A/N - I can't believe the overwhelming response I had to the prologue. Thank you all, I really appreciate the support. Anyway, enjoy the first real chapter of the story.
Hermione bounded into the house, excited to be home. The last week of school had dragged and with practically the whole school in mourning it had been a pretty depressing atmosphere to be around. Hermione hadn't been too affected by events, she hadn't known Cedric personally and while it was regrettable he'd gotten in the way casualties of war were to be expected now Voldemort was back. Hermione's main struggle had been to make sure Harry or Ron didn't see her bubbling excitement every time they mentioned Voldemort, but she was very good at hiding her true feelings and her friends didn't notice anything amiss about her behaviour.
"Where is he?" Hermione asked her mother as she followed her into the large entrance hall.
"Try the front room, sweetie." Hermione's mother, Kathleen, suggested with a smile.
Hermione went flying into the front room before coming to a stop in the centre of the room. Sitting on the sofa was a tall, pale man with dark brown, almost black, hair and menacing red eyes. Hermione knew the red eyes were a result of the magic that had been used to restore her father to full strength and return his magic. Spotting Hermione the man smiled and stood up quickly, holding his arms out for her.
"Daddy." Hermione cried happily, flying into the arms of the wizard known as Lord Voldemort.
Hermione took a minute to enjoy being in her father's arms. All her life her father had been a sick man, with barely the energy to move around their large house, but now he was the strong wizard she'd known was inside him all along. As she was growing up her father would tell her about the day he would be strong again and he'd promised her that from that day onwards he would gain control of the wizarding world and she would have everything her heart desired.
"The plan didn't work properly." Hermione said as she looked up at her father. "Harry's still alive."
A dark shadow passed over her father's face. "I know, but one day he'll meet his downfall. Sometimes in life we have to be patient."
Hermione nodded, knowing all too well her father's view on patience. Years ago he'd went to destroy Harry because of a prophecy he'd heard, but the entire thing backfired on him and he was left weak and defenceless. Without his magic and with a severely weakened body he knew he wouldn't be taken seriously by the wizarding world, so along with his wife and daughter he'd gone into hiding. For years he'd lived confined in the large house they owned, searching for a way to regain his strength and magic. Through the years he never got impatient, claiming that when the time was right he was find the answer to his problem. He'd tried a few different things over the years, like trying to get hold of the Philosopher's Stone in Hermione's first year, but eventually he found what he was looking for. What he was looking for was a spell designed to restore his magic and strength and it looked as though it had worked perfectly, his patience had finally paid off.
"Why don't you tell me about school, before dinner." Voldemort suggested. "Then your mother and I have something very important to discuss with you."
Hermione nodded and sitting down next to her father she began telling him about school.
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Lucius Malfoy was sitting with his wife, Narcissa, and son, Draco, when he felt his dark mark begin to burn. Since The Dark Lord's return nearly a fortnight ago his mark had been tingling more than normal, but this was the first time it had burnt since the night of his return.
"I have to go." He announced as he stood up. "The Dark Lord is calling."
Narcissa nodded and smiled encouragingly while Draco looked at his father in envy. Serving The Dark Lord was something Draco had longed to do for years and now Voldemort was back he couldn't wait until it was time for him to take the mark and fight alongside his father.
Gathering his wand and putting on his Death Eater robes, Lucius pressed his finger against the burning mark and he was instantly transported to where his Lord was waiting for him. Lucius arrived in a large study and he instantly realised the meeting was either a private one for him and Voldemort or it was just for his inner circle. So far a larger scale meeting hadn't occurred, and Lucius knew when it did happen it wouldn't take place in a study like the one he was standing in.
"There's no need for your robes and mask Lucius." Voldemort's voice called from behind the blond man.
Turning round Lucius lowered his head at the sight of Voldemort. "My Lord."
"Relax Lucius, we're just going to have a little chat." Voldemort chuckled. "Take off your robes and mask and sit down."
Lucius did as he was told and after sitting down Voldemort handed him a glass of firewhisky. The dark wizard then settled into the chair opposite Lucius and studied his follower. Despite the fact he'd managed to convince the right people he wasn't a supporter of the dark any longer, Voldemort knew Lucius was still as loyal to him as he was the day he received the mark. Even in his weakened state he'd known what was going on in the wizarding world, and he knew Lucius and his family were still loyal to him and his ways.
"Next week I'll be calling a full meeting of the Death Eaters." Voldemort announced. "I was hoping we could use the Manor as a base."
"It would be our honour, My Lord." Lucius replied, knowing he'd be the envy of every Death Eater as he played host to Voldemort.
"Things will be different this time around. I'm bringing my daughter on board." Voldemort said, chuckling slightly as Lucius openly gaped at him.
"I wasn't aware you had a daughter." Lucius said carefully, making sure he didn't offend Voldemort. He guessed the child was born before his disappearance years ago, but he'd never heard about her.
"For various reasons I kept her existence quiet." Voldemort replied. "While my other followers will know about my daughter and will obey her as they obey me, they won't know her identity. You are the only person I'm trusting with this information."
"How will the others follow her, if they don't know who she is?" Lucius questioned.
"She'll be attending meetings with me, but her identity will remain under wraps." Voldemort answered.
"May I ask about her mother?" Lucius asked hesitantly.
"Her mother is my wife, and we're still very much together." Voldemort said. "We never told anyone about our relationship because I didn't want the Order to target her. No-one needs to know about my wife, I'm trusting you with this information but it goes no further."
"Yes, My Lord." Lucius nodded, respecting the dark wizard's wish for privacy.
"Would you like to meet my daughter?" Voldemort asked as he stood up.
Lucius nodded as Voldemort headed towards a second door in the study. When the door opened a brunette girl entered the room and walked over to where Lucius was sitting. Lucius gasped with shock as he recognised the girl as Hermione Granger, muggleborn best friend to Harry Potter.
"Hello, Mr Malfoy." Hermione smirked, perching on a nearby chair.
"This is your daughter?" Lucius questioned Voldemort.
"Yes." Voldemort nodded and smiled proudly at his daughter. "This is my Hermione."
"I'm confused." Lucius muttered. "I was under the impression she was a muggleborn. And aren't you best friends with Harry Potter? You were at the Quidditch World Cup with the Weasley's."
"I was with the Weasley's, and technically I am best friends with Harry." Hermione confirmed.
"Let me explain." Voldemort chuckled as Lucius continued to look puzzled. "After my disastrous trip to destroy the Potter boy, I was left weak and without magic. I returned to my wife and we moved here, where I've devoted my time to finding a cure to my problem. As Hermione got older we knew she couldn't attend Hogwarts as a Riddle, so with a bit of magic from my wife we pretended she was a muggleborn. We've got a childless couple nearby under a spell and the Granger's really think they have a daughter called Hermione who attends Hogwarts."
"Clever." Lucius nodded, impressed with how Voldemort and his wife had ensured their daughter attended Hogwarts. "Where does Potter fit into this?"
"That was coincidence." Hermione shrugged. "When the hat was sorting me I told it not to put me in Slytherin, which would have been suspicious. I expected to be sorted into Ravenclaw, but the hat put me in Gryffindor. I never meant to befriend Harry, but when the opportunity presented itself I grabbed it."
"And that may prove useful in the future." Voldemort said. "For now Hermione will carry on as normal when she's at school. It's not the right time to announce who she truly is."
"Something like that will need careful handling." Lucius said thoughtfully. "Dumbledore and the Order won't take lightly to having a traitor in their midst."
"That's not something we need to worry about just yet." Voldemort said. "As I said Hermione will carry on as normal in public, but in private she's going to become more involved in things."
"I don't want to sound rude, but I can't see the others taking orders off a schoolgirl, even if she is your daughter." Lucius said to Voldemort. He felt he needed to point out the potential problem to the wizard, even if it meant he angered Voldemort.
"That's one of the reasons I don't want her identity to be revealed." Voldemort replied. "The only thing my Death Eaters will know is that she's my daughter, they don't need to know how old she is."
"Very well." Lucius nodded.
"Hermione, you can leave now." Voldemort turned to his daughter. "I have a few more things I want to talk to Lucius about."
Hermione nodded and jumped up immediately. "Goodbye Mr Malfoy." She said with a smile.
"Goodbye, My Lady." Lucius inclined his head at the teenager, earning him an approving look from Voldemort.
Voldemort knew that if Lucius treated Hermione with such respect then the rest of the Death Eaters would follow suit. Her age wouldn't be an issue as only Lucius would know who she was and even then Voldemort was convinced his daughter would soon have the blond man confident in her abilities to lead his followers. Voldemort had raised Hermione to be a strong, confident witch and he knew there was enough of both him and her mother in her to ensure she had a dark streak that could rival his topmost men.
"I need a rundown of people's whereabouts." Voldemort told Lucius once they were alone. "I need to know who's still around and more importantly who can I trust."
"I'm afraid there's a great deal of our ranks in Azkaban." Lucius sighed. Before Voldemort had disappeared they had the odd person arrested but after he'd vanished a lot more were sent to prison.
"I read about a few of them." Voldemort nodded. While he may have been weak for many year he'd still kept abreast of the news in the wizarding world and knew a few of his more high profile followers were languishing in jail cells. "We can organise a break-out soon."
Lucius nodded and for the next half hour they discussed the people in prison as well as several Death Eaters Lucius had doubts over. While he'd managed to avoid prison and even kept a somewhat clean reputation by lying and bribing, he knew several former Death Eaters who had genuinely changed and wanted nothing else with do with Voldemort.
"What about Severus?" Voldemort questioned. "Can he be trusted?"
Severus Snape was currently teaching at Hogwarts and it had been him that had given Voldemort the information about the prophecy concerning Harry. Since his return he'd spoken briefly to Severus, but he wasn't sure where his loyalties lay after all these years. Severus claimed to be loyal to him and that he had Dumbledore's trust, meaning he could be a useful ally, but Voldemort wanted to be sure before placing his trust in him.
"I'd like to think Severus was loyal to us." Lucius replied. "But after spending so long with Dumbledore there has to be a sliver of doubt."
"My thoughts exactly." Voldemort nodded. "Until I've determined his loyalties, he won't be welcome in meetings where Hermione is. I can talk to him separate and work out if I can trust him."
After another ten minutes or so of talking Voldemort ended the meeting. After giving Lucius the time of the full meeting he let his right hand man go home while he went to spend the rest of his day with his wife and daughter.