Nyx Myst - Dabbling With The Dark PDF

Dabbling With The Dark
Story: Dabbling With The Dark

Storylink: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/5563431/1/
Category: Harry Potter
Genre: Drama/Romance
Author: Nyx Myst
Authorlink: https://www.fanfiction.net/u/2102189/
Last updated:
Words: 112461
Rating: M
Status: Complete
Content: Chapter 1 to 37 of 37 chapters
Source: FanFiction.net
Summary: How does Harry react when he finds out the truth behind all of Dumbledore's secrets from Voldemort? Simple... he plots to kill them
both. The only question is whether he'll change him mind about one of them in the end. SLASH - HP/LV
*Chapter 1*: Prologue
both.
Warnings: SLASH - Harry Potter/Lord Voldemort
Also to those who live where it's illegal: Harry is only 16 in this story.
Disclaimer: The characters in this story do not belong to me. They are the property of J.K. Rowling and lots of other rich people.
Author Note: This story is completely written and will be posted by chapters. I don't have a beta reader or Brit picker, so if anyone would like to
volunteer I'd be grateful for the help.
" regular speech "
Italics is telepathic talking between Harry & Voldemort
Bold is Parseltongue
Prologue
Standing in his bedroom at the Dursleys angry beyond belief, Harry crumbles up the letter from Dumbledore in his hand before throwing it clear
across the room where it splats on the window before dropping to the ground. His copy of the Daily Prophet gets thrown off his bed, too, before he
plops down on his back and buries the heels of his hands into his eyes. Bullshit. It's all just bullshit. The Ministry is in chaos now that they know
without a doubt that Voldemort is back, the wizarding world is in a panic knowing the same, and he's stuck at his aunt and uncle's house because
according to Dumbledore it's the safest place for him. The protection of living with his mother's sister will keep him safe from Voldemort. Right. Last
time he checked he had his mother's blood in his veins and that protection didn't work so well the night of the final task of the Triwizard
Tournament. Voldemort had already proven that protection isn't one anymore when the bastard pressed a thumb into his scar and made his skull
feel like it was going to explode. Then there was always Voldemort taking over his body in June with Dumbledore standing right there, but he's
perfectly safe living in a house with his Muggle relatives. Oh, but Dumbledore said that Order members are keeping watch over his relatives' house
while he's there. That makes him feel loads safer. After all, Voldemort and his Death Eaters are absolutely no match for Dumbledore and the
Order, just ask Sirius.
Sirius.
He squeezes his eyes shut tighter under his hands digging the heels of his hand harder into his eyes. If he'd known, if Dumbledore had just fucking
told him shit sooner he would've been more careful. He probably still would've gone to the Ministry, but would've-he's not sure, but he knows he
would've at least thought that there was a good chance it was a trap and maybe Sirius wouldn't have died. If he'd have known everything
Dumbledore told him the night he's trashed Dumbledore's office sooner he would've studied harder, learned more than just the shit he was taught
in classes. If he'd known it was either him or Voldemort in the end sooner, he'd have been more like Hermione and studying things on his own. She
knew all kinds of advanced spells because she's a bookworm who's motivated to learn more. If he'd known about the Prophecy sooner, he'd have
been motivated to learn more, too. Fuck, if he'd known sooner he might have even tried doing better in those fucking Occlumency lessons with
Snape.
And finally, my proof that Severus is the traitor I have believed he is for so long.
He hissed sucking in a hard breath, the heels of his hands moving from his eyes to his scar and pressing hard at the voice in his head. Fuck, what
did Snape say to do to block the bastard again?
Now, now, Harry, you'll only make your head hurt even more trying to do that and you aren't even remotely skilled enough for it to work regardless
if you tried.
Maybe not, but there was something he could do. One hand still pressed to his scar, he staggered out of bed and over to his desk. Sitting down, he
pulled out a piece of parchment and quill to write Dumbledore and warn Dumbledore that Voldemort knew about Snape and was in his head again.
Maybe that would finally convince Dumbledore to get him out of his relatives' house.
It will not and you already know that as well.
Fuck, he's probably right, he thought.
I am, right, Harry.
The quill shook in his hand, but he didn't put him down. Voldemort was in his head listening to his every thought. Which meant Voldemort knew
everything he'd just thought about Dumbledore and the Order.
Your trust in Dumbledore is misplaced. How many times has he left you alone when it suited his purpose? How many secrets has he kept from you
when knowing would have made a difference? How many secrets does he still withhold from you? A great many I can assure you. Open your
window if you wish to know one of them.
The pain faded from his head enough for him to lower his hand, the quill still in his other hand. The next sound he heard was wings flapping outside
his window. Standing up still on shaky legs, he pulled back the curtain to see an owl hovering outside his window that he didn't recognize, a strap
of leather in the bird's claws with a book bound in the strap. Voldemort telling him to open the window told him whom the owl was from. He backed
away from the window swallowing hard. Voldemort sending it meant the book was probably cursed.
"Potter!" His uncle's shout made him turn towards his bedroom door a second before it flew open. "I told you that I don't want those blasted birds
around this house! Get rid of it before I chuck you out of here!"
"But-"
"Now!" He still didn't move and his uncle went to the window.
"Uncle Vernon, wait-"
He was too late. His uncle opened the window and the owl flew in carrying its package. He backed away towards the door, but the owl just hooted
loudly, dropped the book on the bed with the strap still around it, and flew back out of the window. His uncle slammed the window closed again
yelling about the owl and 'those freaks like him' again, but he just stared at the book on his bed not wanting to get near it.
"Causing me all this embarrassment to send you another ruddy book! As if you need more!" his uncle yelled walking towards his bed. "And what is
this one about?" He sucked in a hard breath opening his mouth to warn his uncle when his uncle reached for the book. He didn't get a sound out
before his uncle ripped the strap off and held the book. He expected the glow of a curse spell to enact, but nothing happened and he let out the
breath he was holding. "More freaky rubbish, that's what," his uncle said angry and tossed the book back down on the mattress before turning
towards him. "Keep those owls away from my house, Potter. You're allowed one of those blasted birds and only to send your letter off every three
days so none of those freaks show up at my door. Do I make myself clear!?"
"Yes, Uncle Vernon," he said, more to get the man to leave than anything else. If his uncle touched it and didn't get cursed then he supposed there
wasn't one on it. That raised his curiosity as to what the book was tenfold. Why would Voldemort send him a book that wasn't cursed? His uncle
slammed his door again leaving the room and he heard the lock set into place. He paid no attention to that cautiously inching over to his bed and
looked at the title of the book.
Magical Vessels
With a shaky hand he reached out, poked the book, and quickly yanked his hand back. He jumped backwards, too, with a gasp when the book
flipped open on his bed to a page with a thin black cord in the crease. The Horcrux: Keeper of the Soul was on the chapter heading and he
cautiously took a step closer, but only close enough to read what was on the first partial page under the chapter heading. His stomach tightened
with each sentence he read. At the end of the page, he reached forward and picked up the book flipping to the next page. By the end of the
chapter, his eyes were stinging and he lowered the book to his lap.
Do you understand the connection between us now, Harry? Tell me, when do you believe Dumbledore was going to tell you? Yes, I can see why
you trust him so much.
The book dropped from his hands to the floor, he bent forward putting his elbows on his knees, and buried his head in his hands. He had a piece of
Voldemort's soul attached to him, which meant that Dumbledore had been setting him up all these years just to die. And of all the people to tell
him, Voldemort had. Feeling betrayed and sentenced to death by his supposed greatest ally and his worst enemy, he swore that he'd outlive them
both.
By any means necessary.
Thanks for reading. If you'd like to leave a review, I'd love to read it.
Nyx
*Chapter 2*: Chapter 1
Summary:How does Harry react when he finds out the truth behind all of Dumbledore's secrets from Voldemort? Simple... he plots to kill them
both.
Warnings:SLASH - Harry Potter/Lord Voldemort
Sorry to anyone that found the Prologue a little difficult to read. This is the first story I'm posting here and I'm still trying to get used to the
formatting. I double spaced this chapter so I hope that helps. =)
" regular speech "
Chapter 1
July 31st
Sitting in the chair at his desk, the chair turned facing his bed, he stared at the stacks of neatly piled things on his bed. He'd spent most of the day
doing his summer homework since he hadn't touched any of it, but once that was done he'd started packing. He'd known for three days that
Dumbledore was personally coming to get him in the early morning hours of his birthday, but he'd been in no rush for the old man to. Not anymore
he wasn't.
Mind your temper, Potter, and remember to-
He slammed the proverbial door on his mind shut and locked it up as tightly as he could. He wasn't in the mood to deal with Dumbledore and
Voldemort at the moment. As if he ever was in the mood to deal with either of them. If it were up to him he'd pack his things and say fuck off to both
of them, but that wasn't an option. Both would search for him relentlessly, though for completely different reasons. After more than three weeks of
carefully thinking about everything he knew, and he knew a lot now, he knew why.
Though he didn't like to think about it, there hadn't been much time since he'd received that first book from Voldemort that he didn't think about the
connection between them. It was that connection, along with the bastard being able to jump in his head and talk to him, which made him write the
letter to Dumbledore as soon as the initial shock of reading the chapter on Horcruxes had passed. He'd told Dumbledore that Voldemort had gotten
into his head and knew about Snape being a spy, then asked Dumbledore for a book or anything the old man could provide to help him learn more
about Occlumency even without being able to practice it. He wasn't surprised when a letter and two books arrived for him before nightfall. He was
at Dumbledore telling him in the letter that he could practice Occlumency without it being discovered by the Ministry since there was no way to
monitor for mind magic being done by anyone of any age. That was a blessing since it meant he could do at least some kind of magic at the
Dursleys without getting arrested for it, even if it only was Occlumency.
At first Voldemort had mocked him for trying to learn it that way, but as the days passed of him practicing more and more and he started being able
to push Voldemort out of his mind for short periods of time, the mocking stopped and other owls started showing up with more books. Nine in total
so far, he'd only gotten through three of the extremely advanced offensive and defensive spells books so far. He wasn't fooled as to why Voldemort
had sent them. For the time being he was the protector of Voldemort's Horcrux, at least one of them, and while Voldemort still wanted to kill him,
him dying with the Horcrux still attached to him wasn't in Voldemort's plans. It was better to help the enemy who had something you wanted than to
risk losing it forever he supposed.
While that was Voldemort's motive for 'teaching' him things, so to speak, Dumbledore's for sending him the Occlumency books and checking up on
him by owl every few days was something else. With Dumbledore, all that old man wanted was for him to grow up to kill Voldemort. That the
person he was supposed to trust most wasn't doing anything else to help him learn how to do that was part of the reason that he'd broken down at
started reading the books Voldemort had sent in the first place. He knew he'd never survive if he left it up to Dumbledore to teach him more. And
that simple fact, that he had no choice but to learn things from the murderer of his parents, the bastard that still wanted to kill him, left him wanting
to see Dumbledore again less than he even wanted to stay at the Dursleys.
Walking over to his bed, he picked up one of the books Voldemort had sent him. He shouldn't even know the names of some of the curses in the
book much less how to do them. They were from Voldemort so it wasn't a surprise that they were Dark Arts books, but even so the spells in them
were horrible. The curses in the book in his hand weren't just for disarming and blasting enemies, they were designed to maim, paralyze, and
worse. He should've burned the first one he'd gotten in the barbeque grill outside and spent all his time practicing Occlumency since. He hadn't
though. Whether it was his Gryffindor curiosity or what not, he'd read it and learned things that would help him live longer in battle than the charms
he learned at Hogwarts would. And as much as he'd always wished he'd known his parents, he wasn't quite ready to meet them again just yet.
With that thought in mind, he put the book down and went to his closet. Opening the door, he pulled back the small opening between the ends of a
blanket and stepped inside them. The ends of the blanket sealed together as soon as he was inside and he lit his wand. The small space was
completely bare of clothing and even the bar overhead to hang clothes on was gone, but then it had been for two weeks. The only thing contained
in the space was the large, thin blanket that was magically stuck around the walls of the closet and the two smaller versions on both the floor and
ceiling. They were other 'gifts' from Voldemort, these designed to create a small space where any magic he preformed inside the space was
contained from being discovered by the Ministry. He knew they'd work the same way for hiding the books that he didn't want Dumbledore finding
out he had.
A cat meowing loudly outside made him set the blankets down on the chair at his desk and peek out the window. Seeing McGonagall in her
animagus form on the mailbox, he closed the curtain and quickly grabbed a blanket heading for the bed again knowing from Dumbledore's letter
that McGonagall's meow meant the headmaster wasn't far behind. After wrapping the nine books in one concealment-charmed blanket, he lined
the bottom of his trunk with another, put the blanket-covered books in the bottom of his trunk, and covered that with the other blanket before
packing everything else on his bed on top of that. Closing the lid on his trunk and locking it, he ignored the distant, low chuckle he heard in the
back of his mind.
Sure that he didn't leave anything behind, he grabbed one end of his trunk, the hook of Hedgwig's cage though she wasn't in it, and headed out of
his room with his trunk rolling behind him. He groaned hearing the front door open from the top of the stairs knowing what was coming.
"Potter!"
"Yeah, yeah, I know. Those freaks from that school are here for me and blah, blah, blah," he snorted heading down the stairs not even trying to
ease his trunk down them gently behind him. "How about we skip the tearful goodbye this time and you just let me leave?" he said when he
reached the bottom of the stairs.
"Harry," Dumbledore said with an amused tone and smile.
"Hello, Professor," he replied without either turning to his trunk and setting Hedgwig's cage down on top of it. When he turned back, his uncle was
red with fury, but he looked at Dumbledore instead. "I'm ready to leave, sir."
"I am sure you are, my boy," the old man chuckled. He plastered a smile on his face, though the 'my boy' comment made him want to do anything
but smile at the man. "Before we leave, however, there is a matter we need to discuss."
"Oh no," his uncle raged. "The only thing you need to do is get out."
"Then go away so we can," he interrupted glaring at his uncle. "The sooner Professor Dumbledore talks to me about whatever it is he needs to talk
to me about the sooner we'll leave. Then you have one more month of me living here next summer and you'll never see me again."
"You'll only be seventeen next year so-"
"Seventeen is the legal age of adulthood in the wizarding world," he smirked back. "You can kick me out like you've always wanted at midnight on
my birthday next year."
"And believe me I will and I could care less where you live once I do," his uncle snapped back.
"Harry already as accommodations waiting for him up reaching his majority. His godfather has taken care of that for him," Dumbledore sad and he
turned towards the headmaster at the mention of Sirius, and by extension, Grimmauld Place.
"It's mine?" he asked quietly and Dumbledore nodded with a smile.
"Yes, though there is the small matter of Kreacher that needs to be addressed as I am hoping that Sirius worded his will correctly to transfer
ownership to you," Dumbledore said. He nodded and took a step back to make a space between him and his trunk.
"Kreacher," he called out. A second later, the elf materialized and immediately threw himself on the floor howling as if in agony.
"Ah, good, I see that Sirius did," Dumbledore chuckled.
"What in the world is that? Get it out of my house this instant!" his uncle shouted as his aunt screamed from the sitting room doorway at seeing
Kreacher. Kreacher looked at his uncle and growled slowly moving to his feet.
"Muggles, filthy, filthy Muggles," Kreacher said evilly. He heard his aunt scream again and his uncle scurry away, both of them in fear, but he was
focused on Kreacher. He grabbed the elf by the ears, lifted him off the floor that way as Kreacher yelled in pain, and slammed the elf into the
nearest wall.
"Harry!" Dumbledore said scornfully, but he ignored the old man.
"Shut up, Kreacher. Now," he snapped. The elf slapped his hands over his mouth, but tears of pain still fell from the elf's eyes. "You're to shut up,
sit down at my feet, and if you lift so much as a toe towards my Muggle relatives I promise you'll spend next summer here doing every menial task
they can think of with your magic bound so you have to do it all by hand. Do I make myself clear?" The elf nodded and he dropped the elf on the
floor. Hands still over his mouth, Kreacher sat at his feet and didn't move.
"Harry-" Dumbledore sighed.
"I know, Sirius was mean to him, too, and that's why Kreacher did what he did. And that's another thing," he said and had Kreacher back against
the wall in two blinks of an eye glaring at the elf. "You are not to speak to, go to, or do anything for anyone, ANYONE, unless I tell you to. Do that
and I'll not only have your magic bound, I'll have Hermione do some Muggle redecorating." Kreacher let out of muted howl of horror with wide eyes.
"Harry, perhaps Kreacher would be best off at Hogwarts," Dumbledore sighed again. He glanced at the old man and snorted turning back towards
Kreacher.
"Go to Hogwarts and find the elf named Dobby. Do whatever he tells you to and you'd better do it right. If I find out you've done something wrong
on purpose, the punishment you give yourself will be nothing compared to what I do to you," he said and dropped the elf to the ground again. "Go,"
he said and Kreacher nodded and popped away. "Should just chop his head and be done with it," he snorted grabbing Hedgwig's cage and the
handle on his trunk again. He turned back to Dumbledore and the old man was staring at him worriedly. "Can we just go, sir? It's late and I'd like to
at least try to get some sleep," he sighed, as if it were fatigue and stress causing his attitude.
"Yes, I think that may be a good idea. Dobby," Dumbledore said and the elf appeared instantly. Dobby opened his mouth with a wide, happy smile,
but Dumbledore immediately lifted his hand. "Later, Dobby," the old man chuckled softly. "Harry is tired and in need of some rest. Please take his
things to his dorm in Gryffindor Tower. As for the elf that just arrived, his name is Kreacher and he is Harry's."
"I'd rather have Dobby than that evil little menace," he huffed.
"Kreacher is not being a good elf for Harry Potter?" Dobby asked.
"No, and I'd appreciate it if you kept an eye on him. He's been forbidden from speaking to anyone or going anywhere except for Hogwarts," he
replied.
"Then he shall not. Harry Potter is having Dobby's word," Dobby nodded with a fiercely protective look in his eyes, moved over to his trunk and
Hedgwig's cage, and was gone with a pop. With the elf gone, he looked at Dumbledore again.
"I'm not going to-" he trailed off knowing he couldn't say the name of Grimmauld Place because of the Fidelus Charm anyway.
"No," Dumbledore smiled. "The Order shall continue to use it as our headquarters, with your permission of course, but I believe that you will enjoy
the rest of your summer much more at Hogwarts."
"Anywhere is better than here," he mumbled heading for the front door. Dumbledore just chuckled and followed him.
Nyx
both.
" regular speech "
Chapter 2
When September 1st arrived, Harry was more than glad for the train full of other students to arrive. Other students being there meant that
everyone, that being Dumbledore, McGonagall, Hagrid, would leave him alone more. It also meant that others, namely Snape and Filch, would
stop watching his every move so much. Between all of them, the past month at Hogwarts had felt more like being in prison than being in school.
It hadn't always been easy, but he'd still managed to learn loads more from those nine books hidden in the bottom of his trunk. He'd also managed
to get four more. Those took some careful maneuvering to obtain. Two he got by going flying at the pitch, then when sure he wasn't being watched
from a window anymore thanks to a very useful monitoring spells from one of the previous nine books, he covered himself with his invisibility cloak
and flew to a clearing not too far inside the Forbidden Forest to meet an owl waiting there. Another book took an entire day to get since it was
hidden in the Chamber of Secrets. The last, well, that one was the hardest to get since he'd had to steal it out of Snape's office, use a copying
charm on it, and return the book before Snape found out it was gone. He'd managed it, though, and the spells in it were worth the risk in getting it,
all of them were.
For as much as he'd learned from his 'psuedo teacher' and the books he'd received, what he'd learned most is Occlumency. He didn't consider
himself a master at it, not by a long shot, but he could push Voldemort out of his mind at the drop of a hat now. By extension from 'seeing'
Voldemort do it to him, he'd learned a bit of Legilimency, too. Not enough to pick at Voldemort's brain for the evil bastard's future plans, but he
wondered if he could do it well enough to get into some people's heads, like Crabbe and Goyle, to see if they'd overheard anything their Death
Eater fathers had said around them. Then there was always Malfoy, but there was a good chance that Draco's mum, dad, or Aunt Bitch-atrix had
taught the fucking ferret Occlumency so that might not be a good idea to try. Still, he's wondered if maybe he should if only so he got better at it.
The thing he'd been wondering about most lately is why he hadn't had to really push Voldemort out of his head. Yes, there'd been the few times
Voldemort had 'talked' to him in his head, but Voldemort hadn't even tried to push harder into his head when he did lock down his mind. At first he
thought it was because Voldemort just couldn't get inside his head anymore, but that theory was shot out the window when he'd been eating
breakfast and the first clear picture of the clearing in the Forbidden Forest crossed his mind. His next thought was that maybe Voldemort could
send brief images, but couldn't speak to him anymore. That didn't pan out either when Voldemort talked to him about how to get into Snape's office
to copy the book. No, it seemed to him like Voldemort was keeping an eye on him through the one weakness his still had with Occlumency, that
being maintaining it all day and night. He could feel it when Voldemort tried to brush against his mind from his scar more than anything, but
Voldemort hadn't really been pushing at his mind like the bastard used to. In fact, mostly when he felt Voldemort trying to access his mind was right
around when he was done with one of the books. And as much as he hated-HATED-to admit it, if Dumbledore had hired Voldemort as the DADA
professor all those years ago, something he'd learned from Voldemort and not Dumbledore as usual, he doubted any student in all the years since
would have failed a DADA O.W.L. or N.E.W.T. If he was even the slightest bit confused about something, it just happened to be covered from
another angle in the next book he read. Yes, the bastard was only teaching him anything to protect the Horcrux he held, but he couldn't deny that
Voldemort was brilliant at DADA. None of that answered his question, though.
At the chuckle in his mind, he tightened up his Occlumency again rolling his eyes sitting on a bench outside of the front doors of the castle. He
really needed to practice keeping his Occlumency up all the time. There was the brief thought that if he did, though, that he won't get anymore
books or learn anything else new except for what's in his school textbooks. After scanning over those, he knew what was contained in his
textbooks was the equivalent of Muggle kindergarten books to the Muggle college textbooks he'd been getting from Voldemort. Then there were
the other things he'd learned, whispered spells in the back of his mind that he looked up in the library that were useful for hiding and sneaking
around so he didn't get caught with anything. Because of all that, there was a small part of him that didn't want to completely close off his mind
from Voldemort because at least he learned something when he didn't. And he felt guilty as Hell about it.
"Something wrong, my boy?" Dumbledore asked from the open doors of the castle.
"Just waiting for my friends to get here, sir," he replied. That he made sure to tighten up his Occlumency even more was another thing he should've
felt guilty about, but he didn't.
"Yes, I'm sure you will be glad to have your friends around you again," Dumbledore said coming close to him. He moved down to the other end of
the bench to give the old man a spot to sit down at. He didn't really want Dumbledore to sit down with him, but he knew the old man was going to
ask to so he might as well get it over with. "Thank you," Dumbledore said taking the offer and sat down next to him. He nodded and Dumbledore
sighed. "I must admit to being rather worried about you, Harry. When I brought you to Hogwarts for the remained of the summer I expected you to
be somewhat quiet without your friends here, however, you have been withdrawn as well as quiet."
"It's sort of boring without my friends or classes to go to," he replied quietly just staring ahead of him at the lake.
"I think, perhaps, it's a bit more than that," Dumbledore replied quietly. "You believed when you learned that Sirius had left you Grimmauld Place
that you would be spending the remaining month of your summer holiday there, and by being there, you would be involved in the Order." His jaw
tightened because, yeah, after he'd gotten over just being glad to be away from the Dursley's it hit him that Dumbledore had expected him to let the
Order keep meeting there without him being there or a part of it. "Harry, you must understand-"
"Understand what, exactly?" he replied, his voice still low but clearly angry. "I have to understand that you care about me too much to let me know
what's going on when it's ultimately my life on the line more than anyone else's?"
"I do care a great deal for you, my boy, and you are still so young," Dumbledore said sadly. He snorted, stood up, and turned towards the old man.
"You promised that you'd start telling me what's going on," he said. "And me being young is nothing but an excuse, professor. I was barely a year
old the first time Voldemort tried to kill me. That was too young to understand anything. I'll even give you that at eleven I was still too young. After I
was twelve, almost thirteen, and nearly died in the Chamber of Secrets you should've told me more and you should've told me more every year
since. You haven't, though, and you're still not going to. You still say I'm too young, but that's not going to keep Voldemort from trying to kill me
again this year the first chance he gets just like he has every year I've been here."
"Potter," Snape seethed from the doorway. He looked at the man none too happily either.
"And you're no better," he said. "You've been holding a grudge against me for years for things my dad and his friends did to you as teenagers. The
only reason your even still alive right now is because I wrote Professor Dumbledore and warned him that Voldemort knew you were a traitor and
not to go to anymore Death Eater meetings."
"Gentlemen, this is neither the time nor the place for this conversation," Dumbledore said softly in warning.
"He only found proof in your mind therefore it was your fault he knew to begin with," Snape seethed. "Had you been mature enough to comprehend
the lessons I attempted to instruct you in that would not have occurred."
"And I might have if you hadn't just pounded on my mind and actually instructed me like a real teacher," he snapped back.
"Harry!" Dumbledore said sternly.
"You mean a real teacher, as in one who can assign the detention you shall be spending the first month of term in my classroom serving?" Snape
seethed in reply moving closer to him.
"Assign me all the detentions you'd like, I won't be there. I have better thing to do than waste my time cleaning up your messes. I already have one
of those to deal with since it was you that told Voldemort about the Prophecy in the first place," he seethed back. Snape didn't say anything, just
looked at Dumbledore so he did the same. The old man looked at him with a pained expression. "What, you didn't think I'd figure out who it was on
the stairs when Trelawney made the Prophecy and went running back to Voldemort with what he'd heard?"
"Harry, you must listen to me," Dumbledore said standing up.
"Why, are you actually going to tell me something now or are you just going to try blowing smoke in my face to distract me again like you always
do?" Dumbledore sighed and he snorted. "Call it my ego," he said glaring at Snape who glared back, "if you want to, but the bottom line is that
Voldemort wants me dead more than anyone else because somehow, someway, someday, I'll be able to stop him from taking over the wizarding
world, and while you might not think I understand anything, I do understand that I really can't trust either one of you help me do that."
"I know it is difficult for you to believe given all you have learned, Harry, but Professor Snape and I are on your side," Dumbledore replied with
damp eyes.
"Sure, you're on my side, but with your own agendas. I can see how that's going to help me ever so much since it already has," he retorted yanking
up the sleeve of his shirt and robe to show the scar on his forearm and then lifting the hair at his forehead to show the other more prominent one. A
tear fell from Dumbledore's right eye and Snape moved towards him.
"That is enough, Potter," Snape said through clenched teeth yanking his arm down so his hair covered his lightning bolt scar again.
"What, don't want to face the truth of what both of your so-called help has done to me so far? Maybe you'd rather see that on my grave marker next
to my parents?" he snapped back.
"I said that is enough!" Snape yelled grabbing the front of his robe, but his pushed the man away from him hard.
"Don't touch me, Snape," he seethed. "Don't touch me and stay the Hell away from me or the next time I find out Voldemort has his eyes firmly set
on killing you I'll keep my mouth shut about it."
"Harry!" Dumbledore gasped taking a step towards him.
"You can leave me alone, too," he said taking a step backwards and Dumbledore stopped moving towards him. "I've had it with the both of you.
Since your idea of helping me is usually to leave me to figure out things on my own let's keep it that way. I have a better track record of not actually
getting hit with the Killing Curse that way anyway."
"Mr. Potter," McGonagall said angrily from the doorway and he looked at his head of house. "You are to return to your dorm and remain there until
the other students arrive. You will also apologize to both Professor Dumbledore and Professor Snape when you do along with serving detention
with me for the next two weeks. Are we clear?"
"And tell me, Professor, when do I get an apology from Snape for being the reason my parents were murdered or an apology from Dumbledore for
lying to me my whole life?" McGonagall's jaw dropped open slightly in shock just staring at him. "Nothing to say to that? I'm not surprised. After all,
you've been with those two for too long."
With all three of them still staring at him with a mixture of angry, miserable, and shocked expressions, he headed inside the castle not feeling guilty
at all for not wanting to talk to any of them anymore.
Nyx
both.
Author Note: This story is completely written and will be posted a few chapters at a time. I don't have a beta reader or Brit picker, so if anyone
would like to volunteer I'd be grateful for the help.
Author Note #2: Thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed. I'm slowly working on spell checking and at least proofreading each chapter
before I post it. I apologize for anything I miss while doing it. Please let me know if there are any glaring mistakes that need to be fixed. =)
" regular speech "
Chapter 3
"Harry?" Hermione said across from him sitting at the Gryffindor table. He lifted his eyes from his eggs and bacon to look at her. "What's going on
up there?" she asked barely over a whisper.
He turned towards the front of the Great Hall to see Dumbledore, Snape, McGonagall, and Hagrid standing in a cluster a few steps behind
Dumbledore's chair. Even if he could've read lips he wouldn't have been able to determine what they were saying from that distance. That didn't
stop him from figuring out what-or rather whom-they were talking about when first Hagrid and then Snape looked in his direction, Hagrid staring at
him and Snape only looking at him for a moment before turning to Dumbledore again. Turning back to his breakfast, he picked up a piece of bacon.
"I don't know and I don't care," he replied and took a bite.
"Looks like they're talking about you, though, mate," Ron said.
"Yeah, they do that a lot," he snorted and picked up his glass of milk.
"I knew you were angry with them," Hermione sighed. "I thought you were with the way you ignore Dumbledore's speech during the welcoming
feast last week."
"So did I with the way you completely ignored Snape berating you making that potion yesterday. What did they do?" Ron asked.
"Nothing, the same thing they always do, the same thing everyone in the Order does. They talk about me behind my back, use the house my
godfather left me as their headquarters, but they don't include me in anything," he replied. "After what happened at the end of last year I thought
that shit would stop, but it started right up again when Dumbledore came to get me. In one breath he said he hoped I'd still let them use Grimmauld
Place as Order headquarters and in the next he said I'd be spending the rest of the summer here."
"Maybe it's because you didn't finish the Occlumency lessons with Professor Snape," Hermione said softly biting her bottom lip. Just the way she
was doing it made he set his glass down looking at her. She looked down and then at him again guiltily.
"I don't believe this," he huffed throwing his napkin down. "You know how to do it, don't you?" he asked.
"Harry-" she said.
"Who taught you?" he asked and she sighed.
"Harry, come on, mate," Ron sighed. "Dumbledore taught her because she figures things out so fast. That and he was hoping that she could help
you learn it, too."
"Has she started teaching you?" he asked trying to hold in his rage, but not doing a very good job of it. Ron glanced at Hermione and then back at
him. "Fucking perfect," he said with unamused laughter slapping his hands down on the table standing up. "The entire fucking Slytherin table and a
good chunk of the rest of the school act like I'm Dumbledore's fucking favorite, but he spends more time telling and teach other people, including
my two best friends, things he does doing that with me?"
"Harry-" Hermione said standing up, but he just backed over the bench, grabbed his bag from under his spot, and headed out of the Great Hall. He
took the stairs two at a time to the third floor and slipped inside the door there. At the end of the corridor there, he took the stairs up to the seventh
floor, walked back and forth three times along a stretch of wall focused on a place creating a room that no one else would be able to get into, and
slipped inside the Room of Requirements glad when he heard a series of locks settle into place behind him. Dropping his bag on the floor, he
plopped down on his back on one of the over stuffed sofas in the room completely disgusted.
No one. There was no one he could really trust anymore. He'd been walking around for the week since Ron and Hermione got there feeling guilty
because he hadn't told them about the books he'd been learning things from. He hadn't told them about the books and he hadn't told them about
Voldemort talking to him in his head now and then. Yes, he hadn't because he knew they'd try to convince him to tell Dumbledore, but that spoke
volumes, too. It said that deep down he already knew he couldn't completely trust them because he knew if he didn't tell Dumbledore once he'd
told them that one of them, probably Hermione, would have. They'd say they did it for his own good, but really, how much good did it do him not to
have anyone that he could truly confide in? Putting an arm across his eyes, he almost wished he were back at the Dursleys. At least there he didn't
have to work so hard to get the books and things Voldemort sent him.
It was that thought that made him bolt upright. Voldemort had been learning and doing powerful magic since Voldemort was younger than was
now. The bastard had killed Myrtle to create his first Horcrux at sixteen. He'd figured out what the diary and the figure of Tom Riddle in the
Chamber of Secrets were during those first few hours after finding out what a Horcrux was in the first place. And if Voldemort could do it-
Standing up again, he closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and let it out. He concentrated all his thoughts on a teenage Tom Riddle, of needing a
place like Tom Riddle had where he has access to learn the things Tom Riddle had. He still needed the room to be secure so that no one could
come into it, but then Tom Riddle probably had, too. He kept his mind focused on the image that came to mind, one of a chamber with rows and
rows of books with the same comfortable sofa in the middle of the room so he had somewhere to lounge and read to his heart's content. He heard
shifting and changing around him, and when it stopped, he opened his eyes and chuckled. The room looked exactly the way it had in his mind.
Heading down one of the rows, he fingered the shelves of books scanning the titles as he walked by. Stopping at a title he recognized from it being
mentioned in another book, one he'd gotten from Voldemort, he smiled, pulled it from the shelf, and headed back to the sofa. And grabbing his bag
from the floor and shoving the book inside it he thought, who needed the Restricted Section when he could create his own?
Now you are learning something, Harry.
For once, he chuckled at the voice in his head rubbing the soreness in his scar and snuck back out of the room promising himself he'd return there
soon.
By the time he made it to class after lunch he was longing to sneak back to his personal library hidden in the Room of Requirements. That started
with Ron and Hermione finding him coming back down the stairs, Hermione saying she was sorry and they could start working on his Occlumency
after dinner, and him saying he didn't need her help with it since he already knew how to do it. She tried to say he didn't, that he couldn't just from
reading a few books. That stopped along with Ron yelling at him when he turned around and dove into her mind, fighting off her attempts to
occlude him while at the same time occluding his own mind.
"Dammit, Harry, stop!" Ron finally screamed shoving him backwards into a wall. Panting with her face streaked with tears, Hermione looked at him
holding a hand over her stomach.
"Still think I don't know how to do it?" he said and shoved by both of them headed for his first class. Things didn't get any better from there since
he'd been called up to Dumbledore office within fifteen minute of Charms starting to see Hermione, still looking unsteady, and Ron, still looking
furious, to explain himself. He'd done it in one sentence.
"She said I didn't know how to, I proved I'm better at it than she is."
After a long lecture about not invading the mind of another without permission, he'd pointed out to Dumbledore that the old man used to do it to him
all the time. At Dumbledore's sigh, he knew he had yet another thing he could throw back in the old man's face when Dumbledore tried to get moral
with him again. While his apology for having done it to Hermione was sincere, so was his warning to her not to let Dumbledore lead her around by
the nose anymore. He'd done it for enough years to know better than anyone that it would only cost her in the end.
Lunch was quieter, mostly because Ron led Hermione away from him to sit somewhere else at the Gryffindor table and no one else sat with him
either. That was fine with him, though. It gave him a chance to pull a book out of his bag and read the first chapter. He'd been tempted to skip his
next class altogether, but he'd already been to Dumbledore's office once that day and had no desire to go there again for skiving off a class.
Leaned back in his seat in Transfigurations rolling his wand between his fingers he wished his had.
God, how many times could they turn a cup into an animal or an animal into something else? And what was the bloody point of wanting to do that
anyway? If McGonagall ever taught them how to do a useful Transfiguration it might help his complete boredom in the class. Then again, it wasn't
just her class he was bored with since he'd started sixth year. It was the same with Flitwick in Charms and Sprout in Herbology and all the others.
By far the worst was Snape in Potions since the greasy git was still smarting from the tongue lashing he'd given before the rest of the students had
arrived and decided to take that out on him by trying to piss him off by berating him over little things in class. That didn't work, though, not since a
little chuckling voice in the back of his mind said that Snape hated being ignored more than anything. Since then, he'd taken great joy in hearing
Snape practically stomp away from him when he made no reply anytime Snape said anything to him.
"Mr. Potter, if you would kindly pay attention," McGonagall said curtly. He blinked at her, but she just looked down at the turtle on the table in front
of him and then at him again. He flicked his wand at it and the turtle transfigured easily into a crystal platter. McGonagall made a noise of
annoyance that he hadn't done it sooner. As if he cared. Like learning how to do the lesson was going to keep him alive someday.
Then ignore her ramblings and do something useful with your time. You don't need her teaching you anything anymore. You are more powerful
than she is.
"Mr. Potter, is something wrong," McGonagall asked worriedly, seeing where his hand flew to at the first word said inside his mind. Ron and
Hermione looked panicked and he slowly pulled his hand away even though the scar burned like acid had been dropped on it. He hadn't missed
that feeling.
"Just a regular headache, Professor. I'm alright," Harry replied.
Tsk, tsk, Harry, lying to your professor?
Quiet down before my head splits open. Talk, don't yell.
Fool boy. Do you even realize whom you are speaking to?
No, I think it's the bloody Queen of England making my scar hurt. I'm not a complete idiot, you know. What do you want anyway? Aside from to kill
me, of course. The conversation faded to silence and the pain of his scar eased.
"Mr. Potter, unless your headache is severe enough to warrant further attention might I suggest you focus yours on today's lesson," McGonagall
said sarcastically.
"Sorry, Professor," he replied biting his tongue against what he really wanted to say turning the platter back into the turtle. What's the best
incantation to make a crystal platter shatter? I want a good one that's going to lodge the pieces in the walls so deep they have to be broken out.
Silence reigned in his head and he huffed. Come on, I know you're still there.
With a sigh when he still got no response, he transfigured the turtle into the platter again when McGonagall called for the class to. He looked down
at it bored, tapping his fingers on it. He stopped tapping when it fogged up. Words appeared in the fog one by one, the crystal fogging completely
between each word. ITap. Twist. Splintiniar./I He watched the fog clear again and grinned. And when McGonagall instructed them to transfigure
their platter back into turtles, students all around the room screamed and the wall above the other students' heads shimmered with embedded
crystal. He got yelled at for it, but at least he didn't have to transfigure anything else.
Nyx
both.
" regular speech "
Chapter 4
He stalked out of the castle and made his way towards the lake. Halfway there he changed his mind and headed for the Forbidden Forest instead.
He could hear Snape yelling for him to come back from somewhere behind him. He ignored him. Fuck Snape. Fuck Dumbledore. Fuck the entire
Order. For over a month since he'd taught Hermione a thing or two about Occlumency and Legilimency he'd been called repeatedly to that old son
of a bitch's office because Dumbledore was 'worried' about him being 'withdrawn' half of the time and 'temperamental' the other half. He'd said his
peace, told them all why he was, and nothing had changed. Oh wait, something had changed. Today, first he'd seen Remus show up at the castle
and head upstairs to Dumbledore's office. Not twenty minutes later, Ron's parents had done the same with a worried glance at him. He knew it
meant an Order meeting was being held, yet another meeting he hadn't been invited to. Pissed off beyond belief at that, he'd blasted the gargoyle
out of the way of Dumbledore's stairs to tell the whole damned Order as one that they weren't welcome to use his house as headquarters anymore.
He'd had the words on the tip of his tongue when he'd opened the door to the old man's office. They'd frozen on his tongue seeing a good chunk of
the Order in there along with his best friend, Hermione Granger.
"You've got to be fucking kidding me," he'd said tilting his head back towards the ceiling and rubbing his face.
"Harry-" Remus said nervously standing up.
"Don't," he'd seethed dropping his head and hands to glare at all of them. "What Voldemort is doing is my business more than anyone's in this
room, but I'm the only one not invited to hear what's going on."
"Yes, I can see how well you would handle what you may hear during a meeting such as this when you have handled the rest of what you have
learned thus far so well," Snape snorted.
"Fuck you, Snape," he retorted. "Fuck you and fuck the Order. Don't any of you ever speak to me again."
He slammed the door on his way out and headed down the stairs. At the bottom on them, he turned and cast a ward around the doorway and the
statue before turning again and heading down the stairs to the main floor. His winter robe met him at the bottom of the stairs just from a flick of his
wrist. That led him to where he currently was, less than ten feet from the Forbidden Forest with Snape yelling again and Hermione screaming for
him to stop from a good distance behind him. He didn't listen to either of them disappearing inside the trees. He moved faster once he had just to
keep a good distance away from them hoping Snape wouldn't follow and the greasy git didn't let Hermione either. With his brisk pace and anger
still overwhelming, it didn't take long before the sound of them yelling for him faded away.
Having a bad day, Potter?
You can fuck off, too, Harry retorted, sat down on a tree stump, braced his elbows on his knees, and pressed his forehead into his hands.
Voldemort went silent and Harry sighed. At least the spell worked.
What spell?
The spell I found to keep my head from trying to explode every time you talk to me or are in a particularly foul mood. And stop listening to
everything I'm thinking. You're worse than they are.
Then push me away. You know how to.
Harry sighed and dropped his hands lifting his head. He glanced around trying to get some sense of where he was in the forest. He paused when
he recognized one of the sets of trees.
"You should be more careful. You never know what dangers you may encounter leaving the safety of Hogwarts wards." Harry jumped and turned,
wand in hand at the voice being outside of his mind. "Is that what you want, Harry? To fight me?" Voldemort asked from twenty feet away standing
between two trees.
"What else are we supposed to do? It's not as if we're friends having a chat," Harry replied staring at Voldemort confused since Voldemort didn't
even have his wand out.
"And of course, you always only do what you are supposed to do," Voldemort chuckled, the red slits of the bastard's eyes slanted in amusement.
He snorted and turned to retake his place on the stump of the tree. "You have placed yourself in a vulnerable position for attack."
"If you were going to you would have done it already," Harry replied rubbing a hand down his face, his wand still in his other hand, but not gripped
quite as tightly. "What do you want anyway? Death Eaters not good conversationalists?" Voldemort didn't say anything and Harry turned around
and looked up at him. "You don't know why you came, do you?" Voldemort still didn't answer and Harry stood up. "That's what it is, isn't it? They
may follow you and fear you, but they don't give you anything that stimulates you anymore."
"You assume too much, Potter," Voldemort said, wand stretched and pointed at Harry.
"Do I?" Harry asked, ready to cast a counter if he had to, but reasonably sure he wouldn't need to. "And I'd prefer it if you called me Harry. Calling
me Potter reminds me of Snape doing it and there are times I hate him even more than I hate you." Voldemort actually chuckled at that taking a
few steps closer to him lowering his wand. He grinned at Voldemort doing it and Voldemort chuckled again.
"Ah, I had forgotten the arrogance of youth," Voldemort said.
"You were way more arrogant at sixteen than I am. Better looking, too," he chuckled back sitting down and rubbing the heel of his hand against his
scar. When he dropped his hand, it was to Voldemort's wand in his face again. He flinched out of habit more than real fear. The bastard smirked
that he did and lifted his wand a little higher. He didn't know the spell Voldemort said, all he knew was that his scar stopped hurting as soon as
Voldemort did it. "Thanks. It hurts like Hell when it starts burning. Everyone notices the pain on my face and they follow me around and bother me
for hours asking a million times if I'm alright after they do."
"It shall not last long. Soon enough Dumbledore will no doubt lead that list of most annoying babysitters again," Voldemort said lowering his wand
to his side.
"Pretty much," he snorted in reply.
"It will also not be long before he tests your Occlumency."
"I know, but I'm getting better at keeping my mind occluded all the time instead of just when you start making my head pound."
"I have heard every word in your mind since you decided to confront Dumbledore and the Order."
"Only because I wasn't trying to occlude you," he replied standing up again. Voldemort grinned and he rolled his eyes. "Apparently arrogance isn't
just a trait of youth." Voldemort chuckled again, but stopped at hearing Snape calling his name. An evil grin spread across the bastard's face
instead. "Don't even think about it," he said sternly.
"Are you challenging me?" Voldemort retorted just as amused as before.
"Snape ends up dead out here near me and what do you think is going to happen? There's going to be an inquiry, one involving Veritaserum, and
I'll be the prime suspect. Since it's not as though I can tell them that I was out here talking to you, I'll end up being the next one you break out of
Azkaban," he said. Voldemort chuckled again cupping his chin and he rolled his eyes pulling back. "Just go before he gets here and sees me
talking to you," he said and backed up towards the way he'd come from as Snape yelled for him again.
"They can do nothing to you that you do not allow."
"Maybe not, but I'd rather not test that, and if Snape sees me talking to you, he's going to tell Dumbledore and they're going to try to lock me up so
I can't get out here again," Harry said, still backing up. "Go!" he said louder when Voldemort didn't move. Voldemort pointed his wand at him again
narrowing his eyes on him and he chuckled with a smile. "Too late," he whispered, and crossed the threshold back behind the safety of the wards.
"Soon enough you will no longer have any protection from my wand, Harry," Voldemort retorted seriously and was gone with a nearly silent pop.
Chuckling, he moved further inside the wards to another tree truck and sat down on it waiting for Snape to get to him noticing that Voldemort didn't
call him Potter again.
Nyx
both.
" regular speech "
Chapter 5
"Excuse me."
"Harry, please. You know what McGonagall said, what Dumbledore said," Romilda Vane, fifth year Gryffindor prefect pleaded blocking his path
along with four other students.
"I know. I also know I'm only going to ask politely once more for you all to move away from the door."
"Harry, come on, mate," Ron sighed behind him.
He knew it was going to happen when Snape didn't find him in the forest and he'd stayed gone for another hour before heading back, but three
weeks of it was more than enough. It started with Hermione tearfully apologizing for not having told him that Dumbledore let her into the Order
once she's learned Occlumency. It went from there to Ron doing his typical apology for siding against him yet again, even if Ron had sided against
him with Hermione. Them having been his best friends for so long and them having been through so much together was the only thing that made
him accept their apology. Things still weren't great with them, though, because they were still following Dumbledore's order to keep him occupied in
Gryffindor Tower as much as possible. For the first week it was all right since a part of him really did miss how close they'd once been. By the
beginning of the second week, he'd started getting more antsy, enough that he'd started sneaking passed the detection line Hermione set up on
the stairs to the boys' dorm to get to his Room of Requirements for a few hours in the middle of the night. That had worked until last night when
Snape caught him out at two in the morning. He wouldn't have even known it was Hermione's detection line that he was bypassing if it hadn't been
for Ron. That put things right back the way they had been, with him being owed yet another apology. He wasn't sure this one he'd even accept.
"I'm done being locked away like a criminal because I needed some time alone," Harry replied without turning around.
"You're not being-" Harry turned only his head and looked at Hermione. His friend didn't finish her sentence, trailing off with a deep sigh. "They're
worried about you, Harry. We all are. You've stopped talking to us all and you disappear all the time where no one can find you, not even Professor
Dumbledore."
"Not all the time," Harry retorted angrily. "Once I slipped away from everyone into the forest and I've spent three weeks in this common room
because of it. I've had it with looking at these four walls."
"Then let us come with you," Hermione said softly.
Yes, bring them with you, Potter. That should make things much more entertaining.
"No," he replied both aloud and in his head. Anyone, and that includes a Death Eater, touches either of them and your fucking snake will be my
new pair of boots. When he got no verbal reply, he ignored the simmering burn of his scar and continued on. "I'm tired of being followed
everywhere I go and it ends now." He turned back towards the door and glared at the students in his path. "Move."
He was glad when Ron finally conceded and told everyone to clear a path. He would've felt bad about hexing them out of his way. Maybe. Not that
he thought that he would get far without someone else, most likely a professor, blocking his way again, but at least he was out of the sodding
common room.
He made it to the staircase between the forth and fifth floors before said professor, or rather professors, were there to stop him from going any
further. McGonagall was there frowning at him. So was Snape, but he ignored them both and stared at the headmaster on the landing looking up at
him.
"Good evening, my boy," the old man said softly.
"Good evening, sir," he replied. "If you'll all excuse me, I need a breath of fresh air."
"I think not," Snape said sternly.
"I didn't ask what you thought," he said turning towards Snape, "now did I?"
"Potter," McGonagall snapped. "I have had quite enough of this."
"So have I," Harry replied, and looked pointedly at Dumbledore. "You know, it's against the law to detain someone against their will, including a
professor doing it to a student since you have no cause for it."
"Minerva, Severus, I believe it best we continue this conversation in private," Dumbledore said calmly.
"Gee, I didn't see that coming," Harry snorted.
"You are trying my patience, Potter," Snape growled. He turned and looked at his professor squarely. Snape moved closer glaring at him. "Is that a
challenge?"
"Severus!" McGonagall shouted.
"Anytime, anywhere. Sir," he replied ignoring the headmaster completely.
Do not be so gullible. You are walking into their trap. You circumventing your Mudblood friend's detection charm has made it obvious you know
magic they have not taught you. They wish to know what you have learned without their involvement.
I want to knock him on his skinny arse.
And I want the traitor dead. We shall both have our wish in time.
"Then far be it from me to deny you the duel you are spoiling for," Snape said through gritted teeth. He fought down the urge to reply to Snape
again based on Voldemort's words and nothing more.
"Gentlemen, that is quite enough," Dumbledore said sternly.
"Saved by the headmaster once more," Snape glaring at him in disgust.
"Funny, I was just thinking the same thing about you," he retorted. His wand dropped into his hand at the same time as Snape's did.
"Enough," Dumbledore said, the old man's voice harsher than Harry had ever heard it before. He still didn't care in the slightest. Wand still in his
hand, he turned towards the headmaster again. "Harry, would you kindly lead the way to my office."
Knowing when to give in, Harry moved by McGonagall without touching the witch. That it made him bump into Snape was purely coincidental.
Snape grumbled something, but he made no reply leaving the three professors behind and heading for Dumbledore's office.
Don't go anywhere. I might need you.
Not might, you will.
He took a seat in front of Dumbledore's desk and slouched down in his spot as the old man, McGonagall, and Snape walked into the room behind
him. Dumbledore took a seat behind the desk as usual. McGonagall took the seat beside him and Snape just stood to the side of Dumbledore. He
crossed his right leg until his right foot rested on his left knee and looked straight ahead of him at Dumbledore just watching him closely from
behind the desk waiting for the interrogation to start. It didn't start with the old man blowing smoke up his arse as usual, though; it started with
Dumbledore pushing at his mind. He blocked Dumbledore's attempt easily. The old man tried harder, but without success. Finally, Dumbledore
pulled back and stopped trying leaning back in his chair.
"Your skill at Occlumency has improved dramatically in recent months," Dumbledore said softly.
"Among other things," Snape added through clenched teeth.
"Severus," Dumbledore said and Snape, of course, stopped talking. "While I am thrilled that you have learned the skill as you desperately needed
to, I must admit to some surprise as to how accomplished you have become at it."
"Like you said, sir, I needed to learn it and be good at it so I practiced," he replied.
"Yes, I see that. I dare say that no one would be capable of gaining access to your mind unless you allowed them to," the old man said.
Take care with your next words.
"No, no one can," he replied. "I've been everyone's pawn enough to let anyone do that to me anymore."
"Is that what you consider yourself, a pawn?" Dumbledore asked.
"I was. I'm not anymore," he said lifting his hand and looking at his nails. "I used to do everything the way everyone else wanted me to. Unless I
snooped around under my cloak I only learned what other people wanted me to know while they dipped into my head whenever they wanted to.
That doesn't happen anymore. Aside from doing my assignments for classes I study what I want to learn on my own. I think I've learned more that
way in the passed several months than I did from having anyone else teach me anything anyway," he said and glared at Snape before looking at
Dumbledore again.
"I cannot argue with that. In fact, you have apparently learned a great deal of advanced magic recently that I had no idea you had even heard of
much less any inclination towards," Dumbledore said.
"When you never know who's going to stab you in the back next it's best to keep your own back covered at all times," he replied lowering his hand
and looking at Dumbledore again. "I have a maniac trying to kill me. He recruits new members to his band of hem-lickers fairly regularly. Since I
don't know who I can trust anymore because Death Eaters are sneaky bastards, not to mention everyone in the Order whispering about me behind
my back what they won't talk to me about to my face, I just learned not to trust anyone."
"You can trust us, Harry," Dumbledore said. He laughed. He couldn't help it. Leaning his head back he rubbed his head against the chair and
looked at the old man again.
"No I can't," he replied. "You've done nothing but lie to me and hide things from me since before I was born. I still don't think you're telling me
everything. In fact, I know you're not because if you were you'd let me sit in on Order meetings instead of telling me I'm too young to. I'm the one
who has to kill that son of a bitch for this war to end, but I'm too young to know what's going on. And you wonder why I've taken it upon myself to
learn things on my own? If I leave it up to you and everyone else to teach me things that are hopefully going to make me outlive Voldemort I'd
better make sure my will is up to date. I can't trust you or anyone who follows your orders anymore than I can trust Voldemort and the Death
Eaters."
"We are trying to protect you, you ignorant child," Snape seethed.
"And you've done a fantastic job thus far," he chuckled lifting his hand again and holding up his index finger. "In first year I made it through all the
tests to get to the Sorcerer's Stone and Voldemort in Quirrel's body. In second year, I got inside the Chamber of Secrets and faced Voldemort's
sixteen-year-old Horcrux," he said holding up a second finger. McGonagall gasped, the surprise filtered across Snape's face before Snape could
stop it, and Dumbledore stared it him with eyes just a little wider than normal. "Didn't think I knew about those, did you?"
"No, I did not," Dumbledore admitted.
"Well I do. I know the diary was one of them, his fucking snake is another, and I'm a third just like he knows I'm one of them, too," he replied.
"That's why I'm still alive more than anything. Yes, he's trying to kill me because of the Prophecy, but he's not trying as hard as he could because
he's hoping to find a way to separate me from the Horcrux before he does kill me."
"How do you know-" McGonagall began and he cut he off.
"I know because like everything else in my life, I needed to know and no one would tell me so I found out on my own."
"The Restricted Section," Snape snorted. "Just as we thought."
"So? You can't say that it hasn't helped me learn more advanced magic," he retorted.
"Harry, I must caution you in which volumes you gain knowledge from in the Restricted Section," Dumbledore said worriedly. "They are all in the
Restricted Section for a reason, some more than others."
"Because some of them have Dark Arts in them, yes, I know. Since Expelliamus isn't always going to work against Voldemort or any Death Eater
who actually deserved the Dark Mark," he smirked at Snape and received a clenched teeth glare in return, "I sort of need to be able to recognize
as much Dark Arts as I can and how to counter it, now don't I?" he replied.
"You need guidance in which volumes to learn things from, Potter. You cannot simply be allowed to do as you wish in the Restricted Section,"
Snape said.
"I either do it my way here at Hogwarts or I leave and do it my way elsewhere," he replied standing up. McGonagall gasped standing up as well
with Dumbledore and Snape doing the same.
"Potter-" McGonagall said worriedly, but he ignored the plea in her voice.
"No," he replied firmly. "I'm done with this conversation. You got what you wanted and know where I've been learning things. If you try to stop me
from doing as I have been or keep trying to lock me away in Gryffindor Tower I promise that the next student to fly out of here on their broom with
all their belonging attached to it will be me."
"You don't want me in the Order. Well, you got your wish because I don't want to be a part of it anymore either. I don't need or want anyone in the
Order's help or protection," he snapped back. "I don't need to be locked in my common room or followed around when I'm not in there. I don't need
you teaching me anything or having anyone else do it either. I tried doing things your way and it didn't work. I'm doing things my way now and it's
working since even you can't get inside my head no matter how hard you tried to. You're not even helping me or protecting me anymore. All you're
doing now is making sure I'm defenseless against the people trying to kill me. If you really want to help me then stay out of my way and leave me
the Hell alone. You should know how since you did it to me as a baby leaving me on a doorstep."
With those words he headed for the office door. When it didn't open as he tried to turn the knob, he let the knob go. Capilari Nacasta. The words
barely filtered through his mind before he waved his wand across the knob saying the words. The door unlocked and opened and he headed down
the stairs. I'm impressed, Harry. You not only skillfully evaded their questioning; you gained unlimited access to the Restricted Section doing so.
I said I might need your help, not that I absolutely did.
Left you in a bad mood, have they? Time spent with Dumbledore has the same effect on me. Regardless, you have work to do. You must alter the
records of entry into the Restricted Section, as they will search for record of you coming or going from there. To do so-
I don't need your help with that either. I know what to do.
Oh, Harry, have you been unfaithful to your true Dark Arts professor? Voldemort chuckled in his head as he made his way down the stairs towards
the front doors of the castle.
Whatever else we're doing we're still trying to kill each other.
Yes, we are, and I will one day. Soon enough your life will end at my hand.
Maybe, but if it does you won't enjoy it as much. You like teaching me things or you wouldn't be doing it so much. Voldemort went silent and he
chuckled silently. What book should I read tonight? They'll be looking for me to go in there.
Voldemort didn't reply, but he wasn't worried about it heading outside. He knew the asshole would be back as soon as night fell and he snuck into
the Restricted Section. He'd learned too much about Voldemort in the months of conversation with the man to think Voldemort wasn't enjoying
teaching him things, not because Voldemort wanted their battle to be more exciting or even to make sure he could defend the Horcrux inside of
him, but because Lord Voldemort teaching Albus Dumbledore's little golden boy Dark Arts was hilarious in Voldemort's opinion. That the personal
war between Voldemort and Dumbledore left him free to manipulate both of them was what hilarious to him.
Nyx
both.
" regular speech "
Chapter 6
"Twenty points from Gryffindor for being out after curfew," Snape said from the end of one of the aisles in the Restricted Section two weeks later.
He didn't reply flipping to the next page of the book he was reading. As if he cared about house points anymore. With the book resting on his
knees, his feet up on another chair with his wand lighted and resting in the crease of the book while under his invisibility cloak, he didn't move or
respond to Snape. He didn't even look at the man when Snape walked behind him, grabbed the top of the cloak, and pulled it off of his head. He
blinked adjusting to the brighter lighting, but still didn't move more than to push the cloak off the rest of the way so he could continue reading. He
glanced at the man when Snape pulled out a chair on the other side of the table from him, but then looked back down at his book when Snape sat
down.
"What are you reading?" Snape asked.
"Walcroft's Averting Inadvertibles," he replied.
"Have you read his first book, Casting Away?" Snape asked.
"It's ninety percent garbage. You can tell he actually researched between writing that one and this one," he replied not missing a line in the book.
"He researched nothing," Snape snorted and he looked at the man again. Snape's eyes were on another open book on the table. "Averting
Inadvertibles is nothing more than an accounting of what Edgar Stranholm, a former assistant of his, did. Stranholm took Walcroft's theory,
expanded it taking into account variables that Walcroft did not, and took a worthless theory of Dark Arts extending life and made it viable. What you
are reading in the book Walcroft composed is based on previous conversations with Stranholm following Stranholm's execution for committing over
five dozen murders to prove his theory correct."
"But the theory was proven," he said and Snape looked at him.
"Yes," Snape said and he immediately stood up to head for the card catalog to look up anything written by Stranholm. "Potter-"
"You know why I need to know," he said turning and looking at Snape again while making sure his mind was closed off tight from Voldemort. The
asshole was in a horrible mood after a team of Aurors managed to capture three Death Eaters during an attack by Voldemort and was holding
them in a magic-proof stronghold even Voldemort didn't know the location of. Snape said nothing and he snorted and turned back to the card
catalog.
"Was it not you who said that you needed no assistance from anyone?" Snape replied. He didn't pulling open a drawer and Snape snorted. "Accio
Kellum's Forbidden Files," Snape said. He looked at the man and watched as the book flew through the air and landed with a smack into Snape's
hand.
"Alicia Kellum was Stranholm's lover. Her book is compiled based on Stranholm's notes and includes them, not simply conversations."
"Thanks," he said moving back to the table and holding his hand out to Snape. Snape held the book just out of his reach looking at him.
"As I have no doubt that you will eventually discover a way to destroy the Horcrux that has latched onto you I will only caution you not to do so until
you are ready to face him," Snape said just looking at him. "He will know the moment you destroy it because that part of his soul is attached to you
rather than an inanimate object and he feels it. When you destroy it he will hunt you a hundred times as relentlessly as he now does and a
thousand times as ruthlessly." He nodded and Snape finally handed over the book. "How much do you know of Horcurxes?"
"Everything except how to destroy the one attached to me without dying myself doing it," he replied.
"You realize that may be the only option," Snape replied.
"Yeah, that did occur to me once or twice," he replied quietly.
"Has it occurred to you that you have one of your own of sorts?" Snape asked and he looked across the table at the man. "He forcibly took your
blood, Potter. He took a part of your life force for himself and it remains yours even while it resides in his body. So long as your blood lives on in
him, you have a means of cheating death yourself without ripping apart your soul to do so."
"So if I let him kill me I can still come back and the Horcrux attached to me will be destroyed in the process?" he asked.
"In theory, yes," Snape replied.
"No one ever told me that before," he frowned.
"I just did," Snape replied and stood up. "Including you there are seven. One was destroyed with the diary, another in a ring the headmaster has
already destroyed. Nagini is a third and you a forth."
"And the rest?" he asked.
"Have yet to be determined or destroyed. I suggest they are prior to you destroying the one inside you as well. Negate the possibility of him
returning yet again before you use your ace in the hole. Once he knows of it, he will not allow you to use it again." He nodded and Snape picked up
his book. "Hand me the book and follow me," Snape said.
He handed it over and stood up. Snape looked at the other book he'd been reading still on the table and he nodded before waving it back to his
shelf. Grabbing his invisibility cloak and putting it over his shoulders again, Snape waited before he followed the man out of the Restricted Section
and the library itself. Once they were in the corridor, Snape turned and held the book out to him. He took it and looked at the book before looking at
Snape again.
"The library is enchanted to prevent any student from removing a text that they have not checked out. The staff is not under such a limitation. Take
great care of when and where you read that and return it in this exact condition. Should I be held liable for the expense of it rest assured that you
will as well."
He nodded again and Snape simply motioned with his head for him to go. He pulled the cloak over his head and closed the front of it before
heading back up the stairs to Gryffindor Tower with the book. At the top of the stairs he looked over the railing to see Snape still looking up. He
pulled the cloak off his head, Snape inclined his head at him, and he did the same before heading inside. When he got to his bed there was a note
there from Snape telling him to hide the book and go to sleep. He chuckled balling up the note and sat down opening the book. He might have let
the greasy git tell him some thing, but that didn't extend to what to do. No one did that anymore and he added another name to the list of people he
could manipulate. After all, Tuesday nights were when Snape usually went to the Restricted Section for a new book.
He wasn't sure when he'd actually fallen asleep, but it was the sound of someone dropping something heavy that woke him up. Neville apologized
for waking him, but he just nodded in reply rubbing his face and dropping his wand back onto his lap. The book was there, too, still opened to the
page he'd left it on. Neville asked if he was all right with a concerned expression, but he just nodded again still trying to fully wake up. He heard
Neville leave the room obviously seeing that he was in no mood to talk, but then that was usual for him now.
After a nice, hot shower and putting on clean jeans, a jumper, and his heavier robe he left the boys' dorm and barely took a glance at anyone in the
common room before leaving that, too. Glad it was Saturday and he didn't have classes, he made his way down all the stairs and into the Great
Hall. Breakfast was long over, but thankfully there was usually a platter of leftover scones and biscuits from morning tea to assuage his hunger.
With that taken care of, too, he headed down one of the back corridors outside, over the covered bridge as the few other students there watched
him go by, and made his way towards the Forbidden Forest casting a monitoring charm on a tree before he entered and then an even better and
less obvious detection charm than the one Hermione used on a few random bushes before heading for the clearing he'd met those owls from
Voldemort in. And with no one around and having set enough charms to know if anyone followed him, he pulled out his wand for a little advanced
magic practice. After all, reading the spells in books was nothing if you didn't practice using them.
It took longer than he wanted to charm a few trees into randomly throwing curses at him, but the time turned out to be well spent since they gave
him a better combative workout than he got in any DADA classroom. His back hurt from one blast he'd taken, he had a welt he could feel growing
by the minute along his cheek, and he had more than a few cuts and bruises, but the poor trees were worse off than he was. The evidence of the
power of his spells was everywhere in the scorched bushes, blast marked tree bark, and there were burning patches of grass where there used to
only be shades of brown and green.
"Finite Incantatum," he said with a wide sweep of his wand around the area, and when the glow of the charm faded from the area and the attacks
on him stopped, he bent forward with his hands on his knees panting. That still didn't stop him from turning and countering another curse aimed at
his back. Seeing someone in black with a mask covering their face and a hood over their head, he took two steps backwards clenching his wand in
his grip at the Death Eater across from him.
While the charms he'd placed on the trees were a good work out, that was nothing compared to the next ten minutes. Curses, more deadly ones,
flew back and forth. He knew it was Snape behind the mask, there was no way he couldn't after the man spoke a spell too powerful to be done
wordlessly by anyone except maybe Voldemort or Dumbledore. That didn't stop him from fighting like it was any other Death Eater even though the
man wasn't one anymore. And as much as he'd mocked the greasy git, he had to admit that Snape was fucking lethal in a battle of wands.
"You are not nearly skilled enough to beat me, Potter," Snape chuckled.
"Guess we'll see," he retorted.
The battle continued with Snape upping the stakes. He felt a tingle in the back of his mind that shifted to a burn on his forehead, but kept fighting
Snape. Voldemort would love it, and though he still didn't want to do anything that made that bastard happy, he had his chance to knock Snape on
his ass and he was going to take it. And when Snape cast an illegal curse at him, he cast the counter for it and a curse that was even higher up on
the illegal scale. Snape stared at him in disbelief countering it and he tried not to grin, but it was damned hard. What was that, Professor? Still think
I'm not skilled enough to beat a Death Eater? He wanted to laugh at the look on his potion professor's face. That's what the fucking git deserved for
treating him like an idiot all the time.
Stop gloating or do something to gloat over.
Give me one and I will.
Avada Kedavra.
Haha, he retorted still watching Snape.
Finish him so you can leave.
And go where?
Finish your duel and I will tell you.
Harry narrowed his eyes, the playfulness gone from his expression. Snape cast another curse at him and he countered it before casting his own.
Snape ducked out of the way and it hit the tree behind him. A large branch of the tree crashed to the ground a second later. Snape stalked up to
him and grabbed him by the front of his robe.
"Where did you learn curses by Nigel Graymirth?" Snape asked angrily. "And do not tell me the Restricted Section because you have not looked at
any book there that contains curses by him."
"None of your damned business," he snapped back, and shoved the man away from him. "And I told you not to touch me. Do it again and I'll show
you a few other curses I know how to cast that are even less legal than Graymirth's." He turned and walked a few steps, then turned back quickly
and countered the spell Snape threw at his back. Snape just glared at him.
Mind your temper before you spoil your chance to slip away from that traitor.
He turned and walked away from Snape again without another word. For once Snape didn't call him back. And pissing Snape off meant that the
man wouldn't follow him.
Meet me at the Shrieking Shack
Give me ten minutes.
You have five.
And I said I need ten to make sure Snape doesn't follow me. How you put up with him for all those years is beyond me.
He snorted at the low chuckle in his head and picked up a rock on his way towards the Whomping Willow. His head told him he was stupid to go,
but his Gryffindor side got the best of him. He sat down just outside of the willow's reach and tossed the rock back and forth between his hands
looking around to make sure no one saw him do what he was about to do. He knew he'd end up back under everyone's watchful eye again for it,
but he didn't care. He needed to get away from Hogwarts for a while. A well-aimed throw and he lay down and rolled towards the tree so no one
would actually see him disappear inside it.
Inside the Shack, he headed up the stairs taking note of the two sets of prints in the dust. He paused for a moment just outside a partially closed
door and listened twisting his wand in his hand before stepping into the room. In a chair, Voldemort grinned at him and he smirked back before
turning towards the open door. The spell he cast slammed the door with full force into the body standing behind it and he did it twice more for good
measure. The Death Eater who'd been hiding behind the door slid unconsciously to the floor in a heap. He turned back towards Voldemort and
Voldemort frowned standing up.
"And here I was assured that dear Vincent there was a master at stealth attacks. Ah, no matter," Voldemort sighed pulling his wand. "Invigorate,"
Voldemort said. The Death Eater groaned and lifted his head. The mask over the man's face faded away with another flick of Voldemort's wand
and fear replaced the mask. "Would you care to do the honors, Harry?" Voldemort chuckled. He rolled his eyes and Voldemort chuckled again. The
green glow of the Killing Curse followed, for once not aimed at him from Voldemort's wand. "Now that that is taken care of," Voldemort said and
pointed his wand at a closet door. The man said nothing before the door opened, the frame glowing red and the hazy image of a much nicer,
cleaner room was on the other side. "Tell me, Harry, how much Gryffindor bravery do you truly posses?" With a snort, he headed for the doorway
and walked through it, Voldemort chuckling again following behind him.
Nyx
both.
" regular speech "
Chapter 7
"So where are we?" he asked, looking around the room.
It was definitely an old building; most likely part of a castle given the stone walls, but it was beautiful, noble even. A long table was along one side
with twelve chairs around it. The back of the room was a raised platform of stones, the three steps leading to a large bed. Shelves of books
dominated the right side of the room at least seven feet high, the only break in them being the door they'd just come through that was still open
leading back to the Shrieking Shack. On the other wall was another door leading who knew where, but there was another table beside it with maps,
inkbottles, parchments, quills, and books on top of it. The only other thing in the room was the large fireplace, floo sized, just south of the head of
the table.
"You do not really believe I will tell you the location for you to send Dumbledore and the Order here, do you, Harry?" Voldemort chuckled again.
"Why not? You tell me and teach all sort of other things," he replied walking over to one of the bookshelves and scanning the titles.
"Why do you allow me to teach you?" Voldemort retorted, standing directly behind him. Harry glanced left and right without moving his head, then
back at the shelf of books in front of him.
"Because it's the only way I'll learn anything useful," he replied. He felt Voldemort move closer until he was pretty sure you couldn't slide a quill
sideway between them without the feather's bristles brushing against one of them. "Before you make another move remember that I'm not a Death
Eater and I don't submit."
"Do not flatter yourself, Harry."
"I can hear your thoughts when you leave yourself open for me to talk to you just as you can hear mine," Harry retorted, and turned to face his
enemy. "Such a powerful, pretty boy. It's almost a shame I have to kill him," Harry smirked.
"Ah, yes it is," the man said and lifted a hand. Harry didn't flinch as the tip of the man's wand dragged slowly down his left cheek. "I could kill you at
this very moment and it would take weeks, months even before the Order found your body."
"Our bodies," Harry retorted, pressing the tip of his own wand just a little more firmly into the other man's side. Voldemort grinned at him and he
returned the expression.
"You are wasting your talents fighting for Dumbledore," Voldemort said lowering his wand.
"I'm not fighting for Dumbledore. I'm not a member of the Order," Harry said doing the same and turning back to the shelves tucking his wand back
up his sleeve.
"Then why continue to fight me?"
"You killed my parents, that's why," Harry snorted. "You sentenced me to being raised by Muggles worse than you were raised by."
"I did not leave you with your Muggle relatives, Dumbledore did that."
"You made it necessary for him to." He pulled a book off the shelves and flipped it open to the table of contents. "If you hadn't killed my parents I'd
be nothing more than another stupid teenager at Hogwarts."
"True, but that would have been an even worse injustice to you." He turned and looked at Voldemort again already opening his mouth to argue
that. "Tell me, Harry, do you believe you would have become the wizard you are today without having endured all that you have?" He closed his
mouth because he knew he wouldn't be. "Desolation and indignation are powerful motivations towards greatness." Voldemort took the book from
his hand, summoned another, and held it out to him. "Dumbledore is a fool not to provide you with the guidance that you truly need to achieve that
greatness."
"He doesn't want me to turn into what you have," Harry retorted taking the book without looking at it.
"Which would ensure you did more, I wonder," Voldemort said, "having a trusted mentor guide you in advanced magic or leaving you no choice
other than to learn it elsewhere?" He didn't reply and Voldemort smiled. "Stop fighting me, Harry. Join me in putting the wizarding world right."
"Sorry, I don't want a tattoo on my arm," he replied.
"I would not require you to take my Mark. You already bare one far more important than that," Voldemort said chuckled lowly in his ear. He turned
and looked at Voldemort squarely again.
"And what if I said yes?" he asked. The amusement faded from Voldemort's face, but his expression didn't change. "What would you have me do
first? Kill Dumbledore? Kill Snape? Maybe set Nagini loose on all the Mudbloods at Hogwarts since the basilisk is dead? Whose life would I have to
take first?" Voldemort kept staring at him and he snorted stepping by the man further into the room. "You went about it all wrong and you don't
even see it," he huffed from a dozen feet away before turning back towards Voldemort watching him again. "You had it all, Tom. You were good
looking and charming and smart and powerful. I'm not half as good looking as you were at sixteen and I already have grown women sending me
invitations to dinner as soon as I finish school so I know that even more women would've been taken in by that with you. You could've taken over
the Ministry by popular wizarding vote and made most of the changes you want to without killing people to do it."
"Fear breeds obedience," Voldemort retorted.
"Yes, but it also breeds rebellion. The wizarding world is terrified of you, I'll give you that, but if you'd done it right a group like Dumbledore and the
Order would be considered the bad guys instead of you when you really are the bad guy," he huffed. "Fuck, you still could've made people who
opposed you disappear without a trace, and anyone who said that it was your doing would've just been looked at as a nutter like everyone did
when I first said you'd come back. Now instead of having the wizarding world adore you, it just wants you gone and it's leaving it up to me to do it,"
he said angrily.
"And you no longer wish to," Voldemort said with another chuckle.
"Oh a big part of me does for killing my parents, don't get me wrong," he replied.
"Despite what you have been told by Dumbledore, I held no true ill will towards your parents. Well, perhaps your mother for being a Mudblood-"
"So, she was a Mudblood," he shrugged. "We're not exactly purebloods either. As far as Mudbloods go, a better option would've been to make it
illegal for them to marry a Muggle to clean up their bloodline. You could've done the same with magical people marrying Muggles, made it illegal to
ensure that only magical people with stronger bloodlines were born from then on. Any squibs that came would do like they usually do and end up in
the Muggle world because they know they had no place in ours anyway." He stepped up to Voldemort again and pressed the book into his chest.
"And I know killing my parents was just a means to an end for you. You heard about that fucking Prophecy from Snape and acted on it. Have you
ever thought that if you hadn't enacted the Prophecy by going after me that you never would've spent thirteen years wherever you'd spent them?"
Voldemort stared at him taking the book and he let it go. "I'm not the only one who'd need to stop fighting between us for us to team up, Tom.
You'd have to stop thinking that killing me was the answer to your problems, too."
"That is difficult when the urge is so strong from you addressing me as Dumbledore does," Voldemort smirked in reply.
"I'm not calling you my Lord either," he chuckled walking over to the table and sitting down. "Don't suppose you have anything to eat around here,
do you? I missed breakfast and probably lunch too by now." Voldemort chuckled yet again walking over to the head of the table, sat down, and
summoned a house elf.
"Kingsley-"
"I have to, Albus. You know that," Kingsley quietly sighed stopping halfway down the corridor turning and looking at Dumbledore. Sitting on the
ledge of a window in on the seventh floor with a book on his knees, he didn't look at either man munching on a chocolate frog while reading. He still
only just glanced at the two men when they finally did approach him.
"Hello, Kingsley. How are you today?" he asked with his eyes back on the page in front of him.
"Not very well I'm afraid," Kingsley replied.
"Sorry to hear that. Is there something I can do to help?" he asked.
"Not fight me on this," Kingsley said and he finally looked up at the man. "I'm here on Auror's business, Harry. A Death Eater was found dead in the
Shrieking Shack this morning."
"Whom am I congratulating on doing it?" he asked with a chuckle. Neither Dumbledore nor Kingsley did the same. He looked back and forth
between the two men and then noticed the three other Aurors waiting at the end of the corridor. "What's going on?" he asked faking confusion.
"Harry, we know you were at the Shrieking Shack yesterday. There were traces of your magical signature in a room upstairs there," Kingsley said.
"I know," he replied still pretending to be confused as the other Aurors moved closer. "I was training with Snape in the Forbidden Forest, he pissed
me off, and I ended up at the Shrieking Shack trying to calm down. Wait a minute," he said closing his book while turning and putting both feet on
the floor. "You think I killed that Death Eater?"
"Your magical signature was the only one we detected at the scene," Kingsley said.
"Well I didn't do it. Here, check my wand if you want to," he said and pulled out his wand. The other Aurors behind Kingsley did the same. "Now
that's completely unnecessary and insulting given who I am and who was murdered," he snorted, flipped his wand in his hand, and held the handle
out to Kingsley. Kingsley looked at him confused taking it.
"You're consenting to having your wand tested?" Kingsley asked.
"Why wouldn't I?" he shrugged. "I didn't kill the piece of rubbish."
"And you never saw him?" Kingsley asked passing his wand back to the other Aurors.
"Usually when I see Death Eaters it's not one of them alone and their ugly arse leader is there with them. Unless you think I saw this Death Eater
with his pals and Voldemort and managed to make it back here by myself without a scratch I don't see how I could have," he chuckled turning to
put his feet back up on the window ledge and the book on his knees again.
"It's clean," one of the Aurors said. Kingsley took his wand back and then looked at him again.
"I didn't see this dead Death Eater, Kingsley," he chuckled. "I didn't see anyone while I was there. I was pissed off at Snape, sat down in the chair
up there for a while, and came back to Hogwarts where I was promptly put on punishment of being escorted to and from classes and the Great Hall
and restricted from being anywhere except on the seventh floor here for the next month. If you found a dead Death Eater there all I can think of is
that maybe someone in that green and black common room in the dungeon heard I was missing, told their Death Eater dad who passed the
information onto Voldemort," there was the usual gasp of shock at him saying the name from the other Aurors, "and Voldemort sent a few Death
Eaters to Hogsmeade looking for me. If you picked up my magical signature at the Shrieking Shack then the Death Eaters probably did, too, told
Voldemort, and when Voldemort saw that I'd been there and he'd missed his chance at me again, he took it out on the Death Eater for wasting time
calling him instead of capturing me."
"Which is more than a plausible theory," Kingsley said frowning.
"And you are sure you saw no one while there, Harry?" Dumbledore asked.
"No," he said shaking his head. "Oh, wait," he said and both men looked at him intently, "when I was getting ready to leave there was a man
outside of the gate of the shack staring at it. Had short, dark brown hair, I think," he frowned as if trying to remember what the dead Death Eater
looked like. "I only caught a glimpse of him through one of the dirty windows, but when I saw him I sort of hurried up and headed back to
Hogwarts."
"That sounds like our man," one of the other Aurors said. "Can you remember anything else about him, Mr. Potter?" the Auror asked. He leaned his
head back and closed his eyes. After a moment, he rubbed his scar and opened his eyes frowning.
"It's all right, Harry," Kingsley said putting a hand on his shoulder. "If you remember anything else be sure to let Professor Dumbledore know so he
can contact me."
"I'm sorry I wasn't more help," he replied lowering his hand.
"I'm more glad that you didn't see him to be honest," Kingsley chuckled holding his wand out to him. "Just do me a favor and don't go back there
again, all right?" He nodded taking his wand back and Kingsley squeezed his shoulder again before turning and heading back down the corridor
with the other Aurors. Dumbledore stared at him for a moment before turning and following them leaving him alone in the corridor again.
Thanks a lot. Aurors just interrogated me about that Death Eater you killed yesterday. They thought I did it. They checked my wand and everything.
Then perhaps my next lesson should be in how to clean your wand and hide your magical signature, Voldemort chuckled in reply.
It's going to have to be a long distance lesson. Dumbledore is watching me like a hawk. I don't think he believes that I knew nothing about the dead
Death Eater. He's having someone walk with me to classes and meals and I'm not allowed below the seventh floor any other time.
Meddling old fool, Voldemort said angrily and he hissed when his scar burned because of it.
Calm down before you set my head on fire, he replied rubbing his forehead. Didn't you hide anything around here that I can use to sneak away?
No. Like you, much of my time at Hogwarts was spent within a room which no one else could gain access to..
Suppose I'll just have to spend time in mine then until Dumbledore lets up on me. What book should I read next? This one I got from the library to
go along with my DADA class is boring me to tears.
Voldemort chuckled and gave him another title before he felt the bastard leave his mind again. He locked his mind down once Voldemort had and
stood up headed for the Room of Requirements. He had a room to find, and if he was lucky, maybe there was another Horcrux inside it.
Nyx
both.
" regular speech "
Chapter 8
As the days passed and the snow outside grew thicker, for once Harry was happy for the Christmas holiday to arrive. That wasn't because he'd be
going anywhere, but because nearly everyone else at Hogwarts would. It meant the end, at least temporarily, of the sympathetic looks when he
was escorted here or there. It meant not having to deal with Slytherins mocking him for it either. Yes, fewer students meant that Dumbledore and
the rest of the staff would be able to focus on what he was doing even more, but it would still be easier to find peace and quiet in the emptier
common room. A few dozen sets of eyes on him were easier to evade than hundreds. And while having fewer eyes on him was a blessing, the
constant supervision even with the entire school there was nowhere close to being his biggest problem. No, as usual, that honor went to
Voldemort.
He'd never thought about Voldemort having had a room like the one he'd created in the Room of Requirements way back when Lord Voldemort
had still been called Tom Riddle by more than just Dumbledore. He wanted to kick himself for not having thought of it before Voldemort had
admitted to having had one. Not that it probably would've done him any good having known it sooner since he couldn't find the right combination of
words to get the Room of Requirements to reveal the fucking room. He'd tried asking for the room Tom Riddle or Voldemort had used as a
teenager ever way he could possible think of pacing back and forth in front of the blank wall hoping for a door to appear and nothing. The extreme
measure that Voldemort/Tom Riddle had used to hide the room only made him want to get in there more because just like stealing the book from
Snape's office, he knew it would be worth the trouble he'd gone through to do it.
As much as he wanted to get inside that room, at the moment he wanted to get outside even more. He knew he probably wouldn't make it to any
castle door before someone stop him, but he still wanted to breathe fresh, if icy cold wintry, air. Not wanting to deal with that, he took the long way
to his dorm for his coat and gloves and then took the long way to the Astronomy Tower. He knew the students who saw him along the way would
run and tell a professor that he had his coat and gloves on, but he kept going anyway until he stepped outside onto the thinly snow-covered tower.
Walking to the edge of the battlement, he leaned forward on his elbows and just looked at the scenery. It really was beautiful. With his mind locked
down from Voldemort and anyone else, he took a deep, cleansing breath for what felt like the first time in months. Just like he knew it wasn't, it
wasn't destined to last. His cheeks were barely even chilled when the door opened to the staircase behind him.
"Ah, Harry, there you are, my boy," Dumbledore said.
"You mean every student left in the castle didn't tell you they saw me with my coat on and what direction I was heading?" he chuckled softly.
Dumbledore didn't reply, but when he turned and glanced at the old goat there was a smile on Dumbledore's face. He chuckled and turned back
towards looking at the lake. "I didn't sneak away from the castle again, sir, I just needed some air," he replied.
"Honestly, Harry, I am rather surprised that you have not," Dumbledore said stepping up beside him and staring out in the direction that he was. "In
fact, you nullified a bet within the Order as to how long it would be before you did manage to leave the castle for parts unknown once more,"
Dumbledore chuckled.
"I almost did more than once if it makes you feel better since I know you were part of it," he replied and Dumbledore chuckled again. He cracked a
small smile, but it faded quickly. He saw Dumbledore turn and look at him out of the corner of his eye, but he kept his eyes focused on the lake.
"Eventually the time is going to come when I will leave. I have things that I need to do and we both know what those things are. Once I know which
direction to go, I'm going. We both know that no matter how many people you have watching me that when I'm ready to leave I'll find a way to."
"Yes, although myself and many others would prefer that you did not do so alone," Dumbledore admitted barely over a whisper turning back
towards the lake.
"It's best for everyone if I do," he replied. "Other people being with me just gives Voldemort more people to kill." Dumbledore sighed and he finally
turned and looked at the old man. "What are they and where are they? I know that you know."
"I am unaware of any of their precise locations," Dumbledore said in the same tone.
"But you know what they are or what they might be," he said more than asked and Dumbledore continued to stare out at the lake.
"Nearly eighteen years ago a bracelet once belonging to Agatha Slytherin, the wife of Salazar, was stolen from it's display case within the Ministry.
Less than one week later, the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement was found murdered in his home." He nodded tucking his
hands in his pockets. "The ring that I located and have since destroyed was passed down through many generation until it came under the
ownership of Marvolo Gaunt, Voldemort's grandfather."
"Salazar's descendent," he said and Dumbledore nodded this time.
"In every portrait of Salazar Slytherin in this school he is holding the same chalice in his right hand. The rumor regarding the chalice is that Salazar
had acquired the purest of silver bars and had forged the cup himself, enchanting it with his own blood to ensure the purity of any contents the
chalice contained. The last known owner of the chalice was William McKinley, a collector of ancient magical artifact who had acquired the chalice
at an auction in 1945."
"The year Voldemort left Hogwarts," he said and Dumbledore smiled softly.
"I see you have been doing more homework than simply for your classes," the old man said still with a smile. "Yes, almost one month to the day of
him leaving Hogwarts Mr. McKinley was reported missing and was never seen nor heard from again. Of all his priceless possessions, only
Salazar's chalice went missing as well."
"And the last?" he asked.
"Though this item I am not entirely sure of, I believe it was a locket once belonging to his mother, Merope," Dumbledore replied. "That too was a
heirloom once belonging to Salazar, a golden locket baring an ornate serpent." He nodded because knowing Voldemort the way he did, and with
every meeting and conversation with the snaky bastard he was getting to know him even better, that sounded like something Voldemort would do,
make his mother's locket a Horcrux to cleanse it from her falling in love and marrying a Muggle. "His heritage has always meant a great deal to
him. That, I believe, was his true reason for rearranging the letter of his name and taking the title of Lord Voldemort. In his mind, a direct
descendent of Salazar Slytherin, one who possessed the rare ability to speak Parseltongue as Salazar did, deserved far more noble a name than
that of a common Muggle."
Salazar Slytherin. Parseltongue. Of course! Pieces of the puzzle he'd been trying to solve for weeks fell into place. Now all he needed to do was
get away from Dumbledore, and everyone else, so he could investigate his hunch.
"Professor, how many portraits of Salazar are there in Hogwarts?" he asked. "I'd like to look at them to see what the locket and chalice look like.
I've never really paid much attention to them to be honest."
"Somehow, I knew you would," Dumbledore chuckled and he cracked another small smile. "There is one in the dungeon corridor not far from the
entrance to the Slytherin common room. Another is in my office and another with portraits of the other founders outside of the Great Hall. There is
also one in Professor Snape's quarters. The last was removed some time ago by request from the Board of Governors so as a portrait of each of
the founders was on display in their office at the Ministry."
"Where did it used to be?" he asked and Dumbledore chuckled again.
"In what I believe was a final act of revenge against Godric Gryffindor for not agreeing with his stance on whom should be allowed to attend
Hogwarts, Salazar placed the portrait on the base of Gryffindor Tower." He snorted and Dumbledore chuckled again. "Yes, my thoughts exactly,
my boy, and as much as I am enjoying having a pleasant conversation with you again after so long, my old bones can no longer tolerate to the
chill. Would you care to come to my office for a spot of tea?" He looked away and Dumbledore sighed. "Very well," the old man said disappointedly,
"but do not remain out here much longer. I would not wish to see you fall ill." He nodded and Dumbledore squeezed his shoulder. "I know you no
longer believe as much, but I do care for you a great deal, Harry, and should you ever require my assistance my door shall always be open to you."
"I might if it were when there was something being discussed inside about me or about something that I needed to know," he replied quietly.
"I am no longer the only one withholding secrets between us, Harry," the old man said and he looked at Dumbledore again. The old man was
looking at him over the tops of his glasses. He looked away again double-checking his Occlumency and Dumbledore sighed before leaving him
alone on the tower.
Sitting on his bed with a mirror in his hand, he munched on a plate of Christmas cookies Dobby brought for him just watching the mirror. The
mirror's partner, strategically placed across from the Fat Lady's portrait as a 'gift' from him so that she could see herself to fix her hair, most likely
made him her new favorite student in Gryffindor Tower. He didn't care about that. All he cared about was watching her through the mirror in front of
him while her and her friend, Violet, got drunk and dolled themselves up preparing to go visiting other portraits in the castle. And as soon as she
was gone from her frame, he'd be gone from Gryffindor Tower as well.
After more than two hours he finally got his chance. His invisibility cloak draped over him, he silenced the mirror, but kept a good watch on it to
make sure the Fat Lady didn't come back before he could slip out. Thankfully, that didn't happen and within ten minutes he was at the base of
Gryffindor Tower. Looking at the curved stretch of wall, he cast a revealing charm looking for any crack that would show a doorway. Not finding
any, he bit his bottom lip, looked around, and removed all the plaques that adorned the wall. He grinned pulling the cloak hood off his head and
lifted his hand to the small carving of a snake engraved in one of the stones.
"Shhhhhai Hasheeeesh," he whispered, using the same command to open as he did with the sink in the third floor girls' lavatory and the Chamber
of Secrets. He grinned even more when the floor under his feet cracked and lowered into a staircase. Using his wand to light his way down the
darkened path, he headed down the stairs. A thick wooden door with another golden snake emblem was on the door behind a thick spider's web. A
flick of his wand got rid of that and the same spoken command in Parseltongue made the door open and the stairs above him close at the same
time.
"Oh, I'm going to have so much fun in here," he chuckled lowly to himself taking a step into the room. Dozens and dozens of bookshelves lined
three walls, a large dining table and chairs was along another, and a statue of Salazar Slytherin was in the center of the room. He walked slowly
around the room scanning the shelves of books, inspecting every detail of the statue, particularly the stone locket against the statue's chest and
the chalice in the right hand, and then made his way over to the table. The table was empty except for a few stacks of yellowed parchment and he
spread them out by magic afraid that they'd disintegrate if he touched them by hand.
"Etchanta," he said gently moving his wand over one of the pieces and smiled ten times as much when a small cloud of black particles trickled
gently down onto the paper and words began to appear, etchings of what had been written on the parchment that had once laid on top of the blank
ones. He cast the spell again over each piece before moving around the table and looking at the paintings on the wall behind it while the charm did
its work on the pieces of parchment. There were seven paintings, each a different location. Two were castles, one was an estate home, one was a
bolder at the edge of a cliff near a large body of water, and the last three were different areas of forests.
"Seven paintings, seven Horcruxes," he said inspecting each one a little more closely. He chuckled when one of the portraits showed a nest of
snakes, the largest of the snakes looking an awful lot like Nagini. "Guess I know where he got her from," he chuckled to himself. Moving on to the
next and the next, he had no idea where any of the places actually were, but he was damned sure going to find out because Dumbledore may
have known what the Horcruxes were, but now he knew where to find them.
Nyx
both.
" regular speech "
Chapter 9
"Out again after curfew, Potter?" Snape snorted walking into the library behind him. He looked up at the clock on the wall.
"Didn't even realize it was so late, sir," he replied evenly flipping to the next page in the book on his lap, his feet once again up on the chair next to
the one he was sitting in. Snape walked over and looked at the spines on the other four large books on the table.
"Ancestral Abodes, Magical Dwellings Past and Present, Nexus: Places of Power, and United Kingdom Castles?" Snape asked reading the titles.
"Is the home you own not grand enough for you, Potter?"
"No, it's a little too snobby for my blood. If nothing in these pans out I thought I'd look at a few other places. I hear there are plenty of houses in the
area of Spinner's End," he retorted.
"I would burn every house in the area to the ground first," Snape snorted and he chuckled quietly looking around to make sure no one else was in
the library.
"I'm trying to find any place Salazar Slytherin lived or visited," he said.
"Then you have begun hunting for them," Snape said almost in a whisper taking the seat on his other side.
"You already knew I was going to, sir," he replied in the same tone. "Hopefully by the time I take care of the others I'll have figured out how to take
care of the last one."
"And your other studies? This is the first time I have caught you here in weeks."
"Just because you haven't caught me in here doesn't mean I haven't been."
"I know you have not, Potter. You have not been in the Restricted Section in nearly three weeks," Snape said firmly.
"How do you know that? Because that," he said pointing his wand at the statue just inside the Restricted Section and casting an advanced
revealing charm so that it glowed from the monitoring charm placed on it, "said I haven't been in there?" Snape's jaw clenched in irritation and he
chuckled. "I've gotten past that one and the other nine around the castle dozens of times without them recording me doing it, professor. Sometimes
I countered the charm and sometimes I didn't just so everyone thought I didn't know about them."
"You think this is a joke, Potter? We are trying to save your miserable life," Snape seethed standing up again.
"How? By making me feel like I'm a criminal in Azkaban? I know why Sirius was so restless because I feel the same way now. Professor
Dumbledore keeping Sirius locked up at Grimmauld Place, and you taunting him about it, are part of the reason that he's dead now. You can't
expect someone to stay confined in four walls for months on end without them taking the first chance they get to break free whether them being
there is for their own good or not," he replied. "You know me, professor, at least in one respect you do," he continued calmly seeing the anger
slowly fade from Snape's face. "That bet Professor Dumbledore told me that the Order had going, the one about how long it would be before
someone caught me breaking my punishment? How long did you bet? Four, maybe five days? A Week?"
"Three days because you are completely ignorant of the danger you are truly in," Snape snorted sitting down again.
"No, I'm really not," he replied and Snape looked at him raising an eyebrow. "I'm not, professor, I'm just not one to let someone else face a risk for
me that I'm not willing to face myself."
"Fucking stupid Gryffindors," Snape grumbled putting an elbow on the table and his head in his hand shaking his head.
"I'd say something about someone I know who put his arse on the line for years that wasn't a Gryffindor, but I'm actually not in the mood to argue
with him right now," he chuckled. Snape turned his head and looked at him. "I know you think I'm an idiot who has no idea what he's doing, but I
really do."
"The day you prove that to me, Potter, is the day you receive the first and only O you would ever receive in my class," Snape snorted standing up.
"I'll take that bet," he chuckled looking up at the man.
"And what are you prepared to wager?" Snape asked.
"If I don't prove that I know what I'm doing by finding all the other Horcruxes by the end of term, I'll clean and pack away your entire classroom for
the summer alone and without magic," he replied. Snape raised an eyebrow at that and he smiled. "Do we have a bet?" Snape stared at him
crossing his arms over his chest and he chuckled standing up. He stacked the books on top of one another and charmed the stack without his
wand to follow behind him. "Good night, sir," he said and headed for the door.
"Potter," Snape said and he stopped turning towards the man again. "Five points from Gryffindor for being out after curfew." He just chuckled
turning back and left the library feeling Snape's eyes on his back as he did.
Setting down on the snow-covered road outside of an old, tall iron gate, he pulled a folded piece of parchment from his pocket and opened it still
sitting astride his broom. He looked at the picture, a hand drawn copy of one of the seven in the chamber at the base of Gryffindor Tower, and then
at the worn stone of the castle on the other side of the gate. Replacing the picture in his pocket, he pulled his wand and used several different
charms to reveal any wards around the premises. He found three along with two curses during the next fifteen minutes. One of the curses he
dismantled without too much trouble. The other took far more time than he wanted it to. The wards, though, weren't a problem at all once he saw
figured out the swirling pattern they were rotating in. Taking another ten minutes or so to double check for more wards and curses, he finally got off
his broom and cautiously moved forward carrying his broom with him across the threshold of the gate.
Continuing to move forward, he kept three heavy shielding charms active while scanning constantly for more traps. He four more before he even
reached the castle doors and three more there once he did. He was glad when he finally stepped inside and closed the door behind him. It was
bitter cold out and he was freezing. The inside of the castle, however, wasn't. It was warm and he could hear people moving around somewhere
further inside. Still scanning for curses and such, he made his way through the rooms and corridors towards the sound of people talking.
"My Lord, can I kill him? Please?" he heard someone say. Voldemort chuckled and someone yelped in fright. Pettigrew. He knew it from the sound
of the little rat's voice.
"Your cowardice knows no bounds, Pettigrew. Are you entirely sure you were sorted to Gryffindor?" another man asked.
"I've actually wondered that myself," Bellatrix said and he squeezed his wand tighter. "While they're annoying, at least Gryffindors are fun to kill and
I doubt I'd even have any fun killing you."
"Of course you would, Bella. His squeals would bring you nothing but joy," Lucius Malfoy retorted. More than a few chuckled at that.
"While I have never met a more cowardly rodent, Wormtail has his uses," Voldemort replied.
"Yes, though not many," he said setting his broom against the wall beside the door and leaning against the frame. Every Death Eater jumped up
pointing their wands at him.
"Potter," Malfoy spat his name as though it were poison.
"Hi, Mr. Malfoy. Lose any good house elves lately?" he chuckled.
"Lucius," Voldemort said sternly and he looked at the snake-faced bastard.
"But my Lord, it's-"
"I think he knows who I am," he said dryly rolling his eyes pushing off the doorframe and walking further into the room that was just a large sitting
room. Death Eaters apparated all around him, but he just apparated, too, until he was standing in front of Voldemort. Nagini slid forward hissing
and he chuckled, pulled a live rat from his pocket, and tossed it up in the air. Nagini deftly caught and swallowed it and Voldemort grinned at him.
"What? You've fed me, you've fed her, we're both Horcruxes, what's the damned difference?" he asked and Voldemort laughed a low, evil laugh.
"My-my Lord?" Bellatrix squeaked.
"Kill her and I'll join you," he said. Voldemort looked from him at Bellatrix somewhere behind him. "Just kidding. I'd rather do that myself," he
chuckled and Voldemort did, too. "I can't stay long, but I have something for you," he said opening his robes and reaching into an inside pocket.
Death Eater swarmed him with their wands aimed at him and he rolled his eyes looking at Voldemort again. "Would you mind telling them to back
off? I don't have time to waste. I figure I have about another half an hour before the other blokes in my dorm wake up, realize that I'm gone, tell
McGonagall or God forbid Dumbledore, and someone goes out looking for me. Since it's going to take me at least twenty minutes to fly back to my
dorm window on my broom, I need to hurry up."
"Lower your wands," Voldemort said still just watching him.
"Thank you," he smiled, pulled a small box from his pocket, and walked over to an end table beside a chair that was obviously Voldemort's since
every other piece of furniture in the room was turned facing it. "Here, make yourself useful and hold this," he said picking up a lit candelabrum and
shoving it into the chest of the nearest Death Eater, who gasped taking it and then growled at him rubbing their singed chin. He set the box down
and used his wand to enlarge it as Voldemort walked over. Voldemort looked in the box and then at him grinning even more. "Thought you might
like to have a few things that belong to you as Salazar's heir more than they belong to Hogwarts," he grinned back.
"You found the chamber," Voldemort chuckled pulling out one of the paintings that had been on the wall there.
"Just like you knew I would which is why you told me about it in the first place. You could've been a little more specific, by the way. I had to trick
Dumbledore into telling me more about Salazar and you when you went to school there to find the fucking place," he huffed and Voldemort
chuckled again.
"I told you that you were wasting your talents fighting for that old fool," Voldemort said looking at it the painting.
"Yeah, well, just make sure none of your bootlickers breathes a word about me coming here and us not trying to kill each other. I've spent enough
time in a school mock up of Azkaban, I'd rather not end up in the real thing," he said.
"They will make no mention of your visit, not even to one another, and were you to suffer such a fate it would be an extremely short stay,"
Voldemort replied running his long fingers gently down the canvas of the portrait.
"Thanks," he replied with a smile. "Anything else you want out of there? I haven't had a chance to go through many of the books yet, but I haven't
found anything there that you don't have upstairs here. I tried to shrink down the statue, but it didn't work."
"The statue of Salazar is connected to the castle's foundation and cannot be removed, however, the contents of the hidden compartment at the
base of it can be," Voldemort replied still stroking the painting almost lovingly.
"Does that mean you're actually going to tell me how to do it?" he asked. Voldemort chuckled putting the painting back in the box then turned and
cupped his chin.
"Ah, Harry, would I ever make your life easy on you?" Voldemort chuckled. He rolled his eyes pulling away and Death Eaters moved backwards to
clear a path for him as he headed for the door again. "Harry." He turned and looked at Voldemort again and Voldemort picked up another painting
from out of the box. "I had wondered if I needed to once again begin making extensive plans for your demise by your lengthy silence," Voldemort
said eyeing the second painting and touching it just as gently.
"Sorry, had to play the good little golden boy part for Dumbledore for awhile and you know how he is with Legilimency," he replied turning and
picking his broom up again from where he left it along the wall by the door. "So how do I open the compartment? I don't get a lot of time to sneak
down there."
"Nagini shall supply you with what you require," Voldemort said. He nodded looking around the space, summoned a throw pillow from one of the
sofas, and transfigured it into a glass jar with a cork. Nagini slithered over to him and he knelt down holding up the jar to her. One fang sank into
the jar and it slowly filled with venom. "Three drops in the chalice while requesting it open in the language only we are able to speak will open the
compartment."
"Got it. I'll let you know as soon as I have everything out of there," he replied putting the cork in the bottle and holding the jar up eye level while
stroking Nagini's head. "It's about time McGonagall's class came in useful for something." Voldemort chuckled along with a few Death Eaters and
Voldemort looked at him again.
"Wormtail, escort Harry to my chambers. His return flight to Hogwarts shall be much quicker from the Shrieking Shack."
"Y-yes, my Lord," Wormtail stammered heading towards him. Nagini hissed and lunged at Pettigrew and he laughed stroking the snake's head
again.
"If you ever have babies I promise I'd take care of one as well as Voldemort takes care of you," he said in Parseltongue.
"You taking a hatchling of Nagini's as a pet would not go over well with Dumbledore," Voldemort chuckled again, the words said in
Parseltongue as well.
"Wow, look at that," he said blinking still speaking the snake language. "I don't care." Voldemort laughed outright this time turning towards him,
the slits of his eyes even narrower in amusement.
"Go before you are missed," Voldemort said, in English this time as all the Death Eaters in the room looked back and forth between them in
confusion.
"I'm going. See you later," he winked before turning with his broom and heading out of the room toward Pettigrew waiting at the end of the corridor
shoving the bottle of snake venom in his pocket. It cost him the paintings, but he got what he wanted out of it, a pure, powerful substance that the
chalice of Salazar Slytherin would accept even though it was a poison that would hopefully destroy it.
Nyx
both.
" regular speech "
Chapter 10
"There you are," Hermione huffed when he walked into the boys' dorm still rubbing his hair dry with a towel. "Where in the world have you been?
I've been looking for you for over a half an hour."
"Uh, taking a bath?" he chuckled softly walking towards his trunk with his bag of toiletries dropping the towel so that it just hung around the back of
his neck.
"A bath? There aren't any bathtubs in the boys' lavatory," Neville said.
"I never said I was in the lavatory here, just that I went and took a bath," he grinned making Neville, Seamus, and Dean laugh. Ron even chuckled,
but pretended to cough when Hermione gave Ron a stern look for it.
"Harry, you have to stop sneaking around," she sighed. "That's why you're having so much trouble this term, because you do whatever you want
without telling anyone what you're doing."
"I'm trying to figure out a way to kill Voldemort before he kills me first. That's what I'm doing," he shrugged lifting the lid on his trunk.
"Yes, but some of the things you're trying to learn are dangerous," she replied and he looked around the common room.
"Anyone in here think Voldemort is going to be done in by Tickling Charms and Bat Bogey Hexes? No," he said and turned back towards
Hermione, "me neither." She opened her mouth, but he held his hand up. "I'm not going to argue with you about this again, Hermione. I know you
and everyone else is worried about me or whatever, but I know what I'm doing. I need to learn better spells or I'm not going to live to see my
seventeenth birthday. As much as everyone values my life, I value it a damned lot more and I have to do what I have to do to make sure that the
next time I face that snake-looking bastard that I survive it again. I know Dumbledore and a lot of other people don't agree with how I'm going about
it, but would you rather I faced Voldemort and a pack of Death Eaters with simple charms or with advanced curses I can shove down their throats
that are going to get me out of there alive?" She sighed looking down and then at him again. "I care about you, too, Hermione. You're one of my
best friends in the world, and if God forbid you were ever being hunted like I am and had to face those hunters alone, I'd rather you had the option
of sending them to their funeral than me attending yours." Her eyes watered at that thought and he squeezed her bicep gently stepping by her
standing at the foot of Ron's bed and moved towards his.
"I agree with Harry," Dean said quietly. "Seems like every year lately he's facing You-Know-Who. If he had to use whole string of Unforgivables to
get away from that alive, I wouldn't fault him for it."
"I still can't cast those and have them work," he replied quietly. "Almost knocked Snape on his arse with a few others I know, though."
"My hero," Neville said making them all laugh. Even Hermione chuckled and he turned to look at her sitting down on the side of his bed. He smile
looking down and then at her again, and after a moment, she sighed and he smiled more.
"So what did you originally come in here looking for me for?"
"Professor Dumbledore wants to see us up in up to his office," she replied just staring at him. He pressed his lips together knowing what that
meant: there was an Order meeting. While a small part of him wanted to say that it was about sodding time, a larger part of him wanted nothing to
do with the Order. The Order might have information that he could use to his advantage, though. That was enough for him to nod, pull his robe on
over his t-shirt and pajama bottoms, and head for the door.
"You're really going to go to Professor Dumbledore's office dressed like that?" Seamus laughed making Dean, Ron, and Neville do the same.
"Why not? At least in my pajamas he'll know I wasn't planning on sneaking off anywhere tonight," he said with a wink at Hermione.
"Honestly," she said rolling her eyes with an amused smile and shoved him towards the door. He just laughed along with Ron, Neville, Dean, and
Seamus and left the room. They walked together down all the stairs and through the corridors. More than one person sniggered at his attire, but he
just ignored them and kept walking. At the gargoyle, it immediately moved to the side when they approached it and he stepped to the side letting
Hermione go up them first before following. The office door was already opened with a dozen Order members inside.
"Harry," Molly said with a smile and her hands on her hips when he walked in.
"Everyone is a fashion critic today," he replied setting off more than a few chuckles. He did, too, stepping up to Molly and kissing her cheek. "Hi,
Mrs. Weasley. How have you been?" he asked.
"I'm fine, dear," she smiled widely at the show of affection. He smiled back before turning towards Dumbledore behind the desk who was smiling
with twinkling eyes.
"Sorry, I was in a bath when you asked Hermione to come get me."
"Funny, when I went to school here there weren't any bathtubs in the boys' dorm," Bill chuckled softly.
"And there still aren't. Is there something we can do to change that?" he asked setting off another round of chuckles. Snape rolled his eyes and he
chuckled. "Well I bet you have one in your quarters."
"Harry," Dumbledore said, the amusement still in his eyes, but he knew what Dumbledore calling his name meant.
"All right, I'll behave, sir," he chuckled.
"May we have that in writing?" Snape smirked.
"Sure, sir. The Order can even start a new bet, and as a little insider tip, three days of me keeping to that would be just about right," he replied,
loudly whispering the last bit. More than a few people laughed again while Dumbledore shook his head still smiling.
"Will you stop making jokes and sit down already? The meeting is already late getting started waiting on you," Hermione said still laughing and
pushing him over to a free chair to the left side of Dumbledore's desk.
"Well had I known I was invited to the meeting I would've waited to take my bath," he chuckled sitting down in the chair and then slouched in it
crossing his right leg over his left. "Since I didn't it probably means that you decided to at the last minute not because you really want me here, but
because you need something from me." The smiles faded as he scanned the room and he looked at Dumbledore directly. The smile was still on
the old man's face, but the twinkle was gone from his eyes. "So what's this favor you want from me?" he asked.
"In the morning, Cornelius Fudge will be removed from the position of Minister of Magic and replaced by Rufus Scrimgeour, a former head of the
Aurors Office," Arthur Weasley replied.
"And what does that have to do the Order? Does he not like you or something?" he asked Dumbledore bluntly.
"We are not close friends, however, I do not consider him an advisory," Dumbledore replied.
"Harry," Remus jumped in with a serious expression and he looked at the werewolf, "The Order's cause for concern with this appointment is that
our activities were by and large ignored by Cornelius Fudge, who once Voldemort's return couldn't be ignored any longer, was more than willing to
allow the Order to handle Voldemort's return as we saw fit. We don't think that Rufus Scrimgeour will make the same allowance."
"What does that have to do with me?" he asked confused. "I'm not even a member of the Order."
"No, however, given the rumors of your close relationship with the headmaster it appears that you very much are and the new Minister has already
made subtle references to the more positive reception he would receive publicly were The-Boy-Who-Lived to show his public support to the new
appointment," Snape snorted.
"So let me get this right," he chuckled leaning his head back and looking up at the ceiling. "You want me to make nice with Scrimgeour when he
shows up here, no doubt with reporters and photographers in tow, so that he's happy with Professor Dumbledore thereby letting the Order get
away with more? And you want me to do this after Professor Dumbledore locked me up on the seventh floor and has had every professor and
student in this school following me around and tattling on me to him for months, not to mention having put monitoring charms on everything
including my damned shoes to keep tabs on me?"
"Harry-" Hermione sighed, but he cut her off sitting up straight again.
"All right, I'll do it under one condition," he said looking at Dumbledore.
"Why do I suddenly believe that dealing with Scrimgeour shall be the easier course of action?" Snape grumbled.
"It's nothing hard that anyone has to do, I'll be the good little Gryffindor in front of all the students and professors here, and I'll sing both Scrimgeour
and Professor Dumbledore's praises for all they're doing to the press. I'll make it so that everyone who's said I was being moody, no pun intended,"
he nodded at Alastor, "will think that I've finally worked through whatever has been bothering me since the start of term."
"Here it comes," Remus whispered, but he just kept going still looking at Dumbledore.
"You know everything going on in and around this castle, and though you haven't said anything to me about it yet, you know I went flying at two
o'clock this morning, left the grounds passing through the wards doing it, and I was gone for a while when I did."
"Yes, and you are likewise aware that the countercharm you used in doing so made tracking your destination impossible," Dumbledore replied.
"And I'm not going to tell you where I went either, I'm only going to tell you that I know there's a Horcrux there and I plan to destroy it and bring you
the proof that I did," he replied and more than one person gasped.
"You're sure there's one there? Absolutely positive?" Remus asked and he nodded. "How can you be so sure?"
"Because I am one and I can feel it when I get near another," he replied.
"Harry, you must-"

"No," he said cutting Dumbledore off this time. "We already talked about this, Professor. You know I need to be the one to get them and I'm pretty
sure the only reason you told me what they were was so I knew what to look for when I did get close to one." Dumbledore sighed and he kept
going. "Let me do what I need to do without having to waste time and energy having to get around more obstacles than I need to and I'll take care
of the obstacle that's in your way, too."
"Albus, you cannot be seriously considering this," Molly said frantically. "He can't go searching for those things alone."
"You swear that you know the location of one?" Snape asked and he looked at the man.
"Get ready to give me that O," he replied. Snape stared at him, and after a moment, reached in his pocket and then tossed something at him. He
caught it easily and looked at the item, a small, broken nib for a quill, and looked at Snape again.
"It is an emergency portkey. Write the letter 'H' on any surface and you will be transported to the boathouse in Hogsmeade."
"Severus," Dumbledore said sternly.
"We all know that he shall find a way to circumvent all attempts at preventing him from continuing his search. It is best that he have the means for
escape should the need arise rather than he not," Snape replied still staring at him. More than a few people sighed as he stared back at Snape and
then he looked at Dumbledore again.
"So do we have a deal?" he asked pocketing the portkey.
"As you said at the start of this meeting," Dumbledore said quietly. "We have no choice."
Nyx
both.
would like to volunteer I'd be grateful for the help. I'm slowly working on spell checking and at least proofreading each chapter before I post it. I
apologize for anything I miss while doing it. Please let me know if there are any glaring mistakes that need to be fixed. =)
New Author Note: Thanks so much to everyone who has reviewed this story. This is the first Harry/Voldemort story I've ever written (at heart I'm a
Snarry girl) and I wasn't sure that anyone would like it. I took the chance on posting it though, and with over 40 people following the story now it's
only encouraging me to write more of this pairing. Don't worry, though. Like I said before this story is finished so I'll keep posting a few chapters a
day until it's completely posted. Thank you again for all your reviews. =)
" regular speech "
Chapter 11
"Potter, a moment before you go."
Harry didn't do anything other than nod his head slightly while still packing away his supplies and books. That didn't mean that he wasn't curious as
to what Snape wanted since Snape was the first member of the Order to speak to him in the five days since he'd effectively blackmailed
Dumbledore and the entire Order. He hadn't been allowed to stay for the rest of the meeting afterwards, of course, but he was sure that his parting
shot warning them that if any of them double-crossed him that he'd have a nice, long real meeting with Scrimgeour about what the Order was up to
with a list of members to boot had been a new subject of debate after he'd left. Not that he cared. He'd been absolutely serious when he said he
didn't want to be a member of the Order anymore and was sure he'd do better on his own. He'd already proven that because after years and years
of the Order operating under Dumbledore's command the group had little to show for their efforts while he had a casual relationship with the evil
prick. It had taken Dumbledore years to find a Horcrux, the ring, and destroy it. He'd done that to the first one at the age of twelve before he even
knew what the damned thing really was. And he'd really like to see any of the Order walk into Voldemort's hideout and walk back out again. Yeah,
he could see how being a member of the Order would be so beneficial to him.
Then leave there and come to me. I will teach you far more than you will ever learn there.
Don't tempt me because we both know I can't. Would you mind backing out of my head during me talking to Snape? The spell wore off again and I
don't want to rub my scar while I'm talking to him.
You are asking rather than simply pushing me out? And Dumbledore calls you his boy.
Haha. You should take up a career in comedy if the whole Dark Lord evil bastard thing stops working for you. Voldemort laughed in his head and
he chuckled too trying not to wince at the pain the connection was causing in his head. Please? My scar-
I will renew the spell when next we meet. I trust you are working towards that occurring soon.
Aw, missing me, Voldemort. Voldemort went silent and he just barely kept from chuckling out loud along with doing it in his head. Yes, I'm working
on it, My Lord, he replied, saying the title teasingly and Voldemort chuckled again.
Careful, Harry. What you say in jest is becoming more fact than fallacy. You are closer to me now than you are to them.
Yeah, yeah, go away so I can concentrate on what Snape is up to. I'll tell you what happened later.
The connection faded with Voldemort chuckling and the ache in his scar faded, too. Wrapping up his mind up tighter than a condom, he set his bag
down on the table and waited for the rest of the students to leave. Hermione looked at Snape for a moment before looking at him and leaving the
room. He rolled his eyes thinking yet again that she was spending way too much time with Dumbledore. Then again, it wasn't as though she could
spend time with him at some of the places he went to, especially at a castle about fifty miles away. No, that place definitely wasn't safe for her,
however, after months of random conversations and a few meetings and the past week of talking to Voldemort at least a few times a day since he'd
delivered his gifts, he was pretty sure that he was.
"What are you thinking?" Snape asked evenly taking a seat behind his desk at the front of the room.
"Just wondering what you wanted to talk to me about," he replied.
"You know," Snape replied.
"Then I may as well leave now since I'm not telling you where it is," he replied picking up the strap of his bag.
"Potter-" Snape said clenching his teeth, but he shook his head.
"I'm not telling you where it is," he interrupted. "Yes, I'll probably need to do a lot of research to get through all the curses and wards and what not
to actually get my hands on it, but I don't need help to do it. I don't need someone, anyone, interfering in me finding and getting my hands on all the
hidden ones."
"As much as you may think you do not, Potter, you need help."
"But I'm not going to get help if I tell you or anyone else where the one I found is," he snapped back. "If I let you or Dumbledore 'help' me it's going
to turn into me being told what to do when I'm the one who found the fucking thing in the first place. How many years has Dumbledore been
searching for them and how long did it take him to destroy the one he did find? Years, Snape, and he probably had you trying to find out what they
were and where they were from Voldemort the entire time you were playing the part of a Death Eater. Fuck, knowing Dumbledore the way I do I'd
bet fifty galleons it was you who found out what they were in the first place."
"And that statement simply prove what I have believed for days," Snape snorted. "Your refusal for assistance is as much glory seeking for
uncovering them as it is a wish to destroy them."
"Oh will you get off that already?" he yelled. "I'm The-Boy-Who-Lived. I don't need to find the Horcruxes to get glory. I don't need to destroy them to
gain that. I have more than enough attention on me, and if I wanted it as much as you claim I do, I'd use it a damned lot more than I do."
"No, instead you have chosen extortion as your method of obtaining what it is you wish for," Snape snapped back.
"And?" he shouted. "I'm closer to getting the job done than the entire Order put together. While you and everyone else in the Order is doing what
Dumbledore wants by focusing on what Voldemort is planning for the future, I'm focused on what he did in the past."
"What he is doing now and planning for the future is just as important as his past."
"No, it's not!" he yelled back. "You think stopping him from stealing something or putting the Imperious Curse on Ministry members is going to kill
him? The only thing that's going to kill him and keep him from coming back again is finding and destroying the Horcruxes and me killing him. That's
it. That's when all this will be over."
"His other actions still need to be dealt with, Potter."
"Then you and the rest of the Order can keep dealing with that. You all can do what you need to do and I'm going to keep doing what I need to do.
The only member of the Order who could do anything to help me would be you, and it's not something you had to do physically. You want to help
me, Snape? Tell me every fucking thing you can about Voldemort. And I'm not talking about what he's doing or planning, I'm talking about him
personally because knowing that, along with remembering things that I've glimpsed from him, might help me figure out where he's hidden the rest
of them. You won't, though, because Dumbledore doesn't want you to so there's nothing you or anyone else in the Order can help me with," he
snorted, put the strap over his shoulder, and started for the door. Three steps from the door, Snape spoke again.
"What do you wish to know?" He turned and looked at Snape and Snape was just staring at him. "Were I to share any information with you, Potter,
I want an even exchange of information." He snorted and turned back to the door. "Dammit, Potter," Snape yelled and he heard the chair Snape
was sitting it scratch across the floor as Snape stood up behind the desk. "If you will not reveal the location of the Horcrux you believe you have
located then at least provide information that can be of use in what he is doing now. I know you know more than you are letting on."
"I don't know that anything I've glimpsed from him is still relevant," he replied leaning his forehead against the back of the classroom door with a
sigh.
"Potter-"
"The Riddle Estate," he replied quietly. "That's where he was living when he first came back. I recognized some of the surroundings from memory
looking through all those books in the library weeks ago. And-and there was something familiar about Sheartower Castle. It's not far from Godric's
Hollow and-and I think that might be one of the places he hid out for all those years that he was gone." Snape remained quiet and he turned
around and looked at the man.
"You are positive?" Snape asked and he nodded his head. "Have you visited either site to determine if you can sense a Horcrux?"
"I flew by both earlier in the week and didn't get anything at either one."
"That was where you went," Snape said and he nodded again.
"I had a list in my head of places, but I only made it through three before I picked up the feeling of one at the third place. And I'm still not telling you
where that was." Snape nodded and sat back down again. "I held up my end of the bargain, it's your turn. Tell me about him."
"You know what he is like, Potter," Snape replied quietly. "He is evil incarnate and his intelligence and cunning serves him well in that."
"I know that, but I need to know personal things about him, Snape. Dumbledore says that he's never loved anyone or anything and has never had
anyone he considered a friend. I don't believe that, though, because Nagini isn't just a Horcrux to him. He loves that snake. And Bellatrix," he said.
"I saw how he grabbed her in the Ministry Atrium to get her out of there when Fudge and Aurors showed up. He could have left her and he didn't so
I know he cares for her at least a little bit. I mean, all the Death Eaters act as though they're close to him, but I know they aren't, not even half as
close as he is to Bellatrix."
"You are looking for his weaknesses," Snape said.
"He uses mine against me, it's beyond time I returned the favor. Since I know I'll never match him magic for magic, I need something else to hurt
him with," he replied and Snape nodded.
"Despite what the headmaster may have said, the Dark Lord loves Nagini no less than any other pet owner," Snape said and he set his bag down
on the closest table before moving towards the front of the room again. "While to my knowledge the headmaster has no idea that the Dark Lord
has ever visited Sheartower Castle, he did have the Riddle Estate searched the summer after his return. One of the upstairs bedrooms had been
modified into a mockup of a forest, the roof overhead stripped to provide Nagini with an outdoor climate."
"I knew it," he whispered and took a seat on a stool at the table closest to Snape's desk. "What about Bellatrix? Is he in love with her?"
"Hardly," Snape chuckled. "He has some affection for her, more than any other Death Eater in his ranks, however, his affection is more that for an
accomplished protégé than anything else. He trusts her to carry out his orders, though not in planning or giving advice on them."
"Probably because her answer to everything is to just kill everyone," he snorted.
"Yes," Snape chuckled again. "Though long term incarceration in Azkaban generally causes insanity, she had a head start in that long before she
was sentenced there."
"What about Lucious Malfoy?"
"The Dark Lord uses Lucius for his connections and income and nothing more," Snape replied. "At one time he discussed plans with Lucius and
entrusted Lucius with the care of items. That ended when the Dark Lord discovered that Lucius had allowed the journal to be destroyed. In all
honesty I am surprised the Dark Lord even freed Lucius from Azkaban following his capture in the Department of Mysteries."
"He probably only did to make sure Malfoy didn't open his mouth to save his own arse."
"Perhaps, though it is more likely that the Dark Lord has plans for Lucius that he has not yet revealed." He nodded and looked down before he
looked at Snape again.
"What about you?" he asked. "Did he ever discuss plans with you?"
"Yes," Snape replied. "Upon my return to his service I revealed more than a few of Dumbledore's secrets to regain his trust. Doing so provided the
Order with more than a substantial amount of useful information."
"Give a little to get a little, give a lot to get a lot," he replied.
"Yes, as you have evidently learned by us having this conversation at all," Snape said and he nodded. "You were correct in your assumption that it
was I who discovered what the Horcruxes were. I had also managed to discover the location of the ring leading to it's eventual destruction. My
services, however, ended prior to my learning the location of others."
"Sorry about that," he replied quietly looking down at his hands on his lap. "I tried to occlude my head when I realized he was there listening to
what I was thinking, but by then it was already too late."
"I do not consider my loss of favor in his ranks as a loss," Snape said and he looked at the man again. "I knew your mother as a child and
considered her a close friend. Her murder and the part I played in that was what ultimately led to my betrayal of the Dark Lord." He blinked at that
and Snape stared at him. "You accepting an apology for her death would be an act of absolution, Potter, and I refuse to allow my guilt for my part
in her demise to be sated in the slightest. To look in your eyes, her eyes, and be constantly reminded that I took her life as surely as the Dark Lord
did is my curse to bare and I shall continue to do so until the end of my days in memory of her." He nodded looking down again not knowing what
else to say. "Was there anything else you wished to know about the Dark Lord?"
"Not unless he has a significant other or ever did," he replied lifting his head again.
"To my knowledge, no, though I know he had taken physical pleasure in others from time to time."
"Others?" he asked and Snape smirked.
"Others, as in both males and females, Potter." He rubbed the side of his neck and Snape chuckled. "Squeamish regarding homosexuality,
Potter?"
"No, just rather not think about him sleeping anyone, though given his temper he could probably use it more often," he mumbled and Snape
actually chuckled.
"And give your temperament this term I am sure the same is being said regarding you."
"I'm trying not to get pissy with you or have you get pissy with me here, sir," he smirked back and Snape chuckled again. "I don't have time for that.
Besides, even if I did I wouldn't be sure what I was looking for anyway. Cho sort of put me off girls for them moment," he snorted standing up
again.
"Not squeamish then, interested," Snape grinned.
"And if I listened to gossip and if I wanted to piss you off I'd say that I wasn't the only one in this room like that," he grinned back. Snape snorted
and he headed for the door again.
"Potter." He turned and looked at Snape again and Snape was just watching him. "Should you discover that you require assistance in your
research of dismantling curses and wards I may be able to find a few moments to spare."
"Without you telling Dumbledore?" he asked raising an eyebrow. Snape nodded and he looked away at the wall and then back at Snape again. "I'll
think about it."
"Think careful about it, Potter," Snape replied.
He nodded and left the classroom closing the door behind him. He had a lot to think about now and plans to make.
Nyx
both.
" regular speech "
Chapter 12
Three Days Later
Waving a hand to light the candles in the secret chamber at the base of Gryffindor Tower, he closed the door behind him and headed for the table.
It took a few minutes to unpack the parchment, quill, inkbottles, books, shrunken trunks, and paper bag of snacks from his bag and get them
spread out on the table, but a few minutes was better than the ten days since he'd gone to see Voldemort that it took him to be able to sneak back
down to the chamber. By the time he was done lying out his supplies he felt the familiar itching in his scar that would turn into a burn at any
moment. For all Voldemort's other fault, the bastard was at least punctual.
You brought food into the chamber?
As if you never did. The chuckle was loud enough for him to squeeze his eyes shut and press his hand to his scar.
It burns more with each day.
Yeah, and after deflecting a wayward curse in DADA today my head was already pounding before you got here.
We must do something regarding that obstacle. I have work for you to do and the burn of your scar is becoming a nuisance to me as it distracts
you.
Aside from you killing me to make it stop I'm open to suggestions, he replied quietly.
What of the spell you used before?
It's not working anymore. I think it's like some potions and I've just developed a resistance to it. Two of the three Unforgivables don't work on me,
why would a muffling charm keep working?
Harry, Harry, can you not you be normal in anything? He snorted at that, but Voldemort just chuckled softly. We must meet soon so as I can
reenact the stasis charm I placed on your scar.
Can I do it myself?
Possibly, though it is far more likely that you would be unable to stop the charm at just your scar and your entire body would be affected.
Think I'll pass on become a male version of Sleeping Beauty. I couldn't pull it off anyway.
Ah, beauty is in the eye of the beholder and as you are visually impaired we shall not take your word for that. He cracked a smile and Voldemort
chuckled at his silence. Point your wand at your scar and attempt a minor icing charm. That may provide you with some temporary relief. He pulled
his wand and did one, a very minor one that wouldn't do more than chill a glass of water, and the pain faded to a dull throbbing. He still had a
headache, but it was easier to deal with.
How long will it last?
An hour, perhaps ninety minutes at most.
Then I'd better get to work. He rubbed his scar heading towards the statue of Salazar Slytherin pulling the vial of Nagini's venom from his pocket.
Three drops, right?
Yes.
Carefully opening the vial so he didn't spill any of the venom, he tucked the cork in his pocket and pulled an eyedropper from his other pocket. With
barely a fingernails length worth of the venom in the dropper, he lifted put the cork back in the vial and the vial in his pocket. Holding his hand
steady over the chalice in Salazar's hand, he took a deep breath and let it out before carefully letting only three drops fall from the dropper. As
soon as he did, the base made a loud cracking noise. He backed away pulling the vial from his pocket and emptying the little bit of venom left in the
dropped back into the vial and then shoved both the vial and dropper back in his pocket.
Well?
You didn't say the secret compartment was that big. I only brought two trunks with me. Voldemort chuckled and he did too at the joy that was
obvious in Voldemort's chuckle. Walking over to the compartment, he looked down at the rows of unbroken jars, stack of books, and rolls of
parchment inside the drawer-like compartment sticking out of the side of the base. What is all of this?
Research I conducted at your age along with rare ingredients and spells.
Why didn't you take them with you?
Dumbledore. He snorted at that because yeah, he could see Dumbledore casting a revealing charm over Voldemort's trunk to see if Voldemort was
carrying anything he shouldn't in the trunk before Voldemort left Hogwarts for the final time as a student. Precisely, Voldemort said as he knelt
down beside the compartment and turned to summon one of the shrunken trunks to him from off the table. I had planned to retrieve them when I
returned to Hogwarts regarding the Defense Against the Dark Arts position, however, there were too many student lurking about for me to access
the room.
Good thing I'm here then or else you never would've gotten this stuff back.
My fortune is in you having acquired the ability to speak Parseltongue from me. Without that you still would not have been able to access the
contents and bring them to me.
Thanks for that, by the way. Thought it was wicked as Hell when I talked to the snake in the zoo just before I freed it and locked Dudley in its pen.
Your relatives are near the top of my death list.
A quick death is too good for them after what they put me through as a child.
That can easily be arranged. He chuckled enlarging the trunks. You have no objection to my doing so?
Couldn't care less, though I think it would be better if you just scared the shit out of them until they packed up and moved as far away from England
as possible. Either that or they ended up in an insane asylum. And is any of this stuff cursed before I touch it?
Why would I curse my belongings in a chamber that no one else in Hogwarts had the ability to gain access to?
Good point, he replied. What about preserving charms? I don't want anything to fall apart in my hand because it's so old.
Harry, Voldemort said calmly.
I hate them, all three of them, he replied knowing why Voldemort called his name. As bad as thing were for you in that orphanage as a child, at
least you had a bedroom and were fed everyday. My aunt and uncle barely fed me and treated me like a fucking house elf calling me a freak and
all kinds of names because I'm a wizard. They locked me in a broom closet under a staircase for a decade and let my fat arse cousin beat me to a
pulp and terrorize me when I wasn't locked away in there. I didn't even know I was a wizard until Hagrid came to give me my letter and they only
got worse once I did know. If you want to kill them for treating a wizard like that we both know that I can't stop you. I'd rather you didn't kill them so I
didn't have to live with their blood being on my hands for not doing anything to stop you from doing it, but I won't miss them when I turn seventeen
and never have to see them again. Fuck, he sighed and sat back on his arse. You can't kill them. I'm still underage. If you did I'd become a ward of
the Ministry until I turned seventeen. The Ministry would get their hands on my Gringott's vault and drain it dry. Even if you put them in the hospital
the Ministry would take temporary custody of me. Since I know my fucking Muggle relatives wouldn't fight to get custody of me back, I'd be in the
same situation. I can deal with having to go back there for another month at the end of this term a lot easier than that.
Then for now they are safe. I make no such promise once you are of age. He let out a little huff of a snigger before speaking again.
Do you know what the ironic thing about it is? That Dumbledore sent me to live there because calling the place where my mother's blood still lives
my home was supposed to protect me from you and here I am talking to you and planning on meeting up with you as soon as possible to give you
back the things you left at Hogwarts.
You living there does protect you from my being able to set foot on the premises or I would have done so this summer rather than sending you a
book.
Then I'm glad you couldn't I'd have missed out on having at least one friend that didn't lie and hide shit from me constantly, he said kneeling again
and starting to pack the trunk.
Friend? He paused replaying his words in his head and winced.
I mean-
You meant precisely what you said, Voldemort chuckled. You have grown to consider me a confidant.
You don't lie to me, at least, not about some things, he replied quietly. I know you're still looking for a way to separate me from the Horcrux and
then it's back to you trying to kill me, but you've never lied about that. I wouldn't even know I had a Horcrux attached to me if it weren't for you. I
wouldn't know a lot of things if it weren't for you. I know you're still hiding things from me, too, but-I don't know, he sighed pausing in his packing
again. You hiding things is different, I guess. You don't trust me to tell me some things and I don't completely trust you not to kill me when I do see
you face to face, but at least you don't blow smoke up my arse by promising that you won't kill me.
You trust me more than you let on, Harry. You shared a meal with me when I could have easily had the food poisoned.
You wouldn't kill me with poison, he chuckled. That wouldn't be any fun for you. You'd rather make me duel you first than just kill me quick,
remember?
Ah, yes, the graveyard. You were a much different young man then. This matured version of you is much more tolerable.
Only because it means you're going to get your things back, he chuckled again summoning the other trunk for the jars and scrolls.
And when shall I expect your next visit?
Ha, I knew you missed me.
Harry, Voldemort said, but the tone was an amused one.
I'll try to get out this weekend, he sniggered. Keep the Death Eaters out of Hogsmeade cause it's a Hogsmeade weekend and with everyone gone
it'll be easier for me to sneak off, too.
I trust you are still banned from going.
Yes, but I think I might go anyway. I still have a signed permission form so no one can keep me from going based on that.
That may work in our favor, Voldemort said. You going and gaining access to the Shrieking Shack would be much more convenient than you being
forced to fly here.
True, but if you come through the doorway you created there to bring me through it there's a chance I'll get caught. Anyone who might be watching
wouldn't be able to identify your magical signature or even pick up on it, but there's be a stronger magical presence in Hogsmeade even without
them identifying you if you come there.
Yes, Voldemort replied sounding none to happy at the thought. I will consider what option shall prove best and inform you later in the week. Have
you finished packing?
Almost. It looks like I'll still have a little room left when I'm done. Are you sure there isn't anything else you want from in here?
No, Voldemort replied and he closed the lid on the second trunk, locked it, and shrunk it down with the other one. Carpe Diem will close the
compartment and you have Nagini's contribution to reopen it again should you wish to store the books I have sent you there.
Thanks for the idea, he replied standing up again pulling his wand. I'm hiding them in the room I made in the Room of Requirements right now, but
I still don't think it's all that safe to keep them there. I'll get them and bring them down here before I go to bed.
Leave them for tonight and sleep. I want you well rested and not suffering from a headache for our meeting Saturday.
So you miss me a lot, he teased.
Harry. He outright laughed at the stern tone.
All right, I'm going. See you on Saturday. Goodnight.
Goodnight, Voldemort replied and left his mind. And just like with Snape he chuckled picking up one of the books out of the first trunk, sat down at
the table, and opened it up to start reading before he didn't have them to read anymore.
Nyx
both.
" regular speech "
Chapter 13
Saturday Morning
"All right," Harry said the second his feet settled on the ground, "whomever's idea this was," he continued holding up a stuffed animal phoenix by
the throat that was the portkey he'd found waiting for him at the Shrieking Shack, "I not only hate you, but I hope your next blood relative is sorted
to Hufflepuff," he huffed and dropped the stuffed animal to the floor to hilarious laughter.
"You don't like my gift? I'm hurt, Potter. And here Draco has told me for years that he was sure you wanted one to emulate the beloved headmaster
of Hogwarts," Lucius Malfoy said with a chuckle. He rolled his eyes and kicked the animal clear across the room setting off the group of Death
Eaters in the sitting room all over again. While they laughed, he walked over to a free armchair, pulled a bag of candy from his pocket, and sat
down.
"He definitely has the touted Gryffindor courage, doesn't he?" another Death Eater chuckled. He looked at the Death Eater and then around the
rest of the room pulling chocolate frog from the bag.
"The Dark Lord isn't here at the moment, Potter," Bellatrix grinned playing with her wand.
"I know," he replied with a casual nod ripping open the package. "I also know just like you do that he'd kick any or all of your arses for hurting me or
letting me get hurt without him telling you to."
"How do you know he hasn't?" another Death Eater asked.
"Because if he did you already would've cast curses at me," he chuckled and bit the legs off of his chocolate frog. A second later he dropped the
frog hissing is pain, his hand flying to his forehead. "Now he's here," he panted pulling his feet up onto the chair and pressing both his hands and
forehead into them against the pain.
"We didn't touch him, my Lord. I swear we didn't," Narcissa said nervously.
"Move," was all Voldemort said. He heard people move, probably those on the sofa closest to where he was curled up in a chair, but the sound of
Voldemort's voice boomed in his head intensifying the pain he was in ten times as much. "Crabbe, Goyle, move him to the sofa, stretch him out,
and hold him down."
He didn't know how long it took, but the next while felt like forever as his scar felt like it was engulfed in flames and his brain felt like it was
exploding inside his skull. He struggled against whomever was holding his hands over his head and holding his feet down, but the pressure they
were putting on him was nothing compared to what happened when his scar was touched and Voldemort spoke a spell. He screamed, he couldn't
help it, white-hot pain surrounding his entire head and making every muscle in his body shake violently. Over and over again Voldemort said the
spell. He knew he blacked out for at least a few minutes, but when his conscious mind started to work again the pain was dimmer, though his
muscles still quivered. He panted for breath as Voldemort said another series of spells. Finally, blessedly, the pain stopped almost completely,
nothing more than a minor headache remaining.
"Sit him up," Voldemort said. He was pulled up by his arms and eased into a sitting position and a glass was put to his lips. His throat dry and
aching from screaming, he swallowed it not even caring what it was. He knew a minute after the glass was pulled from his mouth as he started to
feel a little better, though he still mostly felt like shit.
"What in the bloody hell is wrong with him?" someone asked.
"Light magic protection spells don't mix well with Dark Arts Horcruxes, especially when they're all inside of one person," he whispered leaning
forward and resting his forehead on his hands.
"The two sides are fighting for dominance and it looks as though they fight even more in the presence of the Dark Lord," Lucius chuckled.
"Or anytime he talks to me in my head," he replied just as quietly wiping a hand down his face and then standing up. He staggered and someone
steadied him from behind. "Thanks," he said quietly and reached in his pockets. "Here are the trucks," he said pulling them from his pockets.
"Wormtail, take those to my chambers. Crabbe, follow behind us and take great care that he does not fall down the stairs," Voldemort said
forcefully.
"Yes, my Lord," Crabbe replied. He followed behind Voldemort feeling Crabbe's hands on his shoulders as he moved. It took a few minutes, but
eventually they made it to Voldemort's chambers. He moved straight to the bed without asking and laid down on his stomach with his head resting
on his crossed arms.
"Leave us," Voldemort said sternly again. There was a chorus of 'Yes, my Lord' before the door closed and silence reigned in the room. "There was
no other way to stop your scar from burning on a more permanent basis," Voldemort said and the bed dipped beside his hip.
"What did you do to me?" he asked quietly.
"The protection charms you still possess from your mother needed to be isolated and contained. They did not go into stasis willingly," Voldemort
replied. He nodded turning his head to the side and wrapping his arms around a pillow. "Rest, Harry. We shall discuss it more later."
Too drained to argue, he nodded with his eyes already closed. And drifting off to sleep he sighed in contentment at the gentle touch of fingers
shifting his hair to the side and soothing ointment being rubbed into his scar.
He woke up to the feel of fingers carding through his hair. Adjusting his head, he sighed softly and kept his eyes closed. A soft chuckle told him
who was doing it, but given that he'd already fallen asleep in the man's bed, his worst enemy's bed with his worst enemy rubbing ointment into his
scar, he ignored the little voice in the back of his mind that told him to get up. It was getting easier and easier everyday to ignore that voice.
"Come now, Harry. We have matters to attend to and you have slept long enough."
He rubbed his face with one hand sighing again because the voice talking to him sounded different in his sleep-hazy state. He rolled onto his back
rubbing the sleep from his eyes and then slowly opened them. He blinked twice and then groaned.
"Bloody Hell and I'm going straight there," he mumbled staring into eyes of a sixteen year old Tom 'Lord Voldemort' Riddle. Voldemort chuckled
and leaned in close to him.
"Even were I not able to hear your thoughts your facial expression would give those thoughts away," Voldemort replied.
"Yeah, well, the forked tongue might have a few advantages, but looking like you did at sixteen-" he trailed off.
"Yes, I believe you have given your thoughts on my appearance at this age before," Voldemort chuckled again leaning so close their breath mixed
together between them. He stared into the dark eyes so close to him and swallowed hard. "Tell me, Harry, had you been this close to me then what
would you have done?"
He didn't reply verbally. He couldn't once soft lips brushed against him. Not that he tried to. He was too busy turning more onto his side and
returning the kiss. Three, four, he wasn't sure how many times their lips brushed together before their jaws both opened at the same time and
tongues got involved.
You are still pure, Voldemort whispered in his mind as the kiss when on and on. There was no sense lying about it since the man was in his head
so he just nodded slowly into the kiss. Voldemort groaned and kissed him harder, deeper, and he returned it laying a hand on the side of the man's
neck. With a little more pressure of Voldemort's mouth on his and a hand on his hip, he ended up on his back with Voldemort over him and the
kissing taking on a whole new level.
"My Lord," Pettigrew said and the door opened without invitation. He pushed Voldemort to the side sitting up summoning his wand to his hand and
pointed it at Pettigrew in the doorway.
"Avada Kedavra," he said firmly. Pettigrew gasped and dropped into his animagus form as green light shot from the end of his wand. It didn't quite
reach the doorway before the curse disintegrated in midair, but it got damned close.
"Well, I see how I need to motivate you in the future to master Unforgivables," Voldemort chuckled. "What is it, Wormtail?" Pettigrew shifted back to
human form and he glared at the little fat man while Pettigrew stared at them in shock.
"My apologies, my Lord," Pettigrew stammered. "I-I-"
"He said get on with it," he snapped and flicked his wand at Pettigrew again. That curse would've hit Pettigrew if the bastard hadn't moved and
Voldemort laughed hard.
"Will you never learn to calm that temper?" Voldemort said still laughing and plucked his wand from his fingers.
"I know whose hair was in one of those jars I packed now and polyjuice only lasts an hour," he grumbled.
"Ah, normally yes, though Severus' advanced version can sustain a form for nearly two," Voldemort grinned. He returned it and Voldemort looked
at Pettigrew again. "Speak, Wormtail, before I return his wand to him."
"Yes, my Lord," Pettigrew said quickly and he snorted falling backwards onto the bed again. "Rosier and the Lestranges have returned from their
assignment. You said to inform you immediately once they had."
"And you have, now leave," he retorted and sat up again taking his wand back from Voldemort. Pettigrew squeaked slamming the door closed and
he heard the rat running away from the door. Voldemort laughed again and he looked at the man.
"Angry that Pettigrew interrupted your kiss?" Voldemort said, his eyes dancing in amusement.
"You might look sixteen right now, but I really am sixteen," he smirked in reply and Voldemort laughed again getting off the bed.
"Come downstairs with me. One of our matters to attend to has returned."
He nodded and got off the bed discretely adjusting himself and Voldemort chuckled again watching him. He grinned, apparated directly in front of
him, grabbed him by the front of his robes, and kissed the man hard and deeply for a moment before abruptly breaking the contact and backing
away. Voldemort eyes clouded with lust at the aggressiveness of his action and he grinned.
"Well come on. We have matters to attend to," he said with a teasing smile. Voldemort chuckled again and didn't say anything before he was
magically yanked back against the man, their mouth running ramped on one another again. The pace eventually slowed and then stopped with the
need for air.
"Ah, in time I shall destroy all traces of your innocence," Voldemort said pulling back.
"Looking that way, isn't it?" he replied just as quietly. Voldemort grinned before turning and heading to the door.
Nyx
both.
" regular speech "
Chapter 14
He followed the man down the corridor, the stairs, and into the sitting room. Everyone in the room stared at them as they entered the room, all
movement and talking stopping the instant they did. It was Lucius Malfoy who broke the silence.
"Well, well, Potter, gone beyond simply flirting with death now, have you?" Malfoy grinned.
"Nagini?" he called out and the snake slithered into the room. "Want some dinner? Here you go," he said, pointed his wand to Pettigrew, and cast
the charm to force someone into his or her animagus form. Nagini lunged forward at Pettigrew and it was only Voldemort telling her to stop over the
hilarious laughter in the room that caused her to. Nagini hissed in disappointment and he laughed before grabbing his bag of candy still sitting on
the chair he'd been sitting on when Voldemort arrived and transfigured four ice mice into real rats. Nagini sprang into action after them and
Voldemort looked at him in amusement.
"I am beginning to understand why that old fool would not include you in Order meetings," Voldemort said.
"All right, I'll behave," he sighed, "much as I can anyway," he added in a mumble setting everyone off again. He laughed, too, when he was lifted
off the floor and tossed into the chair. After righting himself, he looked at the 'Dark Lord' in the room who still looked more amused than annoyed.
"He is rather entertaining to have around, isn't he?" a male Death Eater chuckled.
"Yes, though I shall be more pleased when his skill matches his youthful exuberance," Voldemort replied taking a seat.
"I'm working on it. I have a lot of time being taught nothing to make up for," he replied slouching in his spot. "You've got to admit that I almost
knocked Snape on his arse just before Christmas, though."
"Did he really?" Bellatrix asked. Voldemort nodded and she clapped in excitement. "Then the rest of us are going to have to train him up a bit more,
without hurting him too much, of course, so that next time he does put that traitor in his place."
"Not today, Bella," Voldemort said with an affectionate smile. "Your report takes precedence at the moment."
"Of course, my Lord," she replied and went right into it. He munched on candy listening to her and both the LeStrange brothers talk and then others
as they gave opinions. He made sure to pay attention to names as Voldemort called each Death Eater in turn to speak until Rosier gave a report
on the activities of the Order that they knew of. Sitting up straight, he leaned back in the chair running his index finger over his lower lip.
"You have something you wish to say, Harry?" Voldemort asked.
"Dumbledore won't send Tonks in on the lead team," he replied still rubbing his lower lip. "She's a good Auror from what I've heard, but she's
clumsy and younger than the rest. If Bill Weasley is involved, he'll be on the lead team instead of her. He's a counter curse specialist and
Dumbledore will want him scanning for traps before they move forward."
"What of this Dingle character?" Lucius asked.
"It's Diggle, not Dingle, and I don't know much," he frowned. "Only met him a few times, most recently the summer before my fifth year. He was one
of the people who came to get me from my relatives' house. McGonagall says he hasn't got any sense, though, if that's worth anything," he replied.
"My question is how the Order discovered the Dark Lord had been in residence at Sheartower Castle at all for them to begin making plans to
search it," Dolohov said.
"I told Snape," he shrugged. More than a few Death Eaters jumped up pulling their wands, but Voldemort held his hand up.
"Why?" Voldemort asked none too happily.
"To find out more about them since no one tells me shit and to ask things about you," he replied. "He wouldn't tell me anything without me giving
him something back. I remembered him catching me looking at a book of old wizarding homes when I was trying to figure out where this place was
and told him you hid in Sheartower Castle because I knew you'd been out of there for years now and most likely there was nothing important left
there," he said. "It also worked in getting Snape to open up to me more about things the Order are doing. Not much, yet, but I'm working on that,
too, using his own skill at playing both sides against him."
"And how do we know that you're not betraying us to them?" Lucius said.
"Do you really think that if your Dark Lord wasn't sure that I can't stand Dumbledore anymore and only talk to him when I have to that I'd be sitting
here right now?" he chuckled in reply. "Unless I'm actively blocking him he can hear what I'm thinking."
"And those blocked thought could be littered in betrayal," Bellatrix said angrily.
"True, but then look at him and consider what that fucking rat over there told you he walked in on and it's pretty obvious that at least one of the
things I've been thinking about him is a far damned cry from betrayal," he snorted slouching in the chair again and Voldemort chuckled.
"If you want us to accept you, Potter, you need to give us something better than that," Bellatrix said crossing her arms over her chest.
"Dumbledore knows what the rest of the Horcruxes are because Snape told him," he replied. The room fell silent and he pulled an acid pop from
his bag. "And don't recruit some bloke named LeAirman or something like that."
"LeAirmore," Voldemort said frowning.
"Yeah, him," he nodded. "I was under my cloak heading down to the chamber a few nights ago and heard McGonagall talking to someone about
not being sure about him taking over Snape's job here because she didn't think he could pull it off." Voldemort looked from him at the LeStranges
angrily and he popped the lolli in his mouth itching his scar. "Thought whatever you did to me was supposed to stop my scar from burning?"
"Your lack of proper magical education is staggering, Potter," Lucius huffed. "The stronger the concentration and emotion exuded by one partner in
a magical bond increases the detection of them by other party."
"Yes," Voldemort said and looked at him. "What else have you overheard? And what is this cloak you spoke of?"
"My dad's old invisibility cloak," he replied. "And I really haven't heard much about the Order lately other than that they want me to be nice to
Scrimgeour whenever he comes by Hogwarts so he doesn't look into what the Order is up to that closely."
"You own an invisibility cloak?" Lucius asked raising an eyebrow and he nodded. "Who would be fool enough to give you-never mind," Lucius
snorted holding his hands up and he laughed along with a few others.
"Your possession of that may come in useful at a later time," Voldemort said and he looked at the man again. "Have you met with the new Minister
as of yet?"
"Once and he's a fucking idiot," he said setting off a series of chuckles. "I'm serious. I can see why you all have been able to run amuck if he was
head of the Aurors' Office. He has no clue how to handle the Order or the Death Eaters. Hell, he couldn't even tell how fake I was being asking
about how to become an Auror."
"I assume that means you did as Dumbledore requested of you," Voldemort said.
"Yes on the stipulation that when he finds out that I've gone off the castle grounds that he doesn't try to track me down or ask anything about where
I was when I get back," he grinned.
"And he agreed to that?" another Death Eater asked in shock.
"Why wouldn't he? I'm the sweet little Boy-Who-Lived and I warned everyone when your Lord came back even though they didn't believe me until a
year later. Now they know I wasn't lying and will believe to anything I say," he grinned setting off chuckles again.
"Blackmailing Albus Dumbledore," Lucius chuckled shaking his head. "Perhaps Severus and Draco's assurances that you lack intelligence aren't
completely true."
"Not when the subject is what he wishes to learn," Voldemort chuckled and he cracked a smile. "Rosier, your report."
He sat there listening to the Death Eater meeting for another hour before Voldemort called the meeting to an end. When Voldemort told the
LeStranges to stay behind and looked at him, he just nodded and left the room. He found the kitchen easily enough, and after a glass of milk,
headed down another hallway and back upstairs to Voldemort's quarters. With a book about paralyzing curses he'd wanted to read since the first
time he was their in hand, he took a seat at the table turned sideways with the book propped up on his knees. He managed to get through half of
the first chapter before Voldemort joined him in the room.
"It is nearing four o'clock," Voldemort said and he groaned slouching further in the chair. "As you said, Harry, you must remain in school for the
time being."
"I know, I just don't want to go back today," he replied closing the book sitting up straight. "No one even knows I left Hogwarts today to go to
Hogsmeade. Dumbledore started lecturing me about it not being safe for me to go and I got pissed off and locked myself in the Room of
Requirements. I waited an hour until ten and snuck out the back way around the castle and right out of the front gates. By ten thirty, I was in the
Shrieking Shack and on my way here. Dumbledore probably still thinks I'm in the Room of Requirements."
"Then be sure he sees you leave from there," Voldemort said reaching over his shoulder and taking the book from him. He nodded before standing
up and fixing the two chairs back into place. "Go, Harry. Your worth to me there has now increased beyond you simply smuggling things out of that
castle."
"I'll see what I can find out and let you know as soon as I have something," he replied turning and looking at Voldemort again. Still in his sixteen-
year-old form, he wondered how long the Polyjuice had left and Voldemort chuckled stepping closer to him. That's all it took for him to get another
of those kisses like the ones they'd shared earlier. When the kiss broke, he looked at Voldemort again breathing hard. Someone walked into the
room, a young man about his age and he looked at the bloke confused.
"Rosier shall accompany you back to the Shrieking Shack," Voldemort said and he looked back at the man. "Ten minutes after you have left the
shack to return to Hogwarts he shall leave the shack through a window. Should anyone have discovered that you went to the shack and found the
dwelling impenetrable, they will assume you had a rendezvous with Rosier in this form whilst there. He has used this form before and is known to
be in Hogsmeade from time to time."
"Sneaking to Hogsmeade to meet up with my boyfriend, huh?" he chuckled and Voldemort smirked. "I'll be back as soon as I can manage it,
hopefully with more information when I do."
"I expect no less," Voldemort replied and he chuckled. "Go, and do not slack on the studies I have assigned you in favor of what you wish to learn,"
the man said pushing the book into his chest.
"Then I'll just have to study them both," he shrugged and brushed another kiss along the man's lips. Voldemort grabbed his hair deepening it and
he didn't fight the man doing it.
"Go," Voldemort said breaking the kiss abruptly and shoving him backwards towards the door with the connection to the Shrieking Shack.
"Fine, just get me all riled up and send me back to Hogwarts randy," he chuckled heading for the door. He turned with his wand dropping into his
hand and countered the hex Voldemort sent his way.
"Be careful, Harry, or I shall allow my faithful to teach you several lessons," the man smirked. He just laughed, turned back to the door, and opened
it. And retreating to the small part of his mind that he'd learned how to keep constantly occluded on the way through while being escorted for safety
and secrecy by one of those faithful, he grinned at how much more faith Voldemort and the Death Eaters had in him when he was still determined
to destroy them all.
Nyx
both.
****ATTENTION READERS******: Since this is the first story I'm posting here, I need a little help and would appreciate some input. For the M
rating, exactly how much detail can be put into a sex scene before it's considered explicit? I've seen some bondage fics on this site that were
waaay more detailed than anything I wrote for this story, but at the same time I don't want to have the story or my account deleted for breaking the
rules. I need to know this before I can post the next chapter so reviews with an answer would be very helpful. Thank you.
" regular speech "
Chapter 15
Three Weeks Later
Halfway through the month of February, Harry leaned forward with both hands on the edge of the long table in the secret Slytherin chamber. His
mind completely closed off to Voldemort or anyone else who might try to get inside it once he left the chamber; he looked over the supplies laid out
in front of him. There was a set of dragonhide gloves, a facemask laced with every charm imaginable to prevent inhaling fumes or toxins of any
kind, protective goggles that fit over his glasses, earplugs, a knit hat charmed to protect his head, padding for his forearms, elbows, and knees in
case he needed it, over a dozen potions for the same reason, an expandable canteen of water, and over a dozen other items just in case he
needed them. And as a last resort, attached to a cord around his neck was the emergency portkey quill nib that Snape gave him. Sure that he had
everything he might need, he packed everything into the expandable, charmed to be lightweight no matter what was inside it bag, grabbed his
broom from it's spot leaned against the wall beside the door and left the chamber.
At nearly one in the morning the corridors were quiet and empty. The made it easier for him to get to one of the courtyard doors and outside. He
thought about going to the Astronomy Tower, but he needed to save his strength for what lie ahead and climbing all those stairs wouldn't do that.
While he wasn't sure exactly what he would face, he knew it wouldn't be easy. Standing in the courtyard, that didn't stop him from pulling on the
dragonhide gloves, mounting his broom, and taking flight.
The flight to a cliff near Salazar Slytherin's final resting place was long if uneventful. Setting down and dismounting his broom, he looked around
the area and thought it was beautiful and worthy of being Salazar's last home. Behind him, the stretch of forest was a lovely backdrop to the
enormous marble statue of Salazar that matched the statue in the chamber at Hogwarts almost to a tee. While covered in a thinning layer of snow
now, during the warmer months he was sure the area was littered with gorgeous wildflowers. In front of him near the cliff's edge was a large
boulder, but beyond that and the cliff itself was an endless stretch of water. The Isle of Man where he stood was a small patch of land in the
Atlantic, surrounded on three sides by the United Kingdom, the country that Salazar Slytherin considered his domain. Even in death Salazar had
placed himself at the center of the British, Irish, and Scottish wizarding worlds. The legacy of his house's arrogance was well deserved.
After shrinking down his broom, he tucked it into his bag and pulled out his protective gear. Once every piece was in place, he looked around the
area once more. Raising an eyebrow at the branches of a small snakeweed bush sticking out of the snow, he looked around the area and saw
nearly a dozen others. Using his wand, he cleared away section after section of snow away to get a better view of the ground under it. Damn, he
knew it. Wild snakeweed plants generally meant snake burrows and there were loads of the telltale small rocks that dozens of varieties of snakes
used to cover all but one entrance into their underground lairs during the winter littering the area. He hoped he brought the right kinds of antivenins
he might need just in case he got bit. That ability to speak Parseltongue was about to come in really handy.
With two different types of multipurpose antivenin in his pocket for quick access, he walked over to the statue of Salazar with the Nagini's vial of
venom in his hand. Naturally, the only open entrance to the snakes' burrows was directly in front of the statue. Three feet from the front of the
statue, he heard a hiss of warning. One more step and he didn't just hear a warning, he saw it in the form of a large cobra. Wand in hand, he
petrified the snake and then cast a warming charm on it.
"Are you insane?" he asked in Parseltongue. "You're going to freeze to death out here." He unpetrified the snake and the snake stared at him
swaying back and forth.
"You speak the language of snakes," the snake said warily.
"Yes," he replied looking around hearing a lot more hissing around him. The sounds were still underground, but much closer to the surface than
they were.
"Why are you here?" the snake asked.

"For the item my master hid here some time ago," he replied looking back at the snake.
"You lie," the snake said slithering completely out of its hole and circling him slowly. The snake's fangs dripped with venom and it was more than
eight feet long. "Were that true you would not be here alone. Leave this place or die here."
"I'm not lying. Enemies of my master know what the item is and are close to discovering its location. It must be moved before it falls into
their hands and my master suffers for it," he replied turning and watching the snake as it circled him. Rocks wiggled over other holes and he
gripped his wand tighter. "Stop them from coming out. It's too cold out here for them and they'll die."
"Are you scared, fleshling?" the snake chuckled.
"I don't have time for this," he said gritting his teeth.
He turned back towards the status of Salazar, but immediately turned back casting a freezing charm on the entire area. It was a good thing he did
as dozens of snakes sprang from their holes and the one he'd been talking to lunged at him with fangs bared. Pointing his wand up, he covered the
area in a magical dome and then a more powerful warming charm on the area inside the dome. All the snakes, including the one he'd been talking
to, fell to the ground shaking as their body temperatures shifted from normal to freezing cold, and then slowly back to normal again.
"Try it again and I'll flay you and every one of them into boots," he said angrily as the snake slowly lifted its head. Turning back to the statue,
he pulled out the vial of Nagini's venom and carefully put three drops in the marble chalice of the statue. The ground rumbled and the base of the
statue cracked loudly before sliding backwards to reveal a staircase, turning back to the snake, he swirled his wand lifting all of the snakes in the
area off the ground and sent them all to the bottom of the stairs. Pulling a lantern from his bag, he lit it and then followed them down the stairs. With
their body temperature rising again from being back underground, the snakes recovered and formed lines behind the one he'd been talking to.
Another loud series of hissing and even that snake backed up. He did up two stairs too when a huge Runespoor with it's three menacing heads
came around a corner behind them and slithered towards the front of the pack.
"Who dares enter our lair?" the Runespoor's left head asked.
"I do to reclaim my master's belongings," he replied. All three heads turned towards one another then looked at him again. "Yes, I speak the
language of snakes. Can we move this along now? My master expects me back as quickly as possible and I've already had to waste time
saving the lives of your workers." All three heads turned towards the first snake and that snake lowered it's head in shame.
"You will be dealt with later, rest assured," the Runespoor said before turning towards him again. "You come for the bracelet," the Runespoor
said.
"Yes," he replied. "My master's enemies plan as we speak to destroy it." He reached in his bag again and pulled out a box. Opening it and
turning it around, he showed the bracelet inside it to the Runespoor before tucking the box back into his bag. "I'm here to trade the real one for a
false version."
"We do not believe you," the left head said. "The bracelet cannot be taken from here. It is protected by us."
"Really? If I hadn't warmed them all up and got them down here they'd all be dead right now," he replied walking back down the stairs and
up to the Runespoor.
"An error in judgment that will not happen again," the left head said.
"I could care less what you do, I have a mission to complete for my master and I will by any means necessary." All three heads laughed
and their faces got closer to his. "Be very careful. I'd rather not kill you, but I will if I have to since it's my life on the line if I fail in my
mission."
"You can do-"
There was a collective series of hisses of pain as every snake on the ground lifted to the ceiling of the cavern including the Runespoor. To make
his point a little clearer, he waved his wand again and six inch long spikes fell from between snakes to the ground imbedding in the floor.
"A ward wrapped around all of you and I can make that happen until you're all dead and I walk by your corpses. That's the same thing
the fleshlings coming for the bracelet will do to you instead of standing here talking and trying to be polite. My patience is wearing thin,
though." He banished away all the spikes and lowered the snakes to the ground. "Now either help me complete my task or get out of my
way." He moved around the Runespoor towards the narrow corridor that it came from.
"Wait," the right head of the Runespoor said and he turned in aggravation towards the snake again. "The path to the left is riddled with
dangers. There is another way."
"Where?" he asked stepping back up to the Runespoor.
"Tell him nothing! He lies!" the left head said.
"There," the right head said and motioned towards the stairs. He hadn't noticed it coming down the stairs, but there was a small indent in one stair,
a hole in the middle of it. Stepping up to the stair, he crouched down and ran his finger along the small indent and hole there. Stepping back, he
looked around examining the area more carefully.
"See? He knows not how to open the way. I told you he lies. Let us spill his blood and feast on his warmth for disturbing our slumber,"
the third head said.
"I don't think so," he chuckled lowly, evilly.
Wand stretched out, he cast a ward behind the Runespoor to keep the other snakes at bay. The left, venomous head lunged at him again for it, but
he slashed his wand through the air and the left head screamed before falling limply to the floor. Quickly picking it up, he knelt down on the stair,
pulled a small bowl and knife from his bag, and yanked off one of his gloves. A small cut to his index finger and he held his finger over the bowl
letting his blood drip into it and then picked up the Runespoor head and squeezed one of it's fangs to mix it's venom in with his blood. Picking up
the bowl, he tilted it and slowly dripped the mixture into the small indent watching it slide down and into the hole there. He jumped up moving
backwards when the stairs cracked again and grinned when they lowered revealing a chamber filled with cobweb, a pedestal in the middle with the
bracelet, the Horcrux, sitting on top of it. Chuckling, he healed the cut on his finger and pulled his dragonhide glove back on before picking up the
decapitated left head of the Runespoor and slowly moving towards the pedestal. Using the snake's head, he forced it's dead mouth around it,
squeezed it's jaws shut, and lifted the bracelet off the pedestal that way. Holding it in his hand, he smiled dropping the Runespoor head to the
ground. The pedestal shook, but he just stared at the bracelet in his hand that Dumbledore and Snape told him he wouldn't be able to get without
their help.
"Quickly, you must replace what you have taken," the right head said.
He nodded pulling the box from his bag, switched the fake for the real version inside it, and used the decapitated head to make the switch. Still
holding the head, he turned when the lowered stair cracked again and ran for the opening. He had to jump the last few feet and just barely made it
out before the stairs lifted again over the secret, easy access to the chamber only a Parseltongue would have been able to find since the
Runespoor had to tell him about it. And with the third head of the snake gone now, anyone who tried to come to get the bracelet after him would
have to go around the hard way to get to it. Sitting down on the floor trying to catch his breath, he pulled an empty vial from his bag and collected
the last little bit of venom left in the severed head before setting it on fire and letting it burn until there was nothing left. With a final wave of his
wand, he cleared the area of any evidence that he'd been there and then looked at the Runespoor still watching him.
"Lovely, isn't it?" the middle head that had been silent until now said.
"What?" he asked.
"The silence," the middle head replied. "So much easier to dream without the noise."
"And plan for the arrival of the other fleshlings you spoke of," the right head said.
"And here I was going to apologize for doing it," he chuckled.
"Oh no," the middle head said. "Too strong for us, but not for you." He chuckled and the right head spoke again.
"You have what you came for, fleshling. Go now so we may plan for others who dare come without your master's order."
He nodded and looked around before casting heating charms on a few rocks sticking out of the sides of the walls. The spell wouldn't last long, but
the snakes would enjoy the heat while it did. They all hissed in pleasure swaying back and forth and he chuckled before heading up the stairs
again. On the surface, he turned and used the same spell from the statue in the chamber at Hogwarts to close the lair up again. His protective gear
went back into his bag and he pulled out the box containing the bracelet. Running his finger along it, he chuckled.
"Yeah, I really need the Order, don't I?" he chuckled, put the box in his bag, mounted his broom, and headed back to Hogwarts hoping getting the
chalice and locket was as 'easy' as facing a lair full of deadly snakes and risking further poisoning by cutting his finger open with potent venom
dripping nearby.
Nyx
*Chapter 17*: Chapter 16 Edited
both.
Hello Everyone,
Thank you to everyone that responded to my question from the last chapter regarding explicit content. After reading reviews and messages I've
decided to take some advice. I'm posting 2 versions of chapter 16. THIS VERSION labeled 'Chapter 16 - Edited' is the edited, toned down version
that also contains a warning at the point the scene begins. The version labeled 'Chapter 16 - Original' is the original, more detailed version that I
wrote. Whichever version you read, I hope you enjoy it. Please leave a review if you have the time to. I'd really like to know what everyone thinks.
Thanks again!
Nyx
" regular speech "
Chapter 16
Slouched in an armchair in the corner of the Gryffindor common room, he laid his hands on his stomach and closed his eyes too damned tired to
do anything else. For the three weeks after his nearly full day spent with Voldemort and the Death Eaters and the two weeks since he'd gotten his
hands on the bracelet, his classes had been the easiest part of his daily life. Since that day, and the kisses, Voldemort was in his head more and
more often whether he was in classes or not. When he was in classes the conversation was light and sporadic, but once his classes were over it
was even more time spent studying lessons only Salazar himself would have thought worthy for a Hogwarts student to learn. He didn't complain
since what Voldemort taught him was a hundred times more interesting and useful than anything he learned in his classes, but as the hour grew
later his attention waned until Voldemort finally chuckled and told him to go to bed. More often than not lately, he listened when Voldemort did.
As exhausting as all that studying was, his mind was focused on other things, too. There was that small, constantly occluded part of his mind that
was focused on getting his hands on the last two Horcruxes. If he focused on that part too much, sleep was abandoned in favor of his own studies
on things he might need to know to get his hands on the chalice and locket since he was sure getting those was going to be a lot harder than
getting the bracelet had been. Being a Parselmouth was his saving grace in that outing, but he knew better than to think Voldemort would use the
same method to hide a Horcrux twice. He knew where they were, had flown to the other areas that were in those portraits he gave Voldemort and
felt one in an area of forest and the other at one of Salazar's former residences, but he hadn't had the time or energy to go after them yet. He
would soon, though. It was already a week into March and end of the school year was approaching fast. He wanted the Horcruxes in his
possession before that happened.
While a big part of his life had revolved around Voldemort since Voldemort's return, and even before that though he hadn't known that at the time,
there was a new aspect to that that he was still trying to sort out in his head, too. The man had killed his parents, had been the reason he's
suffered so much throughout his short life thus far. The bastard had caused the deaths of so many people, too many for him to even name.
Voldemort had tried to kill him five times already, too, and still had plans to kill him as soon as the Horcrux was separated from him. He knew that,
but lately he'd started wondering about that, too.
For as much as the snake-face megalomaniac taunted him about how close he'd gotten to the man, the reverse could be said as well. Firstly, was
teaching him things, lots of thing that he could easily use against the man when their much-anticipated epic final battle did happen. What stuck out
in his mind about that even more was how pleased Voldemort genuinely was when he did well on a lesson. On the occasions when he related one
lesson to others of the past, the elation was twice as evident in Voldemort's voice. Yes, a part of that was Voldemort's amusement over turning him
more and more onto Dark Arts, but he knew better than to think that was all it was. Voldemort actually did enjoy it when he did well, and as an
extension, had done things to make sure he was well, too.
Though he still felt it when Voldemort was pissed off, the intolerable inferno that used to happen with his scar had been dwindled down to just an
uncomfortable burn and that was only when Voldemort was really angry. Most of the time, he didn't feel it at all and it only even itched now and
then. Whatever the spells were that Voldemort had used on him, and he knew Voldemort had most likely researched them, the man did it to stop
his pain and that spoke volumes. So did Voldemort using a piece of his sixteen-year-old hair to Polyjuice himself into his younger self. That was
completely for his benefit. He didn't see Voldemort doing that for any other Death Eater. And that was the most telling of the change between them,
that Voldemort had let him sit in and participate in a Death Eater meeting. For all Dumbledore and the Order claimed that they would help him
defeat Voldemort, he'd gotten more information about what the Order was up to from that meeting than he had from the Order. Ever.
And that was the final thought on his mind at all times: the Order. He'd only been invited up to Dumbledore's office once in the past five weeks.
Walking in the door and seeing all the Order members there, he'd locked down his mind tightly and had been more wary taking a seat in the old
man's office than he'd been doing the same in a roomful of Death Eaters. Dumbledore had thanked him for the information about Sheartower
Castle. That the old man followed the thank you with information about the little bit the Order did find there sent up warning lights all around him.
He knew why when Hermione quietly said that they just wish they had a small idea of what Voldemort was planning next and Dumbledore added in
that not having Snape in on Death Eater meetings anymore was a more serious blow to the Order's plans than he'd originally thought it would be.
He'd stood up and headed for the door only to have Dumbledore poke a stick at him with a comment about his lack of willing assistance to the
Order being the reason that he wasn't a member of it.
"My lack of willing assistance?" he shouted turning back to the man. "You mean because I won't just follow your orders. You expect everyone here
to just do what you want without question or argument. That sounds like what someone else I know expects!"
"How dare you talk to Professor Dumbledore like that!" McGonagall had yelled back standing up.
"I call it as I see it," he snapped back. "The only difference between Dumbledore and Voldemort is that Voldemort just kills people who resist him
instead of trying to play on guilt and sympathy to gain their compliance. You all don't want me here, don't want to tell me anything that's going on,
but as soon as you're stuck in a rut you call me up here expecting me to help you out of it. Last time it was to be nice to Minister Scrimgeour so he
left you all to do whatever you wanted to. This time, you want me to use my scar's connection to Voldemort to get in his head and see if I can find
out anything, something you," he said pointing at Dumbledore, "told me a year ago that you didn't want me doing because it wasn't safe for me to.
You won't include me in anything, but you want me to put my arse and my mind on the line for you? Not bloody likely. You want to find out what
Voldemort is up to, get yourself another double agent. The only side I'm on in this war is my own."
Again, no one in the Order had talked to him again for days. Snape was the first to by trying to convince him to do it. When that hadn't worked the
greasy git had tried yelling to get him to do it. He hadn't and the door to the potions' classroom had needed to be replaced when he broke the
binding charm Snape cast on him to try to keep him from walking out of the classroom. Whatever truce they'd had up until then ended with that act
and he didn't have any truces with anyone else at the school anymore either. No, the only truce he had anymore was with someone not connected
to Hogwarts or the Order. And that truce was one he ultimately had to betray.
Summoning his broom from upstairs, he left the common room with it in hand and headed downstairs. Other students and teachers glanced at him
on the way down, but no one said anything to him on the way by. Outside in the east courtyard, he mounted his broom and took flight. He flew
around the lake for a while zigzagging in and out of the wards before setting down at Hogsmeade Station. From there he took the long way around
to the Shrieking Shack to make sure he wasn't seen going inside it, headed upstairs to the bedroom he'd first met Voldemort in, and walked over to
the closet door. Three soft knocks and he took a step backwards. The door glowed a moment later and opened to the scene of Voldemort's
chambers, a few Death Eaters around the table with Voldemort at the head of it, all of them eating with stacks of papers and books around them.
He stepped through the portal and pulled the door closed behind him.
"Missing me, Harry?" Voldemort grinned and the Death Eaters there chuckled.
"Evil prick," he mumbled making the Death Eaters laugh even more. Voldemort chuckled too and only looked at the Death Eater to his left. The
Death Eater, Dolohov, immediately nodded and moved to another spot at the table. Pettigrew cleared off the spot as he walked over and he sat
down as soon as the rat moved out of the way.
"Your visit is unexpected today. Have you news to share with me?" Voldemort asked and a fresh plate of food and goblet of wine appeared in front
of him
"The Order has no idea what you're up to," he replied picking up the goblet. "They wanted me to use our connection to find out for them. I told them
to fuck off in not so many words."
"When was this?" Voldemort asked.
"Few days ago," he replied and took a sip from the goblet.
"Why did you not inform me sooner?"
"Rather tell you shit like that in person so you can see how pissed off I am about it."
"And how pissed off are you about it?" another Death Eater asked.
"Pissed off enough that I blew off the door to the potions classroom when Snape put a binding charm on me to try to keep me from leaving the
room when he was yelling at me for not doing it," he snorted and drained the rest of the goblet to another chorus of laughter. Something brushed
against his thigh and he leaned back to look under the table setting his goblet down. "Shit, I'm sorry, girl. I forgot to round up a couple rats for you
along the way here," he said reaching out and stroking the snake's head.
"She has fed well today," Voldemort chuckled.
"Who you feed to her?" he chuckled in reply sitting up straight again.
"That old fool requesting you do so is in direct relation to LeAirmore's sudden disappearance," Voldemort grinned and he chuckled again.
"Told you he was a spy," he said. "How'd you catch him?" he asked leaning back in the chair and still stroking Nagini's head, the snake's head
resting comfortably on his thigh.
"It matters not as he has been dealt with," Voldemort replied. "You are not hungry?"
"Didn't come for food," he replied and Voldemort grinned again. "Got anymore of that Polyjuice around?"
"Leave us," Voldemort chuckled.
"And don't bother us this time," he added.
There was more laughter, but he ignored it stroking Nagini's head as plates were sent to the main dining room and the Death Eaters left the room.
He didn't look up again until Voldemort told Nagini to go have a nap and left the room too. When he did, it was to see Voldemort close and lock the
door behind Nagini and drink down a pewter cup of the green liquid. He stood up watching Voldemort transform into his younger form like
Voldemort had before thanks to polyjuice and a strand of the man's hair from when Voldemort was sixteen that Voldemort had kept in the statue of
Salazar in the secret chamber and stepped up to the man as soon as the transformation was complete.
"For now I will indulge you in this, but not always. Do not take my gift for granted," Voldemort said seriously.
"I won't," he replied quietly.
(A/N: Here's where those who don't like Slash should look away. Scroll to almost the end if you don't want to read it.)
The kiss started at the table and kept going all the way to the bed with him walking backwards all the way there. He dropped his robe to the floor at
the foot of the bed and scooted backwards up it with Voldemort crawling over him pulling off his outer robe, too. Settling his head on a pillow with
the man over him, their tongue grinding together sinfully, he gripped the man's hips adjusting his position under him.
"My poor, confused Harry," Voldemort said against his mouth sliding a hand up the side of his shirt. "You want that which you should not and do
not want that which you should."
"I know," he replied moving his hands to the buttons on the front of Voldemort's shirt, "but if I'm going to die soon anyway, I might as well enjoy the
time I have left."
"Your life is mine to claim when I see fit to take it," Voldemort replied breaking the kiss, the man's lips and teeth trailing down to his neck as he
tilted his head back. "At the present time, I wish to claim something else of yours." He groaned when Voldemort said a spell that evaporated his
clothes from his body. He wasn't the only one left naked from by the spell.
"Don't hurt me too much doing this," he panted, his head still tilted backwards.
"Harry, Harry, why would I wish to cause you undue pain on this occasion? That would not serve me in you returning again for more," Voldemort
chuckled. Voldemort's hand moving down his chest, beyond his stomach, and grasped where he wanted Voldemort's hand to go most. He moaned
arching his back and head even more and Voldemort chuckled before kissing him deeply again.
Though the man might be completely in human form at the moment, his movements were still snakelike. Harry didn't mind the slithery feel of skin
sliding against his, of lips and tongue doing the same, or of the hands setting his body on fire to rival what his scar used to do to his head. He tried
to give as good as he got, but he wasn't sure he was managing it even once he was rolled on top of Voldemort until a low groan reverberated in his
ear, his teeth and mouth attached to the man's collarbone, his groin rocking against the one under him with the guidance of steady hands.
"Were you only this quick a study in Dark Arts," the man said and he moved his mouth back to Voldemort's.
"You talk too much during sex," he replied.
While the big, bad, Dark Lord took orders from no one, all talking, verbal or otherwise, stopped in favor of more kissing, licking, and stroking. The
only words uttered were Voldemort's, a spell that made him hiss at the feel of hot oil sliding down his spine and lower still. He lifted his hips at the
firm urging from below him and then broke the kiss pressing his forehead into the other man's chest as slick fingers circled his arse and then a
single digit pressed inside. Incrementally, that digit moved in and out of him deeper and deeper and his arms shook with the effort to hold still.
"You may control the pace this first time as it shall be easier and less painful," Voldemort said pulling his head back up by the hair as the finger still
worked in and out of him.
"Another indulgence, my Lord?" he panted against the other man's mouth.
The growl he got in reply was accompanied by the finger working deeper and with a slight twist inside of him. He moaned into the other man's
mouth lifting up more. The movement made him rock backwards onto the finger and that felt fantastic. He did it over and over again, and when
more hot oil and another finger joined the first, the hot flashes intensified so much he whispered a spell to cause a slight breeze in the room. That
didn't help when a third finger joined in, and when those were removed and more oil trickled over him and below him, he reached down to aid
where that oil would do the most good.
It hurt, a lot, when it wasn't just fingers that invaded his body. He tried to lift off, to move away, but his hips were held firmly in place. Squeezing his
eyes shut against the pain, his scar started to burn. That distracted from the other pain he was in. Lifting a hand to his scar, he tried to breath
through the pain in his head. When it faded, there was a different sensation lower down his body and it definitely wasn't pain as he was rocked
gently on top of the other man.
"That's one way I never thought you'd use my scar against me," he said covering Voldemort's mouth with his. Voldemort just chuckled and returned
the kiss.
Once the pain was completely gone, God, it felt so good. Between the kissing and licking and biting and hands moving over him and Voldemort
moving inside him it was an endlessly repeated wave of pleasure. His arms shaking with the effort to hold himself up while still rocking in time with
the hands on his hips, he wasn't sure how much more he could take. That turned out to be no more at all when he was rolled over onto his back
and one, hard thrust had him exploding in pleasure so intense he never wanted it to end. After a few more movements Voldemort stilled over him
to let him catch his breath.
"Don't you want to-"
"I am nowhere near done with you yet, Harry," Voldemort interrupted with a chuckle.
Of all the people who'd ever made promises to him, he didn't think any had made good on them as well as Voldemort had. He'd barely recovered
his breath before teeth marked the side of his neck claiming him in the way he wouldn't let the man mark his forearm. That attention eventually got
him stirring and his temperature rose again and then it was back to the pounding, blinding pleasure of hard flesh moving inside him. He came again
in an embarrassingly short amount of time, but that just lead to him being rolled over onto his belly and his arse being invaded again. Apparently
the bastard was still trying to kill him, he was just going to use sex to do it. The thrusts inside him were harder and more powerful, and even
knowing he'd end up sore as Hell tomorrow because of it, he didn't force the other man to slow down or stop. His body was limp and satisfied after
two orgasms; he owed the other man at least one. He didn't get a third, but Voldemort's hissed word when the man finally released inside him was
almost as good, just that one word: Mine.
(A/N: End of scene. I did edit it slightly to tame the scene for the M rating even though I've definitely read much worse.)
"That's it, I'm not going back," he mumbled half-dozing, his body sticky and tired with Voldemort resting in his back, panting from the exertion. "Kill
me, curse me, do whatever you want, but I'm not moving."
"While exceedingly enjoyable, I require your body elsewhere more than my bed," Voldemort replied trailing lips along the back of his neck. He
groaned burying his face in a pillow and heard a chuckle before the tickle of magic coursed over him cleaning him off. Another spell tingled his arse
and he didn't both asking what that one was for. He had a pretty good idea when the pulsing dimmed down to almost nothing. "As much as I am
tempted to keep you lying here as you are now, you must return to Hogwarts. Given the amount of time you have been away, no one shall think
twice of you taking a bath and turning in early once there." He didn't move and Voldemort bit his earlobe. "Go, Harry."
"Fine, just kick me out after that," he joked still not moving.
"If you do not get up and return to Hogwarts as I instructed you to it shall be some time before I indulge you again."
"Now that's just evil," he huffed and Voldemort chuckled kneeling back. He rolled over onto his back and Voldemort grinned down at him looking at
his neck. "You left a mark on my neck, didn't you?" he asked.
"Yes," Voldemort replied with another chuckle summoning his wand, "and you shall not be able to remove it either," the man grinned and the spot
on his neck tingled with the spell Voldemort cast on it.
"Prick."
"As you are now intimately aware of," Voldemort smirked. He laughed sitting up and stole another deep kiss before Voldemort pulled him back by
the top of his hair. "Should you betray me now my other Horcruxes shall have to suffice," Voldemort said lowly, this time deathly seriously with no
smile or amusement in the man's eyes.
"Betray me and I'll master casting Unforgivables on you," he retorted just as seriously.
Voldemort chuckled and he grinned, leaned in, and kissed the man again before getting dressed and leaving Voldemort's chambers without a
backwards glance. He knew if he did he really wouldn't want to go back where he supposedly belonged.
Thanks for reading. .
Nyx
*Chapter 18*: Chapter 16 Original Version
both.
Hello Everyone,
Thank you to everyone that responded to my question from the last chapter regarding explicit content. After reading reviews and messages I've
decided to take some advice. I'm posting 2 versions of chapter 16. The version labeled 'Chapter 16 - Edited' is the edited, toned down version that
also contains a warning at the point the scene begins. THIS VERSION labeled 'Chapter 16 - Original' is the original, more detailed version that I
wrote. Whichever version you read, I hope you enjoy it. Please leave a review if you have the time to. I'd really like to know what everyone thinks.
Thanks again!
Nyx
" regular speech "
Chapter 16 - Original Unedited Version
Slouched in an armchair in the corner of the Gryffindor common room, he laid his hands on his stomach and closed his eyes too damned tired to
do anything else. For the three weeks after his nearly full day spent with Voldemort and the Death Eaters and the two weeks since he'd gotten his
hands on the bracelet, his classes had been the easiest part of his daily life. Since that day, and the kisses, Voldemort was in his head more and
more often whether he was in classes or not. When he was in classes the conversation was light and sporadic, but once his classes were over it
was even more time spent studying lessons only Salazar himself would have thought worthy for a Hogwarts student to learn. He didn't complain
since what Voldemort taught him was a hundred times more interesting and useful than anything he learned in his classes, but as the hour grew
later his attention waned until Voldemort finally chuckled and told him to go to bed. More often than not lately, he listened when Voldemort did.
As exhausting as all that studying was, his mind was focused on other things, too. There was that small, constantly occluded part of his mind that
was focused on getting his hands on the last two Horcruxes. If he focused on that part too much, sleep was abandoned in favor of his own studies
on things he might need to know to get his hands on the chalice and locket since he was sure getting those was going to be a lot harder than
getting the bracelet had been. Being a Parselmouth was his saving grace in that outing, but he knew better than to think Voldemort would use the
same method to hide a Horcrux twice. He knew where they were, had flown to the other areas that were in those portraits he gave Voldemort and
felt one in an area of forest and the other at one of Salazar's former residences, but he hadn't had the time or energy to go after them yet. He
would soon, though. It was already a week into March and end of the school year was approaching fast. He wanted the Horcruxes in his
possession before that happened.
While a big part of his life had revolved around Voldemort since Voldemort's return, and even before that though he hadn't known that at the time,
there was a new aspect to that that he was still trying to sort out in his head, too. The man had killed his parents, had been the reason he's
suffered so much throughout his short life thus far. The bastard had caused the deaths of so many people, too many for him to even name.
Voldemort had tried to kill him five times already, too, and still had plans to kill him as soon as the Horcrux was separated from him. He knew that,
but lately he'd started wondering about that, too.
For as much as the snake-face megalomaniac taunted him about how close he'd gotten to the man, the reverse could be said as well. Firstly, was
teaching him things, lots of thing that he could easily use against the man when their much-anticipated epic final battle did happen. What stuck out
in his mind about that even more was how pleased Voldemort genuinely was when he did well on a lesson. On the occasions when he related one
lesson to others of the past, the elation was twice as evident in Voldemort's voice. Yes, a part of that was Voldemort's amusement over turning him
more and more onto Dark Arts, but he knew better than to think that was all it was. Voldemort actually did enjoy it when he did well, and as an
extension, had done things to make sure he was well, too.
Though he still felt it when Voldemort was pissed off, the intolerable inferno that used to happen with his scar had been dwindled down to just an
uncomfortable burn and that was only when Voldemort was really angry. Most of the time, he didn't feel it at all and it only even itched now and
then. Whatever the spells were that Voldemort had used on him, and he knew Voldemort had most likely researched them, the man did it to stop
his pain and that spoke volumes. So did Voldemort using a piece of his sixteen-year-old hair to Polyjuice himself into his younger self. That was
completely for his benefit. He didn't see Voldemort doing that for any other Death Eater. And that was the most telling of the change between them,
that Voldemort had let him sit in and participate in a Death Eater meeting. For all Dumbledore and the Order claimed that they would help him
defeat Voldemort, he'd gotten more information about what the Order was up to from that meeting than he had from the Order. Ever.
And that was the final thought on his mind at all times: the Order. He'd only been invited up to Dumbledore's office once in the past five weeks.
Walking in the door and seeing all the Order members there, he'd locked down his mind tightly and had been more wary taking a seat in the old
man's office than he'd been doing the same in a roomful of Death Eaters. Dumbledore had thanked him for the information about Sheartower
Castle. That the old man followed the thank you with information about the little bit the Order did find there sent up warning lights all around him.
He knew why when Hermione quietly said that they just wish they had a small idea of what Voldemort was planning next and Dumbledore added in
that not having Snape in on Death Eater meetings anymore was a more serious blow to the Order's plans than he'd originally thought it would be.
He'd stood up and headed for the door only to have Dumbledore poke a stick at him with a comment about his lack of willing assistance to the
Order being the reason that he wasn't a member of it.
"My lack of willing assistance?" he shouted turning back to the man. "You mean because I won't just follow your orders. You expect everyone here
to just do what you want without question or argument. That sounds like what someone else I know expects!"
"How dare you talk to Professor Dumbledore like that!" McGonagall had yelled back standing up.
"I call it as I see it," he snapped back. "The only difference between Dumbledore and Voldemort is that Voldemort just kills people who resist him
instead of trying to play on guilt and sympathy to gain their compliance. You all don't want me here, don't want to tell me anything that's going on,
but as soon as you're stuck in a rut you call me up here expecting me to help you out of it. Last time it was to be nice to Minister Scrimgeour so he
left you all to do whatever you wanted to. This time, you want me to use my scar's connection to Voldemort to get in his head and see if I can find
out anything, something you," he said pointing at Dumbledore, "told me a year ago that you didn't want me doing because it wasn't safe for me to.
You won't include me in anything, but you want me to put my arse and my mind on the line for you? Not bloody likely. You want to find out what
Voldemort is up to, get yourself another double agent. The only side I'm on in this war is my own."
Again, no one in the Order had talked to him again for days. Snape was the first to by trying to convince him to do it. When that hadn't worked the
greasy git had tried yelling to get him to do it. He hadn't and the door to the potions' classroom had needed to be replaced when he broke the
binding charm Snape cast on him to try to keep him from walking out of the classroom. Whatever truce they'd had up until then ended with that act
and he didn't have any truces with anyone else at the school anymore either. No, the only truce he had anymore was with someone not connected
to Hogwarts or the Order. And that truce was one he ultimately had to betray.
Summoning his broom from upstairs, he left the common room with it in hand and headed downstairs. Other students and teachers glanced at him
on the way down, but no one said anything to him on the way by. Outside in the east courtyard, he mounted his broom and took flight. He flew
around the lake for a while zigzagging in and out of the wards before setting down at Hogsmeade Station. From there he took the long way around
to the Shrieking Shack to make sure he wasn't seen going inside it, headed upstairs to the bedroom he'd first met Voldemort in, and walked over to
the closet door. Three soft knocks and he took a step backwards. The door glowed a moment later and opened to the scene of Voldemort's
chambers, a few Death Eaters around the table with Voldemort at the head of it, all of them eating with stacks of papers and books around them.
He stepped through the portal and pulled the door closed behind him.
"Missing me, Harry?" Voldemort grinned and the Death Eaters there chuckled.
"Evil prick," he mumbled making the Death Eaters laugh even more. Voldemort chuckled too and only looked at the Death Eater to his left. The
Death Eater, Dolohov, immediately nodded and moved to another spot at the table. Pettigrew cleared off the spot as he walked over and he sat
down as soon as the rat moved out of the way.
"Your visit is unexpected today. Have you news to share with me?" Voldemort asked and a fresh plate of food and goblet of wine appeared in front
of him
"The Order has no idea what you're up to," he replied picking up the goblet. "They wanted me to use our connection to find out for them. I told them
to fuck off in not so many words."
"When was this?" Voldemort asked.
"Few days ago," he replied and took a sip from the goblet.
"Why did you not inform me sooner?"
"Rather tell you shit like that in person so you can see how pissed off I am about it."
"And how pissed off are you about it?" another Death Eater asked.
"Pissed off enough that I blew off the door to the potions classroom when Snape put a binding charm on me to try to keep me from leaving the
room when he was yelling at me for not doing it," he snorted and drained the rest of the goblet to another chorus of laughter. Something brushed
against his thigh and he leaned back to look under the table setting his goblet down. "Shit, I'm sorry, girl. I forgot to round up a couple rats for you
along the way here," he said reaching out and stroking the snake's head.
"She has fed well today," Voldemort chuckled.
"Who you feed to her?" he chuckled in reply sitting up straight again.
"That old fool requesting you do so is in direct relation to LeAirmore's sudden disappearance," Voldemort grinned and he chuckled again.
"Told you he was a spy," he said. "How'd you catch him?" he asked leaning back in the chair and still stroking Nagini's head, the snake's head
resting comfortably on his thigh.
"It matters not as he has been dealt with," Voldemort replied. "You are not hungry?"
"Didn't come for food," he replied and Voldemort grinned again. "Got anymore of that Polyjuice around?"
"Leave us," Voldemort chuckled.
"And don't bother us this time," he added.
There was more laughter, but he ignored it stroking Nagini's head as plates were sent to the main dining room and the Death Eaters left the room.
He didn't look up again until Voldemort told Nagini to go have a nap and left the room too. When he did, it was to see Voldemort close and lock the
door behind Nagini and drink down a pewter cup of the green liquid. He stood up watching Voldemort transform into his younger form like
Voldemort had before thanks to polyjuice and a strand of the man's hair from when Voldemort was sixteen that Voldemort had kept in the statue of
Salazar in the secret chamber and stepped up to the man as soon as the transformation was complete.
"For now I will indulge you in this, but not always. Do not take my gift for granted," Voldemort said seriously.
"I won't," he replied quietly.
The kiss started at the table and kept going all the way to the bed with him walking backwards. His robe hit the floor and his shoes were off before
they even made it to there. There was still that miniscule portion of his mind called his conscious that screamed at him how wrong what he was
doing was. He told that part of his mind to fuck off because dammit, he was tired of being the good little Golden Boy who only did what was right.
He wanted to do what was easy, and it was so easy to scoot backwards up the bed with Voldemort crawling over him, their tongues grinding
together in sinful harmony. By the time his head settled on a pillow, Voldemort's robe and shoes were off, too.
At the first feel of groin on groin, he quietly groaned into the kiss threading his fingers into the thick dark locks of his very soon-to-be lover. Yes, this
is what he wanted. He didn't want some sweet, soft girl in bed with him, he wanted hardness that matched his own grinding against him. He
wanted the rough hand that moved his from Voldemort's hair to the buttons on that man's shirt. He wanted the grip on one of his hips to almost hurt
it was so tight. All those girls at school that batted their eyelashes at him and gave him those gentle smiles didn't hold a candle to what he was
getting right now.
"My poor, confused Harry," Voldemort said against his mouth sliding a hand up the side of his shirt. "You want that which you should not and do
not want that which you should."
"I know," he replied slipping open the buttons on the front of Voldemort's shirt, "but if I'm going to Hell for this soon anyway, I might as well enjoy
the time I have left."
"Your life is mine to claim when I see fit to take it," Voldemort replied breaking the kiss, the man's lips and teeth trailing down to his neck as he
tilted his head back more. "At the present time, I wish to claim something else of yours." He groaned when Voldemort said a spell that evaporated
his clothes from his body. He wasn't the only one left naked from by the spell.
"Don't hurt me too much doing this," he panted, his head still tilted backwards.
"Harry, Harry, why would I wish to cause you undue pain on this occasion? That would not serve me in you returning again for more," Voldemort
chuckled. "I plan to have you more than simply one time and I always get what I want." Voldemort's hand moved down his chest, the man's short
nails scratching along his skin and over his nipples. "From this day forward you shall never look at another or think of being with another without
remembering that it was I who claimed your body first." The man's hand moved further down his torso and he bit his lower lip trying not to voice
how good that felt. "And should I hear you thinking of another, he will die a slow and painful death for turning your eyes from me and you will suffer
for allowing him to."
He didn't reply. He couldn't with his brain melting away from the waves of heat spreading through his body. His brain completely seeped out of his
ears when Voldemort's teeth latched onto his right nipple and the man's hand circled his raging hard-on.
"I-" he started, but trailed off.
"You what, Harry?" Voldemort asked, the man's tongue circling the teeth marks ringing his nipple. "You have no idea what you want, what you are
in for, but soon you will."
Though the man might be completely in human form at the moment, his movements were still snakelike. Harry didn't mind the slithery feel of skin
sliding against his, of lips and tongue doing the same, or of the hands setting his body on fire to rival what his scar used to do to his head.
Voldemort moved down to his navel and then up his torso again, the man's hand never leaving his erection.
"Now, let us see what you have learned thus far," Voldemort said, took his mouth in a greedy, hard kiss, and rolled them over so that he was on top
of the man straddled across Voldemort's bare thighs. He tried to give as good as he got. He returned the fierceness of the kiss before tasting the
skin on Voldemort's neck, collarbone, and chest. He wasn't sure he was managing it until a low groan reverberated in the man's chest and fingers
clenched his hair as he stroked hard flesh the same way Voldemort had stroked him. When he pulled his hand away from Voldemort's erection to
adjust his position, his one-time enemy pulled his hips forward and rocked him slowly, fluid seeping from Voldemort's erection against the crack of
his arse and easing the slide. He got the idea in a panted heartbeat and moved his own hips along with the guidance of Voldemort's steady hands.
"Were you only this quick a study in Dark Arts," the man said and he moved his mouth back to Voldemort's.
"You talk too much during sex," he replied.
While the big, bad, Dark Lord took orders from no one, all talking, verbal or otherwise, stopped in favor of more kissing, licking, and stroking. The
only words uttered were Voldemort's, a spell that made him hiss at the feel of hot oil sliding down his spine and lower still. He lifted his hips at the
firm urging from below him and then broke the kiss pressing his forehead into the other man's chest as slick fingers circled his arse and then a
single digit pressed inside. Incrementally, that digit moved in and out of him deeper and deeper and his arms shook with the effort to hold still.
"You may control the pace this first time as it shall be easier and less painful," Voldemort said pulling his head back up by the hair as the finger still
worked in and out of him.
"Another indulgence, my Lord?" he panted against the other man's mouth.
The growl he got in reply was accompanied by the finger working deeper and with a slight twist inside of him. He lifted up more to give the finger
more room to move. The action made him rock backwards onto the finger and that felt fantastic. He did it over and over again, and when more hot
oil and another finger joined the first, the hot flashes intensified so much he whispered a spell to cause a slight breeze in the room. That didn't help
when a third finger joined in, and when those were removed and more oil trickled over him and below him, he reached down to slick his lover up
knowing what was going to happen next and wanting that more than he'd ever wanted anything in his life.
It hurt, a lot, when it wasn't just fingers that invaded his body. He tried to lift off, to move away, but his hips were held firmly in place. Squeezing his
eyes shut against the pain, his scar started to burn. That distracted from the other pain he was in. Lifting a hand to his scar, he tried to breath
through the pain in his head. When it faded, there was a different sensation lower down his body and it definitely wasn't pain as he was rocked
gently on top of the other man.
"That's one way I never thought you'd use my scar against me," he said covering Voldemort's mouth with his. Voldemort just chuckled and returned
the kiss.
Once the pain was completely gone, God, it felt so good. Between the kissing and licking and biting and hands moving over him and Voldemort
moving inside him it was an endlessly repeated wave of pleasure. His arms shaking with the effort to hold himself up while still rocking in time with
the hands on his hips, he wasn't sure how much more he could take. That turned out to be no more at all when he was rolled over onto his back
and one, hard thrust inside him grinded against his prostate. He lost all control and came with a muffled cry of ecstasy so intense he never wanted
it to end. He couldn't breath, he didn't care about how wrong sleeping with the 'enemy' was, all he cared about was making damned sure that the
experience was repeated again as soon as possible. After a few more slower thrusts inside him, Voldemort stilled over him and he tried to catch his
breath to ask why.
"Don't you want to-"
"I am nowhere near done with you yet, Harry," Voldemort interrupted with a chuckle.
Of all the people who'd ever made promises to him, he didn't think any had made good on them as well as Voldemort had. He'd barely recovered
his breath before teeth marked the side of his neck claiming him in the way he wouldn't let the man mark his forearm. That attention eventually got
him stirring and his temperature rose again and then it was back to the pounding, blinding pleasure of hard flesh moving inside him. He came again
in an embarrassingly short amount of time, but that just lead to him being rolled over onto his belly, his hips being yanked backwards until he knelt,
and his arse being thrust into again hard and fully. Apparently the bastard was still trying to kill him, he was just going to use sex to do it. The
thrusts inside him were harder and more powerful, and even knowing he'd end up sore as Hell tomorrow because of it, he didn't force the other
man to slow down or stop. His body was limp and satisfied after two incredible orgasms; he owed the other man at least one. And when Voldemort
soaked the inside of him in a pulsing stream, it was with a single word spoken in the language only they and Nagini would understand, one word
that was nearly as good as what Voldemort had just done to him: Mine.
"That's it, I'm not going back," he mumbled half-dozing, his body sticky and tired with Voldemort resting in his back, panting from the exertion. "Kill
me, curse me, do whatever you want, but I'm not moving."
"While exceedingly enjoyable, I require your body elsewhere more than my bed," Voldemort replied trailing lips along the back of his neck. He
groaned burying his face in a pillow and heard a chuckle before the tickle of magic coursed over him cleaning him off. Another spell tingled his arse
and he didn't bother asking what that one was for. He had a pretty good idea when the pulsing of his arse muscles dimmed down to almost
nothing. "As much as I am tempted to keep you lying here as you are now so I may have you again at my leisure, you must return to Hogwarts.
Given the amount of time you have been away, no one shall think twice of you taking a bath and turning in early tonight." He didn't move and
Voldemort bit his earlobe. "Go, Harry."
"Fine, just kick me out after that," he joked still not moving.
"If you do not get up and return to Hogwarts as I instructed you to it shall be some time before I indulge you again."
"Now that's just evil," he huffed and Voldemort chuckled kneeling back. He rolled over onto his back and Voldemort grinned down at him looking at
his neck. "You're going to leave the mark on my neck, aren't you?" he asked.
"Yes," Voldemort replied with another chuckle summoning his wand, "and you shall not be able to remove it either," the man grinned and the spot
on his neck tingled with the spell Voldemort cast on it.
"Prick."
"As you are now intimately aware of," Voldemort smirked. He laughed sitting up and stole another deep kiss before Voldemort pulled him back by
the top of his hair. "Should you betray me now my other Horcruxes shall have to suffice," Voldemort said lowly, this time deathly seriously with no
smile or amusement in the man's eyes.
"Betray me and I'll master casting Unforgivables on you," he retorted just as seriously.
Voldemort smirked and he smiled, leaned in, and kissed the man again before getting dressed and leaving Voldemort's chambers without a
backwards glance. He knew if he did he really wouldn't want to go back where he supposedly belonged.
Thanks for reading. .
Nyx
both.
Please leave a review. I've had more than a few people tell me that because of the low review total that they thought this was going to be a bad fic.
Your reviews are telling me otherwise. =)
" regular speech "
Chapter 17
One Month Later
With a wide smile on his face and a chuckle in his voice, he ran his finger over the three items nestled inside the base of Salazar's statue in the
secret chamber at the base of Gryffindor Tower. Each one glowed slightly recognizing the Horcrux inside of him as he did. All he had to do was
take them upstairs to Dumbledore's office and make the old fool admit that he'd been right all along when he said that he didn't need the Order's
help to get them. Dumbledore would destroy them and the only Horcruxes left would be Nagini and the one attached to him. That thought drained
the smile from his face because the Order would target Nagini relentlessly in every fight from then on, and once Nagini was destroyed, he'd be the
one they turned on next. Snape had already unwittingly told him the Order's plan months ago with one sentence:
You realize that may be the only option.
That one sentence and Snape telling him that his blood being in Voldemort's body was his way back to the living world if he were to die was the
Order, and Dumbledore's, final plan. Once the other Horcruxes were destroyed he'd die one way or another and be brought back through that
blood magic to finish Voldemort off for good. It was yet another reason why he'd never been brought into the Order to hear all their plans and why
he'd never been taught more advanced magic. The last thing they wanted was for him to be strong enough to fight them off when the time came for
them to kill him.
Sealing the Horcruxes inside the statue's base, he turned and headed for the door. The monitoring charm he set told him no one was in the
corridor and he slipped out of the chamber with his broom in hand and headed towards the front of the castle and the moving staircase still wearing
his padding and dragonhide gloves. Getting the chalice from the grip of yet another statue at Salazar's old home had by far been the worst and his
scorched skin was testament to that. He should've nicked a better healing potion from Snape's store before he went to go get it.
"Going out, my boy?" Dumbledore asked in the Entrance Hall, Snape and Kingsley standing there as well.
"Thought I'd go flying for a bit before curfew," he lied. "If you'll excuse me."
"Not this time, Potter," Snape said and he raised an eyebrow at that.
"I believe what Professor Snape is saying is that we had a deal regarding your outings," Dumbledore said stepping towards him. "While we have
received no evidence of what you say your intention is in them, other evidence of your activities is rather obvious," Dumbledore said cupping his
chin and tilting his head to the side exposing another of the many marks he's had on his neck in the past month. He pulled his chin away and
glared at all three of them. "Your friend, Lionel, is not entirely what he would have you believe."
"So what, he's nineteen instead of eighteen?" he asked, Lionel Cavot being the name Rosier uses in Hogsmeade when he's under Polyjuice
potion. "He doesn't really live in Glasgow and goes to Hogsmeade for supplies for his great-aunt in Edinburgh? He doesn't work part-time at the
bookstore about twelve blocks from where he lives with his brother? He's using a fake name? What's he lying to me about?" he asked using the
airtight cover story Voldemort had created for Rosier a long while ago and made sure he knew by heart for just this occasion.
"And what do you know of his mother's parents?" Kingsley asked.
"Oh for fuck's sake," he snorted.
"Harry," Dumbledore said sternly.
"They were Voldemort sympathizers, yes, I know," he huffed. "His mum took off on him and his brother after his father was arrested for speaking
out against the Ministry over and over again and formed a piss poor vigilante group in Edinburgh. His mum hasn't been seen in almost a year now
and him and his brother scrape by on three part-time jobs between them and a small allowance his great-aunt gives them to supplement that
income. He repays her doing that by running all her errands for her and usually ends up in Hogsmeade every two to three weeks doing that. I don't
see anything wrong with that."
"He was raised-"
"So was Sirius and he didn't become a Death Eater," he snapped back. "And if I shouldn't spend time with or be near anyone with a link of any kind
to Voldemort then I can't even spend time with myself," he said lifting his hair off his scar. The three men stared at him and he snorted again
dropping his hair. "Yes, all right, a few times when I've left here it was to meet up with him instead of doing something else," he said quieter but still
angrily for having to explain himself. "I know I need to be careful of where I go and what I do, but dammit, I'm sixteen. I need more in my life than
just plotting to kill someone and searching for fragments of someone's soul. I need something for me instead of everything just being about
Voldemort."
"How many times have you met up with him?" Kingsley asked.
"Three times in the last month," he replied angrily at being questioned so much.
"You have left the castle grounds seven times," Dumbledore said.
"And the other four times were for the reason I gave. Now that I've got my hands on a fresher sample of Adder Delcross venom so will this time,"
he replied.
"Adder Delcross venom?" Snape said. "Nagini-"
"Is an Adder Delcross, I know," he replied. "May I please go now?"
"Not alone this time," Dumbledore said. He opened his mouth to object, but just huffed at the look Dumbledore gave him. "Severus, please inform
Minerva that Harry is with me and we shall return as soon as possible. Kingsley, please inform the Order that Harry and I are on a mission and
there is a meeting in my office upon our return."
Fuck! The last thing he wanted to do was go anywhere with Dumbledore, but he didn't have a choice. But then again he did. He could tell
Dumbledore that he'd just returned from retrieving the last of the Horcruxes aside from him and Nagini. He could show Dumbledore the secret
chamber and hand over the Horcruxes. He could betray Voldemort to the side of the Light and watch as Dumbledore destroyed what he'd come to
think of as his: pieces of Voldemort's soul. The decision wasn't a hard one to make. His mind already locked down from retrieving the chalice, he
kept it that way as he walked outside with Dumbledore following him and Dumbledore summoned a broom.
"I can do this myself," he grumbled.
"I am sure you can, my boy, however, given that you have already stated this will not be even your second trip to the site and you were required to
return again for more supplies perhaps I can be of assistance," Dumbledore said as they both mounted their brooms.
"Assistance, Professor," he said. "Don't try to take over this from me. There's a lair of cranky arsed snakes there, one of them a two-headed
Runespoor, and it takes a good deal of Parseltongue to talk my way past them. They might not even let you go down there with me."
"Then we shall simply have to hope they do," Dumbledore smiled. "Lead the way, my boy."
With no other choice, he lifted off with Dumbledore flying beside him. The entire way there he worked out a plan in his head on how to avoid
Dumbledore going down into the lair beneath Salazar's statue. By the time they reached the Isle of Man, he knew he wouldn't be able to keep that
from happening and just hoped the snakes cooperated with what plan he did come up with.
"A beautiful and fitting memorial to Salazar," Dumbledore said sincerely looking at the statue. He nodded taking a cautious step forward towards it
holding his hand up. Just like before, a few feet from the statue's base the first snake shot out of the ground.
"Oh, it is you again," the snake said.
"Yes," he replied in Parseltongue. "Remember the enemies of my master I was telling you about? This is one of them. He's forcing me to
get him down there to take the bracelet."
"Then he will die," the snake hissed angrily.
"No!" he said sternly. "I have a better idea and it'll keep you and the others safe."
"And what plan is this? My masters will need to approve this," the snake replied.
"I know. Just tell them not to attack the old man. I'll end up in prison if he dies while with me," he said.
"Very well. Open the chamber," the snake replied and disappeared back into it's hole. He sighed in relief and turned towards Dumbledore.
"He's going to let me open the chamber and let you come down there with me, but stay behind me. His master is the Runespoor and that's the one
I have to convince to let us pass by. Me alone it'll let go, I'm not sure it'll let you." Dumbledore nodded and he did the same before pulling the vial of
Nagini's venom from his bag and dripping the three drops in the chalice. He ignored Dumbledore expression of awe at the elaborate entrance
heading down the stairs. The Runespoor was already there waiting for them.
"This is the enemy?" the right head asked.
"Yes, but please don't kill him. I'll end up in prison if you do and my master will be furious with me. The true Horcrux is safe. Let the old
man have the fake one and then I can get away from him while he thinks he's gained what he was after," he said. "It'll also keep others
from ever coming here again."
"You are a clever fleshling," the right head said as both heads chuckled. "Very well. We shall guide you through the corridors from a safe
distance away so that he does not suspect your plan. Remember to leave an object on the pedestal or the chamber shall fall in on your
head. Sheasha."
"Yes, master," the first snake said.

"Keep close watch on the old fleshling. Should he endanger this young one, kill him," the Runespoor said, both heads looking at him firmly.
He nodded and the Runespoor moved backwards to allow him and Dumbledore access to the corridor. He motioned for Dumbledore to follow him
pulling the lantern out of his bag and lighting it again as last time. Even listening to the Runespoor giving him instructions on which way to go and
what to do it still took a long time to get through the winding tunnels.
"The chamber is just beyond that doorway. Take care in opening it. An evil fanged one guards the entrance," he heard in Parseltongue and
sighed.
"This is where I stopped the last time," he said quietly to Dumbledore behind him. "If the door is opened wrong, a cobra will attack. I have antivenin
just in case, but I'd rather not get bit all the same."
"May I?" Dumbledore asked. He nodded and moved to the side so Dumbledore could inspect the markings on the door. "Oh my," Dumbledore said
gravely. "You are correct regarding the cobra. The mixture needed to open the entrance is a mixture of cobra, Runespoor, and Adder Delcross
venoms."
"Really wished I'd taken up Ancient Runes now," he replied kneeling down on the floor and opening his bag again. He pulled out the three vials of
venom and Dumbledore smiled at him.
"I must say that I am impressed, Harry. You researched this site extraordinarily well," the old man said.
"Thanks," he replied mixing a few drops of each into a bowl and used a snake fang to stir the mixture up. When it was ready, he stood up and
looked at the old man again. "Want me to pour it or are you going to?"
"I believe it would be best for you to do the pouring, my boy. Should anything go wrong I will have much more success in subduing the cobra than
you."
He nodded moving passed the old man again and up to the door. Seeing a small protrusion of the lip on the head of a snake on the door with a tiny
hole at the back of it's mouth, he carefully tipped the bowl dripping the mixture into the stone snake. When the final drop from the bowl landed in
the snake's mouth, the sides of the entrance door cracked and the door slowly moved to the side.
"Well done, my boy, well done," Dumbledore said joyously as they stepped inside the chamber. Seeing his footprints on the other side of the
chamber from the entrance he'd used the first time he'd been there, he waved his hand to wipe them away before Dumbledore noticed. The old
man didn't, his gaze firmly fixed on the pedestal and the bracelet resting on top of it.
"What's wrong?" he asked as Dumbledore inspected the bracelet and pedestal it was resting on.
"It appears we must put something of equal weight in the bracelet's place," Dumbledore said removing one of the many rings on the man's hand.
"Have you anything in that bag of yours to remove the bracelet without laying hands on it?" he nodded.
Digging in his bag again and pulled out a set of glass tongs he'd picked up after he'd taken the real Horcrux from this same spot. Dumbledore held
his hand out for them, but just chuckled at the look he gave the old man and nodded. Gently, he picked up the bracelet at the same time as
Dumbledore dropped the ring onto the base. Just like last time, the door behind him rumbled and started to close because of the disturbance.
"Come on, hurry," he yelled and ran for the door still holding the fake Horcrux bracelet in the tongs. Dumbledore followed quickly behind him and
as soon as they stopped a few feet outside the chamber the stone door slammed closed behind them. He immediately dropped to his knees
digging one-handed into his bag again, pulled out one of the boxes he had in there glad he hadn't unpacked the bag yet, and put the bracelet in
there. Dumbledore bent down staring at it, and when the old man waved a hand over it, the bracelet glowed.
"It is definitely bursting with Dark Arts and at least one curse at that," Dumbledore smiled. "And another of Voldemort's Horcruxes has seen one of
its final days."
He nodded closing the lid over the box and tucked it into his bag again. It took time to once again make their way back to the stairs and up to the
surface and he was completely exhausted by the time they did. Mounting his broom, he rubbed his face tiredly and Dumbledore put a hand on his
shoulder.
"Allow me to return us to Hogwarts more speedily, my boy," the old man smiled at him.
Too tired to argue, he put his hand on Dumbledore's forearm and let the old man apparate them back to the edge of the wards surrounding the
lake. The flight from there was nothing, especially when Dumbledore guided them up to the tower at the top of his office and quarters. Wiping his
face in exhaustion heading down the stairs from there that stopped where the gargoyle's stairs did when raised, he followed the old man into his
office and every Order member, including Hermione, stood up when they did.
"Good evening, everyone, and thank you for coming on such short notice, but I felt this too important a finding not to share immediately," the old
man said happily moving behind his desk and he walked up to the front of it and sat down in a chair. "Harry, if you would be so kind?" He nodded
opening his bag, pulled out the box, and stood up only enough to set it down on Dumbledore's desk before slouching back down in the chair again.
He knew when Dumbledore opened the box at the gasps around the room.
"You did it, Harry," Hermione said in awe. "You actually got one of the Horcruxes all by yourself," she added in complete disbelief.
"Not entirely," Snape said.
"Yes, entirely, as I would've gotten the door open this time even without Professor Dumbledore being there," he snorted tilting his head back
closing his eyes.
"As much as I wish to state otherwise, Severus, he is correct," Dumbledore admitted and he looked at the old man again. "I believe a round of
applause is in order."
"I'd rather just go to sleep," he replied tilting his head back again to the laughter and clapping of the Order, every one of the idiots completely
unaware of how fake the 'Horcrux' in the box in front of them was.
Thanks for reading. Please review. =)
Nyx
both.
" regular speech "
Chapter 18
"Hello, everyone," he said cheerfully walking through the doorway at the Shrieking Shack and into Voldemort's chambers. After a week of the Order
up his arse for finding a Horcrux he was more than happy to be back in the presence of people who weren't so phony.
"Seize him," Voldemort said.
"What?" he said wide eyed. He didn't even have time to blink before his arms were bound behind his back, his legs were bound together, and his
knees crushed into his chest completely curling him into a fetal position.
"How dare you betray me!" Voldemort screamed. He did, too, his scar ablaze as much if not more than it used to burn.
"I didn't," he said and screamed again as his scar split open and the trickle of blood started down his face.
"You led Dumbledore to the bracelet!" Voldemort shouted and he screamed even more as the Cruciatus Curse hit him at point blank range.
"I-"
"Silence!" Voldemort shouted again. "The reports of you doing so are all over the Ministry as that old fool has assured everyone who will listen that
he is one step closer to my defeat! Crucio!" He screamed again, blood and tears mixing in his eyes as his body convulsed from being bound while
the curse hit him.
"It was a fake," he said. "I led him to a fake."
"Liar! My true faithful, do with him as you wish!" Voldemort shouted and hit him with the curse again. His head lifted off the floor and slammed back
into it hard. With no other way to tell Voldemort the truth, he pulled up the memories of getting all three Horcruxes and hiding them in the chamber
at Hogwarts. He was just barely able to push the memories into Voldemort's mind before he was hit again and again with more Cruciatus Curses.
"Stop," Voldemort said. Panting, he tasted the tears and blood from his scar and felt more blood falling from the side of his head where it had
slammed into the floor. "You took them," Voldemort said more calmly and he nodded. "Tell me!"
Snape knew what they are and knew that I knew where they were. He caught me looking at those books of old wizarding homes. I knew they'd put
two and two together eventually and start searching every place in those books, he said in his mind, his throat hurting too much from screaming to
want to talk aloud. I knew I didn't have much time to get to them first so I've been going out every chance I got. I found the last one the day I took
Dumbledore to Salazar's memorial. All three are hidden in the chamber at Hogwarts. Dumbledore, Snape, and Kingsley stopped me when I was on
my way back up to Gryffindor Tower afterwards. Instead of trying to tell what happened next, he just pushed the memory of the rest of that night
into Voldemort's mind.
"Dumbledore destroyed a forgery placed there by you, one you led him to so he believed he had destroyed a true Horcrux," Voldemort said. He
nodded, tears still falling from the pain of all the curses leveled on him in less than five minutes time. "Release him," Voldemort said. The ropes fell
away from his arms and legs and he rolled painfully onto his hands and knees, his hand slipping in his own blood on the floor and sending him
sprawling down again. "They believed the rouse that Rosier is your lover."
"Too well," he whispered slowly moving to his hands and knees again, his voice cracking even then, hoarse from screaming. "You already knew
that I told them I was looking for the Horcruxes, that that's where they thought I was going when left Hogwarts. I told you that weeks ago," he said
quietly moving only a few feet before he collapsed again and rolled on his back, his muscles still racked by the effects of the Cruciatus. "They
stopped me talking about Rosier in that polyjuiced get up. Dumbledore wasn't going to let me leave the grounds anymore if I didn't give him
something," he said, his eyes closed and feeling lightheaded. "Wouldn't let me leave," he whispered again. His eyes flew open feeling hands on the
sides of his face. Seeing Voldemort looming over him, he tried to struggle away.
"Easy, Harry," the man said softly. "Tell me the rest. Why did you not tell me you had taken them?" He relaxed only because he was in too much
pain to try to get away. "Tell me, Harry. Tell me."
"Would've given them to Death Eaters," he mumbled closing his eyes again. "Stupid arses can't be trusted with them. Lucius got one destroyed.
Can't be trusted. I can protect them," he murmured feeling his mind fading away. "I can protect them. I am one," he said. "Dumbledore… destroy
them, destroy me, and destroy you. Don't want us to die."
"Shh, Harry. We shall not die. Sleep now. Rest," Voldemort said.
The last thing he felt was a warm, wet cloth against his injured face before he felt nothing at all.
When the conscious world reformed in his mind, everything hurt. The slight movement of adjusting his arm and leg brought tears to his eyes. A
hand slid under his head and lifted it and he cried out in even more pain. His cry turned into a gurgled one as liquid was poured in his mouth and
his nose held until he swallowed whether he wanted to or not. He coughed out the last little bit and that hurt, too. In spite of the agony of doing it he
lifted his hand to push away the glass being forced to his mouth again. Without the strength to fight, he had to swallow the bitter tasting liquid again
and again. Finally, the glass was pulled away and his head returned to the soft surface of a pillow. Realizing that he wasn't on the floor anymore,
he cracked open his eyes swallowing again trying to get the taste of potion out of his mouth. Seeing the same ceiling above him that he'd passed
out under, he closed his eyes again to will the strength to move. He needed to leave, to go back to Hogwarts and bring Voldemort the Horcruxes
before the man tortured him again. After that he didn't know what he was going to do. He just needed to leave.
"You will not get far in your condition." He squeezed his eyes shut and then pulled away from the feel of a hand curling around the side of his neck,
a thumb trailing down his cheek. "You should not even be conscious at the moment considering the number of Cruciatus Curses you endured."
"Guess that… makes me… three for three," he whispered trying to move away.
"Lie still before you cause yourself more injury. Rodolphus has already returned to Hogwarts with enough extended Polyjuice and your hair for you
to remain here for two days so you may recover." He turned back cracking open his eyes and Voldemort laid a hand on the side of his neck again.
"You should have told me that you had moved them, Harry," Voldemort said and he let out barely a huff of a quiet laugh.
"Didn't… want you… to get… pissed off… at me," he whispered closing his eyes again, his words halted from his pain-filled panting. "Didn't…
work," he said. "Always… going to… want to… kill me… no matter… what… I do," he said, tears stinging his eyes.
"Wormtail, bring Harry a glass of water, another glass of Severus' Cruciatus Potion, and then leave us," Voldemort said. His head was gently lifted
again and another dose of the bitter potion slid down his throat, but the water felt better than the potion did. "Leave us and we are not to be
disturbed."
"Yes, my Lord," Pettigrew said easing his head back down on the pillow. The door closed a few moments later and Voldemort spoke again.
"I had no plans on allowing you to die, Harry," Voldemort said.
"Now who's lying," he whispered opening his eyes again if only halfway, his throat only feeling a little better after the double dose of pain-relieving
potions. "You told them to do whatever they wanted to me."
"I thought you had betrayed me, a betrayal worse than Severus' and more damaging than that of Lucius'." He nodded and turned away. "Harry-"
"You don't understand and you never will," he replied quietly closing his eyes again. "I'm just a new pet with a Horcrux to you, one with the added
bonus that you get to shag. You'd never do what you did to me, let them do what they did to me, to Nagini."
"Nagini would never betray me," Voldemort replied standing up and he turned back towards the man.
"And you're so damned sure that I will," he replied angrily, tears stinging his eyes again. "I've done more for you in the past six month than any of
your so-called true faithful have. They're Death Eaters and everyone knows it. Everyone knows they're loyal to you. At one time or another all of
the older ones have been arrested and gone to Azkaban for you. They stand against Aurors when they go out to do your bidding-"
"Yes, along with the Order," Voldemort said.
"So. Fucking. What," he replied. "I'm at Hogwarts all day every day with three members of the Order including its leader. I sit in fucking classes with
two of them during the day and tell you every plan I overhear them talking about at night. And how many times have I had to go up to that old son
of a bitch's office and bullshit my way through a half-truth, half-lie just so I could come here to see you the next night?"
"Your true faithful," he snorted and looked away at the far wall again slowly rolling on his side facing it. "Could or would any of your true faithful
have gone and gotten the Horcruxes by themselves at sixteen just to keep Dumbledore from getting to them first? Would any of them have
researched all three of the items before they were Horcruxes down to hand drawing pictures of them just to have a jeweler in southern Ireland
recreate them and then spend hours and hours every night researching on how to layer them with curses just so they had enough of a Dark magic
signature to pass as a Horcrux? Are any of them even fucking smart enough to have thought to do it while they all make jokes about how Snape
and Draco Malfoy said I haven't got a brain in my head?" he said, his voice cracking more and more with each word. Voldemort said nothing and
he rolled on his back again to look at the man. Voldemort was just standing beside the bed, arms crossed with a scowl on his face.
"Here," he said and used every ounce of strength he had to sit up and lifted his left arm to the man holding himself up with his right. "Go ahead and
fucking mark me like the rest of them are. I'll start calling you my Lord and I'll be just like them. I'll kneel at your feet and stammer when I talk to you
and I won't do anything on my own anymore even if the only reason I did was to protect you while I'm lying to the world because they think I'm
trying to kill you. Mark me since that's how you gage whether or not someone is loyal to you. To Hell with that you drift in and out of my mind
constantly to hear what I'm thinking when I could lock it down so you can't, having the Dark Mark on my arm means that I'm loyal so do it, my
Lord."
The arm holding him up gave out and he fell back to the bed hissing at the pain being jarred like that caused. Hands landed on him immediately to
hold him still, but he pushed them away rolling on his side facing the wall again in spite of the pain. Squeezing his eyes shut and panting through
the pain, he tried to relax hoping it eased the pain in his muscles. It took more than a few minutes for it to work. Taking a deep breath and letting it
out slowly, he swallowed against the dryness in his throat.
"As soon as I can manage it I'll bring the Horcruxes to you," he said quietly. "I won't even come here to do it, I'll knock on the door at the Shrieking
Shack so you or someone else can come get them. Then you can know for sure that I didn't hear anything I could betray you with. I'll stay at
Hogwarts and let you know through my scar whenever I find out anything about the Order. I'll just-I'll just stay away."
"You maintaining a distance from me will not reassure me of your loyalty."

"Then tell me what will and I'll do it," he sighed tiredly. "I've tried everything I could think of and none of it worked. Nothing worked and I doubt
anything ever will. Either you're going to kill me or Dumbledore will. The-Boy-Who-Lived, what a joke," he sniffled as more tears fell. "More like
The-Boy-Who-Was-Born-To-Die."
Between the physical pain he was in, the potion he'd been forced to take, his outburst, and his tears his exhaustion pulled at him again. His eyes
too heavy to even try to open them again and his muscles too weak to move, he gave in and let the darkness of sleep pull him in. And if he never
did wake up again then everyone got what he or she wanted with his death. Everyone except him, but then when did he ever get what he wanted?
Thanks for reading. If you'd like to leave a review, I'd love to know what you think. Ten reviews and I'll post the next chapter. I'd like to have at least
200 reviews by the time I'm done posting this. I've seen stories with over a thousand reviews so I don't think 200 is too much to ask.
And someone asked me how many chapters this story is so I'll let you all know: it's 34 chapters with a short epilogue. Thanks again for reading. =)
Nyx
both.
Thank you so much to everyone that reviewed the last chapter. I want to apologize to anyone that felt blackmailed into reviewing. While I still have
my goal of having 200 reviews by the time I post the last chapter, I didn't mean to make anyone feel bribed into reviewing.
" regular speech "
Chapter 19
The next time Harry woke up he didn't even know if it was the same day. He had vague recollections of the bitter taste of potion, but that was it. He
couldn't even remember dreaming anything. Everything was a blur, but slowly sitting up with his hand to his forehead he knew he'd been out of it
long enough for at least some of his injuries from all the Cruciatus Curses he'd endured to have healed. At least that was something, he supposed.
Cracking open his eyes, there were only a few candles lit in the room. It was barely enough light to see anything, but looking around he managed
to find his glasses and wand on the nightstand to the right of the bed. His glasses went on first and he looked around the rest of the room holding
his wand in one hand and curling his left arm around his chest and the aching ribs there. The clothes he'd been wearing when he'd arrived were
neatly stacked on the table. Figuring that was his cue to get up and get dressed, he steeled himself against the pain he knew he'd feel as soon as
he did. Breath held and teeth clenched, he inched to the side of the bed. It took another few minutes for him to actually stand up and his legs were
shaky and his forehead covered in sweat from the exertion when he did. With one arm still around his chest, he held onto whatever he could to
make it over to the far wall then used the wall to support him as he carefully walked down each stair to the main floor. He thanked the table chairs
profusely for their help in actually getting him to the table and around it to his clothes.
Getting to his clothes was only half the battle. From there it was pulling off the black pajama pants that came from God only knew where and
actually getting redressed. Bending to get his boxers back on had his face covered in sweat again, but he still moved on bending as little as
possible to get his feet in his jeans and pull them up his hips. After wiping away the sweat with his hand again, he set both hands on the table
trying to catch his breath in just his jeans and boxers. The door opened and he turned his head to see who it was. Given where he was he had no
chance of defending himself even if he had to and didn't bother trying.
"What are you doing out of bed?" Bellatrix asked sternly.
"He's what?" Lucius asked pushing the door open further. "Potter, have you lost what little mind you possess? Get back into that bed at once." He
ignored both of them standing up a little straighter holding onto the back of one of the chairs and picked up his t-shirt. "Potter-"
"Your son is at Hogwarts if you want to tell a sixteen year old what to do, Malfoy," he replied shaking out the shirt and the opening the bottom of it.
"Do something, Lucius," Bellatrix huffed. "The Dark Lord is going to be furious if he catches him out of bed."
"Yes, I shall be." He tensed at the voice coming from the hallway. Doing it made him grip the table again sucking in a hard breath at the pain.
"My Lord, we just came upstairs to check on him as you ordered and found him like this," Lucius said nervously backing up into the room. "I swear
we did so not even a half hour ago and he was still asleep. It's not our fault. You know how stubborn he can be."
"I see Harry was right in at least one thing as you cannot be entrusted to the care of anything that belongs to me," Voldemort said none too happily.
"My Lord-"
"Move, Lucius," Voldemort said. He forced himself to stand up straight picking up his t-shirt again. "And I see that I cannot trust you to remain
where I place you when my back is turned either." With his hands inside of the shirt and it stretched out between them, he leaned forward on the
table again.
"I was just getting dressed," he said quietly. "I don't know how long I was unconscious and you said Rodolphus only had two days worth of
Polyjuice. I was just making sure I was ready to leave when it was time for me to."
"Ooh, don't lie to him, Harry. Two spankings in a row is never a good thing," Bellatrix winced.
"Spanking?" he snorted turning and looking at her standing behind Voldemort in the doorway. "Were you here when it happened?" Bellatrix shook
her head biting her bottom lip. "I was hit with six Crucios before I lost count."
"Six," Lucius said quietly looking pained at the thought.

"Before I lost count, yes. I think there might have been two or three more than that afterwards. I'm not quite sure," he replied.
"How are you even standing?" Lucius asked looking both pained and in disbelief. "After that many in a row you should be-"
"Insane at the very least," Bellatrix jumped in looking at her nails. "Generally when I cast them it only takes three, maybe four times before-"
"Bella," Voldemort said.
"Yes, my Lord? I was just saying that-"
She shut up at the look Voldemort gave her. When Voldemort turned back towards him, he looked away and picking up his t-shirt again. It wasn't
until then that he actually looked down at his chest and saw all the bruises his 'spanking' had caused. Wanting to cover them up, he ignored the
pain of lifting his arm to put the shirt on. His shoulder cracked loudly from him doing it and both Lucius and Bellatrix winced at the sound. His hands
back on the table, he just tried to breathe through the pain.
"Oh, enough of this," Bellatrix huffed. He turned his head and watched her walk over to him. "Stupid, brave Gryffindor or not you are going to sit
down before you fall down," she said, pulled out a chair, and forced him into it. He hissed at being roughly moved and she patted his head. "It's no
one's fault except your own for having to prove what a strong, tough man you are. I'm not afraid to tell you that you sound awful, you look even
worse, and you're acting ridiculous moving about when you know you should be resting. Now, you're going to sit there and let Auntie Bella take
care of you because I for one am not losing my entertainment of watching you try to feed Wormtail to Nagini every time you come here. The Dark
Lord has lessons he still wants to teach you and work for you to do at Hogwarts and you're not going to be able to do any of that with the way you
are right now. Smidge," she called out and clapped her hands twice. A house elf appeared and she put her hands on hr hips. "Bring Harry a bowl of
that vegetable soup you served at lunch, a vial of the potion he's been taking, and a service of tea."
"Yes, Mistress Bellatrix," the elf said with a low bow and was gone. Barely thirty seconds later all the items were on the table, the bowl of soup in
front of him.
"Now either you eat on your own or I'll force it down your throat," she said. He raised an eyebrow at that and she pulled out her wand.
"All right," he said quickly holding his hands up. "God, I never pictured you as the mother hen type."
"That's because I'm not. I'm the Auntie Kick-Your-Arse type when you misbehave and the Auntie Teach-You-Nasty-Curses type when you're a
good boy. And being the auntie type rather than the mum type means that I don't have to see you when you're annoying me," she said and cupped
his chin firmly, "so don't annoy me. Now eat your soup, take your potion, and go lie down. You're not going anywhere until the Dark Lord says you
can and I'm going to make sure you follow that order least you get yourself into trouble with him again. I'm bored downstairs without you there
inhaling sweets and poking fun at Dumbledore and the Order and I simply won't tolerate that for long. Do I make myself understood?"
"Yes, Auntie Bella," he replied sarcastically rolling his eyes. "Ouch," he said a second later pulling his face away from her hand and rubbing his
forehead where she flicked it. Both Lucius and Voldemort chuckled and he huffed looking at her. She crossed her arms over her chest tapping her
foot and he huffed again, picked up his spoon, and ate a spoonful of the soup.
"I thought you'd see things my way," she said and patted his head again before heading for the door. "Come along, Lucius. Harry needs his rest."
He was surprised when Lucius didn't reply before following her out of the room closing the door behind him. Seeing Voldemort standing beside the
doorway just watching him, he turned back towards his bowl. He moved around the vegetables with his spoon keeping his eyes focused on the
bowl when Voldemort walked over and sat down at the head to the table to his right.
"Should the need arise for me to summon Bella back to force you to eat I will not hesitate in doing so and she will not be pleased with you,"
Voldemort said waving a hand and two cups filled with tea.
He nodded and lifted the spoon to his mouth again. Neither of them said anything as he ate, but he felt the man prying into his mind. He didn't stop
him. At one particularly deep push, he felt a stab of pain and dizzy. He still didn't stop Voldemort from digging deeper, just rested his forehead in
his hand. The spoon clanked against the side of his bowl, but it wasn't the spoon shaking; it was his hand. Sweat dampened his forehead and he
rubbed his forehead into his hand. A second later Voldemort's chair scraped backwards against the floor hard. It startled him into dropping his hand
and the spoon lifting his head up even though he was scared to do it sure that something Voldemort had seen pissed the man off again.
"Why did you not tell me that your scar began to burn once more when I entered your mind?" the man said angrily moving to him at the side of the
table.
"It-"
"Do not lie to me," the man said, grabbed his wrist, and put his bloody palm in his line of sight. He looked from his hand and then down at the table
picking up his napkin.
"I wasn't going to lie," he said quietly. "It wasn't burning. There-there was a shooting pain for a few moments, but then I just felt dizzy. My Lord," he
said adding the last quickly and nervously, though it was still belatedly.
"Stop this, Harry," the man said sternly and he sighed putting the napkin to his forehead and resting his forehead on both his hands.
"I don't know how," he said and hated the whine in his voice. "I don't know what I'm doing wrong to fix it. I-I don't know how to be a good Death
Eater."
"That is because you are not one and never shall be." He nodded because he already figured that much. "Look at me, Harry," Voldemort said more
gently and he slowly lifted his head still holding the napkin to his forehead. "They are my servants. As you said, they follow my orders and do no
more than that. You, Harry," Voldemort said pulling his hand away and cupping his chin, "will alter my orders to best suit my needs."
"I won't anymore. I promise," he whispered swallowing hard.
"Yes, you will," Voldemort chuckled pulling on his chin more until he stood up. "When next you discover that Dumbledore and the Order has
devised a way in which to cause me harm you will act first and advise me of those actions later as you have always done. You will once again risk
incurring my wrath to serve me best. You will walk into my domain with a package of sweets, seat yourself as close to me as possible, and explain
how your actions once again suited my needs whilst you had placed yourself in harms way between my enemies and myself. And when you do,
ah, my sweet Harry," the man said leaning in closer to him and he swallowed hard closing his eyes, "when you do I shall take great pleasure in
rewarding you as I did not in punishing you today," the man whispered in his ears. Supposing that was as close as he'd ever get to an apology, he
nodded. Voldemort laid a hand on the back of his head and tried to pull it down on the man's shoulder, but he pulled back.
"My scar-it'll-I'll bleed on you," he said quietly. Voldemort pulled back drawing his wand and he tensed again when Voldemort pointed it at his scar.
He let out a pent up breath when Voldemort only said a healing charm. "Thank you, my-"
His sucked in another hard breath when Voldemort grabbed his hair and crushed their mouths together. The first stroke of that forked tongue
against his was so strange, but the kiss still mostly felt like it had when he'd been kissing Voldemort under the effect of the Polyjuice potion. Before
he knew it, he had a hand on the side of the man's neck trying to lean into the kiss more and more. Voldemort chuckled slowing the kiss down and
eventually broke it pulling back to look at him. Breathing hard, the other man moved his hand from his hair to the side of his neck as he slowly
lowered his own.
"You calling me such in jest was more fulfilling than you doing so in fear," the man said, his amusement fading just looking at him. "While I enjoy
the fear I instill in other, your fear is of no benefit to me." He nodded just looking at the man and Voldemort smiled again. "Take your potion and
come lie down with me. I shall inform Bella it was on my order that you did so."
He nodded turning and picking up the vial of potion. He swallowed it down without worry and then slowly moved to stand up since Voldemort
already was. His muscles stiff from sitting even that long, he used the chairs again headed for the wall to help himself up the stairs. Instead,
Voldemort pulled him against the man and he held on as the floor rose to the level of the bed. A joke about it being another indulgence crossed his
mind as he moved around to the other side of the bed, but he didn't say it. It didn't matter since Voldemort chuckled and he knew the man was still
listening in his head, the man just wasn't pushing at his mind anymore so it didn't cause him any pain. That was enough to get him into the bed and
relaxing on his back. His eyes drifted closed and he felt the tingle of magic over him, but he didn't open his eyes again. Instead, he just turned his
head towards the direction he knew Voldemort was. When a hand laid gently on the side of his face, he rolled his whole body into the touch.
"You should have told me that you had taken them from where I had hidden them, Harry," Voldemort said quietly.
"I know and I'm sorry," he replied just as quietly, his eyes still closed. "I just knew that Dumbledore was searching for them and I wanted to make
sure that he didn't get his hands on them. The journal has been gone for years and he's already found and destroyed the ring. I didn't want him to
find and destroy the others, too."
"Mm, yes, however I doubt that was always your original intention in seeking them out. Whilst you informed me that you used the excuse of
searching for my Horcruxes as a means to leave Hogwarts to visit me, in all my searching of your mind I found no evidence that you had in fact
found and taken any prior to today." He didn't reply and Voldemort nudged him backwards until he was far enough back for Voldemort to look at
him again. "Your skill in Occlumency has grown considerably for you to have so efficiently mastered occluding only a small portion of your mind
whilst leaving the rest free for me to search at my leisure."
"You taught me well," he replied quietly.
"Yes, though that begs the question of what else you are concealing from me in that mind of yours," Voldemort said and he looked down.
"I-I don't want to show you those memories," he whispered. "They're mostly all things from before we started… seeing each other I suppose you
could say, thoughts and conversations about you that don't apply to us anymore."
"Spoke badly of me, did you?" Voldemort chuckled.
"With a lot of foul language," he mumbled and Voldemort chuckled again.
"What else is there?" Voldemort asked. He looked at Voldemort again and sighed knowing that Voldemort was going to make him tell the man.
"Things from when I was still planning to betray you," he admitted rolling onto his back and looking up at the ceiling. "When I found the bracelet, I
was going to give it to Dumbledore. Then I thought about it and decided to wait until I had all three; the bracelet, chalice, and locket. You already
know what happened by the time I did."
"Yes," Voldemort said, turning his head so that he looked at his former worst enemy again. "You had just retrieved the chalice and that old fool's
attempts at using the extortion of not allowing you to leave Hogwarts' grounds turned you completely to my side."
"That happened long before then, Voldemort," he whispered and the amusement faded from Voldemort's face. "Yes, I was still torn until then, but
looking back on it I wouldn't have spent so much time, money, and energy making the fake bracelet if I wasn't already more loyal to you than I was
to them. I didn't make the fake versions so that you wouldn't know I'd taken the real ones, I did it so that if Dumbledore or the Order went to one of
places where you'd hidden them that they'd find something there and stop looking for them thinking they'd found the real ones."
"You replaced them all with forgeries?" Voldemort asked and he nodded. Voldemort looked away considering that for a moment before facing him
again. "Have another chalice and locket made so that you have them to simply give to that old fool should he ask for one rather than you showing
him where they were hidden." He nodded again and Voldemort pulled him until he turned on his side facing the man again. "What else are you
hiding in that mind of yours?"
"Noth-," he started, but trailed off because there were a few other things there now that he was in that part of his mind looking at the memories
there. Voldemort raised an eyebrow at that and he bit his bottom lip. "Um, the only other things are just some memories that would get Bella
teasing me forever about them." Voldemort looked at him confused and he groaned rolling gently onto his back again. "Those sorts of dreams,
okay?" he sighed. With a low chuckle, Voldemort moved until the man was braced up over him. He took note at how little of Voldemort's body was
touching his still sore and injured one.
"In the interest of your guilt over them keeping you loyal to me, I will allow you to retain your memories of thoughts of betrayal and harsh words
regarding me, however, you will show me the dreams," the man grinned. He opened his mouth to protest, but Voldemort narrowed his eyes on him.
"Show me them or I will force you to share everything you still conceal from me."
"You just want to see the dreams so that you can tease me over them too," he pouted.
"Yes, I do," Voldemort chuckled again and he groaned again digging the heels of his hands into his eyes. "Show me them, Harry. I will not believe
your other assertions unless you do." With a sigh, he lowered his hands to his sides looking at his lover and opened up the part of his mind he kept
hidden enough for Voldemort to see the dreams he'd had that had caused him to wake up covered in sweat and semen more than once. "Such an
active imagination, Harry," Voldemort chuckled. He snorted and locked down the dream memories again and Voldemort chuckled again leaning
down and brushing a soft kiss across his lips. He returned it laying his hands on his lover's sides. "Once you are healed," Voldemort began still
gently kissing him, "you will show me them and any others you have again. After all," the man said still slowly kissing him, "though you did not
inform me of your actions in becoming as much, I suppose you are due some reward for becoming the protector of my Horcruxes. Continue to
keep them safe where they are now hidden and it shall bring you more reward."
"No one will ever get to them again, I promise," he whispered back into the kiss. It deepened from there even though Voldemort was still careful to
keep from laying on him and causing him any pain. It didn't last long before Voldemort moved beside him again and pulled on his hip until he rolled
into the man's side again. The effects of the potion set in more and more and he yawned, his eyes too heavy to open again in no time at all. If
whatever didn't kill him would only make him stronger, he'd be stronger than Dumbledore in no time at all. That was good since that old bastard still
had some payback coming from him. Drifting off to sleep, he heard Voldemort's chuckle at that thought, but it was fine that Voldemort was still in
his mind. He liked having Voldemort there.
Thanks for reading. If you'd like to leave a review, I'd really appreciate it. My goal is still 200 reviews by the end of the story. =)
Nyx
both.
Thank you so much to everyone that's been leaving reviews. I went from having 63 to 141 in a few chapters time. I'm going to hit my goal of 200
and then some which makes me a very, very happy writer. Here's the next chapter and I hope you like it as much as the other chapters.
And yes, there's more 'Auntie Bella' in this chapter since everyone liked her so much. =)
" regular speech "
Chapter 20
After having spent a good chunk of the previous two days taking potions, being nagged to eat by Bellatrix, and sleeping he was still a little sore. He
could sit, stand, walk, and breathe again without much pain, but turning quickly or twisting a lot was still out of the question. The pain wasn't
anything he couldn't handle even without pain potions after so many years of dealing with Dudley and playing Quidditch, but everyone in the house
was still keeping a close eye on him. If he winced more than once, he was back in bed with another vial of pain potion. He knew whose order it was
that the Death Eaters did.
As much as the Death Eaters were merciless assholes in battle against the Order, he thought he'd be taunted just as mercilessly by them over
what had happened when he saw more of them than just Bellatrix and Lucius. He'd been surprised when that hadn't happened. Instead, when
Voldemort had called a meeting up in his chambers, a meeting he knew Voldemort held there just so he was a part of it, those who had been there
to level the Cruciatus on him had given him apologetic looks. The most surprising thing had been how much Bellatrix and Lucius really were
checking up and taking care of him. It was Bellatrix more than anything that made him feel more comfortable about being there by saying they'd all
been where he was and he'd get used to it.
While he wasn't sure about that, he was starting to relax around Voldemort again. Though he was sure a part of it was that Voldemort wanted to
keep him loyal, he had a feeling that part of Voldemort being so gentle with him was another part of an apology that he'd never hear with his ears.
Honestly, he didn't really need one. He'd heard the words 'I'm sorry' or 'we're sorry' so many time that they were empty to him now. He'd take
waking up to an arm draped across his waist over one of Ron's 'sorry for being a backstabbing prat' excuses any day. And that's what he'd been
receiving for days now.
Usually when he woke up, Voldemort was there. Either the man was lying in bed with him, one of Voldemort's arms across his waist or hands on
his hip, or the 'Evil Dark Lord' was walking towards him from the table in Voldemort's chambers, the stack of parchments Voldemort was going
through forgotten for the moment because he was awake again.
Admittedly he was still nervous about pissing the man off again, he doubted that would ever completely go away, but as the hours went by he
relaxed more and more. His first spoken wisecrack about Voldemort taking care of him had slipped out before he could stop it and caused him to
tense, but Voldemort just smirked at him, made a wisecrack back, and he'd cracked a smile relaxing again. And relaxing with his lover was a
hundred times easier after the first time Voldemort had lead him into the man's bathroom to soak away his soreness in the tub. That he hadn't
spent an hour soaking in hot water alone was worth a damned lot more than the words 'I'm sorry'.
With all the attention Voldemort was showing him, forgiving the man for torturing him hadn't been so hard. After all, it was his fault he'd been
tortured in the first place. A part of him acknowledged that he deserved the punishment, at least some of it, because when he'd started collecting
the Horcruxes he had intended to betray Voldemort by destroying them. He and Voldemort had a long talk about that; one where he'd kept his
mind completely open to Voldemort while they did. To prove himself to his lover so that Voldemort never had any doubts about him again, he'd
even opened that small portion of his mind he'd always kept occluded without Voldemort asking him to. And just like Voldemort's actions proved
that the man was sorry for torturing him, him doing that had proven his loyalty to his lover and restored the man's trust in him.
Slouched in a chair turned sideway with his feet up on another chair, he read from the book on his knees. He'd actually started reading from
another book, but that one had been taken from him and replaced with another. He hadn't even blinked at Voldemort doing it before he opened the
book and started reading it. For once it wasn't a book on Dark Arts, but on healing spells. He got the point of why Voldemort gave it to him when he
saw an entire chapter of advanced charms used to heal curse damage. The half-filled sheet of parchment on the table next to him was evidence
that he'd found more than a few that might come in handy.
"You're. Too. Quiet," Bellatrix said from across the table casting a hex at him. He pulled his wand and countered it without even looking up from the
book. "My Lord, make him stop," she whined. "He's acting all… mature and responsible. It's unnatural." Those around the table, including
Voldemort, chuckled and he looked across the table at Bellatrix with a smile. "I'll teach you a new curse, one that's even legal that you can use it on
your housemates to melt their lips together. We don't want them corrupting you with their Gryffindor nonsense anymore," she grinned causing all
out laughter.
"You actually know a legal curse?" he playfully asked.
"I'll have you know that I know THREE legal curses," Bella smirked back causing more laughter.
"I know at least three in Parseltongue that aren't. Where's Pettigrew and I'll show you," he replied looking around the room. Wormtail cowered
backwards towards the doorway while everyone laughed hysterically, though the Dark Lord just looked at him in amusement.
"That's it," Bella laughed. "You are officially my new favorite nephew."
"Excuse me?" Lucius said.
"Well Draco is boring," Bella huffed. "You've spoiled him so much that he may as well be a girl with how much he talks about clothes and things."
"No wonder he's always with a girl named Pansy. He looks at her and sees a kindred spirit," he snorted.
"Potter," Lucius said sternly as everyone else laughed harder.
"All right, all right, I won't pick on Draco," he chuckled.
"Then who should we tease?" Bella asked.
"Pettigrew is always my first choice," he replied.
"Why don't you call him Wormtail like the rest of us?" Rabastan LeStrange asked.
"Because while I get the connotation of him being a rat with a thin tail and that's where the nickname comes from, in human form he's too fucking
fat to be called anything that's remotely related to him being skinny. Besides, when he's in rat form he's just Nagini's next meal." The room
exploded in laughter again and then twice as much when Nagini picked that moment to slither into the room. Even he laughed as the door behind
them leading to the Shrieking Shack opened.
"My Lord, we have a problem," Rodolphus, still polyjuiced to look like him, said coming into the room. That got Voldemort to lift his hand frowning
and everyone immediately stopped laughing. "Dumbledore and the Auror watched me leave Hogwarts. I think they may follow."
"Fuck," he groaned tilting his head back sliding further down in the chair. "Somebody hit me with a few more Crucios so I don't have to go back."
"You are sure that you were followed?" Voldemort asked standing up.
"I wasn't, my Lord, but from the looks on their faces I'm positive they won't be far behind," Rodolphus replied.
"Wormtail, fetch me a vial of Rosier's Polyjuice," Voldemort said. Those words made him sit up quick looking at the man.
"You can't be serious," he said and Voldemort grinned.
"Come now, Harry," Voldemort chuckled. "I did not spend days having you nursed back to health for you to walk unattended back into their
substandard care. As you cannot remain here to provide my faithful the further merriment of your teenage antics I suppose it is left to me to do so
by standing in Dumbledore's presence with you by my side rather than his." The table burst out laughing again and he shook his head sniggering.
"If this goes badly because they pick up your magical signature-" he began, but Voldemort cut him off.
"You shall receive your wish of me bringing you back here myself and shall remain here at my side and in my bed permanently."
"Well when you put it that way," he replied picking up his paper of notes and toeing on his sneakers before standing up to more laughter. He
walked up to Rodolphus and took his school robe and broom back from the man. "Make sure you're back to yourself before sleeping with your wife
because-" He pretended to shudder at the thought and then sidestepped another curse that was hurled his way by Bellatrix while laughter rang out
in the room again.
"You love me and you know it," Bellatrix smirked.
"Of course I do, Auntie Bella," he said stressing the title she insisted he used.
"You're annoying me now, Harry," she said narrowing her eyes on him. He just laughed along with everyone else and turned back to Rodolphus.
"So what all happened while you were playing me so I know," he asked. Rodolphus ran down the short list of things that happened in his classes
and then started on what happened outside of them. Thankfully, Dumbledore hadn't called Rodolphus into meetings thinking the man was him and
he was relieved that Rodolphus mostly kept away from everyone.
"There was one thing you may want to know about," Rodolphus chuckled. "You may not realize it, but the Weasley chit is rather taken with you.
She tried more than once to sit down and get you-me-to open up to her, but she gave up after a few minutes each time."
"Ugh, not again," he groaned. "I was hoping when she started seeing Michael Corner that she was done sniffing after me."
"I do not recall you advising me of her affections," Voldemort said. It took everything in him not to smile at the jealous tone in his lover's voice.
Knowing better than to tease his lover, especially in front of the Death Eaters, he kept him comments centered around Ginny.
"Are you mad?" he said snorted. "I'd let a starved vampire sink their claws into me before I ever let Ginny Weasley. At least then the only red I'd be
dealing with would be my own blood." Everyone laughed again and Voldemort smirked in amusement.
"Now there's the Harry that I know back again," Bellatrix said.
"Yes, the one that Lucius' son apparently makes very reproachful remarks to whenever they cross paths if what I experienced is common,"
Rodolphus said grumpily. "If Draco or any of his pathetic band of hanger-on's had cast one more childish hex at me, Lucius wouldn't have a son
anymore." Voldemort turned and looked at Lucius, too, and he shrugged pulling on his robe.
"We're always like that with each other. That can't stop now because it'll look suspicious to Dumbledore and everyone else if we started being
friends all of a sudden," he said.
"Mmm, yes, I suppose it would," Voldemort said turning back to him. He still saw the grateful look Lucius gave him out of the corner of his eye
looking at Voldemort again. "Come along now. We have a performance to give."
He chuckled nodding at Voldemort's grin, watched Voldemort take the Polyjuice and transform, and then take Rodolphus's wand. That confused
him until Voldemort reminded him in his mind that Rodolphus had kept his own wand rather than taking his to play the part of him for the past few
days. Voldemort having Rodolphus's wand meant they could explain away the differences in wands as 'he'd' simply grabbed the wrong one in a
rush for 'him' to return to Hogwarts Friday evening.
He was still nervous as they passed through the portal into the upstairs room of the Shrieking Shack, but Voldemort just told him to relax and
everything would be fine. With a flick of Voldemort's real wand the portal between the Shrieking Shack and Voldemort's chambers was closed.
Once Voldemort's yew wand was put away again, he felt the magical power level in the room decrease as Voldemort concealed his magical
signature. Relaxing because it was a lot less obvious who Voldemort was, he cleaned off the old bed in the room and sat down on the end of it. He
chuckled backing up on it when Voldemort grinned and moved towards him.
They were only in the upstairs bedroom for a few minutes before the monitoring charm downstairs alerted them that they weren't alone in the
house. He tensed knowing who had just come into the shack, but Voldemort, disguised by the Polyjuice potion, knocked him down on the bed,
moved over him, and kissed him greedily. He almost forgot they were just acting as he adjusted his legs so Voldemort was between them kissing
his lover back. So into the deep kiss and Voldemort's hand on his hip, he only just barely heard someone clear their throat from the doorway.
Voldemort pulled back from him grinning for a moment before clearing the expression from his face as he sat up and they both looked at the
doorway.
"So this is where you often disappear to," Dumbledore said, hands crossed resting loosely in front of him.
"Professor, I-er-"
"I think it's pretty obvious what you were doing, Harry," Kingsley smirked.
"Yes, and while I apologize for the intrusion, perhaps you would care to introduce Auror Shacklebolt and myself to your friend," Dumbledore said
with one of those fake smiles.
"I'm a bit more than a friend, Professor Dumbledore," Voldemort chuckled. He looked at Voldemort trying not to laugh at the casual tone in
Voldemort's polyjuiced voice.
"Apparently you are as Harry has told you enough about me to recognize who I am, though I am sorry to say that he has not shared the same
regarding you," Dumbledore replied.
"You know who he is. You asked me about him weeks ago," he snorted. Dumbledore didn't reply and he rolled his eyes scooting to the edge of the
bed and stood up. Voldemort stood up next to him moving an arm around the back of his waist and laying a hand on his opposite hip. He knew
Voldemort did it to apparate him out of there at a moment's notice if it came to that. "Lionel, this is Professor Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster at
Hogwarts, and Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt. Professor, Kingsley, this is my significant other, Lionel Cavot."
"The headmaster of your school and an Auror followed you here? Are you in trouble for some reason?" Voldemort asked.
"Not at all," Kingsley said. "Our only concern is for Harry's safety."
"I can assure you both that Harry is safer with me than with either of you, though I make no promise of that regarding certain physical activities,"
Voldemort chuckled leaning down and running his lips along the side of his neck. He chuckled and turned his head to look at Voldemort.
"You're absolutely terrible," he chuckled.
"Yes, so I've been told on occasion," Voldemort grinned back. "You seem to enjoy my terribleness, though, or you wouldn't come to see me
whenever I'm in Hogsmeade."
"And how often is that?" Kingsley asked.
"Every few weeks or so to purchase supplies for my great-aunt, though this week I made an extra trip just to see Harry," Voldemort replied turning
him so they faced each other. The amusement faded from Voldemort's face and the man laid a hand on the side of his neck. "Our meeting on
Friday evening ended in a misunderstanding and I wished to be sure that it did not harm our closeness."
"A misunderstanding?" Kingsley asked.
"Yeah," he replied still looking at Voldemort. "He has a bit of a jealous side and acts as though I haven't been loyal to him if I'm not standing right in
front of him," he smirked.
"That is because regardless of what others may believe you belong to me now," his lover smirked back and he chuckled nodding laying his hands
on Voldemort's hips.
While the chance of Dumbledore and Kingsley figuring out 'Lionel's' real identity was astronomically high; he had to admit he was enjoying rubbing
it in both of their faces that he was standing there with the Order's greatest enemy like that. That they didn't even realize it made the entire situation
all the more hilarious. It also made him believe just a little more that he was safe from Voldemort's temper again unless he really did do something
wrong. Since he would've rather turned and cursed both Dumbledore and Kingsley to within an inch of their lives at that moment than consciously
do anything to piss off Voldemort he was pretty damned safe from Voldemort's wand.
"I suppose them being here means that you have to return to Hogwarts," Voldemort said. He looked down and then at the man again. "Go before
you do land yourself in trouble and I don't get to see you the next time I'm in Hogsmeade. And do be sure that you have your wand this time
instead of mine. You picking up mine by mistake in your fit of anger on Friday made things difficult for me."
"It's not as though having yours made things easy on me," he snorted. "It only made me more grumpy because it reminded me of our argument
every time I had to use it."
"Then please be sure that you both have the correct wands as anything that causes Harry a sour mood is to be avoided," Dumbledore chuckled.
"Is he in one often?" Voldemort asked. "Hmm, funny. I've rarely had that problem when he is with me. At times he may greet me in an agitated
state, but he is nearly always smiling and happy when he leaves. Perhaps that just proves that he's better off with me than he is with anyone,"
Voldemort grinned. He laughed taking the step between them.
"Yeah, it does," he replied. He was the one who leaned in for a deep kiss this time and wasn't disappointed with the one he received. When he
pulled back, he looked down and then at Voldemort again. "I'll see you in a few weeks, and when we do, I want some time alone with you."
"Most definitely," Voldemort replied. When next we meet there shall be no misunderstandings or subsequent injuries to keep me from proving just
how much you belong to me. He groaned in his mind at those words leaning in and kissing the man again.
"Harry," Dumbledore said. He pulled back from Voldemort with a huff and looked at the old man.
"May I please have a minute alone with Lionel to say goodbye?" he asked, annoyed that Dumbledore and Kingsley were still standing there
watching him as though he needed a babysitter. Kingsley frowned at his tone and Dumbledore just stared at him. "Please," he said again with a
deep sigh trying to calm down. "I just want to say goodbye without an audience."
"Very well," Dumbledore said after a moment. The old man didn't sound happy and he knew he needed to say something quick or else Dumbledore
might not let him leave Hogwarts' ground again.
"Thank you, sir," he said cracking a small smile. "I didn't mean to get upset, it's just Lionel and I had an argument, our first real argument since we
started seeing each other and-and I want to make sure that we don't part ways like we did on Friday."
"Understandable, my boy," Dumbledore replied finally cracking a smile. He didn't because of the 'my boy' and Voldemort gripped his side tighter to
keep him from snapping at Dumbledore for it. "We shall wait for you on downstairs. Not too long, Harry, but we shall give you a few moments to
say your goodbye."
"Thank you, sir," he said again with a smile. Dumbledore inclined his head at him, said goodbye to Lionel, and he watched the old man and
Kingsley leave. He didn't look at Voldemort again until he heard Dumbledore and Kingsley downstairs.
I don't want to go back there with them, he said silently to his lover.
I know, but for now you must. Perhaps now that the old fool has met Lionel he will not follow you here again.
We can hope, he replied staring at his lover.
Though 'Lionel', whoever the bloke had been that the hair for the polyjuice came from, had been good-looking enough, he couldn't help but think
that he liked Voldemort's eyes better when they were red. His lover chuckled as he had that thought, leaned in, and kissed him deeply again for it.
Go before they return here for you. He nodded breaking the kiss and slowly pulled back from his lover.
"I'll see you in a few weeks," he said quietly.
Voldemort nodded still just staring at him. It took everything in him to back away completely and leave the room. Once downstairs with Dumbledore
and Kingsley, he left the Shrieking Shack without looking back. He knew he'd be too tempted not to leave if he did. And on the way back to
Hogwarts with Dumbledore and Kingsley following him, he was in that small portion of his mind that he normally occluded from everyone already
trying work out a way in his head to keep Dumbledore or anyone else from pulling him away from his lover again.
Thanks for reading. If you have the time, please review. I took the suggestion of allowing anonymus reviews so now you don't even have to log in
to leave one. =)
Nyx
both.
" regular speech "
Chapter 21
Five Weeks Later
"He really has lost his mind," Dean said.
"Yep, definitely gone mental," Seamus agreed.
"What was he thinking?" Lavender asked as though he'd done the unthinkable.
"Really. Of all the places to buy, why would he pick that one?" Ginny agreed.
"I think he's setting a nice example by wanting to fix up an old wizarding home," was Hermione's response.
"Yeah, but the Shrieking Shack?" Ron said sounding completely baffled.
Yes, the Shrieking Shack was his. The idea came to him as he was headed back to Hogwarts with Dumbledore and Kingsley not far behind him.
He hadn't liked that the two men just walked right in like they owed the place and interrupted him and his lover. Sure that lover was the most feared
man in the wizarding world who'd threatened and tried to kill him a dozen times over the course of his life, but that was beside the point. The point
was that he had nowhere to go that was his and his alone. The point was that he had nowhere to retreat to that was his private, personal space.
The point was that once he turned seventeen there was no way in Hell that Dumbledore was going to lock him away at Grimmauld Place until
school started again. Not bloody likely. And since he walked into the Shrieking Shack as if he owned the place, too, he figured he might as well buy
the place so that no one could say anything about him going there ever again.
While the issue of him having privacy there was debatable with a houseful of Death Eaters on the other side of a closet door, his age wasn't one
once he got the new Minister of Magic involved in him buying the place. It had been so ridiculously easy for him to manipulate the man. Three
weeks ago the dear, sweet Minister had come to Hogwarts with a few members of the Board of Governors for the usual end-of-term meeting with
Dumbledore about O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s testing. He'd politely asked the Minister if he could speak to him in private as the man was getting ready
to leave. Dumbledore looked at him questioningly, but he just chuckled and said it was nothing bad, he just wanted some advice. Dumbledore
probably figured it was about the Aurors office again, but his purpose had been real estate.
When he'd explained what he wanted and his 'reason' for wanting it, the Minister had been all but too happy to help him out. He knew it would end
up in this morning's paper since he's signed and returned the deed papers the day before and that Scrimgeour would use the publicity to boost his
rating, but with the Minister of Magic helping him out he was sixteen years old and just bought a new home that he really was going to make into
one whether Dumbledore liked it or not. Expecting the latter, he wasn't surprised when Dumbledore stopped at the end of the Gryffindor table
where he was sitting and just looked at him with McGonagall and Snape standing in the open doorway to the Great Hall waiting.
He made them wait while he finished the last few bites of his breakfast before standing up with his bag and walking by all of them towards the
stairs. After five weeks of playing the good boy role again just so they'd leave him alone he was more than ready to put that to an end. Oh he'd still
flown off on his own more than once during that time, four times to be specific, but for the most part he was more mild tempered and mannered.
Him doing it was all part of his well thought out plans to end the war once and for all and come out on top with everything he wanted in the end,
though, so it was a small sacrifice along the way in the name of progress.
You did not inform me of your intention to purchase the Shrieking Shack.
I needed a place to live once I turned turn seventeen this summer.
And you just happened to choose the Shrieking Shack as your destination?
Why not? I'd be close to Hogwarts where Dumbledore and his little Order flunkies can keep an eye on me and I think it'll be fun to restore an old
wizarding home back to it's former glory. Voldemort chuckled in his head and he just barely kept from cracking a smile. If you liked that line of
rubbish, stick around because you're going to love this.
Voldemort chuckled again, but didn't reply as he walked into Dumbledore's office and took the chair he usually did in front of the man's desk.
Dumbledore took his seat as usual, too, but this time both Snape and McGonagall stood behind Dumbledore's desk, too, one on either side of the
old man. That they were obviously trying to intimidate him with where and how they were standing made him want to laugh. As if he was scared of
them when he regularly spent time with Lord Voldemort and his Auntie Bellatrix Lestrange.
"As I am sure you know why I have asked you here this morning, my boy, I will simply ask why," Dumbledore said.
"It's already the nineteenth of May. School ends at the end of next month and my birthday is only a month after that. Since we all know my uncle is
going to chuck me out the second I am a legal adult I needed somewhere to go," he shrugged.
"You had somewhere to go," Snape said.
"Where, the Order's headquarters? One, I'm not an Order member, and two, I'm not locking myself inside a Fidelus Charm for a month," he replied.
"It is the safest place for you, Potter," McGonagall said.
"Is it? Or is it just the easiest place for the Order to keep an eye on me," he replied calmly and evenly. "Me living there means that everyone in the
Order can watch everything I do. You'll be able to monitor every letter I receive or send out, control who I see and when I see them, you'll be able
to spy on me and what books I'm reading and spells I'm learning, and you'll be able to snoop through my things like someone has randomly been
doing with my trunk upstairs all year." None of them said anything, but he saw the guilt in McGonagall's eyes that said that she was behind that.
"You all wanting me to go live there is nothing more than the Order trying to stick its nose in my business and find out what I'm up to. You all want
to know everything about what I'm doing and me, but none of you want to tell me shit about what you're up to. Sorry, but just because you knew my
parents and they were members of your little group doesn't mean I'm just going to follow along with your plans. Your plans don't work anyway and
they never have."
"And yours work so much better," Snape snorted.
"Got a Horcrux, didn't I?" he chuckled and Voldemort did, too.
Three of them in fact, all of which are in a chamber under their very feet without them even knowing it, Voldemort said in his mind.
And everyone over there teases me about being such a Gryffindor, he replied. Voldemort chuckled and he continued on with his conversation with
Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Snape.
"The Order's plans are all 'We can't let this object fall into Voldemort's hands' and 'The Death Eaters must be stopped from killing and cursing at
will' and 'We must be cautious in our counteractions least innocent people lose their lives'. I hate to break it to you all, but it's war and innocent
people die during wars. I'd also hate to tell you this, but at this point, just like the last time Voldemort was gaining power and strength, the side of
the Light is losing. Voldemort already has two handfuls of idiots in the Ministry doing his bidding whether by choice or under the Imperious curse."
"Yes, he does, though I am wondering how you came upon that information." Dumbledore frowned.
"Voldemort told me himself," he snorted and Voldemort outright laughed in his head at the complete truth of that, though Harry's sarcasm portrayed
that as a lie. "Who do you think told me? Scrimgeour's not a complete idiot, though he's pretty close to it. He's trying to weed out those who he
thinks Voldemort has gotten to, but he's looking so hard that he's making himself paranoid. Former Head of the Aurors' Office or not, he knows the
Aurors' Office is in over it's head. He's pretty much admitted to me that's why he's letting the Order do what it has been doing, because the Aurors'
Office does need the help and most of the wizarding world is too terrified of Voldemort to do anything. And neither of you, the Aurors' Office or the
Order, is much threat against Voldemort because you all have rules that you follow. None of you have figured out yet that during war the only rule
is to do whatever it takes to win because the rules and history books are written from the side of the victors."
"I am both surprised and disappointed to hear you say that, Harry," Dumbledore said quietly. "Some actions taken in the heat of the moment,
particularly using some of the curses that Professor Snape said you did during your practice duel, may leave you alive at the end of the battle, but
you lose a part of yourself in doing so."
"Avada Kedavra," he said and all three looked at him wide eyed for him even saying the curse aloud. "The war is going to end with those words. If
he says them and hits me with it, do you really think he's going to care about the moral issue of doing it? And on the flip side of that if I let my
morals get in the way of me doing it then he's already won. The wizarding world will forgive me for saying it once and meaning it."
"Yes, they would, but I wonder if you would ever forgive yourself," Dumbledore replied.
"No," he replied honestly. "I'm not a murderer so taking any life, including his, won't make me happy, but it's necessary. I'll do whatever is
necessary to end this war, and going back to our original topic, it's not necessary for me to lock myself up in the Order's headquarters under a
Fidelus Charm and let you all spy on and control me so I'm not going to."
"You may not be a member of the Order, Potter, but your welfare is the Order's business," Snape said glaring at him.
"My welfare is my business just like what I spend my money on, where I live, and who I spend my time with is my business and you especially can
just keep your nose out of it," he replied glaring back at Snape.
Fucking traitor, he said silently.
Yes, he is and he shall one day pay for that treachery with his life. Now calm down and focus on your conversation least they discover evidence
that you are no longer on the side of the Light.
I want to kill him.
And here not two minutes ago you stressed that you have no desire to be a killer.
For that beak-nosed bastard I'd make an exception, he replied and Voldemort chuckled again.
Focus, Harry, Voldemort said and went silent again.
"Potter, it is not safe for you to live at the Shrieking Shack," McGonagall said. "Anyone can walk in there as you well know since you do it yourself.
Not to mention that it is in no state for anyone to live there, and thanks to this morning's Prophet, You-Know-Who knows exactly where you'll be."
"No one will be able to walk in there anymore once I get all the wards in place that I've been researching. As for Voldemort knowing where I am,
he's known that for almost two years or do I need to remind you all that he had Crouch Jr. lock Moody in his own trunk for nearly a year to get one
of his Death Eaters close to me."
"Which is precisely our point, my boy," Dumbledore said. "Voldemort is very clever in gaining his Death Eaters access to places they are otherwise
unwelcome."
"And I won't have that problem because until the war is over I'm not going to bring anyone through the wards or invite anyone over," he replied. "I
bought the house to have a place to get away from everyone, not so that the Order had a second location to have meetings in. In a month and a
half's time the place will be clean and livable on the inside at the very least because I've already decided to buy a few more house elves to get the
job done. As long as the inside is taken care of by my birthday, I can always work on the outside later," he replied.
Wormtail, he heard Voldemort call out and heard the rat's response in Voldemort's head. Harry has in fact purchased the Shrieking Shack. See to it
that the elves begin work immediately on cleaning and repairing what can be salvaged of it.
Not too much too fast or it'll look suspicious. And thanks for the help.
You will have ample opportunity to show your gratitude for my assistance once you are in bed beside me every evening. Now finish your
conversation with those fools. You have classes to attend during which we can expand your plans.
Didn't really buy it because I'd be able to sleep with you every night, I bought it because I didn't like that Dumbledore walked right in there and was
standing four feet away from the door that leads right to you.
I know. You shall be rewarded for that as well, though I seem to recall you promising not to act on anything without my consent again. He snorted
in his mind at that, but pretended as though he were doing it at the looks on Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Snape's faces.
"The bottom line is that as much as everyone says I'm safe with the Order and safe at Hogwarts, I'm not safe anywhere. Since I'm not, I might as
well be comfortable in my own home. If it'll make you feel better, though," he said and looked directly at Dumbledore, "I'll consent to you helping me
put up the wards I want up so they're as strong as they can possibly be, but I'm not keying you to them and if I discover that you keyed yourself or
anyone else to them you can bet that I'll rip them all down and start fresh. None of you would just walk into anyone else's home without an
invitation or at the very least knocking and announcing yourselves, you're not going to do it at my new home either." Voldemort cracked up
laughing hysterically at that.
Harry, Harry, your turn to my side rather than theirs has come along so nicely. First you moved yourself emotionally away from Dumbledore and
the Order. Now you have done so physically along with manipulating that old fool into doing the hard work of putting in place advanced wards for
you, wards that shall in essence seal you away from them while unknowingly leaving me complete access to you.
I told you to stick around because you were going to love what I was up to.
"Look," he said leaning back in the chair, "I know I need to be careful. I also know that short of being under a Fidelus Charm that the Shrieking
Shack actually is a good place for me to be. In front of me will be Hogsmeade so I can keep an eye out for anyone coming at me from that direction
and behind me is Hogwarts. If anything were to happen I can be out of there through the tunnel and behind Hogwarts' wards in less than a minute's
time. The wards I'm planning to put up would take longer than that to even take down and you'd know if anyone was hanging around the place
even trying to or so much as looked at the Shrieking Shack too hard because you have people in Hogsmeade like Madame Rosemerta who'd
firecall you in a heartbeat if anyone did. Hell, I'm willing to bet that she's the one who originally told you about me meeting up with Lionel there."
"Yes, she did along with mentioning that your significant other has never partaken in drinking at her establishment, though he has stopped in on
occasion for Shepard's Pie," Dumbledore chuckled. He smiled and the amusement faded from Dumbledore's face. "Though I still believe it would
be best for you to live at Grimmauld Place for the time being, I can see that your mind is made up regarding as much." He nodded, his smile gone,
too, and Dumbledore nodded, too. "Very well," the old man sighed. "We shall visit your new home this weekend to inspect it for possible residual
magic and install the wards."
"And you promise not to key yourself or anyone else to them?" he asked.
"As I have a feeling that the only one you will bring through the wards is Lionel, you have my word though I hope that in time you will relax your
reluctance to have others visit you there," Dumbledore replied.
"I'm not making any promises," he replied standing up. "I will say that once the war is over that I'll still only let in people that I'm close to so that'll
always leave Professor Snape on the outside looking in."
"Potter," Snape said lowly through clenched teeth while Voldemort laughed inside him head. He chuckled, too, and Dumbledore and McGonagall
both looked nearly ready to. As if either of them would ever be let inside his home either.
"Are we finished here now? I have classes to get to and plans to make."
"Yes, we are, my boy, and I trust I need not remind you that your studies cannot suffer in favor of any plans you are contemplating," Dumbledore
said.
"Don't worry, sir," he retorted picking up his schoolbag again. "I know what I'm doing," he finished turning and heading for the door. Dumbledore
started to say something, but he just closed the door to the man's office behind him without listening.
What you are doing is making them all look more and more the fool by the day.
I know. I'm having fun with it, how about you? He just chuckled heading down the corridor to his first class with Voldemort still laughing in his head.
Thank you for reading. If you have the time, please leave a review. I'm almost at my goal of 200 for my first story posted here.
Nyx
both.
I want to give a HUGE thank you to everyone for all of your kind reviews! When I first decided to post a story here, all I was hoping for was 200
reviews once I'd finished posting it. I'm sure I'll have that with this chapter and I still have 11 chapters to post and the short Epilogue, which I'll post
with the last chapter. Thank you so much for making my first experience of posting a story on a great one. =)
" regular speech "
Chapter 22
Saturday Evening
Though he was tired, he felt better than he had in a long time. Friday during lunch Dumbledore stopped him to say that the old man had cleared his
schedule for that night and the next day to help him with the wards on the Shrieking Shack. He didn't like when Voldemort said that the portal
between the upstairs bedroom closet door and Voldemort's chambers would need to be closed while Dumbledore was there, but he knew it was
necessary. It made him work twice as hard Friday night to make sure that no residual magic was present in the shack and that entire morning and
afternoon to get the wards up, wards that Dumbledore was even impressed with given how intricate they were. By four-thirty, the wards were up
and Dumbledore left him saying to be back at the castle by nightfall. And once the old man was gone, he felt a hundred times better once the portal
between the two bedrooms was back in place. Voldemort and the Death Eaters didn't stay with him for long having a mission Voldemort wanted
done, but that was all right. He could go back anytime he wanted to without having to worry about Dumbledore or anyone else following him there
and that was worth every knut he'd paid for the place.
Standing at the table in Voldemort's chambers, he looked over his three pages of notes again. There were seven books spread out to go along with
the three pages and another set of four pages that went along with different books he'd already re-shelved. Finally, there were two items resting in
boxes lined with black velvet: a locket with a snake emblem and a chalice, both in brilliantly shiny gold. Still looking over the pages, he didn't turn
when the door opened and more than one set of footsteps entered the room.
"How'd things go at the at the Thayor's Estate?" he asked. Voldemort chuckled moving closer to him and he did, too. "I take it that means you got
those rings that you were after," he said.
"Yes," Voldemort replied and stopped behind him. "Is that the second set?"
"Yes," he replied. "Now I just have to charm them so they look thousands of years old before I curse the shit out of them to look like Horcruxes," he
replied still looking at the papers in front of him.
"Those are the fakes then?" Bellatrix asked leaning over the table and looking at the items in their boxes.
"Why are you even bothering anymore?" Rosier asked. "Term is almost over, you own your own home a doorway away, and you'll no doubt be
here most of the summer."
"I'm bothering," he replied holding up the second set of curses he planned to use on one of the items still looking over the first and Voldemort took
them to look them over, "because one, your Dark Lord told me to, and secondly, because I made a bet with Snape that I'd bring all three of them in
before the end of term. When I do he owes me an O instead of me having to clean and pack away his potions classroom for him. Since final exams
start on the sixteenth of June I'm going to give Dumbledore one this weekend and the other three weeks from now. By then the rest of the grades
will be in the books and that the son of a Muggle will have to give me an O on my final exam to keep our bet. With the rest of my grades this term,
he'll be forced to give me an O for the term and it'll piss him off forever that he had to." Laughter rang out in the room from everyone and he smiled
before turning around and looking at Voldemort. "So things went well today?" he asked again.
"Yes," Voldemort replied. "Your information on the werewolf still resting due to the full moon a few days ago, his Auror wife tending to him, and
several other Order members being away on an assignment for Dumbledore left their ranks shorthanded in stopping me from obtaining the items.
How did you come across the information regarding the other Order members?"
"Lavender swiped one of Hermione's hairclips. She came downstairs looking for it and Lavender was at the table with me. When Lavender took it
off, I charmed it with a recording charm before passing it to Hermione," he replied. "Only lasted until she got to Dumbledore office because of the
wards there, but by then she'd told Molly who was walking with her that she didn't understand why Dumbledore would have an Order meeting with
so many people out or on assignments."
"And you told me as soon as you knew as much well aware that I was waiting for the opportunity to obtain the items," Voldemort grinned.
"Stop sucking up, Harry. I've always been and will always be his favorite Death Eater," Bellatrix smirked and he looked at her.
"So? I'm his favorite bed toy. I still win," he shrugged. While he had to flick away a minor hex Bella teasingly cast at him, the room exploded in
laughter again with Bella laughing, too.
"Harry," Voldemort said with that all too familiar amused tone.
"If it involved sex, yes, my Lord?" he asked turning back keeping the laughter going. Voldemort just looked at him, the amusement clear in the red
slits of his eyes. "Since you really are in a good mood right now maybe I should give Dumbledore one this weekend and the last in two weeks," he
said.
"Why is that?" Rodolphus asked and he looked down, his smile fading before looking at Voldemort again.
"Because I need to you rough me up a bit and curse me with sometime bad, but not too bad," he replied. Voldemort lowered the papers still just
looking at him, the amusement gone from his expression. "I can't keep coming back from going after them without a scratch on me. I may have
learned a shitload of magic this year, but I'm still only sixteen and Dumbledore doesn't know just how much Dark Arts I've learned and how to
counter. It's not believable if I never come back even a little hurt from going after them alone."
"Then leave the search to that old fool as he shall never locate my real Horcruxes where you have now placed them," Voldemort replied, dropped
the papers on the table beside him, and then took his usual place at the head of the table. He opened his mouth, but just the look Voldemort gave
him made him sigh and close his mouth again. "Curse the items, go flying to the forest near the former location of the chalice, roll around on forest
floor to dirty yourself up a bit, and that shall be sufficient to fool the old man."
"All right," he replied quietly picking up the set of pages Voldemort had been reading over. "Are these good enough for the chalice?" he asked.
Voldemort stood up looking at him in a rage and he took a step backwards at the expression. He didn't feel like less than a man for doing it since
the rest of the table stood up and took at step backwards at the look on Voldemort's face, too.
"Do what you are thinking and I will curse you, one you will not know how to counter," Voldemort seethed.
"I-"
"You know better than to lie to me," Voldemort said. "You are thinking of purposely enacting one of the curses if I do not place one on you."
"I did, but I won't," he said quickly. Voldemort's wand dropped into his hand and he dropped the papers holding his hands up. "I won't. I thought
about it if you wouldn't do it, but you just told me not to so I won't. I promise I won't and you know I always keep my promises." Voldemort glared at
him evilly for another moment before finally sitting back down. He sighed in relief when Voldemort did and summoned the papers back to his
hands.
"Give me those, all of them," Voldemort said angrily.
He nodded gathering all the sheets and held them out to the man. Voldemort snatched them before telling him to sit down and he did. So did
everyone else just watching the scene play out between them. The chalice was magically pulled to Voldemort first and then the locket. With both
aged and layered with curses by Voldemort's own wand, which would make them look a hundred times more believable as Horcruxes if
Dumbledore tested them, he carefully put each one into it's respective box and closed the lids over them.
"Leave us," Voldemort said sternly. The Death Eaters didn't need to be told twice and quickly filed out of the room. He kept his eyes on the table
summoning the books to him and restacking them on the table in front of him. "The lengths you are willing to go to in order to conceal your true
allegiance are growing tiresome, Harry."
"Trust me, it's not as though I really want you to curse me," he replied looking down at his hands. "I'm just willing to do just about anything to
protect you and your Horcruxes."
"Need I remind you that you are one of my Horcruxes and placing yourself in danger endangers that Horcrux as well," Voldemort said. He lifted his
head and looked at Voldemort for a moment before looking down again. "What are you hiding now?"
"Nothing," he replied quietly. "I-it's just that so much has changed with us that sometimes I forget that I'm a Horcrux. Anyway," he said turning the
stack of books to organize them so he could put them away, "do you think you could check the wards on my house tonight to make sure
Dumbledore didn't put anything extra on them? I did when he left, but I want to make sure I didn't miss anything and-"
"Harry." He sighed at Voldemort saying his name leaning back in the chair fiddling with his fingers in front of the stack of books.
"I'm stupid, all right?" he said quietly. "I'm a stupid, soft hearted Gryffindor no matter what I do and I'm always going to be one. I keep forgetting that
you teaching me things and letting me come here is because I have something of yours and you want to make sure that I can protect it, not
because you think of us as friends and lovers."
"As you do," Voldemort said. He didn't reply and Voldemort smiled. "Ah, the angst of teenage affection, so often it overwhelms the logic." He
snorted and Voldemort reached over and tipped his chin up with one finger so that he'd look at the man. "Stop strategizing against Dumbledore
and the Order for five minutes, Harry, and use your intelligence to settle your own mind. I have granted you the ability to contact me mentally at any
time when I could easily limit you doing so to only those times when I wish to speak to you. I have allowed you to retain possession of nearly all of
my surviving Horcruxes in a location that only you, Nagini, or I can access them. And as you yourself stated earlier, having my favor as a Death
Eater means less than having my favor in my bed." He cracked a smile at that, at the implication of what it meant, and Voldemort smiled. "While
many of your Gryffindor qualities I find loathsome, Harry, the advantages of your growing affection for me are not one of them."
"I'm just trying to keep a level head," he replied. "I don't like it when you're pissed off at me. And I don't just mean because I'm scared you really will
curse me or want to kill me again. I like it when I do or say something and your eye get narrow because you're trying not to laugh," he sniggered.
"Or when I find out something about the Order that's going to help you out and you put a hand on the top of my head and rub it just for a second
before letting go. And you already know how much I like it when you start teaching me something, it clicks in my head, and we end up talking for
over an hour on theories where I end up learning ten times what I'd learn in DADA in a month in that one conversation," he finished with a soft
smile. His smile faded and he looked at Voldemort again squarely.
"I don't want to do anything that will muck all that up. I don't want to go back to the way we used to be with you wanting to kill me all the time.
Dumbledore and everyone else has pounded into my head for years that you're my enemy, that all you'd ever want to do is kill me like you did my
parents, but I'm sitting three feet away from you and I'm less on guard with you than I am with any of them. After you sent that first book to me I
studied Occlumency until my eyes nearly fell out of my head and my scar hurt so much my head felt like it was going to explode. Now my scar
never hurts and I only occlude my mind at Hogwarts. I'm supposed to feel safe there with them, but the only place I do feel safe and relaxed
anymore is here with you." He looked down at his hands again slouching in his chair.
"You said to take five minutes to use my intelligence to settle my mind, but it's not that easy because it doesn't really make a lot of sense when I
try," he whispered. "You killed my parents, Bellatrix killed my godfather, and I've been attacked by every older member of the Death Eaters here at
one time or another. I should hate every last one of you and be doing anything and everything I can to kill you all and I'm not anymore. I'm not
working against any of you anymore, I'm working with you."
"Why?" Voldemort asked and he looked at the man again. "Until you are able to admit to yourself the reason why you have come to join me you
shall never settle your mind." He stood up with the stack of books and headed for the bookshelves with them. "Why, Harry?" Voldemort said firmly.
"Because here with you, I'm free," he finally said. "With you and the Death Eaters, I'm not obligated to avenge the deaths of parents that I never
really even knew," he continued roughly re-shelving books. "When I'm here I can look at what happened to Sirius and say that Sirius knew what he
was getting himself into going there and it wasn't as though he wasn't casting illegal curses at Bella, too. Here I can say that I fucking hate
Dumbledore for everything that old bastard has left me to suffer through and find out on my own when he knew all of it all along. Here I can say
that it's Dumbledore's fucking fault so many people are dead without anyone telling me it's all your doing and that Dumbledore is a great man.
When I'm here I don't have to deal with their sickening damned hypocrisy of telling me how what you're doing by killing people is so wrong while
they're whispering behind my back that once I kill you they may have to kill me to destroy the Horcrux inside of me." He was pulled backwards by
the shoulders and sagged back against Voldemort's chest.
"I fucking hate them all. I want them to pay for betraying me. I fucking trusted them, put my life on the line for them, and they all stabbed me in the
back for it. They lie to me, they hide things from me, and they kept me their pawn for fifteen fucking years before you of all people, the one I was
never supposed to trust, finally told me the truth about everything. For fifteen fucking years they toyed with me and I swear they're all going to pay
for it for the rest of their lives when I'm done with them." He was turned around by his shoulder and looked up at Voldemort standing there. "Help
me figure out a way to make them fucking suffer for what they've done to me," he said.
"With pleasure," Voldemort chuckled wiping away a tear from his cheek with his thumb.
Thank you for reading. If you have the time, please leave a review. I'm almost at my goal of 200 for my first story posted here.
Nyx Myst
*Chapter 25*: Author Note & Posting Schedule
Just a few author notes…
Firstly…. I HIT MY 200 REVIEWS!!!! =) Thank you so, so much to everyone that left a comment to help me reach my goal. Without all of your help I
couldn't have done it so thank you. =)
Secondly, no, I didn't realize that I used the word 'chuckled' that much until a few people pointed it out to me. I've gone through the rest of the
chapters to correct that. It wasn't something that I intentionally did and I actually groaned reading through chapters at how many times I used that
word. I changed some wording from here on out so the word 'chuckle' isn't in there as much.
As a side note, the reason I have the Death Eaters laughing and joking around so much is because I don't think that when they're alone together
that the Death Eaters and Voldemort are just grumpy and antisocial. They all love what they do and I can't see them sitting around brooding about
it. I don't see them throwing wild drinking parties or anything given their 'superior pureblood' upbringings, but relaxing with a glass of expensive
liquor and laughing about the raids they've committed and people screaming while being tortured I can see them doing.
Thirdly, to answer several people all at once, no, I haven't written anymore HP/LV stories. I'm a Harry/Snape girl at heart, but this idea grabbed me
and wouldn't let go. I do have a lot of HP/SS that I might start posting, but if I do it won't be until after the New Year. I also have another HP/LV idea
rumbling around my head, but I'm still trying to work out how to make it believable before I try writing it.
Lastly, I've had more than one person now ask me if I was planning to post more than one chapter at a time now that I reached my goal of 200
reviews. The answer is yes. With Christmas right around the corner, I know I'm going to be busy and so will all of you. I don't want to wait to post
the end of the story until after Christmas is over so here's the posting schedule I've come up with for the rest of the story. The end will be out by
Dec 22nd, 2009. All dates are US dates.
Tomorrow, Dec 17 - Chapter 23
Friday, Dec 18 – Chapters 24 & 25
Saturday, Dec 19 – Chapters 26 & 27
Sunday, Dec 20 – Chapters 28 & 29
Monday, Dec 21 – Chapters 30 & 31
Tuesday, Dec 22 – Chapters 32 & 33 + the Epilogue
Once again, thank you all so much for reading and reviewing. You made my first experience of posting a story here very enjoyable.
Last but certainly not least, I want to give a special thank you to Tonks-Is-Cool for keeping me motivated to post chapters back when I was a little
down about my review total with her reviews and private messages. Whatever any other author has said about your reviews, I've appreciated every
word you've said to me so thank you. =)
Nyx Myst
both.
Once again thank you all for helping me hit my goal of 200 reviews. Maybe I can hit 300 by the end. *winks*
" regular speech "
Chapter 23
One Week Later
You once boasted that you were able to access any area in Hogwarts. Should that include Severus' private potions stores your assistance is
required. Your Auntie Bella has been severely injured.
He'd been in Salazar's chamber when the words had filtered through his mind. Exactly seven minutes later he was inside Snape's storeroom
tucking bottles of potions into his Horcrux hunting bag as Voldemort named off each one in his head. Twenty-two minutes after Voldemort's call he
handed over the bag to Wormtail who immediately rushed out of the door of Voldemort's chambers for the room across the hall and two doors to
the left. That was nearly two hours ago and he hadn't moved from the chair at the table he'd been gently led to and he wasn't planning to.
"Harry?" That finally made him stand up and look at an exhausted but relieved looking Rodolphus standing in the doorway. "She's going to be all
right," the man said softly and he let out a huge sigh. "She's asking for you." He nodded heading for the doorway. When he reached it, Rodolphus
put a hand on his chest to stop him and he looked at the man again. "Thank you," the man whispered.
"Had to give her something to call me a soft-hearted Gryffindor over," he replied with a smile. Rodolphus sniggered nodding and they headed down
the hallway together. He walked into the open door and Voldemort was there sitting on the side of the bed beside her. "What the Hell is this?
You've got a man, stop holding hands with mine," he said teasingly. Voldemort and Rodolphus chuckled and Bellatrix lying in the bed sniggered
tiredly lifting her other hand. He walked over to the bed and sat down on her other side taking her other hand. When she turned her head towards
him he wanted to kill the entire fucking Order for the large bandage on the side of her face stretching from her lower cheek up to her hairline.
It was only supposed to be a trip to one of Voldemort's storage houses to retrieve some items Voldemort was planning to use in upcoming
missions. Being a senior ranking Death Eater and keyed to the wards, she'd gone with Rosier on Voldemort's orders to meet up with three of the
newer Death Eater recruits so the new recruits could pack the items for her and Rosier while the two of them took inventory of everything else to
make sure nothing was missing. They hadn't even made it inside.
One of the new Death Eaters hadn't been watching closely enough to make sure that he wasn't followed. Seven Order members had attacked out
of nowhere. Rosier and Bellatrix with three new recruit against the likes of Kingsley, Moody, Podmore, Bill Weasley, Vance, Jones, and with
Dumbledore in the lead hadn't been much of a fight: it was a slaughter. Two of the recruits were captured, Rosier was in another room recovering
from a broken ankle and foot, and his Auntie Bella was lying in bed with half her face covered by bandages because her skin had been burned
away. Yes, he definitely want to kill some Order members for it.
The only good news about the whole thing was that Bella and Rosier had managed to hit Kingsley, Vance, and Podmore, though they didn't know
how badly the three were injured. It was only Bella blasting a curse at the house to set off the alarm to Voldemort that the house-and by extension
them-were under attack that got Voldemort and the Death Eaters there as reinforcements and Bella and Rosier back to the house before they were
captured, too.
"He wishes to kill them for harming you," Voldemort said looking from him at Bella.
"As if he could manage the Killing Curse to do it," she snorted back.
"Your face may be fucked up at the moment, auntie, but you're still a bitch," he grumbled. She smirked at him squeezing his hand and he looked
down at their hands before looking at her again.
"It's bad, isn't it?" she asked quietly.
"It won't be for long," he replied stroking her hand with his thumb. "I stole some of Snape's potions to get you fixed up again. You'll be primping in a
mirror again in no time."
"I told you that you liked me," she smiled. He smiled back and she closed her eyes. "No trying to feed Wormtail to Nagini until I'm up and about
again to enjoy it. Now go away so I can sleep."
"Yes, Auntie," he sniggered standing up. He leaned down once he was and kissed her cheek. She was smiling even more when he pulled back. He
watched her for a moment before Voldemort calling his name made him nod and leave the room.
Back in Voldemort's chambers, he walked over to his spot at the table and stood behind his chair with his hands on the table just looking down at it.
Voldemort took his normal spot at the head of the table to his right, but he just kept standing as other Death Eater sat down around the table.
"You know they're all at Hogwarts right now up in Dumbledore's office probably celebrating because they know they hurt her."
"Most likely, yes," Voldemort said none too happily fingering his wand.
"I want to go AK practice on the whole fucking lot of them for it," he said.
"Your time would be better served discovering the extent of the injuries to Order members and discovering how they knew that I had marked
Framden," Voldemort replied. "He and five others were only marked last month."
"Since they don't let him in on Order business, that's not likely," Dolohov said.
He pressed his lips together trying to think of a way to get into the Order meeting up in Dumbledore's office so that he could find that out.
Dumbledore's office was always locked up tight during Order meetings. Even the gargoyle didn't disturb Dumbledore during a meeting to announce
anyone at the bottom of the stairs.
"Wormtail, bring a vial of strong numbing potion and a small sample of the congealing potion that Harry stole from Severus' stores," Voldemort
said.
"Yes, my Lord," Wormtail replied instantly. Within two minute Wormtail held them out to Voldemort. Voldemort took them and then held them out to
him. He looked at Voldemort confused, but still took them standing up straight.
"Yaxley, you are quite adept at casting Quaero Vesica with precision," Voldemort said of a burning curse that scorched the skin in wide lines. If
held long enough, it could slice a person to death.
"Yes, my Lord," Yaxley replied. Voldemort summoned a service of tea and poured himself a cup.
"I will allow this once and only once and only because I need the information and you will do anything to avenge Bella," Voldemort said. "Take the
false chalice to that old fool. You being injured will gain you immediate entrance up to his office. One line, Yaxley, from his shoulder down his
bicep. Target as much flesh as possible to minimize his discomfort. McNair, come hold him so he does not move and cause more injury than
necessary. Dolohov, your task is to administer both potions as soon as Yaxley has stopped the curse. And Yaxley," Voldemort said lifting the
teacup to his mouth, "were I you I would take extreme care in making the wound no more than layers of skin. Should you permanently damage
him, I shall do the same to you."
He stood up straight and moved a few steps away from the table. Turned to the side so his right arm was facing Yaxley, McNair held him around
the waist tightly to keep him from moving, and Dolohov took the vials from him. When both vials were uncapped and ready, he took a deep breath,
let it out, and inclined his head at Voldemort. Voldemort looked from him at Yaxley and did the same.
For ten to fifteen seconds his arm exploded in pain and the smell of his robe and the shirt along with his flesh under it burning filled the air. He
didn't breath again until the cold liquid of one potion was applied to the burn on his arm and then the same was done with the other. Turning his
arm to inspect the damage, it was a long oval shape, a few layers of flesh gone and what was left behind was bloody but congealed thanks to the
potion he stole from Snape. He didn't feel a thing thanks to the numbing agent.
"The last one you shall give to Dumbledore in full health, am I clear?" Voldemort said still not looking at him. He walked over to the man, leaned
down, and brushed a kiss across his lover's lips. Voldemort returned it just barely before pulling back. "Go."
He grabbed the fake Horcrux from the shelf Voldemort was keeping them on because Voldemort wanted to make damned sure he didn't purposely
injure himself with one before turning it in. Broom in hand, he headed downstairs and flew from Voldemort's house back to Hogwarts just so no one
saw him coming back from Hogsmeade. It took about twenty minutes at the speed he flew, but as soon as he walked in the door of Hogwarts two
girls gasped at the sight of him.
"Move," he said sternly to people on the stairs and ran up them two at a time before walking quickly towards Dumbledore's office. The gargoyle
was as stubborn as he knew it would be, but once he turned and said he needed to see Dumbledore before he bled all over the floor the statue
instantly moved to the side and he let the stairs take him up to the top. At Dumbledore's office door, he knocked before opening it and walked
inside.
"Oh my God, Harry, what happened?" Hermione asked jumping up.
"Misjudged the strength of a Quaero Vesica," he replied walking up to Dumbledore's desk as the old man stood up. "I'm all right," he said. "I
already countered it and put a congealing and numbing potion on it," he said pulling the chalice box from his bag.
"Where did you get the potions?" Snape asked as Dumbledore rounded the desk and turned him to inspect his arm.
"Happened to find a few bottles of it when I was packing my hunting bag," he replied with a grin aimed at Snape pulling the strap of his bag over his
head and putting it down on the floor. Snape snorted, but no one laughed as Dumbledore gently pulled his robe off of his scorched arm. He pulled
the rest of it off himself and it joined his bag on the floor.
"Severus," Dumbledore said and Snape frowned walking over. He lifted his arm more when Snape gently took his elbow and did the same
inspecting the burn.
"How many bottles did you take and use?" Snape asked.
"Took three when I packed my bag, but I had to use the other two on my hands. Voldemort had the curse ringed around the statue holding the
chalice and I had to reach through it get the chalice so…" he shrugged trailing off, purposely saying he took three bottles because he had so that
Bella's face could be healed. Dumbledore and Snape each lifted one of his wrists and inspected his hands. "My hands are fine now, just had to
stick around outside the cave for a while so they'd heal before I could fly back. My arm's the worst that's left of it. It'll be all right."
"This is precisely why you retrieving them on your own is unadvisable," Snape said.
"Still got the second one, didn't I?" he replied. "And I'm going to get the third before end of term because you owe me an O when I do." Snape
snorted again while more than a few of the Order tried not to laugh and Dumbledore smiled at him. "Anyway, I'll let you all get back to your
meeting. Just be careful opening the box," he added picking up the strap of his bag and discarded robe again.
"Harry," Dumbledore said and he looked at the old man, "please sit down so as Severus may tend to your wound." He opened his mouth, but
Dumbledore held a hand up. "Please," Dumbledore said softly. "Tonight has been a very good night for our efforts against Voldemort and your
discovery only makes that even more so."
"Why? What happened while I was gone?" he asked.
"The Dark Lord is now short five Death Eaters, Bellatrix and possibly Rosier among them," Snape said nudging his chest until he backed up and
sat down on a chair.
"They're dead? All five of them?" he asked feigning excitement.
Excellent work, Harry.
You knew I'd pull it off, that's the only reason you let me.
Yes, it is.
"No," Dumbledore replied taking his seat behind his desk again as Snape called for a house elf. "Two were captured and are in Azkaban as we
speak. They, however, were new recruits, as Severus did not know them. Bellatrix, and two others, one who Severus believes was Rosier, were
apparated away when Voldemort arrived with reinforcements."
"How'd you manage to track them down?" he asked. He turned his head away to make sure his expression didn't betray what he really felt as the
elf returned with a tray containing a potion, bandages, medical tape, and the scissors. He watched Snape cut away the rest of the sleeve of his
shirt and start slowly dripping potion on the burn.
"Voldemort has become rather careless in whom he's recruiting these days," Bill grinned. "Two of his new recruits used to work with me at
Gringotts and are on our side." He felt Voldemort's rage increase as Bill, Moody, Dumbledore, and several others talked about the entire mission to
infiltrate Voldemort's ranks.
"What about our side?" he asked glancing at Dumbledore before looking back at his arm as Snape covered the wound with a bandage. "Is
everyone all right?"
"No," Hermione said softly. "Kingsley has a broken back from a blasting curse Bellatrix hit him with. He'll be in St. Mungo's for at least a week and
recovering at home for probably a few weeks after that."
"Shit," he said quietly, though he wanted to jump for joy.
"Yes," Dumbledore said gravely. "Emmeline Vance was also injured, though not as severely. It shall take several days for her arm to heal and her
hearing in her left ear to return. Also, Sturgis Podmore shall be resting for several days to recover from his brush with the Cruciatus Curse."
"At least the Death Eaters are worse off," he said as Snape applied the last strip of tape to his arm. "What about the house you said they were
heading towards? Did you get inside it and find out what's in there?"
"Unfortunately, no," Remus said. "The wards seemed to be blood and voice keyed to gain entrance. The Ministry is having Aurors guard it, but
Voldemort could show up again at any time to get whatever he was after so we need to get some Order members back over there to keep watch."
Rabastan, Dolohov, McNair, Crabbe, Goyle, Mulciber, and Rookwood, the Order has left the dwelling guarded only by Aurors for the moment. Get
over there, retrieve my belongings, and kill anyone who stands in your way.
"Perhaps you know of the dwelling from your research into former residences of Salazar's, Potter," Snape said holding a vial of blue healing potion
out to him. "It was an older home, two stories in height with most likely a partial attic and the front entrance door was near the right front corner of
the dwelling rather than in the center."
Tell them nothing and stall them as long as you can.
Got it.
"Did it look like an old farmhouse?" he asked, purposely leading the Order astray since none of the smaller houses he'd found Salazar had once
used did, while he pulled the cork from the potion vial.
"Possibly," Moody said. "Do you remember it?"
"I'm not sure," he replied, took the potion, and capped up the vial again. "There were quiet a few smaller places that were almost like farmhouses
or maybe two story cottages that it was theorized that Salazar used for creating potions. I didn't see the house you all found the Death Eaters at,
though, so I can't be sure," he continued twisting his arm to inspect the bandage again.
"Would you be willing to show Alastor and Bill which texts you saw these homes in? They may be able to discover from their history what sort of
protection enchantments have been placed on them," Dumbledore said.
"I'll show them which books I was looking through, but then I'm going to take a shower. I'm too tired and sore from getting the Horcrux to sit in one
of the library's chairs. Actually, I think I'll just tell you now that I'm going to sneak into the prefects' bathroom for a bath because I need a good, hot
soaking," he said letting his arm go standing up and running a hand tiredly down his face.
"That is fine, my boy. You did well tonight and deserve at least a relaxing bath. I shall find another to assist Alastor and Bill," Dumbledore smiled.
"I can help them research, sir," Hermione said standing up.
"I think I'm going to have to decline and head out, Professor," Tonks said. "I'm beat and was never very good at book work anyway."
"Yes, it has been a rather long night, hasn't it," Dumbledore said circling the box with his wand before opening it. As soon as Dumbledore did,
Snape hissed grabbing his forearm over the Dark Mark. He lifted his hand to his scar faking a hiss of his own because Snape did. Dumbledore
quickly closed the box and he lowered his hand as Snape let go of his arm. "Yes, I always believed the chalice was one of his newer Horcruxes
rather than an old one such as the ring or journal. The presence of his dark touch on it is much more pronounced."
"That explains why my scar burned so much getting it," he said. "What about the locket?" he asked. "How long ago do you think he made that
one?"
"From what I can gather nearly around the same time as the chalice less than twenty years ago. For that reason I would prefer that you did not
travel alone to retrieve it," the old man said.
"I'm going alone," he replied putting the strap of the bag over his shoulder.
"Look, one night of us actually sharing information while you had me sit in here and Snape patched me up doesn't mean that I'm back to wanting to
join the Order. I'm doing fine on my own. Yes," he said holding up his hands, "I got a little hurt this time. It was my own fault for trying to rush to get
the chalice instead of taking the time to figure out a way to get it without reaching my hands inside the curse ring to do it. That won't happen again.
When I bring you the locket it'll be without a scratch on me no matter if it takes me all night and into the next day to do it. I said I'd take care of
getting the Horcruxes while you all did whatever it is you're doing. You're having success and so am I. Let's keep it that way."
"Very well, but should you require anything-" Dumbledore said trailing off.
"I know where to go," he replied.
Yes, to me, Voldemort said. Just as I know where to obtain what I wish for.
Absolutely. Feel like playing Polyjuice dress up anytime soon? he asked jokingly, and though Voldemort snorted, he knew as soon as things
calmed down Voldemort would indulge the Hell out of him again.
Thank you for reading. If you have the time, please leave a review.
Nyx Myst
both.
Thank you all for the kind reviews. I think I'm going to hit 300 by the end of the story. =)
As promised, today starts me posting 2 chapters per day so the story is completely posted by Christmas. Enjoy!
" regular speech "
Chapter 24
Nine Days Later
"See? You lot need to pay attention. A gentleman is always supposed to acknowledge a lady's presence in the room before any other," Bella
smirked looking around the sitting room before turning back to him. "Now what did you bring me?" she smiled.
Shaking his head with a smile, he held out the bakery box of strawberry cream strudels he'd asked the house elves at Hogwarts for. Sure he'd lied
and said they were for him to snack on while he worked on his house, but they didn't need to know that. She opened the box and squeaked happily
before closing the lid firmly looking at the LeStrange brothers.
"Hands off or I'll hex them off," she said sending the room into a small fit of laughter.
He was just happy to see her up and about again. Her face was almost fully headled now, the skin and muscle completely repaired thanks to him
playing up his injury and getting another bottle of potion from Snape. The area was still slightly red, but even that was fading. That was all that
mattered to him. Though they teased each other about it and never openly admitted it, now that he'd gotten to know her he actually did like her a
lot. He knew the reverse was true, too.
"Bella, if you're the new standard of what a lady is and Potter is the same for a gentleman then Merlin help the future of the wizarding world,"
Lucius said.
"You're just pissed off because once everything with the war is said and done Draco is going to be second choice to me even among the pureblood
women," he grinned. Lucius snorted rolling his eyes as everyone laughed.
"Already thinking about the spoils of victory, are you, Harry?" Dolohov asked still laughing.
"He's young man. I'd be worried about him if he weren't thinking about it," Yaxley said.
"Hey, I only think about sex every ten seconds, not every six," he replied cracking everyone up. The laughter tripled when he bit his bottom lip at
the feel of a wand tip pressed into the back of his skull.
"And whom precisely are you envisioning having relations with so frequently?" Voldemort asked from behind him.
"You, of course, even if it is with lots of Polyjuice involved," he replied.
The Death Eaters all kept laughing and he rubbed the back of his head sniggering when Voldemort actually did use a slight stinging curse on him
for the comment. He turned around and his vocal amusement faded even though his smile didn't at the expression on the Dark Lord's face, a smile
that said Bella wasn't the only one that had feelings for him that they wouldn't admit to. Voldemort's smile changed to a smirk from hearing that
thought from him and he sniggered slightly looking down and then at the man again.
"I know where my loyalty lies and so do you, with finding out and passing on Order information where it's going to do the most good."
"Sit," Voldemort said. All the amusement faded from the room as he sat down next to Bella and pulled out his usual bag of chocolate frogs.
"I found out this morning that Dumbledore is considering asking Hermione's parents to go on holiday for the summer. If he does, he'll be funding it,
and though he'd be doing it to make it seem like Hermione will be out of the country, she wouldn't be going with her parents. Dumbledore wants her
to travel back and forth between the Order's headquarters and Hogwarts doing research on something called Rift Magic. What is it because I've
never heard of it?"
"Rift Magic is what was used to create the veil in the Department of Mysteries at the Ministry," Voldemort replied from his chair, his hands curled
over the ends of the arms just looking at him. "It is also known as the Ancient Magic of the Dead."
"Do you think Dumbledore is trying to opening another one to use on you, my Lord?" Alecto asked.
"Possibly, though another theory is that he is attempting to open a rift in an effort to retrieve individuals who have crossed over," Voldemort said.
He froze at that just staring at Voldemort. "You know Dumbledore as I do, Harry. I would not put it passed him to attempt to reanimate your parents
in an effort to persuade you to fall into line."
"Either that or it's how he's thinking of getting the Horcrux out of me," he replied quietly and Voldemort frowned.
"Yes, that is a possibility as well," Voldemort said.
"Then we have to make sure that old codger doesn't succeed, now don't we?" Bella said handing off her bakery box to an elf. "Where does the girl
live? A few of us could go make a house call there. With her worrying over her parents she'll be useless in researching anything for Dumbledore."
"Knowing Hermione that would just make her more determined to do the research," he snorted rubbing a hand down his face.
"Filthy Mudblood," Narcissa huffed.
"Yes, but an intelligent one given what I know of her through Harry's memories," Voldemort frowned. "You are positive that is Dumbledore's
intention?"
"No, but it's an idea he has," he replied lowering his hand and looking at Voldemort again. "I'm hoping that when he suggests it to other members
of the Order that they'll be so against it that it doesn't happen. There's also the possibility that Hermione won't research it because it crosses the
line into Dark Arts."
"Yes, I seem to recall your memories of your forth year when Crouch Jr. discussed the Unforgivable Curses. For one always so anxious to flaunt
her knowledge gained through books, she was unwilling to even discuss the Unforgivables," Voldemort said moving his hand to Nagini's head
resting on the arm of his chair.
"If Dumbledore is even thinking about it, it sounds as though he's getting desperate," Dolohov said.
"He is and there's more," he replied ripping the wrapper off a chocolate frog and snapping off the legs before it even had the chance to jump. "The
Order is already starting in on me about my birthday. They want me to wait at my relatives' house until they get there and for me to let them escort
me away to safety."
"Meaning they're going to take you to Order headquarters against your will," Rodolphus snorted.
"That was probably their original plan," he replied leaning back and eating the frog legs in his hand. "At least it was until I told them that as soon as
midnight hits on the thirty-first of July that I'm casting a Inflamius ward on myself."
"You threatened to set them on fire if they tried to grab you and force you where they want you to go?" Bella asked laughing along with everyone
else.
"Damn right I did and I'm thinking of adding Quaero Vesica to my trunk without telling them," he grinned making them all laugh again.
A conversation started about what to do about Dumbledore's plans for Hermione. He toed off his left shoe and pulled his foot up onto the edge of
the sofa munching away on the frog listening. There was a whispering in the back of his head that he should be worried about his long time friend,
but she hadn't been much of a friend this year. In fact, she'd stabbed him in the back more than once along with trying to tell him what to do as if
she were his mother or something. The more he thought about her betrayal, the less whispering he heard from his conscious.
"What about Harry?" McNair asked.
"We shall attack his Muggle relatives' home just after midnight on his birthday as has always been the plan. Not to do so would draw Dumbledore
and the Order's suspicion as to why," Voldemort replied.
"The Order will no doubt be there," Amycus Carrow said. "Perhaps we can get kill a few of them while they scramble around trying to protect Potter
and the Muggles."
"I want the Dursleys dead," he said opening the wrapper on another frog. The room went silent and he snapped off the legs on that one, too. "Kill
the Dursleys, all three of them, as painfully as you possibly can and Christmas will come in July for the Death Eaters out of my Gringotts' vault.
Watching them die will be my birthday and Christmas all rolled into one." There was silence for a few moments before Bella finally spoke.
"You know better than to joke with us about killing Muggles, Harry," she said lowly and seriously.
"I know and I'm not joking," he replied, took a small bite of the frog and then just looked at it in his hand. "They hate magical people, call us freaks.
The rumors are true and they did lock me in a cupboard under a staircase for a decade. They barely fed me, my fat arsed uncle let his equally fat
arsed son pummel me, and they used me like a fucking house elf when I was allowed out of the cupboard. I want them to suffer for it."
No one said a word as he popped the last piece of frog in his mouth, chewed and swallowed it, and then looked at Voldemort.
"A long time ago you said you wanted to kill them for how they treated a wizard, but you couldn't because the Ministry would've taken custody of
me and taken my Gringotts vault. On my birthday this year, that problem is resolved and I want them dead for what they did to me."
Voldemort stared at him for a moment templing his fingers and scanned his mind to see if he really was serious. He pulled up memories of his
years with his so-called family to show that he was.
"Your uncle was the worst offender?" Voldemort asked and he nodded. "Crabbe, Goyle, you are to target Harry's obese cousin and show him what
the meaning of being tortured and broken truly is." Both men nodded and Voldemort continued. "Carrows, your task is the woman. The louder she
screams the better. As for the uncle, Bella, I shall leave his torture in your more than capable hands. The rest of you are to keep the Order at bay
long enough for the others to complete their tasks."
"Ooh, I just love it when I get to have fun with Muggles," Bella said grabbing him by the chin and the side of his head and laid a big, wet kiss on his
cheek. Everyone laughed and he did, too, before setting his bag of candy aside and walking up to Voldemort in his chair. Voldemort stared at him
as he smiled, lowered to one knee, and rested his forehead on Voldemort's knee.
"Thank you," he said quietly.
"You may show your appreciation later," Voldemort chuckled laying a hand on the top of his head.
"Trust me, I will," he replied lifting his head grinning while the rest of the room laughed knowing exactly how he would.
"You truly wish for your Muggle relatives to be killed?" Voldemort asked later once they were alone in the man's bedroom.
"Yep," he replied simply from his spot lying on the man's bed on his stomach facing the table, one of his textbooks in front of him and his knees
bent, his feet up and crossed at the ankles.
"You shall most likely still be there when they take their last breaths," Voldemort said standing up and coming towards him.
"I will be because I'm going to make sure of it," he replied and casually flipped to the next page of his book.
"And how do you plan to accomplish that?" Voldemort asked moving to the side of the bed. One of the man's knees dipped down the side of the
bed and his lover started to move over him.
"Haven't figured that out yet," he replied. "Maybe I'll work it out with Rodolphus where we mock fight each other to give everyone else more time to
have fun with the Dursleys."
"Should you mock battle anyone it shall be me," Voldemort said pulling his head to the side and licking the side of his neck.
"Wage a fight with each other and have sex later on that night. It's kinky, but I like that idea."
"And I enjoyed the authority and ruthlessness you showed in ordering the deaths of your relatives," Voldemort replied licking and biting his neck
more, "though in the future should you order my faithful to perform a task it is to be cleared through me first. Am I understood?" He gently rolled
over and looked up at his lover.
"Didn't really mean it as an order, but I guess that's how it sounded," he replied unbuttoning his lover's shirt because yeah, having sex was a lot
better use of his time than reading his Herbology book. "Sorry about that," he said still looking at the man.
"Just remember your place least I have to remind you of it," Voldemort smirked looking down at him.
"I know my place," he replied quietly, but seriously. "It's wherever you want me to be."
Voldemort grinned kneeling back before sitting down with his back against the headboard. As he sat up, his lover did nothing more than look down
at his lap and then at him again. He moved in an instant from lying on his back to straddled across his lover's lap. The buttons on Voldemort's shirt
fell away from their buttonholes and he ran his hands along the course flesh of his lover's chest, touching gently here and there trying to get used
to the feel of Voldemort's true skin under his hands.
"Well?" his lover asked. He paused his hands and looked at Voldemort nervously. "Ah, while your loyalty is without question, you are still hesitant
to be with me as I am."
"I-"
"Relax, Harry," his lover smiled lifting a hand towards the nightstand. A vial of polyjuice flew from the drawer into his lover's hand and he looked at
it before looking at Voldemort again. "You are still young and need more time to come to terms with the turn your life has taken. Given the
information you provided me with today and your firm desire for revenge against those Muggles you once protected I am willing to once again
indulge you."
He nodded and Voldemort pulled the cork from the vial. Before the man could drink it, though, he held the man's arm and kissed him hard and
greedily. His hair was gripped in Voldemort's free hand as their tongue thrashed together. Rocking his hips, his laid his hands on Voldemort's sides
and whispered the spell Voldemort often used undress them both. His lover growled lowly breaking the kiss, downed the polyjuice quickly, and
threw the vial away yanking their mouth back together.
"I do need more time," he agreed quietly, "but I don't think much more."
It was weird as Hell kissing the man while feeling the forked tongue pulse and then reseal together into one firm muscle. The skin and muscle
under his hands bubbled over and over again, too, before settling into smooth flesh.
"Now, please," he pleaded, panting as the kiss continued.
One spell, this one said by his lover, and his arse was slick and pain shot up his back at being impaled without being stretched. He didn't care. As
much as it hurt, it felt good, too, and that was how he wanted it. While the moments when Voldemort was gentler with him were nice, as a general
rule they weren't. Since he'd grown used to being buggered by the man until his brain dripped out of his ears they'd progressively gotten rougher
during sex.
He loved it. He loved it when the man bounced him so hard he had bruises on his hips and his leg muscle screamed from the exertion. He loved it
when his knees gave out, he was shoved onto his belly, and his knuckles went white from gripping the bed sheets so hard while his lover pounded
into him from behind. The pain never lasted longer than the pleasure and only added to it. With his lover listening to him in his head, he got
everything he wanted and then some every time they slept together. This time was no different.
"Should I be sore tomorrow after that coupling, Potter, you will pay for it," his lover said still collapsed on his back panting. He laughed and
Voldemort bit his shoulder blade. "For years I had neither the need nor desire for relations with anyone. Leave it to you to change my opinion on
such."
"I'd say I'm sorry, but I'd be lying," he sniggered again and his lover did the same. They were silent for a few minutes as they recovered before
Voldemort spoke again.
"Though you shall not deliver the curses, their blood shall still be on your hands," the man said quietly.
"I know, but I want them dead," he replied quietly. "I want every last one of them who used me, abused me, and betrayed me to suffer and die for it.
Since I still can't manage the Killing Curse on my own, I'll just ask you to have one of the Death Eaters do it for me."
"For each time you do so my price shall be higher until you learn to do so yourself." He rolled over and looked up at his lover again.
"I already know what I'm going to eventually give you to pay you back for everything you've done and will do for me," he replied looking at
Voldemort as he used to look when the man was sixteen. "One day I'm going to give you a completely defenseless Albus Dumbledore so that you
can get your revenge on him, too."
"Give me that, Harry, and you may use my Death Eaters to your heart's content," Voldemort grinned widely.
"I will. It's a promise," he smiled.
Nyx Myst
both.
Once again thank you all for all of your reviews. You all make posting this story very worth the time I spend doing it. =)
" regular speech "
Chapter 25
Saturday Afternoon
"Ah, Harry, my boy. You have returned rather soon today. Is there a problem?" Dumbledore asked when he stepped into the old man's office as
soon as the door opened. Dumbledore and Snape were the only two in the office for a change and he closed the door behind him before he walked
up to the old man's desk.
"No problem for me, but I'm sure Professor Snape is going to have one in a few minutes," he smiled widely setting his Horcrux hunting bag on the
chair he usually sat in and pulled off his dragonhide gloves. Snape raised an eyebrow at him and he grinned even more opening his bag. "I seem
to remember a bet we started just after Christmas," he said pulling the last Horcrux box from his bag. "What was it again? Or I remember now," he
grinned and set the box down in Dumbledore's desk in front of the old man. "If I didn't find and retrieve the chalice, bracelet, and locket before the
end of term then I had to clean and pack away your entire classroom by myself," he said, reached forward, and opened the box. "But if I did you'd
give me an O in the next assignment in potions."
"Bloody hell," Snape groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose.
"And as promised, I don't have a scratch on me this time," he grinned. Snape groaned again and Dumbledore's twinkled in amusement.
"Now, now, Severus, a bet is a bet after all," the old man said picking up his wand and circling the locket in the box with his wand. "And the amount
of dark magic contained within Salazar's locket most assuredly means that Harry has indeed kept his part of the bargain. Well done, my boy. Well
done," the old man said happily.
"You purposely waited until now to bring that here as the only assignment left in Potions is the final exam," Snape snorted.
"Yes and no," he sniggered. "Yes, I probably could've gotten it when I went out Wednesday, but it was already late and there were some tricky
wards and two curses attached to the stone shelf it was on. Since I'd already sat classes half the day and I really didn't want to end up cursed
again, I left the wards and just dismantled the curses before I came back. Today I just had to go back and deactivate the wards, which were a bitch
by the way. Voldemort is a sadistic arse and he's got a hell of a lot of faith in his Death Eaters risking their arses to get these things just to bring
him back if he died to have that much magic guarding them."
"Then it was best that you did wait, though I will pretend I know nothing of a wager between a student and one of my professor whereby a students
receives a grade they did not in fact earn," Dumbledore smiled.
"Probably end up with an O on the exam anyway if I could get a night and day to myself to study now that all the Horcruxes that I can get to are in
your hands," he replied.
Your manipulation of that old fool knows no bounds, Harry, Voldemort said in his mind, but he didn't reply. He knew he really had to focus on what
he was saying to get this plan to work and he really wanted it to work. Dumbledore knew where he was going, too, because the old man sighed
and leaned back in his chair.
"Harry-"
"Please," he said softly, seriously. "I need some time to myself to clear my head, Professor. The last ten months of my life have been ninety-five
percent about getting my hands on all three of the jewelry Horcruxes. I'm still doing well in my classes because I made sure I did so that you
couldn't say that going after them was interfering with my studies, but I'm burned out," he sighed putting both hands flat on the edge of the old
man's desk.
"I know you are, my boy, but you are asking me to allow you to sleep away from the safety of the castle for the night," Dumbledore said gravely.
"I know, but only you and Professor Snape will know where I am. With the three house elves I bought from the Ministry there are usually candles lit
at my house at all hours of the night so no one seeing lights from Hogsmeade will even think twice about it," he said looking down and then at the
old man again. "You've gave me your trust in that I'd watch out for myself and stay safe while I went to get the Horcruxes and I appreciate that,
professor. All I'm asking is that you trust me that I can stay at my house for one night to clear my head. The next two weeks are all going to be
about my studies and final exams. After that, it's a month of being at the Dursleys where I'm not going to be able to stop thinking about how close
my birthday is and we all know Voldemort is going to show up at the Dursleys the second the protection charms end. I'm asking that for one night
you let me go putter around my new home and not have to think about any of that. Give me one night to find some peace." Dumbledore sighed
again and then looked at Snape before looking back at him.
"Very well," Dumbledore said and he cracked a wide smile. "I will allow you to do so on the condition that you allow me to escort you to the wards
to ensure they have not be tampered with."
Take the passageway.
"Can you do that from the passageway? It'll keep anyone from even seeing me go there," he said.
"Yes, that should not be a problem, though I am surprised you have agreed so easily to my condition," Dumbledore replied standing up.
"I agreed to let you walk with me there, not to let you inside," he smiled and Dumbledore looked at him over the tops of his glasses. "It's nowhere
near ready for me not to be completely embarrassed by having visitors, sir," he sniggered and Dumbledore cracked a small smile.
"Very well, my boy. You may go pack a bag of things for yourself for the evening, including your schoolbooks, and I shall meet you at the covered
bridge shortly."
He nodded with another smile and left Dumbledore's office. Within twenty minutes he was leaving Gryffindor Tower again with his schoolbag laced
with clothes along the bottom and his books on top. He had that bag over one shoulder and his Horcrux hunting bag over the other when he topped
off the ensemble his invisibility cloak and snuck out of Gryffindor Tower. Dumbledore was already on the bridge when he arrived talking to a few
students. He waited until the old man made an excuse of heading off to speak with Hagrid and fell into step behind the old man all the way across
the bridge and grounds. At the Whomping Willow, Dumbledore stopped and turned towards the tree. He only opened his cloak enough to toss a
rock he'd picked up along the way at the stump before following Dumbledore down into the tree's interior to the passageway. His cloak was tucked
back into his Horcrux hunting bag along the way while Dumbledore made small talk. At the edge of the wards, Dumbledore looked up at the
underside of the trap door in the ceiling at the top of the ladder and then at him again.
"There is a very large part of me that wishes to return you to the castle knowing that you will not allow me entrance inside your home," the old man
said and then looked at him. "I will not, however, as I hope to one day repair the tatters our relationship has become." He didn't reply because
nothing he said would help him get inside his home and the old man away from it. "I know this shall seem as hollow as the base of the Whomping
Willow, my boy, but I do apologize for alienating you. That was never my desire. Whilst you have said that you no longer wish to be a member of
the Order, myself and many others do consider you as such." He looked down and then at the old man again. Dumbledore gave him a soft smile
and then motioned with his head towards the ladder. "Go on, my boy. Rest and revise for your final exams. Whilst Severus my hold true to your
wager rest assured that I will take notice should your mark on your potions exam not match the knowledge put forth into completing it."
"See you tomorrow, sir," he sniggered.
Dumbledore inclined his head and he climbed up the ladder, deactivated the wards, and climbed through. Looking down at the old man through the
hole in the floor, he reactivated the wards so Dumbledore would see the glow of them. It wasn't until then that the old man turned and headed back
down the passageway. He closed and locked the floorboard before turning with a snort. The old man was right about one thing. That half arsed
apology was hollow.
Two hours later Dumbledore and Hogwarts as a whole were completely forgotten as he stood in the empty attic of the Slytherin house that
Voldemort has claimed as his. Bella squealed tapping her feet walking up to him and wrapped her arms around his waist in a tight hug. He laughed
along with those watching returning the hug. He'd been quiet when he'd arrived in Voldemort's chambers and had sat down at the table and
studied for over an hour. Then Voldemort summoned his book from him and told Bella to take him upstairs so he could work off the bad mood
Dumbledore had put him in. Battling Bella alone turned into the Death Eaters taking turns casting hexes and curses at him to counter. That a good
half of them weren't even in his DADA book went unsaid by him as he just laughed and mock battled them. And the whole time, Voldemort had
been standing back watching, instructing him in his head on how better to defend against their attacks and counter with offensive moves of his
own.
"Oh, my Lord, you must let us play with him more often," Bella said. "We've almost completely stomped out the Gryffindor in him."
"Apparently given that he is here for the entire night," Lucius said. "I still don't know how you managed that one with Dumbledore, Potter."
"That's because if it hadn't been for your prat being an arse on the train on the way to Hogwarts before I was sorted I would've been a Slytherin,"
he sniggered, wiping the sweat from his face in the sleeve of his robe.
"Get out of here!" Bella said pulling back and slapping his chest. "You little liar."
"No, he is not lying," Voldemort smiled. "He was still young, naïve, and untainted at the time when Draco's harsh words of the Weasleys being
worthless turned Harry away from any desire to be in our exalted house. He asked the Sorting Hat not to place him in Slytherin, which is why he
was sorted to our rival house instead. It is yet another thing I shall one day speak to your son about, Lucius."
"Oh, nice to know you're thinking about another sixteen year old with me here," he replied making everyone laugh and Voldemort turn that amused
stare on him.
"Careful, Harry, before you get hurt," Dolohov said.
"Depends on what he was doing that hurt me on whether or not I'd mind him getting rough with me."
The Death Eaters cracked up and even Voldemort laughed stepping forward and pulling his wand. He grinned backing up as every other Death
Eater moved away against the walls grinning, too. The next half hour was the hardest dueling class he'd ever had in his life. He was cursed three
times, and though Voldemort immediately removed the curses each time he was hit, he was sore and tired laying on his back when Voldemort
stepped over to him and held a hand out to him.
"You're so full of it, Harry," Bella laughed. "You weren't even trying to hit him."
"I'm his lover, not his fighter anymore," he replied cracking up the Death Eaters again as Voldemort helped him to his feet. As soon as he was
standing, Voldemort tilted his head back to make sure his scar wasn't bleeding from the duel and then ran a diagnostic scan on him to make sure
he was all right.
"Go and shower," Voldemort said. "Dinner shall be served in less than an hour."
"Yes, my Lord," he replied with a wink before heading downstairs.
When his shower was over, he headed down to the dining room where everyone was already gathered after seeing that Voldemort's chambers
were empty. Honestly, it was one of the best dinners he could remember recently, conversation flowing as much as the wine while they all ate and
some of the Death Eater recounted stories of their escapades that amused him now where only a year ago he'd have been horrified by them. And
whenever he saw Voldemort watching his reactions, he just smiled at the man before turning back to his plate and the conversation going on
around him.
Finally, night fell and Voldemort sent three Death Eaters out on patrols and another two on assignments before telling no one to disturb them or
he'd be allowed to feed them to Nagini. He just laughed and followed the man upstairs to Voldemort's chambers. He was starting to think of it more
and more as being their chambers. Not that he'd ever say that even with him standing at the foot of the bed pulling off his t-shirt and jeans to
change for bed. When he pulled a pair of pajama bottoms from his bag, he laughed when the pajamas, his bag, and his boxers vanished from his
hands. Turning around and seeing Voldemort walking up the step towards him pulling off his outer robe, he sat down on the bed and scooted up it
until his head was on a pillow and Voldemort was over him.
"Soon enough you shall lie nowhere else," Voldemort said leaning into him more.
"Can't wait," he replied lifting his head to meet the man's mouth halfway. After months of getting used to it, a forked tongue rather than a firm thick
one grinding against his meant nothing to him. It really didn't when Voldemort slid a hand up his bare thigh and squeezed his hip, the man's thumbs
pressing into the juncture whether pelvis meet leg. He touched, too, lifting his hand between them to unbutton the man's shirt. Once it was open,
he touched more gliding his hands up and down smooth skin.
"Ah, I have taught you the pleasures of physical contact well," Voldemort said tilting his head back to get at his throat.
"You've taught me a lot of things well," he replied quietly.
"All for my own benefit, Harry," Voldemort chuckled.
"Sorry, but from where I'm lying I'm benefiting quite a bit, too," he replied.
He did. He'd benefited so much since Voldemort had sent him that first book. He'd gained the truth of why he'd survived that night as an infant.
He'd gained the knowledge of countless books and personal instruction. He'd gained his freedom from Dumbledore's orders and the Order as a
whole. He used them to his advantage now, not the other way around. He'd gained insight into why so many things had happened to him in his life.
He'd gained a group of people who didn't just say they were protecting him, they really were. And all of that he'd gained because the man over him
moving their mouths back together had given it all to him instead of just taking every ounce of strength he had by making him find out things on his
own that they should have told him long ago. He'd gained it all because Voldemort, the evil, sadistic Dark Lord who was only capable of murder
and mayhem, cared enough about keeping him alive that Voldemort gave him everything he needed to do it. And because of all that, he'd fallen in
love with the one man in the world that he was never supposed to.
Voldemort broke the kiss pulling back and looked down at him as that thought went through his mind. For a moment, Voldemort just stared down at
him, but then the man cracked a smile. He smiled back lifting his head and kissed the man again deeply, showing that he meant what he wouldn't
say out loud, what neither of them would probably ever say out loud. That didn't matter, though. Actions spoke louder than words and he knew
without them. Voldemort pulled back again and reached for the nightstand for a vial of polyjuice when he had that thought, but he pulled the man's
arm back. Voldemort looked at him for doing it, but he just shook his head.
"Only if you want to indulge yourself," he whispered, "because I'm yours and I don't care what you look like anymore," he added seriously.
They were the last words he spoke. As viciously as Voldemort used to attack him with curses was the same viciousness the man attacked his body
with. The rest of Voldemort clothes came off as the kisses and touches became even more purposeful. Soon enough he was moaning his pleasure
with his head tilted back and long fingers working inside him. And just when he was ready to crumble under the onslaught, the fingers were
removed, a spell was cast on him to keep him from coming that Voldemort had used on him once before to prolong both their pleasure, and the
man claimed his body once again as the man had claimed everything else from him. He didn't mind at all.
Nyx Myst
both.
Once again thank you all for all of your reviews. I'm pretty sure I'll hit 300 reviews with these chapters. You all make posting this story very worth
the time I spend doing it. =)
And for those of you who said that the Death Eaters haven't caused enough death and destruction, your wish is granted ;)
" regular speech "
Chapter 26
July 30th – 11:45PM
"Enough of this, Potter!" his uncle shouted as he stood in his soon-to-be former bedroom at the Dursleys and strapped his wand sheath to his
forearm under the sleeve of his robe. "I want all of those freak out of my house. If they're here for you, they can bloody well take you!"
"Will you shut up already," he snorted. "You can't legally toss me out for another fifteen minutes. It won't be long after that that I'm gone from here
for good." And you're dead; he added silently and received an echoing chuckle in his head for it.
Yes, he will be, Voldemort replied in a tone that would have scared him a year ago at the deathly implication of it, but now only excited him more.
Ignore him and finish preparing for what lies ahead. You need to be in the rear of the premises at the stroke of midnight as seconds later there
shall no longer be a front to it.
"Babble," he called out and a house elf instantly appeared before him.
"What is-" his uncle started screaming, but he screamed back louder.
"Will you shut up and go away already! I'm trying to get my things out of here so that I'm gone faster. You ranting like an idiot is giving me a
headache and distracting me from what I need to do!" He turned back towards the elf and motioned towards his trunk. "Babble, please take that to
my house for me and put it in my bedroom. The boxes on the dresser goes in there as well and the one on the desk goes into the study."
"Yes, Master Harry," Babbly nodded with a smile, bowed, and the elf and his trunk were gone as soon as Babble jumped on top of it. He waited for
Babble to return for the boxes, and once the room was empty of anything of his, he headed for the bedroom door. His uncle was red and seething
at him.
"Get downstairs. Now," his uncle said through clenched teeth stepping back and pointing towards the stairs.
"Of course, Uncle Vernon, but only because you said so," he rolled his eyes and left the room.
Bella, the uncle is to die by pain, not the Killing Curse, preferably massive internal and external bleeding.
Now you know why I want him dead. Even a saint would.
Yes, and you are far from one of those now.
I don't know what you're talking about. I'm The-Boy-Who-Lived, the epitome of Light and Pureness, just ask anyone.
Voldemort outright laughed at that and it took everything in him not to do the same as he reached the bottom of the stairs. His uncle followed
behind him panting at trying to keep up with his brisk pace.
"Mr. Dursley, I must once again ask that you allow members of the Order to transport you and your family to a safe location. When Voldemort and
his followers arrive as I am sure they will Harry shall not be their only target," Dumbledore pleaded.
"Save your breath, Professor. I've tried telling him the same thing, but if he left it would prove that I was right so he's not going to do it," he snorted.
"Vernon-"
"No," his uncle snapped interrupting his aunt. "I'm not leaving my home because some maniac is after your nephew. If What's-His-Name wants
him, he can have him as far as I'm concerned."
Though you have not done otherwise in months you are purposely keeping your mind open to me so I may hear his every word ensuring his slow
and excruciating death.
Absolutely.
I see my evil ways continue to rub off on you.
And I'm gonna rub you off first chance I get tonight. Six weeks without you, I'm about to drop dead myself of a constant raging hard on. Voldemort
laughed and he had to rub his face to keep anyone from seeing him smile.
"Harry, are you all right?" Hermione asked worriedly.
"I'm fine," he replied. He was sure they thought that he was lying, but as usual they were wrong. He was anything but nervous about the impending
showdown. He wanted it to happen so he could get back where he damned well belonged and that wasn't Hogwarts or the Order's headquarters. "I
just want this over with."
"Everything will be all right, Harry," Kingsley said, the man back in action having finally recovered from his broken back. "You're our first priority, but
we'll be protecting your relatives too just in case your uncle is wrong."
Not wanting to say anything that might gave him away, he just nodded and headed down the hallway past the cupboard under the stairs and into
the kitchen. Grabbing a glass of water, he drank it listening to Voldemort give him more instructions on where to go and where not to go. Thanks to
his memories, Voldemort had the entire house mapped out and where every Death Eater was going as soon as the protection spell ended and the
front of the house came crashing down. And thanks to his good friend Minister Scrimgeour already giving him an apparating license that activated
at midnight, it was going to be so easy for him to move where he needed to be. Ultimately, he'd end up in the street in front of the house where
he'd have a perfect view of his relatives dying while Voldemort pretended to be trying to kill him and really did try to do that to Dumbledore.
Be ready, Harry. The charm shall fall in one minute.
I'm ready. Let's do this. I miss your bed.
And here when last we shared it you were beginning to view it as our bed.
Evil prick, he replied for Voldemort picking now to throw that though of his back in his face. Even though Voldemort was silent, he knew his lover
was smirking at the comment. He looked at the clock on the microwave setting his glass back in the sink and pulled his wand.
Thirty seconds and the Death Eaters shall arrive. He counted backwards in his head, barely making it to one before they did.
"Albus, the Death Eaters just apparated onto the street! There's, oh Merlin, there's a good thirty of them!" Tonks yelled from upstairs.
Fifteen seconds and the protection charm falls. He laid his wand against his robe as Hermione and Remus came running into the kitchen.
"Don't even think about it," he said sternly.
"Harry-" Hermione began.
Four, three, two, now.
Neither of them made it to him before a huge explosion sounded in the front of the house. He dropped to the floor and Hermione and Remus did
the same. It gave him the time he needed to cast the ward on his robe to prevent anyone from grabbing him and apparating him away. He heard
his aunt scream, stood up, and ran for the living room before Remus and Hermione even made it to their feet. The first thing he saw was his aunt
flying backwards through the air through the destroyed front of the house.
"Harry, stay behind me," Dumbledore said frantically. "Voldemort shall no doubt arrive any moment."
"He's already here," he hissed putting a hand to his forehead for show. His aunt screamed again while his uncle shouted her name, the fool
running after his aunt as fast as his fat arse would carry him while Order members yelled at him not to.
"Kingsley, Alastor, we must get Harry's relatives to safety," Albus said. "Harry, you must leave. Now!"
"Not while those bastards have my aunt," he said through clenched teeth.
"Harry, oh Harry, come out, come out wherever you are," Bellatrix taunted. "If you don't your fat Muggle uncle here is going to pay the price," she
promised. His uncle screamed and so did his aunt. He ran forward, but Dumbledore magically pulled him back again.
"They're going to kill them if I don't go out there!" he shouted and cast the countercharm to break Dumbledore's.
"Across the street," Dumbledore said. "Take cover behind the automobile there."
He nodded and apparated, immediately crouching down as soon as he was behind the car. From there he saw it all. Muggles came out of their
houses at hearing the explosion and screams and more screams were heard from them as they ran back inside the cover of their houses. He paid
no attention to them, though, watching the scene in front of him.
While the rest of the Death Eaters battled the outnumbered Order members, those with specific jobs were well into their tasks. Crabbe and Goyle
had Dudley bound to a tree, tears rushing down his cousin's face as his cousin sobbed loudly, both of Dudley's arm hanging at odd angles. His
aunt was even worse off, the top of her dress torn to shreds, her partially exposed bra-covered chest shuddering with the effects of multiple
Crucios as her screams echoed through the neighborhood. And his uncle, oh Bella was going to get the gift of a lifetime because his uncle was
crawling on his hands and knees towards the street, his face and arms covered in blood and tears.
"Fat, useless Muggle," Bella said with pure venom in her voice. "Let's give you a little weight loss program, shall we?"
She cast another curse at Vernon and his uncle screamed collapsing on the walkway on his face, a puddle of something steadily growing as liquid
seeped from his uncle's skin as the curse started to take affect. As she held it while other Death Eaters provided her with cover, she laughed loudly
when the fluid started coming out of his uncle's ears, nose, mouth, and even the corners of his eyes. He knew the curse she used, one to liquefy
the fat from his uncle until he eventually drowned in it. He should since he'd researched it with her on his last visit to Voldemort's house at the end
of last term.
The sound of someone apparating behind him made him turn and he pointed his wand. He lowered it slightly seeing it was Dumbledore.
"We have to help them. They're killing them," he said trying to make himself sound upset and his eyes tear up.
"And you shall be next, Potter," Voldemort said in clear amusement from a house away to his right.
"Harry, no!" Dumbledore said and reached for him. He stood up and moved away to keep the old man from doing that with his wand pointed at
Voldemort.
"You fucking bastard!" I want to kiss you so badly right now.
"Enjoying their screams, Harry?" Voldemort grinned. I know you do. "Throw aside your wand and I may allow them to live."
"Harry, don't," Dumbledore said.
"Very well," Voldemort replied. "Kill the Muggles."
"No!" he screamed.
Coninos Maritas, he said silently and then cast the curse at Voldemort. Voldemort apparated away and returned the favor telling him which curse
he would cast before doing it. They went back and forth like that twice before Dumbledore yelled his name.
He's going to apparate in front of me. Be ready.
Dumbledore did a second later and the Killing Curse just barely missed the old man from Voldemort's wand. Him being younger and quicker, he
darted out of the way behind another car and Dumbledore nearly hit Voldemort with a curse.
Oh I don't think so, you old son of a bitch.
He stood up and magically yanked Dumbledore backwards with the same charm Dumbledore had used on him inside the house, forcing the old
fool behind the cover of the car before Dumbledore could aim another curse at Voldemort.
"Thank you, my boy," Dumbledore panted. He just nodded with a scowl before grabbing the old man's arm and apparating them both behind
another car. Dozens of pops from people apparating to the scene were heard and he stood up partially glancing around to see who'd shown up.
"My Lord, Aurors, a good two dozen," Dolohov yelled. He pointed his wand at Voldemort as those who were torturing the Dursleys stopped in favor
of battling the Order members and newly arrived Aurors with the other Death Eaters.
There's too many Aurors. More Aurors just showed up behind you and they're headed your way. Voldemort killed two Aurors with their wands
aimed at Bella with quick flicks of his wrist before looking at him again.
"This is not over, Potter," Voldemort said. "My faithful, our work here is done," Voldemort said sternly and was gone in a cloud of black smoke. A
few seconds later, the Death Eaters vanished the same way.
He ran across the street as soon as they were gone. At the front of what was left of his aunt and uncle's house, the devastation was everywhere.
You could see clear through the front of the house all the way to the backyard from the huge holes in what was left of the inside walls. There were
three Death Eaters lying on the ground on their backs, Aurors standing over them with wands pointed ready to curse while others removed their
masks. He was glad it was no one important that had been caught. There were several dead Aurors and the Order had casualties, too. Molly
Weasley was with Diggle wrapping his leg in a magical splint and Doge was being looked over by Kingsley and Arthur, the man lying unconscious
on the ground. That wasn't close to the worst of it. No, that honor went to the Dursleys.
Dudley was still bound to the tree, his eyes open and lifeless hanging by magical cords around his neck like a fat and broken marionette. His aunt
was on her back beside his uncle's car, her body still twitching and blood slowly trickling from cuts everywhere. And his uncle was a good hundred
pounds lighter lying face down in a puddle of his own liquefied body fat.
"Harry, hun, come on," Tonks said coming up to him and trying to block his line of sight. "I know you weren't fond of them and they treated you
poorly, but you don't need to see this."
"Yes, I do," he replied quietly. I want to remember every second of this cause those pieces of Muggle shit finally got what was coming to them.
You are most welcome. Bella is dancing and giddy with joy at the moment.
I haven't begun to thank you for this yet, but I will.
"Listen to Tonks, Harry," Remus said moving to block him from looking anymore, too. "Go home and let the Order, the Aurors, and the Ministry
clean-up crew handle this. You don't need to stay for this."
He didn't reply looking over towards where his cousin was being unbound from the tree by Aurors. A spell washed over him and he turned pointing
his wand at who cast it at him. Seeing it was Dumbledore and feeling the ward disintegrate from his robe, he lowered his wand again. Dumbledore
walked up to him and simply held up his arm.
"My house, nowhere else or I'll never trust you to do it again," he said.
Dumbledore nodded and he did, too, before taking Dumbledore's arm purposely making his hand shake a little as he did. Dumbledore immediately
apparated him to the front of the Shrieking Shack. As soon as he landed, he stumbled backwards over the ward line and fell onto his arse as
though traumatized by the events of his birthday thus far. Elbows on his knees, he just sat there.
"I warned him. I warned him and he didn't listen and now they're all dead," he said quietly.
"We all did, my boy," Dumbledore said quietly, sadly. "And though I know you will not accept my invitation, I feel you being here alone tonight with
the memories of what has transpired would not be wise."
"I'm staying here," he replied quietly. "I need to be alone right now. I won't let it out anywhere except here."
"I thought as much," Dumbledore sighed clearly disappointed. "If I am to leave you here, Harry, I want your word that you shall not leave here at all
tonight."
"I promise the only door I'm going into or out of is my closet door for clothes or the trap door to Hogwarts," he replied slowly gaining his feet again.
He glanced at Dumbledore and then squeezed his eyes shut looking away, acting as though he were near tears.
"Harry, I am so sorry for your loss. The Order did all that it could. Voldemort simply brought more Death Eaters to your relatives' home than we
believed he would. I underestimated his plan of attack and for that you have my deepest apologies," Dumbledore said. He looked at the old fool
and forced himself not to laugh at the sincere tears in Dumbledore's eyes.
"It's not your fault, Professor. I know that you and the Order did the best that you could," he replied. "You didn't know he had so many Death Eaters
and how could you? You don't have anyone on the inside anymore." He looked away at the front of his home and then at Dumbledore again. "I'm
going to head inside, Professor. Thank you for coming to get me tonight and can you please tell the others I said the same?"
"I will, my boy," Dumbledore replied.
He nodded tucking his hands in his robe pockets, walked up to the front door, and went inside. With the wards reactivated and the door closed
behind him, he broke out into a joyous smile before heading into the sitting room. He took a seat in an armchair that gave him a perfect view of the
front of his house through the drapes and just waited hoping what was still to come didn't take long. He had some people to thank and a lover to
kiss.
As expected, a few minutes later Bill Weasley and Remus showed up along with a half dozen Aurors. He watched them all stand in front of his
home talking for a few more minutes before Dumbledore looked at his house again and then apparated away. He didn't care that the others stayed
behind as obvious guards to watch out for Voldemort and the Death Eaters trying to get at him at his house. He and Voldemort knew the Order and
Ministry wouldn't leave him at his house completely unguarded, and just as Voldemort said, Moody, Kingsley, and Tonks weren't a part of that
guard because they were still on Privet Drive giving reports to the Aurors on the scene there. He sniggered shaking his head at how predictable the
Order was.
With the old man gone and Moody and his magical eye not there to notice the increase in magical energy coming from his house, he left the sitting
room and ran upstairs taking them two at a time. With the flick of his wand at his closet door to activate the portal, the door opened and he walked
through it with a wide smile still plastered on his face. Voldemort's chambers were empty so he closed the portal again just to be on the safe side
and headed downstairs. He was only halfway down them when the sound of laughter and loud talking in the sitting room greeted his ears and his
elation at being back in Voldemort's home increased with each step he took. It boiled over as soon as he entered the sitting room.
"You all are my favorite people in the world right now and I swear that if you're ever in trouble I'll find a way to get you out of it," he swore walking
into the room. The Death Eaters all laughed hard and he walked up to Bella, took her hands, and hugged her tightly. "You're a sick, twisted witch
and I love you for it."
"Anytime, my adoring nephew," she laughed hugging him back. "I had loads of fun doing it and anytime you'd like me to do it again you just let me
know."
The Death Eaters laughed again and he kissed her cheek before letting her go. Only then did he turn and look at Voldemort sitting in his chair. He
walked over to Voldemort slowly rubbing the side of his neck and lowered to one knee at the man's feet.
"Sorry," he said drooping his forehead against Voldemort's knee. "I would've thanked you first, but I saw Bella and-"
"Forgiven this time," Voldemort replied massaging the top of his head. You protected me against Dumbledore, Harry. That alone was worth my
allowing your order to kill your relatives.
I'd do anything for you. You should know that by now, he replied silently lifting his head to smile at his lover.
I do, Voldemort replied cracking a small one back at him. "My faithful, I believe the success of our evening deserves a celebration. Wormtail, have
the house elves prepare and serve cocktails."
"There's a case of 12 bottles of MacEllon's 1952 scotch in the spare room at my house. I was going to give it to you as your victory gift once the
war was over, but I'll find another for you. I know MacEllon's is your favorite."
"For Merlin's sake, stop sucking up, Harry. It's undignified," Bella teased.
"Yeah, but once he has a few drinks in him I'll be doing more than just sucking up to him," he grinned. The Death Eaters laughed again and so did
Voldemort grabbing his hair and forcing his forehead back down onto his lover's knee.
Well, what do you think?
Was that a horrible and gruesome enough way for the Dursleys to die?
Did I show that when the Death Eaters aren't relaxing at Voldemort's house that they're as vicious and murderous as we've all come to know and
expect?
And have I FINALLY answered all the questions about whether or not Harry accepts that being with Voldemort means that he'll be a part of the
planning and murdering of people and that he has no problem with that?
Let me know what you think. I'll post the next chapter later on today. No, that's not a bribe for reviews, I just need a little time to proofread and edit
(if necessary) the next chapter before I post it. It'll be up in a few hours or so, I promise.
Thanks again for reading.
Nyx Myst
both.
YAY!!! 300+ reviews. Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. You've made me so happy that I decided to post this story. =)
" regular speech "
Chapter 27
A quiet hiss from the corner of his study made him turn from the bookshelf in front of him to look at Nagini. Seeing the snake blissfully asleep
curled up in the cushioned basket he'd put there for her while Voldemort and the Death Eaters were out running 'errands', he smiled looking away
from Nagini around the rest of the room feeling completely at home. He should since it really was one now.
Starting in his study, the room was remodeled exactly the way he wanted it. The wood paneled walls were a rich cherry color and the bookshelves,
desk, end tables, and coffee table were a few shades lighter with a burnt red leather sofa under the windows at the front of the house to finish off
the décor. Slowly but surely, his whole house had been cleaned top to bottom and the work on remodeling had begun. So far he'd only gotten
through the master bedroom, the study, the sitting room, and the dining room, but eventually he'd get through them all. For now, he was having too
fantastic a summer to concentrate that hard on the renovations.
For the past two weeks, half of his days were spent in his home really working on making the Shrieking Shack look the way he wanted it to. By his
birthday, his three new house elves and three more from Voldemort had finished the hard work of scrubbing the place down, patching up the holes
in the walls, fixing the broken stairs and railings, and removing old wallpaper to eventually just paint all the walls white for a clean fresh feel. While
they'd done a great job, the place looked bland and empty, something he wanted nothing to do with.
He'd had the elves go out and get him catalogs and had gone through one after another picking out new patterns and furniture one room at a time.
Once he'd settled on everything for a particular room, he worked with the elves to put everything into place. Voldemort seemed amused by his
enthusiasm to renovate the Shrieking Shack, and surprisingly, had given him a few ideas on things to do. Even the Death Eaters, Bella in particular
of course, walked through frequently to see what changes he'd made. While she'd naturally teased him about the red hues in the study with the
subtle gold accents, she did admit the room was beautiful. Honestly, it was his favorite room in his home now and he spent a lot of time there.
The renovations to his home weren't all he'd done. With the entire day everyday at his disposal to do what he wanted, when he wasn't renovating
he was enjoying himself with books and conversation and fun. He'd gotten through all of his summer homework already, and thanks to all the
lessons he'd received from his lover over the past year, he'd really only had to spend an hour a day at most for two weeks to do it. He didn't need
more time than that a day to do at least one assignment even with the frequent interruptions of Death Eaters walking around his home and treating
his home as an extension of Voldemort's. Though he'd hated the idea of the Order doing that, he had no problem with the Death Eaters doing so.
While he'd laughed with everyone else when they'd done it, he hadn't complained when Bella and Rodolphus had claimed the bedroom above his
on the third floor and started renovating it to their liking as their private space. He cared even less when Voldemort claimed the attic for a new
storage area, the dark wizard not liking that the Order knew where one of his storage houses was and having everything from there moved into it.
He was compensated well for the loss of storage space for himself.
He wasn't the only one that was immersed in work everyday. Voldemort and the Death Eaters were busy with their usual plans of stealing this or
that and dealing with those who opposed the Dark Lord's will. He knew everything that went on, and while more than a few times he'd actually
wanted to go along, he knew he couldn't. Not yet anyway and he couldn't wait for the day it did.
That was nearly a constant thought on his mind. When he'd blown out the candles on the birthday cake that Narcissa had the elves bake for him,
his wish had been to be completely free of Dumbledore and the Order. His lover told him to have some patience, but he was getting damned tired
of pretending that Dumbledore and the Weasleys' frequent invites for lunch, dinner, and tea in an attempt to urge him to be more active with them
weren't annoying as Hell. If he'd wanted to do that, he wouldn't have bought the Shrieking Shack and would've spent the summer at Twelve
Grimmauld Place.
While at one point he'd been torn over his side in the war, he knew his place with absolute certainty now. His place involved planning attacks on
the Ministry. His place involved plotting to strike down those who stood in his lover's way. His place was listening to every detail during meetings
and adding what he could to them. And at night once everything else had been done, his place was with his head resting on a throw pillow rested
against Voldemort's feet reading a book before they turned in for the night. He could well and truly live comfortably like that for the rest of his life.
It was that thought frequently coming to mind that had him retreating once more to that small place in his mind that he did still keep occluded from
Voldemort. His lover knew whenever he did, but never pushed at that part of his mind and he was grateful for it because old memories of harsh
words about his lover and current sentimental thought wasn't all that was in there anymore. Lately, and especially in the last two weeks, he'd had
something else on his mind: ending the bloody war.
He was tired of it. He was sick and tired of having to pretend that he was on one side of the war when he was firmly on the other. He was fed up
with acting as though he hated Voldemort and the Death Eaters when they were the only people he wanted to associate with anymore. He was
tired of pretending he didn't know more magic than half the professors at Hogwarts, he was tired of the Order telling him to listen to Dumbledore
because the old son of a bitch knew what was best, and he was sick to death of the words 'my boy' when he was the farthest thing from it.
'The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches ... Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies ... And
the Dark Lord will mark him as equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not ... And either must die at the hand of the other for neither can
live while the other survives.'
The book in his hand, he paused as the Prophecy replayed in his mind again and again. The Prophecy. That was it, the key to how to end the war.
The first half was self-explanatory. As for the 'power the Dark Lord knows not', that was his ability to sense the Horcruxes since he could and
Voldemort couldn't, not love as Dumbledore had often tried to tell him. He was the other half of the Prophecy; there was no doubt about that. That
left one line of the Prophecy that was the most important now in ending the war.
'And either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives'
'And either must die at the hand on the other...' That part made him walk over to his chair and sigh sitting down putting his head in his hands with
his elbows on the desk. It was plain and simple that one of them had to kill the other for the Prophecy to end. Having researched Prophecies long
ago, he knew they always panned out once enacted. One way or another, once enacted there was no stopping them. For him, it meant either he
had to kill Voldemort or Voldemort had to kill him to be free of the Prophecy that hung over them worse than any Morsmordre. The completely
fucked up part was that there was no way around that.
'…for neither can live.'
For him, truly living was now defined by doing it out in the open as Voldemort's lover and supporter. For Voldemort, it was ruling the wizarding
world without the Order, and more specifically Dumbledore, rebelling against the man.
'… while the other survives.'
It was a contradiction because for him to live he needed to be at Voldemort's side, and more and more as the months had gone by, he'd grown to
believe that while Voldemort could live without him there, his lover would rather he were. Then how in the Hell was the Prophecy ever going to be
fulfilled with that being the case?
'And either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives'
Either.
He jumped up from his chair and hurried over to the bookshelf. He'd bought the dictionary from Flourish and Blotts to expand his vocabulary just to
one day mess with both Snape and Lucius Malfoy by speaking an entire sentence in those long, supposedly eloquent four and five syllable words
both men favored while they insisted he was uncouth and without any refinement at all. He was about to use it for a whole different reason, and if
he was right, one word was going to make all the difference in the world.
After slapping the book down on his desk and flipping it open, he paged through until he found the word 'either'. Damn, he knew it. Not just 'one or
the other', 'either' could mean 'each of two'. With that substitution, the Prophecy took on a whole new spin.
'And each of the two must die at the hand of the other for neither can live whilst the other survives.'
Fucking Dumbledore. The old man interpreted the Prophecy the way he wanted it to turn out and made sure he believed the same. The old man
had done the same with Snape just in case Snape ever told Voldemort the entire Prophecy. For nearly sixteen fucking years Voldemort had tried to
kill him because of Dumbledore's interpretation of the Prophecy and he was the only one who'd ever even tried to look at it from another angle.
He flipped through the thesaurus looking up more words and snorted when he was done at the completely different translation. And because he
had, what had once been a death sentence for one of them turned into a way for them both to live.
'The one with the ability to overcome the Dark Lord will be born on July thirty-first to parents who've defied the Dark Lord three times, and the Dark
Lord will mark him as an equal giving him an ability the Dark Lord doesn't have, and each of the two must die at the hand of the other because
neither of them can live until the other died.'
While having a new interpretation was great, it opened up more problems than it solved. For them to be free of the Prophecy Voldemort had to kill
him, he'd be able to come back to life because of Voldemort taking his blood all those years ago, and then he'd have to kill Voldemort and bring
Voldemort back so they could both have the lives they wanted. While Voldemort was a master at the Killing Curse and could hold his end of things,
he wasn't sure he could actually muster the intent needed to kill Voldemort. The Prophecy was sure, though, which meant that if he tried hard
enough he could do it.
The larger problem was that even if he told Voldemort the new interpretation he'd come up with Voldemort wouldn't go for it. There was no way in
Hell that Voldemort, Mr. Seven Horcruxes To Avoid Death, would let him kill the man just to be rid of the Prophecy. In Voldemort's mind, the man
had beaten the Prophecy a long time again in turning him from the Order's side to Voldemort's. And given Voldemort's arrogance, he knew that
Voldemort wouldn't believe that until they did fulfill the Prophecy that Voldemort would never be able to live without the Order interfering in the
man's life plans.
Knowing all that meant one thing: he was going to have to make the Prophecy come true so it ended. That wasn't a welcoming thought. The only
way he'd be able to do it, to get Voldemort to truly battle him hard enough to want to kill him again, was to pretend to betray the man. He was going
to have to use all the manipulation and acting skills he reserved for Dumbledore and the Order on Voldemort.
The question then turned to exactly what he should do. There was always being an unfaithful lover, but he immediately dismissed that. As good an
actor as he might be, there was no why he was going to touch or kiss someone else in that way for Voldemort to see. Killing the man was going to
be hard enough, he couldn't add more misdeeds to that.
Lifting a hand with a sigh, he rubbed his forehead out of habit while thinking. It was then that it dawned on him: the Horcruxes. While he couldn't
pull off pretending to be with someone else, he was brilliant at Occlumency and creating false memories to do it. Since Voldemort knew he never
covered his mind except that one small part, it would even be believable if he pretended to open that part again and showed a false memory of
planning to put the fake Horcruxes into the base of Salazar's statue to fool Voldemort while giving Dumbledore the real ones. Then Voldemort
would think the only Horcruxes left were he and Nagini. And Voldemort had already tortured him once before for thinking he'd betrayed the man
and let a Horcrux be destroyed so he knew that would work again.
The Nagini part would be tricky, but then maybe it wouldn't be. He knew Voldemort was planning on 'attacking' him on his way from his house to
Hogwarts when the train arrived in Hogsmeade for the start of term. If he had Voldemort see him feeding Nagini rats, something he did often
anyway, Voldemort would think nothing of it. If he laced those rats with sleeping potion, it would keep her safe at the house while Voldemort was
gone. And if after he showed Voldemort the fake memories of giving Dumbledore real Horcruxes he produced the head of a snake of roughly
Nagini's size from the forest where Wormtail had got her, Voldemort would be livid enough to kill him, convinced that he'd killed the snake and
destroyed the last Horcrux aside from him.
No, there had to be another way to end the prophecy. Maybe he should just say to Hell with it, figure out a way to kill Dumbledore this term, and go
from there. That wouldn't work in getting rid of the Order either, though. For one, him turning to Voldemort's side like that would shock the
wizarding world and he'd be hunted relentless for it. Him doing it might even cause more people to join the Order's cause. Hell, doing that might
even make him a bigger criminal in the wizarding world's eyes than Voldemort was.
It was as he sat there trying to come up with other options that he felt his lover's presence go from weak to strong. Knowing that meant Voldemort
was back and had just crossed through the portal upstairs into his house, he locked down that part of his mind more firmly, pictured him and his
lover having a very good time in the bathtub together, and lightly occluded it.
Still sitting at the desk, he pretended to be completely absorbed in the fantasy as Voldemort entered the room with a few Death Eaters. When the
Death Eaters quieted, his lover stepped up behind him, and put the tip of his wand to the back of his head, he jumped in his chair acting startled, let
the light Occlumency shield fall away from the fantasy for a moment, and then covered it up again against that place in his mind he constantly kept
occluded. The Death Eaters cracked up and he turned and looked up at his lover.
"You were supposed to be studying, not daydreaming about me," Voldemort smirked. He groaned turned back towards his desk slouching in the
chair as the Death Eaters behind them laughed harder.
"Been ten seconds, has it, Harry?" Rosier teased.
"Yeah, well, seventeen isn't much different than sixteen in some ways," he mumbled in reply rubbing his hair forward. The Death Eaters laughed
hysterically and even Voldemort chuckled. "I finished my last summer assignment and was just going to start reading the next book on that list you
gave me, but I got distracted," he said quietly with a little half-snigger.
"Leave the list for now. You shall have ample time once term begins for you to study." He turned back and looked up at the man cause Voldemort
had wanted him to finish the list before term started. "When motivated, as when you began your search for my Horcruxes, it is fair to say that you
are a determined and thorough researcher of objects and locations."
"What or where?" he asked standing up and turned completely facing the man.
"They're called Drayndel Glasses," Dolohov said. "They're pieces of glass made with charmed sand off the southern coast of Ireland. If they're
soaked in a potion before one side is coated as a mirror, they have the ability to view the inside of the room in which they are placed by any other
mirror made with Drayndel Glass soaked in the exact same cauldron of potion."
"Two-way mirrors," he said.
"A more advanced version of them, but essentially yes. You know of them?" Voldemort asked.
"Sirius gave me one a few years ago, but it broke," he replied.
"Where in the world did he get it? They're very rare," Rodolphus asked.
"Probably the Order's Headquarters and I can't tell you where it is because I'm not the damned Secret Keeper," he snorted.
"But you would if you could, wouldn't you?" Bella grinned.
"In a heartbeat," he replied and looked at Voldemort again. "I'd do anything to make sure that in the end you have everything you want including
the Order gone and rule of the wizarding world."
"I know you would," Voldemort replied and he smiled. "I require both the process for creating the glass and the instructions on brewing the potion. I
shall need several mirrors, one of which you may be able to assist me in placing during one of your visits with the Minister of Magic."
"I'll have at least something on them by dinner," he nodded.
"Good," Voldemort replied. "Do so and I may be inclined to complete your fantasy." He stared at the man for a moment and Voldemort grinned.
That was enough for him to nod again and head for the door wandlessly summoning a robe. "Where are you going?"
"Hogwarts," he replied grabbing his robe when it reached him. "To get that fantasy played out, I'll have fucking tea and lemon drops with
Dumbledore so he'll let me into the Restricted Section." Even Voldemort was laughing as he pulled closed the passageway tunnel door over him,
his mind drifting back to that occluded place because he needed another plan or he'd be forced to use the one he already had.
Thank you for reading. If you have the time, please leave a review. =)
Nyx Myst
both.
Only a few more chapters left. Thank you all for making my first time posting on such a great experience and thank you for all the reviews. Now
onto the story… =)
" regular speech "
Chapter 28
"Have you completed your chores, Wormtail?" Voldemort asked from the table in the man's chambers reading written reports some Death Eaters
out on assignments had owled the man. Leaned back against pillows on the bed, his leg crossed with his right ankle resting on his left knee and
Charms Monthly Magazine resting in the space they created, he lifted only his eyes to look at the fucking rat. Pettigrew glanced at him and then
looked back at Voldemort wringing his hands in front of him. Voldemort looked at him and then back at Pettigrew. "Wormtail."
"Yes, my Lord," Pettigrew said quickly. "I mean that I have completed all but one task that you have assigned for me, my Lord."
"And the task that you have not?" Voldemort asked turning his complete attention to Wormtail.
"Well, you see, my Lord, it's not my fault!" the rat said quickly. He called Nagini with a hiss and Wormtail whimpered. "He's refusing to go pack, my
Lord," Wormtail said moving to the other side of Voldemort's chair making Voldemort turn to look at the rat while Nagini slithered into the room.
Wormtail whimpered louder and started shaking when Nagini looked at the man swaying her head back and forth. "I don't care if I owe you a life
debt! I'm not getting cursed for you!" Voldemort turned and looked at him again and he looked back down at his magazine.
"Leave us," Voldemort said.
Pettigrew scurried from the room and Nagini darted after him with Voldemort hissing at Nagini not to eat the fat fucking rat as she did. He wanted to
laugh, but he couldn't, not when the bedroom door slammed closed by magic, locked, and Voldemort stood up turning completely towards him.
"I know term starts tomorrow. I also know I've learned more here with you in the past month than I'll learn talking classes there until June," he said
quietly not even trying to read his magazine anymore.
"Should you not show up tomorrow Dumbledore and the entire Order shall be outside the Shrieking Shack before dessert is even served in the
Great Hall," Voldemort said.
"Dumbledore and the Order can kiss my arse," he mumbled blindly tossing the magazine onto the nightstand. "It's not as though they could get
inside my house to drag me out anyway. Besides, I'm seventeen now. I don't have to go back if I don't want to."
"And precisely what reason would you give for not returning when you have spent the past month successfully fooling them all into believing you no
longer hold any animosity towards them?" Voldemort asked, but he didn't reply. He didn't need to with Voldemort listening to every thought in his
head. "No."
"Why?" he asked and Voldemort narrowed his eyes on him. "I'm not trying to defy you so don't get pissed off at me. I just don't belong there with
them. I haven't in a year. I made my choice as to which side of the war I wanted to be on and it's not theirs."
"I know this, Harry, however they do not," Voldemort replied, the anger leaving the man's eyes. "Are you prepared for what you shall face by
exposing your true allegiance to the world?"
"If you'd let me, I'd do it right now," he replied seriously. Voldemort just stared at him and he scooted down to the foot of the bed and sat in front of
where Voldemort was standing. "Say the word and I'll kneel down for you in front of the entire fucking Wizagamot with Dumbledore sitting in the
Head Wizard's chair."
"As tempting an offer and that is, I have plans for you and they require that you finish your schooling," Voldemort replied. He stared at Voldemort
for a moment before snorting as he stood up.
"This is fucking bullshit. You've got plans for me, Dumbledore's got plans for me. What about my plans and what I want to do? When in the fuck do
I get a say in what I'm going to do with my life?"
He stood up and stepped around Voldemort's hand when his lover reached out towards him headed for the connecting door to his bedroom at the
Shrieking Shack so he could go pack. He didn't get the door open before Voldemort was behind him with the man's hands on his shoulders and he
rested his forehead against the door.
"I don't want to go back there," he said angrily. "The students are all fucking idiots, none of the professors are going to teach anything this year that
I'm going to need in life that I don't already know, and the place is run by an ancient goat who's supposed to be the greatest wizard of the modern
age when he can't even see that a seventeen-year-old has been lying and manipulating him for an entire year. There's nothing left for me there to
go back to, and if I do, and I'm going to end up cursing the shit out of the first person who pisses me off."
"Are you quite finished with you temper tantrum?" Voldemort asked in amusement. He snorted and turned the handle to open the door, but
Voldemort put his hand on it to keep him from doing that. "Ah, Harry, I have you so terribly spoiled," the man said leaning down and nuzzling the
side of his neck. "You enjoy your place at my side so greatly that you loath doing anything that will physically move you away from it."
"I do," he admitted leaning his head forward until it banged lightly on the door. "Remember how I used to envy Nagini because of how you treated
her as your pet? I don't anymore because you do treat me like that now."
"Mmm, yes, though you are more than simply a pet to me and your importance has reached far beyond you being a Horcrux as well," Voldemort
replied.
"Oh yeah, that's really gonna make me want to go back to Hogwarts," he snorted. His lover pulled him back and forced him to turn around to face
him. With his chin in Voldemort's hand, he just looked at the man.
"No matter how much Dark Arts I instruct you in or how many Muggles you request be killed there shall always be a sentimental side you to," the
man grinned. "It is one of the things that I have come to enjoy most about you, that your desire to be at my side is so overwhelming at times that
you will sacrifice anything to remain there."
"Then let me-"
"It is necessary for you to be there, Harry," Voldemort said moving the hand to the side of his head. "The information that you have gathered thus
far on the Order has been invaluable to me, much more so than any information that Severus ever provided and Dumbledore confided much more
to Severus than he ever has to you."
"Because that fucking bastard is a traitor that doesn't deserve to live. I'd take care of that for you, too, if you let me," he replied.
"I know you would, yet that is not one of the future tasks that I have planned for you," the man said. "You are The-Boy-Who-Lived, Harry. The
wizarding world believes it's truly knows you and that you would never do anything that would cause them harm. Once the Order has been dealt
with once and for all, you shall use that belief to sway the public's opinion of me whilst working in the Ministry in some fashion or another. For you
to accomplish that you need to complete your schooling or a career in the Ministry shall be unattainable to you."
"Is that what you really want? For me to get a job in the Ministry to gain more exposure and turn people towards your beliefs?"
"Though I may have plans for your future as Dumbledore does, do remember the reason that you first began to converse with me rather than fight
me," his lover said.
"Because you were telling me things that Dumbledore wouldn't," he replied.
"Yes," Voldemort smiled at him. "A year ago when the changes in our relationship began you were an angry, bitter young man due to the secrets
that Dumbledore kept from you and that he treated you as though you were nothing more than an ignorant child. He used you as his personal
pawn and weapon against me and the Order followed his plans in that without dispute. And when you began to voice your displeasure instead of
sharing his secrets with you, he shared them with your former friends."
"I know. That's why I can't stand him or the Order and don't want to go back to Hogwarts where I have to be near them again," he replied.
"Which is understandable, however, how are you to gain information that shall ultimately lead to their destruction without being there to gain it?" He
sighed leaning his head back against the door behind him because he knew his lover was right.
"Alright, I'll give you that I'll gain a lot more information on the Order if I go back than if I don't, but you wanting me to finish school so I can get a job
in the Ministry doesn't make sense," he replied. "Firstly, like you said I'm The-Boy-Who-Lived. I can make people agree with your opinions on
things like magical orphans never being placed in the care of Muggles and that witches and wizards who work and buy things in the Muggle world
are hurting our economy by doing it. Secondly, once you have control of the wizarding world I'll be able to take my pick of positions in the Ministry."
"I had forgotten how persistent and stubborn you can be," Voldemort laughed softly and he finally cracked a smile. "The Order needs to be
eliminated to clear my path to controlling the wizarding world, Harry, and while you were once Dumbledore's weapon to prevent me doing so, you
are now mine in ensuring that I do. Their end needs to come before you attempt to sway public opinion to my side as them still being an active
resistance and exposing their opposition to my reign as Lord over all shall turn those who would otherwise comply to my laws to the Order's cause.
My retaliation towards them for that would be swift and harsh only causing more resistance from the wizarding. I will tolerate no defiance at all once
my public reign begins."
"You're right," he said softly. "Dumbledore and the Order are your biggest opposition. We need to get rid of them before anything because without
them anyone who would try to stand against you won't have anywhere to go for strong, established support."
"Precisely, and any new group that forms shall be much easier to attend to," Voldemort smiled and he nodded doing the same. "I know you always
wish to remain by my side, Harry, but for now you must be patient."
"Do you want me there? I mean always at your side?" he asked.
"I seem to recall you writhing on the floor not far from where we are currently standing when I believed that you were not," Voldemort smirked.
"No offense, but that's not one of my favorite memories of us in this room," he replied and Voldemort laughed softly again. He cracked a smile and
looked down before lifting his head again. "All right, I'll go pack, but I don't want or need that fucking fat rat coming with me. He wouldn't do shit
other than run if someone were to get into my house trying to harm me and he does nothing but wring his hands and look around like a thief in a
jewelry store when he's near me."
"That is because you have him terrified that you truly would feed him to Nagini were the opportunity to present itself," Voldemort smirked.
"Am I going to end up cursed on the floor again if I said I would?" he asked.
"Why do you loath him so much?" Voldemort asked him clearly amused.
"Because you were right the night you came back in the graveyard, too," he said laying his hands on the man's waist. "He's not with you out of
loyalty, he follows you out of fear. I think if he had the chance he'd turn on you in a heartbeat and I'd kill him a lot more gruesomely than letting
Nagini eat him if he did."
"Then I suppose it is good that you are keeping close watch on him to ensure he does not," Voldemort replied pinning him to the door. He nodded
and ran his tongue along the underside of the man's jaw. "Stop trying to distract me and go pack, Harry."
"Can't fault me for trying," he whispered doing it again. Voldemort grabbed his hair and pulled his head back.
"Your loyalty and desire for me is something I shall never fault you for," Voldemort replied and kissed him, slow and deep. "Now go. As this shall be
your last night here I want every moment of your time from supper until dawn."
"Yeah, yeah, I'll go in a minute. The way you order me around now you'd think I had the Dark Mark on my arm or something," he retorted without
letting up on the kiss.
"Ah, and there is the Harry Potter that I have grown to know so well," Voldemort sniggered, their lips just brushing together. "Arrogant and sarcastic
to a fault."
"Absolutely, my Lord," he replied as sarcastically as ever.
It got him kissed harder and deeper before Voldemort grabbed his shirt, pulled him back from the door, waved it open, and broke the kiss shoving
him backwards through the portal. He laughed landing on his arse in his bedroom and Voldemort smirked at him from the other side of the portal
still in the man's chambers.
"You have one hour and I send Wormtail to assist you," the evil bastard smirked back.
"All right, all right," he said still laughing holding up his hands. "No need to turn all evil with me." He laughed even more when Voldemort slammed
the door closed with another smirk.
"You know, if someone had told me a year ago that one day Harry Potter would be sitting at the Dark Lord's feet I would've asked which curse was
being used to keep him there," Rabastan Lestrange grinned sitting in an armchair with a glass of cognac dangling in his fingers.
"It's an obscure one called, Fantastica Sexicus," he replied getting the laughter started as had become common whenever he was with the Death
Eaters in the sitting room.
While everyone else was in his or her usual place, he wasn't. Instead, he was sitting on the floor beside Voldemort's feet, his knees drawn up and
arms wrapped loosely around them. His usual spot was next to Bella on the sofa now instead of the more distant armchair he used to use before
he'd grown so comfortable in a roomful of Death Eaters. Those days were long gone now, though. He could easily fall asleep with every one of
them in the room with him, the sounds of their voices lulling him into a content slumber.
Though Bella had raised an eyebrow when he didn't sit down next to her once everyone had filed into the room, he knew she understood why. For
once, she didn't tease him that him leaving for Hogwarts the next day made him want to be as close to his lover as possible for the rest of the time
he had left with the man. She knew better than anyone except Voldemort just how deep his adoration for the Dark Lord ran.
For Voldemort part, his lover hadn't said a word about him choosing the spot that he had to sit down. The man wasn't even in his head for a
change and there was no private conversation going on between them. He still knew that his lover approved of him doing it since every now and
then long fingers carded through the back of his hair. And with each touch he wanted to go back to Hogwarts less and less.
"That's not all that keeps you loyal to our Lord," Bella grinned. He rolled his eyes and everyone else laughed. "Admit it, Harry, you love him and you
love being here with us."
"And you, of course, are not going to miss him being here at all," Voldemort chuckled behind him.
"Of course not, my Lord. Once he's gone back to Hogwarts things will calm down around here again. There won't be anymore bags of chocolate
frog lying around, no more having to watch where we walk because Nagini is chasing after some rats he let loose, and Wormtail will stop hogging
the restroom because he won't be hiding in there anytime he hears Harry hiss," Bella replied setting off another round of loud laughter. Wormtail
snorted from a chair near the doorway and he turned and looked at the fat arse man with a wide grin.
"Behave, Harry, or I shall allow Wormtail the opportunity to extract a pound of revenge on you for your treatment of him," his lover chuckled again.
Wormtail grinned at him at those words and he glanced at Bella for a moment with a grin of his own before looking away again.
"Why do I get the impression that someone has been playing with his Auntie Bella in the attic without the rest of us around," Yaxley smirked.
Voldemort grabbed him by the hair and gently tilted his head back until he looked at the man. His lover raised an eyebrow at him and he smiled
back sweetly. His lover snorted letting his head go and he laughed letting Voldemort see the memories of him in intense duels with Bella, Bella
coaching him the entire time they did on things certain members of the Order were known for doing in battle.
"Your trust in Dumbledore and the Order has deteriorated to the point where you asked Bella to teach you how to battle against their strengths?"
his lover asked.
"My forearm may be bare, but under the skin my skull is black with a snake running through it," he said turning and smiling at his lover again.
"Do not disturb us," his lover said standing up, lust burning in the man's eyes.
"Yes, my Lord," everyone replied.

As soon as Voldemort walked by him he stood up and followed the man. When they reached Voldemort's bedroom, the door was locked behind
them, but his lover kept going and into his bedroom in the Shrieking Shack. The portal closed behind him, but he didn't take another step, not with
the closet door slamming closed and his back hitting it with his lover's mouth already attached to his.
You tempt me so much to mark your pale flesh.
That choice is yours to make, but I'm the truest Death Eater you have with or without it.
Ah, Harry, you are so young and arrogant, his lover said in amusement in his mind.
Maybe, but it's the truth because if you ever did die, I'd eat that death and bring you back. Voldemort pulled back from the kiss and looked at him
seriously.
Swear it. It was a statement, not a question. His eyes locked with the darkest wizard the world had known in a hundred years at least, he held out
his wand hand and his lover grasped it firmly just looking at him.
You have my word that should anyone take you from this life that I'll bring you back. I may not call you it, but one day the world will know you as
'My Lord'.
And though I am not a man to make promises, the day shall also come when I will never force you from my side again. Once the Order has been
eliminated, your place is beside me and nowhere else, Voldemort smiled and he cracked one; too, ignoring that small voice in the concealed corner
of his mind that said that day wasn't going to come soon enough.
Nyx Myst
both.
Okay, so let me go through my checklist here of what I wanted this story to have. Teenage anger: check. Progression from Harry being light to
dark: check. Some Harry/Voldemort smut: check, check, and check. What am I still missing?
Ah, yes, the drama and angst. Well, here's a whole heaping chunk of it.
*runs far, far away from the angry reviews I'm going to get for this*
" regular speech "
Chapter 29
He'd tried everything to keep from having to do it. He'd tried convincing Voldemort that he could accomplish what Voldemort wanted without going
back to Hogwarts. He'd said that since his relatives were killed and he'd acted so distraught and angry about it, that Dumbledore was inviting him to
more Order meetings, which the old bastard was, and that wouldn't stop just because he didn't return to Hogwarts. He'd told the man that because
of both those things he'd end up being able to still spy on the Order. When that hadn't worked, he switched to another tactic.
He'd told Voldemort that he was The-Boy-Who-Lived, and even before Voldemort took control of the wizarding world that Scrimgeour would give
him a job in the Ministry whether he finished his schooling or not. With him working at the Ministry sooner, he's be able to spy on both the Order
and Scrimgeour at the Ministry since he'd be working there. Nope, that hadn't worked either.
He'd given dozen of ways that Voldemort could benefit from him not returning to Hogwarts over the past two weeks since he'd come up with the
new interpretation for the Prophecy and his plan to end it, but nothing worked. It left him sitting on his packed trunk a few feet in front of his front
door with his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands. The night wasn't going to end well because it would be the last his lover would be
alive for a while.
He knew all the plans, both Voldemort's and the Order's, and there just wasn't going to be a better night than tonight to enact his plan. There was
already one of Voldemort's newer Death Eaters in Hogsmeade watching for Dumbledore and part of the Order to come to get him from his house.
The other half of the Order was going to be stationed in pairs every thirty feet from the end of High Street to the gates of Hogwarts just in case his
lover and the Death Eaters showed up to attack him along the way from his house back to school. And Voldemort and the Death Eaters would
attack.
Thanks to those handy mirrors he'd researched and Voldemort had ten sets of by the end of last week, his lover would know exactly when he
reached the junction of High Street and the short side road that led to his house. As soon as he did, Voldemort with Rosier, Yaxley, and two newer
members would apparate to High Street between where he would be and the Three Broomsticks. As soon as the Order was aware of Voldemort
being there, they'd run or apparate behind him so that he was protected on all sides. That stupidity was going to leave the space between the
Order and the gates wide open for the rest of the Death Eaters, with all three LeStranges in the lead, to apparate there trapping the Order in the
middle.
With students arriving by carriage from the train around the same time, the Order would need to split up to help out the Aurors who'd ridden the
train with the students for the sake of their safety. It would leave less Order members to look after him making the Order and Dumbledore battle the
Death Eaters and Voldemort twice as hard, and he'd have to fight too. And when he did, he was going to enact his plan because it was the only
way to end the Prophecy.
"Harry-" Voldemort began, but he cut the man off. Given what he was about to do it's not like it would hurt.
"Please, I don't want to go. I'll do anything else you want if you let me stay with you," he said softly looking down at the floor and not moving more
than that.
"Aw, look, Potter's getting sentimental with our Lord," Lucius teased. In less than the blink of an eye he was standing up with his arm extended,
wand out, and Lucius was hitting the wall three feet behind where the blonde prick had been standing.
"Don't," he said through clenched teeth. "I'm not in the mood for it today, not when I have to go do something I don't want to fucking do."
"Stop it," Voldemort said firmly and yanked him by the front of his robe until he was facing the man again. "Control your tem-"
"I love you," he whispered looking at Voldemort, his eyes stinging. Voldemort didn't finish his sentence just staring at him. "I'm going because you
want me there, but I'm going to hate every second of it and I'm only doing it for you. Promise me that you'll always remember that, that I love you
and that everything I do is for you." He tripped and fell backwards over his trunk groaning at the minor blasting curse that hit him as Voldemort let
him go.
"While I understand you are young and upset, you know better than to interrupt me when I am speaking," Voldemort said sternly. "I have given you
tasks that I expect completed."
"Sorry for interrupting you," he whispered, "and for the record I always was going to do what you wanted me to," he coughed, his chest hurting from
the curse as he rolled onto his side. "I just wanted to make sure that you knew what I said before I left," he said gaining his feet with his left arm
across his torso, pointed his wand at his truck, and levitated it to get it out the front door. "I'm going right now. I'll see you as soon as I can," he said
waving his wand so his trunk moved towards the door.
"Return to my chambers. Now," Voldemort said. Knowing Voldemort wasn't talking to him, the few Death Eaters in his house ran upstairs. "Come
here," Voldemort said once they were alone and he walked up to the man with his arm still across his torso. "Lower your arm," the man said. He did
and his shirt was opened with a flick of the man's wand to reveal the bruise on his chest. He opened his mouth to say it was all right, but closed it
and sighed at the look the man gave him. "Why now?" Voldemort asked casting a healing charm on the bruise.
"Because I don't know when I'll see you again. I don't have the excuse that I'm hunting the Horcruxes anymore, and with what happened at the
Dursleys house this summer, I doubt Dumbledore is going to let me off the ground alone often if ever," he replied quietly looking down and watched
as the bruise slowly healed. It wasn't gone before his chin was lifted and he looked at his lover again. Voldemort stared at him for a moment and
then sighed.
"Stop forcing me to punish you for defiance, Harry," the man said. "As these are our last moments face to face for some time I wish for them to be
much more pleasant than you have made them thus far."
"Must be the fucking robe and tie," he snorted glancing down at the Gryffindor patch on his robe. Voldemort chuckled and he cracked a smile. "I'm
sorry," he said again softly, his smile fading. "After being with you for a month I don't want to go back to them. I am because you want me to, but I
don't want to."
"I know," Voldemort replied magically buttoning his shirt. He reached up and fixed his tie under his collar himself knowing Voldemort wouldn't since
it was Gryffindor. When he was done, Voldemort laid a hand on the side of his neck. "Soon enough, my serpent in disguise, you shall no longer
spend any night away from me and all shall know that you are mine."
"Great, you're going to make me randy and send me back there," he huffed and Voldemort smirked again leaning towards him.
"Control your temper and your hormones whilst at Hogwarts and you shall be greatly rewarded when next we meet alone," the man said.
"I'm yours and only yours," he replied.
Voldemort bridged the gap and he returned the slow, deep kiss leaning in more so Voldemort took more from him. That it would be their last kiss
for probably a long time made him try to get even closer, but Voldemort didn't let him.
"Go before that old fool ignores your request that you meet at the end of the road and comes down here," Voldemort said. He nodded, but still
leaned in and stole another quick kiss before he jumped back to avoid the same blasting curse hitting his feet when the words filtered across
Voldemort's mind in their link. Voldemort smirked at him and he laughed waving his wand to levitate his trunk again.
"Oh," he said taking a step backwards towards the door, "Nagini is in her room at your house asleep." Voldemort crossed his arms over his chest
and he bit his bottom lip. "We were having fun, though. I didn't mean to feed her that many rats when she'd just eaten that Ministry worker the other
day. She's just so good at catching them before they hit the ground and it's hilarious watching their little legs wiggling before she swallows them
down."
Voldemort rolled his eyes smiling and headed for the stairs since the man couldn't be in his house when he opened the door and dropped the
wards to leave without the Order picking up on someone with that much power being there.
"Voldemort?" he said and the man looked at him from the stairs. "I really do love you, just remember that."
"I know," the man smiled, turned back, and continued up the stairs. He watched the stairs even after Voldemort was gone because it was the last
time he'd see the man in his home for a while, most likely a long one.
"Ah, Harry, you are running late," Dumbledore smiled as he approached the old goat, Kingsley, Tonks, and Moody standing in a semi-circle behind
the old man.
"Sorry," he said with his trunk floating behind him and holding a large brown sack over his shoulder. "I know Rosemerta or someone else in
Hogsmeade told you that they saw me flying back to my house the day before yesterday and I wanted to show you why," he said quietly looking
around to make sure no one was watching them and let his trunk drop to the ground.
"I think it would be best to wait until we are back at Hogwarts for you to show me, my boy," Dumbledore said softly.
"I can't give this to Filch with the rest of my things, sir," he replied setting the bag down on top of his trunk. "You were right and Death Eaters were
watching my house from the forest. I thought I saw one and apparated in there to the clearing I dueled Snape in so I could circle back and catch
whoever it was. This is what I found," he said. He pulled his wand and flicked it to split open both sides of the bag. Tonks and Kingsley both
gasped, and even Dumbledore looked in awe at the huge severed snakehead. "She saw me and lunged for me. I fell backwards against a tree,
and when I put my hand down to stand up, the Sword of Gryffindor's handle was sticking out of the base of the tree and she was dead with one
good swing."
Before any of them could say anything, the sound of multiple apparation pops made them all point their wands towards the sound. This was it, the
moment he'd dreaded for weeks and there was no way out of it now. He had to go through with his plan. Voldemort appeared with Death Eaters
and his lover grinned at him, at least Voldemort did before seeing the severed head.
Didn't really think I was loyal to you, did you? You fucking killed my parents, like I'd ever side with you, he said silently before pushing the false
memory he'd created of laughing in the Slytherin chamber looking at the fake Horcruxes in the statue's base while saying how stupid Voldemort
was for really believing he'd given Dumbledore fakes. Then he showed another false memory of a plan to poison Nagini and cut off her head and
then tell Voldemort that she was just asleep upstairs because he'd fed her too much. Once both memories were planted, he slammed closed the
link between their minds occluding his completely.
"Hey, Tom. Want your snake back?" he smiled and the red of Voldemort's eyes intensified.
"You will pay with your life for this," Voldemort seethed.
"Yeah, so you've been telling me for years," he laughed as Dumbledore moved him behind the old man.
"Kill them all, but Harry's death is mine!" Voldemort said loudly, angrily.
The battle started with those words. There was no wondering if he'd pulled off his act as curses started to fly and a good chunk of them were aimed
at him. He was moved here and there by one of Dumbledore's arms, but he managed to get free every time to cast curses and counters of his own.
As expected, the other Order members rushed to their aid at the lights of curses brightening the darkening sky. More Death Eaters took their
places between the rear-most Order members and Hogwarts' gates and the senior Death Eaters among them started to close in.
He hadn't expected it, hadn't known anything about the Order's backup plan. Dumbledore never told him so that he could tell Voldemort. It was too
late for regrets over that, though, when Kingsley cast a flare into the air and Aurors rushed out of every shop in Hogsmeade behind Voldemort.
Obviously Voldemort thought he had, and while it worked in keeping up his hoax that he wasn't loyal to the man, Moody gasped and fell dead face
first behind him when he dropped to the ground to avoid a Killing Curse from Voldemort's wand aim at him and it his Moody instead. And with
Voldemort casting nothing except the Killing Curse, he knew what he had to do.
"There shall be no running tonight, Potter. You dare play me for a fool!" Voldemort shouted and cast another Killing Curse at him. He dodged it
moving further away from Dumbledore's side.
"Harry, you must stay behind me!" Dumbledore shouted fending off more curses from Death Eaters.
"I can't," he replied gaining his feet again. "I'm the last one."
"Avada Kedavra!" Voldemort shouted.
He was only a year old the first time he'd been hit with it so he didn't remember it. This time, he'd never forget. It didn't hurt exactly. His death had
been instantaneous and he knew that, but for a moment he felt nothing. There was no real pain or anger or anything else, he just felt… empty.
When he opened his eyes and sat up, he was still on the scene of the battle, the lights of curses still flying everywhere. Dumbledore had moved in
front of where he was half sitting leaned back on his hands.
"Harry, you must hurry back. He is weakened. You must return and end the Prophecy," Dumbledore was saying as the old man continued to cast
more curses. "Molly, Kingsley, Severus, none of you move. We must give Harry time to recover and return."
"But I am here," he said standing up. None of them heard him and he looked around confused. That's when he saw it, a shriveled, naked figure
curled up on the ground not far from where he was.
"How could you do it?" the figure said gasping for air. "We loved you. How could you betray us?"
"The Prophecy had to end," he replied dropping to his knees and crawling between Dumbledore and Kingsley's legs trying to get to it knowing what
it was. It was the Horcrux that had been attached to him, the piece of Voldemort's soul that had occupied his body for so long. "The other
Horcruxes weren't destroyed. I lied. They're all safe in Hogwarts and Nagini is just drugged asleep on potion. They're all safe except for you."
"They are safe?" the Horcrux asked.
"Yes," he replied, and though he didn't know if it would work, he opened his mind. The Horcruxes chuckled lowly and it sounded just like his lover.
That didn't surprise him because it was a piece of the man.
"Clever boy," the Horcruxes whispered sounding weaker.
"You're dying," he said, though not sure that was the right word since technically they were both already in the realm of the dead. "Reach for me.
You can attach back onto me before I go back," he said stretching out his arm.
"I cannot return with you," the Horcrux said. "I can only rejoin with myself." He stared at it and the Horcrux opened its eyes, narrow red slits, and
looked at him. "Send me here and I will be able to rejoin with me. Once you have returned my body to life with another of my kind, my living body
will be able to return me to you."
"But will he, I mean you?" he asked, then gave up on trying to talk like Voldemort and the Horcrux were the same person because it was too
confusing. "Will you be able to tell him, to show him why I did this?"
"I do not know," the Horcrux replied and he sighed. "Still, you must go back and send me here quickly or I shall dissolve before I am able to rejoin
with me and I will be lost to you as well forever. Go now."
He quickly crawled backwards looking over his shoulder to see where his body was lying. That was weird as all Hell too, seeing his legs disappear
into himself. The Horcrux said to hurry, though, so he thought nothing more of it before sitting inside himself again, taking one last look at the
Horcrux watching him with that familiar amused gaze and smiled back before lying back down on himself.
The shift back to life was a lot more painful than the shift away from it had been. The pain in his chest from the Killing Curse hitting him and in his
head from him hitting the ground gripped him with an intensity that made him groan as tears leaked from his eyes. He heard Dumbledore say
something near his feet and Kingsley's, 'Bloody Hell, you were right, Albus', before a green glow overtook Kingsley. He barely managed to roll
aside before Kingsley's corpse fell on him.
"Thank Merlin," Dumbledore said quietly and cast another counter. "Harry, not to rush you, my boy, but the Horcrux you once possessed being
destroyed has weakened Voldemort. Now is your chance to end the war."
He'd just fucking died and come back and all the old man was talking about was him killing his lover. Enraged, he grasped his wand on the ground
and slowly gained his feet standing behind the old goat using him as a shield.
"My Lord, he's alive again!" Bellatrix shouted from his left.
Sorry, Auntie, he thought turning and blasting her backwards into a tree where she dropped with a hard thunk to the ground. A Death Eater
screamed and he knew it was Rodolphus, but he turned back towards Dumbledore's back.
"Move," he said, swept his wand out, and Dumbledore went stumbling to the right out of his way.
"Harry-" the old man began, but he cut Dumbledore off.
"I told you that I don't need your help. I know what I'm doing," he said and cast the Killing Curse at one of the Death Eaters that were in front of
Voldemort acting as a human shield for his lover. Voldemort fired another Killing Curse at him with a scream of anger, but he just turned to the side
and an Auror somewhere behind him screamed before going silent.
"Harry, you must-"
"I said stay out of it!" he yelled, his anger at the old man interfering boiling over. "This isn't your war, it's mine and his and it's over!" he shouted and
cast the Killing Curse again.
He broke it off quickly when Voldemort pulled the other Death Eater in front of him, but cast it again drawing up every bit of hatred and intent he
had picturing it was Dumbledore he was casting the curse it. The entire area glowed green as the Killing Curse, with so much power and intent
behind it, went right through the body of the dead Death Eater as it fell to the ground in front of Voldemort and hit his lover in the chest. The green
glow overtook Voldemort eyes and tears formed in his as he watched the man who'd taken his parents from him, but gave him so much more fell
backwards to the ground, arms stretched out in death.
For a few moments, he knew nothing just staring at his lover's corpse lying on the ground. Slowly, his hearing came back to him. Death Eaters
were trying to run and apparate away. None of them made it before Aurors and Order members together cast a ward around the area to keep them
from going anywhere. Hands landed on his shoulders from behind, but he shook them off moving forward barely noticing the Death Eaters pinned
down on the ground by spells from the Aurors and Order members.
"Harry?" Dumbledore said following behind him sounding concerned. He didn't reply stopping beside his lover's dead body and lowering onto on
knee.
I'm so sorry, but I had to. The Prophecy had to be fulfilled. I swear, right here and now, they're going to pay for making me do it. One day, I will
bring you back and the wizarding world will be yours. I love you, he said silently.
"Harry?" Dumbledore said again stopping behind him.
"What?" he asked quietly, tears in his eyes as he reached over and took Voldemort's wand from his hand.
"Are you all right?" the old man had the nerve to ask. He huffed out a bitter sound of a laugh standing up and turned to face the old man.
"I just died, came back to life, and murdered someone even if it was Voldemort and you're asking me if I'm all right?" he replied incredulously.
"I am sorry, my boy," the old man said with tears brimming in his own eyes.
"No you're not," he snorted. "'I grew up and did the dirty work that you couldn't of killing him. You got what you wanted without doing a damned
thing to really help me do it. Well don't ask me to do anything else for you. The Prophecy has been fulfilled and it's over. It's time for me to start
working towards what I really want in life now that I can have one," he finished before stepping by the old man heading back towards his house.
With the wards up around his house, he leaned back against his front door looking down at the floor. Seeing Voldemort's wand in his hand, his
vision blurred and the tears started to fall. Gone. His lover was gone and he wouldn't see the man again anytime soon. The tears fell harder and he
slid down the door with his back against it sobbing so hard his chest hurt within minutes. He still kept crying.
"Master Harry?" Babble asked from the top of the stairs and he looked up them. "Master Harry must be coming quickly. The snake has Bobble
trapped in the lavatory. Master Harry must save Bobble."
"Fuck, Nagini," he said jumping to his feet and took the stairs two at a time to the top wiping his face in his sleeve. Nagini was near the end of the
hallway in front of the bathroom door banging her head against it trying to get inside. "Nagini, stop," he hissed in Parseltongue. The huge snake
turned towards him and reared back baring her fangs.
"You!" she hissed back. "You killed Master. You will die!"
"Nagini, no!" he said and cast a thick magical bubble around the snake when she lunged for him. Her fangs leaked venom all over the inside, but
he still used his wand to gently lower her to the floor.
"You killed him! You killed Master. Traitor!" she hissed angrily sounding in pain.
"I know," he said and the tears started again. "I had to, Nagini. The Prophecy, it had to be finished. I had to," he said as more and more tears
fell from his eyes. "I didn't want to-"
"Liar!"
"I didn't! I swear I didn't," he said crying harder dropping to his knees in front of the bubble. "I'm going to bring him back. I'm going to get rid
of the Order one by one and bring him back. I swear I am."
"The pieces of Master-"
"Are safe at Hogwarts in the chamber," he said, tears still falling and his voice cracking as he tried to keep talking.
"You still speak snake language," she said and he lifted his head. "Piece of Master made you able to speak snake language. How you still
speak?"
"The piece of Voldemort wasn't destroyed," he replied. "I-what I did to him made the piece be able to rejoin with him. It's a part of him
again, but it was with me for so long I think part of me became like it, learned from it. I'm not sure; I'm just hoping he gives it back to me
when I bring him back. He probably won't. How can he trust me with it again after what I did?" He shifted back onto his arse with his knees
bent, both arms resting on his knees, both wands still in his hands.
"You saved Master's magic stick for him," Nagini said and he nodded. "When will you bring him back?"
"As soon as the Order is taken care of," he replied sniffing back more tears. "He-he wanted me to finish school and get a Ministry job, too,
to work my way up the ranks turning people towards his ideas. I'm going to do that while I'm taking care of the Order."
"You will need help," Nagini said. "The fat one, you must stop him from running, make him do your bidding. I will help you make him so
you can bring Master back." He lifted his head and looked at her.
"How do I know if I let you out of there that you won't just kill me?" he asked.
"You alone can bring Master back. I will help you so long as you are doing Master's work," the snake said. "Free me. We must stop the fat
one from fleeing." He nodded and released Nagini from the bubble. The snake got in his face and he pulled back worried she really would bite
him, but she flicked her tongue out and licked at his tear-streaked face. "Yes, you speak truth. You shed sad tears, not happy ones. Come, we
must stop the fat one from leaving. You need a servant. I will help you use Master's until you have others."
He followed Nagini down the hall nearly having to run to keep up with the snake. She went through the portal and he followed, but she stopped at
the open door to the chambers.
"It is too late. He is near the front door," she said.
"Not if I can help it. Hang on," he said wrapping an arm around the snake kneeling down to do it. They apparated from Voldemort's chambers to
the entrance hall just as Pettigrew was entering it with two bags filled with items over his shoulders. The fucking rat gasped, dropped the bags, and
turned to run. Pettigrew didn't make it a step before he was on the floor with Nagini wrapped around him, her mouth open and fangs no more than
four inches from Pettigrew's face.
"Where you going, Pettigrew?" he asked in English before translating for Nagini. "I wouldn't suggest you transform into your animagus form
because Voldemort's not around anymore to stop me from letting her eat you." Pettigrew whimpered and Nagini squeezed the fat little man just a
tad tighter.
"You-you killed the Dark Lord. I saw it from an upstairs window. He's dead," Pettigrew said.
"For now, but he'll be back because I'm going to bring him back," he said crouching down in Pettigrew's line of sight. "Problem is," he said and
hissed at Nagini to loosen up a little so he could fish Pettigrew's wand out of the man's pocket, "that I'm going to need some help. Since I can't
exactly stay here to make sure everything is done and Nagini is taken care of, that leaves you to do those things for me."
"You're not my master. I'm not doing anything for you," Pettigrew replied. He chuckled lowly and used Voldemort's wand to transfigure Pettigrew's
wand into a wooden bracelet.
"Let out one of his hands, Nagini. I have an idea," he said. The snake did and he forced the bracelet onto Pettigrew's wrist before pointing his
wand at it. "You owe me a life debt, Pettigrew, and I'm cashing it in."
"No!" Pettigrew yelled, but he just cast the charm on the bracelet to bind Pettigrew to the life debt he was outlining.
"Your magic is limited to casting preservation charms on everything in this house and covering it all with sheets so everything is ready for him when
I bring him back," he began and Pettigrew whimpered again. "You can apparate and change into your animagus form once every three days and
the bracelet is going to resize with you doing it. I'm only giving you the ability to do it so that you can find a homeless Muggle to feed Nagini. I
suggest you don't waste time finding one. You'll have an hour before you're returned here, and if Nagini gets too hungry, I won't be held response
for what she does to you because of it," he said and then told Nagini what he said.
"Master taught you well," Nagini said, her hissing sounding like laughter.
"Not well enough to avoid him killing me again when I bring him back," he replied.
"So long as you do Master's bidding, I will tell Master all you have done while he was gone," Nagini said.
"He's still going to be angry," he replied.
"Yes, but he will not kill you once he knows all you did for him," Nagini replied.
"I hope you're right," he replied standing up again. "Let him go. He has work to do."
"And what will you do?" Nagini asked.
"Hope the days go by quickly because I miss him already."
Nyx Myst
both.
Is everyone done being angry with me yet? LOL. I know, it was an evil thing to do, but the Prophecy had to end. Hopefully after this chapter and
the next will make it up to you. =)
" regular speech "
Chapter 30
Three Years Later
Standing outside the windows of Hermione's office in the Ministry with Ron beside him, people inclined their heads and greeted him as they walked
by. He returned the greeting, but didn't speak to any of them more than that as he quietly talked and joked with Ron. After the war ended and
months of talking and them apologizing, he'd worked out his problems with them for their betrayal of him to Dumbledore. By the time they'd all
finished their seventh years at Hogwarts it appeared to everyone that the Gryffindor trio were close friends again. He'd even paid for their wedding
five months ago as a show of his support and friendship. Yes, Ron and Hermione were close to him and trusted him with their lives. What fucking
fools.
"Oh," Ron whispered leaning towards his ear, "I put aside those front row seats for the Quidditch Cup Semi-Finals for you. Who are you taking?"
While Ron's position in the Department of Magical Games came in handy for Quidditch tickets, Hermione's as an Azkaban inspector for the
Department of Magical Law Enforcement was a blessing too. He'd suggested her for the job a year ago when he'd been Ministry liaison for the
Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Since then, he'd just been biding his time.
It had taken him three years of careful planning, but so far he'd worked his way up the ranks at the Ministry with little opposition. He'd finished his
seventh year at Hogwarts with exceedingly high marks as a means to get a job in the Ministry in the first place. His N.E.W.T.s scores had been the
top story the day they were announced in the Prophet. Everyone said that was because he didn't have Voldemort hanging over his head anymore
and could concentrate on his studies. They were all idiots, every last one of them.
He'd taken the job of assistant in Minister Scrimgeour's office at the age of eighteen immediately upon leaving Hogwarts. Dumbledore, of course,
had hated the idea and he, of course, didn't care less. He didn't care about the overwhelming boost in popularity Scrimgeour received with him
accepting the position; all he cared about was that it was his foot in the door to the plans for him having a career at the Ministry.
By Christmas of that year he was moved to the Minster's Public Relations team. That had been part of the plan, too, and he used the exposure the
position gave him to his advantage. Using lessons he'd learned from an old, very close friend, his charm and charisma made him the media darling
that The-Boy-Who-Lived should be. Yes, everything had been moving along on schedule.
In early spring the following year, he'd had an ever-so-minor setback. The wizarding world having been without a reigning Dark Lord for nearly two
years by then, someone had decided that trying to assassinate him was the way to make a name for themselves. His defense of himself during the
attack had been harsh and vicious. The wizarding world had been stunned at how violent he'd been, but his response that he wasn't going to let
any fool with delusions of grandeur use him to try to make themselves the reigning dark wizard of the wizarding world had people cheering
because he, The-Boy-Who-Lived, Harry Potter, was still protecting them. He let them think that since it went along with his plans.
The attack and publicity generated by it caused Scrimgeour to move him from the Public Relations Department to a new post as liaison to the MLE.
He worked hard with the MLE to make the wizarding world a safe place and people relaxed more and more knowing he was. To further that along,
because people being calm and relaxed never suspected danger lurking on the horizon, he's convinced Scrimgeour to appoint Hermione as an
inspector to Azkaban.
While the public loved that he had one of his best friends keeping close watch over the prisoners in Azkaban for him, it was her natural inclination
against the mistreatment of anyone that made him do it. He had people in Azkaban that he needed to make sure stayed alive and well until he had
the chance to keep a promise he made to them. He had no problem in using Hermione to make that happen, and as the still newly appointed
Junior Minister of Magic, he had the authority to do it. The wizarding world trusted him way too much.
"No one, and you won't be there either. Imperious." He whispered the word with just the tip of his wand pressed against Ron side. Ron froze and
he grinned. "Laugh. We can't have anyone knowing the new Junior Minister of Magic just cast an Unforgivable on you." Ron laughed and he pulled
back laughing, too, before leaning towards Ron's ear again. "Act as you normally do, you weak minded idiot. I have plans for you and your
Mudblood wife."
For the next ten minutes he talked to Ron about the Chudley Cannons and Ron babbled away as normal. By the time Hermione came out of her
office, he was satisfied that Ron wasn't going to draw suspicion to what he was up to. Three years it had taken him to get to this point and he
wasn't about to let Ron or Hermione knock him backwards any steps. As the newly appointed Junior Minister by Scrimgeour, he was well on his
way with his plans, but now he needed some help and Ron and Hermione were going to give it to him whether they liked it or not. He'd patched
things up with them only as a means to an end and today; the end was here for them. His political name and power were growing by the day. He
even had a seat on the Wizagamot thanks to his appointment as Junior Minister. The only thing he needed now were personal foot soldiers and he
had very specific ones in mind.
"Are you sure you're ready for this, Harry?" Hermione asked softly. "You never been to Azkaban and seen them in there."
"I know," he replied just as quietly, "but Scrimgeour has made it one of my jobs to take tours now and then. You know he's been trying to get me to
do it since I finished Hogwarts and joined his office as an assistant, but I wouldn't. It was too soon after the war and their trials."
"Given all their lies about you being on Voldemort's side and working with them, especially when Bellatrix LeStrange said that you ordered your
relatives be killed, I can't say I blame you," she replied and he looked down and back at her again.
Yeah, the Death Eaters running their mouths had been a problem during their trials. It was only his superior skills at lying and acting that kept him
from facing an inquisition about what was said. More than once during the Death Eater trials he'd wished the Dementors hadn't been exiled by the
Ministry for their betrayal of joining Voldemort and could shut the Death Eaters up with a kiss. Between his lying and acting skills, that it was
murderous Death Eaters saying he'd been in league with Voldemort, and that he'd been the one that killed Voldemort to end the war, though, he'd
come away with his sweet and tragic Boy-Who-Lived reputation intact.
"I still think-"
"I'll be all right. Hermione," he said "I'm ready to see them now. I promise," he finished with a soft smile. She finally nodded and they were on their
way.
"If you change your mind-" Hermione trailed off as they headed down a corridor once at the prison.
"I won't," he replied. I've been waiting years for this. Not hearing a response to that thought only made him more determined.
"Ron, are you all right? You're awfully quiet," Hermione asked turning and looking at Ron walking behind him. He looked back locking eyes with
Ron and planted Ron's response in the idiot's mind.
"Yeah, just hate it here," Ron replied.
"I know the feeling," he said as they went through another door. On the other side, two Aurors stood up smiling.
"Har-er, Junior Minister, it's good to see you," one Auror said and he smiled.
"Hey, Jake, Nathan. I used to get drunk with you two as an assistant in Scrimgeour's office so drop the formality or I'll hex you both," he smirked.
Ron, Hermione, and both Aurors laughed and he looked at Jake squarely pushing into the man's mind. He knew more than a fair few Aurors, but
there where four that would've had different occupations had the war lasted longer and they'd had the right connections, namely an occupation
where they knelt regularly with a black tattoo on their arms. Jacob Watherlorn and Nathan Pollimere were two of them. The memory he pushed into
the man's mind was of him standing in front of a mirror giving instructions.
Walk with us. You'll know when it's time to do what I said for you to do.
"Yeah," Jake smiled with a wide smile. "We're going to have to do that again really soon."
"Absolutely," he laughed, "just not out in the open because I have a new job and reputation to build on."
"Of course," Jake smiled and looked at Hermione. "Shall I escort you, Harry, and Mr. Weasley down the corridor, Mrs. Weasley?"
"Yes, thank you," Hermione smiled. Jake nodded and looked at Nathan.
"We'll be back soon," Jake said and Nathan nodded with a wide smile.
Keys in hand, Jake led them over to the door to one of the maximum-security wings. Jake opened the door and then closed it behind them. After
Jake locked the door and looked at him, he used the same trick to give more instructions.
Ron is under Imperious and won't be a problem. Keep an eye on Hermione. Petrify her if she tries to run.
Jake made no outward showing that he'd done it, just walked behind Hermione next to Ron as he walked down the corridor beside her. All the cell
doors were thick metal bars and more than a few residents sneered at him as he walked by, but he paid them no mind. At least he didn't right now
as Hermione babbled away about security measures and such. He knew what measures were in place and he knew how to circumvent every one
of them. Hermione finally stopped talking six cells from the end, a wall in the middle blocking one side from seeing the other and looked at him.
"As you can see there's been more lighting put in to keep a closer eye on all the Death Eaters and the cells have been cleaned somewhat, but
honestly this corridor is one of the last scheduled to be worked on. We don't really need to go to the end because they're all the same," she said
with a soft smile. He raised an eyebrow at that and she sighed. "You don't need to go to the end, Harry."
"Who's down there?" he asked.
"Harry-"
"Hermione," he replied and she sighed again.
"The last three cells on the left are Crabbe, Goyle, and Amycus Carrow. On the right the last three are Alecto Carrow, an empty cell, and Bellatrix
LeStrange." He pressed his lips together trying not to smile, but it looked like he was holding his temper to Hermione. "There's no need to see
them, Harry. They're not going to get out of there. They were put at the end of this corridor together because of what they did to the Dursleys in a
Muggle neighborhood, the men on the left and the women on the right. The wall was added between them so they couldn't see or even speak to
one another. You don't need to go down there."
"Yes, I do," he replied and headed down the right side of the wall. Alecto opened her mouth to start screaming at him, but Jake stopped her
slapping a silencing charm on her. He passed the empty cell and then stopped in front of Bella's cell. Sitting on her ratty bunk, she glared at him as
soon as she saw him.
"What are you doing here, you filthy traitor?" she seethed.
"Quiet, LeStrange," Jake said firmly.
"No, let her talk," he replied just looking at her as Hermione stood next to him on his right, Ron leaned against the wall behind them, and Jake
stood behind Hermione.
"Let me talk?" Bellatrix glared. "He gave you everything, taught you everything, and you betrayed him and all of us for that old fool."
"I didn't have a choice except to do it," he replied. "It was part of the Prophecy."
"You killed him!" she screamed standing up. "He loved you, we all knew it, and you killed him when not an hour before standing in your own home
you told him that you loved him, too!"
"Oh my God," Hermione said in quiet disbelief. "What they said at their trials was true. That's where you learned it all, the darker spells and how
you knew where to find the Horcruxes. You really were on his side all along."
"Jake," he said.
"Petrificus Totalis," Jake said. Hermione gasped, but that was all she got out before her frozen body fell backward against the Auror. Bella looked
from him at Hermione, then at Jake, then at Ron before looking back at him confused.
"What are you playing at?" she asked.
"I did love him, Auntie Bella. I still love him. He may have been your Lord, but he was and still is my everything," he replied. Hermione made a
squeak, the only sound she could really make with every part of her body frozen, but he didn't look at her, his eyes still locked with Bella's.
"I don't believe you," she said, but he could see the curiosity in her eyes. He sniggered holding his hand out and Jake put a small pair of scissors in
his hand.
"This is Jake Watherlorn," he said. "The other Auror on day patrol is Nathan Pollimere. They're a few friends who've been keeping an eye on you
and the others for me to make sure that you all survived long enough for me to get you all the Hell out of here. The guards on the night patrol are
the same. It's taken me years of working for that fat fucking idiot Scrimgeour to get Aurors I trusted assigned here to help me do that."
"You're lying," she said, but the beginnings of a smile were forming on her face. He turned, took a clipping of Hermione's hair, and pulled a vial
from his pocket. He turned and looked at Jake smiling.
"Put her down and open the door so I can get my auntie out of here," he said. Jake laughed lying Hermione down on the floor. "Roll her on her side
against the wall. I want her to see every moment of this so she knows that even with all her book smarts, she's a fucking idiot for not knowing this."
Bella laughed as Jake did and then Jake immediately opened the door to Bella's cell.
"You really are serious," she laughed.
"Of course I am," he smiled walking into the cell uncorking the vial. "I'm going to bring him back, but I need help before I do it," he said dropping
Hermione's hairs in, corking it again, and shaking it up. "Dumbledore and the remaining Order members have grown complacent and it won't be
hard to get rid of them one by one now. See, as the newly appointed Junior Minister of Magic I can't exactly go around taking care of them one by
one, but I was thinking more than a few could end up here as replacements for you and the others." She squealed stepping up to him and wrapped
her arms around him. He laughed and hugged her back tightly. "I've missed you, too," he said and she pulled back to look at him.
"You'd better have," Bella smiled widely. "So what's the plan?"
"Now hear me out before you start bitching," he said and she raised an eyebrow at that. "Hermione is an Azkaban inspector for the MLE. She
comes here regularly and talks to all the old Order members regularly, too."
"You want me to impersonate that Mudblood," Bella groaned.
"It's important to the plan, Auntie," he said. "One by one you can get them to come here with you and get everyone else freed the same way I'm
doing with you. Remus Lupin, Tonks, and Hagrid are already gone from England. I've set them up elsewhere and they won't ever be a problem
again. The rest need to be out of the way before I can bring him back. The Order is never going to interfere with his plans again and we're going to
make sure of it." Bella took a step back, crossed one arm over her waist, rested her elbow on her arm, and bit her thumbnail pacing back and forth.
Finally she stopped and looked at him again.
"You'd better not be lying, Harry, or I'll kill you myself," Bella said. He turned, summoned Hermione's wand from her pocket, and turned back to
Bella holding it out to her.
"If I were lying would I give you a wand and Polyjuice to get you out of here and bring Weasley here, too, so we can get Uncle Dolph out of here
with you?" he asked with a grin. Bella laughed taking the wand from him and pointed it at Hermione on the floor. "No!" he said pushing her hand
down to stop her. "No killing right now and you definitely can't kill her. We need her locked up in here so you can get hair from her regularly for the
Polyjuice. Snape is working on a longer lasting version of polyjuice for those who were scarred by Death Eaters during the war. I plan to get my
hands on the formula as soon as he's done with it and we have enough Death Eaters out to back us up when we go to get it."
"Aw, but I want to kill her," Bella whined.

"I let you kill my Uncle Vernon as gruesomely as you wanted. You know eventually once our work is done and he's back that you're going to get to
kill Hermione, too. Just have some patience," he smiled and Bella bit her lip.
"Can I at least Crucio her?" Bella asked.
"Of course," he shrugged. "All you want because we can't have her mind intact and letting on that she's not really you, now can we?" He watched
laughing as Bella squealed tapping her feet and yanked Hermione into the cell and onto the bed by magic. "I suggest that you switch clothes with
her first or you're going to have to clean them before you put them on. She's probably going to piss herself as soon as the Petrificus Totalis is
removed."
"Good thinking," she said, grabbed him by both sides of his head, and kissed his forehead before letting him go. "Now get out because you not
being interested in women doesn't mean I'm going to change clothes in front of you."
He laughed leaving the cell with Jake pulling Ron along with them. The next few minutes were spent out in the corridor with him talking to the other
Death Eaters letting them know the plans while Bellatrix swapped clothes with Hermione and he freed Rodolphus from his cell putting a Polyjuiced
and still Imperioused Ron in Rodolphus' place.
"Crucio!" Bellatrix shouted and the corridor exploded with laughter. When Bellatrix came out of the cell in Hermione's clothes after three more
Cruciatus Curses, he stood back with a smile as she lunged at Rodolphus and kissed the man deeply to whistles.
"All right, you two. I haven't had sex in three years already and you're making me jealous," he said getting the corridor laughing again. Bellatrix and
Rodolphus did, too, breaking apart and he held out the scissors towards Bellatrix along with two bags for more hair telling her and Rodolphus that
Jake and Nathan would need it make sure that Hermione and Ron got dosed up when needed. She passed the bags off to Jake and he held out
the vial of Polyjuice towards her.
"You do have a counter for this, right? Because at home I don't want to walk around looking like that disgusting Mudblood," she said.
"Hold out your left arm," he smiled. She did and he put the tip of his wand against the Dark Mark and it darkened again. She grinned at him and he
winked back. "His magic is stronger than any Polyjuice and he taught me a lot of it," he said. She nodded, kissed Rodolphus one more time, and
then downed the potion as Rodolphus did the same. Once the transformation was complete, he looked at the others standing in the doorways of
their cells watching.
"Hermione here will be back to get the rest of you out one at a time. Just be patient and I promise that in time you'll all be free and he'll be back,"
he said.
"No matter how much you set things up for his return he's still going to kick your arse when you do bring him back," Yaxley snigged.
"Yeah, I know, but I'm hoping that eventually he'll stop being pissed off at me and do something else to my arse," he replied setting off another
round of laughter. "Come on," he said with a smile at Bella and Rodolphus. "Nagini is at home waiting for us."
"She's still alive? You really didn't kill her?" Bella asked.
"Of course not," he replied. "Whom would I feed Pettigrew to if I had?" The corridor laughed again and he reached inside his pocket again. "Oh,
and I have a present for you," he said pulling out his hand and opening it. Moody's magical eye spun in his hand and Bella cracked up laughing
taking it from him. "Thought you'd like that," he chuckled as him, 'Hermione', and 'Ron' left the corridor promising to return soon.
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Last chapter for today. Tomorrow I'll post the final two chapters and the epilogue. Thank you all yet again for all the reviews. I have almost twice
the number of reviews I was hoping for when I started posting this so thank you all from the bottom of my evil little heart. =)
A small explanation for why the DEs were so accepting of Harry's explanation in the last chapter: They had a choice to either accept Harry's
explanation and be freed from Azkaban or they could stay locked up in there. Being the Slytherins that they are, they chose the option that was to
their benefit. I hope that clears up why they did.
" regular speech "
Chapter 31
Seven Years Later
Rematerializing in front of the quaint cottage that was the retirement home of Albus Dumbledore, he stayed where he was for a moment with his
hands in the pockets of his robe just looking at the place. It was a lovely cottage, of course, with trees and flowers in abundance all around, but
there was something else there that caught his attention: wards, and a lot of them designed to conceal what magic was being performed inside the
property's boundary lines. That didn't surprise him. Dumbledore always was one to hide what he was up to. He knew because he'd learned how to
do the same thing from the old man. Well, Dumbledore and a few other people.
Walking inside the cottage almost everyone he expected to be in the sitting room was. Diggle and Doge were there along with Dumbledore's
brother, Aberforth, the three men standing by a side bar quietly talking. All three nodded at him in greeting and he returned the nod before looking
away at Hestia Jones and Emmeline Vance, both women sitting on the sofa chatting, too. Sturgis Podmore was there as well, the man standing
back and just looking around the room as though assessing each one. That was fine, though. There was no threat to any of them in a roomful of
former 'Order' members.
Looking around the room, he was surprised that Hagrid, Remus, and Tonks hadn't come back for this moment. It was just as well. He'd been more
than happy to help all three of them settle into new lives well away from all the conflict they'd lived with for so long. With the half-giant, his only true
completely loyal friend since the time he'd met the man, he'd helped Hagrid find love and happiness with Olympe and get him moved to and settled
in with her in France at Beaubaton's.
It was the same with Lupin and Tonks. Within a few months of the war being over the former Minister Rufus Scrimgeour had started losing his mind
and decided that trying to exile every person with dark wizard or dark creature ties was the best way to ensure that the British wizarding world
never again faced what it had over the previous few years. He'd pulled his resources to get Lupin and Tonks out of the United Kingdom altogether.
They were living in northern Canada now where scars like Remus had on his face was just considered someone who'd had an unfortunate run-in
with a wild animal. That worked out well living in a nice large cabin in the woods on the outskirts of a small town since their first son wasn't born
with the werewolf gene, but their second had been. Both couples were happy with their new lives far away from the drama that was the British
wizarding scene. He was well and truly happy for all of them and prayed they stayed away from England for the rest of their lives. You never knew
what evil was lurking around the corner in England.
There were other members of the Order that would be there if they could and still others missing that could be if they were inclined to. McGonagall,
Kingsley, Moody, and Molly Weasley were those that couldn't be, the war having ended their lives a decade ago. It was Voldemort that ended
Moody's life, and with so many curses flying that night no one was quite sure whose wand ended McGonagall's, but Molly's death had been at
Dolohov's hand. Though it meant little, Arthur Weasley had returned the favor to his wife's murderer. And Arthur Weasley started the list of people
who weren't inclined to be there and were better off not.
After Molly's funeral, poor Arthur had just completely shut down. He quit his position with the Ministry, packed a bag, and lived in the Muggle world
for nearly three months before Bill found him. Absolutely refusing to return to the Burrow where the memories were too haunting, it finally took
Charlie coming back to England and inviting Arthur to come live with him and his fiancé to bring the man back to the wizarding world. Romania
having no painful memories of Molly, Arthur had accepted and hadn't been back to England since. The rest of their children rarely saw their father,
preferring to communicate with him by owl aside from their once a year visit to Romania, the degrading of their father's mental state too painful a
reminder of their mother's tragic passing.
As for the rest of the Weasley children, the past decade had seen most of them scatter around the world following the trend started by Bill and
Charlie. Bill and Fleur Weasley had stayed in England as Ginny's guardians until she finished her schooling at Hogwarts, but once that was over
the couple packed up so Bill could return to his work in Egypt. Thankfully, with her schooling over Ginny had gone with them. It saved him the
aggravation of seeing her pining expression every time she looked at him wishing for what she could never have.
Percy accepted a position as an ambassador to the United States wizarding world. It was the life of plenty that he'd always wanted, though, so
none of the Weasleys faulted him for that.
As for the twins, they still had their joke shop, but after ten years in business it wasn't just one anymore. Weasley Wizarding Wheezes was an
international chain now numbering eleven stores in six countries. They rarely stayed in one location for long, choosing to travel from place to place.
With the money they were bringing in, they could afford all the shops and warehouses where they continued to come up with new items for sale.
They hadn't been back in England in three years, but that was their own fault for sending Scrimgeour a box of candy to 'relax' with that left the man
even more flighty than he already was. In a fit about it, he'd labeled the twins are dark wizards and exiled them. That exile had been lifted when the
new Minister of Magic took office two years ago, but the twins were happy gallivanting around the world. Last he'd heard they were in Rio De
Janeiro, and considering that Fred fiancé and George's girlfriend loved the open wizarding scene there he was pretty sure they wouldn't be back
anytime soon. As for Ron and Hermione, well, they were the only Weasleys left in the British wizarding world and that was the way it needed to be.
Hermione was in the center of the living room, her face mostly pressed into Ron's chest, his arms around her. His eyes caught hers and she stared
at him for a moment before turning her face completely into Ron's chest. He still saw one corner of her mouth turn upward as she did. Ron glanced
at him, too, but then just put a hand on the back of her head and held her close. He looked down and then looked around the room again.
"Who's in there with him right now?" he asked quietly.
"No one," Podmore replied. "He's been waiting for you."
He nodded and headed down the short hallway towards the back bedroom. The door opened for him as soon as he reached it, a continuation of
the promise the old man had once made that the old man's door would always be open to him. Considering all that had happened between them in
the past he hadn't used the privilege very often. Today, he'd be doing it for the final time.
"Harry," Dumbledore said softly with a smile from the bed. "I had hoped that the young Minister of Magic could spare a few moments to make a
visit."
"There's nowhere I'd rather be right now than right here," he replied walking into the room. Just like with Ron and Hermione he'd pretended to
patch things up with the old man years ago. And just like with Ron and Hermione, the time had finally come for the old man to get what he had
coming to him. He stopped by the side of Albus' bed where the old man was propped up with a dozen brightly colored pillows and then looked at
the Mediwizard in the corner of the room. "How long?" he asked even more quietly.
"A few more hours at most," the Mediwizard said. "His magic is nearly completely gone as is his physical strength. It won't be long now."
"There's nothing else you can do for him," he asked quietly, faking sadness when he wanted to do cartwheels across the room.
"Now, now, none of that," Dumbledore chuckled weakly patting the bed beside him so he'd sit down next to the old man. He did facing the man with
one leg bent up on the bed and Dumbledore smiled at him. "I have lived a long and full life, my boy. I have seen and done more than most and
have had the honor of calling a good number of extraordinary individuals my friend, you among them."
"I suppose so, though not always a very good one," he replied looking down and then back at the man again.
"Harry, I have always considered you as such no matter how much I may have disagreed with some of your choices," Dumbledore said softly. "As
a young man you bore a terrible burden and shouldered too much of that weight alone. The choices you made then were a direct result of that."
"Maybe, but you still don't like a lot of the choices I make," he replied.
"No, I do not," Dumbledore replied. "I understand many of your feelings regarding issues such as interactions with the Muggle world and placement
of magical orphans within wizarding families, but many other such as the rallying of support to ban Magical-Muggle marriages mirrors too closely
the sentiments of another who you were adamantly opposed to stopping from doing just those sort of things."
"Voldemort," he said.
"Yes," Dumbledore replied gravely. "You must take great care, my boy. Your power and influence over the wizarding world at such a young age is
astounding. Witches and wizards all over the United Kingdom look to you for guidance and your opinions mean a great deal to them. In the two
years that you have been Minister of Magic I know many whom at one time would have been opposed to removing the ban on underage children
practicing magic away from school due to the possibility for disastrous results. Your stories of struggling to become a more proficient wizard able to
defend himself, his loved ones, and the wizarding world as a whole caused a good deal of change in that attitude, and with it, the laws governing
such."
"And it's only made for a stronger wizarding world," he replied standing up. "No one has failed a class at Hogwarts since the law was revoked
because they can get the extra help they need to succeed."
"And the incidents of magical children who did so in the presence of Muggles?"
"Were handled as they always have been," he shrugged putting his hands back in his pockets. "I don't think that the actions of five or six should
cause hundred to suffer without their magic for months every summer and I never will. Most wizarding families agreed with me or the law never
would've gained enough support to be passed."
"Harry," the old man sighed, but he just shook his head and sniggered.
"If you'd wanted to change things so that they were the way you wanted them you had your chance to be Minister loads of times. You turned the
job down and eventually I came along and picked it up. If I were doing such a bad job and so many people hated the changes I've made I would've
been sacked by now. I haven't been. In fact, I'm the most popular Minster of Magic the wizarding world has had this century or the last. The
wizarding world is prospering more than ever from the income generated by commerce with the Muggle world without spending money there.
People aren't struggling to send their kids to Hogwarts and buy their books any more. The crime rate is lower than it was before Fudge even took
office. I know you don't agree with everything I've done, you never agree with everything any Minister Magic does, but the wizarding world is a
better place because of the new policies that I've put into place. Even Hermione thinks I'm doing a fantastic job."
"Hermione has changed a great deal from the young woman I once knew as well," Dumbledore sighed.
"You could say that," he chuckled pulling his hand out of his pocket and gently shifting the object he pulled out from hand to hand. Dumbledore
stared at him looking slightly confused and he chuckled again. "Hermione, could you please bring everyone in here?" Hermione let out a high-
pitched squeal clapping and he heard everyone laugh coming down the hallway. As soon as Hermione got to the room with everyone filing in
behind her she wrapped her arms around his waist from the side.
"I really do love you, Harry," she said as the others circled the bed.
"I know you do," he chuckled wrapping and arm around her shoulders. "Just remember that ten minutes or so from now when I'm getting my arse
kicked." Everyone except Dumbledore laughed, the old man looking at him confused.
"What is going on here?" Dumbledore asked.
"A decade of work finally being finished," he replied and held up the object in his hand. The bracelet dangled in the air between his thumb and
index finger. Dumbledore's eyes widened with a gasp and Hermione burst out laughing.
"I think he remembers it, or rather the fake one you gave him all those years ago," she said still laughing.
"Yes, though he obviously can't tell the real Hermione from a fake one, or any real Order member from a fake one," Podmore said sending
everyone into a fit of laughter.
"Oh, this is just priceless," Hermione squealed again with laughter. "Do it, Harry. Do it right now. I want to see that old fool's face as he takes his
last breath."
"You're so impatient, Auntie," he chuckled and moved to the foot of the bed. Everyone separated to make a space and he set the bracelet on the
ground. Standing up straight again, he pulled a small dagger from another pocket and held his wand hand and the knife over the bracelet.
"Harry, no!" Dumbledore said, the man gasping for air as he cut his hand and held his bleeding palm over the bracelet.
"When dark took life the soul was split, and the body did fall when by curse it was hit, the blood of the Prophecy need now rain, to bring the body
and soul together again. Somes, Cruor, Animus, Vita," he said firmly as Hermione clapped bouncing and squeaking, her feet tapping on the floor
excitedly with each bounce.
"Harry," Dumbledore said gasping for air. "What… have you… done?"
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I know, first I left you on one horrible spot and then I left you with a cliffhanger. I told you I was Slytherin. =)
And you all are FANTASTIC!!! 400+ REVIEWS! That's twice as many as I was hoping for when I started posting this so thank you all so much!!!
" regular speech "
Chapter 32
He didn't reply backing up healing his hand once enough of his blood had dripped onto the bracelet to make it glow an eerie shade of green.
Slowly, the bracelet floated in the air, a cloud of swirling black smoke beneath it. Everyone around the bed knelt lowering their heads, but he just
stood there waiting as the cloud began to solidify into the clear shape of legs and a torso and arms and shoulders and a head. And once the cloud
started to fade away, a pale face with narrow red slits for eyes took focus directed at him.
"Before you start cursing me with Crucios again, let me explain," he said holding up his hands palms out in a defensive posture.
"Potter," Voldemort seethed.
"Harry," he said. "It's been Harry since I was sixteen and it still is or you wouldn't be back right now. Just please hear me out," he said. The
realization that he was alive flickered across Voldemort's face and it gave him the opening he needed.
"The Prophecy had to be played out to the end. You know that or you wouldn't have spent so many years trying to kill me. It has been now. 'Either
must die at the hand of the other for neither can live whilst the other survives.' I told you the whole thing years ago. Not neither as in one or the
other but as in each of the two. You killed me, I killed you, we both lived for at least a few minutes with the other dead so the Prophecy has been
fulfilled and doesn't affect us anymore." Dumbledore gasped and he turned and looked at the old man.
"Never thought about that, did you? Of course you didn't. You interpreted the Prophecy the way you wanted it to play out, not in every way it could
have been. 'The power that the Dark Lord know not' wasn't love; it was that I could sense the other Horcruxes and he couldn't because they
weren't a connected part of him anymore, but being a Horcrux made me connected to them. And the Prophecy said 'The one with the power to
vanquish the Dark Lord approaches'; not the one who would do that permanently."
"You did vanquish him-" Dumbledore said still gasping with a hand clutching his chest.
"Because you made me fucking have to!" he yelled back. "Fuck, I had to picture him being you just to work up enough intent to actually land the
fucking curse on him. Everyone in this room except you knows that killing him was the last thing that I really wanted to do." Dumbledore looked
around the room and he did, too, at everyone still knelling.
"My Lord, if you'll allow me to speak-" Hermione said, but Voldemort cut her off.
"How dare you speak to me, Mudblood!" Voldemort seethed.
"Not the Mudblood I appear to be, my Lord," Hermione said and held up her left arm pulling up her sleeve. "Your summons has the power to
neutralize the Polyjuice." Voldemort looked away from her at him again and he reached into his inside robe pocket and pulled Voldemort's wand
from it.
"Harry, please-"
"Oh, shut up," he said, flicked his wand at Dumbledore with a silencing charm, and held out Voldemort's towards the man handle-side out. He knew
it was coming, but that didn't make hitting the ground in the throws of the Cruciatus any less painful.
"Do not move," Voldemort said. He nodded panting and watched from the floor as Voldemort walked over to Hermione. "Should you be lying to me
know that your death is soon in coming."
"Yes, my Lord," Hermione said still holding up her arm.
He watched from the floor as Voldemort touch the tip of his wand to her forearm. The Dark Mark reappeared along with her face shifting and
contorting, her hair color changing from brown to black streaked with white. Voldemort grinned looking around the room as every other 'Order'
member around the room transformed into their true Death Eater selves with their Dark Marks returning as brightly as ever.
"How?" Voldemort asked with a chuckle pulling on Bella's fingers so she'd stand up.
"Harry, my Lord," Bellatrix laughed once she was in front of him. "You taught him so well, my Lord. He pretended to make up with that Mudblood
Granger girl and that blood traitor Weasley boy, gained their trust again, and then took a tour of Azkaban with them. She was an Azkaban inspector
until Harry did. An Imperious to the Weasley boy, a Petrificus Totalis to the Mudblood, some hairs from both, and a few vials of Polyjuice from his
pocket later and Rodolphus and I were free of Azkaban. The Ministry actually pays me to go in there twice a week to dose her up with more
Polyjuice to look like me. Isn't that a riot?" Bellatrix said laughing again as others did the same.
"He freed you all placing Order members in Azkaban as your replacements?" Voldemort grinned.
"Yes, along with changing loads of laws the way you wanted them changed as the Minister of Magic the past two years," Bellatrix continued. "Oh,
and of course bringing you back with Albus Dumbledore lying in his death bed, though that's even more literal now than it was before. It's Harry's
welcome back gift to you, my Lord. He gave me one, too, when he freed me from Azkaban. It was that moron Auror Moody's magical eye. Isn't it
pretty?" she asked pulling it from her pocket and holding it up like a trophy.
"Bella," Voldemort said with a tolerant small smile.
"Yes, my Lord?" she asked.
"Where is Lucius?" Voldemort asked.
"Dead where that traitor belongs," she said, her attitude changing from jovial to fierce in the blink of an eye. "Snape created a longer lasting version
of Polyjuice that holds for three days at a time. Harry went there with Rodolphus, Lucius, the Carrows, and I to get a copy of the formula. Lucius
betrayed us all, told Snape who we really were. Snape tried to kill us, even Harry saying that he'd suspected Harry was learning things from you
when they had that duel while Harry was still at Hogwarts from some of the curses Harry used. Anyway, Alecto killed Lucius for betraying us to
Snape and I wanted to kill Snape, too, but Harry had a better idea. We bound Snape up and Harry called in some Aurors claiming Snape swore we
were all Death Eaters and Harry was in league with you. The Aurors looked at Snape as though he were mad. He's been locked up in St. Mungo's
mental wards for nearly six years now because of it. Even Dumbledore didn't believe Snape," she finished and burst out laughing again as all the
Death Eaters in the room did the same.
"It was brilliant, my Lord," Rodolphus smiled widely still on his knees beside Bellatrix. "With our help, Harry has either discredited, incarcerated, or
gotten every member of the Order to leave Britain while gaining the wizarding world's trust as the new Minister."
"He did it all for you, my Lord," Bellatrix said. "We've all known since he broke us out of Azkaban that he was working towards bringing you back."
"And now that I have returned I trust your loyalty is to me before him," Voldemort said.
"Of course, my Lord," Bellatrix gasped as though Voldemort even suggesting otherwise was unthinkable. "I followed his orders only as a means to
follow yours again. There is but one master that I serve, my Lord. Should his actions at any time have not been with you in mind I would have killed
him myself years ago. We are all still your devoted servants, my Lord, though much more successful in carrying out your plans in your latest
absence than we were during your first."
"How long have I been gone?" Voldemort asked.
"Ten years," he groaned from the floor rolling on his back trying to ease the soreness from the curse. "I didn't want it to take that long, but that old
bastard in the bed lived longer than I thought he would and never took tea with Scrimgeour. That fat arsed fool was easy to slowly poison to death
over a few years time. I had to wait until Dumbledore retired and started seeing the mediwizard from St. Mungo's who's standing in the corner to
start poisoning Dumbledore."
"I told you not to move," Voldemort said pointing his wand at him again.
"Shit, knew I should've waited until you talked to Nagini and you weren't still so pissed off at me to give you back your wand," he winced and
squeezed his eyes shut waiting for the next Crucio to hit him as the Death Eaters all laughed again.
"Nagini lives?" Voldemort asked.
"She's at home pacing back and forth waiting for you because she knew I was bringing you back today," he replied looking up at Voldemort with a
smile and the man lowering his wand.
"Help him up," Voldemort said. It was Rodolphus and McNair that did. "You are positive that the Order is no longer an issue?"
"Aside from the old goat waiting in bed to die there isn't an Order anymore," he replied rubbing his lower back. "And though I know I have no right
to ask anything of you given what I did, would you mind giving me back my Horcrux when you kill him? It'll be easier for me to discuss issues that
arise in the Ministry with you in my head again."
"Only so as I may see every thought in your head once more, including those I once let you retain for yourself," Voldemort said stepping up to him
and he nodded in agreement. "Lift the silencing charm. I want to hear him as he dies," Voldemort said grabbing him by the hair and yanking his
head backwards. He groaned blindly pointing his wand at Dumbledore in the bed and lifted the charm. "We shall discuss your actions in private
later this evening."
"Always knew we would," he replied. "I missed you, by the way. The Death Eaters are great to have fun with, but it's been damned lonely and quiet
without you."
"You can show me as much later as well," Voldemort replied sniffing along the side of his neck as if his lover was renewing himself with his scent.
"With pleasure," he groaned again.
"With pleasure what?" Voldemort asked.
"With pleasure, my Lord, Dark Lord, Lord Voldemort, heir of Slytherin, whatever you want me to call you if it means I'm going to get sex tonight," he
replied. The Death Eaters cracked up and even Voldemort laughed softly pulling back and looking at him again. He stared back with a soft smile
and Voldemort traced his scar with one finger.
"How… could you…. Harry?" Dumbledore asked; his breaths struggled ones as if proof he'd turned to Voldemort's side was enough alone to kill
the old man. "Your parents… so many others… gave their… lives for you. How… could you… betray… their memories… like this?"
"Them listening to you caused their deaths more than anything I did. All I ever did was not follow your orders and I'm alive and well because of it.
My war with Voldemort was over when I was sixteen and my war with you started then. Today, it's over with for good and I win," he grinned.
"Yes, you do," Voldemort laughed softly turning and pointing his wand at Dumbledore. "Avada Kedavra."
He felt it the moment the Killing Curse hit Dumbledore's body in the intense pain that gripped his head and his scar as the piece of Voldemort's
soul invaded his body again. He gripped Voldemort's hips just to keep himself from falling backwards and breaking the connection of the man's
hand on his head. And he felt it when Voldemort pushing inside his mind. As usual, he didn't fight Voldemort doing it and even opened that small
part of his mind that he always kept shielded from the man.
He saw his own memories of coming up with plans, of his original intent to still kill Voldemort behind some of them before they shifted to ways to
complete the Prophecy and bring Voldemort back. A Horcrux again, his head pounded and scar burned enough for him to stagger and fall
backwards. If Rodolphus and McNair hadn't caught him, he would've cracked his head on the wall.
Not that that would've made it hurt more once Voldemort was straddled across his waist, the other two men holding him down while Voldemort
restored the spells that kept his scar from burning now that he was a Horcrux again. Light magic fought dark inside him once more, and just like
last time, he knew the dark would win. It had since he was sixteen.
When he came to Voldemort was standing over him. He tried to sit up, but didn't manage it before he was on his back again. He didn't bother trying
to sit up again. Instead, he lifted his hands to his head and pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes hard enough to see spots.
Your original purpose for obtaining the Horcruxes was to betray me.
I know and you didn't stop planning to kill me until after you'd Crucio'd me six times and I showed you that I'd hidden them in Salazar's chambers
and gave Dumbledore fakes because I'd changed my mind. God, I missed you in my head, he sighed lowering his hands from his eyes still just
stretched out on the floor.
From your head and other places I would imagine, as you are yet again untouched in all the years I have been gone.
No matter what else I did, I wouldn't betray you like that.
We still have much to discuss first, Harry. He nodded because he expected as much. Get up and go make your public announcement of
Dumbledore's death. And do not believe that the gift of his life shall spare yours from my wand.
All these years later and you still don't cut me any slack, he replied with a shaking his head sniggering both aloud and in his head moving to sit up
again with help.
And I never shall, Voldemort smirked back. You live at the moment only due to you returning me to life. Should I discovering that at any time you
wavered in that choice even the slightest, you will not live to regret it.
Then I'm not worried about you finding out everything I've thought and done since you've been gone, he smiled regaining his feet. He caught sight
of Dumbledore's dead corpse and he sighed deeply in relief.
"Finally, he won't be calling me 'my boy' anymore," he huffed making the Death Eaters laugh again.
"Harry," Voldemort said with that old familiar amused tone.
"I know, I know. I'm going, my Lord," he said the last teasingly like he always did. And just like ten years ago, Voldemort shut him up with a deep
kiss before releasing him to go do what he needed to. That was all right, though. Dumbledore and the Order were gone, he was Minister of Magic,
and he had his lover back to boot. Life was good when you were allowed to actually live it.
Nyx Myst
both.
Thank you for the reviews. You are are fantastic readers. =)
" regular speech "
Chapter 33
Materializing on High Street in Hogsmeade, he just stood there as the view of Hogwarts in the distance caught his eye. There'd been a time when
he'd loved that place more than any other in the world. It was a home of sorts for him, but not anymore. His home was the Shrieking Shack, still
called that by everyone even though the place had been completely remodeled to it's original white sliding glory and the grounds were clean and
maintained. And beyond the closet door in his bedroom was another place he thought of as home, one that would really feel like one again rather
than leaving an empty place inside him when he looked around it. Home.
"Minister?" one of the Auror escorts asked as he just stood there. It pulled him out of his reverie and he looked at the two men standing behind him.
"You two can head home. I'm not going anywhere else tonight," he said.
"Are you're sure, sir?" the second Auror asked.
"I'm sure. I'll see you at the office in the morning," he replied.
The two Aurors nodded, but still didn't leave until he'd moved inside the front gate-and the wards-of the Shrieking Shack. He made sure they did
before opening the front door to his house, though, well aware thanks to his newly reacquired Horcrux that someone decidedly unfriendly to Aurors
was somewhere inside. While the two that had escorted him home weren't exactly cut out for the rank of Death Eater, there were a few others that
would fit in perfectly.
Putting that out of his mind for the moment more out of fatigue than anything else, he activated the wards on the house itself looking around the
sitting room. Nothing was changed, but things had been moved and touched, inspected was the real word he was looking for. He paid no attention
to that either. The only thing he was paying attention to was that he wasn't on the floor already in pain from a Cruciatus curse.
As he stood there his house was quiet, too quiet if the truth be told. In the years since he'd gotten Bella and Rodolphus out of Azkaban his house
was rarely quiet. There were usually at least a few polyjuiced people moving around inside it. Today, there was no one there except for the distinct
presence of someone very powerful who had a fondness for the darker side of magic.
He double-checked the wards to make sure the detection of that wasn't felt anywhere except inside his home. While what he was picking up
through the link was still strong as Hell, he knew it wasn't as strong as it would get after a little bit of time to adjust to the living world again. He
wasn't about to let anything, Aurors or otherwise, stop that from happening. Given why Voldemort needed to regain his full strength again, it made
him not being on the floor in his empty living room even more confusing.
His minor search for the man ended as soon as he walked into the study. Sitting behind the desk was Voldemort with Nagini curled up asleep in
her basket as usual, stacks of files on either side of the man and the drawers of file cabinets open with more stacks of files on the open drawers.
With another file in the man's hands, Voldemort looked at him as he walked into the office and took a seat in one of the armchairs across from his
desk.
"You could have invited your little Auror guards inside with you," Voldemort grinned evilly.
"Figured you and the Death Eaters would have enough fun with me once I got here," he replied pulling loose his tie. "Where is everyone? I was
sure the first words I'd hear when I walked in were 'Seize him'."
"They have been told not to interrupt us as I have matters to discuss with you this evening," Voldemort replied. He just nodded unbuttoning his
robe. "I take it you had a rather long and exhausting day once the announcement of Dumbledore's death was made public."
"You don't know the half of it," he snorted. "Think I'll be glad once you take over as Minister," he replied running a hand down his face leaning back
in the chair.
"Liar," Voldemort said and he lowered his hand to look at the man. "I have spent a considerable amount of time speaking to Nagini, Bella, and my
other faithful along with reading file after file in this office. One thing that has become glaringly obvious while I did so is that you enjoy your position
of power within the wizarding world," the man finished setting the file down staring at him.
"All right, I do love it, a lot more than I thought I would when I took the job," he replied. "I enjoy twisting everyone's opinions on topics to suit my-
your-purposes and making laws based on them. The perks of being Minister aren't so bad either. They almost make up for not having shit growing
up."
"Yet you are willing to vacate your post with only an order from me," Voldemort asked.
"You know I am since you've been in and out of my head all day along with everything else you've been doing," he sniggered tilting his head back
and closing his eyes.
"Yes, and therein lies my greatest dilemma of the moment," Voldemort replied and he looked at the man again. "I know of your activities in my
absence. Upon leaving Hogwarts after your final year you immediately took a post as an assistant to former Minister Scrimgeour prior to moving up
the ranks to Public Relations spokesman and then Junior Minister of Magic gaining a seat on the Wizagamot in doing so. You worked closely with
the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and your harsh and aggressive response to those idiots who thought to claim my status as the
reigning dark wizard of the world was not well received at first. You changed that opinion by snuffing out those with the audacity to believe they
could until at the tender age of twenty-three you were named Deputy Minister of Magic to Scrimgeour," Voldemort said standing up and moved
around the desk towards him.
"Beginning with your appointment as Junior Minister, you secretly freed my Death Eaters from incarceration whilst lobbing for change after change
in laws. Due to your popularity for ending any dark wizard's delusions of grandeur before they could truly begin, even Dumbledore's stance against
many of those changes went unheeded as more and more of the wizarding world was willing to allow you to do anything you wished based on your
stance that it was for the betterment of the wizarding world."
"Everything I did was things you wanted done, though," he replied confused, not sure where this conversation was going.
"Yes, and it appears that so long as you are in the forefront making those changes they shall be much easier accepted." He looked away as he
finally understood where Voldemort was going with the conversation. "Ah, then you see my true dilemma," Voldemort said pulling his head back by
the hair until he looked up at the man again. "Yes, you have done my will, however, you have done so in such a way that makes you vacating the
Minister's chair a much harder adjustment to my reign than it otherwise would have been. Though none have said as much, it is obvious that even
my Death Eaters have come to view you as a leader."
"What do you want me to say, that I didn't make sure they did on purpose?" he asked pulling his head away and standing up. "I did and you know it
because you've never looked at me and thought that I didn't have a brain in my head big enough to twist things around my way. Bella and the rest
of them, half the time I think they still see a sixteen-year-old kid when they look at me. There was more than once while you were gone that I had to
kick a Death Eater's arse before they fell back into line because we had work that needed to be done before I brought you back."
"You brought me back needing you to remain in the forefront!" Voldemort snapped.
"So? I still brought you back when I could've just kept going as leader of the Death Eaters and being the Minister of Magic without you," he
snapped back. "And might I remind you that you were the one who cast the Killing Curse at me first that night."
"And you once again gave yourself a way back to the world of the living by using your blood to enact the Horcrux," Voldemort said and cast a
Crucio at him that he just narrowly avoided. "You left me in that retched undead existence yet again knowing how much I loathed being there!"
"I had to!" he shouted. "It was too dangerous to bring you back sooner, with the Order and Ministry on such high guard. They needed to calm down
and relax again before I brought you back!"
"You expect me to believe that took a decade?" Voldemort yelled back and cast another curse at him, this one a wide range curse that he had to
pull his wand and counter to avoid being hit with it.
"Dammit, will you stop that and just fucking let me talk to you!" he shouted batting away the curse into a wall. "I didn't spend ten years alone to start
fighting with you again!"
"Then why-"
"Because I still love you!" he screamed back. Voldemort stopped speaking still just glaring at him. "I know I probably should've brought you back
sooner, before I even freed the Death Eaters. I know I made it so that you needed me to stay Minister of Magic for at least a little while longer. I
know that I should've talked to you about the other interpretation of the Prophecy, but dammit, you wouldn't have listened to me even if I had! You'd
have said the Prophecy didn't matter anymore because I was loyal to you, but it still did and you know it! The last time you were gone the Order
didn't crumble, it just went into stasis because Dumbledore knew that you'd be back. That's not going to happen this time because the Prophecy
has been fulfilled and the Order is completely gone."
"Give me your wand," Voldemort said lowly, sternly.
"Fine, here," he snorted and tossed his wand at Voldemort's feet. "If you want to kill me or curse me or torture me for what I did go ahead, but you
know that I'm right. Everything I did was because it needed to be done. The Prophecy needed to end to get rid of the Order and the Order needed
to be gone before you could rule the wizarding world. All that is done now and the path is clear for you to have what you've always dreamed of."
"And how am I to believe that once I have control of the wizarding world that you shall not come to regret your decision to give it to me?"
"Because I still love you and I still need you," he replied looking away. "All of it, being Minister of Magic and all the perks and everything else, none
of it meant a damned thing to me because I wanted you more than any of it. All I've ever wanted was to be by your side." He turned back hearing
Voldemort walk towards him. He backed up a step, but only one from the look Voldemort gave him. When the man stopped in front of him and laid
a hand on the side of his neck, he stared at the man with damp eyes.
"Every damned day for ten years I've wanted to bring you back, but I knew if I did you'd be coming right back to the same shit you were facing
before with Dumbledore and the Order out to kill you and expecting me to do it. I can't do it again and I won't even pretend to want to this time. As
much as I love being Minister of Magic, I love you and want to be with you more."
"Prove it," Voldemort said. "Kneel before me and hold out your left arm."
His eyes locked with Voldemort's, he yanked off his robe letting it fall to the ground and blindly tossed the cufflink from his left arm on his desk.
Lowering onto one knee, he rolled up his sleeve finally drooping his head and lifted his arm up to the man. He wasn't sure what to expect. He'd
asked Bella and a few others what it felt like to receive the Dark Mark, but they hadn't been very detailed. They didn't need to be as he hissed lifting
his head as his wrist was held in one of Voldemort's hands and his palm was sliced open with the other.
"I thought-"
"I told you long ago that you carried the only mark of mine I require on your forehead," Voldemort said. "Also, as you pointed out my Mark being on
an individual's arm does not necessarily signify complete and utter loyalty," the man said cutting open his own palm and joining the cut lines of their
hands together still staring at him. "Swear it to me, Harry, that your loyalty is to me above all others in mind, body, and soul."
"I swear it," he replied softly. "I've been yours since I was sixteen no matter what I call you and I always will belong to you."
"I accept your offering, and though it shall take considerable time for you to regain the level of trust I once had in you, I will acknowledge that your
actions were in the interest of achieving my goals. That being the case, you may retain the title of Minister of Magic as Lord and Master of the
Wizarding World is a higher rank than that of Minister of Magic," Voldemort smirked back. He sniggered softly with a small nod. "And with a mixing
of our blood I now no longer need you to bring me back by means of a Horcrux as I may return by you carrying my blood as you did so once with
me."
"You'll never need to use either method. I'm not going anywhere and neither are you for a very, very long time," he said. Voldemort pulled him to
his feet by his hair and he barely had the chance to take a breath before the man's tongue was in his mouth. "You realize," he whispered into the
kiss, "that the way you made me word that and what you said in response was considered a blood binding, not a blood oath."
"I know what it was, Harry," Voldemort chuckled running the tip of his wand down his back and removing his clothes in the process. "The world
shall know of my return by morning with the registering of our blood bond as a bonding license in the Hall of Records."
"Then I want a promise," he replied.
"That I will not kill you, I suppose?" Voldemort laughed lowly pulling his head back by the hair as he removed the man's clothing by hand.
"Hardly. Your death threats are a turn on." He laughed, too, when Voldemort growled and bit the front of his throat. A second later their mouths
joined again heatedly and he worked faster to get the other man's clothes off.
I see I still no longer need to indulge you by consuming Polyjuice.
Remember when I said only if you wanted to indulge yourself? I still mean that, too. He felt the shift of apparation before he was pushed backwards
and Voldemort was over him, both of them naked on his bed. God I missed you. You sure you're up for this? You've only been back for less than a
day.
I am perfectly capable of consummating our bond by claiming what is mine, Harry, and as Wormtail interrupting us is no longer an issue, I plan to.
Oh yeah, I forgot about that, he winced in his head. It wasn't actually my fault. Well, I mean it sort of was because I kept trying to feed him to
Nagini, but I didn't that time. Aurors showed up here unannounced and he changed into his animagus form up here not knowing Nagini was
sleeping under the bed and-
Nagini being as alive and well as I am is more important to me than that Draco Malfoy has now taken Wormtail's place as my personal sevant. Now
make your request quickly as your mind shall be otherwise consumed for some time. He felt the spell that slicked up his arse and groaned tilting
his head back as a long finger slowly and thoroughly breached him. Harry.
I already have a part of your soul and your mind is linked with mine. I want the third promise, too. Voldemort pulled back from his throat and looked
down at him. Anytime you want it or need it I'll be there at just a thought and you know it. I just want to be the only one you touch like this.
After all these years, after all you have done in my name, there still remains that shred of Gryffindor sentimentality in you, Voldemort teased. He
rolled his eyes, but then they rolled backwards for another reason as Voldemort tweaked the nub inside him. Very well, but only due to such a
promise keeping you completely committed to me and your loyalty shall lead the wizarding world down the same path. He opened his eyes again
and laid a hand on the side of Voldemort's neck.
"Of course, my Lord," he smirked and Voldemort grabbed his hair again. Doesn't matter if I call you that. Soon the world will be. I'll make sure of it.
Voldemort grinned and he returned it. And neither of them said much more the rest of the night.
Since I know I'm going to get reviews saying that Voldemort forgave Harry way too easily all I'll say is this: Voldemort is very intelligent man.
Yes, Harry killed Voldemort. Harry also brought Voldemort back with the Prophecy fulfilled and it'll never be an issue again.
While Voldemort was gone, Harry did EVERYTHING Voldemort wanted him to do following all those plans that Voldemort had for Harry.
The Order is gone, something Voldemort needed done to completely take over the wizarding world. Harry did all the work of clearing the way for
Voldemort's reign and then brought Voldemort back to reap the benefits of all Harry's hard work.
Harry kept his promise of making Albus Dumbledore's death come at Voldemort's hand.
And finally, Harry not sleeping with anyone else the entire time Voldemort was gone showed just how faithful Harry is to him. Harry had everything
Voldemort always wanted: political power and complete control of the wizarding world, but didn't care because Harry just wanted him back.
It was all those reasons combined that made Voldemort accept what Harry had done and Harry's explanation of why. He doesn't completely trust
Harry anymore, but Harry's done enough for Voldemort to forgive Harry at least a little. OOC? Absolutely, but Harry and Voldemort falling in love
with each other is OOC so a little more doesn't hurt.
And yes, the blood bonding is considered a marriage. =)

Thank you for reading. If you have the time or any other questions, please leave a review. I'll be sure to answer any questions. =)
Nyx Myst
P.S. Hope that makes things a little better for you, 'demort. I edited and added things to include LV talking about the 'retched undead existence' just
for you. =)
*Chapter 37*: Epilogue
both.
Aww, I'm actually sad that this is the end. I've had so much fun posting this and replying to reviews. I've said it before and I'll say it yet again: Thank
you for all the reviews and you all are the absolute best readers any of my stories have ever had. Each and every one of you has made this a
wonderful experience for me and I'll treasure it always. =)
" regular speech "
Epilogue
Twenty Years Later
"But Professor Jumbly," Ian Mallcott, a sixth year Ravenclaw said holding his hand up interrupting the Transfigurations professor, "that's not exactly
true. According to the book, Animagus Abound, Mistress LeStrange states that any witch or wizard can be taught how to become an animagus.
According to her, Minister Potter became one at the age of twenty-five after studying things left behind by his father and godfather and taught her
and her husband how to become animagus as well."
"Those cases are rarities, Mr. Mallcott," the Professor replied looking sternly at the boy. "Also, to my knowledge no one has ever seen either take
on their animagus forms and none have registered as such with the Ministry."
"But they don't have to anymore," a girl said confused. "That law was rescinded years ago. My mum is an animagus and she's not registered
either."
"Well she should be," the professor snapped. "You all were born and raised in very different times, brought up to follow these new wizarding ways.
In my opinion they haven't been for the better. Children should not be doing magic anywhere except at school and should not even be instructed in
magic until they have reached the age of eleven as was once the ways of our world. And this mess of allowing animagus to roam about without
registering their forms only leads to more chaos. It is his doing, his way of finding those who oppose him and stamping out their voices of reason."
"His? His who?" Ian asked confused.
"You-Know-Who!" she shouted.
"Well, it has been some time since I was referred to as such," Voldemort said stepping into the classroom doorway.
"Eee, it's My Lord," Heather Dundoggle squeaked excitedly before slapping her hands over her mouth as the entire class stood and then
immediately lowered to one knee. Harry, walking in behind his bonded mate for two decades this week, watched the professor back into a corner
before doing the same, fear etched in the woman's face. He chuckled and Voldemort looked at him amused before turning back to the class, and
particularly, the girl.
It had been a long road to get where he and Voldemort were now. The announcement of Voldemort being back and that he'd bonded with the Dark
Lord sent the wizarding world into a complete panic. Some people tried to flee the country while others locked themselves in their homes under
Fidelus Charms. Rebellion groups sprang up literally overnight. None of that did any good, not with Voldemort back with him at Voldemort's side
and every Death Eater who'd once been imprisoned in Azkaban free to strike down any and all signs of revolt.
As weeks and months passed with new laws being made and others being changed, things that benefited the wizarding world as he'd always
promised any changes that came under his tenure as Minister of Magic would, people slowly began to relax and come out into the wizarding world
again. And his lover using all the charisma of the old Tom Riddle in public addresses to the wizarding world detailing some of his future plans drew
his lover support little by little. Those that refused to support his lover, well; they were dealt with in private.
For him and Voldemort privately, it took years for him to regain the man's complete trust again. He never occluded his mind anymore for that
reason, not even when he planned gifts or surprises of any kind. Though it was never really a surprise, his lover always smiled at him when he
presented the gifts or they entered the party anyway.
It wasn't always good times for them. More than once they'd had loud arguments that lasted for days. There were just some policies that his lover
wanted put into place that he couldn't agree with no matter how much he loved and supported the Lord and Master of the Wizarding World. The
dispute over Muggle-borns being exiled, imprisoned, or killed was the worst argument they'd ever had. Eventually, they'd come to an agreement
where he was responsible for the actions of ever Muggle-born in the wizarding world and they weren't allowed to speak or get near his lover. There
were a lot of other restrictions placed upon Muggle-borns, but at least they weren't killed anymore. It was only him reminding his lover that he
wouldn't be there if it weren't for a Muggle-born witch that finally made Voldemort relent. While his lover would never admit that he was right, he
knew that Voldemort wouldn't be feeling the joy the man was at the moment if he weren't.
"Rise, child, and come forth," Voldemort said.
"Yes, My Lord," Heather squeaked jumping to her feet. She took three steps towards Voldemort before stopping and drooping her head lowering to
one knee again. Voldemort looked at him again raising an eyebrow at him.
Heather Dundoggle, sixth year Ravenclaw, Mudblood, he said silently to Voldemort. I kept telling you that law that Mudbloods weren't allowed to
get within five feet of you would come back to bite you in the arse one day, but you said you didn't care. Voldemort glared at him and he smiled
sweetly in reply before turning towards the girl again.
"It's all right, Heather. Your Lord told you to come to him and his word directly to you supersedes any other law." The girl lifted her head and looked
at Voldemort for confirmation. Voldemort inclined his head only once before the girl scurried forward and immediately knelt at his feet.
"My Lord, it's an honor to meet you," she said quickly. "I've read every book you've ever written. Your work on creating advanced Unplottable
Stones to make the wizarding cities of the United Kingdom completely undetectable by the Muggle world was absolutely brilliant!" That those
stones encompassed roughly half of the United Kingdom now was pretty damned impressive even to him and he'd seen Voldemort do some
amazing magic over the years.
"And you have no wish to know the Muggle world you were born into?" Voldemort asked lifting her head by her chin until she looked at him.
"Oh no, My Lord," she said emphatically. "My place is with you in the world you have created. I study very hard, My Lord, in the hope that when I
finish my schooling that I can serve you best in the career path laid before me."
"And what path have you been set upon?" Voldemort asked.
"The Department of Agriculture, My Lord," the girl said. Voldemort locked eyes with the girl and she didn't flinch even though he knew Voldemort
was scanning through every facet of her mind.
"Who gave her this path?" Voldemort asked.
Being a Mudblood, she didn't have many choices in what she was allowed to do, he said. "I'll have the records checked immediately," he said and
turned towards one of the Death Eaters standing behind him. The Death Eater nodded and immediately walked away. You have to stop holding
their birth against them, love. They can't help whom they were born to and you know just like I do that she's too damned smart to muck around on
a farm for the rest of her life.
We shall discuss it later, Voldemort replied still looking at the girl and cracking a smile. "So read my books, have you?" Voldemort asked and the
girl nodded with a bright smile. "You are to write a twenty inch essay on each and owl it to me by Friday evening. Should I find them a worthy read I
may have to adjust your future career path."
"Yes, My Lord," she gasped and Voldemort let the girl go. She immediately curtsied at his feet before he waved her back to her desk and looked at
the entire class. He felt Voldemort scan every mind in the room before turning and looking at Professor Jumbly in the corner.
"Professor Jumbly, I require a few words with you in private. Minister Potter shall tend to your class in your absence," Voldemort said. The woman
nodded, but looked near tears with fear. She should since the reports from more than one student that she was slandering Voldemort and him was
what started the in depth investigation of her and Voldemort wasn't happy with what had been uncovered. "Class, I shall speak with you all again
shortly as I have thus far enjoyed my visit with you immensely."
More than a few squeaked with excitement and he chuckled again. Voldemort looked at him with a smile and he drooped his head lowering to one
knee as Voldemort neared him by the door. He smiled at the gentle touch of fingers in his hair as the man walked by. When he stood again,
Professor Jumbly did have unshed tears in her eyes as she walked by wringing her hands in front of her.
"Minister Potter?" a boy said and he looked at the young man. "She's going to be sacked, isn't she?"
"Yes, she is," he laughed lowly moving to the front of the room and taking a seat on top of the center of the desk.
"Good because she's always going on and on about how thing were different when she was growing up instead of teaching us things," the boy
snorted, his robe Slytherin colors.
"And when she does teach us things it's never anything useful," another girl huffed. "How to change a turtle into a crystal platter and back again.
Are we ever going to need to use that in life?"
"I can honestly say no and I hated that lesson when I was your age, too," he replied and the entire class laughed. "Actually, it was during that
lesson that Your Lord started teaching me things by lesson instead of a book that were useful in life."
"Why don't you ever call him My Lord?" Heather asked.
"Because I'm privileged with a much better title for him," he winked at the girl lifting his left hand and wiggled his fingers to display the ring on his
third digit making the entire class laugh again.
"Can you tell us more about when you were in school, Minister," the Slytherin boy asked.
"Well," he said just as the words, I have heard entirely too many times of your rantings of long begotten days for my liking. As you have no desire
to live in these times allow me to grant your wish. Avada Kedavra, went through his head, "I can tell you that I always hated those desk when I
went to school here. They're so bloody uncomfortable," he said and waved his hand transfiguring every desk into a cushy leather armchair with a
small table in front of each one to write on.
"Now that's a Transfiguration spell I want to learn," the Slytherin boy grinned and he laughed along with the rest of the class.
THE END
Take care everyone. I'm working on another Harry/Voldemort story, but it's not going too well. Hopefully I get over my writer's block to get it finished
soon. Once it is, I'll be back with more Harry/Voldemort for you.
Thank you again for all the reviews. If you have the time to write one last one, I'd love to know what you thought of the end and the story as a
whole.
Nyx Myst

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Dabbling With The Dark

Story: Dabbling With The Dark

Warnings: SLASH - Harry Potter/Lord Voldemort

" regular speech "

Italics is telepathic talking between Harry & Voldemort

It will not and you already know that as well.

Fuck, he's probably right, he thought.

I am, right, Harry.

"Uncle Vernon, wait-"

By any means necessary.

Warnings:SLASH - Harry Potter/Lord Voldemort

" regular speech "

Italics is telepathic talking between Harry & Voldemort

Mind your temper, Potter, and remember to-

"Harry," Dumbledore said with an amused tone and smile.

"You'll only be seventeen next year so-"

"It's mine?" he asked quietly and Dumbledore nodded with a smile.

"Ah, good, I see that Sirius did," Dumbledore chuckled.

"Harry!" Dumbledore said scornfully, but he ignored the old man.

"Harry-" Dumbledore sighed.

Warnings: SLASH - Harry Potter/Lord Voldemort

" regular speech "

Italics is telepathic talking between Harry & Voldemort

"Harry!" Dumbledore said sternly.

"Harry, you must listen to me," Dumbledore said standing up.

"Harry!" Dumbledore gasped taking a step towards him.

Warnings: SLASH - Harry Potter/Lord Voldemort

" regular speech "

Italics is telepathic talking between Harry & Voldemort

"Harry-" she said.

"Who taught you?" he asked and she sighed.

Now you are learning something, Harry.

"Just a regular headache, Professor. I'm alright," Harry replied.

Tsk, tsk, Harry, lying to your professor?

Quiet down before my head splits open. Talk, don't yell.

Warnings: SLASH - Harry Potter/Lord Voldemort

" regular speech "

Italics is telepathic talking between Harry & Voldemort

"Harry-" Remus said nervously standing up.

Having a bad day, Potter?

Then push me away. You know how to.

"Ah, I had forgotten the arrogance of youth," Voldemort said.

"Pretty much," he snorted in reply.

"It will also not be long before he tests your Occlumency."

"Are you challenging me?" Voldemort retorted just as amused as before.

"They can do nothing to you that you do not allow."

Warnings: SLASH - Harry Potter/Lord Voldemort

" regular speech "

Italics is telepathic talking between Harry & Voldemort

"Harry, come on, mate," Ron sighed behind him.

"Then let us come with you," Hermione said softly.

"Good evening, my boy," the old man said softly.

"I think not," Snape said sternly.

"Gee, I didn't see that coming," Harry snorted.

"Severus!" McGonagall shouted.

"Anytime, anywhere. Sir," he replied ignoring the headmaster completely.

I want to knock him on his skinny arse.

"Gentlemen, that is quite enough," Dumbledore said sternly.

"Saved by the headmaster once more," Snape glaring at him in disgust.

Don't go anywhere. I might need you.

Not might, you will.

"Among other things," Snape added through clenched teeth.

Take care with your next words.