𝑨 𝑻𝑶𝑼𝑪𝑯 𝑶𝑭 𝑫𝑨𝑹𝑲𝑵𝑬𝑺𝑺

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟓𝟎: 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

"AND EVERYTHING IS..."

"Everything is going exactly as it should be my Lord." Mira bowed to his feet.

"And Severus, is he fulfilling his purpose?" Voldemort's mouth twitched as his hands grazed the wood of his wand, disinterested by woman in front of him and more so drawn to her words.

"With utmost enthusiasm. I'd almost say he wants this more than you." She smirked.

Voldemort's pupils flared as he shifted his view to Mira who still hadn't lifted herself from the floor. Severus? Want this? More than he did? It was a statement concocted by the illusion of the fool who swore loyalty to him. She was hopeless. Well not entirely, she had managed to do one thing right by returning with such positive news. But she was a fool. No one could want anything more than when Voldemort wanted something. Most people would stop wanting something when parts of their wants seemed unattainable. The only thing that casted Voldemort's greater than those kinds of people was the fact that if something was unattainable to him, he made it attainable. He wouldn't wait for anyone. He would do what was necessary in order to receive his wants and desires. After all, Voldemort wasn't in this life to serve others, others were here to serve him.

He should have known that Lilith Arcane would he a burden to him from the moment she strutted into the Malfoy Manor, in the moment she had practically claimed everything of his as her own. His power. His influence. His loyalties. Voldemort was the one to hand out tests, he most certainly would not ever be the one tested.

Her mind was brilliant. That much was true. She had been tolerable the first time round but this time she came back with something more than a back bone. She had a vendetta against him. She had initially been casted by the vicissitudes of Fate as the victim but had returned as the villain. Perhaps not to herself. But she was the villain. In all of Voldemort's years, no one had challenged his power in the way that she had. If she wasn't against him, he would have called her charm admirable but as it turns out, she was just as evil as he and the wizarding world had no space for a second evil.

Besides of which this didn't benefit only him. No, it benefitted the Ministry too. She knew everything about them. Their alliance. Their workings. She knew it all. Lilith Arcane was a highly privileged individual in that sense. She knew exactly what others could only assume. She had lived in what others could only hope not to. She had become everything that people feared. She had the entire wizarding world at her command. The number of names and the number of people she could put an end to was strenuous, even for Voldemort to remember. She had all of this power and yet didn't use it. Why? Because she was weak. Who could possibly have the extent of power she had made for herself and fail to act upon it?

It was pointless to question the validity of her power. Making it seem as though she wasn't a threat when she really was. The best kinds of power, the most successful kinds of power derive from the realisation that you truly have power. Those born into power or handed power over never truly grasp the full extent or appreciate their abilities in their entirety. Simply because that is all that they know. They know only of power and so they live with the power they have.

The realisation of you having power is the most riveting form of power. Realising that the world was yours all along and for so long you had been so blinded by your potential. You see, when you aren't born into power, you know that it exists. But your choice on what power is will differentiate to the views of someone who has power handed to them. Being born into power means that your power is already in session but you realising your power means that you can create it and let it be whatever you may wish it to be.

Voldemort's power extended beyond the boundaries of what was considered to be humane. He relished in the monstrous nature he had created for himself. His mere name was enough to send people running and only the bravest, only the true loyal subjects were those who walked into fire, into the battle, into the wrath of Nagini hoping that Voldemort would see the spark in them that he had created. His Death Eaters. His creation. His power. His loyalties.

Enemies and loyalties should never coincide and yet that had happened with Lilith Arcane. She was never strictly under oath to him but upon the insistent request of the Ministry, she was accordingly loyal even without oath. She had been wise. Wise to not allow herself to bound to something that would not allow her to escape. Even now, she wasn't truly a Death Eater, there had been no exchange, no binding of blood or bond. Just a simple test which she had passed.

Unfortunately though as with everything, Lilith Arcane had reached her expiration date and the longer she prowled the wizarding world, the more her powers grew. She was expanding from a threat to a prophecy and eventually something that Voldemort would not ever be able to remove without a fight. He laughed to himself.

He spoke so highly of a woman treading on Death's door. Either way, Lilith Arcane would die. At the mercy of Severus Snape. Or at his. With the exception that Voldemort's mercy was in fact pain.

"I'll return when Severus is ready." Mira finally added. "I don't want to get my hands dirty just yet..."