"I don't even understand why the Dark Lord wishes to be associated with him, frankly."

There were some murmurs of agreement among the four males, though Bellatrix remained silent. She wasn't about to make her discontentment with the Dark Lord's actions public, because at any given point they will come back to haunt you. However, she was slightly confused with her master's plan of action with this one.

That evening, in late August, she lay hidden in an alley with four other Death Eaters; Rodolphus, Severus, Lucius and a seedy man named Yaxley. They were on assignment in a Muggle neighbourhood. It was a relatively quiet place, one with a small town jail that could probably house about six or seven inmates at a time. They had scoped it out a few days earlier, at the request of the Dark Lord, and tonight they were launching a plan of attack to rescue one of the prisoners. Now, this wasn't just some ordinary wizard they were rescuing from Muggle Hell. No, this was a creature, one that made Bellatrix twitch and grumble about. There was no need for their existence, werewolves, and yet somehow the magical community had allowed them to breed on and survive. They should have just pumped them full of silver when the first couple appeared in normal society and been done with it. This fellow was special though. He had a name for himself; Fenrir Greyback. According to what she had seen in the Prophet and heard through whispered rumours, he was a lanky beast of a man, the age of which no one could place, nor the blood type. He had a strong group of followers, his pack, and he was a menace.

Stupid oaf had gotten himself completely sloshed in a Muggle neighbourhood a few nights ago, and was stuck in prison for a week until someone could manage enough money to bail him out. Idiot. The Dark Lord had sent another group of Death Eaters to wrangle up his followers while the man was locked up, and while Bella was pretty sure they hadn't captured all of them, they had gotten enough to get a full understanding of the wolves. They wanted power, and the freedom to raise terror in the streets... much like Bellatrix and her companions, but they were wanted men. The Dark Lord was willing to offer them protection, so long as they did all their dirty deeds under his name. Most claimed they wouldn't agree to anything until Fenrir had made a decision on the matter, and so there she was, about to drag the man out of prison.

She wasn't particularly sure as to why she always ended up with Lucius and Severus on assignments. After all, she had tried on numerous occasions to separate herself from them by outperforming them whenever the opportunity arose, and yet somehow their names were always called together. It was like she had been put into a clique within the ranks, and it was going to be exceptionally difficult to try and break out of it. None of the boys had much of an issue with it, aside from Rodolphus, who didn't really take to Snape as well as Lucius had, but somehow they all got along reasonably well. It was Bella who usually stirred up the drama. However, her drama never went unnoticed, and she was pleased that many of the men within the ranks were, well, frightened of her. They knew she was in the Dark Lord's favour, and should she tattle on any of them, they would soon find themselves on the harsh end of his wand.

That was what she liked to think, anyway. It hadn't actually happened yet, but she was sure that should something ever bother her so greatly that she couldn't deal with it herself, and a visit with Voldemort was needed, her dark master would willingly oblige an ear to listen. He took her opinion seriously, after all, in all manner of things! However, that sort of left her confused as to why she was sitting in a dingy alley, in a Muggle village, in the warm August night, waiting to drag some wolf back to headquarters. Perhaps he didn't want to openly show that he was favouring her. Oh, who knows? He could be so peculiar sometimes, and while she adored ever ounce of his being, he was hot and cold when it came to their affair. Yes, their affair. It sounded absolutely scandalous when one used that sort of wording, but she couldn't think of anything else to call it. He was slowly becoming more open to seeing her privately again, though most of the time was spent discussing neutral things, with an occasional touch here and there. The man become rather irritated when she tried to take things farther, but she couldn't help herself! In the end, she would still return home to Rodolphus, who would drag her to bed, like any husband should. Was her husband aware that she went to see the Dark Lord whenever she could while he was at work? Most assuredly. In fact, he would often torment her about it simply to enrage her, seeing as he knew just as well as she did that the Dark Lord was too busy for Bellatrix most of the time, and it would always leave her in heartbreak.

But enough of that. Her dark eyes studied the gloves that covered her hands, and the hands of her fellow Death Eaters. The palms and inner finger tips were laced with silver, for effectively handling of Fenrir once they broke him out of prison. There was a general assumption that the pack leader wouldn't come quietly, and therefore they were given full permission to use force. While a wand was as effective a weapon as any, they wanted to weaken the creature quickly before he made a scene, and bring him back to the Dark Lord weakened still so that he could be properly... persuaded to work under his command. Bella couldn't see why anyone would turn the Dark Lord down, but it had happened before. Some people could be so stubborn!

"I can see why he wants Greyback," Severus interjected softly before Lucius could respond to Yaxley. "He is, after all, a powerful magical being, whether you choose to accept it or not. A lot could be done for our cause should we have Greyback on our side."

"Don't be ignorant, Severus," Lucius snorted, rolling his eyes. "Fenrir Greyback simply needs to be put down. Perhaps the Dark Lord will do it under the guise that he is there to acquire his services."

"We would have been given permission to kill, not weaken if that was the case," Rodolphus remarked, his hand absently drawing shapes on Bella's back, "Snape's right. He needs someone that frightens the wizarding community as a whole, someone who isn't a mere human."

Merlin, she hated it when he sounded brilliant. Sometimes it was such a bother to compliment Rodolphus, because he always became an arrogant prick whenever Bellatrix paid him the slightest attention in that department. Perhaps it was because she so rarely did it, though he no doubt deserved it more often. He was cleverer than most gave him credit for. It was a silent intelligence, for the most part. She leaned back into his hand, halting his ministrations by squishing it between her body and the wall. Shooting him a coy grin, she glanced at his wristwatch, deciphering between the six hands that were almost completely not related to the time at all, and finally came to the conclusion that it was two minutes to midnight. Gathering her black cloak, which was currently resting beside her on the ground, the woman rose and flung it around her shoulders, "Let's move."

None of them needed to be told twice. They rose from their seated positions on the shadows, quick to dawn the robes just as Bella had. Masks were unnecessary that evening, seeing as the only ones that could potentially see their faces were Muggles, and the Ministry could come round and deal with their memory issues when the incident was reported. And it would surely be reported. And the Dark Lord's correspondent in the Daily Prophet would be sure to put a nice juicy article out about how the magical world's most dangerous werewolf was back out and on the loose. Oh, it would be brilliant! Everything would fall into place, just as the Dark Lord desired... There would be panic.

The group moved soundless from the alley into the empty street, fanning out around the outer rim of the prison. More like a holding facility than anything. The cells were kept along the back wall, and from previous scouting, they had discovered Fenrir's was the very last cell, at a corner. In unison, the Death Eaters raised their wands, and gave the Muggle wall a vigorous round of "Bombardo!" and other sets of spells that would damage the exterior. As they were blasting away, Bella could only hope that Fenrir wasn't getting pounded with rock as the wall exploded everywhere, and when the dust finally settled, they were rather pleased to spot a figure crouched at the far end of the cell, his hands flung over his head to protect his face. It was a shoddy cell, really. Small. A bed lay discarded several feet out onto the street, and now that she really thought about it, it was a marvel that Greyback wasn't along with it. Once they were sure it was time to move in, the five closed in on the huddled werewolf in a heartbeat, with Lucius and Rodolphus grasping his bare arms with their gloved hands sharply. The man let out a wounded shout, trying to bat them off, but it was clear that the silver fragments in their gloves were already draining him of his strength, and he was soon able to be lifted.

"Fenrir Greyback," Bellatrix started confidently, her eyes roaming the startled, but angry, looking man, "you have an appointment with the Dark Lord, and I don't think he'll like to be kept waiting."

"G-Get off me," he grunted, struggling vainly as he was hauled closer to the other three Death Eaters, "I said I'd consider his offer. I'm not ready to settle."

"Well, he is," Severus said curtly before Bella could, earning him a rather snide look from her. Lucius and Rodolphus began dragging him from the rubble just as they heard the Muggle police rallying their forces from the other side of the building. Fenrir groaned noisily about the silver, and softly begged for them to stop touching him. As if that was going to happen. Although he was wandless, he could still overpower them in brute strength alone, and they weren't about to lose him. Bellatrix stalked forward, her eyes boring down into his as he grinned momentarily, and she stuffed her hand over his mouth, eliciting a muffled cry from beneath the glove. Smirking, the remaining Death Eaters gathered in closely, and with a loud 'crack', they vanished from the scene.

When they had stopped traveling, the group found themselves in a large hall in the lower levels of headquarters. The Dark Lord had turned much of his original home in Dover into the new base for the group, and he had relocated to a private location elsewhere. For the most part, Bellatrix came here, and it pained her that she didn't know where this other house of his was. The hall they were in now was rather bland. It was made entirely out of a pale cobblestone, walls to ceiling and floor, and there was nothing in it but a lone chair, on which the Dark Lord was currently resting. He looked so... elegant. Like a king waiting for the return of his loyal subjects, yet he presented an air that indicated he hardly cared about them one bit, loyal or not. He simply wanted to see results. Perhaps that was one of the many things that Bellatrix had come to adore about him. The man had a way of making them work extra hard for his favour, simply because they never felt like he cared enough. It was ingenious, just like him.

When Bella removed her hand from Greyback's face, she noticed with some satisfaction that there was a rather large red handprint burned into it. Smirking, she stepped back and joined the semi-circle around him with her fellow Death Eaters. The Dark Lord leaned forward, clucking his tongue, "My, my, Greyback... What have my cruel little friends done to you?"

"Exactly what you wanted them to do, I'm assuming," the wolf croaked, gingerly touching his face with a wince, "but I'll tell you the same as I told them... I'm not ready to settle on your offer yet."

"Ah, but you see, I've managed to persuade half of your pack that it would be ideal to join me," the wizard cooed, rising from his chair and slowly making his way toward him. Bella gripped her wand, just in case something should happen. The Dark Lord gently ran his hand over Greyback's ratty hair, then sighed, "I'm offering you an unlimited reign of chaos, Greyback."

"I have that already."

"But, you do not have the protection of a secret society that will ensure you do not end up in Azkaban, do you?"

There was a pause, in which the halfbreed creature looked almost pensive. He cleared his throat, "What do you get out of this deal?"

"Oh, the odd service here and there," the Dark Lord chuckled as he clasped his hands together. "Nothing you wouldn't enjoy. Kidnapping, killing, maiming, intimidating... In fact, I think you'd enjoy the hunts I put you on."

"Will I be branded, like the rest of these cattle?"

Bellatrix, like her comrades, shifted irritably, her eyes narrowing upon him. A cow, was she? Wait until she had a moment alone with him! She would give him a few marks, ones that wouldn't go away for some time, and he'd howl like the dog he truly is! Her nostrils flared angrily at the thought of the name, but she felt her cheeks growing hot when she noticed that the Dark Lord was watching her closely, a knowing smirk on his lips. It was ghostly, of course, and to anyone else he would appear bored. But to her, she could tell right away that her temper, as controlled as she thought it to be, still kept him mildly entertained.

"I do not give my mark away to just anyone," he replied softly, his blood-shot eyes raking across his five followers. "It must be earned."

"Well I don't want it."

"You will, in time," the Dark Lord mused, turning on his heel to face the man crumpled on the ground before him. "Greyback, you have a minute to consider and agree to my offer."

"And if I don't?"

The Dark Lord grinned, "Well, we'll leave you down here to consider it for a... longer period of time. Perhaps a week, maybe two. Does that seem more appealing?"

"But my Lord," Bella intruded, her face playful as she feigned disbelief, "he'll be dead if we leave him here for a week!"

"Ah, my Bella, that is exactly the point," he purred back, his eyes continuously trained on Greyback, "and he'll leave his pack without an Alpha. Shame. Perhaps I'll just take over, once they join me at your imminent death-"

"All right!"

Bella met her husband's eye across the circle, and they shared a triumphant gleam. The Dark Lord always got what he wanted in the end. He had been pursuing Greyback for months now, and after chipping away at that disgusting exterior piece by piece, he had finally managed to break him. As Bella had guessed, it would only be a matter of time. There were countless people, shockingly, who would not willingly join the Dark Lord. Some were in the Ministry, some were wealthy purebloods like themselves. But you see, all it took was a little persuasion!

"You have no idea how much it pleases me to hear you submit, Greyback," the Dark Lord stated, his tone of voice changing from one that could be considered pleased to one that was harsh and distant, "and you will learn, now, what it is like to be loyal to me."

With a wave of his hand, he beckoned his Death Eaters to follow him, which all five did obediently. The man dragged loose a small package from his pocket, the Portkey that would get them out of the room and back to his personal office upstairs. He held it out as the Death Eaters closed in, Bella working her way so that she was directly pressed against his side. She could have sworn she saw Rodolphus role his eyes, but she pointedly ignored it as she hungrily eyed the Portkey.

"When you are good and hungry, I shall send you on a hunt, Wolf."

"But-"

"Until then, stay here and enjoy the accomadations," the Dark Lord chuckled, his free hand wrapping sneakily around Bella's waist as the group all reached out to touch the Portkey, "and learn what is considered appropriate when you address me. Next time, I shall hope for some manners."

In a flash, they vanished, leaving the lone wolf in a heap on the chilly floor.