With the loss of Bellatrix, Voldemort did not make an immediate move for ultimate power. Instead, he was content to let things play out and for the rest of Wizarding Britain to discover that not only was he back, but he meant business. No sooner had word of Dumbledore's death started to spread, then rumours of what else had happened at Hogwarts began to circulate. Within a couple of days there was a strong element of fear hovering over wizarding Britain, and everyone seemed to be holding their breath to see what would happen next.
A week after the incident at Hogwarts, Hermione herself was still waiting to see what was going to happen. Since Bellatrix's death, Voldemort had sequestered himself away, merely saying that he had things to plan and he would be in touch when he was ready to make his next move. However, Hermione was starting to get worried that her father would leave things too late. At the moment everyone was still raw over the deaths of Dumbledore and Harry, especially with their funerals coming up, and in her opinion that should be the time when her father made his bid for power.
"I'm going to go and see father," she announced to Draco one morning.
"Now?" Draco questioned. "Has he summoned you?"
"No, but I don't care, I need to see him to see what's going to happen now," Hermione replied.
"Do you want me to come with you?" Draco asked warily. While Hermione had visited her father's home, he had not, and he wasn't sure turning up uninvited was the way to make his first visit.
"No, you stay here and support your mother. Isn't Rodolphus coming over this morning to finalise the funeral arrangements?"
"He is," Draco confirmed with a weary nod of his head. Dealing with his aunt's death had been hard, especially as his mother had been so devastated by the loss of her older sister.
Assuring Draco she would be fine, Hermione got ready and headed to her father's house. Despite not living with her father, Hermione still had access to the house and Voldemort had made it clear that she was always welcome. However, that was before he'd lost Bellatrix, and if she was being honest, she wasn't sure what sort of welcome she would get.
Arriving in the front hallway of the house, Hermione headed straight for her father's study at the back of the house. When knocking got her no reply, she entered the room anyway and found her father standing beside the window, gazing unseeingly at the neat garden laid out in front of him.
"Father," Hermione called softly.
Turning around in surprise, Voldemort looked totally shocked to see his daughter standing in the doorway. "Hermione, what are you doing here?"
"I came to see if you were okay," Hermione replied. "Are you?"
"I'm fine," Voldemort answered.
"I know you loved Bella," Hermione offered tentatively.
"I didn't love her," Voldemort admitted with a derisive snort. "Maybe if I had been able to love her, this would have been easier. I cared for her and I welcomed her as part of my life, but I didn't love her. I don't think I know how to love."
"You do, it's just different to other people," Hermione said. "I know you love me."
"As well as I can," Voldemort sighed. "I'm sorry if I'm a disappointment, Hermione. I'm sure there are times you wish Lucius truly was your father. He's certainly been more of a father to you than I have."
"I have room in my life, and my heart, for both of you," Hermione insisted. "But if you want, I could move in here with you. I don't want you to be alone."
Voldemort shook his head as he moved towards his daughter. "There's no need for that. The manor is your home. Besides, I will soon be far too busy to have to worry about looking after you."
"You're finally going to make your move?" Hermione checked.
"I am," Voldemort confirmed. "Once Bella is buried, it'll be time to take the next step."
"What will the next step be?" Hermione asked.
"Going to the Ministry and taking over," Voldemort answered with a smirk. "That pathetic coward Fudge won't have the balls to stand up to me. Without Dumbledore to back him up and the prospect of a saviour to rescue everyone, he'll roll over and give me exactly what I want. Especially when he realises the support I've got."
"How much support do you have?" Hermione questioned. Obviously, he had Lucius's backing, and she knew his influence was strong, but even Lucius wouldn't be enough to aid her father in his aim of taking over the government of the country.
"Lucius is not my only influential backer," Voldemort chuckled. "I have the support of most of the pure-blood community, or at least those who matter. Lucius will ensure that when the time comes, I will have all the support I need."
"Will you be taking over as Minister yourself?" Hermione asked.
"Oh no, that's far too tedious a job," Voldemort laughed with a dismissive wave of his hand. "I prefer being the power behind the throne. I have a few contenders to take over as Minister, I just need to discuss the options with Lucius. But you can rest assured, whoever replaced Fudge will be doing exactly as I want them to."
"And what about The Order who are left?" Hermione checked. "Those who were at Hogwarts have all made it clear who was behind what happened. They've even made sure everyone knows I'm your daughter."
"Something I was going to announce anyway," Voldemort remarked with a causal shrug of his shoulders. "As for any problems they pose, we can deal with them. As I said the night Potter died, without him and Dumbledore they're pretty toothless. Yes, they can fight and rebel, but we can fight back. I do still have my Death Eaters, and given how low-key events at Hogwarts were, I've got people chomping at the bit for a piece of action."
"What about the Hogwarts staff who were there?" Hermione asked. "What are you going to do with them?"
"When Severus takes over as headmaster, every member of staff will be forced to swear an oath of loyalty to him. Anyone refusing to do so, will lose their job. I have no real intention of interfering at Hogwarts as I think Severus will do a perfectly good job on his own, but I want it made clear that Severus is my man and going against him, is the equivalent of going up against me."
"Are you going to do anything about muggleborns? And are you going to let anyone who opposes you return to Hogwarts?"
"My, my, you are full of questions today," Voldemort chuckled at his inquisitive daughter. "I haven't quite decided how to deal with muggleborns, so for now, nothing will change. As for people returning to school, anyone of school age will be offered the chance of an education. If they chose not to take it up, that is their decision. But if they do attend Hogwarts, they will have to accept the new regime. I doubt Severus will stand for troublemakers in his school."
"I'm sure he won't," Hermione agreed.
Satisfied that her father had been making plans, and not just moping around mourning the loss of Bella, Hermione stayed with her father for another couple of hours before returning home to the manor, feeling brighter that things were finally going to start happening again. Within days her father would have control over Wizarding Britain, and her future as his acknowledged daughter and heir could begin.
In the direct aftermath of events at Hogwarts, the remaining Order were shattered and broken people. Death after death seemed to have plagued them within a matter of days, and there was no sign of it getting any better. The Weasleys hopes of being reunited with Arthur had been shattered by the return of his brutally mangled corpse, and Molly had sunk into a deep depression. Sirius had also taken a turn for the worse as after learning of Harry's death he'd risen from his sick bed only to have a dizzy spell and tumble down the stairs, resulting in his bad arm becoming infected and leaving Madam Pomfrey to consider amputation.
Those who had been at Hogwarts had spoken to the Ministry at length about what had happened once they'd been found, but annoyingly nothing seemed to have been done about the accusations they'd made. The Death Eaters who had been identified, like the Malfoys and Snape, hadn't even been questioned by the Ministry as far as The Order could see, let alone arrested and punished for their crimes.
Although on the other hand, Voldemort and the dark had been suspiciously quiet. With Harry and Dumbledore dead, The Order had expected the dark to storm the Ministry and take charge, but slightly over a week after events at Hogwarts, nothing had changed. Maybe the fact that the dark hadn't come out of the clash unscathed had affected them and their plans. However, the remaining Order all knew that it wouldn't last and sooner or later the dark would make another play for power. It just remained to be seen if those who were left could fight them, or if without Dumbledore and Harry they'd had their day.
Dumbledore, Harry and everyone else who had lost their lives were buried on the same day in a joint service, and rumour had it that in another part of the country, Bellatrix was also being laid to rest. The service was hard for everyone, especially the Weasleys who felt as though they weren't just burying a husband and father, but a brother and a son as well in Harry.
"I think we need to discuss what happens next," Bill Weasley said as the family and a few trusted members of The Order returned to the house that the Weasleys were now calling home.
Both Bill and Charlie had returned to England from their respective jobs in Egypt and Romania, and even Percy, who had been estranged from the family following his refusal to believe Voldemort had returned was back with the family.
"What do you mean, what happens next?" Ron demanded. "We fight, that's what happens next?"
"To what end?" Charlie asked. "For years Dumbledore has been telling everyone that the only person who can kill You-Know-Who was Harry, and he's gone."
"So what, we just give up?" Ron demanded angrily. "We don't avenge Harry at all? Not to mention Dad. They tore him to shreds, Charlie."
"I know that they did," Charlie returned sharply. "But we need to face facts, with Dumbledore and Harry gone, what chance do we realistically have of defeating him? Yes, fighting seems like the right thing to do. I hate the idea of just rolling over and giving up. But it's not wise to fight when you stand no chance of winning. All we would be doing is marching to our deaths."
"So what do you suggest, live the rest of our lives in fear?" Ron snapped. "Because if we don't do anything, that's what's going to happen to us. If they take control, they'll hunt us down and kill us all."
"Surely if they wanted to kill you all, they would have done so at Hogwarts," Percy pointed out. "They let you live for a reason, Ron."
"Because they don't view us as a threat," Ron snorted. "But we need to show them we are still a threat. We need to show them we won't take this lying down."
"Fight if you want Ron, but don't expect us to support you," Bill said with a weary sigh. "We need to face facts, it's over and we've lost. But we can still have lives away from here. Charlie and I have been talking, and we want you all to come and live with us."
"But you live in two different countries," Ginny protested. "Are we supposed to pick between you?"
"I've got a few contacts around the world, and I'm confident of getting a job working with magical creatures in Egypt," Charlie explained. "It might just be temporary, and I might go back to Romania in the future, but for now we think we should all be together. We're taking Mum with us regardless, she's in no state to argue. But we want you all to come as well. We want the rest of our family to be safe."
"You want us to run away like cowards?" Ron snarled.
"We want you all to be safe," Bill snapped at his youngest brother. "We won't force anyone to come with us, but we truly believe it's the best thing for everyone."
"Yeah, let's do it," Fred whispered while beside him George nodded his agreement. George had been the one to return to The Burrow when Arthur had been sent back to them, and he'd been the one to find their father's mangled body. Since then he'd barely spoken, and Fred was doing all the talking for the pair of them.
"I'm also going," Percy said. "Given how distant I've been with the family recently, I might not be targeted, but I don't want to take that chance."
"Ginny?" Bill turned to his youngest sibling, pleading to her with his eyes.
"Yes," Ginny confirmed with a small nod of her head. "I'll come."
"I can't believe you lot," Ron stormed as he jumped to his feet. "You might want to run like cowards, but I won't do it. I will get my revenge, even if it's the last thing I do."
Storming out of the kitchen, Ron had no idea what he was going to do, but he did know that everything was all Hermione's fault. If she hadn't lied to them for all these years, things wouldn't have gone down the way they had. But most importantly of all, Harry wouldn't be dead. Most people seemed to assume Voldemort had killed Harry, but even though he'd been unable to move to help, Ron had witnessed everything. He knew that Hermione had been the one to land the killer blow, and he was determined to make her pay for it.