Chapter 20: Like Father, Like Daughter

Author's Preface: The sheer length of reviews I've received over chapter 18 was something of a long and (at times) annoying process. I know I snapped at a few of you, and for that I apologize. In this chapter, we do hear Voldemort's thoughts on the matter.

"Mi'lord, you cannot honestly believe that girl, can you?" asked Lucius, seated in one of the two wing-back chairs of his manor. The Dark Lord was in another, and they were both sipping brandy while watching a fire.

"I do, Lucius. She could not lie to me. While her mind is multi-tracked enough to learn occlumency, she has never had a teacher for it. And if she did learn, I highly doubt even I could break through her focus."

"You are certain of this, Mi'lord?" asked Lucius.

"Of course, I am certain, Lucius. I watched her mind for her entire performance. She believed herself to be telling the truth, and she spent much of the time weighing whether or not she could kill me by drawing a pistol and shooting me."

On this, Lucius was silent.

"Certainly it would not succeed?"

"I've never tested my magic against muggle firearms, Lucius, but watching her mind calculate the physical properties of arrow wards against the kinetic energy of bullets was a thought to behold. That she was doing it while giving us the presentation demonstrates a mind that borders on multiple personality disorder, if it weren't all her. Honestly, she could likely think about something else entirely while having sex."

On this, Lucius nodded in bewilderment.

"You seem impressed, my lord, by a mere mudblood."

"Crucio," intoned Riddle. "I do believe I informed you not to say that work about her?"

"Ah, r-right, mi-mi'lord. But her presentation, you cannot honestly take it to heart, can you? She must be weighting it in her direction?"

"Of course she slanted it, Lucius. But that doesn't change the content of the presentation. The Granger girl isn't the sort who will lie. She honestly believes that if we declared war on the Muggles, they would win. And she's right, unfortunately."

"You cannot honestly believe that, mi'lord!"

"Lucius, I know you have a brain, please use it. How many muggleborn graduate all the magical schools in Britain each year?"

"Perhaps... thirty or forty?"

"Perhaps in your day, Lucius. This year, it will be around one hundred and forty. How many do you think stay in the wizarding world?"

On this, Lucius fell silent.

"That many?"

"Yes. That many. How many stay in the Wizarding World? Ten? Twenty?"

Lucius nodded.

"Exactly. And generally they're all women who marry into it. Consider that for a moment. Now, I ask you, how many of them would be willing to serve the crown in such a war? The usual number is one in ten, but I'm sure if the muggles put in some effort, they could get one in four or five. thirty people, every year, dedicated to finding us, and wiping us out."

"But there are ways, mi'lord! Spells to destroy them!"

"The muggleborns? Of course. Except they will be protected."

"No, the muggles themselves!"

"Yes. But who can cast them? Myself? Dumbledore? Who else?"

On this, Lucius fell silent.

"Precisely, Lucius. And who can use their weapons? Anyone. That is our quandary, Lucius. They can choke us with sheer numbers, and use those we have cast out and thrown aside to hunt us down like cattle. And do not forget the number of light-sided wizard that would flock to their banner if it was I, Voldemort, leading the charge against them."

At this, Lucius nodded.

"No, such an attempt would leave a wasteland of corpses. There are other ways of ruling the muggle world. Granger has provided us a warning. We are going to have to remove some of the more dangerous elements of our own ranks."

"Remove?"

"Yes, Lucius. Remove. Some of them are to mentally unstable. Their own arrogance has damaged their minds. Yes Severus?"

At this, the door opened, and Severus Snape stood with a goblet of potion.

"The potion you have asked for, mi'lord."

"Thank you, Severus. Place it on the table. Lucius, if you would fetch your sister-in-law?"

"Of course, mi'lord," said Lucius, standing to leave.

"And I do hope you consider what I've stated?"

Lucius froze, and realize what the Dark Lord was stating.

"Yes, mi'lord. I understand."

"Excellent, Lucius. I knew I could count on you. Come up with some ideas on what to do. And Lucius?"

"Yes, mi'lord?"

"Play to your strengths."

"Of course, mi'lord." With that, Lucius left to find Bellatrix.

"Bellatrix, mi'lord?"

"Yes. Bellatrix," said Riddle, eyeing the potion distastefully. "You may leave, Severus."

"Of course, mi'lord."

0x0x0x0

While he refused to admit it, he would have liked to have brought the cane. He didn't like using it, mostly because Lily would, well, mother him. She'd hover, and ask if he was alright. He didn't mind it so much, except she was so constant. So he ditched the cane, and toughed it out with his usual "I'm fine" and a lot of private wincing.

He did, also, begin teaching Sunstripe and Azalea. He'd started in the Room of Requirements. Mostly because it was the best room for the job.

It was August 5th before they left Hogwarts, because the adults were busy rewarding the house. It was something of an "all hands on deck" situation. Lily, Remus, and Dumbledore were the primary warders, with James and Sirius backing them up. Everyone roomed in the Gryffindor dorms since nearly everybody knew where it was.

"You're not really fine, are you?" asked Azalea.

At this, Rex shrugged. He was sitting on the lawn, any number of his muscles complaining at the mere fact he'd been standing so long.

"No, I'm fine. It just hurts, that's all."

"Then why aren't you lying down in bed?"

"Because I go stir crazy. Let's see your shield charm again."

"Right. Protego."

Harry examined the shield spell, then nodded.

"Alright. Both of you have it down. Now I want you to work on how quick you can cast it."

Which is, of course, when the splitting headache hit him, and the scar opened up full bore.

"Foolish woman! Do you think I care about that? Take the potion!" shouted Riddle. He was in some sort of room, with two high wing-backed chairs, pacing and gesticulating wildly. Bellatrix was on her knees, on the carpet, and a clear potion with a green tinge was sitting on the table. Harry could feel the waves of rage that had finally broken the barrier between them, and now the distinct sadness, the guilt and shame that somehow also carried across the link.

"Please, My Lord! Please! Anything but that! Anything!"

"Then go and kill yourself! You're no use to me now!"

"I can still fight, My Lord!"

"I have fighters! I have soldiers! I have more expendable and disposable minions than I know what to do with! There is, however, only one Bellatrix Black. I. Want. Her. Back."

"Please, My Lord. Please. You don't know my crime."

"I know full well your crime, Bellatrix. And I now know full well the result of bringing her to term."

"Her?"

"Yes, her."

"H-how?"

"She would have been born on July 31st, Bella. And I would have suspected her as the subject of the prophecy."

"H-how?"

"Take the potion, regain your mind, and I will tell you."

Bellatrix looked up at the potion. She pulled herself to her feet, and took hold of it. She gave one last look to Riddle, one full of desperation, and pain, and horror, and, somewhere, guilt. She downed the entire potion in one go, and let the goblet clatter to the table. She collapsed to the ground, and began to shiver.

And then Riddle did something Harry never expected him to do.

He sat down next to her, cross-legged, and pulled Bellatrix into his lap. He began to rock, back and forth, humming softly, as the shivers turned into shakes, and then into nearly a seizure. Bellatrix's skin began to turn an oily black, and Harry watched her clothing stain black, the substance ruining the clothing, and staining Riddle's hands as he cradled her. Harry could feel an itching on his hands, and realized it was the substance burning Riddle's hands. Whatever it was, it had the consistency of tar, and Harry felt a twinge of disgust when he realized Bellatrix was sweating it.

"Let it out," whispered Riddle, as Bellatrix forced herself up, and vomited the black, chunky, tar onto the carpet. It seemed to leech strength from her, as well, as she collapsed once more into Riddle's lap.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

"I as well, my snake." He reached under her, lifting her up as though she were as light as a feather, and began to carry her from the room. "Let's get you cleaned up, and get you some rest. And then we'll talk."

And with that, Harry finally managed to shake himself from the vision.

0x0x0x0

Harry still occasionally wished he had the cane, when he stepped out of Lily's car into a neighborhood in Greater Hangleton. He wasn't quite certain how he would describe the neighborhood. It certainly wasn't affluent, and definitely not as uniform as Privet Dr. Perhaps he would best describe it as "pleasant." Sirius had joined them as well, wanting to know why Harry was giving away Bellatrix's portrait.

And given he was in Greater Hangleton, he half expected Voldemort to pop out from behind a rock and go "Boo," or maybe "avada kedava." He wasn't sure, and it was a rather unsettling feeling. He considered the portrait that Sirius was carrying once more, thinking of the... scene between Riddle and Bellatrix. He hadn't known Riddle was capable. And he realized there was a lot of things he didn't know about Riddle.

"Harry! It's good to see you!" said Rachel.

"Hello, Rachel," he said.

"So just so you know, I did get my parents to pick up a snake, simply because it's wicked."

Harry raised an eyebrow at this.

"Don't worry, I'm just kidding. So you must be Lily?"

"And you must be Rachel Marx, right?" asked Lily.

"That's right. Hello, Professor. Is everything alright?" asked Rachel, wondering why her Professor was staring at her so oddly.

"Hello, Rachel. We're outside of class, you don't need to call me Professor. Sirius is just fine, although 'Hey, you' works just as well."

"Alright, Sirius. Harry, come on, Hermione's already here, along with most of the others."

Sirius watched Rachel drag Harry off into the house.

"He has a way with people," commented Lily.

"True, true," commented Sirius. "I knew that girl looked familiar. Should have realized it sooner, really."

"Who? Rachel? You do know you have her in your classes, right?"

"Oh, I know. Not what I'm talking about, though."

"Does it have anything to do with the obvious portrait that you've brought along?"

"No, nothing at all," replied Sirius, moving the wrapped package to directly behind himself, even if the corners of it stuck up over his shoulders.. "Why do you ask?"

"You've always been a terrible liar, Sirius."

"To you, maybe. I'll have you know, I can charm just about anybody."

"Of that, I'm more than certain," replied Lily. "We should introduce ourselves to the Marx's, come on."

Upon meeting the Marx's, it was readily apparent Rachel was adopted. Both of the Marxes had straight blonde hair, and were shorter and heavy set, compared to Rachel's black-as-night hair and tall, thin body. Their faces were soft, while hers were sharp and defined. It was obvious they were a family, though, sporting the same easy smile.

Sirius and Lily introduced themselves, and learned Rachel's parents were Abraham and Miriam Marx, while Hermione and Rachel introduced Harry to a number of the students that Harry was only peripherally acquaintances of.

"Is it true you fought You-Know-Who?" asked Wayne Hopkins.

"I wouldn't call being curcio'd into unconsciousness 'fighting,'" replied Harry.

"You hit him with a spell!" said Wayne.

"It was just an expelliarmus," said Harry, shrugging.

"Why expelliarmus?" asked Wayne. "Why not something like reducto or tonare?"

"Expelliarmus is point and cast. Reducto and tonare both have motions to them, and I was barely able to move my hand at that point. Now enough about me, it's Rachel's birthday. We have to focus on her."

With only a little bit of sheepish grumbling, everybody went back to the party, and stopped focusing on Harry.

"That was really brave, what you did," said Susan Bones.

"I was scared out of my mind," replied Harry. "I just didn't want people getting killed."

"I was scared out of my mind just watching it happen," said Susan. "I just wanted to say thanks." She leaned forward and kissed him on the lips, before heading back to the group. Harry stood, surprised at the unexpected affection. Hermione waved him over.

"So, Susan Bones?" she asked as he took a seat next to her.

At this, Harry shrugged.

"Who did you date?" she asked.

"There was a very bad date with Cho Chang, I think."

"You think?"

"Well... it was a very bad date, then. She was mostly crying over Cedric Diggory."

"Cedric?" asked Hermione. "Why, did he break up with her?"

"No. He was murdered."

Hermione blanched at that.

"So we never dated?" she asked, changing the subject.

"No. Ron was interested, actually."

"Ron? Ron Weasley? Why would I be interested in him?"

"I said Ron was interested. The three of us were friends. It was after the Yule ball. Who did you go with?"

"Er- I didn't go, actually."

"You didn't? Who did Viktor Krum go with?"

"Rachel? Why? Wait, you mean... he went with me?"

Harry nodded.

"You didn't tell either of us who you were going with, until you showed up on his arm. You were wearing this blue periwinkle dress that left the pair of us speechless."

"Who did you go with?"

"Parvati," replied Harry. "Left it until the last minute, really. I asked Cho, but she was already going with Cedric. I should have gone with Luna. That would have made an impression. I wish I'd known her then."

"You didn't ask me?"

"Actually, Ron asked you, running under the assumption that nobody had asked you. I think his exact words were, 'Hey, Hermione, you're a girl, right? Go to the ball with me.'"

"He didn't," asked Hermione

Harry nodded.

"Oh, god. I can actually see him doing that." Rarely did Hermione wish to smash her head against the table. She didn't give in to it, but she at least put her forehead on the table in front of her.

"I know," said Harry

"So what are you two talking about?" asked Rachel, walking up to them with a glass of punch.

"Ron Weasley," groaned out Hermione.

"Really? Weasley? Why?"

"We were friends," said Harry.

"I'm sorry," said Rachel. "I think the only person who likes him is Lavender."

"I can actually see that," commented Harry, thinking about it. "Next year is going to be weird."

"Why? Because you won't be friends with Ron?"

"No. Because Neville won't be there."

"Neville Longbottom?" asked Rachel. Hermione gave her a look. "He asked about him."

"Yeah."

"I know the Longbottoms, I don't know anything about Neville, though."

"He's dead," said Harry. "Killed in an attack after Voldemort's demise..." Harry stopped, then looked at Rachel.

"What?" asked Rachel.

"You're probably going to hate me for you birthday present. Just so you know, only Sirius knows what it is, and he's probably guessed why I'm giving it to you by this point."

"This had better be some birthday present," said Rachel.

"It's... a surprising birthday present," said Harry, finally.

"Now I really want you to open it," said Hermione. "You will open it with me around, won't you?"

"It's your choice," said Harry. "It might be a good idea to have a friend with you."

Rachel nodded, then stopped.

"Harry, you do realize you're one of my friends, right?"

"I won't be sure of that until you talk to me after opening the present," replied Harry.

"Fine then. I'm opening the present with you there. That's final."

At this, Harry shrugged. Might as well get her hatred of me over with.

The rest of the party passed with little incident, although Rachel regularly made fun of Harry as Susan Bones "made eyes" at him. He didn't see it, himself, but both of the girls were smarter than him. He didn't argue.

As the other guests filtered out, all of Rachel's other presents opened, they picked up the final gift from Sirius, and Hermione dragged Harry upstairs while Sirius played distraction for the Marx's and the Grangers, while Lily watched on.

Harry walked into a pastel yellow room, littered with posters, books, and make-up, holding the wrapped portrait frame.

"Well? Set it down," said Rachel.

Harry put it on the floor, and leaned it against her dresser. He wasn't sure, now.

He decided that he might as well get this over with, and tapped his wand against it with a whispered finite. The wrapping paper vanished, and the silencing charm fell, to reveal a woman with lightly curled black hair, and familiar violet eyes.

"Hello, daughter," said the woman in the painting. Rachel stared at it, for a long moment, then fell to her knees, examining every detail.

"Is it... you're really my mother?" asked Rachel.

"Not truly, but... enough. An imprint of her. Enough to know who she was, and to know she loved you. What has Potter told you?"

"Nothing. Nothing at all. He's been playing coy, like I'd hate you all night."

"I imagine he would, given who your father is."

"Is?" asked Rachel. "I don't even know who you are."

"My name, my daughter, is Bellatrix LeStrange. When you were born, I named you Lyra Cassiopeia LeStrange. I understand your adopted parents named you Rachel?"

"Er... yes. Weren't you, well, a Death Eater?" asked Rachel, standing up.

"Yes, I was. I learned, long after, that there are more important things than the purity of blood, my daughter."

"And what's that?"

"The blood itself. Family. Something, I regret to say, your father never entirely understood," said Bellatrix with a sad sigh.

"And he died fighting the Longbottoms, right Harry?"

"No," said Harry. "Her husband did, though."

On this, Rachel was silent.

"Then... who is my father?"

"Your father was a man named Tom Marvolo Riddle," said Bellatrix. "Better known as the Dark Lord Voldemort."

Rachel, stood, stumbled backwards, and fell back onto her bed. Hermione sat down next to her, wrapping her arm around her shoulder.

"That's why I can speak to snakes, isn't it?" asked Rachel, of Harry.

"Yeah," replied Harry.

"You're a parselmouth?" asked Bellatrix, looking pointedly at Harry.

"Got it from this," said Harry tapped his forehead. "My mum ended up the same way as you, Bellatrix."

At this, Bellatrix nodded, slowly, digesting that information.

"You mean... he tried to kill me?" asked Rachel.

"He tried," said Bellatrix. "There was a prophecy. He didn't know the whole thing, but it stated someone born on July 31st who defeat him, and the mother would have defied him three times."

"Why you? Weren't you his most trusted follower?"

"Yes, and I stated the prophecy was foolishness. I even told him I had defied him three times." Harry raised an eyebrow at that. He'd have to ask Riddle.

Rachel sat quietly, Hermione's arm over her shoulder, while Harry stood off to the side. Rachel threw Hermione's arm off, and walked over to Harry.

"Harry?"

"Yes?"

"While this isn't the best present ever, I want to thank you for it. Knowing who my mother is, having a link to my past, even if I don't like it, is something special." She pulled him into a hug. After that, she slapped him. Hard.

"And that was for failing to understand that a girl doesn't want to know she's the daughter of the Dark Lord. Just know that I don't hate you, I am thankful for knowing these things, and that you are still my friend. I do expect a real present, though."

"There is also an ulterior motive to his actions, as well," added Bellatrix.

"Oh? And what's that?"

"You have... well, can get one of the keys to the Dark Lord's immortality, so that it can be destroyed."

At this, Rachel fell silent.

"There's also the rather large amount of money you inherited from me, as well," added Bellatrix.

Rachel's eyes widened at that remark.

"Well... I guess that counts as a good gift."

Author's Note: This is a little longer than usual, but I wanted that title to work. It doesn't work very well, but it works.

I'd also like to state that this is going to be, for the most part, the end of the Wizards vs. Muggles debate. Hermione thinks they'd flatten the Wizarding World, while the only wizard that's being honest with himself thinks the best the could do would be mutually assured destruction.

EDIT 5/8/2012: The Marx's now have names. Because holy shit, they just showed up as human beings in the next chapter. I was planning on having them be un-important, but they just started connecting with people. It was rather surprising.