Author's Notes: This collection is made up of assorted, unrelated drabbles written during periods when I accept prompts on tumblr. They are of varying tone, rating, pairing, and quality, and were mostly done in a very impromptu manner.

Enjoy!

Bellatrix/Voldemort for hellabonhamcarter

)O(

She was his puppet, his pet. He had trained her like an animal - though her tricks were murder and torture. He gave an order, and she rushed to comply, for no reason other than that it pleased her to please him.

Or, rather, he hoped that there was no other reason.

A truly loyal follower, his philosophy stated, should have no ulterior motive. Followers with their own motives, separate from his, could be of use, of course, but such a person could never truly be considered his, and the understanding would always be present in his mind - and, he hoped, theirs - that there would likely come a time when their goals would be in conflict, and then he would have to dispose of them.

And the most secret, most crudely human part of him dreaded there coming such a time for Bellatrix.

He could justify that dread by reminding himself that she was a talented Death Eater, of great use to him, and that losing her would mean losing one of his greatest warriors, but that same base part of him denied that - or, rather, denied his insistence that there was no other reason.