It was already night when the Lady entered what would be her chambers during her stay at Hogwarts. That double room, divided into an office and a bedroom, was not very luxurious, but it had the basic comforts, and she felt satisfied.
She had not wanted to keep Dumbledore's office, even if the Dark Lord had encouraged her to do so. For one thing, she didn't know what kind of charms and traps the headmaster had hidden, and she felt too exposed in a room that clearly showed loyalty to Dumbledore.
Furthermore, she was convinced that the gargoyle would not make way for her, just as it had done with Umbridge, and she did not want to waste time forcing it to do so.
The Lady looked around, checking the office room, and making sure there were no hidden curses. She didn't let Narcissa follow her, since she knew very well that Mrs. Malfoy had been sent to spy on her, and there were things she wanted to keep secret.
However, Narcissa was terrified of her, and had had a hard time hiding her expression of relief when she got permission to leave her side.
The one who was waiting patiently in the bedroom was her faithful Win. The Lady smiled when she saw her. She could trust her.
***
When she was ten years old, someone tried to murder her.
At that age, the Lady was a real monster. She could torture anyone without stopping to think about it, and her pulse did not tremble when it came to killing. She was a pet in the service of Voldemort, and her power increased year after year.
News of her existence had been leaked to the Ministry, and a search and arrest warrant was secretly issued. Someone like her was not supposed to reach adulthood.
The threat came in the form of a house-elf, and so it went unnoticed. He was not the first one the Lady had seen, as she had several at her disposal, to bring messages, prepare food, or transport her guardians, but apart from Win, she had not bothered to remember the face of any of them.
That house-elf had received very clear orders to kill the Dark Lord's heiress. He had to be quick and lethal and leave no trace. And he had to make sure she didn't survive.
When the Lady became careless and turned her back on him, the elf jumped on her, with a knife in his hand, and stabbed her repeatedly in the back, trying to plunge his blade into her heart.
The girl fell on her knees, overcome by pain, and unable to defend herself. Her vision blurred as blood poured out of her body. But the fatal stab never came.
The house-elf Win had stopped the attack, disarming the attacking elf and immobilizing him. Furious, she made sure the attacker never got up again. Then, with all the care in the world, she assisted her mistress, closing her wounds and healing her with her magic.
She carried her to bed, and did not leave her until she recovered, comforting her against the pain and fever.
They both knew that Voldemort would punish them for their weakness and carelessness, but at that moment that didn't matter. During those days when she fought between life and death, the Lady discovered that she had an ally she could fully trust.
Since that event, Win earned a special place in her heart. That house-elf was the first creature towards whom she allowed herself to feel some affection. Of course, she had to be careful not to show it to the Dark Lord, but by now, the Lady was an expert at hiding her thoughts and emotions.
***
"Is everything alright?"
"Yes, mistress. Win has magically protected the bedroom and office. The Carrows stay in a corridor very separate from this one, and so far, they have not tried to spy on or do anything against the mistress."
"And Narcissa?"
"Mrs. Malfoy has gone to see her son. She fears for him."
"No wonder," the Lady murmured, looking around. Although she completely trusted Win, she checked for herself the state of the shields that protected the room, nodding satisfied. No spell or curse could pass through walls, windows, or doors.
"You must return to your position, Win."
"Win doesn't like to be separated from the mistress. Win is afraid that something might happen to her," the house-elf whispered, shaking her ears pleadingly.
"In that case, I will call you and you can come to me without delay. No, Win, you are the only one I trust to..." the Lady hesitated. Despite all the precautions and protections, one never knew if someone might be spying. "Go away Win. If there are problems, I will call you."
The house-elf disappeared without further discussion, and the Lady sighed in relief. It was true that she would put her life in Win's hands without hesitation. But there were things more important than her own life.
***
"We could fill her office with firecrackers," Colin suggested. "The kind your brothers sell, Ron."
"And what do you intend to do with them? Scare her?" Parvatil looked at him with a mocking grimace.
"It worked with Umbridge."
"I don't think the Lady is as useless as her," Ginny argued. "You have already seen that not even Dumbledore managed to hurt her."
"We must do something. She must be expelled from Hogwarts," Seamus intervened. "Who knows what she has planned."
"Have you stopped to think about what she will do to us if she finds out that we were the ones who attacked her?" Hermione asked.
"Are you thinking about the points?"
"Don't be an idiot! She is Voldemort's daughter. I don't think she'll just take points away from Gryffindor."
At that moment, Neville came running up to them.
"Almost-Headless-Nick told me that Alecto Carrow has been appointed as professor of Muggle Studies, and her brother will teach Defense Against the Dark Arts," the news caused a stir among the students gathered.
"Voldemort is not going to be subtle," Harry realized. "He is going to manipulate the classes in his favor, to distribute his propaganda."
"I don't think they'll stop at that," Seamus snorted.
"Maybe we should start with them," Ron suggested. "Compared to their boss, they don't seem so dangerous," Ron earned a few looks of disbelief. "What? I said that you have to compare them with her."
"Why does everyone call her Lady?" Harry then asked. "Doesn't she have a name?"
"No one knows," Hermione explained. "In fact, until a few days ago, everyone thought she was dead."
"My father told me that before the end of the First War there were some rumors about her, but it was never possible to prove if she really existed or if she was an invention of the captured death eaters," Ron told them, delighted to be the center of attention. "Everyone assumed that the rumors corresponded to Bellatrix, because when she was taken to Azkaban the Lady stopped being talked about."
"But I don't understand," Harry insisted. "If she was so powerful, where has she been all this time? And why didn't she go to Voldemort's side the night he returned?" but everyone shrugged their shoulders, unable to answer his questions.
"So, should I write to Fred and George to send us the best from their store?" Ginny intervened, returning her attention to the main problem. She already had her quill and parchment at hand, ready to take note of the order. The others nodded enthusiastically, and only Hermione shook her head in concern.
***
A week of tense calm had gone by. The Lady walked through the corridors, slowly making her way through the students.
They moved away as soon as they saw her arrive, and remained silent, looking at her suspiciously, but she ignored them. She knew that they would not dare attack her, not even in a group.
She never thought it would be so easy to take control of Hogwarts. The teachers hated her, of course, especially Dumbledore and McGonagal, but she had them subdued with her control spell day and night, preventing them from wielding their wands.
Dumbledore was especially difficult, and fought against her with all his might, to the point where the Lady ended up exhausted and with a headache.
Every day he was closer to breaking free, and she had to devote more energy to keeping him under control.
The Lady was aware that the day would come when Dumbledore would finally break free of her spell and come after her, but she hoped that the headmaster would understand that it was not a good idea to engage in a magical duel against her.
The students, on the other hand, were afraid of her. She could see it in their faces, and in their minds too. And it wasn't just because of her reputation or her magical power; her physical appearance helped create an intimidating halo that also protected her, with her long black robe, her hair tied up, and her horrible scar. Just a small gesture was enough to make the kids look down, frightened.
However, the Lady did not let her guard down. She had heard about a group of rebellious students called Dumbledore's Army, led by the famous Harry Potter. If anyone was going to resist the presence of the Dark Lord's envoys at Hogwarts, it was surely them.
For now, the Lady had orders to leave Potter alive, since her lord wanted to take care of him personally, but that did not prevent her from subduing the brat if he tried to attack her.
A sudden commotion in the hallway caught her attention. Hurried footsteps could be heard in the distance. The students were trying to elbow their way to see what was happening, and screams were heard in the distance.
"Dumbledore is going to attack Amycus Carrow," someone shouted, and celebratory cheers and excited exclamations followed one another in equal measure.
The Lady quickened her pace, heading towards the source of the tumult. As much as she respected Dumbledore, she couldn't allow him to attack a death eater.
She arrived just in time to stop mid-air the spell coming from the headmaster's wand. Furious, he turned around, more than ready to attack her. His eyes shone fiercely, and she faltered under the power of that look.
However, she forced herself to be firm and put all her effort into keeping the control spell in place. If Dumbledore escaped now, she would be lost.
"What is happening here?" she asked, observing the death eater's smile and the headmaster's fury.
"The muggle's friend has lost his nerve," Amycus mocked.
"I demand the immediate release of Miss Summer," Dumbledore demanded, an expression of absolute anger plastered on his face.
The Lady looked at him confused, without understanding, and then looked at the closed door of the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. Frowning, she explored with her mind, searching inside the classroom, and she didn't like what she saw inside.
She glared at the death eater, and with a wave of her hand, she forced the door to swing open.
Faced with the sudden silence that had suddenly spread through the corridor, a third-year student trembled out of the classroom, completely terrified. Her face was covered in cuts, and blood was running down her neck.
The Lady stepped forward, her face deadly serious, and took the girl by the chin, to examine her better.
"Have you done this?" her question was directed at the death eater, although she was not looking at him.
"This mudblood–"
"I asked you a question."
"It's the punishment she deserved."
She let go of the student, and the death eater relaxed, daring to crack a victorious smile. But then the Lady raised her hand, and Amycus was brutally thrown against a stone wall. The unmistakable sound of breaking bones was heard clearly, and Amycus screamed.
Without lowering her hand, the Lady slowly approached him, looking at him mercilessly.
"Never touch a student at this school again," her deep voice echoed through the hallway. "Or I'll take care of you myself," the death eater's screams of pain echoed off the walls as he writhed in the air.
After a few seconds of torture, she let him fall to the ground, and completely ignoring him, as if he were a simple rag, she turned to the student.
She looked at her scared but did not dare to back away. Without touching her, the Lady waved a hand in front of her face, and small blue sparks covered the cuts that furrowed her cheeks. The blood stopped, and the skin began to heal rapidly. When the sparks disappeared, the student's face was as good as new.
Without saying anything else, the Lady walked away down the hallway, without interacting with anyone. Dumbledore rushed over to the girl, but he didn't need to do anything. The healing spell had taken effect perfectly.
Puzzled, Dumbledore turned to watch the witch silently walking away. And from a corner, Narcissa took note of everything that had happened.
At the other end of the corridor, taking advantage of the distraction caused by the commotion, Ginny and Luna covered themselves with Harry's invisibility cloak and entered Amycus's office.
It only took fifteen minutes to get out, but it was more than enough time to set the trap.