Author's Note: This is the longest chapter by far. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters. All rights to J.K Rowling. Thanks.

Dedication: Mapleleaf40, this one's for you. Thank you for sticking by the story thus far and for your kind reviews!

...Feeling pleased with his night's work, Tom summoned a young witch who was standing nearby, laughing, and beckoned for her to join him upstairs. Just before he disappeared at the top of the stairs, he caught sight of Bellatrix who had stopped dancing and laughing, and was staring at him with complete and utter shock...

CHAPTER 26: THE WIZARDING WAR—PART 2:

Bellatrix did not confront Tom for his betrayal. In fact, as the weeks passed by, she became slightly more fearful of him than she'd ever cared to show. She never did or said anything to show that she had perfectly understood what Tom had done with that witch upstairs. Instead, Bellatrix remained pleasant and present at every dinner party. Tom however, did not take her upstairs with him again. He had lost interest in it completely.

Another harsh winter came and went. Tom accompanied the Death Eaters on many of their expeditions and did so much more Legiliments that the Death Eaters now liked to privately call him The Mind Devil. It was all good fun of course, but Tom knew that many of them were deeply disturbed by the vile images that he created in the minds of his victims, all designed of course to torture them into madness.

Tom did manage to recruit some wonderful new members, including a vicious werewolf by the name of Greyback. Greyback had a thirst for cruelty and a knack for procuring it. He was vile and had a dangerous imagination, much like Tom's. He constantly told the story of how not long ago, he'd bitten a young child somewhere in the woods and how Dumbledore now took pity on that child. Greyback liked to play with his food before he actually sat down to enjoy it, which amused Tom very much. He would be sure to keep him around.

In the fall of 1976, Lucius Malfoy and Narcissa Black married. The Death Eaters decided to celebrate the marriage with something they never did—by having a little party at Nott's mansion. Everyone was thrilled and toasted to the happy couple…everyone except for Bellatrix. She stood in the corner with her wine glass, watching intently as Narcissa beamed up at her new husband. Tom watched Bellatrix carefully. She had not changed her attitude towards him at all but when she thought he wasn't looking, he could see immense sadness shadowing her face. Finally, as if she were unable to take it any longer, she decided to confront Tom.

As the wedding celebrations progressed, Bellatrix casually made her way across the room and finally ended up right next to Tom. They stood side by side, watching the happy couple dance around the room and laugh with the others. Finally, Bellatrix set her wine glass down.

"My lord," she said, softly. "Come with me."

She tugged at his arm but he made no effort to follow her up the stairs and instead continued to watch his Death Eaters.

"My lord!" Bellatrix tried again. "Please! I've…I've longed for you."

"I'm not interested," Tom said, coolly, without meeting her eyes.

Bellatrix was silent for a long minute. She slowly let go of his arm and turned to look at the Death Eaters but did not move from her spot.

"I d-don't understand," she finally said, in barely more than a whisper.

"You're just not that interesting," Tom said, and without even glancing at her, he set his wine glass down and went to sit with Avery, who had been shuffling some cards in the corner by himself.

"What's up with her?" Avery asked as the pair glimpsed Bellatrix wiping a tear and trotting up the stairs by herself. Moments after, Lestrange's oldest son followed her.

"She hasn't had any in a while," Tom replied.

Avery shrugged.

"I have a question," Tom said a moment later.

"Shoot," said Avery as he laid out the cards in various patterns on the table before him.

"Everyone else has married," Tom pointed out, thoughtfully. "Look at Lestrange and Rosier and Rowle. . . even Nott, however ugly he is. But you, I've noticed, haven't even had any prospects. Why is that?"

Avery froze. There was a sudden color change in his face and he slowly put down the card that had begun to tremble in his hand.

"I'm not sure…" he began, but Tom laughed out loud.

"I can find you someone, it's no problem!" he exclaimed. "There's no need to be ashamed of it."

Avery smiled weakly.

"Alright?" said Tom, clapping Avery once on the back.

"Alright," said Avery with a nervous laugh.

"That's the spirit," said Tom and he turned to look at Narcissa and Lucius again.

They were the new favourite Death Eater couple and seemed to shine and sparkle wherever they went. Who would Tom assign to Avery? Perhaps he'd track down that blood traitor Andromeda Black and force her to marry him. If he killed that worthless husband of hers, there would be nothing holding her back.

"Do you ever think about it?" Avery suddenly asked him.

Tom turned to stare at him.

"About…about Selwynn," Avery clarified.

"No," said Tom, not sure where he was getting at.

"It's just…it's just hard to believe that he's really gone."

"People come and go, Avery," said Tom.

"I know," said Avery, sadly. "But h-he was our childhood f-f-friend. I mean, w-we played Exploding Snap and Wizard's Chess. W-we visited Hogsmeade together a-and laughed at old Jonathan Buckley. D-don't you ever—?"

"No," said Tom.

Avery grew quiet.

"I'm not big on nostalgia," said Tom, and then he turned to look at Walburga, who sat not far from him.

"That relative of yours, Andromeda," he said to her, "Where does she live? Do you know?"

"N-n-no, my l-lord," said Walburga, a little startled.

Tom smacked his lips and looked around.

"Send a search party to come and fetch her," he finally instructed.

"I will but, sir, m-may I a-ask w-w-why?" said Walburga.

"Avery here needs a wife," said Tom, simply.

Avery's color changed again and he resumed playing with his cards.

"Otherwise he'll spend all his time crying over Selwynn," added Tom.

"B-but Andromeda is a-already m-m-married," protested Walburga. "She is now Andromeda Tonks."

Tom rolled his eyes.

"So get rid of the mudblood husband!" he said. "Merlin's beard, you are unwise, Walburga. Be thankful you have beauty."

Walburga opened her mouth to speak but then closed it quickly. Tom waited. She seemed to be struggling with something but finally decided to spit it out.

"They have a child," she said quickly. "And I know this because I heard from Regulus who heard from Sirius who keeps in touch because he is a traitor too. And…and I don't think you should go after the child. She is only a baby and she hasn't done anything wrong. Go after Sirius, he betrayed us. Give the child a chance to choose a side, my lord. I've heard she has special powers and would be most useful to us."

Tom frowned.

"You are ordering me or advising me?" he finally said, very quietly.

Walburga swallowed loudly.

"N-neither, m-my lord," she said.

"You are such a filthy liar," Tom muttered.

He drew out his wand and pointed it directly between Walburga's eyes, muttering "Legiliments".

He instantly saw visions of Walburga giving birth to her oldest, Sirius. He saw Sirius crying with agony as she slapped him hard on Regulus' 5th birthday. He saw Sirius pleading with his mother as she stormed the Hogwarts halls in rage that he'd been sorted into Gryffindor. He saw her shrieking at him the night he ran away. He saw her crying as she snapped his name on the Black Family Tree hours later.

Tom withdrew from Walburga's mind. She stumbled backwards a little bit and gasped. The other Death Eaters had stopped the party and were all now watching very intently. Silence filled the room.

"You are always thinking about him," Tom finally said to Walburga, who stood trembling with fear.

"I d-do n-not," tried Walburga, but once Tom was already convinced of something, there was no changing his mind. He rose to his feet and put away his wand.

"I expected better from you," he said to Walburga before he started for the stairs.

"I do not always think about him!" Walburga called after him.

Tom stopped at the doorway and slowly turned around to face her.

"Keep this up and it'll be you who gets disowned," were the last words he said to her that night.

The very next day, Tom had that terrible dream again and woke in the middle of the night, gasping for precious air. He waited until the dinner party and then stormed at Walburga, convinced that it was the stress she had caused him the previous night that had elucidated his dream. Walburga fell to her knees and begged for forgiveness, but Tom was too tired of her lies and inflicted the Cruciatus curse on her instantly. Orion shrieked in protest and, feeling impatient, Tom pointed his wand at him and roared "CRUCIO!" The Death Eater too, fell to the floor and shrieked in pain. Tom stared around the room of shocked Death Eaters, all of whom were too frightened to move or say a word.

"Get them out of my sight," Tom instructed Lestrange who bowed his head once and together with Greyback and Rosier, took hold of Walburga and Orion Black and helped them out of the room.

Tom walked over to where Nagini was crawling and leaned down.

"How are you, my darling?" he whispered in Parseltongue, as though he had not just tortured two of his followers.

"Bored," hissed Nagini. "I wish you'd feed me properly."

"I'm sorry," said Tom. "There haven't been very many riots lately."

"Even when there were, you never took me along!" complained Nagini.

Tom sighed.

"The world is just not ready to see you yet," he told her, stroking her with his long fingers. "The time will come soon."

"Yeah, yeah," said Nagini.

"My lord!" said Lestrange, who had returned.

Tom stood up to face him.

"What is it?" he said.

"What are we to tell Regulus?" said Lestrange.

"Nothing," shrugged Tom.

The other Death Eaters stared.

"M-my lord," said Lestrange, as Tom moved over to the couch and lounged on it. "Shouldn't we explain…shouldn't we take some responsibility?"

"Lestrange, you're boring me," said Tom, dully.

Lestrange paused.

"He deserves to know," he said quietly. "H-his parents will be recovering for a while, I expect."

Tom looked up at him incredulously.

"What did you just say to me?"

"I s-said… the boy deserves to know."

The other Death Eaters stared, all wide-eyed and shocked. Tom rose to his feet and came so close to Lestrange that his nose was almost touching Tom's flat face.

"You say one word and I'll feed you to my snake," warned Tom.

Lestrange swallowed loudly and did not say another word.

Tom's next piece of thrilling news arrived just a few days later when Bellatrix announced that she and Rodolphus were married. The Death Eaters decided to throw another party in celebration. Tom found this to be very amusing. Nevertheless, he attended the party and drank to the happy couple. Once the celebrations subsided and conversations began, Tom made his way over to where Bellatrix stood. She was receiving congratulations from Rabastan, Lestrange's youngest son, when Tom interrupted.

"Go get a drink," he instructed Rabastan.

He bowed his head once and walked away quickly. Bellatrix avoided Tom's eyes and watched the crowd instead. Tom stood next to her, his eyes also on the crowd.

"Congratulations," he said to her.

"Thank you," she said, in a slightly trembling voice.

"I must say, I am a little surprised," chuckled Tom.

Bellatrix frowned.

"At what, my lord?"

"At you, Bella. You are an extraordinary witch."

"Thank you," said Bellatrix, slowly.

Tom frowned at her but a smile crossed his face.

"Are you not angry with me for hurting your aunt and uncle?"

Bellatrix did not answer.

"You mustn't get too attached to him," Tom added, watching Rodolphus laughing in the distance with Narcissa and Lucius. "These are dark times, there is no denying it. And one of these days, you will come home and he will be dead."

Bellatrix turned in shock and gaped at Tom.

"Y-y-you're not…you wouldn't…a-are you…?"

"If he doesn't do anything to upset me, I won't kill him, but he might die at the hands of someone else," said Tom, simply.

"Well, love will save us!" said Bellatrix stubbornly.

"Ah, the old argument," said Tom. "Love… tell me, where has love gotten anyone? My, have you learned nothing from me?"

"I…" began Bellatrix, but Tom was not finished.

"Am I going to have a problem with you, Ms. Lestrange?"

"Not at all!" Bellatrix said quickly. "I am yours forever to command, my lord."

"Oh, I know that, but the question is, do you?"

Bellatrix stared at him for a moment and then bowed her head very low.

"I am sorry, sir," she said quietly. "I am yours to command…yours to do with as you please. I am your most loyal servant. I will be at your service until the day I die. I swear it on all of my heart."

"Mhm," said Tom, who was a little distracted by the commotion at the front doors.

Regulus had just arrived. The other Death Eaters gathered around him to congratulate him on making Slytherin Prefect. Regulus beamed at them all, apparently unaware of the recent tortures of his parents. He nodded and smiled as the Death Eaters took turns patting his back.

"…and I don't care if you've been with others, I will always be yours…" Bellatrix was still on her knees and she was now weeping at Tom's feet.

"Yeah, yeah," he said, and he pushed away from her and approached Regulus.

"Well done, Regulus!" he said, feigning excitement.

He put an arm around Regulus and chuckled loudly as he led him to the centre of the room. The other Death Eaters suddenly became very quiet as they waited for Tom to break the news to Regulus. Everyone else was too frightened to speak of it so no one had said a word to the boy. Tom sat with him at the table and smiled brightly.

"And how is dear old Sirius taking these news?" he asked.

"I don't know, we don't talk, my lord," said Regulus, innocently.

Tom nodded.

"Do not worry, the time will come when he will have no choice but to talk to you. But for now, let us drink."

He handed Regulus a glass of wine which he hesitantly took in his slightly trembling hand.

They raised their glasses, yelled "TO REGULUS", and drank.

"Where are my mum and dad?" said Regulus, looking around the room.

"Ah," said Tom, who frowned seriously as he put his glass down. "Let us take a walk, Regulus. There are some things I'd like to discuss with you."

Together, they rose from the table and departed from the room. Tom led him outside and walked along the back garden with him in the late evening. The music inside the house resumed and the conversations started up again.

"I am afraid there is some bad news," Tom began.

He could almost hear Regulus' heart thumping loudly against his chest.

"They were tortured a couple of days ago, son," said Tom, who was now feigning sadness so well, it was almost funny to him.

Regulus froze. His mouth fell open but no words came out. His eyes had widened and a few tears were lingering inside them. Silently congratulating himself on his excellent acting abilities, Tom put a comforting hand on the boy's shoulder and sighed.

"I am very sorry, young one," he said as they started walking again. "But with wars, you have to understand that these things do happen. And your mother and father are recovering and will be back with us very soon, I'm sure, but I'm also sure they would want you to avenge them."

Regulus slowly nodded.

"But we will take care of you for now," Tom added, looking back at the house full of Death Eaters.

"Who did it?" said Regulus in a constricted voice.

Tom pretended to be startled and then sighed heavily.

"It was Lestrange. He did it."

Tom knew exactly why he'd said it. He had wanted to punish Lestrange for humiliating him in front of the others ever since it'd happened. But why simply kill him when he could have him killed and earn a Regulus? Killing two birds with one stone was the only way Tom liked to operate.

"Lestrange?!" cried Regulus. "WHY?! WHAT HAVE THEY DONE TO HIM?!"

"Well you see son, they didn't approve of his son marrying your cousin," Tom invented wildly.

"Bella," gasped Regulus. "But..."

"Seeing as how her parents are dead, yours are now like her primary caregivers," explained Tom, whose mind was now wandering as to where Nagini was lingering and whether she fancied a walk with him.

"But she's not a child!" said Regulus, just as Tom decided that Nagini would join him anywhere, anytime.

"And neither are you," said Tom, who stopped walking and looked at him seriously. "You are a man, Regulus. And you have a spot in my ranks, you do."

Regulus met his eyes.

"The only question is…do you want it?"

A few months later, Regulus stormed into one of the Death Eater dinner parties in a rage and shouted AVADA KEDAVRA at Lestrange, who had been pouring himself another glass of wine. Lestrange tumbled to the floor at once, his eyes still wide and staring off into the distance without seeing. Some of the Death Eaters screamed as they had not expected this at all. Rodolphus and Rabastan stormed at Regulus but Tom cast a knockback jinx at the pair of them and they stumbled backwards. Bellatrix ran to her husband's aid while Tom approached Regulus, who was still shaking with rage. Tom slowly lowered Regulus' wand and then put another hand on his shoulder.

"Do it now," said Regulus through gritted teeth.

Tom raised an eyebrow.

"If, as I take it, you are accepting your position in my ranks—"

"Of course I am!"

"—then you will address me as 'sir' or 'master'," finished Tom.

He froze suddenly, as his brain searched for the memory with which he connected this moment. He could see Dumbledore now, laughing as Tom mirrored his exact words to him on the day they first met, back in the orphanage all those years ago.

"Please sir," said Regulus, interrupting Tom's dark thoughts, "Please give me the mark. I am ready."

"Yes, you are," said Tom, and he quickly withdrew his wand as Regulus rolled up his left sleeve and got to work.

1977 was Tom's worst year yet. A lot had happened that year that set Tom on edge. It was as though every single day brought bad news. Davis and Nott were also killed in the war, as were many others of Tom's most loyal followers. Nott's son, Nott Jr, had inherited his mansion and so the Death Eater parties continued to take place there.

As if things weren't bad enough, the ministry gave its auror office permission to use the unforgivable curses on the Death Eaters should they encounter them. But the worst news of all…the most alarming and the most frightening…Dumbledore had founded a secret organization called the Order of the Phoenix, whose main purpose was to bring down Lord Voldemort and restore so-called peace to the wizarding world.

Tom was furious. He was raged. As soon as Orion informed him of this, Tom disapparated with Nagini to a cliff somewhere and stalked around for hours, hissing furiously in Parseltongue. So Dumbledore had finally chosen to act. But this organization was surely no match for Tom and his Death Eaters. What was Dumbledore expecting the order to accomplish? Did he really think that they could rise and defeat the great Lord Voldemort? Did he really think that they actually stood a chance?

A sudden alarming thought entered Tom's mind like a sharp knife. He stumbled backwards a little and sat down on the cliff. Nagini circled him but knew better than to say anything this time. Tom's head was actually spinning and he pulled out his wand and cast all the calming charms he could think of. As his wand twirled round and round in the air, Tom's breathing slowed a little.

His Horcruxes. They were his priority right now. He would have to hide and secure each and every one of his precious Horcruxes before he even got around to fighting back Dumbledore and his little army. But where to begin? He'd already hidden Marvolo's ring and the Hufflepuff Cup and Slytherin's Locket and Ravenclaw's Diadem. But were they truly safe in their hiding spots? He'd have to revisit each one and add more protective enchantments. Well, no one truly knew where Ravenclaw's Diadem was so that one he could scratch off the list. Marvolo's ring would need revisiting, yes, and Bellatrix had hidden Hufflepuff's Cup in her vault and wouldn't dream of letting anything happen to it. So it was really Slytherin's Locket that was in danger. Tom did remember to place several enchantments around that cave. But how to check if they actually worked? Maybe if he found a Death Eater he didn't need whom he could use to test his charms.

"Oh you don't want to do that, my lord," said Nagini.

Tom started a bit. He had not realised that he had been speaking his thoughts aloud. Nagini was now sitting in his lap and caressing his arm affectionately.

"Why not?" said Tom.

"Well you'll need all the men you can get!" said Nagini, in a sort of tone that suggested it was most obvious.

"What shall I do then?" said Tom.

"Do what your heart tells you!"

Tom glared down at the snake who started laughing wildly.

"I'm sorry, I just had to try it," she cackled. "You have to admit, Dumbledore does have a way with words."

"Yeah," muttered Tom, who was not amused.

"My lord," said Nagini, who was now serious again. "You have an entire army at your service. Surely at least one of them has some useless old servant lurking around whom you could borrow for this little experiment?"

"Servant," repeated Tom, thoughtfully.

And then it hit him. Of course! He'd heard Regulus discussing him not long ago! How could he have missed it?

"I told you that you need me," said Nagini cleverly.

Tom jumped to his feet, causing her to roll off. She hissed furiously for a moment but had no time to say anything because they quickly apparated back to Nott's mansion where the dinner party had subsided. The Death Eaters all sprung to their feet at Tom's appearance, expecting terrible news.

"Go on," Tom instructed them, and just like that, the party came alive again.

Tom found the Blacks quickly. They'd been talking to Bellatrix and Narcissa in the corner of the room when Tom dragged both Orion and Walburga away.

"Where is your son?" he barked at them.

"T-t-there, m-my lord," said Orion, pointing at where Regulus sat, talking to Avery.

Tom dragged him towards one of the bedrooms upstairs. He locked the door quickly and turned to face him, his own face as serious as it could get.

"How long have you been a Death Eater now?" he asked the startled boy.

"Uh, a few months, my lord," answered Regulus, who looked to be a bit frightened.

"Sit down," said Tom.

Regulus sat.

Tom began to slowly circle the room, with his hands behind his back and his snake slithering at his feet. Regulus eyed the snake for a long time and looked as though he was unable to breathe.

"I have a request to make of you, Regulus," began Tom. "You are a very clever boy—perhaps even more intelligent than many of the grownups downstairs—and so I'm sure you'll understand why I insist you keep this between us."

"Of course, my lord," said Regulus.

"I have some important business to take care of," continued Tom. "You see… a long time ago, I hid something very dear to me in a distant cave. It is an object of extraordinary power and if something were to happen to it, I'm afraid things would get even uglier than they have been thus far."

"I understand," said Regulus, whose eyes were still lingering on the giant snake.

"And so," said Tom, who was now standing at the window with his back to Regulus. "It is crucial that I provide every bit of protection to this object. Surely you understand that I need to test this protection…to see if it works. And so I need to use someone to help me test it."

"M-m-me?" said Regulus suddenly. "I…surely you w-wouldn't…"

"Oh no," said Tom quickly. "No, my dear boy, I didn't mean you!"

Regulus sighed with relief.

"I meant that house elf of yours," said Tom simply.

"K-Kreacher?" said Regulus.

"Sure, I heard you talking about him not long ago," said Tom. "You said he has been in your family for generations."

"Y-yes," said Regulus. "He h-has, but m-my lord, I don't think my mother and father want anything to happen to him."

"What do you know about what they want?" shot Tom.

Regulus was alarmed but said nothing.

"I am ordering you to assist me with this task," said Tom, who was no longer smiling and no longer pleasant.

Regulus stared at him.

"It is not a request," Tom clarified. "It is an order. Are you going to disobey me, Black?"

"N-no, of course n-not, m-my l-l-lord!" stammered Regulus, who was now on his feet. "I am just…I admit I'm confused as to why you're asking m-me…and not my m-mum and d-d-d-ad."

"You are the youngest Death Eater by far, and the cleverest, as I can tell," said Tom.

Regulus gave him a small smile.

"Anyway, summon the creature for me," said Tom. "We shall go tomorrow night."

Regulus bowed his head and turned to leave.

"You know," said Tom, stopping him. "I am not a forgiving man."

Regulus frowned.

"I do not like dishonesty," explained Tom. "I do not like deceit."

Regulus forced a little smile.

"That's ironic, seeing as how you're the most deceitful wizard I know, sir."

Tom smiled too.

"Yes, and deceit comes with cleverness and extraordinary power."

"Sir?"

"I can read minds, you know," said Tom. "I can tell if others deceit me."

"Of course," said Regulus.

"I will not hesitate to kill you if you deceit me, Regulus," said Tom, quietly.

"I w-wouldn't dream of it," said Regulus.

"Good," said Tom, turning back to the window. "Because it was I who tortured your mother and father."

The room was filled with silence as the boy took in this information.

"You may return to the party," Tom said finally.

"Y-yes, my lord," said Regulus and he was out the door.

Tom remained in the quiet of the room for the rest of the evening. He had lots on his mind now and was not up to little dinner parties these days. There was so much to do before he could even think about dealing with Dumbledore. And so it was that the very next day, Tom sat down his main Death Eater group and ordered them to find out everything they could about the Order of the Phoenix, who were its members, and how to get a hold of them.

While Tom was busy securing the locations of his various Horcruxes, the Death Eaters were busy tracking the members of the Order of the Phoenix. That night, Regulus arrived at the dinner party with the Black family house elf. Orion and Walburga stared, both confused, but said nothing. The elf bowed low to Tom while the other Death Eaters laughed at its appearance. Tom however, did not smile.

"What is your name, slave?" he directed at the elf, ignoring Walburga's whispers to Orion.

"Kreacher, sire," said the elf, whose head was so bowed that its long pointed nose was touching the hardwood floors.

"How long have you served the Black family, slave?" asked Tom.

"For generations, sire," answered the elf.

"And has there ever been an occasion when you have disobeyed your masters?"

"No sire, of course not, sire," squeaked the elf.

Tom rose to his feet and eyed the elf carefully.

"Why should I believe you?" he asked it.

"Kreacher lives to serve the noble house of Black," answered the elf, very quickly. "Kreacher believes in the Blacks and their teachings. Kreacher loves purebloods and hates mudbloods and blood traitors alike. Kreacher does anything and everything he is ordered by his masters. Kreacher—"

"—sure talks a lot," Tom finished for him. He gave Walburga and Orion a nasty look.

The elf was instantly silenced.

"Do you know who I am, Kreacher?" said Tom, quietly.

"No, sir, Kreacher has not met thee yet, sir," said the elf.

Tom turned to stare at the Blacks who stood nearby. Walburga's gaze immediately fell to her feet and she even took a step back. Orion was also staring at the ground. Without warning, without even thinking it, Tom let his foot fly right into Kreacher's face, causing him to topple backwards and shriek in pain. Kreacher's entire nose was bleeding as he wept and tried to wipe it with the sleeve of his filthy rags.

"Kreacher, I order you to accompany me tonight on a little expedition," said Tom, who was now pulling on his travelling cloak.

"Yes, sire," said the elf, who stumbled to his feet and kept his head bowed.

Regulus, who'd brought both hands to his mouth to stop himself from screaming in protest, turned to follow them out the door, but was unexpectedly stopped by Tom.

"You will not be going anywhere with us," Tom told him.

"But sir—" said Regulus.

"I am ordering you to stay here."

"I can't do that, sir," said Regulus quickly, and he even glanced back at his mother and father who stood, absolutely paralyzed with shock. "I am one of Kreacher's masters. Kreacher lives to serve the house of Black and he will listen to a Black only."

"I am more powerful than any wizarding law," Tom reminded him. "A simple house elf will be of no bother to me."

"I…" said Regulus, but Tom was surprised at how disobedient he was that he decided to jinx him.

Regulus had not seen the wand coming and so he flew backwards at tremendous speed and gasped loudly. Walburga buried her face in her husband's shoulder and the other Death Eaters also stopped to watch the scene, all of them alarmed.

"Next time, you'll know better," said Tom, simply. He turned to where Nagini was sitting on the arm of a couch. "Nagini, come!"

The snake slithered over to where Tom stood and, without waiting for Regulus to stand up, Tom, the snake, and the elf disapparated.

When they returned later that night, Tom was positively pleased and had forgotten all about the events that had occurred moments before his departure. Regulus obviously had not forgotten, for he remained in his little corner at the back of the room and did not stumble forwards to greet Tom like the rest of the Death Eaters. Orion and Walburga were also fairly quiet for the remainder of the evening.

Kreacher looked as though he had been forced to swallow a thousand deadly poisons, which was partially true. Though, Tom did not care to discuss the events of that evening with anyone and had sworn Kreacher to secrecy. He was sure that no wizarding law would permit Kreacher to reveal anything that had occurred in the cave…not even to his own masters.

Kreacher stumbled forwards to join Regulus and together, they departed from the party. Tom did not pay attention to either of them and simply accepted a drink from Lucius and went to sit at the end of the table, ignoring Walburga and Orion completely. Lucius and Narcissa sat on the opposite end and Bellatrix and Rodolphus joined, along with Nott Jr, Rosier and his son, Rosier Jr, and Avery, who looked like he hadn't slept in years.

"Would it kill you to clean yourself up a bit?" Tom said to Avery.

Avery did not answer but continued to stare at him.

"My, you desperately need a wife," said Tom. He turned to look at Narcissa.

"Any word on your older sister?"

"M-me?" said Bellatrix, confused.

"Not everything revolves around you, Bella," said Tom, a little annoyed. "I meant the blood traitor."

"Andromeda," said Narcissa, quickly. "Yes, well…my lord, she and her husband are well protected…their daughter too. I'm afraid not much can be done."

Walburga, who had come to join them at the table, nodded.

"Fine," sighed Tom. "What about the Potters? Have you found them yet?"

"We have, my lord," said Nott Jr, "They refused to join so we killed them."

"Excellent," said Tom, and he took a sip of his drink.

"But their son remains," Nott added shortly after. "He is a known member of the Order of the Phoenix."

"I see," said Tom, coolly. "A respectable pureblood wizard who doesn't know what he's doing simply because Dumbledore got to him first…No matter, we'll just have to bring him in and have him sort out his priorities."

"My lord, I'm afraid that is not possible," said Rosier. "All of the Order members are well protected."

"Dumbledore has made sure of it," added Rowle.

"And they are being very stubborn about meeting with any of us," said Rosier.

"Then you must be more persuasive," said Tom. "Clearly you haven't learned anything from your time as a Death Eater. Could it be that you have grown too old to carry on, Rosier?"

"Of course not, my lord," said Rosier. "I only meant that perhaps you were to send a message somehow, instead of meeting them directly."

Tom thought for a moment.

"That's actually not a bad idea," he said, slowly. "Very well then, we shall send a message. I—"

"My lord," said Rowle. "I'm sorry to interrupt but I feel that you should know…"

Tom waited.

"My lord… James Potter is involved with a…with a mudblood…by the name of Lily Evans."

"Is he now?" said Tom.

"Apparently though, she is the brightest witch Hogwarts has had since your departure," said Narcissa. "That's what they say, anyway."

"HA!" laughed Greyback, who seemed to have choked on his bit of wine.

"But a mudblood?" said Tom, who smiled slightly at Greyback's weirdness. "Come now, are they really that daft—Purebloods?"

"I'm afraid they are," laughed Rosier.

"Oh fine then," said Tom, who sighed heavily. "Send her a message too. I want both of them. If Potter has the slightest bit of intellect, he'll convince his little mudblood to join us and perhaps she will be a good demonstration of how kind we can be."

The Death Eaters at the table roared with laughter.

"You should also try recruiting the Longbottoms, sir," said Rowle. "I've heard a great deal about them. They have talent and they're Purebloods—both of them."

"Alright," said Tom, sipping his drink again.

"Ironic," said Lucius. "This Order is meant to fight the most powerful wizards in the world and yet it contains some of the best. If only they had their priorities straight..."

Tom gave Walburga and Orion another nasty look.

"I suppose your worthless son is a part of this little Order society too," he said.

Walburga and Orion both froze. The other Death Eaters laughed even louder, knowing that Tom was speaking of Regulus' older brother.

Though, the laughter was not long-lasting for the very next night, Tom received a message that brought the dinner party to an abrupt stop. The patronus, which was apparently able to talk (and Tom largely suspected that this was Dumbledore's doing), was a double message:

We are grateful for your invitation; however, we do not associate with blood haters and supremacists. Kindly do not bother us again. Yours sincerely, Frank Longbottom, Alice Longbottom, James Potter and Lily Potter—proud members of the Order of the Phoenix

It was like he had been slapped hard across the face. A large, firing ball of hot white anger was coiling up in his chest, sending waves of fury up and down his body. He had never felt as furious as he did in that moment. The Death Eaters did not find this the least bit funny and were smart enough to remain frozen.

Tom could not believe it. How dare they defy him? Did they not fully understand just who they were dealing with? Did they not comprehend what sorts of magic he was capable of doing? He would have to personally demonstrate his powers to them . . . to persuade them, as he liked to call it.

And so Tom spent the next couple of months fighting…fighting like he had never fought before…rallying up as many as he could and jinxing and blackmailing and torturing. He channeled all his anger into each and every one of the rallies, and produced extraordinary results and countless bodies. The Death Eaters had never seen him so furious and knew better than to try and talk to him about it. Regulus rarely showed up anymore but when he did, he followed every order.

The Death Eaters tried to get to the members of the Order of the Phoenix, but Dumbledore had them well protected. They did manage to kill a couple, but not the most important members. One little man however, personally paid Tom a visit at Nott's mansion one late night in the Spring of 1977. He bowed low to him and waited for permission to speak.

"Peter Pettigrew, sir," he answered when asked to present his name.

"And what are you doing here today, Pettigrew?" said Tom, lazily.

"Well, t-they c-c-c-all m-m-me W-w-w-Wormtail, your majesty," said the little man.

Tom raised an eyebrow.

"They?"

"The O-order of t-t-the Phoenix," said the man, quickly. "I a-a-am a m-m-member."

Tom sat up and stared at him.

"And what are you doing here?" he repeated.

"I h-h-have c-c-c-come t-to j-join y-y-you, sir," said the man, who looked frightened beyond comprehension.

Tom drew his wand and pointed "Legiliments" at the man. He only glimpsed his mind for a couple of seconds but there was nothing there that was alarming—nothing about Dumbledore planning to send a spy, nothing about trying to get information out of the Death Eaters, nothing about plotting some trick against Lord Voldemort. Tom withdrew from the man's mind and smiled wickedly. He then turned unexpectedly to Avery.

"Well, won't you get our newest member a drink?" he said.

Avery bowed and handed the little man, who looked as relieved as though he were about to wet himself, a tall glass of wine.

"Welcome, Wormtail," said Tom, raising his own glass to the man.

At the party resumed, Regulus came to sit beside Tom and lowered his voice so that only Tom could hear him speak.

"My Lord Voldemort," he said. "That man used to run around Hogwarts with Sirius and Potter and that werewolf that Greyback is always bragging about biting."

"Interesting," said Tom, slowly.

"Are you sure he can be trusted, sir?" said Regulus.

"Oh yes, I am sure," said Tom. "I have read his mind. There is nothing devious there."

Regulus paused.

"Legiliments can only get you so far, my lord," he said, and without waiting for Tom to reply, he stood up and walked over to where the newest member stood.

Tom did not feel too good about the way Regulus had spoken those last few words. Could it be that he was up to something? He wouldn't dare though. . . not after Tom had told him what he was capable of doing to his parents...what he had no problem doing.

Perhaps it was because things had been going so bad lately that he could not stand more bad news. Perhaps it was because he was assured that Dumbledore had not sent this man as a spy or a trick. Tom wasn't exactly sure why he did not just kill Wormtail, but there was no doubt that Wormtail, however useless he may have seem, would be his most loyal follower. And that, right there, was definitely useful.

Note: No, I have not forgotten about Severus Snape or Barty Crouch or Barty Crouch Jr. All will come in the next chapter, which will be titled "The Prophecy" and will be updated either tomorrow or the day after. That chapter will be as long as this one, or it might be a bit longer...there is so much to cover. Voldemort was very well connected to a lot of people, I'm afraid, so I'm trying hard to make sure I don't miss anything and that I include all details, like how he taught his Death Eaters to fly. That's why I'm not updating a few chapters a day, because these particular chapters require a lot of research. Anyways, hope you enjoyed the bit of comic relief and weren't too disturbed by the darkness of a few scenes :):)