her up for some sort of martial arts lessons. Alice told her she was being molded into being her personal muscle, though Olivia did not understand why. Alice hardly needed it with her power.
"Because I don't need everyone knowing what I can do," she was told. "And there is always a need to send someone else to do my dirty work, or to watch my back and cover the exits." Olivia nodded and obeyed without further question. It wasn't her place to question, after all, and Mistress knew much better than her.
Alice was very pleased to see she was just a good at turning people into loyal, obedient minions as her father. No, in fact, she was sure she was even better.
HPHPHPHPHPHPHP
The acquisition of a second follower awoke a desire to rule that had begun with a little boy in an orphanage long ago. She had not been joking when she claimed she wanted to rule the world. It was a true desire, and every followed command was making her want more and more. Of course, it wasn't an entirely selfish desire on her part, she really did believe she could make a better world if she were in charge of it.
She would start with the magical British Isles first, of course, but as the day her return to the Wizarding World as Alice Potter came closer, she started to really think of what she needed to do. She had a general idea of what the Wizarding World was like on the surface, and the kind of position she would be in. She was famous and adored, and from a noble family to boot. She had been dealt a great hand to play with, but she felt the urge to do more.
She knew she couldn't let little hero Alice Potter be seen doing anything questionable in public, and she had developed an alternative that could step into the shadows in her place. Deliria Lovedoll was an unknown that could step in and do what she needed in the darker parts of this magical world she would claim as her own.
So it was that Deliria began to visit Knockturn Alley a bit more often, her glamour now safe locked within the Locket while in use. Her initial journeys were met with curious suspicion by regulars to the alley, like she could be an auror attempting to go under cover. She could hardly blame them for suspicion, even if it was unwarranted. Lucius was keeping the aurors on a small budget, and they weren't likely to spend it sending their recruits to die in this alley.
Still, the suspicion would work for a while, but she needed the caution to fade at some point. She allowed herself to wander to the dark and deserted corners of Knockturn, letting herself look vulnerable, but it took three days of the laying the bait for her prey to be lured in.
Tom Riddle had started his recruiting in school, where he was rubbing shoulders with both the lower end muscle and the high class heirs of great wealth. Alice Riddle knew she could split her focus, Alice Potter from above and Deliria Lovedoll from below. So Deliria needed to start with the lowest of the low.
Magical Britain had long held a problem of possessing more citizens then career options. They combated this problem by keeping the status of jobless and poor to the unwanted as often as possible, giving little to nothing to Werewolves and Muggleborns. Well, there used to be a problem for Muggleborns, but the aftermath of the war had brought Muggleborns forward closer to the middle class of Wizarding society. Unfortunately, this meant of a few of the purebloods and half-bloods had slipped into the cracks after their families lost their fortunes pushing the Pureblood Agendy.
If Voldemort came back today, they would have been easily recruited into his pocket on the promise of returning their family names to glory. Deliria would have a harder time, since she wasn't going to be pushing that agenda herself, but the Underworld could still be taken with just a bit of cunning and great power.
"Leave your wand a' home, sweetheart?" came a voice behind her, and Deliria smiled as she spun around in the dead end back alley she baited them into. There were three men, which would be a small start but it would do. They were blocking the opening like she couldn't apparate away, but then it wasn't like all of Britain could.
She felt some disappointment as she studied them, two dumb brutes she probably wouldn't even need to remember the names of and a smaller man that had a face she didn't like to see from a man. There was one lesson Tom Riddle's memories could not teach her, that people like this looked at a woman much differently than a man. It was disgusting what thoughts she found bubbling the front of his mind when she looked him in the eyes.
"Oh don' be like tha," said the man in the middle with a cocky grin, noticing her disgusted frown. "I promise I'll go easy on ya. Ya might even like it before we're done."
Deliria sighed. She knew these three were a waste of her talents, but she had her audience and the show must go on. She took a breath and then grinned, letting her confidence show. "I'm sure I am going to enjoy this much more then you, Scabior." She winked as he blinked, surprised by such a simple trick as knowing his name. "As for my wand, I was looking for a new one. How about yours?"
She raised her hand and the man was pulled towards her. He looked startled, and she could hear the thought before he said it. "Auror!" Seriously, they thought any witch that could outdo them must be an auror? Rather prideful, this lot. She snapped his wand out of his hand the moment he raised it before kicking him straight between his legs. If she were honest, she did that solely for the sin of having to witness his dirty mind in person. He deserved it.
"Oh please, do I strike you as a good little girl?" she asked. Two stunners whizzed towards her and she twisted her body around them smoothly as she could. She felt a smile on her face as she realized this was her first official duel, and her eyes shifted red as she lusted for the thrill of it. "Expelliarmus!" she cried, and felt magic moving into light and sailing out of the wand to one of the brutes, who wand flew out of her hand. The other ducked out of the back alley and returned fire from behind cover. Oh, at least one of them appeared to have a brain for this sort of work. With a flick of the wand in her hand she moved her wandless victim in the way of the incoming spells.
"Stunners still?" she called out merrily. "Has Knockturn Alley gotten soft without the Dark Lord or do you just want me alive that bad?" She cackled, and knew she was emulating sweet Bella more than she was her father. "Bombarda!"
She blew a chunk out of the cover he was hiding behind, and he fell back with a grunt. Not even a scream, hmm? That one was worth keeping if she could improve his technique a bit. Another flick and the fallen man was pulled into the alley. Now they were the ones helpless, and Alice was feeling the urge to teach them who this trap was really meant for.
A few more flicks and she had them lined up on the wall, and then waking up the one who was knocked out. Scabior was still reeling from the kick while the other man eyed her wearily. She did a quick scan of the others. Doloric Draper, the stupid one, hadn't done so well at Hogwarts and found out that not a lot of people hired idiots without a single O.W.L. to their name and had spent six years working as hired muscle for whoever would take him on. The other man was younger, only a year out of Hogwarts. Daniel Williams was good Slytherin half-blood boy who wasn't quite so good at house politics. Suddenly found he couldn't get a job in the Ministry after pissing off the wrong rich boy. Oh yes, that was the one she could really make something out of.
"You boys bit off more than you can chew, I think," she mused with a giggle, but her eyes blazed blood red. The combination of girlish giggle and inhuman horror made the men pale as they stared. "I think someone should be punished for that, don't you think? But I am a merciful Mistress with a lot of ambition. So, just answer a simple question, and I'll let you off with a warning. Who do you work for?"
They stared at her silently, but she allowed herself to hold her patience. Draper gave a really stupid look, while Scabior and Williams were both smart enough to let him make the first mistake. "I'm workin' for Scabior," said the dumb one of the three.
She eliminated all thoughts that she was possibly an auror as she pointed her wand at him. "Crucio," she said with a smile, and felt a sadistic rush at his scream. She imagined that without the Dark Lord to draw the heat that the Unforgivable Curses were being less used lately. Wasn't worth a life sentence in peaceful times. The cringe of the other two men made her think her guess was right. She only held the curse for two seconds, but it was enough to make a painful memory that would last a lifetime. "Wrong, Draper, but thanks for making an effort." Her grin turned to the other two. "Let's have another guess."
Williams looked at her wearily as Scabior gulped audibly. "Whatever your name is, Miss," said the young man with a gruff voice that like his tall body made him seem older then he really was.
"That, Williams, is the correct answer. And I can tell you that my name is Deliria Lovedoll, but you can just call me 'Boss'." She gave him a look of approval before turning to Scabior. "Afraid that means it punishment time for you, my new employee." Another quick, and this time silently cast crucio and he was squirming on the ground. "And I'm keeping the wand, I think. We'll just have to get you a new one. I must say, Knockturn Alley gangs have gotten weak over the years. Only Williams really impressed me, though I suppose that's a little unfair to you, Scabior. I did surprise you, after all. Not to worry though, I'm sure it won't be happening again." Her grin held greater menace in it before her red eyes faded into black.
"Now, I know that was a rough interview, Gentlewizards, so I suggest we take a break and get something at the White Wyvern while we talk."
