Thank you, to the two people who have so far reviewed my story, yes I mean you Yes I Do Drink Tea, you too, Mr/Miss anonymous reviewer. I checked spelling as adviced.

Now, read on, if you dare...Mwahahahahahahahahaha!

Actually, it's not scary, ignore me...

"You thought you were so clever," sneered Crouch as he surveyed them, "so wise and so great. Did you honestly believe I wouldn't notice you pair of do-gooders tailing me half the time?'

Ali felt shame burn at her insides, she had thought he hadn't realised.

"I knew you suspected I was up to something, and quite honestly I was getting sick of 'pretending' all the time." He grinned widely. "So that's why we decided to organise this little trick to catch you out. I knew you'd stop at nothing to find out what I was up to. The whole thing was staged, the meeting, the message, everything! As if Death Eaters rely on passing notes in forests to convey the next meeting time. We have far more effective ways."

He pulled up the sleeve of his robe to reveal something that made Ali's skin crawl and heart stop. There was a picture of a skull with a snake issuing from its mouth up on top of his forearm. It was not a piece of cloth stuck to it, it was not even a tattoo. It was burnt straight onto his flesh.

"Thought you'd like it." He dropped the robe back and Ali spoke, her mind full of the images she'd just seen.

"I always knew." Her voice was toneless and her eyes were glazed as she looked at him. "From the moment I saw you. Your face, your eyes, all of you. You were…"

"Evil," finished Crouch, licking his lips.

"Insane," interrupted Frank angrily. "'Cause you know that's true don't you. All of you, everyone here needs to be carted off to some loony bin before you hurt someone else. Bastards!" He spat in fury."Your whole flipping society. Going round killing innocent people. Why you do it huh? Why?"

The crowd of Death Eaters stiffened and a line of unease flew across Crouch's brow.

"Master tells us what to do and we do it. The Dark Lord must be obeyed."

"Oh yeah right!" burst out Ali, Frank's rage had brought her back to her senses. "I've heard the stories about your 'Dark Lord'. Some invisible villain, half man, half beast that waltzes around giving orders and murdering whoever he pleases? More likely some nut house is telling tall tales and the rest of you swallow it, desperate for a taste of power." She was shaking again, though this time it was from anger not fear. "Show us this Dark Lord then. Come on, where is he?"

"Right here."

A cold, high voice had come from the back of the room. The Death Eaters parted their ranks and one of their number stepped forward. He had been there all along, indistinguishable from his other black robed marshals; but now everything from his slow walk to the way his thick robes hung showed he was far from ordinary.

Crouch fell to his knees as he approached. He bowed twice then shuffled to the side before standing up. He quickly replaced his hood.

"You doubt my existence Alice McKinnon?" he asked quietly. She knew he was looking straight at her even though the hood covered his eyes. "You believe I am just some figment of an overactive imagination. A made up creature used to scare the stupid and gullible? Well, it is you who are gullible, for I am more real then mere mortals like you could ever know."

He had long fingers that were unnaturally white and thin. Them and his pale wrists came into view as he raised them to his head. He bent his neck as he removed his hood so when it was gone they were still unable to see his face. He had no hair and the back of his scalp and neck were oddly green and scaly, like a snake. Slowly, he raised his eyes from the floor to meet with Ali's. The process seemed to take forever even though it could not have been more than a few seconds.

Frank gasped loudly but no sound could issue from Ali's gaping mouth. This man, this beast in front of her had skin of shockingly white colour with no visible nose, just slits. His eyes were the worst things of all. A deep, searing scarlet they tore straight into Ali's heart. She could not breath; her heart had stopped. She was frozen, unable to move at all from that spot, unable to raise her arms or drop her gave. Unable to breath so much as a word, but inside she was screaming…dying.

He dropped his eyes. All at once Ali found her brain again was working and the blood was flowing fresh around her veins. She could see no visible signs of damage, but her heart was beating at least twice its normal rate and sweat was dripping down her face. She had never felt so cold.

"Believe it now?"

Everything was completely silent. None of the Death Eaters seemed even to be breathing. They were almost unnoticeable, blending in so well with the shadows lingering at the back of the room, but their presence was felt loud and clear. Ali was expecting Frank to speak, but he said nothing. Nobody did.

"Shall we dispose of them My Lord?" asked a Death Eater from the back.

"No." Just that one word was chilling. "She has not answered my question. I said, Ms McKinnon, do you believe it now?"

Ali could not bring herself to speak. She would not, did not want to. But it was then she saw out of the corner of her eye what Frank was doing, what was occupying his attention, why he did not speak.

His Death Eater, unlike Ali's, had not checked the tightest of his bounds. They had not noticed the looseness of the robe tying Frank's feet together. It had left a gap, one that, with effort, would allow him to slip his feet out of. But it would be difficult to do this unnoticed, if just one Death Eater were to glance down at him then they'd be finished, their last hope would be gone. She had to distract them, but how?

"Yes," she blurted out quickly, "Yes, I-I believe it now."

"Good." Again he gave that evil smile that turned Ali's insides to ice. He made to turn away, but Ali in desperation to keep Frank unnoticed, shouted,

"But I do not understand. Why, why do you kill all those people? What do you gain?"

The Dark Lord turned back. His evil eyes were surveying her with interest.

"You surprise me. I expected a mere child such as yourself to be too terrified to say a word. Or else shout and scream with fear. I did not believe you would question my motives quite so easily." He stopped, shaking his head, "Nevertheless, the situation is far to complicated for you to understand."

"I understand." Her voice was as clam as she could make it, a shadow of the fury she had felt minutes before was again coursing through her veins. "You murder people you think might be a problem to you, that and muggle-borns."

"Muggle-borns are scum," he answered violently, "they are nothing but traitors, sharing our world with their dirty blood. They may have some of our powers but they do not share our history or nobility." He looked at Ali witheringly, "They may have magic, but they are still muggles. And what use do muggles have in the world of wizards?"

He spoke with such anger Ali was shocked. Anyone with half a brain could realise there was more to his loathing then he'd said.

"Who- who are you?"

The Dark Lord laughed. It was as high and cold as his voice and echoed eerily round the chamber.

"I severely mis-underestimated you Miss McKinnon. You have a thirst for knowledge that will not be ceased in even the most unusual of situations." The Death Eaters laughed. "Well I will tell you, despite the fact that not even all of my Death Eaters know. It's not as if you will live to give word to anyone else." He began pacing up and down in front of the two captives, though his eyes never left Ali, which was lucky as then he would have been sure to notice what Frank was up to. "My father, Tom Riddle, was a muggle of high birth and esteem. My mother on the other hand would have been considered poor and uncouth by the upper classes of muggle civilisation. In the magical world this was quite the reverse. Last in the most important pure bloodline she was a descendant of the great Slytherin himself." There was pride in his voice, but it was lost as a look of distaste appeared on his deathly face. "Despite this, she was also a fool, falling for the rich heir of the Riddle estate. He did not return the emotion for long, abandoning her the moment he heard of her magical roots. She died giving birth to me, living long enough only to name me. My father is dead too, murdered."

Judging by the sick look of delight on his face it would not take a brain surgeon to work out who had killed him.

"My real name is unimportant as I never use it, but what am I known as now? In answer to your very question, who am I?" He spread his arms out and looked straight into Ali's eyes again. A torturous pain was felt all through her. "You may call me Lord Voldemort."

There was a yell from beside them and Voldemort's head snapped around. Frank had freed his feet and had kicked up at the nearest Death Eaters hands. The three wands he'd been clutching went flying through the air, landing next to Ali. She stretched forward as far as she could; scooping up the wands despite her tied wrists. Quick as a flash she threw Frank his before setting alight the tip of her. With great difficulty she placed it to the rope around her middle and it began to burn through.

The Death Eater who had been holding the wands found himself quite unprotected, he made a lunge for Frank's wand but he was too slow. Frank had fired a stunner at him before he was could get close. He fell instantly to the floor.

Ali had managed to burn all the way through the main rope. She staggered to her feet, her ankles and wrists still tied together. She threw the black wand aside, and then fired a variety of stunning spells and jinxes towards the surrounding Death Eaters. Several collapsed to the ground. Hopping a few steps forward Ali managed to tug down one of the many swords on the wall. It was obviously very old judging by the engravings on the hilt, and it weighed a ton! Barely managing not to drop it she sliced through the roped around her ankles. They broke apart and she was able again to move each foot independently from the other. Clutching the sword impossible weight between her knees, Ali tugged her wrists as far apart as they would and slip the ropes along the blade. After a few precious seconds the cords frayed and snapped. She was free.

Still carrying the sword Ali raced towards Frank, jabbing the tip into a couple of Death Eaters backs on the way. Frank's feet were free but the rest of him was still tied to the wall. It was taking all his time and effort just to repel those trying to attack him. Taking care not to rip him to pieces Ali cut through the rope pinning him to the stone. He stood up when they fell apart and stopped his spell work for a moment for Ali to cut through the bonds on his hands. That couple of seconds was all it took. One of the closest Death Eaters grabbed hold of Ali's neck. He muttered through a mouth that sounded full of broken teeth,

"Avada-"

Without thinking Ali flung the sword with all her might. It hit the Death Eater straight in the face. She was unable to say whether it was the gaping gash across his face, or the impact of the metal on his skull, that caused him to lose consciousness. Whichever, it certainly did the job well.

Both of the pair were now free. The floor was littered with the stunned and broken remains of the Dark Lord's force. There were just two Death Eaters left standing and both had ran towards their leader, determined to guaranty his survival. It was impossible to tell if Crouch was one of them. The trio of Dark wizards were standing together, between the captives, and the door.

"You're cornered," said Voldemort, his face twisted in rage, "do not attempt to escape." The wizards raised their wands and prepared to deliver a fatal blow.

Communicating as though through telepathy as neither had spoken a word, Ali and Frank worked in unison. Both threw out their wands and bellowed,

"STUPEFY!"

The two shots of light combined, and then split into three separate shoots. They fired straight at the Death Eaters and their Lord. In the distraction caused Ali shoved them aside and she and Frank ran towards the door. They tugged it open than ran flat out towards the nearest turning. Unable to remember which direction they'd come, they headed for the nearest window. Once one had been found they tried desperately to open it. When the lock refused to budge (more through rust thankey or magic as Alohomora made no difference) Frank stood back and kicked it with his full force. The glass shattered and they pushed themselves through, receiving many cuts and scratches as they did.

When they had got outside they ran. They ran and ran and ran, not stopping until they were a good half a mile away from the building. All of a sudden Ali's legs gave way and she fell to the ground. Frank half collapsed next to her. They sat, holding onto each other, at the edge of some deserted rode in the outskirts of industrial London. Both were shaking and there were tears in both sets of eyes.

Thinking your going to die does that to you.

(It may be a question to some as to why Alice and Frank did not simply apparate from the building in order to escape. It was impossible while they were tied up as the ropes were all jinxed with anti-apparate charm. But, at any other moment it should have been easy for both to simply vanish, as the building itself had no trace of a jinx, the Death eaters themselves needing to apparate and disapparate inside of it. The problem was that Ali had not the world's best sense of direction. She had failed the test the first time she had taken it and was not fully licensed to apparate until over a year later after her second attempt. Frank, on the other hand, had passed first time so was perfectly capable of disapparating from the situation. But, due to his great love and loyalty towards Ali, the thought never even crossed his mind.)

Ok, maybeI did steal the description of Voldie directly from the book. This is fan fiction after all...