Slytherin
JUNE 1996—Alina knew her family supported Voldemort, but she was surprised to see him at supper table when she got back from Hogwarts for Summer Break, surrounded by a flock of Death Eaters. In an instant, she sunk into a deep curtsy.
"Ah," he gasped in his strangely high voice. "Young Alina, your parents have nothing but glowing praise for you, child."
"Thank you, my lord," she replied reverently, her gaze cast downward.
"Come, let me look at you," he commanded.
Under the stares of the Death Eaters, she obeyed, curious as how this Voldemort might differ from the Tom Riddle she met in the Chamber of Secrets. From under her lowered eyelids, she took in his pale skin, bony hands, and flattened facial features. He was a skeletal, malformed version of the Tom Riddle that she knew and—dare she say it?—loved.
Voldemort was analyzing her too. "I see your mother was not lying when she said you were a beautiful girl. Tell me, what is the greatest plague on the wizarding community?"
Abrupt change in subject, but Alina could roll with the punches.
"I believe Mudbloods are, my lord," she replied swiftly.
"Safe answer," Voldemort hissed. Bellatrix tittered. "Expand on it."
"It is not their blood status but their belief system, my lord, that is the problem. Mudbloods believe they are special because they have magic."
"Are you proposing homicide?" Voldemort asked, a bite hidden in his words.
Alina hesitated. "N-no, my lord. I am proposing reeducation, so that Mudbloods might serve and respect us."
"Take a seat," Voldemort commanded. Alina obeyed, then stayed silent for the rest of the meal.
The next day, Voldemort called her to his chambers for a talk. As it turned out, he was curious about her viewpoint. They conversed for an hour, and then he sent her on a small errand. This became standard practice. Alina's parents were both scared and proud, it was clear that Voldemort had taken a shine to their daughter. They warned her against displeasing him as they basked in the glory of secondhand favoritism. However, the other Death Eaters weren't pleased by her favored status. Bellatrix especially seemed heartbroken.
Even so, the summer passed relatively quickly, and before she knew it, Alina was on her way back to Hogwarts and Tom Riddle. Everything was going well until the first Hogsmeade trip. She had been hit with enough Stunning Spells to know what they felt like, but she couldn't do anything to defend herself as she fell forward in a dead faint.
Alina woke up in a small, sterile room. There was a bucket in the corner and a cot along one wall. The only light came from a florescent bulb screwed into the ceiling. Her wand was gone, and there was magic humming in the air around her; she must be some kind of containment field.
The door swung open, and without pausing to think, Alina pounced on the opportunity to escape. Then she slammed into an invisible wall. Oh right, the containment field.
There was chilling laughter from the hall beyond. Bellatrix stepped out of the shadows, an insane grin overtaking half her face. "Aw, is wittle baby hurt?"
"Mrs. Lestrange, what is going on?" Alina asked, switching from spitfire to ignorant victim.
Bellatrix snorted. "It really is a wonder that the Dark Lord would even look at an idiot like you."
"Please," Alina pleaded, feeding into Bellatrix's assumptions. "Where am I?"
"Never mind that," said Bellatrix shortly. "Just know that you would be dead right now if the Dark Lord hadn't put his protection on you. You will be dead just as soon as I can figure out how to kill you."
And then she left.
Alina got more information when Filch brought her a meal later that day. Apparently, she had been out for a month, and in that time, Bellatrix had tried burning, drowning, hexing, stabbing, and starving her. Minor jinxes worked on Alina, but major spells like the Killing Curse, Sectumsempra, and the Cruciatus Curse didn't. Bellatrix ended up setting a Containment Charm and she was currently hoping that Voldemort would just forget about Alina.