Alana raced into the house eagerly. So what if she tracked mud all through the house? That was what house elves were for. She rushed into the casual sitting room, where her father always met her when he came to visit. Sure enough, her parents were sitting with Lucius and making small talk.
"Hi," Alana said nervously. She hadn't thought about her mother's reaction.
"Alana! Go change your clothes right this minute!" her mother practically yelled. "Don't come back down until you're in something presentable!"
Alana couldn't help but be scared. That was the closest she had ever come to getting yelled at and it scared her. Her eyes locked with her father's for a moment and he curtly nodded so she took off toward her room.
When she walked back downstairs, now in freshly laundered robes, she heard her parents and Lucius arguing about something.
"Every time I come here the boy is out someplace or another! Are you trying to hide something?" Alana's father demanded. Alana refused to go into the room because she was scared that the conversation would stop and turn to her as soon as she did.
"My Lord, I—" Lucius stopped in mid-sentence.
"Lucius I have just about had it with you," Voldemort said. "I'm sick of your excuses. I chose you to raise him because I thought maybe I actually trust you with something for once in my life."
"My Lord, he needed new robes," Bellatrix said. Alana wondered who they were talking about. Who needed new robes?
"Just like he did yesterday? And two days before that? You're not fooling anyone, Bellatrix. Tell me the truth right now or suffer the consequences." Alana could see fear written all over her mother's face and she knew exactly why. That was the first time she had ever heard her father call her mother "Bellatrix." Usually he just called her Bella.
Mason may have been right that her mother was a bitch, but Alana certainly was not exactly thrilled by the idea of watching her mother be tortured. She stepped into the room. Sadly, though, this didn't have the effect she had hoped for.
"Bellatrix, when you were only fifteen years old I took you under my wing and taught you everything you know," Voldemort said. It still creeped Alana out hearing him call her mother Bellatrix. He must be really pissed. "I created the Bellatrix Black we've all grown to know and love. One of the things I liked about you was how honest you were. Now, are you going to be as honest with me as you once were or am I going to have to turn to our daughter to give me the information I need? You wouldn't lie to me, Alana, would you?" Voldemort asked her. She quickly shook her head no.
"It was all Narcissa's fault," Bellatrix suddenly blurted. "She's always had a grudge against him because of the prophesy and because she's still convinced he's going to overthrow you. She's been hindering him for the last fourteen years!"
"How dare you blame Narcissa!" Lucius exclaimed. "It's not like you've ever stopped her!"
Bellatrix suddenly turned to Voldemort. "Thank you for not letting me raise Alana and Mason."
Voldemort stood up and walked behind Alana and put a hand on her shoulder, grasping it tightly as if he was afraid she would run away from him. With his other hand he drew his wand and cast the Cruciatus Curse on Bellatrix. She let out a yelp but then refused to make another sound. Voldemort smiled in satisfaction. "It's nice to see that my work hasn't gone completely to waste. Leave her," he added to Lucius, who was looking at her in amazement. "Come on, Alana," Voldemort said. "You and I have some things to discuss."
Voldemort and Alana went into her room and sat down.
"Alana, do you swear to be completely honest with me?" Voldemort asked her.
"Of course," Alana promised. "I mean, you're a Legilimens so you'd know if I was lying anyway, so what's the point?"
Voldemort sighed. "I wish everyone else caught on as quickly as you do."
Alana could hear her mother's quick scream from downstairs and then there was silence again. "What did you do to her?" Alana asked.
"I put her under the Cruciatus Curse."
"No, not that. I know that, but how she isn't screaming in agony?"
Voldemort smirked. "I turned her into a power machine. Power machines don't scream when they're in pain. In time you won't either."
Alana took a deep breath. This conversation was not going the way she'd hoped. "Yes I will. I can't help it if I can't withstand that much pain."
"All you need is more time and practice," Voldemort assured her. "Maybe by the time you're of age you'll be able to."
Alana didn't like the sound of that. She was never going to be able to be able to have the Cruciatus Curse put on her and not scream. She couldn't help it if screaming made it hurt just a little bit less.
"Alana, does it upset you to see your mother in so much pain?" Voldemort asked her.
"I couldn't tell you," Alana shrugged. "I mean, the idea of it certainly scares me."
"Which is why you were waiting to make your entrance?"
Alana looked at her father in surprise. "Yes," she said hesitantly.
"Then let's get this over with. Is Mason mistreated in any way?"
Alana shrugged. "He's definitely not spoiled like Draco and I are but I wouldn't go as far as mistreated."
"How far would you go?"
"Neglected, pushed around, that sort of thing."
"By who?"
"Um, pretty much everybody," Alana admitted. "I mean, Lucius forces him to give up anything Draco or I want; Narcissa won't care for him besides basic needs because she's too busy fawning over Draco; and Mom is just plain mean to him."
Alana could see Voldemort twitch his wand and there was another scream from downstairs. This time it didn't stop, though.
"Just ignore it," Voldemort said. "Are you ever mean to Mason at all?"
"He's like a brother to me. Of course we have our disagreements but I don't specifically try to be mean to him like Draco does."
"What does Draco do that's so mean?"
"Well, this morning he demanded that Mason give him potion ingredients that Mason worked really hard to get out of Narcissa's herb garden even though Draco didn't even need them. He just smashed them and laughed about it."
"Unbelievable," Voldemort muttered. "Do you know where he is right now?"
"No, not exactly," Alana admitted.
Voldemort pointed his wand at her and yelled, "Crucio!"
Voldemort started training Alana to be a powerhouse when she was eight years old so anyone would say that by now she should be much more powerful than her mother and be able to withstand the pain that came with the Cruciatus Curse. Anyone was wrong. For some reason Alana's body just couldn't get used to it and every time the curse was cast on her it hurt more and more. This time was no exception. She screamed louder and louder until Voldemort finally withdrew the curse.
"I have to hand it to you," he said. "You really can scream."
"I swear! I don't know where he is! If I did I would tell you!"
"You do know and you will tell me."
"All I know is that Narcissa told him they needed to go to Diagon Alley," Alana whimpered. "I don't know if they even went there or not."
"That's all I needed to know. I'll be in touch. Alana, I know you're trying but you've got to try harder. Not only with the Cruciatus Curse but with everything I've taught you and eventually you will be stronger than your mother. I'll personally make sure of it."
As Voldemort left Alana could only think of how lucky she was that she couldn't resist the Cruciatus Curse. Somewhere deep down she knew that if she truly did try as hard as she could she might be able to, but there was a part of her that didn't want to. She didn't want to go around being nothing but a power machine. She just wanted to be normal, whatever that was.
There was something going on here that she needed to know about. She heard her father tell her mother that he would lift the curse as soon as Mason returned but Alana doubted she heard him. Since she wasn't even allowed to scream that made it hurt more.
Within ten seconds Mason and Narcissa returned. Lucius had disappeared with Draco but as soon as Mason and Narcissa Apparated into the room, so did the Dark Lord, who immediately took off Bellatrix's Cruciatus Curse. She didn't move, though. She just lied there curled up in a ball, trying to get her wind back.
"Narcissa, will you lie to me now, in the boy's presence?" Voldemort asked her.
"No, my Lord, never. Why would I lie to you?" Narcissa sounded worried.
Voldemort shrugged. "Your sister and husband did."
Narcissa seemed to just now notice Bellatrix lying on the floor. Mason was the first to speak up, though.
"Who are you?" he asked Voldemort.
Voldemort looked at Mason in surprise. Then his gaze turned to Narcissa, who gave him a look that was a heavy cross of fear and apology. It made Alana's skin curl but Voldemort was undaunted.
"Well?" Voldemort asked her. "Aren't you going to try to explain this all away? Tell me that something mysterious—but entirely not your fault—happened and now he has amnesia?"
"No, my Lord! Never!" Narcissa said desperately. Alana could already tell that she was trying to look for any way out of her sister's fate. She hoped that Voldemort would see it, too. Alana could certainly tell that Narcissa was sorry and saw the error of her ways. She had never seen her aunt look that…purely terrified.
Apparently Voldemort wasn't as sensitive as Alana. "Crucio!" he shouted. Mason and Alana both stood stock still in their position a couple of meters behind Voldemort. Alana subconsciously grasped Mason's arm. She couldn't help but notice that Narcissa was screaming at the top of her lungs.