AN: Sorry it took so long, school is eating my time. And my sleep. On the up side, this one is rather long. I'll try and get these final chapters out as soon as I can, and thanks again for reading!

July 18th, 1997 - Malfoy Manor

"M-my Lord… Perhaps we should start without them?" A shaky voice spoke from the back of the dining hall, interrupting the silence.

"He will come." Voldemort said calmly, referring to Severus Snape.

The room went silent again, as it had been for the past hour, with the occasional whimper coming from Wormtail. Bellatrix looked around the room. Most all the of the Death Eaters has their heads down, looking at the table.

They're all afraid… She thought. They don't care if we win or lose, they're just scared for their lives…

She turned to look at her sister's family. Lucius sat frozen in his chair, looking more like a wax sculpture rather than a human with his yellow skin and shadowed eyes, both of which he could thank Azkaban for.

Draco stared at the table, shaking. Every time Voldemort would turn away, Draco would look up at him for a second, but then would quickly continue his staring contest with the table when He began to face the Malfoy family.

Narcissa did not look at the table, nor at Voldemort. She sat rigid in her chair and stared at the opposite wall, almost like a prisoner in her own home. She, like her husband and son, had not said a word since Lord Voldemort had entered their manor.

"Yaxley, Snape," said the high voice of Voldemort. "You are very nearly late."

The men came into the light. They stood still and silent, waiting for orders.

"Severus, here," Voldemort said, indicating the seat to his right, directly across from Bellatrix. "Yaxley- Beside Dolohov."

The two men sat down, and Bellatrix gave Snape a glare. Voldemort waited for silence once more, and then spoke.

"So?"

"My Lord the Order of the Phoenix intends to move Harry Potter from his current place of safety on Saturday next, at nightfall."

Most of the group fidgeted or stiffened. Voldemort's eyes stared into Snape's with enough intensity for one to assume they were communicating telepathically.

"Saturday… At nightfall," repeated Voldemort, sounding satisfied. He smiled. "Good. Very Good. And this information comes-"

"-from the source we discussed." Snape finished.

Secret sources… The Dark Lord Can't trust him! Bellatrix clenched her fists tightly under the table.

Me… He can trust me…

"My Lord."

Voldemort and Snape looked up at Yaxley. The rest of the faces followed.

"My Lord, I have heard differently."

Yaxley waited for some sort of reaction. Voldemort did not speak, so he continued, "Dawlish, the Auror, let slip that Potter will not be moved until the thirtieth, the night before the boy turns seventeen."

Snape smiled.

"My source told me that there are plans to lay a false trail; this must be it. No doubt a Confundus Charm has been placed upon Dawlish. It would not be the first time; he is known to be susceptible."

Voldemort gave a nod in agreement to Snape. Yaxley, clearly wanting some form of approval, spoke again. "I assure you, my Lord, Dawlish seemed quite certain."

"If he has been Confunded, naturally he is certain," said Snape. "I assure you, Yaxley, the Auror Office will play no further part in the protection of Harry Potter. The Order believes that we have infiltrated the Ministry."

"The Order's got one thing right, then, eh?" said a wheezy voice a few spaces away from Yaxley. Several chuckles echoed along the end of the room.

Voldemort stayed silent.

"My Lord," Yaxley said, leaning forward to face Voldemort, "Dawlish believes an entire party of Aurors will be used to transfer the boy-"

Voldemort held up a hand to silence him and turned back to Snape. Yaxley leaned back in his chair, accepting defeat.

How does he trust Snape so much? What did HE do while The Dark Lord was in exile? He stayed at Hogwarts… As Dumbledore's little pet…

Bellatrix pretended to pay attention to the meeting. For how long she zoned out, she didn't know. Her thoughts were flipping back and forth between her Master and how untrustworthy Snape was.

I don't WANT to believe Snape, but Yaxley's story… It's ridiculous… A whole party of Aurors… She huffed.

He can love… I love him, and he trusts me… I'm his most faithful servant…

Snape… How does the Dark Lord not see right through him? His story is so shallow… I waited fourteen years… And Snape was practically living in the lap of luxury…

"Why do the Malfoys look so unhappy with their lot? Is my return, my rise to power, not the very thing the professed to desire for many years?" Voldemort demanded, Lucius' wand in hand.

Bellatrix snapped out of her thoughts. Evidentially, Narcissa, and Draco evidently had other things on their minds too.

Lucius made a quick sideways glance at his wife, as if he was expecting her to speak up. She continued staring straight ahead, as she had been the whole meeting. Draco, afraid to make eye contact with Voldemort, was switching his stare between the table, the Snake around Voldemort's shoulders, and the body hovering above them.

"Of course, my Lord," Lucius said, wiping sweat from his upper lip. "We did desire it - we do."

Narcissa made a stiff nod. Draco looked up at Voldemort, then quickly turned away at eye contact.

"My Lord," Bellatrix spoke up. "it is an honor to have you here, in our family's home. There can be no higher pleasure." She leaned forward towards Voldemort, longing to be closer to her lover.

"No higher pleasure," Voldemort said slowly, tilting his head slightly to the side. "That means a great deal, Bellatrix, from you."

Bellatrix's eyes flooded with tears of delight. Her heart pounded, and the cheeks on her pale face turned pink.

"My Lord knows I speak nothing but the truth!"

Voldemort laughed. "No higher pleasure…even compared with the happy event that, I hear, has taken place in your family this week?"

Bellatrix's heart settled. "I don't know what you mean, my Lord."

"I'm talking about your niece, Bellatrix. And yours, Lucius and Narcissa. She has just married the werewolf, Remus Lupin. You must be so proud."

There was an outbreak of laughter around the table. Several were so excited that Voldemort was poking fun at someone of 'higher rank' that they pounded their fists on the table. Nagini hissed at the disturbance, but no one seemed to notice- they were too busy laughing at Bellatrix and the Malfoys. Bellatrix's face, recently pink with delight, turned into a blotchy red.

"She is no niece of ours, my Lord." She cried over the ongoing laughter. "We-Narcissa and I-have never set eyes on our sister since she married the Mudblood. This brat has nothing to do with either of us, nor any beast she marries."

"What say you, Draco?" ask Voldemort. His voice was quiet, but it pierced the air and was clearly heard though the jeers. "Will you babysit the cubs?" The laughter rose again.

Draco looked up at his father, who avoided his gaze and stared at his lap. He glanced up at Narcissa, who shook her head and continued her stare against the wall.

"Enough," said Voldemort, stroking his angry snake. "Enough."

The laughter died at once.

"Many of our oldest family trees have become a little diseased over time. You must prune yours, must you not, to keep it healthy? Cut away those parts that threaten the health of the rest."

Bellatrix was the only one to answer. "Yes, my Lord," she whispered, her eyes swimming with tears of gratitude again. "At the first chance!"

"You shall have it," said Voldemort. " And in your family, so in the world… we shall cut away the canker that infects us until only those of true blood remain…"

"Did you know he's a half-blood too? Voldemort? Yeah, his mother was a witch, but his dad was a Muggle… or has he been telling you lot he's pureblood?" Harry Potter's voice echoed in her head.

Impossible. Bellatrix thought, lying to herself. Potter was lying, he was trying to distract us, it didn't mean anything. Bellatrix tried to shake the thought out of her head, but it was there to stay.

"Do you recognize our guest, Severus?" Voldemort asked. The body hovering over the table seemed to come to life.

Maybe that's why he favors him… They're both half-bloods…

"And you, Draco?"

Still staring at his lap, Draco shook his head no, afraid to look up.

"But you would not have taken her classes. For those of you who do not know, we are joined here tonight by Charity Burbage who, until recently, taught at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

Mumbles arose around the table. Bellatrix still couldn't think straight.

But he sounds like he favors pure bloods… Potter had to have been just trying to irk us…

"Yes… Professor Burbage taught the children of witches and wizards all about Muggles… how they are not so different from us…" The table became silent. There was no mistaking the hate in Voldemort's voice. "Not content with corrupting and polluting the minds f Wizarding children, last week Professor Burbage wrote an impassioned defense of Mudbloods in the Daily Prophet. Wizards, she says, must accept these thieves of their knowledge and magic. The dwindling of the purebloods is, says Professor Burbage, a most desirable circumstance… She would have us all mate with Muggles…or, no doubt, werewolves…"

Tears poured down Charity Burbage's face. Many of the Death Eaters, such as the Malfoys, refused to look at her. She rotated her head towards Snape.

"Severus… please… please…"

"Avada Kedevra." A flash of green light illuminated the room, and Charity fell to the table with a large crash. Many of the Death Eaters jumped back. Draco looked on the verge of tears. Bellatrix remained still.

I wonder what her blood status was. She thought, as if a dead body landed on her sister's dining room table every night.

"Dinner, Nagini."