Author's Note: Hope everyone had a great week and enjoy this chapter. My apologies for any mistakes, I haven't edited or proofread. My mind has been all over the place lately. Point anything out and I'll be happy to change it some other time.

Dedication: AllInTheReads132, thanks for reading and for your kind reviews! They're really appreciated.

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

"...So you'll do it then?"

"Absolutely, my lord."

Tom paused.

"Thank you."

He would hate now to lose Snape and preferred to keep him in the safety net of Hogwarts. After all, Snape gave him a future, and Lord Voldemort was appreciative...

CHAPTER 42: OLLIVANDER'S LIE

"Come on! We've got to get out of here!"

"Can I get some bloody help over here? The man is bleeding on my shoulders!"

"What was that curse they used on him?"

"I can't be sure but we better get him somewhere inside. Quick!"

"I did not expect this to happen."

"No, you bloody idiot, none of us expected it!"

"Alright, let's settle down!"

"Ugh, I can't hold him up."

"My lord, can we—uh, my lord?"

The remaining Death Eaters spun around the dark street, looking for Tom who, only moments ago, was standing right next to them. But Tom was already far from the dark street. He was flying with fury across fields and hills. He dashed across the city lights and forced himself through the protective enchantments around the residence. Finally, he dropped to his feet and stormed past the gates and up to the large manor. Nagini joined him as the front door flew open and Tom marched down the stairs towards the dungeons. Tom's thoughts were racing as the dungeon gates flew open at the flick of his wand. He was sure that there were people who had followed him downstairs but he didn't care to check who it was. He marched right up to the scrawny, pale-faced little wizard who had been sitting in the corner. Discarding his wand, Tom grabbed the wizard by the neck and threw him up against the wall. He glared into his eyes, standing inches from his face.

"I don't know! I r-really don't know! Please, please I beg of you, have mercy! Have mercy! I know nothing of it, I swear! I…I r-really thought a-another w-w-wand would w-work!"

Tom pushed him to another wall and hissed his snake-like hiss again. The underfed wizard cried out in pain. Behind him, Tom had heard a woman's gasp. Now he knew Narcissa Malfoy had followed him to the dungeons, no doubt to make sure that her precious home was just fine.

"You lied to me, Ollivander," Tom sneered. "You said another wand would work."

"I r-really thought another would w-work, s-s-sir!" cried the old man.

Tom threw him against a pillar and the man whimpered.

"You're telling me that a wizard who is as old as time and who has done nothing but obsess over wands for the last hundred years did not know this would happen?" said Tom, in his cool, snake-like voice.

Nagini slithered at his feet, ready to attack Ollivander, the supposedly great wandmaker. She could already taste his blood in the air, but Tom knew she would not dare do anything without his command.

"I s-swear it," whispered Ollivander.

"I don't believe you," Tom whispered back.

And with that, he let go of Ollivander who dropped to his knees with a cry of pain. Trembling slightly, he crawled over to the corner and stared up at Tom who was eyeing him with deep disgust.

"You are a worthless half-blood," Tom declared, "But I will not yet kill you. I believe you can still be useful to me. You made Wormtail another wand. You told me about the twin cores with Potter's wand and mine. You are not completely useless, Garrick Ollivander."

"T-t-thank you," whispered the man.

"But I will not let you off that easy," Tom continued, as though the man had not spoken. "You have one week to come up with an explanation as to why Lucius' wand collapsed in my fingers the moment it connected with Harry Potter's wand. After that, you have an additional week to figure out an alternate solution to my problem. If you do not have an answer for me by that time, then I will kill you."

Sneering again, Tom stormed past Narcissa, Bellatrix, and Severus and out of the dungeons.

The other Death Eaters from the Battle of the Seven Harrys had collapsed in the sitting room and were mending each other's various injuries. Tom stormed past them and into the garden. He stood in the cool night air and closed his eyes, taking very long breaths.

"My lord," Nagini hissed at his feet.

"What is it?" he said in a constricted voice.

"If he doesn't have an answer, can I kill him instead?"

Tom opened his eyes and found Nagini instantly. He smiled softly at her.

"Of course you can, my lovely," he murmured.

Tom heard the door behind him open and close again, but he did need to turn around to know that it was Snape. Snape joined him at his side and stared off into the distant hills of the darkness, and for a long time, neither of them talked.

"So where do we stand, sir?" Snape finally said, in a very low voice.

Tom sighed.

"Mundungus Fletcher disappeared at the sight of me. One of the Harry Potters lost his ear, a few of them got scratched but nothing long-lasting, and—oh, that's right. Silly me, I almost forgot. Alastor Moody is dead."

"That, I know," said Snape. "The curse nearly hit me."

Tom chuckled lightly.

"Yes, I am truly sorry about that, Severus," he told him. "You know perfectly well by now that when I am excited about something…well, I don't really stop to think. I just go with my insticts."

"That's alright, sir," said Snape, with a light smile.

"It wasn't intentional, as I'm sure you know," Tom added. "I need my new headmaster, don't I?"

"Indeed."

Tom absentmindedly began his walk, with Snape at his side and Nagini not too far from them. They strode in silence for what seemed like hours, Tom all the while thinking back to the battle.

"Very clever, wasn't it?" he said after a while.

"What was, my lord?"

"To come up with something so intelligent and so sneaky…seven Potters."

"Ah," was all Snape said to that.

"It was very unexpected. I definitely underestimated the Order of the Phoenix; I am not ashamed to admit that to you, Severus."

"It definitely was a surprise," Snape agreed.

"Would you like to know my suspicions?" said Tom, coolly.

"Of course, my lord," said Snape at once.

Tom stopped walking and faced him.

"It was a very good trick—so good, that it almost felt like Dumbledore was behind it."

"But it's not possible, my lord," said Snape. "He is dead. He can't possibly have been behind it."

"Yes," agreed Tom, "I trust that you took care of that, Severus, which leads me to my second suspicion."

"Sir?"

"It was a sneaky tactic…very clever…definitely threw us off…it was not something we'd seen coming…almost like the work of a Slytherin."

"What do you mean to say, my lord?"

"I think someone in my ranks is working for the Order," said Tom, simply.

Snape's black eyes surveyed Tom's red ones, and for a while, the only sounds were Nagini's hisses.

"Why would Lucius betray us?" Snape whispered.

"I have tortured his family a great deal," Tom explained, "Maybe our old friend Lucius has decided they'll be better off on Dumbledore's side."

"My lord, I doubt this is the case," said Snape. "Lucius would not dare do such a reckless thing."

"You think so?"

"I know so."

Tom raised his eyebrows.

"My lord, it's been a long night. You should get some rest."

"The Dark Lord doesn't rest," Tom declared.

"Not that you need it," Snape quickly added, "But it is encouraging. You'll be able to think better in the morning."

"I am perfectly fine, Severus," said Tom, with a slight smile. "I only just wished to express my concerns to you."

"And for that, I am grateful," said Snape, with a low bow to Tom.

"So you think it is a paranoid assumption then?" Tom continued.

Snape paused.

"I think it's worth investigating, of course. We don't want to be thwarted by yet another person."

"No," agreed Tom. "We do not. Investigate it, will you, Severus?"

"Yes, my lord."

Tom, Severus, Mulciber, Yaxley and a few of the others subtly made their way over to the Ministry of Magic on the night of the first of August. With wands in the air, they set out various curses and jinxes, hitting many people and many things. Tom and Severus marched right up to the Minister's office. The door flew open. Rufus Scrimgeour only had time to widen his eyes before he was hit with the killing curse and his eyes shut instantly. The shouts and screams filled the halls. It was the most beautiful sound Tom had heard in ages. He was very pleased. They hadn't had a raid like this since the first war.

With Scrimgeour dead, Yaxley took control of Pius Thicknesse and used him as a puppet-like, substitute minister. Meanwhile, Yaxley himself took control as Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Tom instructed his other Death Eaters to assume the positions of various other spots in the Ministry. Before he could even explain or lay down the new laws however, he felt the Dark Mark conjured, and disapparated right away.

"P-p-please, don't hurt me!" Rowle cried as Tom waved his wand and threw him backwards.

Rowle cursed out loud and cried in pain. Tom however was not finished.

"You called me here for nothing?!" he yelled. "Crucio!"

Rowle shrieked in pain and writhed on the stone-cold floors of the Malfoy residence. The others watched in fear and horror as Rowle was tortured.

"Please!" he begged.

Tom terminated the curse and glared down at him.

"You're a worthless piece of garbage, Rowle," he said, simply.

Rowle proceeded to cry but Tom was done with him and took a seat on one of the couches in the sitting room. No one dared to go help Rowle to his feet. After a while, his sobs quieted down. Severus however took a seat beside Tom and looked up at him.

"My lord?"

"We have taken control of the Ministry," said Tom. "Scrimgeour is dead."

"Is he really?"

Tom paused to take in these words. It was true. He really had seized control of the Ministry of Magic. After so many years of hard work, it was finally his. Oh, what he would give to see Dumbledore's face now. He never thought that Tom could do it. He never thought Tom was capable of it. Well, he couldn't have been more wrong, could he?

"Yes, Severus. And in light of this news, I expect you to make some revisions to the Hogwarts curriculum this year."

"Yes, sir," bowed Snape.

"Yaxley, you will do the same at the ministry," said Tom, lazily.

"Yes, sir," responded Yaxley, who seemed to be very glad of this new feeling of importance.

Tom sighed.

"Potter escaped the wedding ambush then?"

"Y-yes, my lord," answered Avery. " Dolohov and Rowle followed him, a Weasley, and a mudblood but I don't know where. It seems that memory charms have been placed on the both of them. They don't recall anything that has happened after the wedding. All they know is that they woke up in some muggle café and then they apparated here."

"Idiots," spat Tom. "What about the others?"

"We believe they have gone underground, my lord," explained Avery. "Into hiding."

"Yes, I expect they have," said Tom. "He managed to slip away again."

"Now that we have the ministry under our siege, it won't be long before he is captured," said Snape.

"That is true," agreed Tom. "Thank you, Severus."

Snape bowed.

"No one can know that Scrimgeour is dead," Tom told the others as they nodded in understanding. "Let them think he has..." he smiled, "...gone on a little vacation to escape the stresses of dealing with the Dark Lord."

The Death Eaters chuckled at Tom's humour.

"I expect that Harry Potter, being as nostalgic as he is, will want to spend some time around his dead godfather's house. Start monitoring it immediately."

"Yes, sir," the Death Eaters murmured.

"And Avery," said Tom, "Send out the Hogwarts invitations to all the Wizarding children. This includes Harry Potter, of course."

MUGGLE-BORN REGISTER

The Ministry of Magic is undertaking a survey of so-called "Muggle-borns" to better understand how they came to possess magical secrets.

Recent research undertaken by the Department of Mysteries reveals that magic can only be passed from person to person when Wizards reproduce. Where no proven Wizarding ancestry exists, therefore, the so-called Muggle-born is likely to have obtained magical power by theft or force.

The Ministry is determined to root out such usurpers of magical power, and to this end has issued an invitation to every so-called Muggle-born to present themselves for interview by the newly appointed Muggle-born Registration Commission, head of which is former Undersecretary of the Minister, Dolores Jane Umbridge.

Smiling to himself, Tom put down that morning's copy of the Daily Prophet. His eyes met Snape's and he motioned for him to follow him out for another walk.

"Is everything alright, my lord?" Snape asked once they were out of earshot of the others.

Tom did not answer right away. Instead, he listened to what Nagini was saying. She was making some very good points as she hissed violently at his feet.

"...and I really don't think it's very fair that you don't grant me this," she concluded.

"I understand how you feel," Tom hissed back in Parseltongue. "And I will reconsider it."

"Good, because the mudbloods deserve it," she answered. "They shouldn't just be killed or imprisoned. I should get to take care of them."

"I'll think about it, Nagini."

It was nearing the end of August. Tom was very pleased with how things had been going lately. Witches and wizards were submitting themselves for blood evaluation. The Hogwarts letters of mandatory attendance had been sent out. His Death Eaters were taking shifts outside of the old Black family house, though it was severely protected so they could not get inside. But, that also meant that no one could get outside. Still, even though things were now much better than they'd ever been, Tom found himself not yet fully satisfied.

"Are you not happy with what was in the Daily Prophet?" Snape asked him now as they walked along the grass.

Tom finally turned to him.

"No, no, it's not that," he replied. "It's a start of course, but a very slow start. I think we need to already start rounding up mudbloods."

"We will," confirmed Snape.

"But this is not what I dragged you out here for," said Tom. "You remember our previous conversation about a sneaky Slytherin?"

"Yes, my lord," said Snape at once. "It was not Lucius. Goyle mentioned that he and Lucius had spent the whole summer together. Lucius has not left the house once this entire summer. It could not—would not—be him."

"You're absolutely—?"

"Positive."

Tom narrowed his eyes but nodded.

"I see."

"My lord, I'm sure it was just the works of the Order," Snape offered.

Tom nodded.

"You've done excellent work thus far, Severus, thank you."

"Of course, my lord," Snape bowed again. "My lord—do you...do you think that maybe Potter will not return to Hogwarts this year?"

"I am sure of it," replied Tom.

"He'll be in hiding, of course, what with our new regime."

"Naturally."

"My lord...what do you think we should do? How should we go about finding him?"

"I think…" Tom knelt down to pat Nagini. "I think our friend Ollivander has some information."

"Tis known as the Legend of the Deathly Hallows…children from whole wizarding families grew up with the Tale of the Three Brothers. It can be found in the Tales of Beedle the Bard. F-f-forgive me, I am an old man and I do not exactly remember how the tale goes, but I do believe that the legend m-may be of use to y-y-you."

Tom stared at the trembling man crouched before him for a long time. Then, he turned to Narcissa Malfoy who avoided his eyes firmly.

"Bring the book," he instructed.

She bowed and then disappeared from the dungeons at once.

Without a glance at the man whimpering in the corner, Tom followed Narcissa out of the dungeons. The others followed him silently as well.

Back in the sitting room, Narcissa was shuffling through books on the shelf desperately. She looked to be in a sort of panic.

"I guess you are not a whole wizarding family after all, if you do not even possess this book that is supposedly so common amongst wizarding families," said Tom, slyly.

Narcissa shook her head in protest but continued to search for the book. Meanwhile, the others stood around nervously.

"Did you not read these tales to little Draco when he was young?" said Tom, who now sat on the arm of a chair, his wand still in his hand.

"Of course, my lord," replied Lucius, who put a hand on Narcissa's shoulder as she continued to search.

"Well, I must say I find that difficult to believe, since you can't even remember the story," said Tom.

He then turned to look at all the others.

"Does anyone here remember this Deathly Hallows story? Anyone at all?"

The silence was abysmal. Tom sneered again.

"You are all completely worthless," he muttered.

"I have it," said a voice from behind him.

Tom raised his eyebrows, sneered again, and turned around. Draco Malfoy was standing at the top of the stairs and holding up a small but fairly thick book in his hands.

"I have the Tales of Beedle the Bard."

There are a few time jumps in this chapter, but it basically ends near the end of the summer. As you saw at the beginning, I decided to cut out the sky battle scene and just forward to the aftermath of it. We already know what happens. It's unnecessary to include. My purpose with this story, as you probably know well by now, is to expose Tom's thoughts about events. I promise I won't do the same with the Battle of Hogwarts. You'll see the whole thing. Sigh. Those are going to be four loooong chapters ;)