Lord Voldemort SI

This day, May 16, 1982, was remembered forever by the Death Eaters. First, the Mark disappeared, then returned, but it went mad. Instead of rare mental messages accompanied by a burning sensation, it began to behave differently, giving out cascades of meaningless signals.

**POV: Antonin Dolohov**

Antonin Dolohov was arguing with Jugson once again about the correct tactics for using werewolf squads.

"They're normal fighters!" he tried to prove for the hundredth time. "Let them stand shoulder to shoulder, knowing nothing but Reducto and Protego! We'll be able to cast spells from a distance, having the opportunity to maneuver. At this time, the reinforced werewolves can attack over their backs."

"No. There's no point in helping them. Werewolves are only good as suicide bombers and decoy squads. Even their complete destruction won't affect our combat effectiveness anyway!"

"There's no need to throw them to certain death! Soon we'll have normal, seasoned werewolves. And instead of fighting with new werewolves every month, we'll simply achieve an overwhelming numerical advantage and crush the Ministry. If we increase the number of reinforced werewolves to two hundred, which will give us two hundred Antipatronuses, then there won't even be a memory left of the Auror Office!"

"And what should we do with a crowd of these wand-wielding beasts? It would be better to kill them all in the war so that we wouldn't have to fight them ourselves. Send them ahead—someone will kill the enemy. With each kill, the Auror staff melts away..."

Their dialogue was interrupted by a call to the Mark. They instantly moved, calling their subordinates. Unfortunately, the place itself was covered with protective charms, and they Apparated a mile and a half away, not in a cave but on the surface. The picture of a spring forest was spoiled by a funnel of a landslide, from which powerful magic blew.

Almost immediately after they appeared on the spot, the Dark Mark disappeared from both of them. They really wanted to go back, but more and more Death Eaters were arriving at the place. Some were alone, others with werewolves, golems, or the dead. Despite the presence of masks, confusion seemed to hang in the air.

They did not run away for only two reasons: what if one of their own would throw Avada at the deserter, or this was a cunning test by the Dark Lord? As if confirming the latter, the Dark Mark returned to its place, reminding them of itself with the usual burning sensation. However, the signal that was sent along it was absolutely meaningless.

Dolohov was the first to come out of his stupor and began to command. They began to put up barriers and look for invisible enemies. Soon their defense was broken through by a single movement from the inside. Judging by the amount of energy, it was either the Dark Lord or Albus Dumbledore.

Then the Aurors began to arrive. But it was somehow without fire—neither the Order's nor Moody's. The battle was reduced to the exchange of spells from afar. However, reinforcements began to approach the Aurors, but not the Death Eaters.

There were no clear commands from the leadership. Having made sure that the Dark Lord was not here, he ordered a retreat, leaving the golems and the dead to cover the retreat. Soon they were already at the base.

What had just happened? He decided to ask the Lord. But the signal on the Mark was strange. There was no answer. What did this mean? He needed to talk to his people and figure out what to do…

**POV: Bellatrix, formerly Lestrange**

Bellatrix stood in front of the mirror, stroking her small belly. She had always wanted her children to serve the Dark Lord... But the reality was beyond all expectations: she would give birth to the Dark Lord's child, and she and her daughter would serve Him.

A new smile played on her lips, and she felt happiness. Incredible, unimaginable, so close...

An emergency call from the Dark Lord tore her out of her dreams. Someone else would probably have thought before showing up in an unknown place, but not her. The only thing that kept her from immediately moving was that the house she was in was protected from any movement.

With a wave of her wand, she instantly donned the robe of a Death Eater, but before she had time to take a couple of steps—before the burning sensation in the Mark had time to disappear—the Dark Mark simply disappeared.

The woman instantly howled so loudly that any banshee could envy her. Before the scream had time to die down, she had already fainted. Two seconds later, the house-elf approached the woman. After thinking, he put her on the bed and then began cleaning the house.

**Edward Lestrange's POV**

Edward recalled the calm day yesterday. How good and clear everything was...

Today the Lord disappeared. No, it had happened more than once. But at least he said where and for how long he would disappear or left some instructions. And they could always contact him. Now it was completely empty! And the Mark worked... incorrectly. He personally went through all the "secret places" and did not find the Lord.

Alas, there was no need to expect help from the others. The rumors were the most delirious. Rookwood assumed that the Lord was modifying the Mark, and as soon as he ran out of material, he would return. Karkaroff kept silent, but it was clear that he had already written off the Lord as a corpse. Dolohov believed that these were exercises and that they should be repeated more often so that he would not see such a disgrace again.

Exercises... It would be funnier to turn off everyone's magic for a couple of days—that would be an exercise! They would immediately determine who is a hero and who is a coward. Posthumously.

He assumed that as soon as things got tough, Malfoy would need to be watched, but Malfoy was acting clearly. There was a feeling that Lucius, for some reason, was going to go all the way, stopping playing the huckster.

As soon as the Lestranges rushed to the Lord's call, Bellatrix managed to faint. And when she came to, she wandered around the house, bumping into Isabella. Now Isabella was finding out from the house-elves what "that sheep" was doing in the house. Ideally, they should call a general meeting of the Inner Circle and discuss it. Or even better—put forward specific proposals and present evidence. But before they did, they needed to know what to say... That was exactly why he decided to discuss the problem in a small circle.

He, Rodolphus, Rabastan, and Bellatrix tried to figure out what to do. Bellatrix suggested attacking an Auror patrol and finding out where they had put the Lord. Moreover, she suggested torturing them right at the place of capture so as not to waste time! A brilliant plan, but as long as he was alive, this would not happen...

"Bellatrix... I understand that you have gotten it into your head that the Dark Lord has been captured. But even if this is true, how can ordinary Aurors know where he is being held? Only three people can know—the Minister of Magic, Alastor Moody, and Albus Dumbledore. But we will not be able to get to them. Moreover, Neville is hanging on you, and you are pregnant with the Master's child. At least think about what you will tell him, why you did not protect the heiress when he returns! If you really can't stand it—let's carry out your plan with one of the werewolf squads; I don't feel sorry for them."

He looked at Bellatrix and thought about what would happen next—he would receive a non-verbal Cruciatus, or he would be able to carefully disable Bellatrix with something from Blood Magic or house protection. If a look could kill, he would already be dead.

"And what do you suggest?" they asked him.

"You are the Keeper of the Fidelius. Search the Master's house thoroughly. Talk to the house-elves," he ordered. "Rabastan, you have a similar task. You are the Fidelius Keeper of Elena's house. Talk to her. Just be careful. Rodolphus, talk to Malfoy and Crouch Jr. Their Master didn't call them to 'resurrect' the wizard for nothing. If he showed it to them, then there was a motive. He probably trusts them. And I'll think about it myself. I'll inform the others so that they don't panic and don't make any sudden movements."

Rabastan returned first. He looked unwell.

"And?" he asked his son.

"Elena doesn't know where the Lord is. She said that he disappeared and we have a week to find him. And she can't help us in any way."

"Will she come to the meeting?" he said.

"Yes. She said that she needed Snape."

"And did you ask her if the Lord would return? How and when?"

"She answered 'Avos.' I think it was in Russian."

Edward understood everything: she wants to get the Lord back herself. We have a problem here, and they are dividing the glory!

"Did she express a desire to raise her status in the Organization?"

"No."

"It's not that bad. Let her do whatever she wants with Snape, as long as she doesn't interfere. When I remember the last operation in the Department of Mysteries, I immediately feel sick. As they say, the Sand Dragon has a bad brain, but with his magical power, this is not his problem. Minus one crazy woman."

Bellatrix came soon. She said that the house-elves were not in the know, and she started collecting books on safe-cracking and protective charms. What is it, the Lord bought a birthday present in advance, and she wanted it for herself right now? How can new booties for Delphi help find the Lord? Or does the Lord have a blood sample in the safe for search? I hope if she finds something important, she will ask. But it's better not to ask her anything—he doesn't know if it's love, but Bellatrix has clearly lost her head. And it wouldn't hurt to think about where to put Bellatrix if the Master doesn't return. To India?

Then there was the conversation with Barty Jr. He checked himself for outside interference for a very long time, including mental influences and illusions.

"Repeat again," he ordered.

"You have nothing to fear. The Lord is omnipotent. He just went to look for a new mistress. Believe me, Bellatrix is absolutely hopeless!" said Crouch.

Either they are making fun of him, or... The Dark Lord, being an incredibly strong Legilimens, could not fail to notice that his wife was cheating on him? And if Barty and Bellatrix are alive, does that mean he does not mind? Frankly, he does not care; personally, he cares about the Dark Lord's intellect and his magical power, not his personal affairs. Barty did not say anything worthwhile. Let's move on to the next one.

It was even more interesting with Lucius Malfoy.

"Unfortunately, I cannot catch the Lord's messages verbatim. But I have a modified Dark Mark; I will definitely be able to understand what the Master wants!" Lucius stunned him.

"So you have a connection with the Lord?"

"Not yet. I have a modified Mark with expanded functionality. The Lord will be able to convey his most obsessive thoughts to me. And then I will be able to bring him back!"

Another idiot! No one hears the Lord, but I alone hear. Even Bellatrix did not think of this. Long live the new religion—faith in the Dark Lord! What does the Dark Lord want? Ask His prophet, Lucius Malfoy! But not a single pureblood will believe in the holiness of the Malfoys...

It seems that all the Lord's trusted servants are slightly crazy. Or pretending. He came up with the idea of making a dummy of the Dark Lord to calm everyone down. But such a dummy will be easily seen through when he cannot give a command to the Mark. And then he will have to deal with fanatics who will accuse him of trying to usurp the throne.

Okay, the flywheel of the civil war is spinning. For a few months, it would simply go on by inertia, especially if they didn't give crazy orders, panic, and competently implement their advantages in the form of werewolves, Dark Creatures, and Imperius chains. And then either the Lord would return, or we would find him. I mean, he would find him. Now the main thing was to convey these thoughts to the others.

The Death Eaters' meeting that evening was held with the leader's chair empty. Bellatrix was twitching in place, as if she were in a fit. He had seen such a reaction when someone was put under the Imperius and given mutually exclusive commands. Elena looked at Snape in such a way that in Severus's place, he would have long ago run to Dumbledore. She was emitting magic just like during their first meeting—a gifted and crazy student of the Dark Lord. He had to admit that it was annoying when smart plans were made, and not by him, and at the same time, he did not understand what they were. At least with the others, you could understand what they wanted, but with Elena, he had to admit, he very often did not understand anything.

Karkaroff resembled a leprechaun who was told that leaving the premises requires a fee. In short, everyone looked as if they had lost all their relatives in one day and the deceased did not mention them in their wills.

**Severus Snape's POV**

Lily and Snape were at the Lestranges', in the hall that usually served as their training ground.

"You can speak freely now, 'Elena'; I've blocked everything from observation," he said.

"He really... disappeared?" she asked.

"Yes. And no one knows where," Snape answered. "And if you remember our oaths, we have a week to find him. Or if he comes back himself."

"A year ago, I would have been happy about that. But I... will die now..."

"I won't let that happen! I will find the Master!" he tried to reassure her. Out of pure reflex, he put his arm around her shoulders, but Lily was apparently so distracted that she didn't even push him away.

"And you know where to look?" she asked him.

"No. But Albus definitely does."

"He won't tell you anything," she told him.

"I know. But I will save you. I don't know how."

"Unlike you, I never wanted to be a Death Eater. And I don't want to now," she answered him. "I understand that it will be better for everyone if the Lord doesn't return and I die..."

"Lily, don't say that! We'll just meet sometimes, simulating a search for the Dark Lord. I'll do everything myself."

"Sev... If I die... Take care of my child," she told him.

Snape instantly pulled his hands away and felt like a young lady losing consciousness. What child? The Dark Lord assured him that he was not interested in Lily! And she was a Muggle-born; what was the Lord thinking? If the truth came out, a new Hogwarts faculty could be formed from those who wanted to eliminate Lily to return the Lord to the right path. I wonder if he would be able to quickly deal with Bellatrix?

"What child?" Snape said in horror. He also really wanted to cast the Cruciatus, but he held back. He also wanted to cast something at someone; if not the Cruciatus, then something from what the Lord had taught him recently would come in handy.

"Harry... James's son. My husband died, and the Lord spared the child in exchange for my service to him," Snape was enlightened.

"And the prophecy?" he asked.

"The Dark Lord said that it was Dumbledore's intrigue. Blackmail... How familiar. The Lord and Albus's insane actions make sense. But about the child..."

"Lily, do you seriously think that I will take care of James's son? Moreover, I will die too? And even if I agree, how can I take care of someone? Tell him fairy tales and immediately tell him which article of the criminal code these actions correspond to?" Snape said this calmly, not betraying his emotions, which resembled a cauldron ready to explode. He really wanted to use James's son as ingredients. At least the Lord killed James!

"You are a Dark Wizard; you will survive. And I don't want to kill anyone..."

He had already tried to be noble. Now he was shrouded in oaths, like a caterpillar in a cocoon.

"And why should I do this? For the sake of the child's beautiful eyes? What will I get in return?" he said.

"You are just like the Dark Lord," she told him reproachfully.

"And you are just like Albus Dumbledore! Do all the dirty work for me so that I don't get dirty! And don't offer me any Dark Magic! Use it yourself!" For the first time since they met in their new guises, he raised his voice.

"Does that mean 'no'?"

"I'll think about it," answered Severus Snape and went out.

He had already flared up once. Now he needed to think, think hard. And calm down. He went out and began to look for the owners of the house.

"Rabastan, Elena is busy with delirious attempts to bring the Lord back. She has no time for werewolves. Let someone else look after the werewolves for now."

"I'll tell Father," he answered him.

And he himself was thinking, walking to the exit. What to do? Let Lily deal with her child herself—it's not his child, is it? This is James's child, who had been spoiling him for all seven years at Hogwarts! And the fact that James had saved him from the werewolf Lupin didn't count—he had lured him there himself. And it was after that incident that he became seriously interested in Dark Magic—it was very unpleasant when you couldn't do anything to a werewolf. He didn't like to remember that feeling of helplessness...

Part of him considered making a selfish request in exchange for helping with the child, but that was not what he wanted. What he needed was love! Recognition, admiration... He didn't know if it was possible to remove some of his vows or at least buy a little time. But he knew someone who at least had a chance. And then he'd see what could be done for Lily.

First, he visited the lab where the Dark Lord taught him to work with homunculi. He was already used to sacrificing people, but homunculi... Just what he needed to cover his tracks. But it's so much like suicide... Every time he kills an incredible freak with his own face. Seeing his own face distorted in incredible pain, his own face burning in fire. And the worst thing is that for him, it's almost routine, like collecting armadillo bile. Sometimes he's glad his mother didn't live... And he's not glad his father didn't live—now he could do magic! He would have come up with something special for that drunk!

Now a few finishing touches. Alas, he couldn't ask anyone. And among the prisoners, it's unlikely that there's a torture specialist—if there was one, he'd already have been recruited with Imperius or potions. Taking one of the "illegal" wands, he lay down on the floor and pointed it at himself.

"Crucio!"

Nothing happened—he wasn't a masochist. But he had to. It worked on the third try. It hurt, very much. What had he come to—torturing himself! But the legend must be impeccable, as always. Soon he was already at Hogwarts, leaving the "illegal" wands in the lab.

"Severus, my boy, how did it go?" Albus seemed to be asking about a potion lesson, not a Death Eater meeting.

"It's a long story. In short, the Death Eaters are confident that the Lord will return. The organization's goals and plans have not changed, nor has its structure. But... Elena has completely lost her mind. She made me slaughter homunculi with her. And then she tortured me to make me swear to return the Lord within a week. And a bunch of others. You will help me, Professor, right? And then I will immediately sit down to write a report..."

"Very imprudent, my boy. Show me the memories, and then I will see what can be done," Albus ordered.

"I can at least show you how you handle explosives," Snape thought. And now, it was time to ask for help.

**POV of Bellatrix, formerly Lestrange**

Bellatrix was back in the Lord's house, searching it thoroughly. What if she had missed something? The Mirror of Erised... She could see that she was back with the Master. The house-elves said that the Master spent a lot of time with this object. She wondered why.

Her next discovery was a statuette on a shelf. As the scanning spells showed, it was a person. She performed a reverse transfiguration, and soon an unconscious and bound Pandora Lovegood was lying on the floor. As Legilimency showed, the target's memory was blocked by powerful spells. Bellatrix's first thought was to arrange an accident for her rival. Or better yet, not wait for an accident, but something like falling belly-down on a ritual knife a couple dozen times.

But then she checked Pandora for any signs of a relationship and asked the house-elves if the Master had interacted closely with this woman. They assured her that the Dark Lord had never been involved with anyone except Bellatrix. Therefore, the desire to eliminate Pandora quickly disappeared. What did the Lord need her for? The only thing that came to mind was to erase Aberforth Dumbledore's memories and replace them with Pandora's, and then release the resulting psycho to go on a rampage. Okay, let the Lord figure it out himself. With these thoughts, she transfigured Pandora back. Only she was not the Lord; she would have to periodically renew the transfiguration.

After two hours of searching, she stood at the only promising place—the Lord's safe. Of course, she had no right to look in there. But special times require special measures. What if, among other things, there were instructions for her in a special case? Or at least a map of the route to the secret cache? She was sure that if the Lord did not want her to look in there, he would have told her or made access to this place much more difficult.

An hour later, she was standing in front of the safe again, this time bringing an Imperiused curse-breaker with her—she had found him while sorting the prisoners.

"Can you open this safe without damaging the contents?" she asked.

"We need to see."

An hour later, she had her answer.

"Probably yes. But we need a wand and other tools. Here is the list."

Soon, the Imperiused began to work. No, she could easily... destroy the safe along with its contents. Open it? She could try to burn one of the walls with Hellfire, but what if there was something valuable and fragile in there?

Nine hours later, the Imperiused managed to cope, although he suffered from magical exhaustion. The safe door was lying separately. She couldn't open it, but he managed to force it open. If he hadn't succeeded, she would have cut out the safe along with a piece of the wall and brought it to the Lestranges. And they would have opened it, either without sparing the victims or they would have found curse-breakers, at least a hundred.

"Everything is ready, mistress," he replied.

Her gaze was presented with five containers used to transport dangerous artifacts.

"Give me the wand and show me what's in there."

The man took the contents out of the containers, showed them to her, and hid them back.

The first thing he took out was... the Ravenclaw Diadem? No, she knew that the Lord had ordered copies of the Founders' items. They were kept in the Lestranges' house. But were these then the originals? She began to scan the item. Very quickly, she realized that it might be the original, but now it was definitely a Dark Artifact of unprecedented power, made using human sacrifice. Approximately the same as what she had once put in the Lestranges' safe. Now the Lord's absences were understandable—to find the lost Ravenclaw Diadem! To turn it into a Dark Artifact! Truly, the Lord is a Great Wizard! This is not like torturing recorded Muggles, where anyone can handle it!

"Do you know what this is?" she asked.

"I have no idea," the Imperiused replied. "But it's a very Dark Artifact. Probably dangerous."

"Put it back," she ordered. "And get the next item."

When a small silver cup, which she now knew to be the Hufflepuff Cup, was pulled out of the second shielding container, she was no longer surprised. Almost. Gringotts was probably not a secure enough place for such items. But the house where she was the Keeper of the Fidelius was secure enough! Pride flooded her again.

This item felt the same as all the previous ones. Who would have thought that the Lord had a hobby of antiques and artifacts? Or were these things needed for something?

The third item turned out to be a ring. But here Bellatrix was slightly surprised. No, she was not surprised by another exactly the same Dark Artifact. She was surprised by the stone. She was a fairly wealthy woman and understood jewelry. So, she could not understand what kind of stone it was. It was not sapphire, diamond, pearl, spinel, black onyx, agate, jasper, opal, jet, or morion... It looked most like... a black stone, some obsidian. Obsidian can be used to make a birthstone, but not jewelry! An item in the Lord's safe must be valuable—and the value is not only in the charms it casts but in the base!

While the Imperiused held the ring with the black stone in his hands, she saw the symbols on the ring. Something slowly stirred in her head. Walburga read her fairy tales when she was a child... Albus, damn him, Dumbledore uses the Elder Wand. Among the lake of slop they poured on Dumbledore, there was a mention of a joint search for the Deathly Hallows with Grindelwald. No, that's impossible. The wand is real; the rest is just fairy tales for children.

But that can be easily verified.

"Did anyone in your family die?" she asked.

"Yes. My great-grandfather two years ago," he answered.

"Summon him by turning the stone together with the ring three times."

The Imperiused did it, but nothing happened. Just a coincidence...

"I did it. So what next?" he asked her.

"I can't see anyone!"

"He says that he's a part of me and that's why he's visible only to me."

She used wand Legilimency. Indeed, she saw in his mind a ghost resembling him. The Deathly Hallows are real. Most likely, it was thanks to the ring that the Lord was able to resurrect that wizard at the demonstration. Albus has one of the Deathly Hallows; the Lord has the second. Most likely, the Dark Lord found out where the third one was and immediately went there. But the journey is unlikely to be easy and quick.

Why didn't he tell her? Okay with the others, but can he not trust her? Her heart immediately ached with pain. No, he can't not trust me! He's just afraid for me and the child! I need to become stronger!

She really wanted to use the ring, but it could interfere with the Master's plans. What if it has a limited capacity? But she could do it once. He'd check it at the same time.

"Summon Voldemort," she ordered the Imperiused one. The calculation was simple: he wouldn't succeed because the Master was alive.

The Imperiused one turned the ring three times.

"He didn't answer the call," he said.

"Very well. Put the ring back."

There was one last container left. She expected they would take out Merlin's Underpants or something equivalent. But instead, they took out... a Muggle book? The Dark Lord and a book, what comes to mind? Necrotech? A lab journal? But even a cursory inspection showed that the book was Muggle! And not even a book, more like a notebook or a diary. What was something Muggle doing in the Lord's safe?

Soon she checked the item magically. The same Dark Artifact. It was strange—all these objects were so different, but they felt the same. How could such powerful magic be cast on such different objects? And the magic was so similar! And most importantly—what was a Muggle diary doing here? Most likely, the Lord simply tested the possibility of casting spells on it before casting spells on the Founders' things.

The Imperiused leafed through the diary. It was empty. Keep an empty book in a safe? She couldn't find the contents.

"Put a drop of blood on the page of the book," she ordered.

The drop of blood was instantly absorbed.

"Write as I dictate: 'Master, where are you?'"

The inscription was instantly absorbed, but there was no answer.

She would find a safe place for these artifacts—a new, reliable one that a mid-level curse-breaker wouldn't open.

What had she learned? The Master could have gone after the third Deathly Hallow. The Master could have gone after Salazar Slytherin's amulet—he had ordered a copy of this item, but it wasn't here. Why? No idea; maybe he wanted to resurrect the Founders... And what if they supported his policy—that would be a victory.

All the artifacts would remain in place. Except for the diary: it was probably the least valuable of the artifacts. It could be a communication channel; it was not for nothing that the binding said "T.M. Riddle." The Master probably just went looking for the third Deathly Hallow.

But what if she was wrong? Or did the Dark Lord need help? How could she look for her Master? She wouldn't tell anyone; the Lord's secrets would die with her.

Use the contents of the safe? It didn't look like a compass. Drink from the cup and go wherever she wanted? Put on the Diadem until her mind cleared up?

The idea of using the diary for communication was the best one there was. She just needed to figure out how to do it. It was unrealistic to understand what was inside. And she didn't need to find out the Lord's secrets. But the items were in shielding containers, so they were dangerous for the user. She herself would not touch them.

But throwing the diary into a locked room with a couple of Muggle-borns under the Imperius Curse, telling them to write in the diary in blood, was a good idea.

And now she needed to remove the body. After the Imperiused one put everything back in place, she pointed her wand at him.

"Avada Kedavra!" Another body fell to the floor.