Okay guys. This is earlier than expected, but I have no choice. Thank god I'd already finished this because I will be leaving for Argentina to go to my grandfather's funeral tomorrow afternoon. I don't know if I will have the next chap up in time but I've already started and planned it. So the chances are high.

Anna fingered the hem of her dress nervously. It was white and thin, not that that was a problem with the hot wind blowing through the window, but it made her feel more vulnerable than her dresses usually would. She was also barefoot and her hair was loose and technically she looked like she would if she were going to bed.

But she wasn't.

The Dark Lord sat in an armchair across the room from her, studying every move Anna made. He was silent but amused. Not at all nervous about the intricate ceremony he was about to perform on her, though she supposed this was only the second half of it and the first half seemed to have gone 'alright'.

"You will be attending the Death Eater meetings from now on, Anna." He ordered suddenly.

She looked up, confused at the overly gentle tone he had adopted. That was not how he usually spoke and it made shivers crawl up her spine.

"I am?"

He seemed a second away from rolling his eyes but refrained. "You are. Let it never be said that Lord Voldemort does not value loyalty. In fact I am even considering making you second in command."

Anna took a few seconds to process the information. "Me, godfather? I am not even fifteen yet. I-"

"You have shone outstanding loyalty and ability to lead others in these short four years. It is true that you are still a child, you do not have the maturity or experience of your seniors, and I expect you to acknowledge that. However, unlike the other Death Eaters at my command now, you never deserted me, never denied your allegiance to me and made an effort to be of service when you could. The others are not to be trusted to that degree." He left out whatever suspicions he had about her, Anna noted. "And the Death Eaters that did remain loyal are in Azkaban. You have seen Barty, do you think that any of them will be in a better mental condition than him?"

Anna shook her head. "No, godfather. Barty is... he is mad."

"Exactly. You have a lot to learn, but you will catch up in no time. You have the ability to catch up. They will never improve." Then he narrowed his eyes. "Of course, as my goddaughter you are at liberty to refuse. I assure you I would understand if you feel... inadequate."

She swallowed. At perfect liberty, how funny. "I would be honoured, godfather. Anything to be of use to you." Anna answered, somehow keeping her voice steady and calm.

It didn't escape her notice that the more time she spent with him -no matter how frightened she might me- she could control herself better, be smoother and... more composed.

A knock sounded on the door and Wormtail stepped inside. The small man was pale and worn and his hair was thinning and greying. He looked at both of them with fearful eyes and spoke in soft, terrified tones.

"Everything is prepared, my lord, my lady." Wormtail muttered, bowing.

Without a word, Voldemort stood and extended a hand towards her. She went to his side and he led her by her shoulder out of the room and down the hall. They were silent as they entered the ball room and the Death Eaters waiting for them there didn't make a sound, only bowed. Aunt Narcissa and Uncle Lucius were there, along with Barty, Snape and Theo's dad, watching with forcefully blank faces, though Anna could see the tight grip her aunt had on her uncle's arm.

At the center of the room was a large circle with runes, herbs, and other assorted ceremonial objects that Anna couldn't recognise. Though there were five definite markings, one saying 'head', two saying 'hand' and two saying 'foot' in ancient hebrew.

Her godfather gave her a gentle push -what the hell was with that, anyway? Gentility? Fucking hell- and whispered: "Go lie down."

She obeyed, walking through the parted crowd to lie down in the circle. Being on the floor, with all these Death Eaters around her, looking down at her, even if there were ones she did know, with the Dark Lord standing over her head made her feel small, insignificant and... well, like an insect.

With a hiss-like voice Lord Voldemort started chanting.

At first Anna didn't feel anything, a small tingling on her skin maybe, but then her back arched and her mouth opened wide in a silent scream. The skin of her hands and feet and head were fixed on the runes and she couldn't move but there was something reaching deep inside her and ripping and clawing and piercing and it hurt so much. It took a few seconds for her to start screaming but when she did she noticed that the people around her stepped back. She didn't care, she could barely see them, her eyes were tearing up so badly. The tears were streaming down her face, into her hairline because she was still squirming and twisting. Her nails dug into the wood under her, trying to find something to hold on to, and the tugging at the skin of her hands and feet became so strong it felt as if her muscles and skin and bones were being torn off of her.

She didn't know how long the ceremony took, what with her howling and trying to hold on to something so she wouldn't be ripped apart, but then it stopped and she caught her breath. She could move her hands and feet and her arched back fell to the floor with a soft thud. Her panting sounded loud in her ears and her eyes -which had closed somewhere along the way- snapped open.

The only thing she saw was the ceiling, lit by candles and covered in painted pegasi and unicorns and somehow they were too beautiful to exist alongside the echoing pain her bones. She was panting and she had hiccups and the tears dried and slowly, ever so slowly, the aching ebbed away. As Anna slowly regained the ability to think straight, she realised that no one had approached her, so she slowly twisted her head to look at her godfather who stood behind her. He was watching her closely, eyes fixed on her tearstained face and hand held up to stop the others from stepping forwards.

"Good of you to join us again, Annabelle." He smirked. "On your feet."

With an other-worldly effort, she mustered the strength to push herself up to a sitting position, arms still shaking and fists clenched. Her curls fell in a tangled mass over her shoulders and she peeked from between stray strands in her face.

Lucius and Narcissa were standing the closest to her, nodding encouragingly, with Barty close behind looking at her with a strange intensity. He forced a smile at her.

Anna took a deep breath, feeling the last of the pain flow away, and ran a hand through her hair before pushing herself to her feet. With knees shaking and trembling she turned around to face her godfather, who was waiting for her.

"How do you feel now?" He asked.

She frowned slightly. The pain was gone. Her core was supposed to be fixed now, right? She raised a hand to her chest. While she was still panting, it felt as if all the tension had faded from her body. Tension she hadn't even known was there. In some ways, she felt better than ever before. Whole. Fixed. It was her core. Physically, Anna felt the best she had ever felt and that... that reminded her. She wasn't dying anymore. Her core was complete, it was closed, it was balanced. She was going to live.

Anna grinned, for real. "Fantastic."

Theo traced the dark mark on Anna's arm, quietly studying the black ink in her skin and letting her run her free hand through his hair. He was lying on couch with his head in her lap as they both idly listened to their friends' discussion. Draco was sitting in an armchair beside them, sipping from the cup of tea one of the Notts' house elves had brought him, throwing in an opinion every once in a while.

"What about a distraction?" Blaise was saying. He turned to Anna expectantly.

Anna pursed her lips, thinking. "What do you mean?"

"Well..." Her friend fixed the cuffed sleeves of his jacket. "Everything he says is already being ignored, with much hostility might I add, but he knows how to keep his head. He's done it before and he can do it now. That's what we have to avoid."

"That's an idea." She looked down to meet her boyfriend's eyes who looked up from her arm somewhat mournfully.

Then Theo pushed himself up and pecked her on the lips. "It wouldn't be hard." He stated, letting himself down again. "Take his control away. Make him work for what's already his, what he values most."

Anna was quiet for a while and her friends, who had lately been brainstorming as much as they could -what with their important conundrum- waited as she mulled it over.

"I think I might know what to do then." She finally stated. "I'd have to talk to uncle Lucius first, though."

Draco opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted as Barty strode inside.

The man looked better nowadays. He shaved regularly, his hair was clean and brushed. He had food to eat and time to sleep so his body was changing from the hollow mass of bones he'd been and he was dressed in black silk robes that made him seem somewhat presentable. But the look in his eyes was still haunted, still dead, still dark and sharp and dangerous. His fingers still twitched and his tongue still flicked to the corner of his mouth every other sentence and she knew for a fact that he was still having nightmares. (He had insisted on having the room next to her because he had to 'keep an eye on Bella and Rod's daughter'.)

Barty's appearance made her friends quiet down immediately and inch away at least a bit, straightening up and watching him wearily. But Theo stayed where he was, calmly and cheekily watching the man come to a halt before them from his spot on her lap.

But Barty didn't mention it and merely looked her in the eyes, expression softening a tiny bit. "He wants you, my lady."

Anna smiled. "I'm still Anna, Barty."

Then she leaned down to kiss Theo. He placed a hand on the back of her neck, fingers digging into her hair as of reluctant to let go. She understood, though. He worried. He had every reason to. But she pulled back.

"I'll be seeing all of you soon." She greeted the rest, placing a kiss on Draco's cheek as she passed, and grabbed Barty's arm. The man didn't guide her out of the room, instead he aparated right away.

Sirius groaned silently and closed his eyes as he listened to the arguing around him. Snape had come to the meeting with bad news; Anna's core had been fixed and she was officially a Death Eater. Not that Sirius was surprised, she'd told him -or rather, Snuffles- everything and her loyalty, or maybe a better word was duty, was to Voldemort and her parents, as crazy as she knew they were.

Mad-Eye was all for grabbing her and wiping her memory, taking her away from the Malfoys and shipping her to another country. Kingsley was saying that was going a bit overboard but he wasn't saying no. Tonks seemed to be stuck on the fact that she had another cousin beside the Malfoy brat, let alone that she was who she was. Minerva was shocked but defensive of Anna, said there had to be another way, but wasn't trying to find one.

The Weasleys... they were being very vocal about their opinions. Under no circumstances, they said, was it acceptable to take a child away from their family. Least of all for a second time. It was only normal, Bill was saying, for a kid to do all they can to find their roots and to stick to them no matter what afterwards. Molly agreed, saying that what she did was horrible, utterly wrong, but Albus was responsible for not keeping a better eye on her. He'd made his bed and now he had to lie in it, not take the girl away from her life. Arthur was somehow trying to mediate between his son, his wife and the rest, but Sirius could see him growing redder the more Mad-Eye insisted.

For his part, Sirius couldn't get his niece's sobbing out of his head. That little girl was now a Death Eater, she used his godson, brought back Voldemort and was a horcrux. He should have no problem with Mad-Eye's solution, really. But it wasn't her fault. Everything she did, she did to survive, for her family and friends and, as twisted as it sounds, Sirius didn't know if he'd have done things much differently in her place. She was driven to do this by what had been done to her, by her mother, by Voldemort, by... by Albus and the Order... He couldn't make her suffer again. He couldn't get her crying out of his head.

With one last shake of his head he stood and cleared his throat. It took a while for everyone to quiet down but eventually they were all looking at him, even Albus who was seated at the opposite end of the table.

"Yes." He began. "She will be a threat. Yes, her parents will only make her worse. And yes, what she has done is... terrible, devastating... but you-" Sirius pointed at Dumbledore. "sentenced her to death when you took her away in the middle of the ceremony. Now I know that this was not on purpose, or rather I hope, but she's just a kid. Adults do crazy things when they're in danger of dying, what does a child do? I doubt she'd have done it if she weren't dying, magic or not." Then he sighed. "Albus, we've already ruined my niece's life once. Maybe her life will be worse if we leave her where she is and maybe it won't, but the last time we intervened it led to this. I disagreed with doing this the first time and I am sure as fuck not letting you do it a second time." He paused and took a deep breath. He couldn't believe he was saying this. "So you leave her alone or you better find yourself another place for the Order... and hope that I don't tell cousin Cissy about what you're planning."

A tense silence filled the air as Albus studied him carefully, everyone else merely waiting for their leader's verdict.

Eventually Albus sighed and looked him in the eyes. "Very well, miss Lestrange will stay where she is."

Sirius sank to his seat in relief. At least they didn't know she's a horcrux. How the fuck was he going to deal with that?

Barty's feet hit the soft earth with a thud and Anna landed beside him, hand still on his arm. Without saying a word he led her over a thin dirt path through a short field. The sun was high in the sky and the wind was warm and strong, carrying the salty smell of the sea. The waves were loud, crashing on the cliffs and washing them away layer by layer. Some ways away stood a small shed, hidden between trees and bushes, visible to him only because he knew where to look. Crabbe sr and Goyle sr stood by the door, their hulking figures were recognisable even at a distance.

Anna seemed to notice them too. "No masks?" She wondered.

"No one knows the Dark Lord is back. Wearing masks would only be counter-productive, don't you think?" He answered.

"I suppose. What's this about?"

"Your reward, Annie." He whispered and kept quiet when he felt her hand clench on his arm. She wasn't even fifteen, for Merlin's sakes. What he wouldn't give to give her a break. "Don't be afraid. He values you."

From the corner of his eye he saw her nod and felt his nerves diminish, if only slightly.

When they reached the shed, the two men didn't move aside until he and Anna had pulled back their left sleeves. From there they stepped inside and Barty left the girl where she'd frozen in place by the door. He went all the way to the back and stood beside Malfoy.

The sunlight streamed through a small window and reflected off the metallic gardening tools hanging on the opposite wall, making it easy to see the crumbled, whimpering, bloody mess that used to be Igor Karkaroff and was now... well, just a bruised bag of bones that wouldn't shut up.

Barty looked away from the hunched figure and back up to Anna, who was still staring down at him with wide eyes. She was so distraught she didn't even flinch when the Dark Lord appeared behind her. In Barty's eyes, she was too young. Too young to get her revenge this way, too young for anything she had been doing and, to be perfectly honest, he regretted pulling her in even if she'd forced him to. Looking at her now, he could only see a little girl trying desperately to be seen and respected as an adult, to meet everyone's expectations, to stay strong.

He didn't like it.

Believe it or not, Anna was aware of Barty and uncle Lucius staring at her. She did notice when her godfather stepped behind her and placed his cold hands on her shoulders. How could she not? What with his breath tickling her neck and Nagini whispering about blood.

All she could see, though, were the remains of a man who she swore she'd get revenge on. The anger that she'd felt at the time, however, had all but evaporated. The overwhelming hatred and disgust were just... gone. It was useless to hold a grudge, no matter how justified, against a being as destroyed as this one. He was but a shell; the remains of a man cowardly enough to send others to prison in his stead -understandable as it was.

He damaged the chances of her parents finding her, though. He sent them to Azkaban, her parents and Rabastan and Barty and Merlin knew how many others. Just for his pitiful life. Wasn't she furious?

When she looked up to meet Barty's eyes she understood. Of course she was. Furious, disgusted, appalled and all that jazz. But Karkaroff was no longer the same man. She doubted he could even be called a man anymore. Not when she looked down at him and couldn't find a non-bruised, non-bleeding, non-trembling part of him. She could barely recognise him.

"What's the matter, child?" Voldemort murmured. "He is yours. This is your revenge. Take it."

Anna swallowed. "Mine? To do as I wish? No matter what?"

"Of course."

Could she use him? No. Not as he was now. He was too damaged, too broken to be useful. But she also couldn't find the hate to do anything else, to torture him. She wouldn't mean it, and Barty had said that you had to mean it. Besides that... she wasn't her mother, she couldn't use her hate towards someone else to torture a person just for the heck of it. She wouldn't.

But this revenge wasn't just hers either.

"Are you done with him?" She asked Barty, looking up to catch the flash of surprise passing through his eyes.

Before he could start speaking she moved away from her godfather, stepping in a large circle around the figure on the floor. When she stood in front of her friend she looked him up and down before turning to her uncle, resolutely ignoring the worry emanating from both of them.

This was risky. Incredibly risky.

Mean it. She had to mean it. Meaning doesn't mean hating.

She kept on walking and stood beside her godfather, letting him study her all he liked as she took out her wand. With a flick she lifted the man off his knees and made him look at her. His body tensed and whimpers started resounding all over again.

"Well?" She insisted, eyes flickering over to her friend.

The man smirked somewhat. "Who do you think did that, huh? Yeah, I'm done. Ain't gonna get much out of him like this."

For a second she felt nauseated and disgusted and furious but she bit it back. Barty had every right... right? The man sent him to Azkaban. Though he had gone overboard, as she knew he could go. Left him battered for her. She supposed they didn't want her torturing a person while they still looked like a person. Too harsh for fourteen year old. Well, what the fuck was this?

She couldn't do this. Really couldn't. But she had to. Literally, she had to do something. It would be the right thing to do. The merciful thing.

"I have no use for you." She said, keeping her voice cold. "You're no longer the person who betrayed my parents. You're barely a person anymore. There is nothing left for you here."

In a way, she was trying to convince herself. In a way it worked.

She dropped him but kept her wand pointed at him. "Avada Kadavra."

For a second the room was bathed in green and then the body dropped lifelessly to the ground.

Then the Dark Lord started chuckling, drowning out Nagini's claims to the corpse.

"Not a vicious one, are you Annie?" He laughed.

Anna swallowed. "Not when I don't need to be, godfather." Then she added. "I will not waste my magic on beings lower than dirt."

The lie burned on her tongue.

The Dark Lord's mouth widened into something that she would have interpreted as a smile on anyone else. "It's time for you to go, Nagini is getting anxious." Like she couldn't hear that. "Barty will take you back."

Anna nodded and accepted the arm that appeared almost instantaneously by her side. Barty led her back over the same path, letting her take deep breaths and nearly twist his arm off in her tight grip. She just killed a man. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

"I was not expecting that." Barty interrupted the panicked silence.

She hummed with clenched teeth. "Not to Malfoy Manor. Take me home."

He seemed to understand because seconds later they were walking up the path to the front doors of Lestrange Manor. The weeds were knee high and some were crawling over the walls and pillars, but as dilapidated as the building was, the magic was still working so all she had to do to open the door was wave her hand. The thick slabs of wood swung open, sending waves of dust across the entrance hall and letting stale air out.

She put a hand on his chest to stop him from walking inside, making him turn to her in confusion. "I know my way around. Could you... would you...?"

"Yes?"

"Please bring Theo." She muttered, not stopping herself from looking away.

To her surprise, he didn't complain about 'deserter spawn'. He nodded, placed a kiss on top of her head -which, weird- and walked away.

By the time Theo found her, she had curled in on herself on a fallen, worn, dusty velvet curtain in a corner of her nursery. Her hair had fallen out of the pony tail, she had thrown her shoes across the room and... well, she was a mess.

He lowered himself beside her and pulled her to his chest. In seconds she'd buried her face in his neck, warm breath fanning over his skin. She was not crying.

"I killed Karkaroff."

There it was. Somehow his stomach dropped at the same time that he felt relieved. It could have been worse. Much worse.

"Good riddance." He whispered back. "How are you holding up?"

"I just killed a person, how do you think?"

"Like shit?"

"Better with you."

His arms held on to her more tightly. "I'm here now. I'm staying here."