Riddle And Grindelwald (Book 3)

4. Showing Who's Boss

The moment Genevieve got her hands on a pair of scissors, she chopped her hair into a neat bob.
After years of washing her hair in a prison sink, it had grown tangled and warped, so she was glad to have it gone.
She used her father's wand to neaten the edges after it was cut, so that she looked more presentable.
Gellert's wand seemed to respond to her, but she knew she would never be as powerful as she had been with her own wand.
Despite this, she was still in high spirits, as she was glad to be out of Nurmengard, and be able to perform magic once more.

After a comfortable sleep in a new bed, with her husband by her side, Genevieve was ready for the challenges that the new day would bring.
She put on an elegant emerald green dress, and some of the jewellery she had taken from the basement of her old home.
Despite her outfit making her look like a queen, she didn't feel like one, for she couldn't get over how ugly she had gotten.
She hadn't had access to a mirror in prison, so to suddenly see herself 14 years later, was quite a shock.

Despite not liking how she looked, Genevieve had a job to do.
Her and Tom were to speak to all of the death eaters that evening, to scold them for their betrayal.
Genevieve was glad that Bellatrix wasn't going to be there, for her and several others were in Azkaban.
But she was also sad that some of the death eaters she had gotten to know well, had been killed many years earlier.

"Are you ready?" Questioned Tom.
Him and Genevieve were stood outside of the drawing room, preparing to go in and address the disloyal death eaters.
"Not really" admitted Genevieve honestly.
"Don't worry. Just follow my lead, and all will be well" reassured Tom.
"What if they aren't intimidated by me anymore? What if all they see is an old woman when they look at me?"
"No one is going to think that, trust me. You underestimate how amazing you are. I can assure you that everyone in that room is terrified of what you are going to do and say to them, when we walk in".

"So, I'm not just a fragile old lady, who they laugh at behind my back?" Asked Genevieve.
"No, you are the daughter of the famous Gellert Grindelwald, and you now possess his wand. You are also my wife, which makes you a threat. Not to mention the fact that you have one black eye and one gold eye, which definitely makes you intimidating" replied Tom.
"I wish my eye was still blue" mumbled Genevieve.
"It changed when you made a Horcrux. And there is nothing you can do to revert it back to what it used to be. There's no use dwelling on the past. It is time to look to the future now. So follow me, and let's go and give my servants a telling off that they will never forget".

Tom pushed open the double doors and stepped inside the room, with Genevieve right behind him.
As they entered, the death eaters all began to bow respectfully.
Tom walked right past them, without even looking at them, until he reached the otherside of the room and turned around.
"Rise" he ordered.
The death eaters all raised their heads, and Genevieve could see the masks she had designed, staring back at her.
She had made each design unique to the death eater, so that she could tell who was who, even when they were masked.
So, she knew who now stood before her; Malfoy, Avery, Crabbe, Goyle, Macnair, and Nott. But others were lower ranking death eaters, whom she could not name off the top of her head.

There were also some death eaters who weren't there, even though they could have been, for they weren't dead or in jail.
Wormtail was off cleaning the house, and Snape had remained at Hogwarts since he was not disloyal.
And Barty Crouch junior had been shipped back to Azkaban, after having his soul sucked out by Dementors. He was no use to anyone any more.
Igor Karkaroff was also on the run, as he was too afraid of what Tom would do to him, for turning Genevieve over to the authorities.

"Well?" Questioned Tom, as he looked out at the death eaters.
"Have none of you anything to say to my wife? I seem to remember you grovelling for my forgiveness, when you came to me in the graveyard. Does my wife not deserve the same amount of respect? You left me to die, and you allowed my wife to rot in jail, because you were too cowardly to step up. This is something Lord Voldemort takes very seriously" continued Tom.
"Please forgive us, my Lord" begged Avery.
"As I told you before, Lord Voldemort does not forgive. I expect 14 years worth of payment, before I will consider forgiving you. But even if I do, there is no saying that my wife will, for you hurt her even more than me" informed Tom.

"My Lord, there was nothing we could do to save Lady Genevieve. The traitor Karkaroff had already informed the Ministry of her whereabouts and her involvement in what we got up to. So, there was nothing we could do to help her" admitted Lucius Malfoy.
"There was nothing you could do to help her, without risking your own freedom, you mean. You all chose to protect your own backsides, rather than help my wife, and your queen. You are all disloyal cowards. You should have risked Azkaban for me, like the Lestranges. They were the only ones who tried to find me when I disappeared. None of you are worthy of the brand on your skin" spat Tom.

Eager to move the attention away from the Lestranges, whom she despised, Genevieve decided to intervene and say something.
"I always thought that I could trust you all. I thought we were a cohesive team, with a common goal. I always assumed that should I come to any harm, the death eaters would have my back. But I guess I was wrong" said Genevieve, as she removed her father's wand from her pocket.
The death eaters flinched when they saw the wand, which pleased her.
She had no intention of actually hurting any of them, for her years in prison had put her off committing any more crimes. But she also knew that having the death eaters respect and fear her, was necessary for her way of life. If she didn't show them who was boss, then Tom would never respect or love her.

"If any of you had tried to back me up in court, or even attempted to rescue me, then I could have found my husband, and brought him back to full health. Unlike you, I know where he would have gone in times of trouble. I could have resurrected him years ago. But since you chose not to help me, I can only assume that you didn't want your master to return" continued Genevieve.
"No, my Lady. We wanted very much for the dark lord to return. We have eagerly been waiting for him to come back for years" insisted Nott.
"All I hear are words, and words are often lies. Actions speak louder than words. And you have failed to show me any proof that you desired the return of Lord Voldemort. You all seemed quite happy in the lives you lived after our demise. You couldn't care less that we were suffering and in need of help. Which is why it will take a lot, before I trust any of you, ever again" replied Genevieve.

"We seek only to serve you. And we will do anything to gain your trust once more" said Macnair.
"I hope to see an awful lot of hard work and devotion from you all then. You must prove that you are an asset to this team, or we might find that we have no further use for you. If someone as weak and powerless as Peter Pettigrew was able to help bring back the dark lord, then what does that say about all of you? My husband says that we cannot afford to kill you all, for you are useful to us. But I'm failing to see why we should keep a bunch of cowardly traitors alive" admitted Genevieve.

One by one, the death eaters dropped to their knees, bowing at Genevieve's feet, trying to convince her to spare them.
"Well done" Tom whispered in her ear.
"Do you think they fear me now?" Genevieve asked quietly.
"Oh yes, there is no doubt about it... Do you want to play with them a bit, before we send them away?" Questioned Tom, as he raised his wand with a smile on his face.
"No, it's O.K. I think they got the message"
"Very well, we shall let them go unharmed then, if that is what you want"
"It is. I have no need to torture them now. But if they disappoint us again, then they will see just what the daughter of Gellert Grindelwald can do".