August 1973

London

"Right. We know there are at least five of them in there. This could get ugly," said Lord Voldemort to Lucius Malfoy, Rabastan Lestrange, Rodolphus Lestrange, Antonin Dolohov, and Bellatrix. She nodded and murmured into the inky black night,

"Shall we go in wands blazing, Master, or shall we each have targets?"

"Bella, I want you to go for Adonis Copper. He's been a thorn in your side for ages, I know. He's the only one I'm certain will be here tonight. The others are more hazy. All of us… we aim to kill, and we leave corpses where they lie. Disapparate if you're in grave trouble or if the mission hits a terrible snarl; we'll meet back at Malfoy Manor no matter what. Leave the Dark Mark to me. Bella."

She bowed her head towards him from behind her cold mask. She didn't need it, of course; any member of Dumbledore's conglomeration of allies would know who the witch with the explosive black curls was. But the wizards had their faces concealed by metal, and they were all cloaked. It was important that any potential survivors were left guessing about the true identities of the Death Eaters. Bellatrix knew her husband in the little crowd of wizards, though; she knew Rodolphus' mask well by now.

"Kill Adonis Copper the moment you get the chance," Lord Voldemort was saying to Bellatrix. She raised her eyes to him and nodded.

"Of course, My Lord."

Rodolphus trained his mask on Bellatrix and gave her a nod. Whether he was seeking to be reassuring or was steadying himself, Bellatrix did not know. Rodolphus was a steady soldier for Voldemort, and he and Bellatrix had bonded with one another after graduating Hogwarts owing to their shared interest in the Dark Arts and their shared devotion to Lord Voldemort. They had married a year previously, and though they were physical and amicable, Bellatrix was not in love. She considered Rodolphus a valuable ally in this war, one with whom she happened to share her bed. There would be time, perhaps, for children, when the fighting was through. They both knew better than that right now. The war was on, and their shared energies were given wholly to Voldemort's cause.

"I shall break down the door, and we rush in. This an ambush. Kill as quickly as you can. Let's go," Voldemort snarled, as a soft rain began to fall. A distant rumble of thunder sounded, and Bellatrix's breath huffed behind her mask as she turned her eyes to her master again. She stared at him as he flicked his gaze up and down her form and reminded her, "Go straight for Copper."

"Master," Bellatrix breathed. She followed him then, and Rodolphus stepped up alongside her. Her boots pattered on the path as the rain began to fall a bit harder, and Bellatrix gripped her wand carefully. She glanced up to Rodolphus and said to him, "Fight well, Dolph."

"I don't have to say the same to you," he said quietly. "You always fight well. I can only hope to fight like you, Bella."

She smirked behind her mask and sighed. In front of her, Lord Voldemort moved like a wraith, stalking with long strides as his black robes billowed around him. He was a man in his mid-forties, Bellatrix knew. His face was distantly handsome - aged, chipped and scarred, but still disarming. Druella Black had gone to school with Lord Voldemort back when he'd been Tom Riddle, and she'd told Bellatrix that the Dark Lord had been the most handsome pupil Hogwarts had ever known. Cygnus Black III had coloured scarlet at the dinner table and had changed the subject of conversation at that point, so Bellatrix hadn't been able to ask for specifics. But what Bellatrix knew was that she was terribly attracted to the powerful wizard before her. His manner of speech, his unflinching ambition, the way his eyes looked in meetings when he locked his focus onto someone and wouldn't let go. He was magnetic. His power was almost immeasurable.

Now he stomped up the steps leading to the house they were targeting, and Bellatrix and Rodolphus trotted behind him. Rabastan, Bellatrix's brother-in-law, was close behind. So was Lucius Malfoy, who was engaged to Bellatrix's youngest sister Narcissa. As for Dolohov, well, he was a fellow fighter, but Bellatrix hardly knew him. Tonight, their wands would be united against Albus Dumbledore and all his little friends.

"Alohomora." Voldemort aimed his wand at the door, and Bellatrix frowned behind her mask. He'd spoken of 'blasting down the door.' She'd thought, surely, that he'd have to undo all sorts of protective enchantments and wards to get into the house. But all he'd cast was a simple unlocking charm they'd all learnt in their first year at Hogwarts. Had Dumbledore really not been expecting them here tonight? Had Dumbledore's allies really been this stupid? It was possible, she thought. Anything was possible; even a powerful wizard like Dumbledore could get complacent.

Voldemort flung the door open with a swish of his pale wand and walked right into the house. There was an almost immediate flash of jade green light, and Bellatrix heard him bellow a Killing Curse. She wasn't sure who he'd murdered, but she followed him inside without a second thought and held her wand out, her hand not trembling in the slightest. She rushed forward, making way for the others. They scattered, and there were sudden footsteps surging out of rooms in the house.

"Stupefy!" cried a witch's voice, and Bellatrix saw a flash of blue light to her left.

"Avada Kedavra!" That was Rodolphus' voice, and Bellatrix laughed rather maniacally at the sound of her husband doing their master's bidding so efficiently. She hoped his spell had been true, that his aim had been accurate.

"Flipendo Duo!" cried a voice, and Bellatrix scowled as light came whipping toward her. She slashed her own wand through the air, sending the charged Knockback Jinx crackling as she blocked it. She did slide backward a bit on the floorboards, but she managed, for the most part, to repel the jinx. She narrowed her eyes behind her mask and spit out the name of her enemy.

"Adonis Copper. AVADA KEDAVRA!"

Vivid green light exploded out of the tip of her wand, rocketed through the air, and blasted against the chest of the tall, handsome, twenty-something Adonis Copper. He stiffened and went wide-eyed, and then he crumpled like dirty laundry. He was dead; she knew he was dead the moment he hit the floor. Bellatrix coughed out a gleeful laugh and dashed over to Adonis Copper's body, kicking it with her boot and taunting the corpse in a sing-song voice,

"Not so handsome now that we're dead, are we, Adonis? Eh?"

"Bella!"

She whirled around to see Voldemort, standing quite near her. In another room, something glass shattered, and someone screamed. Bellatrix cleared her throat and stopped her mockery at once, bowing her head.

"Well done," Voldemort said quietly. "You've done your duty here. I don't want to risk you getting hurt. There are only two left; I'll get them. Go back to Malfoy Manor and meet me in my office. I wish to speak with you."

He turned on his heel and walked briskly away, leaving Bellatrix alone with the corpse of her prey. She blinked behind her mask and felt confused. He wished to speak with her? Was she in trouble? Had she done something wrong? She heard Voldemort snarl out another Killing Curse, saw the glow of telltale green light come from the parlour beyond the stairs, and heard a thunk as a body collapsed. She had to go, she thought. He had ordered her to go, to wait for him in his office. Bellatrix gulped and whirled hard to her right, Disapparating from the spot.

When she came to, she was outside the door of Malfoy Manor. Only a select few Death Eaters could Apparate anywhere near the entrance of the expansive manse, and Voldemort had recently bandied about the idea of expanding the protective perimeter to prevent a potential battle on the Malfoy Manor grounds. But for now, Bellatrix was able to appear just below the grand steps leading up to the double front doors, and she padded through the spongy grass and then onto the hard marble stairs. She raised her hand and thudded the round brass knocker a few times. She pulled her mask off and held it in her left hand. Dobby, the Malfoys' House-Elf, opened the door just a moment later, looking absolutely terrified.

"W-Welcome, Madam Lestrange," Dobby said, opening the door further. "May Dobby get you tea?"

"No. I'm going to his office." Bellatrix shoved the elf aside with her boot and clacked her way into the foyer, climbing the flight of stairs to the main level and walking down the carpet runner past parlours and a library. It was warm today, so Bellatrix had worn a simple black linen dress and a wide belt with knee-high flat black boots. Still, she felt sticky, even in the cooled manor. She aimed her wand at herself and cast a few quick refreshing charms to do away with the sweaty, summery feeling, and at once she felt like she was fresh out of the bath.

Soon enough she reached the broad mahogany door that she knew led to Lord Voldemort's office, and she stared at it for a moment. She'd only been inside his office a few times. The first time, she'd been eighteen and freshly home from Hogwarts. He'd put the Dark Mark on her arm and made her promise to serve him forever. She had more than willingly agreed, leaving the space with a bounce in her step and a flutter in her chest. The second time she'd gone into the office, she and Rodolphus had met with Lord Voldemort to declare their intention to marry, and to ask for their master's blessing. Voldemort had seemed oddly peeved by the entire affair, but Bellatrix had assumed he had just been wholly uninterested in the romances between his Death Eaters. The last time Bellatrix had come into the office, it had been because she had needed to get more information about a target after a meeting, and Voldemort had called her in to give her a dossier. He had poured himself firewhisky as he'd explained the mission. Bellatrix remembered now that he'd offered her some, but she hated firewhisky, so she'd politely declined. She'd taken the information and left. That had been six months earlier.

Now she put her hand on the heavy brass knob and turned it, pushing open the door and swallowing hard. Why was his office unlocked, she wondered? Certainly, he had all sorts of important documents and private information in here. Almost immediately, as though in answer to her mental query, a shadowy, dusty figure materialised on the far side of the wood-paneled office. It wisped and formed in the air, whirling and whizzing toward Bellatrix. She shrieked a little as it seemed, strangely, to take the shape of Lord Voldemort himself. But then it burst apart, just before hitting Bellatrix, and all the motes of dark dust vanished. She realised then that he had indeed warded this place up, in his own way. It was guarded, she thought, with spells to keep out any enemy who would come snooping. But the magic had recognised Bellatrix as a friendly force. She gulped and shut the door behind her, stepping slowly into the office. She licked her lips and tucked her wand into the holster on her belt, looking around the office.

He had an entire wall of books, many of them evidently old. Bellatrix's curiosity piqued, and she stepped slowly toward the bookshelves. By the light of the flickering wall sconces, she read a few of the titles stamped in gold foil or carefully etched onto leather spines.

Unicorn Horn and Its Dark Uses

The Shadowy Magic of France

Sixteen Lessons I Learnt Studying Magic in China

A Year In Quiet Darkness

Bellatrix pulled the last title off the shelf, tipping her head as she opened the brown leather book and examined the first page of text. She scanned through the introductory paragraphs and discovered that A Year In Quiet Darkness was the memoir of a witch who had been Cursed deaf and blind in a duel with her estranged husband. Left without a wand, without her sight, and without hearing, the witch survived and eventually regained use of her senses.

"That," said a voice behind Bellatrix, "is a fascinating read, but hearing the tale is far more interesting when one speaks with Tiresia Pindar herself."

Bellatrix shut the book and turned, bowing her head respectfully as Lord Voldemort came walking into the office. Then she breathed in wonder,

"Tiresia Pindar… you mean the author of A Year In Quiet Darkness? You met her, My Lord?"

"Indeed. You'll notice that's a signed copy," Voldemort said. "She taught me a good deal about how to handle myself, should I ever find myself in a situation where the enemy has managed to disable me somehow and I need to regain control. Would you care to borrow the book? It might do you good, as my soldier, to read it."

Bellatrix glanced down at the book in her hands and then raised her eyes to Voldemort. She smiled weakly and nodded. "I would be very careful with it, Master, and read and return it promptly."

"Yes. Well, take your time; it's been sitting on that shelf for years." Voldemort sighed and walked over to his drinks cart. "Rodolphus took a nasty Knockback Jinx and seems a bit concussed; he went home with Rabastan for the night to recuperate. He said to tell you he'll see you in the morning."

Bellatrix blinked. "Is he quite all right, Master?"

"He's fine." Voldemort uncorked a bottle of Blishen's and poured some into a glistening tumbler. He held up a second, empty tumbler and said, "I know you don't like this stuff, but…"

"Thank you, anyway, My Lord," Bellatrix murmured. She wondered again why he'd asked her to come to his office. Was she in trouble? She hugged his book to her chest and stepped away from the bookshelves as he corked up the Blishen's and sipped a little from his glass. He tipped his head as she asked, "What about the others? Were any more of ours hurt? Did we get all of them?"

"All of theirs are dead," Voldemort confirmed. "There were six. You had entirely too much fun with Adonis Copper, though I must say it's rather amusing to watch you taunt a fresh corpse."

He sipped again and sighed. Bellatrix curled up half her mouth and admitted quietly,

"It's quite satisfying, Master. Killing for you."

"Mmm." He stared into his glass of firewhisky and swirled it slowly. "Lucius Malfoy somehow managed to Splinch on his way back here. Nervous energy or something. Your sister's fussing over him upstairs."

Bellatrix frowned. "Is it anything serious?"

"Split lip. Nothing a simple Episkey couldn't fix, of course, but I let your sister be his little mother hen."

Bellatrix laughed a bit and scratched at her curls. "That was merciful of you, My Lord."

"Oh. Well. That is never my intention… mercy." He flicked his eyes up to Bellatrix and sipped his firewhisky again. Suddenly her core twisted, and she hugged the book more tightly than ever. She gulped, feeling a flush go through her. She wanted him, she realised. She'd always been attracted to him, but tonight, something was different. She felt an odd desire to be closer to him, to put her hands on him, and she found herself letting out shaky breaths through her parted lips.

"You're not exactly one for mercy, either, are you?" Lord Voldemort raised his eyebrows and sighed. He seemed steady, but his eyes kept going up and down Bellatrix's form as though he were searching for something. "I told you to commit murder for me tonight, Bellatrix, and you did it with pleasure. You did it without hesitation, and you enjoyed it. You mocked your victim; you kicked his body, and you taunted him after you murdered him. Didn't you?"

"Yes." Bellatrix could not manage to choke out any more than that one syllable. She knew she ought to add something else at the end. My Lord. Master. Of course I did, just for you, My Lord. But all she could whimper was, yes.

He was silent for a long moment, and he finally took a few steps over towards his desk, standing closer to Bellatrix now. She shivered as she breathed in the scent of him, cold and oceanic. He set down his nearly empty tumbler on the desk and touched his long fingertips to the corner of the furniture. He brushed them along the wood and said quietly,

"You are… pretty."

Bellatrix's eyes went wide. Her mouth fell open, and she said nothing at all. Voldemort just stared at her, one of his eyebrows cocking up. Finally, he whispered,

"Thank you, Master."

"Th-thank you, Master," Bellatrix echoed, and Voldemort wet his bottom lip.

"I have, for some time, felt a sense of curiosity surrounding you."

"Curiosity, My Lord?" Bellatrix felt like a parrot now, like an obnoxious bird just repeating everything he said. He nodded and sniffed lightly.

"I have wondered, for instance, what a kiss between you and me might taste like. I have wondered for some time what your waist - that tiny little waist of yours - might feel like beneath my palm, what your curls might feel like with my fingers tangled in them."

Bellatrix had absolutely no idea what to say. She gripped the book she was holding so hard that her hands hurt, and she whispered,

"I… erm… I am curious, too, My Lord."

"Are you?" He sounded bored, though she could tell he was not. He picked up his glass of firewhisky and swigged the rest of it down. He set down the empty glass and huffed out a breath, taking a few steps and closing the gap between himself and Bellatrix. He snatched the copy of A Year In Quiet Darkness out of Bellatrix's hands and wandlessly Banished it back to the desk behind him, and before Bellatrix knew what was happening, Voldemort had pushed one hand straight into her hair and had put the other on her thick leather belt. He drew her near to him with a pull of his right hand, which migrated to the small of her back. The fingers of his left hand snared into her wild mane of black curls, and his dark eyes flashed suddenly. His breath audibly quickened, and Bellatrix could tell that this was doing something to him. She blinked up at him, feeling more alive than she'd ever felt, and she whispered helplessly,

"Please, may I touch you, Master?"

He just nodded, and Bellatrix let her shaking fingers go to the front of his black robes. She touched at his chest, feeling the way it was rising and falling with quick, shallow breaths. His deep eyes blazed at her as he pulled her even closer, and his fingers cinched in her hair until it almost hurt. Bellatrix's eyes fluttered shut; she adored the feel of his hands on her. She was drowning in him, in the sensation of his touch. She still had her eyes shut when she felt the press of lips on hers, and she gasped. He took the opportunity to press his tongue into her mouth, and Bellatrix grappled at his chest as she realized that he - Lord Voldemort - was actually kissing her. Her fingers convulsed on his robes as he took a deep breath and rubbed at her scalp with his left hand. His right hand pressed flat against her back, yanking her snugly against him until she could feel the evidence of his want. His tongue dragged against the roof of her mouth, and he suckled on her lip before soothing it with a draw of his tongue. She moaned like an absolute whore against him, but he stayed quiet except for the puffs of his quick breathing.

After what seemed at once like an eternity and half an instant, he pulled away, releasing Bellatrix and letting his hands fall to his sides. He looked away, and Bellatrix staggered backward, sensing that he no longer wanted her to be so close. She was so aroused she could hardly breathe, and as she dragged her wrist over her swollen lips, she let out a little whimper and shut her eyes.

"Interesting," she heard Voldemort say. She wanted to ask him if she'd been anything like what he'd wanted, if she'd been what he'd expected. He had been curious. Had she lived up to his desires? She stared at him, and he stared at the copy of A Year In Quiet Darkness on his desk. He blinked and said quietly,

"Your husband is staying with his brother to recover from that nasty Knockback Jinx."

Bellatrix chomped her lip. Was he going to command her to stay the night? She opened her mouth, unsure of what to say, but then Voldemort shook his head firmly and picked up the book. He shoved it into Bellatrix's arms and gave her a hard, steely look.

"I'd like you to read this," he said, "as soon as possible. It is useful to know how to undo the effects of a nasty curse. This isn't the sort of thing they teach you in school, and not all of our enemies are meek. Read the book and return it to me when you've finished. I'll have more reading for you to do when you're through with that. And I'd like for you to study Occlumency with me; your mind is wide open, and it'd be useful all around if you were a closed door, as it were."

Bellatrix frowned but wrapped the book up in her arms and nodded. She walked over to the bookshelf where she'd set her mask down, and she picked it up. She licked her lip and still felt his kiss there, and she asked carefully,

"Is there anything else, My Lord?"

He shut his eyes and was silent again. Then he shoved his hands into the pockets of the trousers beneath his robe and shook his head. "No, Bella. Nothing else. Well done tonight. Goodbye."

Bellatrix's stomach twisted strangely as she flicked her eyes between her master and the door. She nodded firmly and glanced down at the book he'd given her.

"Goodbye, Master," she said softly, and she headed for the door.

A/N: Please do review!