A/N: Vanessa's POV, this chapter is dedicated to new follower, A Tragic Comic. I hope you enjoy!

-C

Jack's parents had moved into a different wing and his father and insisted that they stop the ridiculous intermingling of two married couples, so I thankfully didn't have to see them very often. I spent many peaceful days in our wing, minding my own business, reading novels, practicing my potion-making, and drawing.

I was actually drawing when Jack came in after a Death Eater meeting, a solemn expression as he sat across from me, glancing down at the picture I was making before looking back up at my face without a word about my pursuit.

"Regulus Black is dead."

I shook my head at him incredulously for a moment before I said softly, "What do you mean? You weren't even at a raid. He…. He was at school for Merlin's sake!"

There was no reason I should be so upset.

"He'd already joined," Avery said, slowly. "He joined when I did. It was kept quiet, for obvious reasons. He never went back to Hogwarts. It was over the holiday. We don't really know what happened. The Dark Lord hasn't said, but I suspect it had something to do with the Order. Perhaps Black was on a mission, and he was caught. I have no doubt his brother would kill him."

Not from what Sirius had told me about Regulus. Not getting his little brother away from his parents had, at least while we were dating, been one of his greatest regrets. The likelihood of Sirius being the one to kill Regulus Black would have been low, even on that count alone.

"No, not if Peter's to be believed," I said slowly. "He said that Sirius has been allowed to not do missions until their child is born and Amy has recovered enough to be left alone."

He frowned, tilting his head, considering this. He would file it away for future use, perhaps tell the other Death Eaters. I simply watched until he reached out his hand and turned my drawing around for a better look at it.

"Is this what you do all day?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

If I were of lesser self-awareness, I might have blushed, but I simply shrugged.

"Sometimes I brew potions," I told him. "Basic things, just to keep my skills fresh and amuse me. And I read. But this amuses me the best, I think."

He continued to look at it thoughtfully.

"Is this the gardens?"

"The freesias, yes."

He looked up, pride in his eyes.

"It's quite good," he said. "I think you could improve even more. I should arrange a private tutor."

I raised an eyebrow casually.

"If it pleases you."

It would be interesting, at least, to have someone instruct me on my art. I hadn't expected for Jack to care one way or another, but perhaps this was the sort of genteel thing he figured he could use to show me off and talk me up to others.

He was right, though. It would need improvement before he could really brag about it with pride.

Jack and I spent little time together outside of when he came to bed. He did that less and less frequently, what with the constant demands of the Dark Lord. It was discouraging that I had not conceived a child yet, and my mother-in-law had mentioned it once or twice, but there wasn't much pressure yet. Narcissa had a bit of pressure on her, but we would have a couple of years before we were truly expected to start bearing heirs. A woman's first priority was ordering her new household, building the nest so to speak.

"Mother wants to do a formal dinner in a week," Jack said slowly. "I want you to invite Pettigrew."

I raised my eyebrow.

"Don't you think he might be uncomfortable meeting my husband?"

"Women have lovers, even the married ones. Sometimes the husbands know and approve of them. You needn't actually sleep with him, but by no means do you have to make this into some sort of discouragement. But I think that by meeting us he will think of the right sort of information to pass through you to us more easily."

He was going to be used more directly. He would know he was a pawn.

"I need to think on it," I said softly. "It's not that I don't think you have a good point, but I need to be sure that this is the right time and way. I'm meeting with him for lunch tomorrow. I'll let you know after if he'll be coming. This needs to be handled…delicately. He cannot think that he is losing his control over the situation. He fancies himself clever in this area, you know."

Jack chuckled, amused. It was rather amusing, at that, but Peter wasn't totally helpless in maneuvering. After all, he'd tipped the scales on the whole Sarah and Remus issue; he just hadn't been able to calculate that it would not be the right place to put pressure in order to keep Amy and Sirius apart. To be honest, I wasn't sure that anything would have been able to keep those two apart indefinitely. From looking back, I was almost certain that their whole relationship was almost cosmically predestined. Some things were meant to be.

Not like Evans and Potter, whatever James Potter wanted to think about it. For one thing, the amount of ego in that relationship was almost toxic.

Jack left me alone after a short while and I looked down at my freesia drawing lazily, thinking of what Lily Evans's pretty, pale throat would look like, strangled, bruised….

My hands began to shake with excitement and I pulled out a fresh sheet of parchment, making a list.

Sarah Kelly was already dead. That hadn't been high on my priority list, anyway, nor had Marlene McKinnon, but at least they wouldn't get in the way. I put them in a column by themselves my hand then pausing at the top of the next column.

I had told Peter that Sirius was my main target, but although he was high on my list, Lily Evans was undoubtedly the top of my list. Whether or not I would seal her doom first was another matter, but I carefully wrote her name at the top of the page, thinking as I finished each letter of a new way to ruin her. Part of me sincerely wanted to be the one to kill her myself, but one can't always live merely for their own satisfaction.

If my husband gained some strategic advantage from her death, I would let him take it, of course. After all, getting my hands dirty had never particularly appealed to me.

There would be plenty of time to plot out the revenge more carefully as time and events revealed a more specific path to me. I contented myself with this knowledge and focused in on the next name, which had to be Sirius.

Sirius Black had publically humiliated me, which may have had an adverse effect on my marriage prospects had not Jack Avery seen the value in having me at his side. I had known Jack since childhood, and he had seen through Sirius's games for what they were, just as he saw through mine.

Killing or destroying Sirius would be trickier. He was far and away the best duelist in our year. Even getting one of Jack's colleagues to kill him would be a difficult, nigh impossible.

No, his demise would have to be especially carefully organized. I would have to find a way to hurt him through others, to see where that would leave him, how vulnerable he would be. I had seen him when James's father had died, and that had been a natural thing, no tragedy involved.

But if something were to happen to Amy or James….

I wasn't sure exactly what I wanted to happen to them. Obviously James was no longer of use to me now that I was married to Jack, so I wouldn't really mind anything happening to him. But whatever my feelings about Amy, I did feel more than a little adverse to anything happening to her that was too permanent.

After all, she was pregnant. Anything should certainly be put off until after she'd delivered, and I didn't like the idea of being responsible for orphaning a young child. For my part, Amy would not be killed or hurt beyond repair, if only for the sake of her coming daughter. No, James would be the way to get to Sirius.

I suspected that Peter would agree with me on that point. If we managed to get Sirius out of the way without damaging Amy, the fool could convince himself that he could come striding in like a hero and marry her, raise her child, and live happily ever after.

It was far more likely that Remus would fill Sirius's hole, if not romantically than at least in helping her to raise the child, especially if I got rid of Lily and had to get rid of James.

I then looked at my list, which only had two names. It got murkier after that. Lily and Sirius were really the only ones who deserved any sort of suffering on my behalf, but there were people who would surely be collateral damage. I put Amy's name down for good measure, but put a small notation beside it so that I knew I would not make her a proper target.

Should I put Remus on the list? And what about Peter, eventually?

Perhaps it was dangerous to think about ending Peter while I was still trying to decide exactly how best to use him in both my own plans and the plans of my husband, but it was equally dangerous to use someone without some sort of idea of what the end goal for their involvement would be. Peter would know too much. Either I would have to find some way to tie him to us so completely that he could not betray us, or I would need to find some way to organize his…demise.

I would wait to add him to the list.

Remus was a tricky one. I had no particular grudge against him, and if Sirius's end would be death, someone would have to help Amy raise a child.

On the other hand, depending on how things went with the others, I might very well need to end him as well. Couldn't leave loose ends just because I wasn't completely heartless.

I would have to wait and see, make a decision later.

I then began running over those close to the targets. Sirius was difficult, as his brother was now dead. He had a cousin, but I knew little about her. She was so much older, and had been out of the pureblood circles for years.

That was something that could be planted into Jack's head eventually, if I decided it would be fruitful. For the moment I could focus on other things. There was Mrs. Potter, of course. She was quite old, as her husband had been, and so often one spouse followed the other. It shouldn't be too difficult, when the time was right, to get her out of the way and have it look like nothing. Even an innocent-seeming loss like that would cause Sirius tremendous pain.

I could expect Peter to be behind me on that, I was nearly certain. I might even hand him the poison to do it with. Who would honestly suspect Peter Pettigrew of poisoning someone? And as we'd been very careful to keep his associations with me a secret, there was no problem with the plan that I could see. I just would have to wait for the right time.

As far as hurting Lily Evans, well, she had a lovely, helpless Muggle family somewhere. I made a quick note to point that out to Jack for his thoughts very soon.

I met with Peter the following day in our usual Muggle place, arriving just slightly fashionably late. He was pleased to see me, as always, and gave me a quick review of what had happened since Marlene McKinnon's death, which is to say, not very much.

"I have a little…proposition for you," I said sweetly. "If you feel up to it."

He raised his eyebrows.

"What sort of proposition?" he asked.

"It's time for things to get serious," I said smoothly, smirking. "There's going to be a society event at Avery Manor later in the week, and I think you should attend."

"Really?" Peter said, excited and confused.

How he responded to this request would seal how I would go forward with him in the future. If he saw this as a positive, if he at the very least saw this as me inviting him into my home with the possibility of more intimate interaction in the future, I could continue to use him.

If he saw it for what it was, I would have to get rid of him, and quickly, because he could only be a dangerous hindrance. I held my breath, waiting.

"It would be okay?" he asked softly. "I mean, your husband wouldn't…?"

Oh, he was as terribly naïve as I'd hoped, Merlin bless him.

I gave him my most practiced seductive smile.

"Don't worry about Jack. He supports my revenge plans, or what he knows of them. He'll want to talk with you, of course, but you can fool the Marauders. I think that playing with Snakes should be no trouble for you."

As long as you don't mind getting charmed and bit, or even swallowed whole.

After that little to no cajoling was needed to get him to agree to come. He probably even thought that meeting Jack was all his idea by the time we were done.

"I'll write you, then," I said sweetly, kissing his cheek before leaving him standing there, stunned.

I got back to Avery Manor to find Jack having a drink in our rooms, firewhiskey by the smell. I tried not to show my displeasure at his drink choice as I walked in, sitting on his lap confidently. He raised his eyebrows at me questioningly.

"I've just finished meeting with Peter Pettigrew," I said, smirking at him. "He's very pleased to come here and meet you, thinks it would be a brilliant idea."

He chuckled, setting aside his drink and putting his hands at my waist, pulling me closer as I wrapped my arms gracefully around his neck.

"I suppose this means that he thinks it was his idea," he muttered, pressing his lips to my jaw. "Perfect, Vanessa. It seems this marriage is good for more than just family honor. The Dark Lord will be very pleased."

I shivered, not entirely certain whether from his words or from the way he was nipping at my neck.

Jack rolled me over onto the bed, his hands tracing up my thighs under my dress.

Life was good.

Sex had improved, not because Jack had improved at it, but rather because I had improved at compensating for his weaknesses. Perhaps we had gotten to the point in our relationship where I could hint ways he could improve his performance to him, but it didn't seem worth it to me to risk.

We collapsed and he surprised me as he often did by cuddling with me. I wasn't sure why I was still surprised by this behavior from him after so many times, but it never ceased to amaze and confuse me.

"Do you regret marrying me, Vanessa?" he asked.

I blinked up at him.

"Why would I regret marrying you?" I asked, truly confused. Not only was this a strange level of introspection from him that I did not typically see, but I also had no idea what he was possibly referring to.

He shrugged, resting his head against my collarbone, his forehead pressed to my neck.

"It's just that, you spend so much time alone, and you have no profession, and I'm not as attentive often as I should be."

I had the suspicion that he and Lucius had been discussing Narcissa and me again.

"I assure you," I said softly, running my fingers absently through his hair, "that none of those things bothers me, and sometimes they're even positives. I am not a dog. I do not need constant attention or companionship. If I needed that, I would have married a Hufflepuff. And as for a profession, why on earth would I need or want a profession? I'm not one of these ridiculous modern women who feel the need to constantly be occupied and assert myself, Jack. I've worked very hard to get where I am, but I don't need to be recognized for that."

"As long as you're sure," he said. It was obvious from his tone that he was growing tired and I adjusted so that we were on our sides, facing each other, heads on the pillow. His leg was between mine and I was surprised when he pulled us closer together.

"You're in a strange mood tonight," I said, grinning. "Sure you aren't jealous of Pettigrew?"

He snorted, rolling his eyes.

"As if I could be jealous of such pathetic filth," he drawled. "No, I've merely been doing a lot of thinking since Regulus Black's death."

I was truly confused.

"What do you mean?" I asked, frowning and stretching, pressing my forehead to his.

"I mean that things can change in an instant." He paused, reaching to turn out the light with his wand. "There is no telling what might happen to me in this war, Vanessa. And if you are left alone, a widow, if I fall from favor or if…."

I pressed a finger to his lips.

"Everything's going to be fine," I whispered into the darkness. "You simply won't die until I say you're allowed to do so, and don't anger the Dark Lord. Problem solved."

We laughed empty, practiced laughs and said no more of the truth that night.