As it always was when parties were been held, Malfoy Manor looked immaculate on New Year's Eve. The expensive Christmas decorations were still in place, but new decorations had been added to make the place seem even more festive. As always, several rooms were locked and out of bounds to the partygoers, but most of the ground floor was free for everyone to roam around. Waiters were also strolling around with drinks and nibbles, but both food and drink were also available in various rooms.
Technically the party was for Voldemort's Death Eaters, but there were a few guests present who didn't actually have the mark, but supported the cause all the same. In fact, a few of them were even expressing an interest in officially joining Voldemort's ranks. The Dark Lord was more than happy to consider initiating fresh blood into his Death Eaters and he spent some time getting to know the people who wanted to join them.
While Voldemort was mingling with the guests, Harry and Hermione had headed off with their friends almost as soon as they arrived. Severus and Rosmerta were also doing the rounds, with Rosmerta flashing her new engagement ring. The pair's engagement had gone down well with the family, although it hadn't come as a surprise as the second the couple left for their break, Harry had told the family everything about his father's plans. However, the wider world were just finding out about the pair's engagement, and they were in high demand as they celebrated their engagement.
With all her family otherwise occupied, Beth found herself alone sipping on a glass of champagne. Not that she minded having a moment's peace as she knew she would spend most of the evening at her husband's side, mingling with the guests and keeping people sweet. Sadly, Beth's quiet moment was interrupted by someone coming up behind her.
"Such a shame," The voice cooed.
"What's a shame, Bella?" Beth asked in an icy voice. She would have loved it if Bellatrix hadn't been invited, but she was Narcissa's sister and one of Voldemort's Death Eaters, so it would have been awkward not to invite her.
"The Dark Lord," Bellatrix replied with a smirk as she sipped on a glass of red wine. "If we can still call him that of course."
"Just what are you on about, Bella?" Beth snapped.
"Well, he's not very dark these days, is he?" Bellatrix sneered. "Time was, he would have grasped power by force. There would be none of this pussyfooting around, bringing in stupid new laws for mudbloods and their kin. He would have just wiped the lot of them off the face of the earth."
"People grow up, Bella," Beth replied. "He's no longer blinded by his need for power. He can see there's a different way to do things. Gaining power does not need to be done by force."
"It's just not the same, though," Bellatrix replied with a dramatic sigh. "The Dark Lord of old wouldn't want things done this way. He wanted people to fear him. There used to be a time when people trembled at the mere mention of his name."
"And they still do," Beth pointed out sharply. "Very few of the Order have the courage to say his name. And even you're frightened of him. You may say this stuff to me, but you wouldn't dare say any of this to my husband's face."
"I wouldn't, but not because I'm scared," Bellatrix replied. "I wouldn't say this to The Dark Lord because I respect him, and I think the man I used to know is still in there. I think the fearsome Dark Lord we all vowed to serve all those years ago, still exists. He just needs a chance to come out."
"You think he's hiding his true self?" Beth questioned with an amused chuckle. Her husband wasn't the hiding type, and she knew he wouldn't put on a front for anyone.
"No, I think you and your brat of a daughter are burying it," Bellatrix spat nastily. "You're a drain on him, Beth. The Dark Lord isn't a family man, he's a dark wizard meant to take control of our world. You and your daughter are stopping him from achieving his destiny."
Whirling round to face Bellatrix, Beth pushed the witch against a nearby wall and gave her a deadly glare. "You know nothing about my husband, so just keep your nose out of things that don't concern you," She hissed angrily. "This is your final warning, Bella. Annoy me again, and I'll take you out."
"The Dark Lord wouldn't let you," Bellatrix replied with a smug smirk. She'd been getting under Beth's skin since the moment they'd been introduced to one another and she reckoned if Voldemort would let Beth take her out than she would have already done it.
"I don't need permission, Bella," Beth vowed in a low voice. "I've kept my temper out of respect for Narcissa. It is not my husband keeping you alive, it's my friendship with your sister. But this is the final straw, trouble me or any of my family again and you're dead. Do I make myself clear?"
"Crystal," Bellatrix spat.
"Good." Stepping back from Bellatrix, Beth gave her a sickly sweet smile. "Now run along and have a good time, Bella. Enjoy the New Year, it just might be your last."
Turning on her heel, Beth strode away from Bellatrix and headed into the gardens to grab some fresh air. Her altercation with Bellatrix had left her shaken, and she was wondering just how many of Voldemort's Death Eaters had thoughts just like Bellatrix. Just how many of them thought that The Dark Lord had lost his edge? How many of them blamed her and Hermione for turning him into a family man?
Of course Beth knew that Voldemort's change of tactics in recent years had nothing to do with the fact he had children. If Bellatrix had really thought about her claims she would have realised that Voldemort was already a father all those years ago when he was trying to gain power by force. Even when he was married to Beth and they had Hermione, his main weapon in the war against the light was brute force. Things only changed when Dumbledore wounded him, rendering him weak and ineffective for so many years. Not that Bellatrix was around to see that, and the effect it had on Voldemort.
Beth knew the years her husband was weak and had so little magic, changed his priorities. He got to experience first-hand just what he had to lose if things went wrong for him. He'd been lucky in the fact his Horcruxes had saved his life, but things could have easily been so different and he could have lost his life. Being stuck in such a weakened state gave him a chance to re-evaluate and long before he regained his powers, he'd confessed to Beth that he feared he'd been going about things all wrong.
As Voldemort had realised, gaining power by force wasn't going to work in the long term. By being so brutal about things, it meant he would always have enemies trying to bring him down. However, by using manipulation to gain power, it meant a lot of people who would have opposed him had he used force, were a lot less reluctant to fight against him. After all, it was a lot harder to say he was a tyrant without all the death and destruction that had accompanied the first war. As things stood, people were more reluctant to fight against Voldemort and his regime as it didn't seem to be hurting anyone.
Not that Bellatrix knew any of this as she'd been in Azkaban for so long. Although, Beth doubted if she would have appreciated the new way of thinking anyway. Bellatrix had always been one for violence and the subtlety of life was lost on her. She'd never seemed to realise that there was more to life than getting everything you wanted. Beth wasn't sure if Bellatrix's attitude was down to the fact her own marriage was nothing more than an arranged union between two purebloods. Maybe if she actually had a husband who loved her, she would understand why things couldn't be done the old way. But maybe not, maybe she was just a violent person and couldn't understand doing things subtly. Either way, Beth wasn't going to give her a second thought, and she certainly wasn't going to let her ruin her evening.
Taking a few more breaths of the cool evening air, Beth threw back her shoulders and marched back into the party. Quickly finding her husband, she sidled up to him and slipped her arm through his. She then remained at her husband's side as they mingled with their friends and talked about the year to come.
Shortly before midnight, Lucius gathered everyone in the main ballroom so that Voldemort could give a speech. Even the youngsters had been rounded up, and Beth smiled at the sight of Hermione and Harry with their respective partners. Every time she'd seen Hermione over the course of the evening she'd been with Draco, and the pair looked very much like two teenagers in love. Harry and Daphne weren't quite as serious as that, but they both wore identical smitten smiles when they looked at one another. Turning her attention away from Hermione and Harry, Beth focused on her husband as he rose to give a brief speech.
"I'd like to thank you all for coming tonight," Voldemort began. "You've all been invaluable to me over the last few years. I know this probably isn't how a lot of you imagined things going in our quest to cleanse the wizarding world. However, we are making progress, and by doing things this way we've eliminated a lot of our potential detractors. No longer do we have to fight for what we want, no longer do we have to worry about being killed in battle and leaving our families behind. That's not to say we can't use violence when the need arises, but for now, we're getting so much done without it. Let's rejoice in the power we're gaining. And let's look forward to the year ahead bringing us even greater power. We will be victorious, and we will live in a world without muggleborns tainting it."
Voldemort's speech ended moments before midnight, and the cheers had only just died down when the countdown to New Year began. As the clock struck midnight and people exchanged well wishes, Bellatrix stood glowering in the corner as she watched The Dark Lord and his wife. She truly believed that Beth had ruined Voldemort's potential, and she was determined to put that right. There and then she vowed this would be the year when she would return The Dark Lord to his old self, and she would be the witch by his side by the end of it.
C.O.T.D.
Returning to school wasn't something Ron was looking forward to, and he arrived on Platform Nine and Three Quarters in a dark mood. Of course he hadn't been overly thrilled to return to Hogwarts at the start of the year, but it seemed even worse this time. Maybe it was because he now knew that Harry and Hermione would still be hanging around Gryffindor Tower. At least the beginning of the year he'd had the hope that he wouldn't have to put up with the pair of them, but that hope had quickly been shattered. Now he knew he was returning to school where he had to share dorms with Harry, and pretty much everyone thought he was the trouble maker for speaking out about the deceitful duo.
Then there was the fact that Ron thought he would be more use back with the Order. Over the holidays they'd found the locket Regulus had hidden, taking their Horcrux count up to two with one already destroyed. Ron had also helped Remus with some research, and it looked as though the former Professor was hot on the heels of a house owned by Voldemort's wife. Ron would love to be there when they checked the house out, but instead he had to return to school.
"The pair of you need to get on the train before you miss it," Molly called, pulling Ron out of his thoughts.
"That wouldn't be a bad thing," Ron grumbled as he threw his bag over his shoulder.
"Don't start this again, Ron," Molly ordered in a stern voice. "I've already told you, you're not leaving school."
"I don't know why not," Ron protested, trying again to get his mother to see sense. "It's not really safe at the school. We've got three bloody Death Eaters on the staff."
"And you've also got the likes of Professor McGonagall looking out for you," Molly argued. "Besides, pulling you out of Hogwarts is just what they want. Don't give them what they want, Ron. Stay strong and keep fighting."
"Come on, we're going to be late," Ginny said softly.
"Okay," Ron conceded with a sigh. "But keep us up to date with any progress," He ordered his mother.
"I will," Molly vowed as she kissed her two children and ushered them onto the train.
Ron and Ginny stood by the window as the train began to pull out of the station and their mother disappeared from sight. Once the train was on its way out of the station, they turned to each other.
"We can look for the room Sirius mentioned tomorrow," Ginny suggested in a quiet voice. They were returning to Hogwarts on a Saturday, so they'd have an entire day free before their lessons started again.
"And until then, I'm still mad at you," Ron said. They'd already decided that it would be easier to keep up the pretence that Ron was disgusted with his sister's acceptance of Harry and Hermione.
"Yup," Ginny agreed. "But remember, no more antagonising Neville. I'll get him on side when it's time, but don't make things any more difficult between the pair of you."
"I won't," Ron promised. "In fact, I'm going to see if there's room with him, Dean and Seamus. Don't worry, I won't try and convert him to our side. It'll just be easier if he believes I'm not mad at him anymore."
"Good luck," Ginny called as the pair headed in opposite directions.
Halfway down the carriage, Ron passed the compartment where Harry and Hermione were sitting with the Slytherins. The door was open as Theo Nott entered the compartment, and he saw enough to see his former friends all over their new partners. As if it wasn't bad enough that Hermione had been secretly dating Malfoy for years, Harry had then gone and gotten involved with another Slytherin in the form of Daphne Greengrass. Just seeing the two couples together was enough to remind Ron that for five years the pair had taken him for a complete and utter fool.
"Not anymore," Ron muttered to himself as he passed by the compartment and found the one with the other Gryffindors.
He was determined that the Order were going to wipe Voldemort and his family out, and he was going to play a part. For five years he'd been played for a fool, but no more. He vowed to himself that he was going to be the one who got the last laugh. He was going to make Harry and Hermione pay for using him and his family. They were going to regret their actions, Ron was going to make sure of that before the year was out.
