Author's Note: Hey readers! I really hope you enjoy this chapter. This is a short chapter transitioning from the Order of the Phoenix events to the Half-Blood Prince events. It starts with the aftermath of the Battle of the Department of Mysteries and ends in mid-summer. Next chapter update will probably be within the next couple of days.

I have already written the last chapter for this story. It definitely made me cry. I really hope you all enjoy it and I can't wait to release it.

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all rights and characters belong to J.K Rowling. I am simply having fun with my imagination. Thanks

...Snarling with anger, he leapt to his feet, snatched Bellatrix from behind the pillar, and disapparated, leaving Harry Potter to weep in Dumbledore's arms...

CHAPTER 38: REDEMPTION

"Hang on, Bella," Tom murmured. "We're almost there."

Bellatrix whimpered as she held on to Tom's waist. The two were flying—gliding—across the dark sky above London. They flew across mountain ranges and dark green valleys until they finally reached Malfoy Manor. Once their feet landed on the ground, Tom released Bella who was still sobbing into his shoulder.

"Get off," he muttered, shaking her away.

She whimpered again but proceeded to lead him through the gates and up to the house. Tom let himself in without hesitation and stormed across the main entrance and up the stairs to what was presumably the sitting room. There, Narcissa Malfoy was sitting in an armchair by the fireplace. She jumped to her feet at the sight of Tom and bowed her head. Bellatrix ran to embrace her sister and proceeded to recount the night's events to her, while Tom helped himself to a drink.

They were the only 3 in the house. None of the other Death Eaters knew about what had happened, and none of the ones at the ministry got the chance to get away. Bella and Tom were the only 'survivors' of the battle, as of this moment. The others were no doubt on their way back to Azkaban. Drowning down the wine, Tom turned to look at the two women in the corner, speaking in low whispers.

"W-what will happen to him?" Tom heard Narcissa ask.

"I'm n-not sure yet, Cissy," said Bella in a quiet voice. She too, looked like she was on the verge of tears.

Noticing Tom's silence, Bella spun around to face Tom and then strode right up to him, placing both her hands on his chest.

"My lord," she said. "I'm really truly very sorry. I did not mean for any of this to happen. I was too busy dueling Black. He was laughing at me, my lord. He dared to laugh at me!"

"I know," said Tom, coldly. "I was watching."

"Y-you w-were?" said Bella, amused. "I had no idea…"

Tom walked away from her and went to sit on the couch. He stared at the fireplace for a long time, and the others soon joined him on the chairs nearby.

"There is a war ahead of us," he announced. "But first, we must prepare for it. We'll start by releasing the captives…our followers."

Narcissa and Bellatrix seemed to let out a deep sigh of relief at the same time. Tom raised an eyebrow and stared from one to the other.

"This does not include Lucius," he informed them.

Narcissa frowned.

"M-my lord," she said in barely more than a whisper.

"My lord?" said Tom. "No. This does not include Lucius. He has failed me over and over again and now I reckon a little time in a prison cell will give him perspective."

"Yes, my lord," said Narcissa, looking down at the ground as she spoke. "I understand, my lord."

"Good," said Tom, carelessly.

He looked back at the fireplace. The night had been a waste. A failure. A disaster. The most he had accomplished was possessing the boy and causing him pain. The ministry now knew that he was back, and only one Order member had been eliminated. And to make things worse, Tom still had no idea what the prophecy said, and now thanks to Lucius, he would never know.

HE-WHO-MUST-NOT-BE-NAMED RETURNS

JUNE 19, 1996

In a brief statement Friday night, Minister for Magic Cornelius Oswald Fudge confirmed that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has returned to this country and is active once more.

"It is with great regret that I must confirm that the wizard styling himself Lord—well, you know who I mean—is alive and among us again," said Fudge, looking tired and flustered as he addressed reporters. "It is with almost equal regret that we report the mass revolt of the Dementors of Azkaban, who have shown themselves averse to continuing in the Ministry's employ. We believe that the Dementors are currently taking direction from Lord-Thingy. We urge the magical population to remain vigilant. The Ministry is currently publishing guides to elementary homes and personal defence that will be delivered free to all wizarding homes within the coming month."

The Minister's statement was met with dismay and alarm from the wizarding community, which as recently as last Wednesday was receiving Ministry assurances that there was "no truth whatsoever in these persistent rumours that You-Know-Who is operating amongst us once more." Details of the events that led to the Ministry turnaround are still hazy, though it is believed that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and a select band of followers (known as Death Eaters) gained entry to the Ministry of Magic itself on Thursday evening.

Albus Dumbledore, newly reinstated headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, reinstated member of the International Confederation of Wizards, and reinstated Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, was unavailable for comment last night.

"I'll bet he wasn't," said Tom, setting down that morning's Daily Prophet edition.

"My lord," said Narcissa in a quiet voice. "My lord, if the Dementors have now come over to your—eh, our—side, won't it make rescuing the others easier?"

"It will," said Tom, simply. "But that still does not include Lucius."

Narcissa frowned again but kept quiet. Tom looked up at her from the chair where he was sitting.

"I want him to feel a little remorse for his actions," he explained.

Narcissa nodded but again, said nothing.

"How is your son?" said Tom.

This surprised Narcissa a great deal and she stared at him.

"D-Draco?"

"You have more sons?" said Tom, raising an eyebrow.

"N-no, my lord," said Narcissa quickly. "Draco is at Hogwarts right now, sir. He…he's distraught at the news."

"I imagine he is," said Tom. "Perhaps he won't be as cowardly as his father."

"Yes, my lord," said Narcissa.

During the next week, Tom succeeded in freeing his Death Eaters from Azkaban and soon they were back and among the rest. He got his shining moment of cursing them all so they would understand their crucial mistakes at the ministry. They recovered pretty quickly but it was unlikely they'd soon forget the consequences of their actions. Many of them were now sporting terrible marks.

Now that the Wizarding world was aware of Tom's return, he saw no reason for the Death Eaters not to continue their strikes from the first Wizarding War. And so it was that they spent the summer of 1996 brutally attacking any muggle-born they could lay their hands on. They set about kidnapping various wizards, including the famous wandmaker Ollivander, who Tom hoped would provide him with a better wand for when the time to duel Harry Potter arrived.

There was lots to do and lots to take care of. The Death Eaters worked tirelessly at recruiting more members, as did the Order of the Phoenix. With Sirius Black dead, Bellatrix seemed to have higher spirits than ever. She tried to get a hold of the Black family heirlooms but it appeared that they had been left for someone else, though she did not know who. Even Kreacher the elf was off limits. So, she resorted to attacking muggle communities instead and forcing bridge collapses.

Rufus Scrimgeour, previous head of the Auror Office, succeeded Fudge as Minister for Magic and promised to restore the Wizarding world to peace. He told the Daily Prophet about adding stringent new security plans to Hogwarts, including defensive spells and charms, a complex array of countercurses, and a small task force of Aurors dedicated solely to the protection of the school. It seemed that, for the time being, Hogwarts was simply untouchable. This, Tom knew, would create quite a challenge for his latest plan.

The way Tom saw it, it'd be foolish to continue with anything until Dumbledore was eliminated completely. It would be even more foolish to try and accomplish this himself. Dumbledore was about as untouchable as Harry Potter himself these days. It was impossible to simply march up to Hogwarts unexpectedly and kill him. It would have to be done from inside the walls. Quietly. Cleverly. Death Eater style. And who better to bestow this task upon, than dear old Lucius Malfoy's successor?

For Tom, simply rotting in Azkaban was not enough punishment. He needed Lucius to really understand his mistakes and to really think about where his loyalties were and where he placed his efforts. Giving young Draco the job would definitely be an eye-opener for Lucius. But Tom decided not to reveal this information to dear Narcissa just yet. All would come in good time. For now, there were more important things to deal with, as late one night in mid-July, an old friend stopped by Malfoy Manor for a little reunion.

"Severus!" cried Tom as Snape moved into the sitting room.

The other Death Eaters also rose to their feet at his arrival and bowed their heads. Snape's eyes lingered momentarily over Narcissa and her son, before they found Tom. He moved towards him and held out his hand to shake. Tom however, was too pleased to see him after so many years apart. He reached out and embraced him like a long lost friend. Snape was no doubt startled by this but decided not to say anything on the matter and merely nodded at Tom as Tom let him go.

"How are things back at Hogwarts?" said Tom, motioning for Snape to sit with him.

"Security has been increased considerably, my lord," answered Snape. "Dumbledore has gone to great lengths."

"Thoroughly predicted," commented Tom. "What about Potter? Will he be returning this year?"

"Yes, my lord," said Snape. "Dumbledore has made him Quidditch captain. He passed his OWLs. He is set to return soon."

"I do hope Potter will be well trained in Quidditch when he comes to face me," said Tom, smirking. "Dumbledore certainly thinks that'll be the key."

Snape gave him a small smile.

"Anything else you want to tell me, Severus?"

Snape paused.

"I have been appointed the Defense Against the Dark Arts post," he finally said.

Tom stared at him.

"Severus," he said, softly. "You do know the job is cursed, don't you?"

"I do, my lord," said Snape quietly. "I have hopes to believe I will amount to something greater by the start of next year."

At this, Tom smiled.

"Here's to hoping, Severus."

He waved his wand in the air and two wine glasses appeared. Snape took his in hand but did not drink. He waited as Tom drank his wine and sat back in his chair.

"Who then will be taking the Potions job?" he asked.

Snape paused again.

"Word has it that Dumbledore will try to recruit Horace Slughorn for the job, once again."

An instant memory of a meeting in old Slughorn's office swirled before Tom's eyes. He watched his younger self standing by the fireplace, tracing the shine of Marvolo's old ring around his finger. He listened to Slughorn's accelerated breathing as he questioned him about the properties of horcruxes. He then recalled the very day that Slughorn rejected joining his ranks and rejected his suggestion that he go into hiding.

"My Death Eaters have been trying to track him down for over a year now," said Tom, thoughtfully, as he watched Nagini slither into the room. "Always on the move, old Slughorn."

Nagini made her way over to where he sat and climbed up on his chair.

"My lord," she hissed, "I have missed you."

"Well," said Snape, setting his wine glass down on the table, "if Dumbledore succeeds—and I expect he will—Slughorn will be back at Hogwarts for good."

"Yes," said Tom, staring off into the corner of the room where Draco sat nodding at Bellatrix, who appeared to be explaining something to him.

Tom's eyes then landed on Avery who sat alone in another corner, watching him intently. He was never alone with Avery anymore. It appeared as though Azkaban had really taken its toll on Avery. At least, he was never the same after he got out of there. Pity. Tom was really starting to like him again. Despite his obvious betrayal and cowardice, he had been with him since the very beginning, and though Tom did not like to admit it, he'd hate if something were to happen to dear old Avery.

Shaking away the nostalgia, Tom turned back to Snape.

"You have done excellent work these last 15 years, Severus," he told him. "And you are my most trusted and loyal servant. I am glad to have you back."

Something ghostly seemed to wash over Snape but it was instantly gone. He looked Tom straight in the eyes and Tom saw through his black ones the long-awaited return of a faithful servant.

"I was never gone, my lord."

Teasers, anyone?

Next chapter will feature a particularly long conversation between Tom and Snape. Also, Draco's initiation into the Death Eater community needs to take place sometime soon, doesn't it? ;)