Every last one of them had betrayed him… Those worthless maggots.
As if they didn't know that he was Voldemort, the most powerful wizard of all time! Did they really believe that a mere baby could have bested him?
Oh, he knew that it had probably been Potter's mudblood mother who had cost him his body. Some kind of hidden magic…
It wasn't the first time that he had cursed everything - the Potters, the prophecy, his worthless followers…
At least he had Nagini.
His faithful pet. Voldemort could even possess her, since she was a former human, turned into a snake by the Maledictus curse.
He had also discovered that her venom was very useful to him. It would play a key role in his rebirth.
But then he heard something.
A rustle.
He guided Nagini cautiously towards the sound. This was a magical Albanian forest, after all, and even Nagini was not the deadliest creature lurking beneath its ancient canopy.
Then he saw her.
A witch, alone, crouched behind a bush as she secretly observed a small herd of unicorns.
Fortune, at last.
This was his best chance. He was alone, without a single servant to aid him. But he needed a wand for his plan to succeed.
Nagini struck without warning.
In a flash, her body coiled around the witch, making it impossible for her to cast any magic or scream for help. Afterwards, he simply tightened Nagini's grip until the witch fell unconscious. It was too easy.
His soul soon left Nagini and invaded the unconscious body of the worthless witch.
He was immediately able to see most of her memories. Pathetic. Not even the most primitive Occlumency.
Her name was Bertha Jorkins and she was an employee of the Ministry of Magic who was staying at a nearby inn during a holiday in Albania. Most of her memories were useless to him…
Someone had put a powerful Memory Charm on her, which made him slightly curious. But he decided not to break the charm, since it would leave her body and mind damaged beyond repair. And she could still be useful to Lord Voldemort.
If he had even one follower with him, he might have broken the Memory Charm and killed her afterwards to make Nagini his sixth Horcrux, splitting his soul into seven parts - the magically most stable number. But alas, he didn't have this option. So she wouldn't have the honour of being the sacrifice for his final Horcrux.
He raised her wand and felt his magic flow through it.
With several swift spells, he slew one of the unicorns and carefully harvested its blood.
He already felt the witch's dormant soul slowly beginning to fight back against his control. He knew that this body would deteriorate fast – unlike with Quirrell, who had let him possess him willingly. But even with Quirrell, he had only been able to sustain complete control for a short time.
He had to act fast.
A magical child's body would be better than an adult for long-term possession, since he could push the original soul out - magic, body and soul didn't completely fuse together until the age of thirteen. A potion with unicorn blood and Nagini's venom, and a few spells of his own invention, should be enough to sustain such a body with complete possession for a while afterwards.
Jorkins had met a magical family living in Albania with two children. One was a baby and the other was eleven. The baby would be easier, since there was no fully formed consciousness. But he needed his new temporary body to be able to hold a wand. So, the young boy would be the best option.
A small compulsion and Nagini slithered towards him, before they Apparated to the home he had seen in Jorkins's memories.
It was a peaceful scene. A lonely log house stood in the woods. He could hear a small child's laughter from the garden. The father of the two children was chopping wood in the front garden.
'Like a Muggle - disgusting.'
"Bertha? Why are you back?"
"Crucio," was the only reply.
Voldemort watched with a small smile while the inferior creature thrashed and screamed under his curse. It had been such a long while…
"Erisa, take the boys and go! Run!" the man managed to shout between screams of pain.
Voldemort's eyes flickered to the horrified wife standing frozen at the door – probably attracted by the noise. An elegant green Killing Curse ended the screams, but Voldemort didn't feel the thrill and satisfaction he usually had as the body slumped down like a marionette whose strings had been cut. Strange…
Well, he was here for his new body after all.
An Anti-Apparition Charm was raised so nobody could escape while he calmly walked after the witch, who had run inside the house.
He found his new body in a room upstairs, with a baby crying in its crib and the frightened mother standing in front of the children, her wand raised at him.
"Why? Why did you kill Jetmir!? We haven't done anything to you," the inferior creature pleaded, to his amusement.
With a flick of his hand, the wand flew out of her hand and she looked at him in horror. He enjoyed the look of horror and desperation as she tried to shield her children from him.
"I'm not here for you," he explained with a smile, pointing his wand at the little, scared child clinging to his mother.
"Not my children! Please... have mercy... have mercy..." the red-haired woman pleaded.
'How dare this lower, unworthy lifeform deny Voldemort!' he thought with rage. With an irritated flick of his wand, he hurled her violently into the wall. The crack of bone was immediate. She crumpled lifelessly to the floor.
"Mamë!" his future vessel screamed, but Voldemort stunned him, together with the crying baby.
The baby would be a sufficient sacrifice to make Nagini his final Horcrux – the snake had followed him upstairs by now, awaiting his orders.
His soul left Bertha Jorkins' body and possessed the small child, before he cast an Imperius Curse on Jorkins, who was slowly waking up.
Well, Lord Voldemort had a lot of work to do. First the potion and the magic to fully possess his new body, then the ritual to create his final Horcrux.
The potion, brewed from unicorn blood and Nagini's venom, required several hours to prepare in a cauldron found within the house. It would preserve the body after the original soul had been ejected - a process Voldemort achieved through a spell of his own invention, inspired by the Killing Curse.
The temporary vessel would still deteriorate, but with the potion it could last for more than a year – more than enough time to obtain Potter's blood and recreate his true body.
Now, with a true human body and a wand, everything became far easier.
With Apparation and Portkeys at his disposal, leaving Albania and returning to Britain proved trivial.
Nagini travelled beside him, while Bertha Jorkins followed obediently beneath the Imperius Curse - still potentially useful.
Fortune favoured him yet again. Mere days after his return, one of his followers came to him.
"Master," the cloaked figure said, kneeling before him.
"Macnair."