I sat with Rodolphus and Snape at the now empty table and activated the manor's anti-eavesdropping charms. I was keyed in to some of their defenses and had added my own over the years.

"My student got herself into a duel with Rosier. She did it prematurely. Her primary skills do not lie in fighting. She is very unlikely to win or even survive." - I explained, mainly to Rodolphus. - "Which is why we will arrange for an impostor to fight in her place. You, as the seconds, will ensure she passes the pre-duel inspection. Rodolphus, tell the rest of your family to prepare the dueling rink. It must have strong wards to protect the spectators: Rosier will most likely go all out. Rodolphus, Severus: this is to be kept secret from everyone, even the other Lestranges."

"If I may ask, my Lord, who will fight in her place?" asked Snape.

"I will. It is the only way to avoid either of their deaths. You task is to think of the best way to conduct the inspection and to mask my power so it appears no greater than Elena's. You will also need to testify under veritaserum before the fight to alleviate any doubts that it is truly Elena. Think over the questions' wording.

So far, my plan is to waste half of my reserve right before the duel, drink incompatible potions to slow the regeneration, and fool the polyjuice test under the Polymorph charm that you, the seconds, will ignore. Then a house elf will transfer a vial of polyjuice into my tooth crown."

Snape was visibly puzzled.

"My Lord, masking you will be extremely difficult. Polyjuice does not work on you and…"

"I am a great wizard, Severus. If necessary, I can make polyjuice work. I will do my best to defeat Rosier by the smallest possible margin, allowing him to wound me. Severus, Rosier will probably ask you to provide him with potions or to plant some on Elena. Keep me informed. Also, this duel might not completely cool off some hot heads. Make a note of who leaves disgruntled."

Snape looked as emotionless as always. But I knew he approved. Rodolphus did not quite understand the reason for this charade, but since the Lord ordered…

"You have one week to prepare your suggestions. If there are no more questions, then you, Rodolphus, are free to go."

I was left alone with Snape.

"My Lord, words cannot express the depths of my remorse…" he began.

"Severus, my slippery friend. Remove your defenses. Everything. And do not attempt to mislead me, else I will summon your girlfriend for target practice. Or let her fight Rosier… Do you think it will take him one spell or two to kill her? Or perhaps he will decide to leave her crippled? I don't need to explain you the consequences of Dark magic wounds… What will you tell Lily then? Speak your mind. Nothing you think can offend me. I roam in people's heads every day and rarely see anything pleasant."

Of course, blackmail and threats were not the best style. But the Lord could not go soft on a twice traitor. This way, I blow off steam, then his newfound loyalty will calm me down… And my humane treatment of Lily… All for you, Severus. Behave and the girl will be comfortable, or else…

Time to take the first steps towards whitewashing myself and smearing Albus. Snape and Lily will be my first test subjects. And then, after smoothing out the rough parts and fabricating evidence, I will make a public release… A custom-tailored fairy tale for everyone.

I scanned Snape's occlumency shields. He removed everything. Or I could have sworn that he did. But there was no memory of him pledging to Albus… And then he truly bared his mind.

… A maelstrom of emotions. Regret that he caused Lily so much suffering. Joy that she is alive and well. Fear of the snake-faced monster…

He evidently felt me touch his thoughts of my appearance because he braced for a Crucio.

"Severus, I am not interested in your opinions. Only your deeds. And you are being unfair: I saved the girl from a civil war, where she could have been killled at any moment. I increased her power, and she can now become one of us. You will be her private tutor. If you convince her to go further - a date, or even marriage- I will not stop you. Just keep everything within the walls of the Lestranges' manor. Is this not better than the life you had before? I killed her husband, cleared out a path for you. I did not even torture her.

But instead of gratitude, you wish me death. First of all, I am immortal. If someone destroys my body, I will come back. And after several years of disembodied isolation, I am going to be very angry. Second, if I disappear, your girl will die, so you are now permanently and irrevocably on my side. Do you understand?"

Not exactly true. I was not immortal yet. And vows could be removed. Magic was a never-ending arms race: someone created a shield, someone else a way to breach it; someone created a vow, someone a way to undo it.

In simple terms, a vow worked by integrating a conditional program into one's energy field. When the condition was violated, it activated the consequence - usually pain or death. Vows came in different levels of difficulty and reliability. The popular Unbreakable Vow was simple and reliable but easily nullified with the binder's death. The vow the Lestranges and Lily gave me was probably the closest to ironclad. A tinkerer like Rookwood or a fan of ritual sacrifice like Rosier might be able to undo it, but it would take years of research.

The vow she pledged later was a level below, the strongest of the standard kind. Hypothetically, any rune or ritual master could remove it in few months… But I will regularly monitor the vow's structure and make sure Lily has no contact with any rune or ritual masters. And Lily herself never even studied runes in Hogwarts…

"Severus, you came to me too late. You had father issues? I am not Albus and would have gladly corrected his mind. Sick mother slowly withering away? Clearly a deathbed or family curse. I am a curse master and could have lifted it. You want money? You will receive it. You want to brew potions? I will give you a lab and ingredients. You want power? I can make you the Headmaster of Hogwarts, the Head of the Potioneers Guild, a top government official. You want to blow off steam? Take your wand and everyone without the Mark is your prey. Love Lily? I already killed her husband and isolated her - she is all yours. I'd advise a love potion, but it is your choice."

Severus met my words with extreme skepticism.

"You can receive all that once we win. You will not need to hide your rewards and Lily in a world where Dumbledore is dead and my word is law. We have a common goal: victory. There will be enough trophies for everyone."

His thoughts fluttered chaotically.

"Now imagine what would happen if by some twist of fate I run into the entire DMLE, Moody and Albus. Yes, only Albus will survive. And I will lose my body. But I will come back, let's say after ten years. What will I see? Lily is dead from her vow. If not, dead from the kiss - a traitor, the Lord's protege, tortured muggles and wizards alike. Severus Snape is dead or rotting in Azkaban. Or maybe he got incredibly lucky, and Albus rescued him to turn him into a dark wizard scarecrow for the students. He lives without Lily, in poverty, drinking himself to death in Spinner's End just like his father. Which future are you going to choose, Snape?"

I had yet to decide whether Snape and Lily will survive the war… Snape worried me with his occlumency, Lily with her potential and defiance.

"Severus, I know you doubt my immortality. Do not try to hide anything from me. Now watch me with magical sight."

I stealthily took out my ring from the isolating container, blending it with the illusion of my appearance.

Snape watched. He saw a monster covered with an illusion. And suddenly there was an aura bursting through… Partially living, partially dead, distinctly inhuman. Malicious, bizarre… He suspected an artifact, but no artifact could emit that . And the Lord has always maintained that he is not human. Of course he was hiding his exact potential…

"I choose the first future, my Lord."

I put the ring back into its container.

"Excellent, Severus. But pray tell me, what did you do to deserve these rewards? No, you must be punished for your treason. You were amusing at first, made me happy with your service. You are so much like me: a half-blood with father problems, drawn to Dark and mental magic… I was most impressed by your occlumency, second only to mine."

All lies, of course. He was a nobody. And his occlumency turned out to be unrivaled.

"I was even considering making you my protege. But while I was thinking, you made the most spectacular, idiotic blunder and asked Albus to save Lily. For my protege, I would have brought her on a silver platter already in a wedding dress. I planned to make my protege stronger, and his bride along with him -not to the same extent but enough to make her a rightful pureblood.

But what happened instead? During one the meetings, I easily got into your mind and saw your betrayal. My protege cannot be a traitor. You destroyed your own brilliant future! Even still, I didn't consider you completely hopeless and planned to convince you to see reason after showing you Lily. And then you came back to me after Samhain… For all my trouble with Lily - I even postponed the meeting to fake her death, help her settle, breathe new power into her!- you betray me for the second time! Are you an idiot, Snape?! If I let you out of my sight again, are you going to come back under a vow to kill me? I was angry and practiced some experimental torture curses on you. Your magical exhaustion will last at least a week, but it will eventually pass. You nearly lost your mind, so I very thoroughly erased your memory. Don't try to remember or you will end up a permanent resident of St. Mungo's mental ward."

Snape remained silent. He did not believe the Lord wanted to make him a protege, to save Lily for him… But how else could he explain what he saw: healthy Lily glowing with magic, the Lord planning to duel his old friend and favorite? And the Lord's words explained everything…

I had to continue lying… Within reason. No tales of light and kindness, saving mudbloods and conjuring candy for muggles - Snape was not a fool. He wanted greatness, so I would offer it to him. Most Slytherins fell for it.

"You know, Severus, I can hardly blame you for being a blind fool. Almost everyone is fooled by Albus. He never planned to save the Potters. This is his MO: get the payment in advance, bind with vows, then shrug and say "not my fault." He orchestrated the deaths of the Potters and the Longbottoms himself. After their deaths, their money and property would go to him, and he would present them as martyrs of the Light. And your "accidentally" overhearing the prophecy… Dumbledore calculated everything. He and I are very alike in our pursuit of power by any means. I bet on strong wizards, Albus on weaker but more numerous and easier to control muggleborns."

Snape still did not believe me.

"I don't expect you to believe me. But use your brain. What does he teach at Hogwarts? Nothing. He only sits on a source and recruits allies. He is only interested in power. How can he not notice the Slytherins supporting me? He is allowing a monster to recruit an army to justify his own authority. He is Chief Warlock, advises the Minister, has his own army, influence over all of our children's minds. He does not need the Minister's title when he already has much greater power. Why did he delay fighting Grindelwald for so long? Gathering the power the war offered him. But he made one mistake, Severus. How much do you know of my origins?"

All lies: Albus had no time to teach when he also worked at the Wizengamot and at the ICW. Could not leave Hogwarts - what if one of my sympathizers became the Headmaster? Could not leave the Wizengamot: who else would be as good at halting corruption and preventing Death Eaters from getting off the hook? Could not leave the ICW - how else to fight an international terrorist organization? Had his own army? To fight me. Ignored the Slytherins? Noticed, but most could not be converted… Especially when he eschewed mind-altering methods.

"You are the heir of Slytherin on your mother's side."

Well done, no need to anger the Master.

"And my father?"

"Your father was… a muggle," Snape was waiting on a Crucio.

"And how could a muggle attract my pureblood mother?"

He hadn't seen my mother, the tattered beggar.

"Must be love…"

"No! Dumbledore's ancestors had a feud with the Gaunts and almost won. They framed the male Gaunts to be incarcerated and forced my mother to marry a muggle with a love potion! When she managed to break from under its influence, they killed her and sent me to an orphanage! Your father was a saint compared to a 1930s muggle orphanage. If I hadn't learned to use wandless magic and killed for the first time at 7 years old, I would have been raped and strangled to death!"

The orphanage was rough but not to that extent. Tom mostly tortured other kids…

"Then Dumbledore found me and thoroughly legilimized me before Hogwarts. He planned to make me into an example proving Dark magic is inherently harmful and all Slytherins are inherently evil. And it would have worked: years of Hogwarts, compliance potions, trust compulsions… Of course, an 11 year old boy was no match for a manipulative adult wizard and his lackeys. Dumbledore schemed to heroically defeat yet another Dark Lord to receive more power and acclaim… But he made one small mistake. I had two talents: occlumency and potions. I managed to retain my free will, pretending his compulsions worked and brewing antidotes in secret. But Albus will pay for everything! I am not his personal rabid dog!"

Snape believed me. People did not change their mind so fast… He made the same amateur mistake again, showing me what he thought I wanted to see.

"Severus, don't try to deceive me," I warned.

And Snape showed me his thoughts… Nothing complimentary. Doubts about my sanity. Or rather, no doubts: the Lord is a nutcase. And I thought I spinned it so well…

"Severus, why else would I tell you all this? Why did I not punish you for your disrespect? Why would I take care of Lily, make her stronger?"

I did not like the direction of his thoughts…

"No, Severus. I am Lord Voldemort. Look at your Mark. Some tried to remove it. Even you. Soaked it in potions, drew runes, removed the skin. The most diligent ones cut off their arms. The Mark is not a simple Protean charm. Not just bodily or energy connection. It is connected to my soul and can be controlled by no one except Lord Voldemort."

Snape's thoughts whirled in a different direction, and he didn't hide them fast enough.

"Severus, you disappoint me more and more. I am not interested in Lily as a woman. Your did not need to test her for sexual contact. I am not interested in you either, don't flatter yourself. And stop trying to shield your mind, I grow tired of it."

"I don't understand why you need me, my Lord. Bellatrix would do anything for you. Dolohov is much more powerful. Malfoy is incredibly rich. They would make better students."

"Were you not listening, Severus? A long time ago I survived because of occlumency and potions - otherwise I would have been Albus' attack dog and murdered as soon as I outlived my usefulness. But I saw myself in you, even if it took you longer to learn to deceive Albus. I increased Lily's power fivefold and could have done the same for you. If I needed money, I would convince muggles to share. The only thing I cannot remedy with magic is stupidity, but you are already an excellent occlument and potioneer. With your intelligence and the power I was going to imbue into you, you could have been stronger than anyone in the Inner Circle! But you did everything you could to betray me!"

Finally, at least a shadow of doubt in Albus! But also healthy skepticism as to why I would share power…

"I don't plan to share power. But after conquering England I will march onward and need worthy servants to manage the government in my name. As to why I want a student… Why did the Founders build Hogwarts? There comes a time when you want to pass on your wisdom. But unlike the Founders, my wisdom is only for the worthy."

"So what do you plan now, my Lord?"

"You still have a chance to pay for your crimes with faithful service. Are you ready to hear it?"

"Yes, my Lord."

"First we will work on your vows. Then I will instruct you how to behave at Hogwarts. I will also need information on the Order: names, abilities, schedules… Yes, I know the secrets are well-bound. Get creative. At the very least, your desire to tell me coupled with ritual torture of a wizard should weaken the binds enough for you to spit out a riddle or vague hints about low-rank members. Or bring someone from the Order here. Any questions?"

"My Lord, why did you never make any official complaints against Albus?" - he asked with sincere curiousity. When did he have time to put up defenses? If it weren't for common sense, I would have believed him.

"Severus, I repeat: stop putting up mind shields, getting around them is annoying."

Now I felt skepticism. I needed proof… A lot of proof…

"Severus, a poor orphan halfblood was nothing next to Albus's authority, even before his victory over Grindelwald. But I tried. Azkaban broke my uncle's mind. I found him. Tried to heal him, and through him get recognized as the Gaunt heir. He was thrown back in Azkaban. I tried getting a job at the Ministry but was denied despite O's in every subject. I was denied a teaching post at Hogwarts. The only place that hired me was Borgin and Burke's, but even there I was blamed for every murder and theft. I was forced to flee the country. I could not get used to foreign sources and had to keep moving to escape constant assassination attempts. I returned because I could only properly defend myself in England."

In reality, I framed my uncle and did not want to work at the Ministry - why shuffle parchment when I was born to rule? Albus suspected me of murder: Myrtle likely died from basilisk's gaze, and I was the only parselmouth… All circumstantial evidence, but if you added rumors, my "circle of friends," several mysterious disappearances, the story with Morfin… Best to keep someone like that away from children. Borgin and Burke's was ideal for finding future soul containers. I traveled abroad in search of the diadem and teachers, then came back once I was done.

But Severus still didn't believe me… What to show him? I got it!

"Dumbledore looks like a kindly grandpa and a Light wizard, but he is a power-hungry, manipulative monster. To gather forces to overthrow his tyranny, I portray myself as his antithesis," - and I took all the charms off my face.

Snape felt surprised but decided it was an illusion. I cast revealing charms and cancellation of transfiguration on myself - everything confirmed this was my true appearance. But Snape thought I was only enunciating the charms while non-verbally casting something else…

"Severus, how is your knowledge of runes?"

"The basics, my Lord."

"Can you draw formulas of the charms I just used with your blood on the table?"

"Only the first two."

"Do it."

Magical exhaustion aside, I would never let him point a wand at me. And he drew too slowly to attack with runes.

When his own work proved the truth of my appearance, his skepticism somewhat diminished.

I was going to draw more formulas in the air for Snape to copy, but one look at his ghostly face said he needed a break from blood magic.

"And now let us talk about what you can do for me. You are the head of Slytherin. Improve its reputation. Do what you want, but make sure the Slytherins do not antagonize anyone without reason. Blood status and deeds of relatives do not count as reasons. Have them support other quidditch teams when they are not playing themselves. Have them teach muggleborns about the magical world and our traditions. If you don't know how to persuade children, look through the minds of some muggle psychologists. If the Slytherins scream about their eminence, shut them up and write to their parents. Most families are at least neutral to us, so I think they will take appropriate measures after a warning about their child's behavior. In short, put an end to this ridiculous house rivalry!"

I found out all about school squabbles from Lily's mind. Snape was looking at me like I was an idiot, his thoughts accordant. He disguised his confusion but was once again too slow.

"Severus, don't try to fool me. Answer me this: how long have we been at war?"

"The active phase is approaching two years. But it has been brewing for eleven."

"Exactly! Hogwarts education takes seven years! An entire generation considers us evil! I could have been recruiting from three more houses! And what will we do with all of Albus's fosterlings once we win? When one of them calls their classmate a Death Eater doormat, what do we do? Ignore it or give him a time-out? No one will take us seriously. Crucio? Monsters. Kill? Murderers. Expel and let runaway Orderers teach him magic in the forest? Seizing power means nothing if we cannot hold it. We must train my faithful young. And we must prioritize the largest, most elite school in England.

If Albus asks why you are acting this way, tell him you don't want the Slytherins to be hated and become murderers or to call their loved ones mudbloods and break their hearts. Start a potions club. Organize a dueling club with Flitwick. No teaching Dark magic! In fact, discourage it. But do preserve your dark and brooding image - Lily is dead, your life has no purpose. If you act too lively, Albus will get suspicious despite the horrors you show him with occlumency. And of course you still have all your old Death Eater and brewing duties."

"My Lord, I am not sure I can do all that…"

"Try your best, Severus. I am not expecting everyone to start loving Slytherins or run to my service. Few less people supporting Albus will be a good start."

Convincing everyone Albus is evil will be hard. But as the saying goes, good always triumphs over evil. So whoever wins is good.

"Now, the most important goal. We need to kill Dumbledore."

I caught a second of undiluted terror. It was abruptly replaced with optimism.

"Severus, I understand your defenses are reflexive. I am the same way. But as a sign of loyalty, do make an effort to keep them down."

… Hopelessness. Certainty that this is some convoluted torture and mockery.

"Severus, trust me, I have many better torture options. I did not say you must kill him personally. I need information. Tell him you want to avenge Lily's death and ask him to teach you. How did he defeat Grindelwald? What did he learn from Flamel? Did Albus omit any dragon blood uses from his book? What books and instruments does he have in his office? Find out about his past, hobbies, desires. Where does he get his food? Does he have a lover or children? Who would make a good bait? Whose death will shake him up enough to make a mistake? Also, look for ways into Hogwarts and diversion options. Can we dig a tunnel? Curse the house elves to kill the first years?"

"Dumbledore is clever. He will notice my interest."

"Are you not a Slytherin? Think of something. For example, find a pureblood child who is both stupid and disposable and bring him to me. I will take his parents hostage, give him the Mark and order to kill Albus. Let him divert Albus' attention. And you can blame all your failures on him."

Snape calmed down a little.

"Excellent, Severus. Let your loyalty never waver. Remember, we are in the same boat. With me, you will have power and Lily. Without me, your best option is a lonely life grading boil cure potions. And now we will work on your vows."

I got up from the chair and immobilized Snape. Time to play a programmer…

Snape's vows were beautifully done - completely undetectable. I worked "in the dark," orienting myself through his memories.

First, the easiest: vengeance for Lily's death. This one should have self-destructed, but Snape poured in so much power and hate that it lied dormant. Fascinating… So now if anyone killed Lily, Snape must retaliate… How to coax Dumbledore into killing Lily? Not too important right now, I already had Snape's compliance…

Faint as they were, I managed to pin down the rest. Now slightly nudge the condition… "Must prevent death of anyone you are able to save." You can't save anyone: you were found out, the Lord reads your thoughts, the Lord is omnipotent… "Aid the Order of the Phoenix." Lily never stopped being a member, you will help her study… "Protect muggleborns." You will be doing exactly that at Hogwarts… " Contribute to Voldemort's fall." I already fell: defended a muggleborn, turned away from blood purism, can't go any lower… "Relay important information." Albus will learn about a new Inner Circle Death Eater, what can be more important? You will even relay my one hour speech word for word, and the attack on mercenaries is a trifling detail…

And so I continued convincing the vows and suppressing them with influx of my magic. It was a temporary solution. The vows struggled to return to their original condition: compel Snape to tell Albus everything as soon as he leaves the manor, or die in pain. They could be broken permanently, but that had to wait until Albus's death - he would not miss the characteristic traces of their destruction.

"I did everything I could. Congratulation, you are now an addict. Come back twice a week to repeat the procedure. Otherwise you will die or betray me, making Lily's continued existence useless."

I dispelled the paralysis charm.

"Now give me your arm. I need to call on Lily."

"My Lord, punish me instead!"

"I am not interested in torture, but my trust in you had been lost. We will tell her about the duel, making her believe you vow to chivalrously save her. In reality, she will be the binder for your Unbreakable vow to assist in killing Albus and not disclose anything you heard today. The operation to kill Dumbledore will be called "Rose."

"Why?"

"Because she will refuse to knowingly participate in a plan to kill him."

I cast the courier charm: little spheres scurried out to every apparition platform to greet Lily with a voice message. Through Severus's Mark, I called her back to the manor. I should expand its functions to something more resembling a telephone… Or remove the tattoos altogether? Make them invisible? Give out rings?

Lily soon arrived, donned in full uniform.

"Take off your mask."

At least she wasn't completely hopeless: under polyjuice, wearing all her amulets.

"Your rude behavior and excessive Crucios upset part of the Circle. Rosier challenged you to a duel. You have no chances and will die within a month." - she flushed with horror and injustice. - "But I am willing to save you, to fool my own servants and fight in your place. The price is very small: several vows from Severus. You will be the binder."

While I could pin anything on Lily, Snape will be in contact with Albus who would notice new vows. With him, I took a more furtive route and made the vow to avenge Lily appear active, fitting an Unbreakable vow right under Albus's cover.

"Do you, Severus Snape, vow to never disclose any confidential information pertaining to Lord Voldemort to any person or entity in any manner, unless directly ordered to do so by Lord Voldemort?"said Lily.

"I do," answered Snape.

"Do you vow to die within a week of Lord Voldemort's death or disembodiment?"

"I do."

"If Lord Voldemort is imprisoned or taken under control, do you vow to free him or die within a week of the said event?"

"I do."

"Do you vow to do everything in your power to complete operation "Rose" within the time frame given to you by Lord Voldemort?"

"I do," Snape cringed.

If it were up to me, I would bury them in vows. But that meant increasing the chances of conflict, and incompatible vows would kill them…

Still, this was good enough. They now must either both serve me or kill each other. I didn't believe they could ever have the power to secretly disable the vows, but I will monitor them nonetheless. And if I didn't like the results… Snape would receive a suicide mission, and Bellatrix one more child to raise.

"Excellent, Lily. As I said before, I will be teaching you magic. But first, Severus will train you in the basics."

"Can I study on my own or have another teacher, my Lord?"

"You would kill yourself on your own. And anyone else would notice your lack of skills, forcing me to kill one of you. Snape is the only one in the know and your only contact. You are to limit your interactions with everyone else to "hi-bye," "I'm in a rush- the Lord's orders." Now go back home, I will stop by soon."

She left, and I reapplied confidentiality charms. Unfortunately she had to be taught self-defense, and I had to control her progress, guiding her in the right direction. I already thought of a study plan.

Considering her soft-heartedness, I saw only one option: blood magic. Magical exhaustion? Cut your hand and keep casting. Dark magic? Are you crazy? This is your own blood, do you consider menstruation Dark too? Then teach her to control the blood of another, starting with healing… As an added benefit, blood mages had a reputation of maniacs who cut themselves, enemies and allies alike. The "good guys" from the Inner Circle will stay away from her, and she already angered the radicals…

"You have no future with a muggleborn Gryffindor from the Order, Severus. But you have excellent chances with the Dark Lord's student - what could be more natural than family business? You will teach her according to my program. At first, nothing forbidden. Train her aim and battle reflexes. Pay special attention to the Air Whip spell, she should already know it from the defense NEWT. You will begin after I take care of Rosier - it is inappropriate for a second to fraternize with the opponent."

"My Lord, would it not be better to teach her Dark or battle magic?"

"It would. But not right away. If you offer her to practice the Cruciatus on muggles, she will spit in your face and kill herself. So nothing but school charms for at least a month. Then teach her to handle fire."

"Fiendfyre, my Lord? She won't be able…"

"Regular fire. It will help her master charmed fire in the future. After that, teach her a single shield. Mana shield - it is universal and depends on the amount of invested power, which she has in abundance. But this is for the third month. Severus, are you proficient with blood magic?"

"Only the basics, my Lord. But Lily will refuse to learn it."

"She will not refuse. Find her sick muggle children. Teach her to use her own blood to heal them. Stay incognito: no regrowing limbs, focus on cancer, infections and the like."

"You will allow her to heal muggles, my Lord?"

"It will be her blood magic practice. And if the material remains alive, even better - it can be useful again. She can heal as many as she wants. With her own blood. If she asks for someone else's blood to save more people, inform me immediately. This will be month four. Then you will begin teaching her legilimency."

"My Lord, legilimency is extremely difficult…"

"I know. But she only needs to be able to read the minds of sleeping muggles, touching their heads with her wand."

"If I may ask, my Lord, why does she need that?"

"Because human minds are cesspools. And the fastest way towards hate is reading people's thoughts. Sooner or later Lily will heal an abuser or a murderer. Maybe he will even return to her again, having committed new crimes. It will be only natural to consider killing him and using his blood to save many more innocents…

Next, you are going to teach her occlumency. I will not allow anyone into her head. Not even you. You could accidentally kill her by triggering her secrecy vow. I plan to teach her myself, but my mental defenses are too complex for her. You will tell me all about yours, and I will show her."

I wanted to copy Snape's occlumency method for myself. Lily will get the budget version, with a clearly visible shield. And Snape can think she is just bad at the Mind Arts.

"And then, milord?"

"When she sufficiently hardens, you will delve deeper into blood magic. It has a marvelous universal spell - the blood whip. Her experience with the Air Whip and working with blood will help. She should learn the basics and wield a thread of blood in a month. The rest is a matter of practice. And shield her from any other Dark magic as much as you can. She must ask you to learn more herself."

"I don't know how to use the blood whip, milord."

"Practice, you have enough time until you must teach her. I don't expect either of you become a master of blood magic, only master a single spell. Do not start until you are fully recovered from magical exhaustion - I will have no need of the girl if you die. And success in blood magic rivaling her teacher will only encourage her. Do not reveal your lack of experience."

How will it look from the outside? For Lily, she saves people. For Aurors and Death Eaters, she steals muggle children for vile blood magic experiments. And when Greyback or another psycho comes to her asking to share toys and material, she will greet them with fire and a blood whip, defending her patients. They will survive, but soon everyone will know to stay far away from the new Bellatrix.

Snape's thoughts… He had already accepted the Lord was pure evil, but now he thought I raised the bar and shattered it. He finally came to believe my guile could beat Albus. If only I could know he was sincere…

The Lord loved flattery.

"Severus, I see your thoughts. But I want you to voice them. Be truthful."

"After you spared Lily, I had doubts you were the true Dark Lord," Snape confessed. "I had reasons for my doubts. Now there are none. No doubts and no reasons."

"Get your occlumency back up, Severus. We will now discuss what you must say to Rosier and the others about Elena. And to Dumbledore about the Dark Lord's plans…"

Snape left after receiving the last of his orders, but my brainwashing stint was not over. Time to go to Lily.

Lily was not interested in power or the mysteries of magic… Where Tom Riddle would sweat blood for a grain of knowledge and then try to kill the teacher, she only thought about not committing crimes. Lily needed a different fairy tale, one where she saved lives… Converting her to my worldview or turning her into another Bellatrix was a foolish endeavor, but I needed to start somewhere.

As soon as I entered the hall, Lily rushed down from the second floor to greet me. Curious: no matter the time, magic always showed Harry in his crib.

Her thoughts clarified it: she asked the house elf to always warn her of my arrival and put Harry to sleep while she tried to meet me far from the nursery. Logical, considering my infamy. And the child struggled with his mother's appearance changes…

Back to business.

"So, what did you think of the meeting, Elena?"

Her thoughts were scattershot.

"I see your thoughts, but answer me. Think before you speak and don't forget to add "my Lord."

"Horrible, my Lord."

"It was hardly so bad. As you saw, no murders or orgies. Simply politics, goals and strategies. The same executive, legislative and judicial power, only at one table. And self-enforcing. We don't have pet Aurors and must to do everything ourselves. After the war we will have separation of powers, courts and everything else."

She did not see it that way but wisely remained silent.

"I ask you to use less Dark magic and Unforgivables or, ideally, completely refrain from them. You should not use Dark magic when a regular spell will suffice."

That caught her off-guard.

"I don't understand, my Lord."

"You cast the Cruciatus on Snape twice. It is life in Azkaban. And torturing each other is not acceptable. Snape could have reacted on instinct. I had to Crucio him in front of everyone to save you from their retaliation."

"You provoked me, my Lord."

"I showed you the truth to rid you of illusions. I gave you permission to use the Cruciatus in case someone attacked you - it would have gone through any shield, giving me time to save you. But instead you got yourself in dead trouble. Because Snape had magical exhaustion and could not defend himself, his comrade Rosier decided to challenge you to a duel. It took me a lot of effort to postpone the duel and arrange the switch to save you."

"Was "my proposal" no the reason, my Lord?"

"Partially. But he challenged you after the second Cruciatus on Snape. The reason was your manners rather than your politics. But don't fret: this time I will save you and fight Rosier myself. Be careful in the future and at least learn something."

"I will not study Dark magic, my Lord."

"Dark magic is complex and powerful. You are unlikely to succeed. Snape will work with you on Hogwarts curriculum. Do you have anything against the Air Whip charm? You will begin after the duel: Snape is Rosier's second and spending time with you will look suspicious. Meanwhile, read through the Hogwarts defense and dueling books the house elf will bring you."

Not the orders she expected from the Dark Lord… She was anxiously searching for a catch.

"You want to force me to practice spells on people?"

"No. Either practice here or on the Lestranges' training dummies. Back to the subject of the meeting. I expected you to understand. You looked but refused to see. So I will put it in simple terms for you: to preserve the Statute of Secrecy, I am ready to oppose the Ministry's racist policies, gift power to a muggleborn, accept her into the Inner Circle and shut up radical Death Eaters. Whether I will succeed in the latter depends on you as well."

I tried so hard! And instead of acceptance I was again considered a lunatic…

"The Ministry and Albus preach equality between muggles and wizards. Their next step is repealing the Statute. Do you know what it means? World War 3. Do you think people changed? Recall your relationship with your sister when she learned of your magic. Or most wizards' condescension towards muggles. For instance, what Potter and Black did at Petunia's wedding. And don't tell me it was just a prank."

I did not honestly know whether Albus planned to repeal the Statute. But extrapolated from his politics, it sounded very reasonable.

"On the other hand," I continued, "there are radical wizards. They grew up convinced of their superiority. A wizard can live an entire life without meeting a single muggle. For some purebloods, muggles are what Africans were for the 18th century English. Their ideas are simple: destroy or control muggles. You think they can't succeed? Think again. It is very simple to change the coordinates of atomic warheads' targets. Or detonate them before launch. Or transfigure uranium and make the bombs themselves. Several Imperios - and an accidental launch destroys a country. They attack back… The survivors will be picked off or turned into werewolves. Or devoured by dementors- muggles can't see them and will have no resources to devise a way to fight them."

Of course, even maniacs like Rosier would never willingly destroy the planet. But for Lily… This would do for now.

"As you see, the Ministry's equality and the radicals' superiority have different goals leading to the same result: fall of the Statute and war."

Legilimency showed I just told her my plan for destroying the world. And that she wished I was dead.

"If your dreams suddenly came true and I died, the world would plunge into war. A war without end. But I am not interested in war. I am interested in magic and knowledge. The only way to preserve both muggle and wizarding worlds is to preserve the Statute."

"The Ministry is not planning to repeal the Statute…"

"That is what you think! I am more informed of their plans and behind the scenes talks. They want to exterminate all non-human sentient races, then lift the Statute. I am trying to stop this madness."

"You are its cause and leader!"

Oh how I wished I could cruciate her. But that would not convince her of anything. Or rather, convince her that I was evil… Maybe one little tiny Crucio, then Obliviate? But then Snape might notice and decide they would both be better off dead…

"If I led madness, I would spend my days torturing muggles instead of trying to minimize losses."

"You kill people! You killed my husband and the Longbottoms! My Lord."

"Bring me the pensieve. Right now."

I began cherry-picking memories. Tom was a maniac who could waste hours on torture. But he also was an efficient fighter, often acting covertly or leaving witnesses to spread the word of his power.

She resurfaced thirty minutes later.

"Did you see? I didn't kill the muggle child on the way to your house. I threw stunners at the Longbottoms, offered them to join me, offered to remain neutral. An they cast Avadas back at me! Was I supposed to roll over and die?! Why did Aurors, the alleged guardians of law and order, use illegal magic? If they survived, would they have thrown themselves in Azkaban?"

She thought the memories were fake. And that she wouldn't hesitate to Avada me herself.

"Neville also tried to kill you, my Lord?"

"No. That's why he is alive and well. We will go somewhere now. Then stop by the Lestranges and see Neville. Be quiet and behave."

I cast illusions on both of us to appear as nondescript humans, followed by scent-blocking charms.

We apparated into a forest and after a few minutes of walking reached some "houses" in not much better shape than the Gaunt's hovel.

Two men walked up to us.

"You are not welcome here. Especially you," one of the werewolves pointed at Lily. "Leave."

No need to falsify evidence here. The Ministry pushed werewolves right into my loving arms. But why did they dislike Lily? Ah, it seems one of her wands had a werewolf heart core, and they sensed it. Even better!

" Lily, show them your Mark," I said in her mind.

She bared her arm.

"Can I check?" one of them asked, pulling out a wand.

"Yes," repeated Lily after me.

The werewolf touched her forearm with his wand an muttered something, examining the Mark. Satisfied, he turned towards me.

"He is with me," said Lily. "One of my wands has a werewolf heart core, but it was a battle trophy."

This appeased the werewolves, and they drastically warmed up to us.

"Are you here on business or with a private visit?"

"Private visit. Can we go inside?"

We followed the community leader into his parody of a house.

" Lily, no need to introduce yourself by name. You are a foreign Death Eater. Ask him about the lives of werewolves in England."

And the leader told her: everything was grim. They could not live in the magical world - no one hired werewolves. They could not own wands - illegal for non-humans. The community survived gathering ingredients and poaching, selling everything on the black market - werewolves could not get licenses. They earned a bit on low-level crime: no murders, mostly intimidation. The Aurors ignored them in exchange for regular bribes. Many wanted to leave the magical world but were forbidden - magical creatures endangering The Statute. Some managed to get jobs as movers and security guards; the leader, as the only one with a wand, regularly cleared their muggle employers' memories. They could steal, but it would attract the DMLE's attention.

Their thoughts on Greyback? Sick psycho. But while he ran amuck, the Ministry focused on him and left them alone. The Dark Lord? Bless him. Maybe he would give them some rights. But they refused to risk their own lives fighting.

Funny, it was almost all true.

" Thank him, offer money and leave, " I told Lily in her mind.

"How would you feel if I offered you money?"

"No. I will not allow anyone recruit my people. One goes, and we will all be punished. Look for Greyback and his soldiers."

"What if I gave it to you as a gift?"

"No. If the Aurors find out I take money from Death Eaters, they will skin us alive. If they caught me now, I could say I talked to you because I feared for my life. I promised nothing, received nothing. I ask you not to come here again. Our life is hard as it is without the Ministry's spotlight."

We apparated to the Lestranges' and went to the library.

"Elena, choose several books to learn how to check the authenticity of my memories."

"You set everything up, didn't you? My Lord?"

"Unfortunately, no. Your friend Lupin is a propaganda poster boy. What you saw is how most werewolves live. The rest have it worse. They are banned from both muggle and magical world. Possessing a wand is a crime. By the way, your wand with the werewolf heart core is perfectly legal. A wand with your own blood is not."

"How could it be? My Lord?"

"You should probably take more books home. "The Collection of Laws of Magical England" and "Magical Races And Beings." In short, sentient magical creatures, for example veelas, are not legally human. Using the Unforgivables on them is legal, but veelas still stand above many other races. For example, there is a vampire hunting season when killing them is encouraged. All are official Ministry policies."

The reality was not so gruesome: veelas were rare and treated as human despite the antiquated law. Merepeople and centaurs were ignored… And vampires and werewolves were actually dangerous.

"Why is no one doing anything?"

"I am. But slavery can not be abolished with votes."

Werewolves may have been cannon fodder, but I still needed to solve their problems. If I offered them reasonable conditions, the neutrals would join me… And benefit the new society after my victory.

"You have a new task. Develop a program of werewolf integration into the magical world."

"And how am I going to do that?"

Good, the girl did not overestimate her abilities.

"You do not need to do it alone. You are my student. Order someone to help you. You will receive data on werewolves, their numbers, needs, location. To start, you will work with Charles Nott." - my plan was genius. Even is she failed, she would spend time with the most benevolent Death Eater. Who was also a widower… And a master of blood magic… Which she will study soon..

"You only want to get more recruits!" Lily argued.

"They are already mine. You and Nott only need to develop a plan to improve their lives. Have schools where they are taught to brew wolfsbane. Equal rights allowing them to use wands and just punishments for attacking or infecting people. Not all Death Eaters are terrorists. Some hold legislative offices and will introduce your project at the Wizengamot. Do it. This is an order."

It would never pass. Werewolves were XXXXX-class creatures, just as dragons and basilisks. Lily will be angry. And werewolves even angrier.

"Yes, my Lord."

If looks could kill, no amount of horcruxes would have saved me.

"Excellent. Take your books. I will introduce you to Nott later, but you may begin your work now."

I called on Bellatrix through the Mark. She came in with a bright smile that died as soon as she saw Elena.

"Elena wants to view Neville. She knows he is a Longbottom. I want to see him as well."

Bellatrix lead us to the nursery. Neville looked like any other child. The Lestranges clearly spoiled him: two rooms were filled with toys. I was not sure about love, but Neville got plenty of care and attention. Maybe giving him to a childless couple was not one of my best ideas.. Although the sight of Lily stupefied by Bellatrix fussing over a baby was worth it.

I was approached by the eldest Lestrange.

"My Lord, should we formally adopt Neville?"

A complicated question. Neville could theoretically be compatible with the Lestranges' source, but since I didn't use the most humane methods saving them from their family curse… And again, that damned prophecy… I needed the full text.

"You should treat him well but let him stay a Longbottom. Someone must continue their line."

The bets had been made. Time will tell if I was right.

I took Lily out of the room and cast privacy charms.

"You saw everything. Neville is alive and happy. I do not believe in the prophecy: it was a bait to either ambush me or provoke me to kill them, creating martyrs and improving their image. Come, we will now go to my workshop."

"I refuse to participate in human sacrifice. My Lord."

"There will be no sacrifice. Only me and runes. On wood and metal. You may watch."

Why would I show her the Lestranges' torture rooms or ritual halls when there was a clean, sunny craft room?

Lily sullenly stood near the exit, and I was recalling Tom's rune skills. This was far from true artifact creation. More analogous to putting together a grenade from pre-made parts, only with drawings instead of fuses. Connect the two disks, fill with the author's magic - and it explodes. And one more…

"Why are you showing me all this? I know this is theater. As soon as I leave, there will be human sacrifices."

Smart girl. But this was not an act: no sacrifices on today's agenda. When you leave, I will continue drawing runes. Explosives will come handy in storming the base, and I will test the potential of some new configurations…

"Think what you will. There are some fans of human sacrifice among the Death Eaters. I must participate to maintain my image. But I refrain from using Dark magic whenever I have a choice. How many banned spells have you seen me use?"

"One Crucio on Snape."

Some of the shields I put on her were technically Dark. But she had not seen anything else. And when the rumors will spin horrors about her, she should start doubting the things she heard about me.

"Exactly, and I did it to save you from the others who would have cursed you for breaking ranks. You must learn restraint. Now go home and do what I told you. And don't forget to read the book of English laws. This is an order. Go."

When I felt her leave the manor, I called Edward.

"Hello, my friend. I see you noticed my student. She is very busy with my orders but will occasionally come here to train. Don't watch her train - she is twitchy. Make sure she does not stumble upon any prisoners, especially Black. Ban her from accessing the dungeons. She is a master of blood, very passionate and always runs out of material. Naturally, this is a secret. Rosier will be in for a surprise. Don't tell a soul."

Blood specialists had a… distinct reputation. Especially passionate ones. It perfectly explained why I kept such a tight hold on her.

"Yes, my Lord. Maybe I better keep her away from Neville as well?"

"I strictly forbade her from touching Neville or you. Be polite and distant with her. Do not give her any information or chat her up."

"Yes, my Lord. Will she be participating in the assault on the mercenaries?"

"Yes. You will command the operation. Now leave me."

I carried on applying runes onto rocks, metal disks and parchment. One can never have too much explosives… And then I'd craft a special surprise.