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"You made me believe," I said slowly, "That everyone was already living in panic, like they used to – you made me believe, that everyone out there was busy trying to determine who is a Death Eater and who not. You made me believe it was war again!"

"It is war," Tom answered coldly.

"No," I snapped. "No, it's not war, because no one even thinks you are back. They boy-" I let the newspaper fall in front of him. "He's telling everyone about you and no one believes him-"

"Yes, that is quite true," Tom mused. "I rather like it."

"After all these years," I said. "I still believed you had a bit of honour. Apparently I'm wrong."

"This is not about honour, Lorraine," Tom said calmly, looking up at me as I walked up and down behind the kitchen table. "This is about strategy. The longer I keep hidden, the more powerful I can become, the more allies I can gain. The more certain my victory will be."

I scoffed. "You're still scared of the boy? Well, this time, he won't have his mother to die for him. Pathetic way to win, anyway."

He smiled wryly. "I would have thought you'd be more sympathetic to him."

I sat down slowly. "I don't care about the boy. I don't care if he gets hurt, I don't care if he dies. I'm much more interested in the Ministry."

His eyes narrowed slightly. "You want revenge?"

"Why, yes. You already got rid of Barty Crouch, that's great. But they all have to pay. And what about Dumbledore?"

Feigning nonchalance, Tom said, "What about him?"

"What are you doing about him? He could've helped me, but he didn't. He knew I was innocent."

"Innocent is not the word I'd use to describe you."

"You wouldn't know innocence if it hid you in the face," I said coldly, getting up. "Excuse me, then."

"Aren't you staying with me for dinner?" he called after me.

"Not hungry!" I called back, already climbing the stairs to my room.

"It would be better not to question the Dark Lord!" a sharp voice announced in the hallway. I froze, all too familiar with that voice and not liking the bearer at all.

"I'm not questioning the Dark Lord, I swear! It's just that-"

"Cissy, if the Dark Lord orders Lucius to do it, then he is to obey. There is no greater honour than to-"

I stepped into the hallway, eyebrows raised. "We all heard that already, Bellatrix. Please. You're like a parrot."

Bellatrix Lestrange was by far not as beautiful as when I had last seen her; obviously, she had also suffered from all these years of captivity. The hatred sparkling in her eyes as she saw me, though, was the same it had always been.

"Lorraine," she sneered. "What pleasant surprise."

"I wouldn't say that," I answered coldly.

She glared at me. "I didn't realize you were living here."

"I didn't realize you were."

She scoffed. "I am the Dark Lord's most faithful-"

"Remember what I said about the parrot?" I interrupted her and she glared again. "Now, you were busy discussing Narcissa's problems with the plan – what's the matter?"

I did not know a thing about any plan, but I was interested. If Narcissa was worried, it clearly meant that there would be danger involved.

"Narcissa does not want her husband to obey the Dark Lord's commands-"

"I merely don't want him to get hurt!" Narcissa snapped. "Draco's still young; he needs his father-"

"Draco's almost a man," Bellatrix said haughtily. "Soon he'll be joining himself."

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," I said. "He's only fifteen."

"See!" Narcissa exclaimed to her sister. "Draco's just a child, if Lucius gets hurt or caught or-"

"So you want him to disobey?" Bellatrix challenged.

Narcissa swallowed hard, clearly wishing her husband would do just that, but not daring to say so.

"'Course not," she muttered instead.

"Liar," Bellatrix snapped.

"Bellatrix, please," I sighed. "Let's not argue. Lucius is a grown man, he can decide for himself what he does and what he does not do."

"How dare you end our argument?" Bellatrix screeched.

I rolled my eyes at her. "Still holding a grudge, are you, Bella? I thought now we could bond over our mutual suffering-"

"You're still a blood-traitor."

"Don't let him hear that," I advised lightly. "He doesn't like people saying that at all."

She squared her shoulders. "There'll come the day when he will cast you out and he will finally see who really always obeyed him and who always loved him and-"

"Oh, please, please," I said. "You can have him. I don't care."

"Are you trading me off?"

Bellatrix shrieked, rather undignified, and bowed deeply. Narcissa had paled even further, yet I allowed myself a small smile.

"You've been eavesdropping."

Tom came to stand next to me and he regarded his 'most faithful servant' with a sneer. "Out!" he snapped.

Bellatrix and her sister disappeared so fast, it was almost as if the ground had sucked them in.

"I would appreciate it if you were to treat me with all the due respect in front of my Death Eaters."

"Sorry," I said lightly.

"Liar," he sneered.

I rolled my eyes. "Tell me, then. What is Lucius to do?"

"We are planning ways to get into the Ministry."

I frowned at him. "Why would you want that?"

His lips curled in displeasure. "It's about the prophecy-"

"The proph- but you know about that already."

"Well, obviously, there must have been more to it. I haven't been able to kill the boy." Tom wore a very sour look by now. "I want to hear all of it. So we need to get it."

"So you want Lucius to go and steal the prophecy from the Ministry," I concluded. "That is madness."

"Trouble is," Tom said. "Lucius can't get it. None of them can. Because it can only be touched by those who it is about. That's me – and Potter."

"You can't go into the Ministry," I said sharply. "No one knows you're back, you don't want to blow your cover, do you?"

"That's what makes it so difficult. Dear Narcissa is obviously worried her husband will get himself caught."
I sneered. "He would deserve it."

"I have seen to it that Lucius is properly punished. Let it go," he ordered.

I looked at him questioningly but relented. "As you say."

I was sitting in the parlour. The Daily Prophet was reporting on the latest match between the Chudley Cannons and Falmouth Falcons. The Malfoys' house-elf had brought in some tea and toffees. It had looked at me so hopefully I had felt compelled to smile at it. It had bustled off again, leaving me to wonder why I felt the need to be friendly to servants.

The door burst open and Lucius Malfoy strode in, looking very dishevelled but very pleased.

"Have you heard the news?"

I frowned at him and then at my copy of the newspaper. "Should I look in Good News or Bad News?"

"It's not in the Prophet yet," Lucius said, falling into an armchair across from me. "This is just in – Dumbledore is gone."

I put the paper down for good. "He's what?"

"As it turns out, Potter and his friends have participated in an illegal group of sorts. Called 'Dumbledore's Army'."

For a quick second, I stared at him, dumbfounded, then I said, "This is ridiculous. Dumbledore would never build up an army-"

Lucius smirked. "But that doesn't matter, does it? All that matters is, the Ministry decided that Dumbledore was dangerous and went to lock him up."

I straightened up and leant slightly towards him. "So he's in Azkaban?"

Lucius face fell suddenly. "Well – not exactly."

I raised an eyebrow, waiting for him to elaborate.

"He managed to get out of there with that bloody bird of his," Lucius stated tiredly.

"The phoenix," I sighed. "Of course. So he's out there somewhere."

"Yes," he said darkly, but then his smiled reappeared. "But he is gone. The Ministry is out searching for him and-"

"That's all very well," I said curtly. "But they'll never find him. This is Dumbledore. Meaning, now, he'll have all the time in the world to lead the Order into battle against us."