The doors leading into the rest of the house were charmed to open as someone they recognized approached and this time was no exception. As Bellatrix turned toward them, they swung open to reveal a darkened room filled with nothing more than the faint glow of candlelight. Upon closer inspection, someone might note that the room had been stripped of most, if not all, of the common place Muggle 'contraptions' typically found within a home. There was no television, no telephone, no computer. Not even a light that wasn't lit without aid from magic or a single flame.
Within the sitting room itself was a figure, shrouded within the darkness while seeming to dominate the room at the same time. He was near the unlit fireplace, long, nearly skeletal fingers resting idly upon the hearth. If he heard the doors open he gave no immediate indication, instead waiting a moment before addressing his most loyal of followers.
"You've done well, Bella..." His voice, not as high-pitched as it had been upon his return to his body, was still far from completely human sounding. Dangerous, lethal, much like the snake that he resembled more than the human he had once been. "I daresay I am pleased."
He turned, then. Little more than a glance over his shoulder as his eyes settled upon the woman standing just behind Bellatrix. Still concealed within the shadows, his expression remained as unreadable as ever as he laid his eyes upon his mother for the first time in his life.
"Welcome, Merope Gaunt," he finally addressed her directly. "Do step inside. I assure you, no harm will befall you here."
His words seemed contradicted by the soft hissing from his beloved Nagini as she slithered her way from another, adjoining room. She paid the others little more than a passing glance before making her way to her Master, however, opting to leave both Bellatrix and the newest arrival in relative peace for the moment.