Onto our new chapter. In advance I should just warn everyone that I have a busy couple of weeks ahead of me at Uni so the next chapter may take a little longer than I would prefer.

Tom stood tall and firm as he stood in the vibrant and pulsing Diagon Alley in the midst of a crowd of citizens and Ministry workers. Standing to the side of a raised platform, Tom focused on the tall and greying figure of Lord Grindelwald. He was imposingly, but Tom refused to be intimidated.

He had no reason to be.

It was all too simple. Unbeknownst to the two Lords, the flood of support by powerful purebloods was dwindling, so the once stern and impenetrable fortress was shaking. It could tumble and Tom knew how to make it collapse completely.

He just had to wait to make his final move.

This was one move that he had been waiting for.

Grindelwald was positioned on an elevated simple wooden platform framed in ribbons and spectators all eager to see one of their leaders. The crowd did not know, but it would be their last chance to see him.

Aurors were posited at the corners of the stage as protection with the job to leap before any curse aimed at their Lord. Today they would not do that. Each had been selected by the Imperiused Mulciber and confounded to stay out of the way.

Everything was set.

A pawn could slay a king when it was directed by another king.

Standing in the side corner of the stage, no one, but Tom registered the movements of a plain brown haired mudblood. He knew she was Imperiused, yet no one else would. Jostling her way through the crowd with hard elbows and a passionate gaze, she made her way to the very front of the stage. Slowly she slid her wand from her pocket and aimed it at Grindelwald.

At the same time that the Killing Curse soared from her wand and contacted with the aging man, Tom ended the Imperius Curse.

Loud and panicked screams left the crowd as the beared face of Grindwald was struck in the chest and crumpled like rubble. It was only after another moment that most of the crowd turned and headed backwards, trammelling each other in their rush to escape the alley. Only Tom Riddle stepped forward, raised his voice and restored calm over the audience.

It was so simple.

The past months had established to Tom that Bellatrix was more irksome than he could have ever predicted. Not only did the stupid bitch insist on wallowing in her arrogance, but she thought she could attempt to belittle and control him even though she would be nothing without him. After having her behaviour tossed in his face, he had concluded that it was easier to just ignore her and provide any information she needed in writing because she was too intolerable to actual hold a bearable conversation with.

Having gained an opportunity to leave the chaotic ministry, Tom seized it and entered his mother's home in France.

Despite his negative thoughts towards the woman, she deserved to know this information. He could have left the news in a letter, yet, the surge of enthusiasm from his success and the strain over having to contain his merriment, made him want to speak. If nothing else, Bellatrix could be counted on to share his enthusiasm.

Striding out from the living room which he had flood into, he did not stop and headed straight up the creaking stairs. He suspected Bellatrix he would be upstairs like she always was. He supposed that was a positive. It was better for her to be there than for her to be irritating his mother.

Reaching her room, he did not even bother knocking; she did not deserve that respect. Instead he pushed the door open without a word.

He was greeted by the sight of Bellatrix's back; her tangles of black hair hanging almost sopping wet and causing droplets of water to leak onto the carpet as she stared at herself in a mirror wearing nothing more than one of his mother's fluffy green towels.

At the sound, she turned swiftly on her bare foot, her face contorted into anger and shock. "Riddle!" she shouted furiously, pulling the towel more securely around herself. "What are you doing? Get out!"

He did not comply. Flinging the door securely closed behind him, he only smirked confidentially as he walked a little further into the room. "No."

"Get out!" she demanded again. He could see that she did not appreciate behind found in such a vulnerable spot by the way her eyes flicked to her wand that was well out of reach on her bedside table.

He had only intended to deliver his message, but seeing her wrapped tightly in a towel that was too short and exposed most of her long shapely legs was causing other urges to become more apparent. He was very tempted to wrench that towel from her and fuck her against the wardrobe, but he had more self preservation than that.

His pride was still wounded from the last time he had attempted to get what he wanted.

"I have news from Britain," he said softly as he sat strangely straight backed on the end of her bed. "I thought you would like to hear it."

Always excelling at picking a liar, he noticed a flicker of interest enter in her dark eyes before she attempted to feign interest by turning away from him and back to the mirror. "I don't care. Tell me later."

"Even if it is about Grindelwald," he replied smugly as he watched her towel covered figure tense. "Even if it is something you really want to hear about Grindelwald."

"How do you know what I want to hear about Grindelwald?" she snapped, still facing away from him. He did not even bother mentioning that, since they had been working together for so long, of course he knew how she felt about Grindelwald.

Unable to contain his joy, he allowed a genuine smile to slide over his features. "So you do not want to be told that he is dead?"

This time she turned around. "He is dead?" she repeated her voice quiet and unbelieving. "Lord Gellert Grindelwald is dead?"

"Yes," he replied smugly skipping over his usual dead pan expression to instead smile brightly. "I Imperiused a girl in the crowd at his speech in Diagon Alley this morning. She sent out a Killing Curse and, just like that, the so called great lord was dead."

"Dead..." she trailed off as if tasting the word.

"Dead."

It was like flicking on a switch. "Dead!" she cried a large and slightly manic grin flashing onto her features as she bounced up and down on the spot causing two other things to bounce. "Oh Merlin finally dead!"

He watched in amusement as he found his feet, careful to avoid her flailing and excitable arms. "Dead. No longer will we have to worry about Gellert Grindelwald. We all know that Grindelwald had the most support, particularly from purebloods. Dumbledore never had that appeal. His support will drop rapidly and then-"

"You killed him-" Bellatrix interrupted, still smiling and still trying to grasp the situation. "It was you."

"Yes," he said in a tone that made it clear he thought she was a fool for having to ask again. He was a little irritated at having been interrupted. "Obviously since I cast the Imperius Curse."

It seemed to be enough for Bellatrix.

Unable to control her twitching limbs she finally found an outlet. Before he could flinch, she suddenly took a step towards him and kissed him passionately. Breath momentarily blown away, he allowed himself to be pushed back onto the bed. All the while Bellatrix's lips never lifted from his own.

Admittedly he was still annoyed, but the combination of his previous delight from Grindelwald's death and his pure desire for the woman did not make him consider pushing her away.

With a cocky gleam in her eyes, Bellatrix lifted her lips from his. It was only to give them both some momentarily breathing time as she roughly undid his tie and threw it to the ground before she settled her mouth against his neck and worked on the buttons of his robes. He only pushed himself a little further in the bed as her tongue trailed down his now exposed chest and stomach until she made it to the waistband of his briefs. Lightly she brushed her tongue just above the line of his underwear and he was not ashamed to admit his arousal was starting to show.

"Bellatrix," he half moaned and half warned as she continued her teasing.

She only smirked, obviously enjoying herself. "Yes Tom?" she questioned as she slid back up his body leaving him throbbing with want. "You seem annoyed?"

She kissed him lightly and teasingly, but he had quite enough. Lightly tugging on her hair, he wrenched the towel from her body as he increased the passion of the kiss and flipped her over so he was now pinning her against the bed.

Rubbing himself against her inner thigh, he heard her let out a small gasp. "What is wrong, Bellatrix?" he questioned with a matching smirk as he trailed his hands down to her stomach and only briefly skated his fingers over her wet and warm flesh. "You seem annoyed."

Her eyes were filled with longing and he was fairly confident the look in his eyes was the same as he settled his hands between her legs. "Oh blood Merlin, Tom," Bellatrix moaned arching up into his fingers. "Tom!"

It was so arousing to hear her like that and, even before she had finally moved her hands to where he wanted them, he was already half hard.

He had more control than Bellatrix, but not by much as, despite his clenched teeth, the briefest and slightly gasps and heavy breathing escaped his lips.

He could hardly wait any longer and thrust into her.

Both breathing heavily in the afterglow, he rolled off her, but he did not move away as his arms crept around her waist and pulled her close. He did not say anything but absently ran his hands through her hair more content by today's success and the woman in his arms.

She recovered faster than he did.

Pushing herself off his chest, she stared into his eyes. "How long now?" she questioned as if it was something she had wanted to say for a long time.

"Soon," he murmured absently, not releasing his grip on her waist. He was not half as concerned by the future as she was. He already knew what he had to do so there was little need for discussions. He would have preferred to just lay there with her and drift off to sleep. It was the most comfortable he had been in months.

"It had better be," she retorted a little fiercely as she pushed his hands away and stood up to dress.

He did not do anything, but settled his hands behind his head and watched her. It would certainly be soon.