Author's Note: Hurray! I've finished! The end! Not much more to say I guess.

Chapter 7: Nineteen Years Later

Winter seemed to arrive steadily that year, but to the people of the wizarding world, the idea of 'Christmas' had long since lost any sense of meaning or wonder. Presents brought little joy in those troubled times. Instead, parents would tell their children stories of days before You-Know-Who's ascension to power, yet to the children such stories sounded like nothing more than fanciful tales of fiction.

There was one girl, however, who cared not for petty family traditions. As the year was drawing to a close, the teenage epitome of dark beauty stood in the hallway of Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place. She was lean and bony armed, with an unnaturally pale complexion. Her hollow cheeks and superfluous eye make up, gave her the appearance of a full grown woman. Her straight raven-coloured hair formed a silky veil around her head.

She pressed her ear against a door, which she suspected, led to the mansion's kitchen.

'Another year gone by, yet still we wait and mope,' huffed an impatient female voice from behind the door.

'If any of the others had escaped, you'd think we would've found them after nineteen years,' a male voice responded.

'Then why are we still here?' said the third voice, which also belonged to a woman.

'I've told you before Ginny, this is the only safe place left to raise our children.'

'No place is safe, Hermione, not while They Who Must Be Named remain in power.'

'Oh cheer up, Ron,' said Hermione, though she did not comply with her own instructions, 'While we live there's still a chance of defeating Bell-' Ron and Ginny suppressed a gasp of shock '-atrix and Voldemort,' Hermione finished, ignoring the other's reactions.

On the other side of the door, the girl, who had been hanging on the family's every word, giggled with delight. 'Enjoy your cockiness while you can,' she said.

There was a sharp crack. The girl twisted her head around to see who had Apparated onto the scene. 'My Lord,' she said, as she fell to her knees in respect of the Dark Lord and Lady, who stood hand in hand beside her.

'Ah Salzara,' said Voldemort, 'My Lady and I were enjoying a midnight stroll and we thought we'd drop by in case you required any assistance.'

'No, my Lord,' said Salzara, indignantly, 'I prefer to function alone.'

'Indeed, I would expect nothing less of you. You have located your target by now, I presume.'

Salzara nodded. She withdrew her wand from her cloak and proceeded through the door to find her victims. It was time for the young snake to take her first delicious bite.

Ron, Hermione and Ginny were slouched around a dusty kitchen table, all of them wearing the same disgruntled expression. They nearly jumped out of their skin as they heard the door creak open. A wolfish smile crept across Salzara's lips. The mere sight of her made the three friends shudder. Salzara possessed a dangerous aura, thought she was yet to hurt them.

'Who are you? What do you want?' said Ginny, her voice sounded firm, but Salzara was not fooled. Her colourless eyes pierced through Ginny's stern expression, into the depths of her mind. Her terror became apparent. Salzara's grin widened.

Phrases such as 'kill first, answer questions later' had always been a part of her philosophy, now more than ever. Brandishing her wand with glee, she spoke the fatal words.

Ginny's body turned limp. She fell forward; landing with her head slumped over the table and her eyes shut. As she collapsed, her hand knocked over a wine glass, which shattered into pieces.

Salzara had left the door ajar, allowing Voldemort's hissing voice to reach her through the gap, 'So you have taken from another what Bella and I worked so hard to give you. How does it feel?'

'Marvellous, my Lord,' said Salzara.

Bellatrix's face split into a smile. The couple exchanged proud looks.

While Salzara had understood Voldemort's words clearly, all Ron heard was the hissing which followed them. Nevertheless he succumbed to panic. His stomach gave an uncomfortable lurch, but as the man of the house it was his duty to protect the family.

'Go upstairs… warn the children… I'll hold her off,' said Ron. He leapt from his seat. Hermione rarely obeyed her husband's instructions so easily, but this was not the time for them to bicker as they often did. Biting back her tears, she darted from the room in search of Rose and Hugo Weasley. Salzara took note of the direction she had taken.

Ron fought hard, but though he was far older than her in years, his clumsiness and inexperience made him an unworthy opponent. Salzara avoided Ron's stunning spells with grace and ease. She relished Ron's frustration.

Once she'd had her fun, she killed Ron swiftly, without the slightest hint of reluctance. She twiddled her wand, as she surveyed the scene. Her eyes glistened with triumph.

Bellatrix and Voldemort listened to the echo of her footsteps as she climbed the stairs in search of Hermione. As they stood together in silence, a worrying thought occurred to Voldemort. 'Bella, do you get the feeling that history might repeat itself tonight?' he said.

'Whatever do you mean, my Lord?' Bellatrix asked.

'Let us follow our child and you shall see for yourself.'

So under the concealment of the invisibility cloak, the couple climbed the staircase leading to the Rose and Hugo's bedroom. Upon reaching the landing they immediately recognised Salzara's voice.

'I'm prepared to let you leave here alive,' she said, her voice sizzled venomously, 'Even though you reek of muggle-born filth, you are no threat to me, but your children are a different matter. They are still young. Who knows what they might accomplish in their lifetime? They must be killed before they have the chance to endanger my family. You on the other hand have a choice.'

'No Salzara,' said Voldemort in Parselmouth, as he and Bellatrix burst into the room, wands drawn, ready to strike if necessary, 'Don't give her your mercy she doesn't deserve it.'

Hermione knelt on the floor, whimpering. She refused to look her attacker in the eyes. Her two children huddled around her breathless with horror.

'Please I beg of you, without my family I have nothing to live for,' said Hermione.

Salzara smirked. A flash of green light shone through the dark windows of Number Twelve Grimmauld Place and Hugo's life came to an abrupt end.

A second later a pair of simultaneously fired curses sucked the life out Hermione and Rose. Salzara swivelled around to face her parents. 'You didn't expect us to let you have all of them to yourself now, did you?' said Bellatrix.

'Were those the last of our enemies?' Salzara asked.

Voldemort shook his head. 'There will always be those among the wizarding community who … disapprove of our actions, but I assure you, we fight for a noble cause. In fact you were named after the very wizard who began the war against muggle-borns.'

'Salazar Slytherin?'

Voldemort nodded. He beamed at his family, his true family.

'It's time for you to head back to Aunt Narcissa,' said Bellatrix.

'But don't you think it's time for me to move out of my den,' said Salzara, 'I was hoping I could make use of this abandoned mansion.'

'Well as an honourable member of the Black family, I suppose this old house is yours.' And so the matter was settled.

Voldemort gave the Dark Lady a brief peck on the lips. She responded by moaning in delight, excited at the prospect of spending yet another night alone with the man she had been meant for all her life.

No man alive had threatened them for nineteen years. All was well.

In your face J.K. Rowling!

Hey readers (if there still are any after two years.) Here's an interesting bit of trivia. When I wrote this story originally in 2008, I thought it would be neat if I made the story exactly 7 chapters and 13,000 words long. Instead the story turned out to be over 14,000 words long. I thought there was no way I could delete one thousand words without loosing any important information. Now the year is 2010 (has it really been that long?) I've editted it a few times and it's exactly 13,000 words. That includes all the author's notes and thankyous (plus this update which I added just so that I could bring the word count up, without adding unnecessary words to the story.) So there you have it. That's the power of editting for you.

A (Somewhat Amusing) Thankyou Note

Now I don't often write thankyou notes. I rarely have anyone to thank apart from myself. So I consider you somewhat lucky to be reading this.

Well actually anyone who owns a computer will be able to read this, but this note is really only for the eyes of those who have the entire story and been at least somewhat entertained by it.

I'm glad you took the time to read the 14,000 word long ramblings of a bored adolescent. Especially considering how I normally don't even bother with stories that are longer than 2,000 words. I have a low tolerance for long stories, so don't ask me how I managed to read all 7 Harry Potter books. The point is I read all the Harry Potter books and I don't regret it.

Actually I kind of regret reading the ending of book 7 and if you're reading this (which you obviously are) I'm assuming you did too.

To everyone who reviewed this story, you guys deserve the most thanks. I don't think I could've finished it without your inspiring messages.

Long Live the Dark Lord and Lady!