"Druella. Cygnus." Lord Voldemort strode into the Janus Thickey Ward as if he owned the place. Bellatrix eyed the other patients in the ward - an older woman absentmindedly picking at her blanket, a young man lying on his back and staring at the ceiling - and then she stared at her sister Andromeda. She was awake, though she looked dazed and befuddled as she asked,
"Who's this gentleman?"
"She really remembers nothing?" Voldemort asked with a bite. Druella and Cygnus shot him dirty looks, and Cygnus shot at him,
"Did you do this, Tom?"
Voldemort blinked. He did not correct the name. He just shook his head and said quite firmly, "No, Cygnus; I did not Obliviate your daughter."
"The Healers say it was done so thoroughly that she'll never get her mind back," said Druella, breaking into fresh tears. "I swear, Tom Riddle, if you've done this to our daughter."
"I did not Obliviate Andromeda," seethed Voldemort. "I have some idea of who did, but it wasn't me. Bella, I'll send you an owl when I know more. I'm going to Malfoy Manor."
"Malfoy Manor?" repeated Cygnus. "You think young Lucius did this?"
"Probably not; he's got the underage Trace on him," Voldemort surmised, "but it could have been Abraxas. Narcissa, I'm sure, shared with Lucius that…"
He trailed off then, and his eyes flashed strangely. Bellatrix frowned and asked, "What's wrong, My Lord?"
"I need to go to Malfoy Manor. Now. I'll send you an owl," he said, and he looked to Cygnus and Druella. "I really am very sorry for you. No matter who she was dating, it wasn't enough to wipe her mind. It is a tragedy, and I'm sorry for you."
He glanced at Bellatrix one final time, and then he nodded before Disapparating from the spot.
Once he'd gone, Druella leaned heavily onto Cygnus' shoulder and sobbed. Cygnus eyed Bellatrix and demanded,
"Do you know anything?"
"I really and truly don't," Bellatrix insisted. She looked at Andromeda and asked, "Have you got any idea who I am?"
"You're a nurse!" said Andromeda warmly. "You care for sick people."
"Oh, Cygnus," cried Druella. Bellatrix pinched her lips and shook her head.
"I'm going home," she said, "to wait for news from the Dark Lord."
"The Dark Lord." Cygnus looked surprised. "Is that what he is?"
"Yes," Bellatrix murmured. "It is."
She made her way to the bank of lifts and jammed on the button, determined to get home as quickly as possible.
Dear Bella, said the owl that came two hours later, It was Titus Malfoy. Come to my house. I've got a present for you.
Bellatrix's hands shook around the letter. Titus Malfoy had Obliviated her sister? Why? She blinked quickly and folded up the letter, tucking it into the apron of her Mediwitch uniform. She grabbed her wand and dashed out of her room, down the stairs to the foyer. She thought of calling out to her parents that Titus Malfoy had been the one to Obliviate Andromeda. But then she realised that she should wait until she knew more of Lord Voldemort's plans. She Disapparated from the foyer, deliberating hard on 21 Bassett Gardens in Isleworth.
She came to in the street outside his house, and she went running up to the front door. She knocked firmly on it, and a few moments later, it opened. Voldemort stood there in a white tunic whose sleeves had been rolled up; he'd stripped off his outer robe for some reason. Bellatrix scowled at him and asked,
"What's going on, Master?"
"Come inside. I've got something to show you."
Bellatrix followed him in, and he shut the door behind her. Then she gasped, for on the floor of the ugly sitting room was Titus Malfoy, lying in the foetal position and bound at the wrists and ankles by thin ropes. He was gagged with a cloth, but he let out a muffled cry when he saw Bellatrix.
"Abraxas Malfoy was not at all happy to discover that his son Titus had Obliviated a Pureblood. A member of the Sacred Twenty-Eight. The sister - blood traitor or not - of my fiercest ally. You see, Titus here forgot, or did not know, that I am a Legilimens. I saw the entire process of him Obliviating and abducting Andromeda in his mind. I saw him plant her in Diagon Alley, wandering and alone and confused. And I saw why he did it."
"Why did he do it, Master?" Bellatrix asked numbly.
"Because he thought it would impress me." Voldemort sounded disgusted. "He knew I did not care for him, but his brother Lucius and his father Abraxas had told him that the right path forward was to get into my good graces. And so, idiot that he is, Titus here wiped the entire mind of a Pureblood. Fool."
"And what punishment shall he receive for this?" Bellatrix asked, adjusting her grip on her wand. Voldemort smirked down to Bellatrix and said,
"I think twenty seconds of the Cruciatus Curse ought to teach him. Don't you?"
Bellatrix grinned, even as Titus moaned in protest from the floor. Bellatrix reached up to stroke Voldemort's cheek and purred, "Fire away, Master."
"I'm not going to torture him," Voldemort said, and when Bellatrix raised her brows, he said, "You are."
"Oh," breathed Bellatrix. She aimed her wand at Titus Malfoy. You had to really mean Unforgivables, she knew. She thought of finding out that Titus had been cheating on her with Aster Greengrass. She thought of the pain of that, of how distraught she'd been. And then she studied his pathetic figure, staring up at her with wide, pleading eyes from where he was tied on the ground, and she exclaimed gleefully,
"Crucio!"
A crimson snare of light snaked around Titus like a bolt of ruby lightning. It crackled and snapped around him, a vicious web of light emanating from Bellatrix's wand. He writhed and screamed at once, and Voldemort aimed his own wand at the boy.
"Silencio. Can't have the Muggle neighbours suspecting that we're busy torturing someone over here. That's enough, Bella."
Bellatrix snapped her wand up and broke the spell. Titus rolled over onto his side and gagged, looking like he was going to be sick. Voldemort flicked his fingers at Titus, and all his bindings and the Silencing Spell dissolved. Voldemort approached Titus and bent down, pulling the gag from his mouth. Titus groaned, drool dripping from his mouth as he pushed himself up onto his hands and knees. He very slowly stood, on shaking legs, and he mumbled,
"I'm so sorry. I'm so very sorry."
"You wanted into my good graces," said Voldemort stiffly. "Obliviating Andromeda Black was not the way to do that. I promised your father I would spare you a sentence in Azkaban by handling this myself. Now you'll go to the Blacks' house and explain everything - what you did to your daughter, and how I have punished you. If Cygnus kills you… well, that will be your problem."
Titus nodded, gulping. He looked to Bellatrix and asked quietly,
"Did it feel good to get your revenge?"
"D'you know, it did. It did feel good," Bellatrix confirmed. She raised her eyebrows and said, "Good luck at my parents' house, Titus."
Titus bowed, first to Voldemort and then to Bellatrix, and he started to walk to the foyer. Voldemort grabbed at the boy's arm, making him whirl around. Titus looked surprised, but Voldemort just hissed,
"If you don't go confess your crime to the Blacks, your punishment will be death. Do you understand me?"
"Yes, sir," Titus nodded, his eyes rimmed red. "I am so very sorry." He lurched forward a few steps, still unsteady, and he Disapparated with a loud crack!
"Can he fix Andromeda?" asked Bellatrix, but Voldemort shook his head and said, "No. The spells he used were deep and powerful. In fact, I'm surprised the fool had the capability to perform such magic. Andromeda's ruined. But I wasn't going to let him get off easy. Your father will take his own vengeance."
"Why didn't you just kill him?" Bellatrix pressed, and Voldemort shifted on his feet. He tipped his head.
"Titus Malfoy is a Pureblood, just like Andromeda. I need Abraxas and Lucius. I need Abraxas' friends. Executing Titus for his misdeed would not have helped my cause. You understand."
"I do," Bellatrix nodded. She sighed shakily and pulled off her matron's cap. "Oh, I am starved. I was near the end of my shift when they told me about Andromeda."
"Well, it's… it's dinnertime. Would you like some dinner?" asked Voldemort. Bellatrix smiled a little and nodded. He reached to slide his fingers through hers, and he led her out of the hideous sitting room and down the little corridor. Once they were in the kitchen, he got to work. He began baking breasts of chicken and cooking up asparagus and mashed potato. He poured two glasses of white wine, and he Banished it all to the table where Bellatrix sat waiting.
"Thank you, Master," Bellatrix said, digging in immediately. Voldemort stared at her, not eating, and after a few bites, Bellatrix set down her knife and fork and asked worriedly, "Something wrong, My Lord?"
"You are my first, best acolyte." He'd told her that before. She nodded eagerly, and he sighed. "I have an idea… something I invented on the Continent, but I haven't had the chance to… to use it."
"What is it, Master?" asked Bellatrix. He cleared his throat and asked,
"Are you familiar with Protean Charms?"
"Linking things. Yes, I know of them," Bellatrix confirmed. Voldemort narrowed his eyes.
"What about a modified Protean Charm that links magical tattoos, which allows a master to summon his servants at will?"
Bellatrix picked up her glass of wine. "Now that," she said softly, "I've not heard of."
"Would you accept one?" Voldemort asked. "If I tattooed you so that I could summon you, would you…?"
"Yes," Bellatrix whispered. "Anything for you, My Lord."
"You'd be the first one to have it," he told her. "It would be a prototype, a test. To see if it really works."
"Try it on me," Bellatrix said urgently. "I want your mark on me."
"Mark. Yes." Voldemort lowered his eyes. "The Dark Mark."
Bellatrix shivered. She unbuttoned the cuff of her left sleeve and yanked it back. She shoved forth her left arm and revealed the milky skin of her inner forearm. "Put it here, will you? So I can hide it at work?"
Voldemort nodded and smirked. "Perfect."
He rose and walked over to Bellatrix, and she drew herself to her feet. He blinked down at her and said,
"You're hungry. This can wait until after we eat."
"It mustn't wait," Bellatrix insisted, "Because you want it."
Voldemort took Bellatrix's left arm in his left hand and pressed the tip of his yew wand to her flesh. "Bellatrix," he purred, meeting her eyes, "Do you vow to serve me until the day you die?"
"I do swear it, Master," Bellatrix nodded, and she felt utterly breathless. Voldemort curled up his lips and licked his lips. He pressed his wand harder onto Bellatrix's skin and incanted in a low voice,
"Morsmordre."
Bellatrix gasped at the sound of the spell, for it came out like a prayer. Her breath was rickety as she watched a black design form under her skin. A skull was traced, as if Bellatrix was being tattooed by an artist. Then a snake emerged from the mouth of the skull, creeping downward and twisting around. Bellatrix started to cry, overwhelmed with emotion at being marked by Lord Voldemort. Once the tattoo had finished inking itself, it faded to maroon, then to pink until it was barely visible. Bellatrix raised her eyes to Voldemort, who said smoothly,
"I'll be outside. Soon, so will you."
Bellatrix opened her mouth to ask him what he meant, but he walked straight out of the kitchen into the garden - the garden where Bellatrix had planted all the Flobberworms. She stared at her Dark Mark as Voldemort strode outside. She watched as he peeled back his own sleeve and pressed his wand to his own forearm. There was a long pause, and then he brought his wand freshly onto his skin. He appeared to be saying something. Then Bellatrix sucked in air hard, for she felt a stinging sensation on her forearm. The pain was bearable but certainly substantial. She looked down again to see that her Dark Mark had flushed from pink to black. She felt a powerful urge, like an instinct, drawing her to Voldemort. She needed to be with him, right now. She shut her eyes and felt a thud in her mind. Garden, garden, garden. Come to the garden. Bellatrix shoved down her sleeve and ran towards the door, flinging it open and sprinting out into the garden. She reached Voldemort in a few steps, and when she did, she felt immense relief.
"I needed to be near you," she said. She chuckled a bit and admitted, "I always feel like that, but this felt visceral."
"Perfect." Voldemort said. He took her face in his hands and bent to kiss her. "You are perfect, just like my magic. Let's go finish dinner."
Author's Note: Thank you very much for reading and reviewing. I'm writing two stories at once, along with one-shots, but I'll update as often as I can.