"You never told me your name," Elodie stated as he led her down a small hallway. He glanced back and grinned, "I did, love. Voldemort, remember?"
"Voldemort Riddle?" she inquired. He shook his head, "Just Voldemort. Riddle was my father's name... We don't exactly connect."
"So no family dinners I guess," she chuckled, following him down a staircase.

So far, she could stand the house. There were a few scenic paintings on the walls, hard-wood and stone floors, and very large windows. When she took the time to look out, she spotted trees among trees, and many large boulders along the property line.

"You're all I need," he informed her, shooting her a charming smile.

From what she had seen so far, there was only one room on the upper floor of the house, and it was the one she had woken up in. When they made it to the lower level, she discovered there was a small sitting room, full of bookcases and leather couches and a kitchen with ivory counter tops and silver faucets. In short, the house was relatively small, mainly because he had not shown her the basement yet. He said it would be best to wait for another day, whatever that meant.

"My lord," a male voice called as they began to head back upstairs. Voldemort stopped, his arm circling her hips and pulling him close to her, "Yes, Malfoy... What do you want?"
Elodie's eyes fell upon a pair of men, both robed in black cloaks. One had pale blonde hair, which was short and spiky around his ears. The other, it seemed, was the complete contrast with long black hair, and his stride was somewhat less arrogant.

"We were curious of our Lady's state," the blonde replied, "It's wonderful to see she's up."
"Love, this is Adrian Malfoy, and Julian Nott," Voldemort explained, "They serve me."
"Hello," she greeted, somewhat meekly, giving them both a grin. They both bowed, then disappeared with a pop. She frowned; that was something. She knew it... She could do it too.

"Apparating," Voldemort murmured, "Incase you were struggling for a name."
"Yes," she agreed, the name sounding very familiar, "I knew that."
"Now, I suppose we need to go out and buy you some things," Voldemort sighed, releasing her and continuing up the stairs. She frowned, then hurried up after him, "Buy me things... What things?"
"Dresses... Girl things," he replied, "I'm afraid there was a robbery before your memories were erased... We hadn't any time to buy you what you needed."

A robbery? That was completely off her radar. Nothing went off about a robbery.

"So what am I going to wear then?" she asked when they were finally back in the room, their room, "I mean... This is nice-"
"I don't think I'd let many men ogle you with that on," he laughed, pulling the curtain away from a large window and letting the sunlight seep in, "Have a quick shower, and I'll transfigure the dress into something suitable."

She nodded and walked toward the joining bathroom, her bare feet barely making a sound against the floor. Voldemort cleared his throat behind her, and when she turned back, he raised an eyebrow, "I need the dress."
"You can have it once I'm done in the shower," she informed him, shooting him a playful smirk. He crossed the room quickly, and in an instant, he had her pinned up against the wall, his face very close to hers.
"Do I frighten you?" he whispered, his hands grasping hers and linking their fingers. Elodie's breathing hitched in her throat, and she found herself unable to look away from his eyes, "Yes. Should I be frightened?"
"Yes," he breathed, resting his forehead against hers, "For so many reasons."

Had he always been like this? She didn't like it, but maybe she could learn to enjoy it.

Hopefully.

"Go shower," he murmured against her neck, finally stepping away and grinning. Elodie slipped around the corner, shutting the door to the bathroom quickly.

*-

Edward had just sent James off to the Pettigrew house, since James was friends with the young boy there. It would be easier to do 'Muggle investigating', as Gill called it, without his son in the home.
Hirman volunteered to help, but he was swamped full of case work that day, and promised to drop by in the evening.

"If the Dark Lord lives somewhere, I doubt he bunks with his servants," Gill stated, "So there will be something unique left here by him. We can only hope it will help."
Edward frowned, "Something left behind? Like what?"
"I don't know," Gill chuckled, "This is when we start looking. We need to somehow rope off the path he walked last night... Do you remember?"
Edward drew out his wand and whispered a spell softly, walking over to the spot where he had first seen Voldemort, "We saw him here."
He placed a glowing dot over the floor, "Then he moved over to Elodie... This way."

As he walked, a trail of yellow glowing light followed from the tip of his wand. Gill nodded, his eyes squinting, "Then he took her to the door... He spent the majority of his time in here, so I'll start in this room. It will be easier for you to look in the storage room."

Edward watched Gill crouch down on the floor, his eyes sweeping over the hardwood boards. He wished he knew what Gill was doing, "What are you looking for?"
"Something he left behind," Gill informed him, pulling out a Q-Tip and running it along the floor, pulling it up and revealing a bit of dirt, "Something he doesn't know he had on him."
"Like what?" Edward pressed, "Give me something specific."
"Retrace his every move that night first," Gill ordered, still staring hard at the floor, "It'll give us somewhere to search."

Edward let out a frustrated sigh and continued to follow Voldemort's invisible trail, from what he guessed, out into the storage room.
"Make sure you go upstairs," Gill shouted from the living room, "They went up, and returned with a ring."
Edward paused and returned to the living room, "How do you know that?"
"He threw Elodie's ring at you, and replaced it with a new one that she had been holding," Gill explained, still not looking up from the floor, "She did not have it before she went upstairs... So, it was most likely from somewhere up there. Where does she keep her jewelry?"
"In a box in our bedroom," Edward replied, "I'll continue up there then."
"Good."

Gill's eyes flickered up briefly at Edward's disappearing figure. The young man wanted to find his wife so desperately, he was becoming very distracted with everything else, including his common sense.
Gill moved along the floor, smiling at the fact the boys of the house had not cleaned up since the night before. Some of the Death Eaters had mud on their shoes, and the dried up dirt was still littered across the floor. Unfortunately, mud could be from anywhere in England, and judging by the recent storm, it could have come from the front walkway.
However, Gill's eyes landed on something different. Near the fire place, there was a soft green standing out against the wooden floor. Frowning, he shuffled closer and gently picked it up. It was a plant, located directly under the first glowing dot Edward had placed.
Voldemort stood here.

Gill grinned, "Edward... I think I've found something!"

*-

"Oh, look at those fabrics," Elodie squealed as they walked arm in arm down a busy Muggle street. The city of Dover contained many lovely little shopping centers, but Voldemort preferred to travel along the older venues. The Muggles were much more to his taste, which was why he had built his home along the coast.

"Come," he chuckled, "Let's have a look then."
"Oh, no," she insisted, tugging him away from the shop, "Look at those prices! I'm sure we can find something cheaper!"

Modest girl, Tom, modest girl.

Not modest, cheap. This would be a wonderful marriage if she stayed cheap.

But for now, he wanted to spoil her. He wanted to buy her fancy cloths and wonderful jewelry, which in the end, would bind her to him.

Once she had given him her dress, he changed it into a suitable dress-suit, containing a knee-length dark blue skirt, and a white top to match. He had his own cheek, making the fabric of her top slightly see-through. She seemed much more stand-offish after he had told her to fear him, but with his personality, he managed to have her warming up to him quite quickly.

"Come along, love," he laughed, "We can afford to spend a little more on you."
"But-"

He hushed her and pulled her inside with a sharp jerk, then pushed her toward the aisle of more expensive dresses.

"Good afternoon," an elderly woman greeted, "Can I help you with anything?"
"We're fine," Voldemort said curtly, looking down his nose at the saleswoman, "We'll call you if we need something."
"Of course, sir."

Nosy woman, Tom, nosy woman.

No, she was someone doing her job. Nosy looking, mind you, but only doing her job.

"How about something black, to start off?" he suggested, pulling a black, floor length dress off it's hanger and holding it in front of Elodie, "What do you think?"
"I don't remember what a corset feels like," she sighed, poking at the bodice with her slender fingers, "I'd have to try it on."
"I'm sure it would look very attractive," he said softly, "Go... I'll find you some more things."
She trotted off to the change room, and Voldemort found his eyes following the sway of her behind. It was... hypnotizing.

Yours, Tom, yours.

Yes, it was his.

He swept along the rows of dresses, collecting the ones he found caught his eye the most. They were mostly dark colours; deep reds, gorgeous blues and greens.
Just he because he was the Dark Lord, didn't mean he couldn't enjoy the finer aspects of life. And at the moment, the finer things for him revolved around a woman.

He leaned on the door, knocking softly, "Elodie?"
"I don't know," she called back, sounding a little out of breath, "It's very... tight."
"I think it's supposed to be," he chuckled, "Let me see."
The doorknob twisted and she stepped out, twirling in a circle for him, "Well?"

He grinned. Perhaps all of her clothes should involve a corset. Her waist was minuscule, while her chest was nearly overflowing from the restraints. Her hips were visible, and only enhanced by the contrast of the tiny waist. The strings of the outfit were at the front, probably easier for him to undo.

Maybe a man designed the dress.

Other then the complex contraption holding in her body, the dress was simple. Black, low-neckline, and went down to the floor.

Tapping his chin with his finger, he walked around her slowly, "You know... I like it."
"It's hard to breathe though," she muttered, resting a hand on her stomach. He sighed, "Then we'll make a deal... This dress is only for me."
"Only for you?" she laughed, "If you want to wear it... By all means..."
"Don't be smart," he scolded, giving her corset strings a sharp tug, "I mean you will only have to wear it in my company."
"Fine," she murmured, "Give me the rest to try on then."
He handed her the dresses, but his hand caught hers and he dragged her closer, pressing his lips against her forehead, "I'll pay for these, just don't take forever to try them on."
"Don't worry," Elodie whispered, "I'm fast."

He raised his eyebrows and she stepped back into the dressing room, the door closing firmly behind her.

Fool for a pretty face, Tom, fool for a pretty face.


He shrugged, so he was. It didn't matter, he would always be in control.