The Death Eaters appeared back in the Throne Room of Riddle Mansion, although it didn't appear like this before. The door into the hallway was broken across its middle, windows were shattered and Voldemort's throne had cracked from the top down. Nagini, Voldemort's pet snake was cowering under the remains of a table in the far side of the room; for any onlookers outside, it would have appeared a bomb had been detonated there.
Voldemort was the first to get to his feet, followed by Wormtail. Bellatrix however crawled quickly towards Hermione's body, who was lying on her side away from them. "Hermione!" Bellatrix yelled as she turned her over, and let out an audible gasp. Hermione's skin was a grey colour, and even though Bella could feel her pulse, she was not breathing regularly, nor was she responsive. "Hermione!" Bella cried out as she cradled her unconscious lover in her arms. "Don't leave me; I need you! Please!"
Voldemort knelt next to the grieving witch and stroked her face tenderly. "Bella," he soothed; realising that he needed to save her somehow. "I'll take her back to your home, I need you to go to your vault and check that the Cup Horcrux is still there. If it is, bring it back with you." As he said this, Bella turned to him, tears streaming down her face.
"Claire..." she cried quietly, and with a pop her loyal house elf appeared.
"Mistress Bellatrix," she bowed to her master, before glancing round and seeing the face of Voldemort next to her master. "Dark Lord! My apologies!" she replied quickly bowing so deeply her nose almost touched the wooden floor.
"Rise dear elf," Voldemort said quietly. Claire stood up, and waited for instructions, only realising who the two were kneeling with.
"Oh my!" she gasped, as she saw Hermione's lifeless body on the floor. "What can I do to help, Mistress," she asked the Death Eater.
"Help the Dark Lord to take care of Hermione," Bella replied. "I must perform a task for him, so I will not be coming with you." She turned to face Voldemort, "take care of her, my Lord," she said, before giving her young lover a peck on the forehead and Apparating to Gringotts.
"Wormtail," Voldemort said to a nervous Death Eater.
"Yes, my Lord," he replied.
"Go to Malfoy Manor and collect the Malfoy Family, bring them back to Lestrange Manor. Ensure the boy, Draco is alive and safe at all costs."
"As you wish, my Lord." With a bow Wormtail Apparated away.
The Dark Lord next placed his wand to his left temple, and contacted his subordinates at Hogwarts: the Carrows. The siblings Dark Marks started to burn, and as they checked them, they realised that they were blue rather than black, indicating a message had been sent. As Alecto pressed the tip of his wand to his mark, the siblings heard the Dark Lords voice in their heads.
"Carrows, I require a task of you. Serverus has been attacked in his office. Find him, and deliver him to Lestrange Manor personally, as I require your presence also. I need Serverus alive, so do what you need to sustain him."
Voldemort spoke to the house elf, who was now tending to Hermione's external wounds from the glass shards on the floor with a simple Healing Charm. "Claire," Voldemort said softly.
"Yes my Lord," she replied.
"Take us all to your home." The elf nodded and took both his and Hermione's hands gently, and Apparated them to the Manor.
Once the elf regained her bearings, she proceeded to escort the Dark Lord to her mistresses' bedroom, and once there, Voldemort placed Hermione's unconscious body on top of the bed, then he magically tucked her into the bed before turning to the concerned elf next to him. "Claire, I require a meeting with my subordinates." He counted mentally the number of Death Eaters that were not currently on missions overseas. "There will be approximately thirty members present."
"That will be sorted at once, my Lord," replied Claire; as she turned to leave, she turned back to the Dark Lord and said solemnly "take care of her, sir." With a pop, she Apparated downstairs to sort the accommodation out.
Voldemort moved over to Hermione's side, and admired her form. True, she had power, and she had motive for turning against Potter after what had been said just a few short hours ago, she would be a great asset to his cause. However, he had no plan against Potter becoming immortal. "How could I have been so foolish," he whispered to Hermione's unconscious body; "I was afraid of death, and after the boy defeated me, I swore that I would not rest until I could rid the world of the 'Boy who Lived'. But now, by my own actions he is immortal, and the only way for him to die is if I die first. I cannot win."
Meanwhile, downstairs Claire had just found a trio of men, one seriously injured; appear at her doorstep. She Apparated them to the bedroom, where Voldemort helped them place him into a bed Claire conjured across from Hermione's. "My Lord, we found him just in time," Alecto said as they helped to put Snape into the bed.
"We were able to alleviate some of his external wounds, but he has been unconscious since we found him," Amycus said, his deep voice resonating in the room. "I still do not know how you were able to sense him, being so far away from the school."
"That, Amycus, is all down to our friend over in the other bed," Voldemort replied, indicating the 4-poster bed across the room. "She was able to locate both Serverus and his attacker, Harry Potter." The siblings gasped in unison, not believing that the Chosen One could have attacked his own headmaster. "Had it not been for her intervention, he would not have survived the attack."
"My Lord," Alecto said quietly, "why did Potter go after Snape anyway? He had no reason to attack the school; unless he was after something..."
Suddenly, Wormtail Apparated into the room, a gash across his cheek. "My Lord, Potter was at the Manor;" he gasped, trying to catch his breath. His legs gave way, but Alecto was quick to react and caught him, before guiding him to sit on Snape's bed. "He attacked us all, but I was able to protect the Malfoys. I was able to Apparate them all away with light injuries, but I was not so lucky." As he said this, he held up his arm, the metallic fist Voldemort had given him 3 years prior was gone, destroyed, and the bloodied stump of his arm remained.
"Oh Wormtail," Voldemort said as he moved round to examine the stump closely, "you have done exceptionally well to protect the Malfoys." He waved his wand and produced a new, golden hand for Wormtail.
"Thank you Master!" he thanked as he examined his new hand.
"Claire," Voldemort said, and the elf appeared in front of him. "Look after our wounded, please." Claire nodded in affirmation as Voldemort escorted his associates downstairs into the now enlarged dining room. The room now contained two tables down its length, chairs either side of them, with a grand chair at the end for Voldemort. As he mentally summoned the rest of his Death Eaters, the Malfoys and Carrows took some seats down the inner row. In what was only a few minutes, two dozen other Death Eaters arrived and took their seats. Bellatrix arrived back just as the last of the guests, Fenrir Greyback, arrived.
Bellatrix moved to the Dark Lords side revealing in her robes the Cup of Hufflepuff, and he motioned for her to take it upstairs. She ran as fast as she could to her bedroom, to see Snape and Wormtail on one side of the room, and Claire and Hermione on the other. "How are they?" she asked.
"Snape is recovering well, Bellatrix," Wormtail said, as he cast a charm on Snape to replenish his energy. "Although, I could do with a Blood Replenishing Potion, it appears Potter used the Sectumsempra Curse on him.
As Bellatrix made to summon the potion from the bathroom cupboard across the hall, she asked, "Didn't Snape know the counter curse, considering he created the spell?"
"I believe that Snape may have dropped his wand at that point, and have been unable to defend himself." Bellatrix handed him the bottle and turned to Claire.
"Mistress Hermione is doing well, but not as well as Master Serverus," Claire said solemnly. "She is unresponsive, and I'm not sure if she can recover from her ordeal." Bellatrix moved to the bed, where she saw her lover's lifeless body, a grey, slate-like colour to her skin; and her hair had darkened to almost the same colour as Bella's own ebony locks. Her external injuries had been healed, but due to the strain of the spell she cast all of her energy had been sapped.
"Oh Miney!" Bella cried as she stroked the young witch's face tenderly, "please wake up!" She looked at Hermione's exposed abdomen, which showed both the healing wounds sustained earlier that day, but also the two inch knife wound she herself had caused at Malfoy Manor. "I'm so sorry my dear," she sobbed as she now tenderly stroked that particular wound. All of a sudden, she felt a response from Hermione's hand, gripping her own ever so gently. "Hermione?" Bellatrix gasped as she looked onto the face of her young lover, who had her eyes open just slightly, and she whispered so quietly that Bellatrix had to lean in, almost face to face to her as she whispered in her ear:
"I forgive you."