XVI

"Do let go of her, Dumbledore," Voldemort said. His voice was soft, but harsh, like the purr of a wild cat.

Bellatrix shrieked, "Master!" And tried to tear herself away until she felt her socket pop a little in protest. He was here, her lord was here, and he would save her. Wouldn't he? Yes, of course he would.

"She's a murderer, Tom," Dumbledore said calmly, "As are you. She must be brought to justice."

"It's not about Bellatrix," Voldemort said, "this is, pardon the cliché, just between you and me. You want to take her away from me. I won't have it."

Bellatrix was still screaming, and she was starting to cry, too, feeling despairing, and frightened, and panicked. Bella had just killed the boy she'd known since she was seven by making him swallow a bullet, and her mind was numbed by this fact.

She hoped that no one could hear her screaming and making this fuss - she didn't want any muggles involved in this. At all. But she couldn't, just couldn't stop.

Voldemort said, "Be quiet, Bella."
And Bella fell silent.

"Strange, her devotion to you," Dumbledore said. "You lie to her, but still she obeys."

Bellatrix whipped around to look at her old Headmaster, furious. She opened her mouth to shout at him, but then closed her mouth with an audible click of her teeth. She didn't feel like justifying something so ludicrous with an answer.

Dumbledore continued. "You're a halfblood, Tom. Why didn't you tell her?"

Voldemort glared.

"Liar," Bella spat at Dumbledore, once again trying to wrench herself free, unable to stand the touch, unable to abide the closeness.

"It's true," Voldemort said, immediately, quietly, a little apologetic. "I never mentioned it before, as it never really cropped up in conversation."

Bellatrix paused. Dumbledore let her go, and she didn't run away.

Voldemort said, "Half and half, genetically. My mother was the purest of all blood, and a daughter of the Slytherin line; my father was a wealthy muggle named Tom Riddle. She died shortly after giving birth to me, gave me my father's name. My father wouldn't take me in, and so I spent my first decade of life in an orphanage, along with the next six or so summers while I went through my courses at Hogwarts. I killed my father and his parents when I was seventeen. My father lied to my mother. It was a bad thing to do."

He paused there, feeling that was explanation enough. Bellatrix turned to stare at Dumbledore with wide, deer-caught-in-headlights eyes.

Dumbledore smiled faintly at Voldemort, and raised his wand. Voldemort reached for his. "You see, Tom, no matter what you do, things will always fall apart around you. They say evil contains the seeds of its own destruction-"

Bellatrix sprinted away from Dumbledore, threw herself at Voldemort with force, her arms going around his neck. Voldemort nearly toppled over but caught himself, and held on to Bellatrix, hanging tense and wary in his arms, her tears running down her cheeks.

There was a pause.

Then, almost experimentally, Voldemort pushed Bella away; surprised, she fell to the pavement with a thud that must have stung. But then she leapt back up again, facing him down.

Voldemort said, quietly, "Get out of the way, Bella."

Bella said, stubbornly, "No."

Voldemort peeked around her to look at Dumbledore. "Not to be childish," he said, "but you must admit, there's a certain irony in all this. I hope you see what she's doing."

Bellatrix turned on her heel to face Dumbledore, backing up until she was pressed to Voldemort's chest, doing her best to shield him as much as possible.

"He's a halfblood," Dumbledore said, frowning.

Bellatrix blinked at Dumbledore, politely puzzled at his reasoning.

One of the reasons Voldemort treasured Bella so dearly was because whatever he said, she believed. And that was why he did not lie to her - merely failed to mention things, for her head was still uncharted territory, and he dared not lose her. He didn't know how far gone her devotion was.

Voldemort felt a flare of golden, glorious, strong, empowering triumph.

"I told you she loved me," Voldemort said, his arms going around Bella's waist. "Keep your hands off what is mine, Dumbledore."

They were gone in a burst of flame.