I kind of rushed this chapter because I'm going to be busy this weekend and won't have another chance to post a chapter, so if you see any mistakes, let me know so I can fix them!

Ldub: Thanks for reviewing!

CHAPTER 36

I have only briefly thought about how I can escape—Apparating to Diagon Alley and hiding there until I can meet Tonks in Hogsmeade is probably my best bet—when Bellatrix walks into the dining room and comes to an abrupt stop the moment her eyes fall on me. "Cissy, you should really speak to the elves about cleaning up this place," she says before taking a seat on the other side of Narcissa. All three of them—Lucius, Narcissa, and Bellatrix—are now across from me, watching me carefully as if I will evaporate, which I'm still kind of debating. "Where's Draco?"

"Hogwarts. He didn't want to come." I darken my gaze at my mother and add to Narcissa, "I think it might have something to do with the fact that his mad aunt is residing in his home." I shrug. "That would be enough to make me stay away."

Bellatrix is about to shout at me, but Narcissa whispers something to her, stopping her completely. I'm still shocked that Narcissa can calm her sister down like that.

Again I look back at my aunt. "Forgive me, Narcissa." This time, she doesn't nod. She just looks at me with a certain distaste. I sit back in my seat and prop my feet up on the chair next to me. "So, when is"—I look at Bellatrix, just trying to antagonize her—"Voldy getting here?" My words do what I wanted them to. My mother hops to her feet in a matter of seconds, her wand drawn, her face red with fury.

"Bella," a cold voice rings through room.

Every cell in my body erupts in panic. He's here.

My mother lowers her wand, and I inwardly groan that part of me knows I should be thankful that Voldemort arrived when he did because he inadvertently saved me from whatever punishment she was trying to inflict. "My Lord," Bellatrix says, giving a slight bow to the other end of the room. "We did not expect you so early."

"I did not want to postpone my meeting with young Charlotte. I want to see how powerful a witch she has become. I want to see if I have chosen correctly." I finally force myself to look around for him, but I am unable to see him.

Bellatrix sits back down, looking rather sulky that she didn't get to harm me for my words. She'll probably try later, when Voldemort is no longer around to stop her.

A movement in the shadows catches my eye. I stare intently for just a moment before Voldemort emerges. My heart stops when I see him. In a panic I try to get away from him, and with a great thrust I push off the chair that had been propping my feet, sending it crashing forward as the chair I'm in topples backward. I land with a rough thud that knocks the wind out of me, then roll over and desperately try to crawl away from them all, my eyes shut against that creature. This can't be happening, this can't be happening, he's a monster.

A spell hits me, and I collapse. I keep my face plastered to the floor, trying to catch my breath, but slowly open my eyes. A bare foot rests right by my face. Again I frantically try to scoot away, but something stops me from being able to move at all, something keeps my legs and arms completely still and motionless. The foot's owner takes a few steps back, and a few horrified whines escape me.

"Get up!" Lucius shouts. "Show some respect."

An invisible force lifts me to my feet, but I keep my eyes averted from Voldemort. Why does it have to be me? Next time I see the Boy Who Lived, I'm going to break his nose. He could've just answered my question that day in Hogsmeade, and I could've been prepared for this. But no, he refused. Snape also could've given me a courtesy warning; I might try to hit him too. "Look at me," Voldemort's cool voice commands.

I struggle to look up at him. When I finally see him so close, I lose my breath. His bald head is pale-gray, and a pair of red eyes rest in the middle of his face. But I could deal with that. What scares me the most, what steals my breath and sends me into a panic again, is his nose. There are two slits, quite like a snake, where his nose should be. I sweep my gaze over his face for a few moments before accidentally whispering, more to myself than to anyone else, "I thought you were human." I clap my hands over my mouth, trying to erase the fact that I had just said that, trying to pull the words back out of the air, trying to take back the past few seconds.

Voldemort doesn't even have a chance to reply because the angry voice of Bellatrix shouts, "YOU DARE DISRESPECT THE DARK LORD?"

"Remain calm, Bella," Voldemort scolds her in a quiet, silky voice. With a bow, she sits again.

I shake my head. "I didn't mean to…it was accident…it just slipped…"

He smiles, his teeth looking as if he had not cared for them in years. "Do not worry, dear one," he says. I almost shudder at the endearment but suppress it to the best of my ability. "I'm cursed, it is true, but I'm alive and will one day resume my regime over the Muggle and Wizarding Worlds." He turns toward the other three in the room, his long black robes swooshing, and I can almost breathe again now that he's not looking at me anymore. "I hear you've learned her true identity." He seems to be staring directly at Bellatrix.

"Yes, my Lord," Narcissa answers for all of them.

"No one else knows," he says. It isn't a question, and it isn't a statement. His voice clearly implies a command. "Not even Rodolphus."

They all say, "Yes, my Lord," while I hiss out, "WHAT?"

Narcissa looks at me with wide eyes, trying to tell me to quiet down and just accept what Voldemort has commanded. "You have an issue with that?" Bellatrix laughs cruelly.

"You're damn right I do! Rodolphus is my father! He has just as much right to know who I am as you do!"

"Charlotte—"

"Dear one"—Voldemort raises his hand at Narcissa to silence her—"it will endanger your life for anyone else to know who you truly are."

"He's my father! He deserves to know!"

"Dear one—"

"NO! He—"

"YOU DARE INTERRUPT THE DARK LORD?" Bellatrix screams. "Your father lost his mind in Azkaban—"

"AND YOU'RE ONE TO ASSESS THAT, ARE YOU?"

Bellatrix, her wand out a split second later, wastes no time walking around the table to attack me, instead jumping onto the table and charging at me. She shoves her wand into my cheek, her hand around my throat before anyone can react or stop her, her face mere inches from mine. Her breath is heavy and uncomfortably hot on my face. "What I did to the Longbottoms will be child's play compared to what I shall do to you."

I raise my chin defiantly.

She grins, eyes crazed, and shouts, "CRU—"

"BELLATRIX!" Voldemort yells, a clear command in his voice.

Teeth clenched, she eyes me furiously. Then, with the hand that is still around my neck, she shoves me away from her with such force that I land on my back on the floor. "My Lord," she says sweetly, bowing before him then moving back toward Narcissa who is still by the table.

My blood boils in my veins. "If that crazy bitch"—I point an accusing finger at Bellatrix from my place on the floor—"is allowed to know who I am, then so is my father."

"He is never allowed to know," Voldemort says.

"And who's going to stop me? You? You need me alive so I can bear you a child!"

His eyes flare with fury, and he hisses at me as he takes a step closer to me. I scramble away from him, trying to keep some distance between the two of us. He glances at the doorway for a brief second before continuing to approach me. His eyes drift somewhere behind me, and that's when I hear it: hissing, and this time not from him. I turn my head just enough to see a giant snake behind me. My breath flees my lungs. The snake starts toward me, opening its jaw and hissing at me.

I shriek and collapse onto my side, ducking my head into my arms, my chest rising and falling rapidly, my lungs not accepting enough air to be comfortable. I feel the snake brush against me and let out a whimper. He's just trying to intimidate you, don't let him. "Please," I breathe, not caring that I'm falling prey to his tactics, "please don't let it eat me." Somewhere on the other side of the room I hear Bellatrix laugh.

Voldemort hisses again, and the snake slithers over me—its long body takes a gross amount of time to get off of me.

Again a magical force pulls me to my feet, and Voldemort comes closer. This time something stops me from moving at all, and I cannot run away. He leans down until our foreheads are almost touching. I swallow down a frightened gasp. "You are correct, dear one. That I need you alive to bear me a child is no secret. However, I do not need you undamaged for you to fulfill your duty, nor do I need your father alive." He puts his hand on the base of my neck, and I almost start crying. "The only people who know the truth"—his voice carries a clear threat—"are in this room." I nod, unable to look away from his eyes. "Say it."

"The…the only people who know the truth are this room," I whisper quickly.

"And it will stay that way."

"And it will stay that way," I repeat quietly.

He moves away, and when he does, I see Bellatrix smiling wickedly at me, no doubt thrilled that Voldemort is angry with me. I almost don't care because I can breathe better when he's not right in front of me.

"Now," the Dark Lord says, "I want to see if I have made the best possible choice." He waves his wand, and the table pushes itself against the wall, clearing an open area in the middle of the Malfoy Manor dining room. "You were born to two of my greatest supporters and soldiers." And one of them is apparently not trusted enough to know that his daughter is alive. Voldemort motions Lucius over to him. My uncle obeys without question. "Take out your wands." Lucius and I obey. "Bow to each other."

I realize all too late what Voldemort intends for us to do. "I've never dueled before!" I protest.

"Begin."

Lucius and I take a few steps away from each other before turning to face one another. We take our positions.

A silent spell throws me onto my back.

I hadn't even prepared myself.

Still on the floor, I throw up a shield before he can try to harm me again. Spell after spell silently attacks me, but I remain curled on the floor. And though I do nothing to fight back, Lucius continues to fire jinxes and hexes at me, each bouncing harmlessly off my shield. This goes on for nearly five minutes before Voldemort commands in a cold, bone-chilling voice, "Do something!"

I push to my feet, take a breath, and shout, "Avis!" A flock of birds bursts from my wand, and I direct them to attack Lucius. One by one he blasts them apart, but I have him distracted, and I take that brief moment I have to cast the Bat-Bogey Hex just as he finishes with the birds. He blocks this move, and I once again jump back to defense as he tries to attack.

But I enjoyed the offense, and I want to try it again.

Exhilarated by this new experience of dueling for fun without actually having to worry about dying, I release the shield. But I've done so too quickly. As I throw the Conjunctivitis Curse, the Leg-Locker Curse hits me, and I collapse as Lucius screams in pain.

I perform the counter-jinx as quickly as I can and stand back up. But Lucius, too, has recovered. And he's furious. Without thinking, I throw up another shield, managing to stop another one of his curses.

Again I drop my shield too quickly, and a spell gouges my cheek. "OW!" I grab it, the warm blood gushing from what is obviously a horrible gash. I whimper, keeping my hand firmly against the wound, and point my wand at the utensils and plates on the table to send them flying toward him with great speed. Some whack him in the face and chest, but they fall harmlessly to the floor, eliciting no response from him other than an annoyed grunt. The red flash of the Stunning Spell silently leaves his wand and flies right at me. I dive to the side and land on my stomach, unsure why I didn't just cast another shield around myself.

Lucius smiles down at me, and I throw up a shield again as another spell flies toward me. I struggle to my feet and scream, "Expelliarmus!" But he throws up a shield before it hits him.

Another silent spells sends me flying into the air. I ram against the ceiling before falling to the floor once more. With a smirk he expels my wand, and I'm left defenseless.

Voldemort laughs coldly. Then waves his wand and brings me to my feet and takes a few steps toward me, raising his wand. I flinch away from him, and he pauses for only a moment before continuing forward. He whispers an incantation, and I feel the gash in my cheek close. Without removing his eyes from me, he says, "Bella, come." My mother obeys, a definite spring in her step. "Take your position."

He hands me my wand. My mother and I walk to the middle of the room and bow to each other. She scowls at me.

Knowing that she would enjoy nothing more than to quickly put me on my back in front of her Lord and Master, I throw up the shield before the duel even begins. She smirks at me but throws a few spells at me anyway. Whether she's much stronger than Lucius or because I am tired, I don't know, but her spells push me backward until a hex breaks through my shield. What feels something like fire burns my face and eyes. I scream and throw the Impediment Jinx blindly, almost in a panic. It somehow manages to knock her backward. I cover my face, screeching through the burn, unable to focus on what she's doing while I try to get this pain to go away.

The Impediment Jinx hits me and throws me onto my back, but I don't care because I'm still pawing at my eyes in an attempt to stifle the burn. As quickly as I can, still whining in pain and covering my eyes, I cast a shield and get to my feet.

Tears drip down my face—not from sorrow or anger but from the spell that still leaves lingering fire in my eyes. With blurry vision I charm one of the dining room chairs, and it flies at her. She sets it ablaze, leaving only smoke in its wake, and I take this opportunity to turn the smoke into daggers and direct those at her. They fall pathetically beside her, the tears in my eyes ruining my aim.

I turn my attention back to rubbing the burn from my face and moments later feel my wand jump from my hand. It clatters to the floor somewhere beside me. With great effort I open my eyes again and look from my mother to my wand. I can't lose like this. I've hardly done anything to her. This is humiliating.

She silently sends the Stunning Spell at me, but I jump aside, diving onto the floor and sliding toward my wand. I am about to grab my weapon when I hear her shout, "Crucio!" Pain ignites on every inch of my body, white hot daggers piercing me and tearing at my skin. I can't think. Everything hurts. My mind goes white. I hear someone screaming and vaguely realize that I am the person screaming. It's higher, shriller, and louder than any other scream that has ever come from me. My body convulses under the spell, trying to get away from it but not succeeding in the slightest. It feels like my skin is being peeled from my bones, my body being torn open and emptied right there on the stone floor, the very atoms of my being ripping apart.

"Enough," Voldemort says nearly a minute later. The pain immediately goes away, but I can hardly catch my breath. "Check on her." My eyes flutter open as I gasp for air, and I see Narcissa leaning over me. She grabs me by the arms and hauls me to my feet. I brace myself against her, my legs unable to bear my full weight at the moment. Voldemort walks to me and hands me my wand, then waves his own at my face to heal whatever Bellatrix did to me. "Well done, Charlotte. I never intended for you to be able to win against your mother. She has a skill far greater than the other Death Eaters." Then he adds, "It would be beneficial for you to learn a better way to duel. I cannot allow you to wander around so ill-prepared to defend yourself."

"I did pretty well over the years, killing your Death Eaters who were trying to—"

"You ran, like a coward. You did not stand and hold your ground."

Bellatrix smirks at me from behind Voldemort, and something about this smirk sends me into a frenzy. She's happy that Voldemort is angry with me. She's probably even happier that she Cruciated me, her daughter. She's proud to have been able to torture me in front of her Dark Lord. She doesn't care about me at all. With no thoughts other than the desire for revenge, I point my wand at her and shout, "Crucio!" Bellatrix collapses, crying out, but not nearly as loudly as I had done. Voldemort expels my wand from my hand a short second later and catches it.

Bellatrix wastes no time pulling herself to her feet, looking as if I hadn't actually Cruciated her at all. Voldemort, obviously outraged, manages to keep his voice calm when he says, "You should be proud of your daughter, Bella."

"She is no daughter of mine, my Lord."

Voldemort glances over at her. "Oh, but she is." He grabs my face with his left hand and forces me to look directly at him. "It's undeniable. She is so very much like you. If only her fire was used to serve me as you do, Bella." He lowers his voice and says to me, "You were an excellent choice." His eyes are full of evil.

"My Lord," Bellatrix says, "if—"

"Silence." His hand releases my face. Without looking back at my family, he says, "Leave us." And though I hate them all dearly (except for Narcissa, I guess, because I have a begrudging respect for her, probably due to how nice she treated me on the ride here), I panic as each of them file out of the room. I want them to stay. I don't want to be alone with him, the Dark Lord, the darkest wizard of all time.

Bellatrix looks at me one more time. Her eyes are filled with fury, but there's something else too. Pride? Envy? Hate? I don't have a chance to analyze it, for she leaves too quickly. "Have a seat, dear one." I obey, my body trembling despite how I try to contain it. Voldemort watches me closely. Then he begins to walk around.

When he goes behind me, I want to turn to keep my eyes on him (I feel safer that way), but I can't risk being disrespectful to him again, so I face forward and listen as he walks around, trying to determine where he is by his quiet footsteps. "You are full of powerful potential, like your mother. I see that the love she once had for you has vastly diminished. It has made her stronger, as you will be in time." His hand rests on my shoulder, and I can't stop myself from tensing at his touch. "But you are leery of serving me, are you not? Your mother was most pleased to have the chance. You differ from her this way."

"J-just scared, my Lord," I say quietly.

"There is no need to be afraid." Then he removes his hand and comes around so we can see each other's faces, but he doesn't sit, instead choosing to remain in a position that allows him to loom over me. "You are important to my future, dear one. And so long as you are, no harm shall befall you."

"Unless of course the person doing the harming is either you or my mother apparently."

His eyes darken. He raises his hand into the air, and before I register what is happening, he strikes my face. "Do not disrespect me, Charlotte." I cover the tender spot on my cheek and cast my eyes to my feet. "Look at me when I speak to you."

I force myself to obey him.

"You will learn to respect me."

"Y-yes, my Lord."

Then he changes the subject completely, his face becoming kind—well, more neutral than kind—once again. "I take it Severus has been caring for you to the best of his ability?"

I nod. "Y-yes, my Lord. He—he is most gracious."

He seems pleased with my answer. For a moment he watches me, his eyes looking me up and down and lingering on my face. I nearly cower away from his stare, and just as I'm getting too uncomfortable to sit still any longer, he says, "Your mother will not harm you while you're here this week." He looks toward the door. "You may go." Then he's gone, just like that, in the quietest, most silent Apparition I have ever seen.

A breath escapes me, and I close my eyes, letting myself feel the relief of his absence. I remain in that seat, trying to breathe evenly until Narcissa enters. She calls Cosmo with some food that she then forces me to eat.

I don't have anywhere to go tonight—Tonks would have come and gone from Hogsmeade already, and I don't know how to find her. So when I finish eating, I say to Narcissa, "I know he said I could leave—"

"You can't leave the manor, Charlotte."

"Excuse me? He said I could go."

"Not from the manor. We're not allowed to let you leave."

"Is he coming back?"

"I don't know. But you're not leaving."

She gets up, but I grab her arm. "Why…? Is…is that all then?" I ask quietly, trying with much difficulty to keep the happiness out of my voice. She doesn't answer. "Why…why did he call me here…for that?"

She purses her lips. "Charlotte, don't question gifts." I open my mouth, but she continues, "The Dark Lord—he has plans for you, but that doesn't mean he's going to make you fulfill them yet. He's waiting for something, trying to get something that he did not have last time. He wants to secure it before…" She fades off.

I stand and look into her eyes. "Narcissa," I say quietly, "will it…be done…through a…through a…a potion…?"

My aunt closes her eyes. "I don't think so," she says slowly. "The Dark Lord—"

"That's fine, thanks," I cut her off quickly. "I don't need to hear it."

I try to walk out of the room, but Narcissa grabs my arm. "I'm so sorry, Charlotte," she whispers.

I nod, not trusting myself to speak, almost angry at her now for reasons I don't fully understand, then leave to hide in the guest room.

I hope you enjoyed her first meeting with Voldemort. This won't be the last time they meet, obviously.