– –

Harry had missed lunch during his nap, and was famished by the time dinner rolled around. Mixey prepared a wonderful meal for them, and Harry and Voldemort spent the time discussing what Harry had read. Harry asked a number of questions, trying to clarify some of the points that had confused him, and Voldemort had no qualms with answering them, no matter how simple they were.

Even after food, Harry still did not feel up to returning to Hogwarts. Whenever he thought about going back he felt a disgusted grimace spreading across his face, and Voldemort clearly saw it; so he didn't even bother suggesting that Harry go back. In the moments when he was honest with himself, he would admit that he didn't

want

Harry to leave. Instead Harry sat on the floor beside Voldemort's chair in the study while the Dark Lord read through his papers to keep up on current events and then when he continued work on some spell he was constructing.

Nagini joined them and alternated between lounging around a heated rock that Voldemort conjured; lounging on Voldemort's shoulders; and lounging in Harry's lap. At one point, Harry and Nagini engaged in a lengthy conversation about nothing of any real importance, but still, Voldemort found it utterly fascinating to watch Harry conversing so easily with his familiar. He had gotten very few occasions to witness any other humans speaking parseltongue. It was an incredibly rare talent, and the last wizard he had met who had the ability was his uncle, who he had framed for the murder of his muggle father and grandparents and gotten sent off to Azkaban. That was a very, very

long

time ago. And he hadn't exactly spent a great deal of time in the man's presence.

As it drew closer and closer to time for bed, Voldemort could see the hesitant concern growing in the young man's eyes. To quell the concern, Voldemort called upon Mixey, rather suddenly and surprising Harry, and instructed her to prepare one of the empty bedrooms with fresh linens. The relief was visible in both Harry's face and his demeanor. He sighed, smiled, and relaxed against the chair. Voldemort resumed his on-and-off habit of playing with Harry's hair, and Harry resumed his rather new habit of stroking his fingers along Nagini's head. Voldemort was sure that it would look almost humorous – or perhaps just disturbing – to anyone who would witness the scene. This thought only made him smirk.

– –

Harry left the manor shortly after breakfast. He used the time-turner to go back a full 24-hours, which actually put him back in the castle while his earlier self was still busy performing legilimency on Trelawney. This seemed like a rather excellent idea since it gave him the opportunity to provide himself an alibi. He was confident that his memory charms would hold against the divination teacher, but the extra safety net was still nice to have.

Harry's fury had been at least slightly quelled to a more stable simmering loathing. He still found it difficult to keep the scowl off his face during lunch when he looked up at the head table and saw Dumbledore sitting there, engaging in some sort of cheery discussion with McGonagall.

Harry quickly diverted his gaze. He knew that if the man looked his way, Harry wouldn't be capable of hiding the anger from his eyes, and if the old goat saw it, he would begin to suspect that something was wrong with Harry.

Before, Harry had just hoped that his previous years of deeds and accomplishments would prevent Dumbledore from honestly suspecting him of going dark. But now that he knew that the real prophecy literally said that Harry basically had a 50/50 chance of going dark, he knew the headmaster wouldn't be quite as quick to dismiss the idea as he had hoped.

He was going to have to be a lot more cautious around the man, and really put some effort into his acting. He could only use the 'angsty teen' card so many times before Dumbledore and the other professors began to suspect it was something deeper and more insidious than an angry and frustrated, yet still perfectly normal, teenager.

Harry huffed out and refocused on his meal. He'd just steer clear of the man for a while longer. He needed more time to cool down and plan before he could risk being in his presence. Fortunately, he rarely ever had any reason to speak with him, and there was still quite a while before the next task.

– –

Harry continued his daily visits to the manor after lunch, reading and talking with Voldemort; working on his class homework in the evenings, and then working with Hermione, and occasionally Ginny on translating the book. Ginny, it would seem, had finally learned how to act like herself around him, instead of constantly stuttering, blushing, and going silent. Harry was a bit confused by her sudden change in behavior around him, but was thankful that things were no longer so awkward when around Ron's younger sister. He was finding that she was a lot more bearable to be around than Ron was. She was like a more intelligent, less lazy version of Ron, and as such, he found her a much more bearable 'friend' to spend his evenings with. The added bonus, he was still good friends with a Weasley, and Weasley's were renowned Light wizards. No Weasley would be good friends with a Dark wizard.

For reasons that were not exactly hard to figure out, Ron was less than thrilled with Ginny suddenly spending so much time with Hermione and Harry. Ron even got so frustrated that he tried to work his way into their translation sessions, but he was utterly lost, and completely bored. He had no interest in the weird, old, dead language, and didn't give a damn about what the stupid old book might have to say. As a result, he was getting to be even more whiny, and even

annoying than ever. Harry even got snappy with him a few times when his patience for the ginger's moaning had hit its limit. Ron just scowled and stormed off to find Seamus or Neville to play some cards.

That week also featured the start of Harry's new dueling lessons with Voldemort. His daily visits now consisted of an hour and a half of reading while Voldemort meditated, then an additional half hour of light reading and conversation while Voldemort got caught up on the news. Harry began to ask Voldemort what sorts of news events he was looking for and keeping track of, and Voldemort began to keep up on Harry's daily strife within the halls of 'hormonal, temperamental, idiotic children', as he tended to call Hogwarts. When they finally finished their talking and reading, they would move to the ballroom and start two solid hours of dueling practice.

Harry had never experienced anything as exhilarating and exciting as learning dark arts spells and defense from the Dark Lord. Harry doubted there was a man alive who knew the subject matter as in depth and with such enthusiasm as Voldemort did.

In the beginning Harry found it very difficult to 'duel' Voldemort, simply because he was pointing his wand and firing off spells at

Voldemort.

Not because he was intimidated or scared – although he was definitely intimidated – but simply because he had absolutely no desire to attack the man. It wasn't like he honestly believed that anything he could do would hurt the man, but the knot of unease just wouldn't leave the pit of his stomach, no matter how much his rational mind knew he was being stupid.

He also often found himself becoming easily distracted by just

watching

Voldemort. His movements were so fluid and graceful. And then he had whip like movements that put Harry in a state of awe. Voldemort was like a panther. He stalked his prey and just emanated a sense of power. He was Dark, powerful, dangerous,

and

amazing.

– –

Disclaimer: Don't own Harry Potter. JKRowling does.

First

Beta Pass

by Clemex

– –

More than a week had passed since the dark arts and dueling lessons had begun. It was Wednesday, and Harry had slipped away from Ron after lunch, while Hermione made her way to her Ancient Runes class. Harry slipped on his cloak and pulled out the Map and activated it. He saw the second 'Harry Potter' dot entering the castle and heading towards the bathroom where he had made a habit of making his daily switch in. He slipped out past Ron, who was leaning against the wall talking with one of the Beauxbatons girls. Harry rose a single eyebrow and stifled a chuckle as he quickly hurried down the hall, under his invisibility cloak, and out of the castle.

Fifteen minutes later Harry was in the manor and climbing up the stairs to Voldemort's study. The afternoon began the same as always. Voldemort was sitting there, already into his meditative exercise. Harry could tell that the Dark Lord was getting very close to finishing the transformation, and was growing more and more curious as to what exactly the man would look like when he finally achieved it.

Harry settled down and began reading a dueling techniques book that Voldemort had had him start reading a few days earlier in preparation for their daily lessons. He kept on going, without pause, even when Voldemort stood up and then sat down in his chair to read through his papers.

As had become normal, Voldemort almost instantly began running his fingers through Harry's hair and all Harry could do was sigh and smile in content.

"I'm curious, Harry –" Voldemort began to speak, nearly a half hour later as he suddenly stood from his chair and began to move towards the door. Harry quickly jumped to his feet as he realized that Voldemort appeared to be preparing to leave the study.

"Yes?"

"I know that you used the accellerant potion and underwent the process to improve that rather impressive body of yours, but I'm wondering if you have been taking measures to maintain it?"

Harry gaped at him as he attempted to process the words that had just come out of the Dark Lord's mouth. Harry's oh-so-eloquent response was a simple, "Huh?"

"Have you been working to maintain your improved body?"

"I... wha... you mean, am I working out?" Harry asked, still confused and trying to wrap his mind around the fact that it

sounded

like Voldemort had just called his body 'rather impressive'.

Voldemort rolled his eyes. "Yes, Harry, have you been 'working out'?"

"Er... no. Not really, anyway. As I already told you, I used to get kind of physical with my dark arts practice down in the chamber. I would sort of roll around and mock dodge things. To practice falling and improve my aiming while moving. But I haven't gone down there for that in a while, so the only real exercise I've been getting is from our dueling lessons."

Voldemort gave Harry a thoughtful look for a moment before turning and heading towards the door. "Follow me," he commanded simply without pausing in his pace. Harry jogged after him until he caught up and matched the Dark Lord's long strides as the two briskly walked down the hall, down the stairs, and through one of the first floor corridors.

Harry was extremely curious as to what was going on, but knew that if Voldemort was going to tell him, he'd do it when he was good and ready to, and no sooner.

They came upon one of the doors that Harry had long ago sensed a space expansion charm behind and Voldemort opened and entered without even pausing. Harry followed but came to an abrupt halt directly upon entering. What he found was a large windowless, room with a floor that was oddly squishy beneath his feet, a couple of elevated horizontal bars attached to one wall, an assortment of strange contraptions that looked something like exercise equipment, a strange device that Harry thought vaguely reminded him of a muggle treadmill, and a weight lifting bench with a bunch of weights.

"You have a gym?" Harry asked as he gawked at the room. This was probably one of the

last thingshe expected to find in the manor house. It just looked so...

muggle.

"Wizards are fools to neglect their bodies as they do," Voldemort drawled as he rolled his eyes and sneered in disgust. "They think that just because they can use magic to do things and avoid menial labor, that they have no need to keep their bodies fit."

Harry turned all of his attention away from the bewildering room, and focused it entirely on Voldemort. He could hear the man slipping into his 'instructor voice' and whenever he did that, whatever he had to say was important.

"The biggest reason that the unforgivable curses are

unforgivable

isn't because of what they do – there are hundreds of curses that can kill you, control you, and cause excruciating pain – they are unforgivable because of the fact that they cannot be blocked or countered. There is no way to shield oneself from the

cruciatus

or the killing curse or the

imperius

– although one with a strong enough will can occasionally break free of the latter.

The killing curse can go through almost all substances. The only thing that can block the killing curse is the body of another living thing. If you have a expendable person around that you can use as a human shield, then you can shield yourself. Otherwise, the only way to avoid any of these spells is to

dodge them.

Keeping one's body in shape improves reaction time, stamina, and endurance. If two wizards are of generally equal magical skill levels, the one with the best ability to dodge, and the endurance to last the longest, will be the winner. And since so many wizards disregard the importance of training their body, in addition to their magical training, it is an extremely easy and beneficial advantage to gain."

"How often do you work out in here?" Harry asked, turning his attention back to the room.

"Every morning. I get up fairly early and spend an hour in here each day. I have done so since the morning after my resurrection."

"Oh... wow," Harry said, rather lamely, before he refocused on the room again as he imagined what all the different exercise 'machines' were for. They were obviously of Voldemort's own creation, and had been magically constructed. Still, it was obvious that they were intended for various forms of exercise.

"I want you to join me each morning at 7:30am. Can you manage that?" Voldemort asked, pulling Harry sharply out of his mental wanderings.

"Join you?" Harry echoed in surprise.

"Yes. I think it would do your dueling practice an enormous good if you began a physical training program as well."

Harry's jaw floundered as he searched for the words to respond with that could adequately relate just how the idea made him feel. There were so many reasons to be utterly thrilled with it. For one thing, it gave him even more time each day with the man, who was quickly becoming the central focal point of his life. Any reason to spend more time with the man was welcome. Harry just felt so much...

around Voldemort. Everything fit better in his head. His mind worked faster and clearer. His temper was easier to keep control of. The constant itch and drive to curse everyone he saw was easily controlled. Everything felt better here. The second reason Voldemort's suggestion left him speechless and stunned was the fact that Voldemort had to actually

want

Harry around more too. Why else would he be offering something that would require Harry to intrude on even more of the Dark Lord's precious time.

He finally gave up on trying to voice his emotions and just nodded his head.

"Good. You can use the time-turner when done, of course. So you should be able to avoid any suspicion about additional strange absences. Obviously robes are far too cumbersome for activities such as what we'll be doing in here. Try to dress appropriately. Loose-fitting clothes are more apt to get caught in some of the devices I've created, so try to avoid them. If you have nothing appropriate, we can transfigure something for you when you come tomorrow.

"Also, I am nearly done with my transformation meditations, but not quite, so I still want you continue to come after lunch," Voldemort continued, and Harry quickly confirmed that he would still be coming for his other usual visits.

"We will continue the dueling practice after my meditation is completed. With all of the added hours and time-turner use, it may become necessary for you to fit in an extra meal, and perhaps a nap. If that become the case you can stay for dinner at the manor, and make use of the same room you stayed in last week, before using the time-turner to return to the castle."

Voldemort continued to lay out the plans for Harry's schedule and Harry couldn't help the wide, warmed smile that spread across his face as he realized how much thought Voldemort had put into his plans involving Harry. He truly couldn't believe the amount of time each day that the Dark Lord was willing to spend with and dedicate to Harry, and he felt a small pang of sadness when he thought about how it would likely all change once Voldemort finally succeeded at his transformation, and brought the other Death Eaters back into the fold. Once he was able to take on his 'scary Dark Lord' look again, he would begin tackling his plans, head-on, and Harry doubted that Voldemort would have nearly as much time to throw away on him.

He pushed back the niggling worry and refocused on the man standing before him, and explaining what some of the different 'machines' were and what muscles groups they worked. Harry was stunned how much the Dark Lord knew about the whole physical fitness thing. What 'muscle groups' aided in what sorts of movements, and what kinds of exercises and movements were necessary to work out each of those groups. But then Harry realized that there wasn't anything that Voldemort did 'half-assed', and realized he never should have been surprised in the first place. Whenever Voldemort decided to learn about something, he buried himself in the topic, and didn't put it down until he was a master of it. The Dark Lord consumed knowledge and skills like a starved man in a buffet. A trait that had always left Harry feeling inspired and determined to master as many things as well.

Harry left the manor that day finding himself feeling both anxious and eager for the next morning's exercise session. He'd never done an awful lot of physical exercise outside of quidditch, and riding a broom really wasn't all that physically intensive – outside of needing a strong grip with both his hands and his thighs. Still, the thought of being physically trained by Voldemort was exciting. He just hoped he could keep himself from acting like an idiot.

– –

Harry entered the 'gym' the next morning at 7:25am. Slipping away from his dorm had been extremely easy. None of his roommates were early risers, as were few Gryffindors, so even the common room was empty when he slipped down under cover of his invisibility cloak.

Getting up at 6:30am hadn't been terribly difficult since he'd been going to bed earlier and earlier lately. Since he'd been living longer days than normal, by the time it was 10pm at night, he had usually gone through enough hours in the day that it would have been after 2am for him. His new tendency for going to bed early had been just one more thing for Ron to gripe about, but Harry didn't honestly give a damn what Ron griped about. He knew he still needed to come up with some sort of strategy for diverting the suspicions of Ron and the other Gryffindors. His little rant to Ron and Hermione had given them the illusion that he was still willing to confide in them, and given them some things to think about. Hopefully enough to keep them from suspecting what was really going on. His evenings spent with Hermione and Ginny was helping to ease some of his fellow housemates concerns about his extreme reclusive behavior earlier in the year, and since he wasn't disappearing away to the chamber for hours a day, he at least no longer appeared to be sneaking off. Hopefully all the changes he had made over the last month would be enough, but he needed to make sure that when Dumbledore started asking his 'friends' questions, over the summer, after Harry 'vanished', that none of them would start telling the old goat that they were worried about Harry's strange Dark behavior.

When he got to the manor, he went to the second floor where the loo he usually used was, since he only knew of the large bath with the sunken tub on the first floor, and there were just far too many unidentified rooms down there to go searching for a 'normal' bathroom. Once on the second floor he changed into the clothing he had brought with him. He had a pair of gray draw-string sweatpants that he occasionally slept in during the winters, and a white sleeveless t-shirt that he had shrunk down so that it was fairly tight against his torso to avoid it catching in any of the exercise equipment. He hoped it would be sufficient. He suspected he was going to need to do some clothing shopping soon. There was a Hogsmeade weekend coming up, but he wasn't sure if any of the stores in the tiny wizarding village would carry what he needed.

He left his bag in the study and made his way downstairs to the gym. Voldemort was in the center of the open part of the room, and what Harry saw made him freeze in place in stunned awe. Voldemort was wearing comfortable-looking black cotton pants, and

no shirt.

He was doing push-ups, and Harry could already see the smallest indication of sweat appearing on the man's back.

The lean, lithe, and only lightly muscled body that he had seen a month earlier had already come a long way. The muscles were more defined now, but not overly so. Definitely not 'body builder' muscles, but this was undeniably the body of a strong, and powerful man who did not slack off.

Harry was stunned out of his dumbfounded staring by Voldemort pushing himself up onto his knees, and then standing to his feet. If Voldemort had realized Harry was staring, he didn't say anything. Instead, he quickly began to go over the schedule for the next hour, and discussing how Harry would work up to certain goals over time. Harry's head was quickly being filled with new concepts and knowledge, and he was being set to the machines he would use.

Voldemort demonstrated the proper way to move his arms while pushing out on one device, and pulling in on another. How to hold his elbows at a certain angle, and what things not to do, to avoid injury. During the demonstrations, Harry occasionally found his mind wandering back to Voldemort's exposed torso, and he found a growing fascination with the way the older wizard's muscles moved and twisted beneath his skin. But Voldemort loudly scolded him whenever he seemed distracted, so Harry quickly learned to pay attention and stay focused.

He returned to the school that morning sweaty, sore, and yet strangely exhilarated. He knew this was going to be hard work, but he was excited for it, too. The rest of the week passed easily enough, and while his strangely lengthened days were really starting to mess with his internal clock, he was slowly growing accustomed to them.

Voldemort incorporated lessons from his dueling into his morning exercises, and vice-versa. The break in the middle of the day where he just sat and read while Voldemort meditated was a welcome break from the action and activity of the rest of his time spent in the manor, and he found himself eagerly anticipating the light conversation and discussions they had after the Dark Lord was done with his meditation. Harry was even beginning to understand why Voldemort read the muggle newspapers.

Harry was stunned when Voldemort began to explain some sort of mass genocide that had been going on the previous year in Rwanda. Apparently before all the fighting was done, more than 800,000 had died during the Hutu-controlled Rwandan army attempt to exterminate the Tutsi minority from the country. Harry had trouble fathoming the fact that in the span of 100 days, over 800,000 people had been massacred and he hadn't heard a single word about it. There were loads of muggleborns at the school – didn't a single one take a muggle paper?

He could understand that most parents probably wouldn't write to their child about horrible African genocides, but it still seemed like such a

big deal.

"Yes, but even most muggles are utterly ignorant of what has gone on over there, though," Voldemort said, after Harry voiced his shock at having heard absolutely

nothing

about this.

"What? How can they be?"

"Few people give a damn about some tiny African country that tried to annihilate itself last summer, Harry."

"Then why are you paying attention to it?"

"Genocide. It's described as the largest act of genocide since the Holocaust."

Harry felt himself freeze slightly, and he was almost afraid to ask the next question. It was one thing for him to kill Rita Skeeter and not feel remorse, but killing an entire race of people was something that he didn't exactly think he could live with.

"Are you thinking about wiping out all the muggles or something?" Harry asked, cautiously.

Voldemort barked out a harsh laugh. "No, Harry. I no longer have any ridiculous illusions about trying to rid the world of the muggle filth."

"You don't?" Harry asked, both relieved and surprised, as he twisted around and looked up at Voldemort, sitting in his chair.

"No, honestly I don't think it will be necessary. They will likely rid the world of themselves, saving me the trouble."

Harry scrunched up his face in mild confusion – not sure what the Dark Lord meant by that, but he didn't get the chance to ask, as older Wizard continued to talk.

"The fact remains, that at one point, I

did

have some rather ignorant aspirations of killing off most, and subjugating the rest, of the muggle population. Many of my followers will likely still hold some of those aspirations. I simply want to be able to provide them with with concrete arguments as to why such efforts would not only be ineffective, but idiotic, and a waste of our energies. We have bigger problems to deal with that will already require more than enough time and energy."

"Ah... well, that's... a relief," Harry said, turning back and leaning against the chair again.

Voldemort chuckled and let his hand fall into Harry's raven hair.

"Don't think you have the stomach for genocide?" Voldemort snickered.

Harry shrugged. "Probably not. Besides, I don't see the logic in it. Or how it would even work. There are just

so many more

of them, than us. Sure, we're superior to them, and can do things that they can't even imagine doing, but that doesn't mean that they're weak or stupid. They're still humans, and it's when humans are desperate that they accomplish the most unexpected things. Their science is still capable of some insane things. I mean, they can go to the moon. Magic can't even do that.

"If they found out about us – about magic – and felt threatened... I can only see that being very very bad. We can use magic, but there's just so many

of them," Harry finished with a sigh and a shrug.

Voldemort hummed in agreement and their conversation slipped back into other topics from the newspaper.

– –

Another week had passed and Harry was feeling extremely comfortable with his daily arrangement. He was having a little trouble staying focused in his classwork – having started to find it exceedingly boring. Very little of it had any practical daily value, and he had very little enthusiasm for learning things that would never serve him in his life. Especially when he had the incredibly fascination and exhilarating lessons from Voldemort to compare.

But at least his Defense Against the Dark Arts classes with Barty – or rather, with 'Moody', were interesting. Voldemort had had Harry deliver several notes to Barty, and Barty would give Harry letters to give back to the Dark Lord when he returned Harry's written essays to him. One day in class, 'Moody' had asked Harry to hang around after class to 'discuss his homework'. Moody had acquired an object for the Dark Lord and since Harry went there every day anyway, it was decided that Harry should just take it with him. It was a reasonably small box. Moody had hallowed out a book and placed an expansion charm inside it so that when the book was opened, inside was a hole large enough for the box. He gave it to Harry with the guise that it was something he might find helpful for the next task, and sent him on his way.

While leaving defense and making his way through the empty halls towards the Great Hall for dinner, Harry came across a pair of familiar, hushed voices. He slowed and peaked around the corner towards where he heard the voices and saw Snape and Karkaroff in the middle of a whispered argument. Harry wasn't close enough to hear what they were saying, and was about to pull out his wand to use his eavesdropping charm when he was startled by another familiar, and far more annoying drawl.

"Potter,

what

are you doing?" the annoying drawl of Draco Malfoy came suddenly, causing Harry to jump with surprise at having been come upon without having noticed. Apparently Snape and Karkaroff heard Malfoy's voice because their whispers stopped and they both turned towards the sound.

Harry turned and scowled at Malfoy. Apparently his glare was fierce enough that it gave Draco pause because the blond Slytherin's eyes betrayed a moment of fear and hesitation before they hardened to his normal confident sneer.

Harry was a bit surprised by Malfoy's behavior. The blond Slytherin had been mostly avoiding him ever since their encounter several months prior. Apparently enough time had passed that Malfoy had either forgotten what happened, or decided it wasn't bad enough to continue keeping his distance.

"Malfoy, I really don't have time for you," Harry said with an annoyed sigh.

"So it's Malfoy again? Are you over whatever weird thing possessed you over Christmas?"

Harry snorted out a laugh. "Hardly," he said giving the blond boy a leering smirk that caused Malfoy to straighten a bit and his eyes to widen. Harry snickered at Malfoy's reaction and began to turn away.

"Where are you heading off to?"

"Dinner," Harry said, rolling his eyes.

"Running off to the mudblood and the weasel?" Malfoy sneered.

"Well, you know. Gotta keep up appearances. Wouldn't want anyone suspecting me of going

dark," Harry chuckled.

Malfoy's eyes bugged out of his face and he stood there, dumbfounded for a moment while Harry began to walk away.

"Wait!" Malfoy called out as he jogged after Harry and caught up to him. Harry huffed and stopped. He looked around anxiously, making sure that there weren't any witnesses. There weren't as far as he could tell. Snape and Karkaroff had vanished – most likely to somewhere more private to continue their argument – and the rest of the student body was already at dinner.

"What do you want, Draco?" Harry asked with a resigned sigh as he took out his wand and cast a small privacy ward around them.

"What's up with you? You've been acting normal again lately, but I see the looks you give them. The looks you give

everyone.

The way you walk, the way you hold yourself. And more than anything else, when I get close enough, you

reek

of dark magic."

Harry had to take pause of that proclamation. If Draco could tell he'd been practicing the Dark arts, what was stopping the professors? Or

Dumbledore?

Apparently something on Harry's face gave away his moment of panic because Draco was rolling his eyes and quickly began to speak again.

"Don't worry, Potter. It's only those with a dark affinity who can sense it. Neutrals and Lights only sense the magic of other Neutrals or Lights."

"Even someone like Dumbledore?" Harry asked, skeptically.

"Do you feel his Light magic?" Malfoy asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Er..." Harry paused, trying to think if he did. "I think I used to... But now that you mention it, I really haven't been able to feel that same energy that I used to when I was around him."

"Exactly – wait...

you used to?"

"Well, my affinity definitely used to be Light. I'm sure of that."

"But

now

it's

Dark?" Malfoy asked, a tremendous curiosity glowing in his eyes.

Harry clammed up and gave Malfoy a hard look.

Malfoy chuckled and smirked. "Smart, Potter. Never admit anything aloud."

Harry rolled his eyes. "I've still got a problem though, even if Dumbledore can't sense my Dark magic. My affinity was set to Light before." Harry mused quietly to himself.

Malfoy snorted. "As if anyone would ever honestly suspect the Gryffindor Golden-boy of going

Dark.Besides, Dumbledore would only notice the lack of Light magic traces on you. He can't just

tell

that your affinity has changed. They need a spell for that I think."

Harry glared at Malfoy. "I told you not to call me that. I'm no one's Golden-boy. Besides,

yoususpected me of going dark."

"Only after you

assaulted me,"

Malfoy said indignantly with his nose turned up.

Harry chuckled and gave the blond another leering look that clearly made him feel exceedingly uncomfortable. "Besides, you weren't the only person I got angry with," Harry said finally with a bit of a grumble. "I was a pretty angry mess there for a while..."

"That's what was going on!" Malfoy exclaimed suddenly, as if he had just made a great discovery. Harry looked at him with confusion, and an expectant look. "You were dealing with Dark addiction, weren't you! And now you've got a handle on it, which is why you're able to pretend to be normal again!"

Harry blinked at Malfoy. "Uh... maybe," Harry found himself admitting hesitantly. "You seem to have some personal experience here... How much Dark magic have you practiced?"

Malfoy scoffed and turned his nose up again. "I'm a

Malfoy,

Potter. What do

you

think?"

Harry rolled his eyes, but grinned and snickered.

Suddenly Harry paused and felt his blood run cold. If anyone who practiced the Dark arts could sense that

he

had practiced them, that would mean that Snape, and Karkaroff would know. Karkaroff was possibly not a problem, but Snape most certainly was.

Thinking back, the Potions master had been giving him some rather odd looks lately.

"How long have you been able to feel the dark magic on me?" Harry asked suddenly.

Malfoy blinked at the sudden shift in the conversation. "Well I can only feel it like... now. Now that I'm right next to you. You have to be really close."

"Shit," Harry muttered as he scowled at the wall beside him.

"What? It's not like anyone in the school who practices the Dark Arts would ever betray another Dark wizard to

Dumbledore. And you don't exactly get that close to any of us Slytherins. You don't have to –"

"Snape," Harry said, resolutely.

Malfoy looked surprised, then confused, and then he looked like he was going to laugh. "Don't be stupid, Potter. Severus isn't really loyal to that stupid old man. He's as Dark as they come."

Harry shook his head. "Even if that's true, he hates the ground I walk on. I can see him just

lovingthe opportunity to destroy my reputation as the

beacon of the light, and crush Dumbledore's idea of me being the perfect good guy he sees me as."

This

seemed to give Malfoy pause, because he looked thoughtful now.

"Hmmm... well, he certainly

does

hate you."

After a silent moment, Harry huffed and ran a hand through his messy black hair. It was getting longer and shaggier as the months went on, and he was thinking that he probably would start letting it grow out. Voldemort really seemed to enjoy the length. Harry shook his head, refocusing on the problem at hand and letting his hand fall to his side.

"Well, it's something I'm going to have to deal with soon, but for now, there's nothing I can do."

Malfoy gave Harry a long hard look but then nodded his head. "So... so what the hell, Potter? I mean... how did this happen? How did

you

go Dark? It just... it just doesn't..." Malfoy gave a frustrated growl and shook his head.

Harry began to laugh at the other boy's frustrated confusion, which really only caused Malfoy to scowl at him.

"What!" Malfoy spat angrily.

Harry's chuckled subsided a bit and he shook his head with an amused grin. "It's a very

long

story, and I highly doubt you'd believe a word of it. But the fact of the matter is, you already know too much. I need your word that you aren't going to start running around the school telling people that I'm going Dark. And if you can manage it, think you can keep an eye on the Slytherins who practice the Dark Arts, who start to notice me too?"

"Why the hell would I do that for

you?" Malfoy sneered.

Harry's eyes narrowed on the blond boy for a moment before he smirked. He glanced around the empty corridor again, just for safety's sake. His privacy ward wouldn't let anyone year them, but he still didn't want anyone seeing him talking with the Slytherin boy.

"Tell me something,

Draco," Harry began, moving a step closer and causing the Slytherin to tense up and look wary. "Is

daddy

still loyal to the

Dark Lord?"

Malfoy's eyes hardened and his jaw tightened. "My father never –"

"Don't blow smoke in my face, Draco, I'm not stupid. How about this. Where do

your

loyalties lie? With the Dark? Or not?"

"My loyalties lie with the Dark," Malfoy said, standing tall and raising his nose into the air again.

Harry smirked. "So would you be loyal to the Dark Lord when he returns?" Harry asked in a conspiratorial whisper as he leaned into Malfoy's 'personal space'.

Malfoy looked slightly taken aback, and gave Harry a long scrutinizing look. He was probably debating the dangers of admitting this statement out loud to

Harry Potter, of all people – Dark magic, or no. Harry figured he was probably also taking note of the fact that Harry said 'Dark Lord' and not, 'You-Know-Who', or 'Voldemort' – as many people knew Harry had been apt to do in the past. And

then

there was the fact that Harry had said 'when' he returns; not 'if'.

Finally, Malfoy squared his shoulders and stuck his chin, pompously high. "I would be loyal to the Dark Lord."

Harry's grin widened and he took a step back, giving the blond some of his personal space back.

"Good to hear that Draco."

"That doesn't tell me why I should keep your secret, or why I should watch the other Slytherins for you," Draco spat.

"I suppose it doesn't..." Harry mused, airily. "But it really would be in your best interest if you helped me out. That's what being Slytherin is all about, isn't it? Finding ways to serve your best interests, while making powerful connections and climbing the ladder to greatness?"

Malfoy scoffed and rolled his eyes. "And helping you would benefit me,

how?"

Harry paused and looked thoughtful for a moment. "You remember back on the train ride before first year when you stuck your hand out, offering friendship and I was a stupid little soon-to-be-Gryffindor prat, sitting next to the weasel and I turned you down?"

Malfoy's face hardened and his look shifted to a glare. "Yes, I remember."

"I probably should have taken it and left Weasley behind," Harry said with a shrug. "Did you know the sorting hat wanted to put me in Slytherin? I begged it not to, so it stuck me in Gryffindor instead."

Malfoy looked dumbstruck by this proclamation. He also seemed to be rendered speechless by it, because he didn't say anything in return.

"Anyway, you really should tell your daddy to be prepared, because his Lord is back and will be calling on him soon. Can you do that for me?" Harry said, having suddenly shifted to a playful and patronizing tone as he reached up and gave a light, pat on the stunned blond's cheek before taking a step back and grinning evilly.

After a few silent seconds where Malfoy appeared too confused to comprehend what had just been said, his face went pale, and understanding dawned behind his gray eyes. "You're lying," Malfoy said in a disbelieving whisper.

Harry's smirk only grew larger. "Ask daddy if anything interesting happened to his mark on March 20th. Probably hurt a bit, but it also probably glowed and pulsed with power. That was the night it happened. He's already back."

"How do

you

know?" Draco asked, but his voice was still hardly more than a whisper.

Harry gave the other a toothy, wicked grin and leaned in close.

"I know," Harry began in a quiet whisper, "because I was there."

– –

"That was stupid and reckless," Voldemort sneered as the two walked down the hall towards the gym.

"I made him swear a wizards oath that he wouldn't tell anyone," Harry grumbled.

"You should have made him swear it

before

you told him anything of value!"

"Yeah, but he never would have agreed to it, then! Besides, he knows that if he blabbed you'd probably have him killed. He's terrified of you."

"Stupid boy. You just wanted to show off," Voldemort spat and Harry pouted. "Anyway, what was it that you wanted to tell me?"

"Oh! Right, so how come you never mentioned to me that people with a dark affinity can detect other people with it?"

Voldemort stopped and turned to give Harry an incredulous look before shaking his head and pinching the bridge of his nose. "I suppose I assumed you knew. Besides, it doesn't exactly work like that. People with a Dark affinity can detect an excess of dark magic use from another person, but they cannot simply tell what people's affinity is. If they could, there would be less value in theaffinitatum reveleo

spell. Are you telling me that you don't sense dark magic use on others?"

Harry paused and looked thoughtful. "Well, I

do, but I haven't encountered anyone who had practiced Dark magic while at school. Just here, and occasionally I can feel it on Barty in class. But I've already told you about my weird magic senses. No one else I know ever seems to sense half the things I do. And I know I didn't feel most of this stuff back when I was blowing through all my magic keeping your soul at bay. So I sort of assumed that most people weren't sensing any of these things."

"That is true," Voldemort said with a sigh. "That was something that often confused me in my youth as well."

"So is there anyway I can keep other wizards with a dark affinity from being able to tell I've been casting a bunch of dark magic lately? I'm really worried about Snape blabbing to Dumbledore."

Voldemort scowled and then took on a contemplative look. He remained quiet for a long moment and Harry found himself suddenly realizing that he still had yet to ask Voldemort about the fact that it was

Snape

of all people, who had relayed the prophecy.

"Let's continue this conversation this afternoon," Voldemort said suddenly, startling Harry. "This is an important issue and we need to work through it. You're right that it's important, but we don't have the time to dedicate to it now. Gym first."

Harry opened his mouth to protest, but quickly snapped it shut and sighed.

"Fine, but this afternoon can we also talk about the fact that Snape was the spy who witnessed the prophecy too?" he said as the pair resumed their journey and quickly entered the gym.

"Yes, that is part of what we need to discuss."

Harry shrugged, glad that this wasn't something he was going to have to drag out of Voldemort through subtle prodding.

The pair quickly slipped into the routine that they had developed over the last two weeks. Harry was reluctant to leave when their work-out was over, but knew he'd be coming back after lunch and that they'd have plenty of time to discuss things then.

– –

"Severus's loyalties are of a legitimate concern," Voldemort began as he leaned back in his desk chair after having just finished his meditation. Harry quickly put away his book and stuffed it back into his book bag before leaning back against the side of the chair and turning his head to look up at the Dark Lord.

"You are aware that he was the spy that provided me with the first portion of the fake prophecy," Voldemort began again and Harry nodded. "Shortly after you were born, and I determined that you were the most likely subject of the prophecy, Severus came to me and pleaded that I spare your mother."

At this Harry almost choked. He turned around and gaped up at Voldemort in stunned silence. "What! Why?" he finally asked.

"It would seem that he was rather infatuated with her. Apparently they were childhood friends. He said that he knew her even before attending Hogwarts."

Harry's jaw floundered in continued shock. He couldn't even fathom what was being told to him.Snape was in love with his mum!

"Since he was the servant who had brought the prophecy to me in the first place, and I still had yet to reward him for that deed, I agreed to

try

to give Lily Potter the opportunity to step aside. Of course, I would make no such promises in regards to you or your father, but he made no such requests."

Harry snorted. "Of course not. He

hated

my dad."

"Yes," Voldemort drawled with a smirk. "Many people did."

Harry rolled his eyes.

"It is my belief," Voldemort continued, "that he did not believe that I would spare Lily. Or at the very least, she would not be willing to stand aside and allow me to kill you."

Harry's mouth formed a small frown as a blurry memory of screamed voices echoed through his mind.

"Not Harry, not Harry, please not Harry!"

"Stand aside, you silly girl…stand aside, now."

"Not Harry, please no, take me, kill me instead -"

"This is my last warning -"

"You did give her the chance..." Harry said quietly. Voldemort gave him a funny look, but continued.

"I believe that Severus went to Dumbledore at that point to warn him that you and your parents had been targeted. He soon there after came to me and told me that he had an opportunity to gain employment at Hogwarts as the new Potions instructor. The obvious insinuation was that he could go there to spy for me against Dumbledore. Obviously I was not so stupid as to simply fall for that."

"So you think that it was Dumbledore's idea? He wanted Snape to spy on you for him?" Harry asked.

"Precisely."

"And you think that the reason he went to Dumbledore in the first place was because he wanted to save my mum?" Harry continued with a hint of incredulity in his voice.

"Correct."

"But it failed. My mum died anyway, and I lived. So would he still be loyal to Dumbledore even though he failed on his end?"

"That is the question. I also imagine that Dumbledore would have required some form of proof of sincerity from Severus. Most likely an unbreakable vow."

Harry's eyes widened. "What do you think he vowed? To stay loyal to Dumbledore?"

"That would be the most troublesome. But it is possible it was something else. I can imagine Severus making an effort to avoid a vow such as that. Vowing his eternal loyalties to any one man is simply not something he would ever be stupid enough to do."

"Not even to you?" Harry asked, incredulously. Voldemort just laughed.

"He is a Slytherin, Harry. No one makes life-long commitments in Slytherin, unless they are sure that they can worm their way out of them, should the desperate need arise."

Harry nodded his head in understanding. "Alright, so what should we do about Snape?"

"You are correct that his remains a risk as long as we are unsure of where his loyalties lie. He can undoubtedly detect the excessive amount of dark magic on you from our dueling sessions, and a daily cleansing ritual would be far too annoying and time consuming. I am going to need to identify where his loyalties lie sooner than later..." his voice trailed off as his face took on the look that Harry had come to associate with his deep planning and scheming. Harry remained quiet to allow the older wizard time to think, and enjoyed the feel of the Dark Lord's fingers as they slipped into his hair.

Harry was almost lulled into a relaxed nap before Voldemort spoke again. "Alright, I have a plan, but I will need the rest of the afternoon to prepare an object for it. We will have to postpone today's dueling lesson."

Harry frowned for a moment as he felt a pang of disappointment, but he quickly pushed it away. This was more important, and he knew it.

"You will assist me," Voldemort continued and Harry's mood instantly perked up as he was consumed by curiosity.

Voldemort stood up and motioned for Harry to follow. The two quickly left the study and began to head downstairs. Harry was, once again, led to one of the doors he had never entered before and once it was opened, he found a stairwell reside behind it. Harry followed Voldemort down into the manor's basement, that, until that moment, he hadn't even known existed. At the bottom of the stairs was a short hall with only two doors. One of the doors was large, heavy, and Harry could feel it was heavily warded.

"What's back there?" Harry asked as he jerked his head towards the door.

"That is where I have begun to set up holding cells," Voldemort said dismissively as he began walking to the other door.

"Holding cells?" Harry echoed in surprise.

"Yes. The spells and protections are still rudimentary and will need far more work before I can consider them secure enough to make frequent use of them. Although, there is already one person enjoying a stay down there."

"There is! Who?"

"Barty's dear old father," Voldemort drawled with a chuckle.

"Mr. Crouch is down there!" Harry said, looking back over his shoulder towards the door. "Why keep him alive at all?"

"Polyjuice ingredients," Voldemort said flippantly.

"Does he need to be alive for that? Can't you just take a bunch of his hair and keep it?"

"Once the person has died, any hair removed from them is no longer viable for the potion. It's also why Barty has had to keep Moody alive."

"Oh. Huh. I didn't actually know that."

Voldemort continued in his journey as he led Harry through the other open door and into a large open room with rows upon rows of shelves along the walls, several large tables in the center, and a collection of various sized cauldrons. Harry blinked at the room as he finally entered and took it all in. It was clearly a rather elaborate potions lab, and Harry was impressed by the massive inventory of ingredients that filled the shelves.

"Wow," Harry said as he looked around. "When did you have time to build up such an inventory?"

"Mixey has been busy," Voldemort said, turning his head back and smirking at Harry.

"My potion brewing skills are really only so-so, so I can't guarantee I'll be a lot of help down here," Harry admitted sheepishly.

"You will be sufficient, Harry. I simply require a second set of hands. Now, lets get started."

– –

Disclaimer: Don't own Harry Potter. JKRowling does.

First

Beta Pass

by Clemex

– –

Severus Snape knew that there was something going on with Harry Potter. He had thought that he sensed the barest indication of Dark magic from the boy several months prior, but he had dismissed it as nonsense, and figured he was probably just detecting it from one of the Slytherins in the class. Aside from Potions, he never had to get close enough to the Potter brat to have the opportunity to detect anything like that. But the last two weeks were different.

The magic was strong and powerful, and it was not all Potter's. Some of it was clearly the magical residue of having been around when someone

else

cast some very powerful, dark magic, and that someone else was oddly...

familiar. He just couldn't quite place it...

He had considered informing the Headmaster of his concerns, but had not yet found an appropriate opportunity. He also knew that Albus would never even consider the possibility that

Harry Potterwas dabbling in the Dark arts, unless he had some sort of evidence. But

he knew.

There was definitely

something

going on with Potter.

Yet despite these concerns, Severus never even considered that Harry Potter could have hadanything

to do with the letter he received at breakfast that morning. It was delivered with the rest of the post during breakfast, by an unfamiliar owl, in an unremarkable envelope, and with unfamiliar writing.

Severus took the letter cautiously and waved his wand over it to detect any enchantments that might be cast upon it. When you were as unpopular a teacher as he was, one simply did not open unexpected mail without being cautious. One spell did appear to be cast upon it, but it was a fairly common one that wasn't threatening. It was merely a charm that would make sure that only the intended recipient – Snape, himself – could open the letter. Aside from that one spell, there did not appear to be any other spells cast upon it so he broke the wax seal and opened the letter.

Something about the parchment felt off; almost slightly greasy beneath his fingertips, but he dismissed it at first. That is, until he actually

read

the letter.

Severus Snape,

By this point, you may have noticed that this letter has been soaked in Coridoted Solution. Being the potion master that you are, I assume you know what that means. You have twenty four hours to administer the antidote. If you want it, you will have to meet me in the Hog's Head tonight at 11:00pm. Simply arrive and tell the barman that you are there for the private room. I will be waiting.

Through the solution I am binding your actions. Tell anyone – Dumbledore or any of your colleagues anything of this letter or the meeting and you will die. This would be most unfortunate as I do not desire your death, merely your presence. There are important matters that we must discuss, but I do not as yet trust you to keep this meeting to yourself without added incentive. Hopefully measures such as this will not be necessary in the future.

Only you can read the print on this letter, and should anyone else be unfortunate enough to touch it, they would not live beyond the day, therefore I recommend you destroy it immediately, but that is up to you. It will dissolve on its own by the end of the day.

I'm looking forward to speaking with you tonight.

I suspect that you will find the things I have to say, most enlightening.

It was unsigned. Severus suddenly realized that his hands were shaking as he stared down at the parchment laying on the table before him. He had dropped it the moment he read the first line about the Coridoted Solution – but of course, by then, it was already too late.

Deadly poison, and a powerful compulsion, all mixed in one. With this solution he really wouldn't have any choice but to show up. Even without the threat of his impending death and the promise of an antidote, the compulsion magic built into it would drive him mad if he did not go.

Knowing that touching it again would not change anything, Severus picked it back up and quickly sniffed at it. He closed his eyes and grimaced when he clearly detected the scent of fel essence and grell blood. He almost groaned aloud, but managed to restrain himself.

It required a masterful brewer to properly prepare the Coridoted Solution. Severus himself would probably have a hard time with it, although it would be a challenge he would relish.

Slowly, Severus folded the letter and returned it to its envelope. He would run one more test to confirm that it really was true, but he already knew it was. He had no choice. He would have to go to the meeting. All he could do was hope that the sender of the letter was being honest and truly did not wish for his death.

– –

Harry stood to the side of the base of the stairwell in the Hog's Head bar under his invisibility cloak and with a silencing spell cast upon himself so that he wouldn't make any noise on the creaky wooden floor. He had already arranged for the private room, while under a glamored disguise, and had just visited it to prepare a privacy ward and place an object in it. Now he just had to wait for Snape to show up.

He'd been stunned that Voldemort trusted him with such an important task. Part of him realized that it was his first assignment as one of the Dark Lord's servants, since he didn't personally count any of the things that he did with the man in the manor.

Did this officially make him a Death Eater?

The sudden thought almost made him laugh out loud. He supposed he

was

a Death Eater. He hadn't technically been marked, but he hadn't removed the branded leather cuff since he first put it on all those weeks ago. He'd even cast water-proofing charms on it in the shower, he was so unwilling to remove the thing.

Still, it was strangely odd to put the label upon himself, even in his own silent musings. It was one of those moments he had from time to time – although they were becoming increasingly rarer – where he realized just how much his life had changed. How much

he'd

changed.

He shrugged the thought off with a silent chuckle and refocused on the door. It was another five minutes before Snape arrived. He looked nervous, although he was clearly trying to hide it. It was quite strange for Harry to witness his professor in such a state.

He went directly to the barman and spoke in a hushed whisper. The old man began to work his way around the bar and led Snape up the stairs with Harry following behind. He opened the door and held it there for Snape to slip inside. Harry slid past as well, and the two were left alone in the small room. There was a table in the center with two chairs around it. On the center of the table was a small glass ball that had actually been placed there by Harry earlier that evening.

Snape, of course, was under the impression that he was still alone in the small room, and the impatient scowl on his face made it obvious that he didn't like the idea of being kept waiting. Harry smirked and silently moved to the corner of the room and aimed his wand.

Imperio!

Harry silently cast. He was filled with the rush of Dark magic and grinned gleefully as he felt the spell take hold. He knew that Snape would try to fight it, but he was confident that he could keep it place long enough to do one thing...

He willed Snape to walk to the table and pick up the ball... and it worked. Snape's movements were jerky and stilted, making it clear that the man was fighting the curse with all his might, but his fight wasn't enough to prevent him from reaching down and picking the small glass ball up from the table. A faint yellow light flashed around him the moment he touched it, and that was the moment that Harry released the

imperius.

Snape blinked and wobbled on his feet for a second before fury and rage spread across his face and his wand was instantly drawn.

"SHOW YOURSELF!" He snarled angrily.

"Ah, ah, ah,

Severus. I wouldn't go throwing around hexes yet. Don't you think it would be prudent to find out what that object you just touched is, first?" Harry said, still beneath his cloak.

Recognition dawned in Snape's eyes and the fury only grew.

"POTTER!"

he spat.

Harry pulled the cloak off with one hand, keeping his wand hand out and aimed directly at Snape. Voldemort insisted that he would be safe, once Snape had activated the glass orb, but he still wasn't about to risk anything.

"Why don't you take a seat,

sir,"

Harry said. Snape made a move as if he were about to storm towards Harry with his wand drawn but came to a sudden halt. He began to sweat and his face contorted in mild pain. "Now,

sir." Harry said, in a much harder and more commanding tone. Jerkily, Snape moved and sat down in the chair. He looked almost as stunned as he did livid.

"What the hell have you done to me?" Snape hissed in a deadly low voice. "What is that...

thing!"he asked, motioning at the glass ball that was once again resting on the table.

Harry strode over and sat down in the chair on the opposite side of the table.

"I'm afraid that I don't actually know all of the details about the orb you just touched. It was crafted while I watched, but that doesn't actually mean I understand how the damn thing works. I'm not ashamed to admit that it's a magic that's a bit over my head. Same with that potion. The... what was it... ah, yes, the Coridoted Solution. It was really fascinating to watch it being brewed, though. Even if I didn't have the faintest clue what was going on half the time," Harry shrugged and leaned back in the chair, assuming a rather relaxed pose. He still kept tight hold of his wand though.

"What the hell is the meaning of this?" Snape hissed. Harry could feel the anger rolling off the man in his magic and was mildly impressed by its intensity.

"I was sent here to ask a few rather important questions, and relay a few bits of equally important information."

"Sent?" Snape snapped. "By whom, exactly?"

"The Dark Lord," Harry said with a smug grin.

Snape froze and his face went a bit pale. "What are you talking about?" he snapped in anger, but the force had distinctly reduced, to be replaced a bit by disbelief and confusion.

"He's back. The Dark Lord is fully resurrected, and has been for quite some time now. I'm sure you recall the day back in mid March when your mark hurt and then glowed? Surged with power and then quietly died down?"

Snape's lips parted slightly but he kept most of his emotions masked away; refusing to give away anything. Harry continued on.

"That was the night. He's been back ever since."

Snape's mouth floundered and it was obvious that he was searching for the right words ask, but not quite finding anything satisfactory.

"I was there. I helped," Harry continued, still grinning.

Snape's jaw snapped shut and his eyes flew up to meet Harry's. Disbelief and shock was written across his usually impassive face. "You lie."

"No. I was there. He needed my blood for the ritual. It was the reason I got entered in the Tri-Wizard tournament in the first place. Originally the plan was to kidnap me during the third task since it's apparently going to be taking place outside the wards of the school in some giant maze. They were going to rig a portkey or something. Anyway, through the course of the school year, I realized what was going on. Who it was that had entered my name into the cup, and what the Dark Lord's plans were for me. But in addition to all this, I also discovered some things about Dumbledore, learned some rather fascinating bits of magic, and came to the conclusion that I was on the wrong side and so I willingly went to the Dark Lord just after the second task. I volunteered my blood, and my participation, and the Dark Lord accepted."

"You

joined the Dark Lord?" Snape sneered in disbelief. "James Potter's son,

working with the Dark Lord?" He scoffed.

"Lily's son," Harry said, giving the potions master a pointed look. Snape flinched and glared back at Harry, angrily. "Besides," Harry continued, unphased, "do you honestly think that I could have brewed the potion used on your letter, or created

that," he motioned towards the small orb on the table that was still glowing faintly, "on my own? And what reason would I have to bring you here? Tell me,

Severus, aside from yourself, who else do you know who could brew the Coridoted Solution?"

Snape's posture grew rigid and his face thoughtful for the briefest moment before he looked back into Harry's eyes and sneered. "The Dark Lord."

Harry smirked. "Precisely."

"So why the hell did you bring me here, and what is that

thing?" Snape asked, nodding down to the orb.

"The orb has has several layers worth of magic on it. One is a powerful compulsion charm that makes you follow my basic commands as long as you're still in this room. That part was basically so I could make sure you sat down and actually listened to me, and to keep you from instantly throwing curses. The other half of it is some sort of advanced memory charm. When you leave this room, I will have two options. First one, I allow you to leave with your memories in tact. Alternately, if things don't go well, you will leave this room with no memory of anything ever taking place. You will think that you got stood up and wasted your time. You found the antidote sitting in the center of the table but no one else ever came. Which reminds me..." Harry paused and dug a small vial out of his pocket before tossing it across the table.

Snape snatched it out of the air and eyed it skeptically for a long moment. He removed the cork and gave it a hesitant sniff.

Harry rolled his eyes. "It's the antidote. Even if things don't go well, we don't want you dead. At least,

not yet.

Just drink the damn thing."

Snape scowled at Harry and let a drop of the fluid drop onto his pinky before dabbing it on the tip of his tongue, experimentally. A moment later he seemed satisfied that it was what it was supposed to be and drank down the vial.

"Third," Harry began once Snape was clearly finished, "the orb prevents you from lying."

At this proclamation, Snape's lip curled into another angry sneer, and Harry just grinned.

"So, I suppose we ought to get this show started. First question, did you agree to spy against the Dark Lord for Dumbledore back in 1980, when you found out that I, and by association, my mum, were the target's of the prophecy?"

Snape's eyes widened and there was the briefest flicker of fear before it was replaced with anger.

"Answer the question," Harry said in a commanding voice and he watched as Snape struggled against the compulsion and the truth spell.

"Y-y-yesss." he ground out through clenched teeth.

"Alright, we already figured that, but it's good to confirm. Did Dumbledore make you do some sort of unbreakable vow in association with this arrangement?"

Snape's face betrayed a bit of his surprise, and he was still clearly fighting the magic, but not quite as hard.

"Y-yess."

"What was it?"

The fight was clearly back as the man struggled not to answer, but Harry could see the moment he lost the battle. "I... swore to... always do everything within my p-power, to p-prot-tect Lily's b-boy," Snape ground out.

Harry blinked. "You made an unbreakable vow to protect

me?"

Snape's lips curled into a disgusted grimace.

"No vows about staying loyal to Dumbledore?" Harry asked.

"No."

"Huh. Well that makes things a hell of a lot simpler. Now for the part where I get to fill you in on some fascinating details," Harry said leaning forward and resting his elbows on the table, while folding his hands together under his chin.

Snape's brow furrowed slightly and he leaned back in his chair, just to maintain some more distance between he and Harry.

"Are you aware, that the prophecy you overheard being spoken by one Sybil Trelawney, to one Albus Dumbledore, fifteen years ago in

this room, was in fact, a fake?"

"Fake?" Snape echoed incredulously.

"A fake."

"The Dark Lord himself viewed the memory. He was sure it was real," Snape said.

"Dumbledore had Trelawney under the

Imperius. He forced her to act out the whole interview and the fake prophecy, just so that the spy that he knew Voldemort would have at this tavern, would overhear it and take it back to the Dark Lord. Dumbledore

used

you. I mean, honestly – how often does Dumbledore actually hold his staff interviews at a freaking

pub?"

Snape looked stunned.

"Trelawney was excessively loud about who she was coming to see, and who she was, when she first entered the pub, wasn't she? Caught your attention right away. Someone who descended form the great Seer Casandra Trelawney, coming to meet Albus Dumbledore? Sounds potentially interesting. Something that the Dark Lord would definitely want to hear about. So you slipped up the stairs and started to listen in.

"The whole thing was staged. Dumbledore had had the real job interview with Trelawney the day before in his office, where he almost

always

holds job interviews. And it was during that interview that Trelawney made the

real

prophecy. In the privacy of his office, where there was no one but Dumbledore and Trelawney to overhear it."

"And how exactly do

you

know this?" Snape snarked skeptically.

Harry smirked. "I read it straight from her head. I used legilimency on her. Dumbledore was afraid to tamper too much with her memory for fear that it would screw up her already very-iffy Seer skills. And since she didn't remember the real vision anyway, he left it alone. All I had to do was know where to look and

presto; complete, real prophecy.

Snape scoffed. "You

used legilimency? I hardly believe that

you

could ever hope to learn the mind arts," he hissed with his voice, dripping contempt.

Harry rolled his eyes. "Believe what you will. The Dark Lord has seen both the full,

real

prophecy, as well as the full

fake

prophecy. The fake was was created by Dumbledore, and intentionally leaked to Voldemort in hopes that he would come and kill me. Dumbledore

wanted

Voldemort to kill me. He still does. It's why he keeps orchestrating, or allowing to continue, these situations that keep throwing me right at him. He keeps hoping that one of these years, the two of us will come together and complete the part of the

real

prophecy that he wants fulfilled."

Snape's eyes were wide and his face was just barely betraying some of the shock and disbelief he was undoubtedly feeling. "And what is that?" he asked in a hush.

"For either to die, it must be at the hand of the other for neither can die while the other survives..."

Snape's brow furrowed and puckered as he thought over the line.

"The Dark Lord and I share a powerful magical connection. Our souls and blood are linked. The reason he didn't die fourteen years ago when his body was destroyed is because as long as I live, I anchor him to this world. He thinks it would be the same in reverse. As long as he still exists in the world, I cannot completely die either. We make each other immortal. In order to die, we

both

have to die, and only by each other's hands."

Snape's face went pale and he looked utterly stunned. There was no masking it now. "How is that possible?"

"It's complicated," Harry said, shrugging nonchalantly and leaning back in his chair again. "What's important is that it's true, and the

real

prophecy confirms it. Dumbledore fully understand the original implications of the full prophecy in the start though, and his actions actually caused everything to be set into motion, rather than bringing it to it's end. When I didn't actually die after the Dark Lord's attack, and I was marked," Harry reached up and tapped his scar, "Dumbledore must have realized what it really meant, because that event was actually mentioned in the prophecy, he just hadn't realized what it meant until it had actually happened. He also had to have realized at that point that, since I was still alive, that the Dark Lord wasn't really dead either. That he would come back. So he manipulated everything around me to guarantee that he could have control over where I was placed and how I was raised.

"He manipulated my entire life in an attempt to control the outcome of the prophecy. Every action was taken with the end goal of destroying Voldemort. I guess he decided that it didn't matter how many lives he completely fucked over, as long as he achieved

that goal."

"For the greater good..." Snape mumbled quietly.

Harry quirked an eyebrow. "That a Dumbledore quote?"

"He may have said it a time or two," Snape said, scowling at Harry.

"The fundamental thing here is that Dumbledore used and manipulated

all of us.

He controlled Trelawney. He used

you.

He tricked the Dark Lord. His actions painted a big huge target on my back, and my parents backs. In fact, you could say that Dumbledore was directly responsible for their deaths. The true prophecy may have ended up being fulfilled through some other set of events if he hadn't done anything, but it's also possible that it wouldn't have happened at all. None of this would have ever happened if Dumbledore had just ignored the first, true, prophecy.

"But he couldn't do that because he saw within it, an opportunity to destroy the Dark Lord. He saw the chance and he grabbed onto it; no matter who had to die, and who he had to use, in the process.

"And now it sounds like, not only did he use you to deliver the fake prophecy to the Dark Lord, but after you came to him, hoping to save my mum's life, he used you even more. Used you as a spy, and to try and protect his precious

weapon.

Because that's all I have ever been to him. I'm just a weapon. The tool that he hopes to use to destroy his greatest mistake. I'm an expendable weapon. It's my job to

die

to kill the Dark Lord.

"But the thing is that the Prophecy told of two different possible outcomes. The main reason that Dumbledore went to so much trouble to try and manipulate my whole bloody life was so that he could try and force me down one specific path. Or rather, force me to think that

I chose

that path.

"The true prophecy says 'He will have two paths from which to chose. From one path, the End will fall upon us all. From the other, we shall be saved. The Dark Lord and his Equal will either rule together, or destroy each other.'

"That's what it says. Dumbledore, obviously, assumed that the path where the End befalls us, is the one that results if me and the Dark Lord join forces, but we have to disagree with that assessment. After all, it doesn't actually say which path is associated with which choice, and the wording used is rather curious. Personally, I'm going to place my bets on the option that lets me live forever, instead of the one where I forfeit my life to save a corrupt, ass-backwards society that I fundamentally disagree with."

Harry folded his arms across his chest and gave Snape a quiet minute for everything to sink in.

"So,

Severus,"

Harry began with a smirk, and Snape scowled angrily at Harry's use of his first name, "this is your time to make a choice. Your one,

last

chance. You have to chose your side –now.

Where will your loyalties lie? With the Dark Lord? Or with the manipulative, deceitful old coot who lied to you, tricked you, and used you?

"If you cannot honestly answer me tonight, your memory gets wiped and you will

get summoned when the Dark Lord calls his Death Eaters to him. You will also not likely survive the year. After all, the Dark Lord does not tolerate betrayal."

The amalgam of expressions that passed across the potion master's face was almost amusing to Harry. The man usually limited his expressions to anger, fury, and perverse enjoyment at someone else's misfortune. Now his face was betraying a far wider range of emotions.

"Obviously, the orb will still prevent you from lying," Harry added airily as he began to examine his fingernails.

Snape's face twisted into another angry scowl as he glared daggers at Harry.

"I don't have all night here, and I still need to visit the Dark Lord to tell him the results of this little meeting, so do please make up your mind. Is it honestly

that

hard of a choice? This way you get to keep your vow of trying to protect

me, and you get to go back to the Dark where you belong. I mean, you cannot possibly have been

happy

satisfied

with your life working under bloody

Albus Dumbledore?"

Harry finished incredulously.

Snape's face went almost blank, but Harry could tell that it was probably a thoughtful expression for the greasy potions master. Finally his expression was replaced with determination and he sat up straighter in the chair.

Harry smirked slightly and waited.

"My loyalties lie with the Dark. I will stay faithful to the Dark Lord," Snape said without even the slightest hesitation. Harry's eyes flickered to the orb and it glowed slightly, confirming the truth of the statement.

"Do you swear that you will not reveal anything about me or my switch in loyalties to Dumbledore?" Harry asked, sitting up straighter and looking eager.

Snape looked like he wanted to scowl, but kept his face determined. "I swear it. I will not tell Dumbledore any of what I have learned here tonight."

Harry grinned widely now.

"Fantastic. The Dark Lord wants you to prepare a report on Dumbledore's activities over the last few years. Anything you've noticed from your side of things relating to all the nonsense that happened to me each year. The thing with Quirrell and the stone, the whole chamber incident; all of that. Oh, and as related to the Chamber, he said he wanted to know if Dumbledore ever showed you the diary I destroyed that day, or ever said anything about it to you. Additionally, he said he wanted to know anything that might still be going on with the Order. He wanted to know if any section of it is still active at all, or if there is some system in place for recalling the old members together, and how long you suspect it would take for Dumbles to get it going again once he realizes he needs to.

"The Dark Lord said to prepare as much information as you could manage on these things and to bring it to him when he summons you, which will probably be sometime late next week. This summons will be just you, and he doesn't want Dumbledore to be at all aware of it. Just sneak out of the castle's wards and the mark will take you through the wards into his headquarters. He's going to be doing a mass summons here real soon, and at that point, I think he's going to have you go to Dumbledore before hand and play up the whole 'resuming your role as spy' bit. Dumbledore will 'send you back' to the Dark Lord to act as his spy. That sort of thing."

Snape's facial expression slowly hardened as Harry rolled on. He didn't know what to feel at this point. He was still reeling from the concept that the Dark Lord had returned. He still hadn't fully wrapped his mind around the idea that

Harry Potter

had not only helped in the Dark Lord's resurrection but had actually joined him! And now Snape was going to be resuming his work as a double-agent. It was all just so stressful and overwhelming that he almost wished it were a dream.

But then there was that tiny voice, deep in the back of his soul, that wanted to rejoice. The Dark Lord had returned! The Dark would once again try to gain control over the magical world from the Light and restore order and balance to their world. The Dark cause would once again be fought!

He was wary that the muggle killings would start up again, but the Dark Lord had been slowly putting less and less emphasis on muggles the last few years of the war. He only hoped that trend would resume. He held absolutely no love for the filthy muggles, but he also knew there were more pressing matters to be dealt with without being distracted by slaughtering weak, ignorant muggles.

Finally Potter's instructions came to an end and he stood from the table. He draped his invisibility cloak over his shoulders and summoned the glass orb to him. He flicked his fingers over it and then reached out, offering it to Snape.

Snape rose a single questioning eyebrow and Harry just rolled his eyes.

"Touch it again and it'll deactivate the enchantments," he instructed impatiently.

Reluctantly, Snape reached out and pressed his index finger to the glass ball. It glowed again and then died away. Snape felt the magic dissipate around him and sighed as the heavy weight of the compulsion magic left him.

He was of half a mind to curse Potter into oblivion for what he had done, but he wasn't stupid enough to actually do it.

Harry pulled the cloak over his head, completely disappearing from view and told Snape that he was going to follow him out of the pub. Snape was told that if the barkeep asked any questions, that he should just say that he was stood up and the other person never came.

They left the room, and the barman

did

ask, and Snape answered appropriately. The pair left the inn and began to make their way up the path towards the castle. Just before they entered the wards Harry stopped.

"Well this is where I stop for now," he said as he pulled the cloak off. Snape looked back at him with confusion and watched in stunned silence as Harry pulled back the sleeve on his left arm. But there was no mark on his flesh. He would have been stunned to find one there. If it was their goal to keep Potter's allegiances secret, having him baring the Dark Mark would be foolish.

Instead, Harry was wearing a leather cuff that appeared to have nothing on it at all. Harry whispered 'Morsmordre'

and suddenly the Dark Mark appeared on it, as if burned into it. Harry smirked at Snape's surprised expression before nodding his head, saying 'See-ya around,' and then hissing at the cuff, and disappearing with a soft

pop,

and left Snape to stand there, in shock.

This was most definitely the most shocking night he had in more than a decade.

He needed a drink.

Snape quickly began to march the remainder of the way up the path towards the castle with the intention of heading straight to his quarters and pulling out his personal stash of firewiskey. He was pretty sure he had a few hangover potions in his cabinet. He would definitely need one in the morning.

– –

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1. Chapter 1 2. Chapter 2 3. Chapter 3 4. Chapter 4 5. Chapter 5 6. Chapter 6 7. Chapter 7 8. Chapter 8 9. Chapter 9 10. Chapter 10 11. Chapter 11 12. Chapter 12 13. Chapter 13 14. Chapter 14 15. Chapter 15 16. Chapter 16 17. Chapter 17 18. Chapter 18 19. Chapter 19 20. Chapter 20 21. Chapter 21 22. Chapter 22 23. Chapter 23 24. Chapter 24 25. Chapter 25 26. Chapter 26 27. Chapter 27 28. Chapter 28 29. Chapter 29 30. Chapter 30 31. Chapter 31 32. Chapter 32 33. Chapter 33

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Harry Potter and the Descent into Darkness

Author:

Athey

PM

4th yr. Through an accident Harry and Voldemort's Horcrux begin to interact and Harry slowly begins to change. He becomes stronger & slowly grows aware of the sinister events that have perpetuated his entire life. Dark!Harry eventual HP/LV SLASH

Rated:

Fiction M

- English - Supernatural/Drama - Harry P. & Tom R. Jr. - Reviews:

1,068

- Chapters: 33 - Words: 265,936 - Updated: 10-02-10 - Published: 07-21-10 - Status: Complete

A

a

Abc

Abc

Abc

Light

Dark

1. Chapter 1 2. Chapter 2 3. Chapter 3 4. Chapter 4 5. Chapter 5 6. Chapter 6 7. Chapter 7 8. Chapter 8 9. Chapter 9 10. Chapter 10 11. Chapter 11 12. Chapter 12 13. Chapter 13 14. Chapter 14 15. Chapter 15 16. Chapter 16 17. Chapter 17 18. Chapter 18 19. Chapter 19 20. Chapter 20 21. Chapter 21 22. Chapter 22 23. Chapter 23 24. Chapter 24 25. Chapter 25 26. Chapter 26 27. Chapter 27 28. Chapter 28 29. Chapter 29 30. Chapter 30 31. Chapter 31 32. Chapter 32 33. Chapter 33

AN: For those paying attention, I mentioned in the author note at the start of chapter 1 that the real relationship would start on chapter 24. Well, this is chapter 24. ;)

So!

WARNING: This chapter contains a

slashy lemon. That means a

male x male sexual encounter. If you don't like that sort of thing... why are you reading this story again? Well, you can skim past that part when you reach it.

– –

They were called 'katas', Harry had learned, but it looked like some sort of elaborate choreographed dance. He supposed it

was.

It was a muggle martial arts thing, or so he had been told. A repetitive set of motions that one practiced over and over again to work out the kinks in their technique. Harry had been

stunned

to learn that Voldemort had studied under a muggle martial arts master for about a year when he was in his mid twenties.

Apparently the then-future-Dark Lord, had been traveling to the far east in search of a specific magical artifact and had witnessed some martial artists during his search. He had been impressed enough to extend his stay in Japan even when he had determined that the artifact in question wasn't there, and the country was still in a rather pitiful condition because of the war that had only ended four years prior.

Voldemort was, by no means, a master of martial arts, however he prided the skill as it improved his reflexes, balance, and footwork. But hand-to-hand combat was an absolute last resort, and one he highly doubted he would ever have to resort to. Even in the unlikely scenario of being separated from his wand, he was capable of enough wandless magic, as well as his incredible repertoire of parselmagic that also required no wand, that he would likely never be in a situation where he could not fall back on some sort of magical technique.

Still, Harry could tell that the little bit of muggle martial arts that the Dark Lord had learned, was impressive. His movements were mesmerizing. The fact that he was barefoot and in a pair of loose pants, tied at the ankles, and no shirt, wasn't exactly helping matters. Harry couldn't fathom why the hell seeing the other man's bare feet was so mesmerizing, but for some reason it was. Can a person have handsome feet? Harry had never given it any thought before, but he decided that if anyone did, Voldemort did. His eyes weren't stuck on the feet for long though. The man's chest was far more mesmerizing. Harry was so utterly distracted by the scene he was witnessing, that he had utterly abandoned his own exercises that morning.

"Gods, you're beautiful..." The words slipped out of Harry's mouth before he even realized his mouth was open. He'd

thought

them so many times during the last two weeks; why his brain decided to misfire and speak the words aloud

this time, he had no idea, but now that they were out, he couldn't take them back.

He felt his face and the back of his neck instantly grow hot with embarrassment, while the bottom of his stomach dropped out in horror as he feared how his words might get taken.

Voldemort stopped in his choreographed movements, turned, and quirked an amused eyebrow back at the younger wizard.

"I-I'm sorry," Harry said quickly, ducking his head.

Voldemort chuckled. "You compliment me and then apologize? Harry, don't be ridiculous."

"I just... I mean... I'm sorry if it... weirds you out or something."

"What on earth are you going on about, Harry? Why in Merlin's name would it 'weird me out' to receive a compliment from you?"

"Er, I mean, with me being

and all," Harry mumbled, looking down and fiddling with the drawstring of his jogging pants.

Voldemort narrowed his eyes and looked at Harry for a moment before speaking. "Bent... that's a euphemism they're using these days for being gay, correct?"

Harry blinked. He forgot sometimes that it had been more than a decade since Voldemort had been able to be around other humans, and who knew how distanced he was from that sort of 'slang' even before his first body was destroyed. Still, was 'bent' a recent slang term? Or maybe it just wasn't used much by wizards? He really didn't know.

"Er, yeah, it is."

"Well, I suppose it's better than the things that were tossed around when I was school age," Voldemort mused quietly. "The idiots I attended Hogwarts with preferred to just call me a

faggot. But of course, none of them survived much past graduation. In fact, dear Myrtle didn't even make it that far," he mused with a wicked grin.

Harry's jaw dropped and he stared in dumbfounded shock at the Dark Lord opposite him. Had he just...?

"You're gay?" the words fell out of Harry's mouth before he could engage the filter between his brain and his mouth, but once the words were out, he could do nothing but curse himself for his idiocy. What the hell was wrong with his brain-to-mouth filter today?

Voldemort gave him a long piercing look through narrowed eyes before the corners of his mouth turned up into an amused smirk.

"Yes, Harry. I am

gay. Obviously, this is not something that is common knowledge, but I did get publicly 'outed' in my fifth year when I was sloppy enough to get caught snogging someone in a broom cupboard, by an extraordinarily nosy Gryffindor. At first he thought he could blackmail me with the information – I'm sure you can imagine that if being 'outed' in the present day was unpleasant for you, being outed fifty years ago was considerably worse. I refused to give into his demands, but at the time I was not in a position to forcefully silence him either. He quickly spread word around the school."

"Wow. I bet his death was painful," Harry deadpanned.

Voldemort's smirk grew wide and wicked. "Oh, it

was."

Harry chuckled lightly but quickly found himself imagining the 16-year old Tom Riddle snogging some boy in a dark secluded broom cupboard and instantly found himself growing aroused by the thought. His arousal only shot through the roof as the anonymous, faceless 'other boy' suddenly turned into

himself. The sixteen-year old Tom Riddle in his mind slowly morphed into his older visage that Harry had grown so close to in the last two months and Harry almost groaned aloud as his whole body suddenly ached with desire. He quickly tried to stomp the image out of his head. He'd already embarrassed himself beyond reason; the last thing he needed was to be sporting an erection in the Dark Lord's training gym.

Harry glanced up to see Voldemort grinning wickedly down at him with that lopsided smirk, that he sometimes felt the Dark Lord reserved

just for him.

That smirk that had been sending flutters through his gut for weeks now. Seeing it now, combined with the rest of the Dark Lord's amazing presence, totally did him in. He felt himself getting lost in the other man's glittering blood-red eyes. Falling into them.

Beautiful didn't even begin to describe the Dark Lord. He was a fucking

god.

His presence, combined with his power, combined with his confidence, combined with his amazing body...

Gods, Harry wanted to touch him!

Not just feel the other man's hand in his hair, but to actuallytouch

him. Feel the older wizard's skin beneath the pads of his fingertips... The other man's exposed chest, glistening with a very light sprinkling of sweat, the faintest dusting of hair at the top center, and that teasing line from the base of his naval down to, and disappearing into, his black pants, was taunting Harry and he felt his lids growing heavy with desire as the coil twisted in the pit of his stomach.

Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!

Harry closed his eyes and took a deep breath as he turned his head away and ran his hand through his hair roughly.

So what if the other man was gay? It wasn't like that made any difference at all in the end. Voldemort was the most powerful dark wizard in the world. At best, Harry figured the other man might see him as a protégé or an apprentice of some sort. He doubted that Voldemort considered him to be anything more than the scrawny kid who happened to be holding a piece of his soul, and who he was now training to be a better wizard. Harry obviously needed to be able to properly guard the precious piece of Voldemort's soul, and to do that, he needed to be able to defend himself. It only made sense for Voldemort to be training Harry. He had reasoned that this was the most logical reason that the Dark Lord would be willing to spend so much time with him and dedicate so much of his efforts to him. Even beyond all of that, Harry was more than aware of the significant age gap between the two, and doubted that the other man could ever see past it...

He huffed in frustration as he pulled roughly at his own hair and found his eyes drawn back to the Dark Lord's gaze. What on earth had he been thinking, letting his imagination run away with himself like that, anyway? It's not like he could

pursue

anything with

the Dark Lord. What would he do if Voldemort was offended by his interest? What if he told Harry to leave? Refused to allow him stay for the summer? Refused to continue their lessons? Harry didn't think he could face that. His time with the man had become too precious. The idea of not being able to stand by his side, every day, made Harry

ache.

The man had become so important to him, so quickly. It was more than just familiarity, friendship, or the admiration of a mentor. The draw he felt to the Dark Lord felt

magical.Literally. It felt like there was some powerful tug deep inside him, calling him to Voldemort. But just being in the other man's company didn't feel like it was enough anymore. Just like the company of his companion had seemed pale in comparison, after having spent some time in the company of the actual Dark Lord. Once he was exposed to one, the previous incarnation wasn't enough anymore. And now that he had become accustomed to being able to spend time with Voldemort, he knew he could never give it up. But deep inside him, a piece of him desperately wanted somethingmore.

Not just time in the other's company; but

intimacy.

Harry blinked slowly growing aware of an added pressure in his mind. A gentle, featherlight caress that he realized had been steadily growing over the passing silent seconds.

"That's quite an imagination, you've got there, Harry," Voldemort's voice came out in soft whisper and Harry suddenly startled as he realized that the man had come to stand directly in front of him and his face was only inches from Harry's. "So many thoughts buzzing around in there."

Oh Merlin... he'd seen. He knew... How much? How long was he inside my head? Did he see the fantasy?

Harry's mouth fell open to say something, but he realized he had no idea what to say or do. Any words he might have found escaped him utterly when one of Voldemort's long-fingered hands came up and brushed gently along Harry's cheek. A tiny gasp escaped his lips and he felt his eyes falling closed as the gentle caress of the Dark Lord's magic seeped into him from the tiny bit of contact.

"You feel it too, don't you, dear boy?" Voldemort's whispery voice said a moment later. "I think it's caused by the soul and the blood bonds interacting. I'm not really sure, to be perfectly honest. Such magics are always unpredictable."

Harry's eyes opened and he looked up at the other man with confusion. "What...?"

"The pull that exists between us. I'd swear it's growing in strength. Perhaps I've indulged in it too much, but I just can't help it. I've never been much one for denying myself something when I want it."

Realization began to dawn in Harry's eyes and a tiny, but powerful, hope sparked to life inside him.

"Do you want me? The way that I want you?" Harry asked suddenly with a voice that was much more confident and assured than he probably felt. Part of him couldn't believe he was being so blunt, but if his Gryffindor courage wasn't good for much, it was at least worth something here.

Voldemort gave him a long look, but Harry couldn't quite distinguish what the older wizard's blank face meant. Finally Voldemort's hand dropped to his side, abandoning Harry's cheek and leaving him with the sudden feeling of loss.

"It doesn't matter, Harry. You're fourteen years old. You're practically still a child."

"I'm almost fifteen!" Harry suddenly said in a rather desperate tone.

Voldemort

snorted

and rolled his eyes. "You

do

realize how juvenile that response was, don't you?"

"Well, who gives a damn how old I am? I don't care how old

you

are!"

"Do you even realize how old I am?" Voldemort asked with a humorless face and a single raised brow.

"I said I don't care!"

"I'm sixty-nine, Harry. Sixty-nine years old."

"Fine, but you don't look it! You don't look a day over thirty. I don't look fourteen either! Since I finished taking the accellerant potion, I could easily pass for seventeen! Neither one of us has normal bodies. Besides, what the hell does age matter to an immortal Dark Lord? And if you're theory is right, then I'm immortal too! So I don't see any reason why age should factor into this!"

Voldemort sighed and pinched the bride of his nose for a moment before letting his hand fall to his side. "You don't understand, Harry. It is more than just your physical age. Age has a lot to do with mentality too. You simply haven't lived enough days to –"

"But you're always telling me that I act far more mature than a fourteen year old! You're always saying that you forget how old I am because I don't act like it!"

Voldemort growled. "It doesn't matter, Harry!"

"Fine, whatever! But you never answered my first question. Do you want me? Do you want more than just... just... whatever this is that we've been doing? Because I know I do!"

"There is

magic

at work here, Harry!" Voldemort yelled suddenly. "I

don't even understand the nature of what's going on!"

"Yeah, well I don't bloody care!"

"I will not let some ancient magic control my actions and choices!" Voldemort bellowed.

"So it's nothing more than the magic to you? This thing between us – there's nothing more to it? Nothing pulling you to me aside from the soul bond and the blood bond?

Nothing?"

Harry asked.

Voldemort sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose again.

"Because I know there's more for me," Harry continued in a desperate voice. "I feel the magical connection to you, but I'm also drawn to your mind; your intelligence and

genius!

To your personality; how you just take control of things. You exude power and confidence and I love it. I love being around you when you just take charge. I love our talks and the time we spend together just doing

nothing.

Just being in your company makes me feel so much calmer and I can think better, and I

know

that it's more than just some magical connection! I just

know it!

I look forward to coming here every day. I look forward to telling you about what's been going on in my life at Hogwarts and every day I look forward to hearing what you've read in the papers and what new spell or ward your working on. Are you saying that you don't feel anything extra about the time we spend together? Nothing extra about

me?

Are you saying that it's just the magic and nothing more? Because if that's it, say so and I'll never bring it up again. But if it's not... if it's not –"

And suddenly his words were cut off as Voldemort's lips were pressed against his own in a fiery display of completely unexpected passion. Harry was stunned for a moment but quickly began to melt into the other man's embrace. One hand was instantly buried into his hair, but it wasn't just threaded gently into his raven locks, it was fisted in them and pulling,

hard. The rough tug shocked Harry, mostly by how much he liked it. How much part of him wanted the other man to pull

harder.

Voldemort's other hand wrapped around his waist and pulled Harry flush against the older wizard. Harry moaned out against Voldemort's lips as he felt the entirety of the other man's torso pressed against his own, and his arms came up and wrapped around Voldemort's neck on autopilot.

The kiss continued and deepened. Harry almost gasped when he felt the older man's tongue slip out and brush against his lips, demanding access. Harry's mind was a whirl with confusion, lust, need, desire for

more, but also the fear that he had absolutely no idea what he was doing. This was his first ever kiss, and he wanted to do it right. He didn't want to disappoint Voldemort. He parted his lips and felt the man's tongue come in and probe about. It was strange and yet indescribably erotic. He felt his whole body reacting to their interactions, and he could feel Voldemort's body reacting too.

Instinctively, his hips gyrated and he ground himself against the other man experimentally. Voldemort

growled

into his mouth and deepened the kiss while tightening his grip on Harry's hair. Harry cried out in pleasure and shock and thrust himself against the other man again.

It was just

so good. He could feel their magic swirling around and through them like a hurricane. Things in the room were shaking and falling about from the torrents of accidental magic flying off them.

Voldemort broke away from Harry's lips and the younger wizard almost whimpered in disappointment. He didn't want it to end yet. He wanted more.

More.

The whimper was, however, cut off when Voldemort instead latched onto Harry's neck and began to trail his lips and teeth along his long pale column and then began to bite and nibble along his jaw.

"Oh gods," Harry moaned and gasped as Voldemort gave another rough tug of his hair, pulling his head back and exposing more of his neck.

"Are you sure, Harry?" Voldemort's voice came out in a husky pant. "Sure that you want this?"

"I want it! I want it! Oh, please...

please!"

"I won't let you change your mind, Harry. If you really agree to this, you're

mine.

No one else can have you. No one else can touch you."

"Yours. Only yours!" Harry panted and eagerly nodded his head as much as he could with the older wizard's hand still fisted in his hair.

Voldemort tugged Harry's hair, exposing the other side of his neck and trailed his tongue up it until he came to Harry's ear and pulled it between his teeth. By this point, Harry was quite literally writhing against the other man and panting heavily. He'd never felt anything so amazing in all his life. He could feel their magic twining together in some strange new way he'd never experienced before and it only seemed to heighten the feeling from the onslaught of physical stimuli. He could feel the most powerful coiling pressure he'd ever experienced building up in his gut, and had absolutely no hope of stopping his body from thrusting against the other man. Not that he needed to, since Voldemort actually began to grind right back against him in the most delicious and erotic dance of Harry's life. It was incredible and indescribable and he couldn't believe it was all happening so fast.

"Oh gods, oh gods, oh gods," Harry chanted with his quick shallow pants as the two bodies writhed against each other in rhythm.

"My name," Voldemort panted into Harry's ear.

"What?"

"Say my name, Harry."

"Wh... T-Tom?" Harry asked, in surprise.

"Yessss," Voldemort hissed.

"Tom...Tom.

Yes..." Harry said, experimentally testing out the name on his panted breaths.

There was another insistent tug in his hair and the pain only seemed to exaggerate the extreme pleasure he was experiencing everywhere else. It felt commanding and controlling and for some reason he found it turned him on all that much more. At some point during all of this, Harry's hand had begun a desperate exploration of the other man's exposed chest, and it was like the palms of his hands and the pads of his fingers were on fire with that melded magical energy. Every touch set him alight and he couldn't get enough.

"Only you, Harry,"

Tom

said, gripping a tight hold on Harry's rear and pressing them together harder in rhythm. "Only you can ever say it."

Harry moaned out as he was filled with a rush of some foreign emotion he couldn't quite place.

"Oh Tom... ahh... oh.. oh, I – I... I'm going to... oh fuck..."

"Yessss, Harry. Cum for me, Harry. Only for me," Tom growled out and Harry felt the other man's magic tighten around him as if latching onto him and pulling on something deep inside it. It was insane and intense and everything happened at once.

"Yes, Tom! Only... oh gods... only you. Only ever you.

Oh Tom!"

Harry called out as his world exploded and he began to convulse erratically against the other man. It was so much more intense than anything he had ever self-induced. The best wank in the world couldn't hold a candle to what was happening in that moment. He'd never even imagined he could feel this good. His clouded, lust-filled mind only just barely recognized the fact that the other man was jerking and convulsing and moaning right back in the same way, and the thought that he had done that to the Dark Lord filled him with a surge of pride and even more powerful euphoria.

Tom grunted as he reached his own completion and his grip tightened in Harry's hair to the point of almost pulling a good chunk out, but a second later the hold loosened and slipped into a gentle threading through Harry's black locks.

The two sighed and panted against each other as they came down from their entirely unexpected activities. Harry buried his head in

Tom's neck and smiled.

Tom.

It felt like it was some incredibly special honor and it was only

his.

Only Harry could call Voldemort by his real name. It would be weird to start thinking of the man as Tom after thinking of him as Voldemort for so long, but he somehow didn't think he'd have much trouble making the shift. Helooked

like a Tom. This man who Harry had become so utterly attached to. Who Harry had grown to cherish and adore beyond reason. This man didn't feel like

Voldemort

to him. He felt like

Tom.

It felt right to call him that. But most of all, it felt glorious that the man had granted him permission to do so.

It truly seemed that this gesture had to have some deeper meaning to it. It had to have some greater significance that the Dark Lord was willing to allow Harry to use his given name. Harry didn't know what that meaning was, but he was sure it was important.

"Are you still sure this is what you want?" Voldemort... no

Tom's

voice came out quietly in an extremely rare display of insecurity. Harry felt his grip on the other man tighten protectively.

"I'm sure," Harry said in a muffled voice into the older wizard's shoulder with strong conviction. "I won't change my mind. And I... I hope you won't either," he finished with a far more weaker, and equally insecure voice.

Tom was silent for a moment while his hand threaded gently through Harry's hair and gently massaged the scalp that he had so recently abused.

"No, Harry, I won't change my mind. You're mine now."

Harry grinned widely and gave Tom another squeeze, relishing in the fact that he was

holding

the other man. That he was completely wrapped up in his arms and that it felt even more amazing than he had imagined. "Yours."

Tom seemed to be enjoying the embrace as well, but finally he pulled away and sighed quietly. His face was strangely soft and his eyes were filled with some deeper emotion that Harry couldn't quite place, but it was suddenly replaced with his normal mask.

"Come, Harry. We're both a mess and I highly doubt that either of us will be getting anymore work done in here this morning."

He turned and walked over to the hooks on the wall near the door where he had a loose outer robe hanging. He slipped it on and Harry sighed longingly at the loss of the older wizard's beautifully exposed torso.

Tom looked over his shoulder and smirked leeringly at Harry, causing him to grin and duck his head in mild embarrassment. Tom led him up the stairs to the second floor and to the door of the bathroom he usually used there. He instructed Harry to get 'cleaned up', while motioning to the shower, and to then join him in the study when he was done. The next moment Tom had closed the door and was gone.

Harry stood there in the marble and porcelain bathroom feeling as if he were still in a state of mild shock. What had just happened was slowly seeping in and he couldn't wipe the smile off his face.

His hand came up and he lightly brushed his fingertips over his still-swollen lips and actually giggled lightly. He rolled his eyes at his idiotic reactions and quickly stripped down and stepped into the shower.

It wasn't until

after

he got out that he realized he didn't have a change of clothes. Nor, in fact, did he have the soiled clothes he had come in with. They had vanished from the floor where he had left them. Best he could figure was that Mixey had popped in and grabbed them.

Over-eager house elves,

Harry grumbled to himself as he wrapped one of the fluffy deep navy towels around his waist, and slung another over his shoulders. He didn't even have his wands since they were both in his bag back in the study. Otherwise he would have transfigured one of the towels into a bathrobe.

He stepped cautiously out of the bathroom and looked both ways down the long hallway. He felt exceedingly exposed wandering through the manor in nothing but a pair of towels and could only imagine how utterly embarrassed he would be to walk into the study in such a state. Part of him hoped that he would beat Tom back to the study and be able to change into his school robes before the other got there, but a bigger part of him doubted he'd be that lucky.

He hurried down the hall and slowly pushed the door to the study open and peered inside. Tom was there, just as he'd known he would be. Harry grumbled against his always-shitty luck and slipped inside.

Tom turned his head and his brows slowly climbed into his damp black hairline at the sight of Harry wrapped in nothing but a pair of fluffy blue towels. The corner of his mouth curled up into an amused smirk.

"Mixey made off with my clothes," Harry muttered. His face grew hot and pink as he saw Tom's eyes trailing over his exposed body hungrily. Finally Tom chuckled and turned his attention back to the newspaper in his hand.

Harry hurried over and picked up his bag, pulling out his cypress wand and his change of clothes. He hesitated, looking unsure for a brief moment before he began to head back out towards the door.

"You can change in here, Harry. It's not like I haven't already seen it," Tom said, and Harry could hear the amusement in his voice. Harry's face went red and he froze, debating his options.

"Yeah, but we weren't exactly...

together

or anything back then," Harry mumbled, and Tom only snickered more.

"Do you honestly think I didn't take a good look while I had the chance?" Tom asked humorously and Harry felt his blush increase dramatically, while he also felt a surge of delight at the thought that Tom had been checking him out, even that early on. It had been quite a while since the ritual in the big bathtub to remove Harry's trace, after all.

Finally he huffed, annoyed by the intensity of his embarrassment and just dropped the towels. He was facing the wall, with his backside exposed to the Dark Lord. He could feel the other man's eyes on him, but tried not to fumble too much to show his nervousness as he quickly pulled on his trousers and a light undershirt. He would wait to pull on his outer school robes until he left.

He ran his hand through his hair in a rough, nervous gesture and heard Tom chuckling from behind him. He turned around and scowled at the other man, but he couldn't hold onto any malice and quickly found himself grinning again. He was just too

happy.

He often joked about what piss-poor luck he had, but at the moment, he honestly felt like the luckiest man alive. Of course, he knew that few would agree with that sentiment, but that was just because they didn't really know Tom. No one else knew him the way Harry did. Or at least, that's the way he felt. He knew he still had so much to learn about the other man, but he realized that there was nothing he wanted more than to spend every waking hour finding out. He wanted to know this man's every nuance. His every experience, and his every desire. And he wanted to fulfill those desires. He wanted to be the one to make Tom smile. He wanted to be the one –

the only one –

to make Tom make that wonderful keening noise from the back of his throat as they writhed against each other.

He looked over at the older wizard, perched regally in his leather and wood office chair, with that devilish smirk on his lips, and had the most ridiculous urge to go sit in the other man's lap but Tom stood up, saving Harry from his own impulses.

"Come here, Harry," Tom said, motioning with his hand. Harry took only two long strides to get to the older wizard and came to an awkward stop a foot from him, wanting desperately to get closer, but unsure if it was okay. He felt so confused and unsure. He was excited and elated by the direction things were heading in, but he was also terrified that he'd do something stupid to screw it up. He knew he needed to try and work on his confidence or he'd just start to annoy Tom, but he was still too overwhelmed and confused to get himself sorted out yet.

Tom saved him the confusion by closing the distance between the two and lacing the fingers of one hand behind Harry's neck and into the messy hair there.

"Was that your first kiss, Harry?" Tom asked with a deep, smooth voice. Harry hadn't expected that question and floundered for a moment.

He ducked his head and shrugged before he shook himself, trying to force his way past the nerves. "Yea. It was. And my first... all the rest of it, too." Harry ducked his head and grinned, widely.

Tom made a pleased humming sound in his throat and Harry looked up to see the older wizard looking down at him with those hungry eyes and a wide, thin-lipped, smile.

"Good," he said before pulling Harry's head up and pressing his lips to his again. The movement was fast and unexpected, but Harry reacted much quicker this time, returning the kiss and wrapping his arms around Tom's waist and fisting his hands in the fine material of the man's shirt.

Tom pulled back and Harry was left panting and looking up at the older wizard with heavy lids and lusty eyes. Tom ground against his already straining erection and Harry groaned out.

Tom chuckled. "Ah... the joys of having a young lover. You recover so quickly. I imagine I'm going to enjoy showing you all the different ways in which two men can enjoy each other's company," he whispered in a husky voice before leaning in and pecking Harry on the lips again. Harry moaned out as a powerful jolt of lust shot through him at the implications of the other man's words.

"But now is not the time," Tom said, pulling away and earning another whimper from Harry. Tom grinned and ran his hand over Harry's cheek, looking down at him with eyes filled with that uncharacteristic, unidentified, emotion that seemed so foreign on the older man's face. "It is about time that you returned to the school. You need your breakfast. Come back after lunch. I suspect I'll complete the transformation tomorrow – assuming we don't get distracted," he gave Harry a pointed glare and Harry grinned sheepishly.

Harry almost literally dragged his feet as he made his way to the first floor corridor outside the time-turner room. Tom had escorted him down there and as the two came to a stop in front of the door, Harry was relieved when Tom once again initiated the one thing that Harry wanted more than anything else – another kiss, and another lingering embrace.

Feeling Tom's body against his own was an experience Harry couldn't explain. The strange magic was clearly playing some role in it because Harry could feel swells of magic coursing around and through them the closer they got. But he also knew it was more than just the magic. Every part of him ached for Tom. He wanted to hold on and never let go. The idea of returning to Hogwarts was practically depressing. He just wanted to stay at the manor and never leave Tom's side.

But what use to the man would he be if he did that? Tom didn't just want a house-boy. If Harry kept up his golden-boy persona at the school, he would leave himself in the prefect position to help the Dark Lord's cause when it came time to take the school, or get rid of Dumbledore.

He sighed into Tom's shoulder before taking in a deep, long breath of the other man's scent. It was delicious, and so intense this close up. Spices and musk and traces of whatever shampoo or body wash he had used in his shower.

Finally Harry pulled away, but not before Tom had given him another peck on the lips and smirked at him. Harry slipped into the time-turner room, and moments later he was two hours earlier, at 7:25am. His earlier self would have arrived at the manor a few minutes earlier and was currently in the 2nd floor bathroom changing for his morning workout in the gym.

Harry almost laughed aloud at the thought of what his earlier self was in for in the coming hours. Harry could still hardly believe it all himself.

He went out into the entry hall, activated the port-key and returned to Hogwarts with a secret smile on his lips.

It was Wednesday, so he had a free period in first block, and Charms in second. Ron never bothered to get up for breakfast on Wednesdays – opting instead to take advantage of the free morning period to sleep in.

Hermione also had the period free, then Charms, and then ancient runes later that afternoon after lunch – but she, unlike Ron, got up on time and still attended breakfast, so Harry knew he'd still be seeing her that morning.

He came through the portrait hole into Gryffindor Tower and made his way over to one of the couches in a dreamy haze before collapsing down into the overstuffed seat with a big dopey grin on his face.

"Where have

you

been?" a voice sounded and Harry sat up and blinked in surprise. Hermione and Ginny were both sitting on the couch opposite him with books and parchment all around then. He hadn't even realized they were there.

"Uh..." Harry floundered. His head was still to busy buzzing with thoughts of gentle caresses, rough grips, tugging hair, and the sensation of having Tom's teeth tongue trail along his jaw.

Ginny suddenly gasped and Harry turned his blank face to her.

"Is that a hickey!" she hissed with curiosity and mirth in her eyes.

Harry could

feel

his face go red and his hand instantly shot up to his neck. But he suddenly realized he had no idea which side of his neck a hickey might be on, since Tom had assaulted both sides.

Oh shit, what if there's more than –

"Several hickeys!" Ginny continued. "And are those teeth marks?"

"Oh bollocks!" Harry moaned as he quickly stood up, intent on racing out of the common room. It was still pretty unoccupied and his quick look around told him that no one else down there seemed to have overheard their conversation.

"Oh, Harry, sit down! Stop panicking. Hang on just a second," Ginny said, still grinning while she rolled her eyes at him. "One of my roommates knows some really good glamors for covering those sorts of things up. I'll just run up and ask her." And with that Ginny was up, out of her seat, and racing up the stairs.

Harry stared after her, gaping and confused as he slowly sunk back down into his previous seat. His eyes glanced up hesitantly to Hermione, who looked both shocked, and... amused. Harry rolled his eyes.

Hermione began to dig around in her bookbag and after what seemed like deep exploration, she came out with a small compact mirror. Harry was mildly surprised that Hermione even owned such a thing and apparently his expression showed this.

"I started carrying it around since the dance," she said defensively, and not meeting his eyes.

Harry grinned. "How are things going with you and Viktor? You two still meeting up in the library?"

Hermione blushed and ducked her head before looking back up and scowling playfully at him. She thrust the compact at him and as he took it, she whipped out her wand, tapped it, and cast a quickengorgio

charm on it. It enlarged to the size of a dinner plate and Harry quickly began to examine his appearance as discreetly as he could manage in the public setting. He was just grateful that few Gryffindors were morning people.

His neck was littered with dark red and purplish marks, and a number of red teeth marks. His jaw also featured a number of red marks. At the sight he wasn't sure which emotion would win out – the urge to be deeply embarrassed, or the sudden rush of arousal that the reminder of the events that created the marks, caused.

He realized suddenly he was grinning and ducked his head, sheepishly before closing the enlarged compact, and canceling the enlargement charm.

He cleared his throat and handed the compact back. "Er... thanks."

Hermione rose a single questioning eyebrow and sent him a look that clearly said 'you

will

be explaining this.'

Ginny reappeared on the stairs to the girls dorms just then and quickly made her way over to them. A couple minutes and several fairly simple healing and glamor charms later, and Harry looked normal again.

As he examined his appearance in the mirror again, he was almost sad that he'd had to remove the evidence of his and Tom's activities. Having physical proof just made it that much more real.

"Thanks you two, for helping. I really appreciate it," Harry said as he hunched over in his seat on the edge of the couch.

"Well?"

Hermione's voice came out impatiently.

Harry looked up and gave them his most innocent and bewildered look. "Well, what?"

Ginny guffawed and Hermione growled.

"No way, Harry Potter!" Hermione began. "You're not getting out of this without an explanation! What happened? How...

who

was responsible for – for –

that?"

Harry's eyes darted between the two girls with a mild sense of panic in his gut. He knew he couldn't dodge this bullet, but he needed to give them something convincing, while not revealing any indication of anything even remotely close to the truth. A story popped into his head, and he could only hope it would be sufficient.

He twisted around, checking the other occupants of the common room before standing up and moving over to sit on the same couch as the two girls. He pulled out his phoenix feather wand and cast a quick privacy spell around them.

"I

may

be seeing someone," He said in a low voice, still looking around as if he were extremely paranoid of being overheard.

"Really!" Ginny almost squealed. "Who?"

"I can't tell you. He's... he's not

out. To

anyone. That includes his family, alright?"

"We would

never

tell anyone, Harry!" Hermione insisted suddenly, and she looked visibly hurt at the insinuation that he couldn't trust them.

"It's not that I don't trust you two, I just can't risk this. It's not my secret to tell. Besides, I trusted both you and Fleur with my secret and I know that neither of you told anyone, but it

still

got out. I still have

no idea

how Skeeter found out, but that doesn't change the fact that she did."

"But Skeeter's been missing for months. It's been all over the Prophet. No one has any idea what's happened to her," Ginny said.

"True, but I'm not willing to risk that whatever method she used to spy on us isn't still available to someone else. Like I said, it's not my secret to tell. If his family opened up the Daily Prophet one morning and found out that their son was being outed to the whole bloody world and that he was being accused of dating the

Boy-Who-Lived...

it would... it would be bad. I just can't do that to him. You understand, don't you?" Harry said with the most sincere, pleading face he could muster.

"Oh Harry," Hermione said with her most sympathetic face. "Of course. We can help you, you know. We're your friends, we'll do whatever we can to help."

Ginny nodded her head enthusiastically.

"Thanks you guys. It really means a lot to me," Harry said with a small shy smile, while grinning internally. This could work to his advantage.

"So how long has this been going on!" Ginny asked in a hushed but excited voice.

"It's sort of been building up for a bit, but this morning was the first time we really... did anything," Harry admitted, grinning at the memory.

"That must have been a pretty hot and heavy snogging session to leave you looking like

that." Ginny said, with a wicked smirk.

Harry blushed but his grin only grew wider.

"It was my first real kiss, too," He admitted, truthfully. Happy that he actually had the opportunity to tell someone about this monumental event, even if it was being sugar-coated in lies.

"Really?" Ginny exclaimed with a big grin. "That's so great, Harry. Was it good?"

Harry barked out a laugh. "Good? It was bloody brilliant. It was... it was amazing. All of it was just so far beyond anything I ever could have hoped for or imagined! I... Merlin I think I..." he cut off, stunned by what he was about to say.

"Think you what?" Hermione prodded.

"I think I love him," Harry finished in a near-whisper. Did he? Did he even know what love was? He took on a determined look and nodded his head to himself. If anything was love, this was.

"I mean... it's early and all. We really only just admitted to each other how we feel, but we've been dancing around it for months now. I really... I really do think I love him."

"Wow..." Ginny said in a hushed whisper.

Hermione just looked stunned. Finally she spoke, "you two have been meeting for months?"

Harry ducked his head and made himself look ashamed, "Yeah... I'm sorry I kept it secret from you, but you already know why. I knew I couldn't do anything that would risk him being exposed. It really has nothing to do with me not trusting you guys, I just didn't want to do anything that could risk it. It's not my secret to risk. Not my secret to tell."

Hermione looked a bit disappointed but nodded her head. "I understand, Harry. I'm hurt, I won't lie about that, but I understand. Just,

please, don't feel like you have to hide these things from us. We're your friends. You can rely on us! We'll help you."

Harry grinned and looked up at them through his eyelashes. "Thank you. Both of you. I really do appreciate it. And honestly... it's kind of nice to have someone to talk to about it. Even if I can't give any specifics.

– –

Disclaimer: Don't own Harry Potter. JKRowling does.

First

Beta Pass

by Clemex

– –

"You know, I'm really impressed with how well you're handling this, Ginny," Hermione said later that evening as the two sat alone in Hermione's dorm room. Hermione had offered earlier to help Ginny with her Arithmancy essay, and the two had opted to do their work upstairs, since the twins, Lee Jordan, and Seamus Finnigan were busy teaching several of the pure-blooded students how to play muggle poker. They were being quite loud about it too.

"What do you mean?" Ginny responded, trying to look as if she really didn't know what Hermione was talking about.

"We both know how you used to feel about Harry," Hermione said, raising a single eyebrow, as if daring the other girl to deny it.

Ginny rolled her eyes and grimaced. "Yeah... well, not only was there the whole 'Boy-Who-Lived' legacy and my girl-hood crush, but he also saved my life, first year. I think it's understandable for me to have been a bit infatuated," Ginny said defensively.

Hermione smiled knowingly. "Still, like I said, I'm impressed with how well you're dealing."

Ginny sighed and set down her quill. "When the news first came out in the paper that Harry was gay, I was in total denial. I was absolutely sure that that rag of a paper was just spouting more idiotic lies. But then Harry himself confirmed it. I guess it made me realize that there really was no chance of any sort of romantic thing ever happening between us. Sure, a part of me was still in denial, but it was a pretty small part.

"I suppose I figured that if there really was no chance of him being my happily-ever-after, I could at least be his friend. Once the fear of screwing up my future chances with my 'prince charming'were blown out the window, my shyness was a lot easier to get over. It's a lot easier to act like

menow, you know?"

"Yes. And that's really great, Ginny," Hermione said, smiling.

Ginny shrugged. "I guess. But like I said, part of me was still in denial. It really does seem so much more

real

now. It's still hard to wrap my head around the fact that

Harry

was snogging

some boyand got marked up like

that!"

Hermione blushed but grinned and nodded her head enthusiastically. "I know! I never would have thought he'd have it in him. But then again, I never would have imagined him dancing with Fleur the way he did back at the Yule Ball."

Ginny groaned. "Don't remind me of that night. I almost melted into a puddle, just

watching

him."

They both giggled for a moment before the two settled into a quiet moment as their eyes went unfocused and they were each lost in their own memories of that night.

"I wonder who it was," Ginny mused quietly after a long moment.

"Hmm?"

"Who Harry was snogging. I wonder who the guy is."

"I don't know. I'll admit I'm incredibly curious, but Harry does have a valid reason to keep it quiet. The tabloids refuse to leave him alone. Just imagine what they would do with the news that he was seeing someone."

Ginny nodded her head and looked solemn. "He just can't get a break, can he?"

Hermione sighed. "No he can't. I hope that whoever this boy is that he's seeing, he's good for him. Harry deserves whatever happiness he can get. Merlin knows he's seen more than enough misery over the years," she finished bitterly, thinking about Harry's horrible muggle relatives.

"Yeah," Ginny added with a sigh.

– –

Harry felt the sudden dramatic increase in the powerful swirling parselmagic around Tom and set his book down. He looked up and watched with stunned awe as the man sitting cross-legged on the floor several feet from him suddenly began to morph and transform, right before his eyes.

Tom's skin went pale gray and transformed into a diverse patterning of different sized scales. His nose flattened against his face, shifting into two thin slits. His lips thinned until they disappeared, his neck lengthened minutely, and a small, cobra-like hood stretched from the sides of his neck down to his shoulders.

His hair and eyebrows thinned and then vanished, leaving a perfectly smooth, bald whitish-gray head. His ears shrunk down to just two small nubs and holes, and his already slitted, red eyes, went even more serpentine than before, so that there were no longer any whites left to them now.

"Wow..." Harry whispered in awe as Tom suddenly heaved forward and panted from the magical draw the first successful transformation had wracked on his body.

Tom... well, maybe it was easier to think of him as Voldemort when he was like this.

Now

he looked like Voldemort... he sat there resting for a moment, gathering up his strength before he slowly stood to his feet. Harry scrambled to his feet and stood there, still awestruck by the person he saw before him.

"Will... will it be that hard to transform every time?" Harry asked, honestly a bit concerned.

Voldemort chuckled and it came out with some hisses. "No, Harry. It will get much easssier now. The first successssful transformation is the one that is the hardest. Each subsequent time I do it, it will be come easier and eassssier until it is second nature."

Harry nodded his head, thinking back to his own serpentine transformation that he learned for the second task. It had been the same way.

"So... wow..." Harry's voice trailed off as his eyes trailed up and down the other man's changed body. He could feel his own parselmagic reacting to Voldemort's. It was pouring off him in glorious, powerful, waves and it made Harry feel heady and hot. "Bloody hell... there has got to be something off about me that I still find you incredibly hot," Harry said in a surprisingly husky voice.

Voldemort smirked and rose a single hairless brow at him in amusement. He took a few casual strides to Harry and wrapped one of his gray, long-fingered hands around the back of Harry's neck, pulling him close and pressing his non-lips against Harry's. Harry moaned out in ecstasy as the magic shot through him and he felt his knees grow weak from the intensity. Harry's hands came up and fisted in Voldemort's loose open robes, pulling insistently for a moment before the older wizard pulled away, leaving them both panting with desire.

"You are... unbelievable," Voldemort said, with a wicked grin spreading across his lipless face.

"Wha... why?" Harry said, trying to pull himself back together.

"That you could still find such a creature as me desirable," Voldemort said, smirking. But Harry could see the slightest hint of that deeper emotion in the man's serpentine eyes.

"Harry smiled back up at him and slowly rose his hand up, brushing his fingertips delicately over the scaled skin of Voldemort's neck. The Dark Lord actually turned his head, exposing more of his neck to Harry's gentle caresses and the action filled Harry with surprised exhilaration. Harry's hand rested against the whitish-gray skin and brushed gently up and down, memorizing the strange, smooth texture, before he leaned in and placed his lips against Voldemort's long neck.

He sucked and licked hesitantly at first, still unsure what he was doing, but he slowly grew confidence. He pulled back and looked up to find two red, glowing eyes boring down into him hungrily. Suddenly, the snake-like face looking down at him morphed and shifted back into the handsome features of Tom Riddle.

Harry smiled up at the beautiful man and pulled himself up while Tom bent down and their lips met again. It started simple but grew in intensity as the two began to grope and claw at each other.

It was an occasion for celebration, after all. Tom had completed his transformation at last, and things could finally begin.

– –

"Harry, you have to see this!" Hermione said in an urgent hushed voice as she came to stand behind him in the Great Hall. It had been two days since Tom achieved his full transformation and Harry was supposed to be at the manor house that night for a rather special event. All he could do was hope that whatever it was that Hermione had to talk about, wouldn't make him late.

"What's up?" He asked turning around and giving her a concerned look.

She looked from side to side as if she were checking for eavesdroppers. Harry realized that Ginny was standing beside her looking just as anxious.

"It's about the book, Harry. We need to go somewhere private."

Harry nodded his head and stood from the bench seat he was sitting at. "Sure. I can always grab something from the kitchens later. Lets go."

Harry glanced over at Ron, who was deep into a rather enthusiastic conversation with Seamus and one of the 5th years that Harry didn't know very well. Ron didn't even seem to notice them going, so Harry pushed it out of his mind.

He led Ginny and Hermione to an empty classroom, and at Hermione's insistence, he put up one of his usual privacy wards.

"I really need to learn how to do those," Ginny said as she watched him silently casting the ward around the room.

"It's not that hard. So what's this about?"

Hermione dug into her bag and pulled out the bound parchment book that she had been translating the book into and opened it to a marked page before handing it to him. He looked at her questioningly, but she just nodded at the book. He glanced at Ginny and she rolled her eyes. "Justread

it!"

G.s 14252

In the year of Gildred the Second, 14,200, the circle of Sight and Time gathered once again and foretold the end of this world. Just as our great race had to abandon our last home when it befell

its fated destruction, we have seen that we will need to abandon this one as well. This saddens us greatly, however it is for this very reason that we convene the circle of Sight every hundred years. We have much time to prepare, this end will not come for many millennium. The High Council sees no risk that we will not find a suitable home and be gone long before this world's fate falls upon it, but it is with a heavy heart that we leave behind so many great and diverse beings. We can only save ourselves. The magical creatures of this world will be left to fend for themselves, and it was

the non-magical Men of this world that our Seers have foretold will bring about this worlds destruction. We cannot save any of them. We have no choice but to leave.

G.t 14252

The Higher have managed to commune with the Magic of this world, and has told it of our Sight of this world's fate. The Magic watches over those of this world with the magical connection and would not want to see it's Children come to an end at the hands of the non-magical Men who are slowly spreading across the lands like vermin.

The Magic, however, was already aware of the eminent End of days, and did not need our warning. The Higher has documented that which the Magic has said of it's great intentions to save

its Children.

The Magic cannot personally save those of the world, for

its ability does not lie within direct interference. It can only provide its Children with the tools to save themselves, and point them in the right direction.

We have seen that there are those among the magical creatures who have chosen to breed with the non-magical Men. Their half-breed offspring have gained access to the magic, and have begun to learn to master their powers. But Magic has deemed that Man is not to possess this power, for it is their lust for the magic that will bring the End.

The Magic has decided to chose those among the magical half-breeds who are worthy to keep the powers secret and safe from those not worthy. It will be the day that those Men of non-magical blood, learn to steal it from those who have been deemed worthy, that the End will come.

G.t 14309

A half-breed Man of Magic has come to power. He is a cambion – the child of an incubus daemon father, and a non-magical daughter of Man – and he goes by the name Merlin Ambrosius. Magic has deemed him the first Lord of the Dark Magics. He has allied himself with one a non-magical Men, a king of Men by the name of Arthur Pendragon. Arthur's half-sister, by a different mother is also of the Magic. Her mother was of Fay decent and possesses great skill. Her name is Morgan

LeFay and she has been deemed the first Lord of the Light Magics. Magic has chosen these two great powers to help guide those of both Magic and Men, to keep the power of magic from the non-magical Men. The two Lords must fight to maintain balance, but also to keep the power of Magic within those who Magic has deemed worthy. Each generation will spawn a new Lord – one of the Light, and one of the Dark, to take on the task.

The Lords have to keep the magic from the non-magical Men. If those of Magic's choosing can succeed in this task, they can save themselves, and the other magical creatures of this world from the coming End. If they fall to the non-magical Men, then all will perish.

Will these actions be enough to save this world? We do not know. We can only pray for those of this world as we make our final preparations to leave. We have found our new homeland and many are ready to depart. What will befall this world that we have called home for so many millennia? Will Magic's great plan save it's magical Children? Is their fate sealed? We will likely never know, for once we have left, we can never return.

Harry reached the end and paused. "Is this the end of the book?" He asked, looking up at Ginny and Hermione.

"No," Hermione said, shaking her head, "but it's as far as we've translated. It's almost at the end, there's only a little left."

"We need to finish it," Harry said, looking back down at the collection of bound parchment in his hands.

They were silent for a moment before Hermione spoke, "Do you... do you think it's true?"

"I don't know. I think it's possible. I know that those who speak parselmagic are descendants of a human and naga union."

"Naga!" Ginny gasped.

"Where did you hear that!" Hermione asked.

Harry looked up slowly contemplating his next words. "I... managed to find a book on the history of parselmagic. I special ordered it earlier in the year. Cost a small fortune," he lied easily. "Probably got it sometime around November. It was back when I was preparing for the first task and the dragons. It talked about how the magical lines that retained the ability to practice parselmagic were all descended from the Naga. Parselmagic is

their type of magic.

"That's why I can perform it wandlessly. It's like how house elves and goblins can do magic without a wand. Naga don't need wands either, they have their own kind of magic. That's parselmagic. Thats also why parseltongue has a written language. Its the script that the Naga use."

Ginny and Hermione looked stunned.

"But how would that explain muggle-borns?" Ginny asked suddenly, glancing over at Hermione.

"Descendants of squibs who got exiled by their magical families, I reckon," Harry said, shrugging.

"You think I'm descended from a squib!" Hermione gasped and then looked thoughtful. "I wonder if it's true... I wonder if there's a way to find out."

"I'm pretty sure Gringotts can do it," Harry said, shrugging.

"Oh! I bet they can!" Ginny gasped.

"What? The goblins? How?" Hermione asked.

"They can do blood tests that determine lineage. Its one of the ways that the figure out if a claim to an inactive vault account is valid."

"Isn't that a dark art? Blood magic is banned!" Hermione gasped.

"Pfft," Harry rolled his eyes. "Like the Goblins give a damn about the Ministry's laws about those sorts of things. The Goblin Nation is sovereign with a mutually beneficial treaty in place with the Ministry. The Goblins are under no requirements to follow all of the Ministry's laws. Especially when the laws are banning something as useful as blood magic. Those bans are just made out of ignorance and fear, blood magic is only barely a dark art."

"You

like

blood magic?" Ginny asked, looking a bit unsettled by the idea.

"If it weren't for blood magic, I wouldn't be here. My mum used a life-for-life sacrificial blood ritual to save me from the killing curse."

Both girls were rendered speechless by this proclamation. It was Hermione that seemed to pull herself out of it first. "Wha... how... how do you figure that?"

"I've been doing some digging. Asking some people and searching through different things that might explain what happened that night. Everyone is convinced that it was something that

I did

that stopped Voldemort that night, but I'm convinced it was my mum. Not me. I was a perfectly normal baby up until that point. Dumbledore told me that he thinks the night Voldemort tried to kill me, some of his magic ended up seeping into me, and that explains the parseltongue, but I think it really only activated what was already there."

"What do you mean!" Hermione asked.

"I wouldn't be surprised if there was some naga blood somewhere in my ancestry. Chances are it was

way

back, and got diluted so much over the generations that any access to the parselmagic was lost. But when Voldemort attacked me and the blood ritual my mum did screwed everything up, some of his magic did go in me. But I don't think that would really have been enough to give me the ability to use parselmagic like I do. I'm convinced I had to have had some actual naga blood in me. Voldemort's power just gave it enough strength to make it active."

The group was quiet for another minute as they all took it all in.

"Are you sure you didn't get Morgan and Merlin mixed up?" Ginny asked Hermione, suddenly.

"Hmm?"

"Well, the translation said that Merlin was a Dark Lord! That's crazy! And it said that Morgan LeFay was a Light Lord! That can't be right."

"I don't know..." Hermione said slowly, "From what I've read, Morgan LeFay was supposed to be really renowned for her magical healing abilities. That's a very Light branch of magic.

"And just because Merlin is known as one of the 'greatest wizards in history', doesn't mean he didn't use Dark magic," Harry said.

"But Dark Lords don't help people!" Ginny hissed.

"Says who?" Harry asked, defensively.

"But... but they're

Dark!"

"Dark doesn't equal evil, you know," Harry said, folding his arms over his chest and arching his brows daringly. "Dark and Light are branches of magic that they have a natural affinity for, not a direct indication of of their moral convictions."

Both Hermione and Ginny were frowning, and giving him hesitant, concerned, looks now and he knew it was time to backtrack.

"Hey, I'm just being the devil's advocate. It seemed relative to what we've just read here, that's all."

"Harry's right," Hermione said, eventually. "And he does have a point. Even if Merlin was technically a 'Dark Lord' he was the first one, and it had a much different meaning back then, then it does now. Anyway, do you really think that this could be true? What about the stuff about the... about the

end of the world?"

"It made it sound like their prophecy, or whatever you want to call it, said that muggles would be responsible for it," Harry said slowly.

"I think it said that if the muggles found a way to steal magic from those with magic, that it would somehow be responsible for bringing about the end," Ginny said.

"And that it's the task of the Lords to keep that from happening," Harry said in a whispery voice with dawning realization. "That's why Voldemort originally went after the muggles. He figured that if he destroyed them all first, they couldn't destroy us."

"What?" Ginny asked.

"No! You don't think!" Hermione gasped. "You think he knows about this?" she asked, indicating the translated copy of the book.

Harry slowly nodded his head, his mind still whirling with this latest discovery.

Tom was actually trying to save the world, and no one even knew it!

"The thing is, it would never work. There're just too many muggles. And their technology is advancing too fast. Genocide would never actually work. In fact, it would alert them to our existence faster, and give them a reason to fight against us. A reason to try and steal our magic," Harry continued. "There has to be another way to prevent this... this

End of days."

That's what Tom is doing now. Trying to find another way...

"Who do you suppose the Light Lord is?" Ginny asked suddenly.

"Hmm?" Harry said, pulling out of his musings and looking down at her.

"It says that every generation there's a light and a dark lord, and they have to fight to maintain the balance and they both have to work towards saving the world or whatever – right? So if Voldemort was the Dark Lord, then –"

"Dumbledore," Harry said with a very sure nod of his head. "It's definitely Dumbledore."

"That makes sense," Hermione said, agreeing. "It probably

him."

"So do you think Dumbledore knows about this then?" Ginny asked, pointing at the translated book.

Harry looked thoughtful for a long moment before shaking his head. "I don't think he does. Or if he knows any of it, I think he's mistranslated it. I don't think he really understands. Or maybe he thinks it's possible to save everyone. He thinks he can save the muggles

and

wizards. Voldemort was willing to sacrifice the muggles if it meant saving everyone else."

Ginny gasped and Hermione looked dumbstruck.

"You're suggesting that Voldemort was trying to save the world?" Ginny asked in a voice that suggested she thought he was absolutely mental. "That's ridiculous!"

"I'm not suggesting anything!" Harry backtracked defensively. "I'm just making some hypothesis off of what we've just read and what I know. That's all."

"That sounds like suggesting to me," Ginny said.

"Well, he had to have a motive, didn't he?" Harry barked back, defensively. "I personally, would like to know

why

he did the things he did.

Why

he came after me and why he killed my parents. If this is the reason why, then I'd like to know!"

"He didn't need a reason why, he was a psychopath!" Ginny yelled.

"And you think that all the dark wizards in Britain would follow him if he were just a psychopath? Besides – honestly? I would much rather my parents died at the hands of someone fighting for something they believed in, than being killed my some lunatic who just enjoyed killing for sport."

"I don't see how it makes a difference," Ginny retorted, but with less enthusiasm now. "Why would you want to humanize that monster anyway? He

killed your parents.

He's tried to kill

you

several times! He – he made that d-diary and nearly killed me!"

"I'm not trying to humanize him! I'm just trying to understand, alright? I mean, why the hell did he come after

of all people? Because he was coming after

not my parents. My parents

knew

he was coming after me too. That's why my mum had that blood ritual prepared. She knew that Voldemort would be coming to kill

me. Why? Dumbledore knows, but he refused to tell me."

"What do you mean, he knows?" Hermione asked.

"I asked him first year after the whole mess with the stone and killing Quirrell and he told me I was too young for him to tell me the truth. Meanwhile, I have to face Voldemort every year, blindly. Ignorant of what is really going on, and totally unprepared. All of the advanced training I've done, I've had to do on my own because he refuses to openly train me. Why? What does he really want with me? I think these are pretty important questions and I have every right to be asking them."

"Did you know that this book would talk about this?" Hermione asked out of nowhere and Harry came up short. "Where did you get this book?"

Harry's mouth floundered for a moment, wondering how to respond. His mind was working fast and he quickly settled on a plan.

"I was told that I would find something in this book that was important. That it would help me to understand what was really going on. But that was it. It was just... really vague and entirely unhelpful, but I was told how to find the book and that it was important. That's it."

"Told by who?" Hermione asked cautiously.

Harry swallowed. He knew that the next thing he was about to say would probably make Hermione paranoid, but it was the best thing he could come up with, and he felt like he could spin it to work for him.

"Would you believe me if I told you I think it was Magic?" Harry asked, cringing slightly.

"Magic?" Hermione deadpanned.

"Yeah, as in the er... entity Magic. You know, like if Magic was a sentient being or something? I think maybe it was a vision?" Harry continued, but it came out more as a question.

"A vision, Harry? Oh Merlin!" Ginny groaned and Hermione looked both worried and skeptical.

"Harry, what if it wasn't some magical entity. What if it was Voldemort or something? You said that you had some strange nightmares at the start of the year. What if it was that? What if it was a trick?"

"It's just a book, Hermione! And I'm positive the idea was not sent to me from Voldemort. Honestly!"

Just a detached piece of his soul...

"How can you be sure?"

"My visions of Voldemort always made my scar hurt. This one didn't," Harry finished definitively and crossed his arms over his chest.

Hermione frowned and pursed her lips but didn't retort.

"Anyway, I think this stuff is important. I think that this is the part that I was meant to find. We need to get the rest of it translated so we can see if there's anything more."

The group agreed and finally disbanded. Harry checked his watch and grumbled at how much time that had taken. He barely had enough time to make it across the grounds and port-key to the manor.

He slipped into a bathroom, put on his cloak and a silencing charm and began to race out of the castle and across the grounds. His mind was still whirling with what he'd read, and wondering how he would bring it up with Tom. He hadn't told Tom about the book or what he was doing with Hermione and Ginny in translating it. He wasn't sure why, but he just hadn't.

He supposed it was just one of those things that he had wanted to find on his own. Would Tom think he'd been hiding things though? He hated the thought that the other man might suspect him of any form of secrets or betrayal. Especially so early on in their 'relationship'. He was afraid of doing anything wrong that would screw up what was happening.

He huffed in frustration. He needed to tell Tom. He wouldn't keep this hidden from the other man, no matter how scared he was of what would happen. He just had to be honest. The truth of the matter was that he'd long ago given up on the idea of the book providing him with anything other than an interesting glimpse into the history of a dead race. Or, what he had thought to be a dead race. He supposed this latest revelation meant that they weren't dead – they had just left.

Harry finally crossed the wards and pulled his sleeve up, muttering the activation into the port-key and disappearing with a soft pop.

– –

Harry was about half way up the stairs when he heard another

in the entrance hall behind him. He turned around and saw the grizzled form of his Defense teacher, 'Moody'. He smirked. It had been a while since he'd been in the manor at the same time was when Barty made one of his infrequent visits.

"Hey Barty," Harry said, pausing on the stairs and waiting for the other man to join him. 'Moody' smirked and began to hobble up the stairs.

"Potter," he said with a nod of his head.

"Our Lord has regained his old appearance. Just giving you a heads up," Harry said as they began to climb the stairs together.

"He has? Have you seen it?" 'Moody' asked with an eager fire glowing in his eyes.

Harry smiled and ducked his head again before nodding. "I have. He's glorious."

They came to the door of the study and Harry knocked lightly on the door.

"Come," the voice called out in a commanding tone and Harry pushed the door open a bit and peered through. Voldemort was sitting in his office chair behind his desk. Opposite him in one of three chairs was Severus Snape. Harry smirked.

Snape twisted slightly in his chair and scowled at the sight of Harry standing there.

"We're

both

here. Is...

he

supposed to be aware of our other friend?" Harry asked, jerking his chin towards Snape, and then nodding his head back over his shoulder.

Voldemort smirked slightly and inclined his head. "Yes Harry. You are both to enter."

Snape's face betrayed his confusion and curiosity for a moment before he masked the emotions away.

Harry pushed the door all the way open and strode confidently inside and sat down in the open chair to Snape's right. Snape watched him with hatred in his eyes, but his gaze was instantly drawn back to the door. Harry watched as Snape's eyes went wide in absolute disbelief as Mad-Eye Moody walked in through the open doorway, glaring and sneering down at the Potions master.

"You!" Snape gasped. There was no masking the absolute shock on the man's face now and Harry snickered. Snape turned and glared again at Harry, who just kept on grinning as the supposed ex-auror limped his way across the room and sat down in the last remaining chair.

Voldemort didn't waste much time in explaining to Snape who 'Moody' actually was, but Harry had still greatly enjoyed the potion master's reaction to the revelation. Snape had apparently been there for about thirty minutes when Harry and 'Moody' had arrived, so his debriefing was already done. Voldemort spent the next fifteen minutes describing the tasks he had for the two professors at the school, which mostly just involved keeping their eyes open, and reporting on any conversations they had with Dumbledore or the other staff members that appeared to be of any value.

It was already expected that 'Moody' would not be returning as the Defense teacher again the next year. Not only would it look suspicious if a teacher was suddenly able to get around the jinx on the position, it would also be difficult keeping the real Alastor Moody alive inside his own trunk for that long. As it was, the ex-auror's health was already seriously failing and Barty wasn't sure the man would actually survive to the end of term, 6 weeks away.

The two professors were especially instructed to pay close attention and immediately report on, anyone voicing suspicions on Harry's Potter's behavior or loyalties.

The meeting was concluded and Voldemort instructed Harry to remain behind. Snape sneered at Harry as he passed and left the room. Barty smirked and jerked his chin in a departing gesture.

As soon as the magical energy of the two wizards had disappeared from the manor, Voldemort sat down, heavily in his chair, sighed, and morphed back into Tom Riddle. Harry smiled at the sight, pulled out his wand and banished the three chairs to the back of the room and sat down on the floor beside Tom's chair.

Tom's long fingers ran into Harry's hair and the younger wizard sighed happily. The two remained quiet for a moment before Harry gave a much more resigned sounding sigh and cleared his throat.

"I need to tell you something."

Tom's fingers stopped and he slowly removed them. Harry was about to begin when Tom stood up and motioned for Harry to follow. The younger was confused, but did as instructed. The two made their way down the hall and ended up in the library. Tom went straight to the chaise lounge and sat down on the end that had two backs, forming a corner and then patted the space beside him.

Harry eyed the spot with wide eyes for a moment before grinning and sitting down beside Tom. Tom wasted no time in guiding Harry's head down into his lap and Harry could only grin wider as he sighed happily in what he had just now decided was his absolute favorite position to be in.

"Now, Harry, what is it you need to tell me?" Tom said letting his hand come up and thread into Harry's hair again.

"Back, just a short while before I came to you, but after I had had several visions from in your head, I began to wonder about something I'd heard you think on several occasions," Harry began.

"You had thought about your 'task',

but I couldn't quite figure out what you were referring to, even from the context. But I was curious. I asked the portion of your soul in me if he knew or if he could tell me anything about it. He said he couldn't, but he directed me to something that he said would help me figure it out. He told me to look underneath Slytherin's desk inside his study in the Chamber."

At this, Tom's hand stopped moving.

"I found the book. Obviously, it was in some language I couldn't read so I asked him if there was anything that would help me translate it. So he directed me to the book on the Old Aldric language. I slowly started working on translating it in my free time. I couldn't see anything in the book that answered my question about your task, and after I while I practically forgot that was the reason I started translating it.

"It ended up being the thing I used to get Hermione to think I'd started trusting her again. She needed to be included in something I was doing, and the bit of your soul told me that this would be a good project to do that. He told me that it would be 'enlightening' for her if she helped translate the book. So I got her a copy of the original text and she's been working on translating it in her free time ever since.

"All the stories, up until now, just seemed like historical journal entries from the ancient elves. It was fascinating in a historical sense, but none of it seemed relevant to anything important. That's the reason I never mentioned it. Like I said, I basically forgot that this whole thing started out with the intention of figuring out your 'task'. I don't want you to think I was hiding something. I would never hide something from you if I thought it was important, and I really didn't at the time. I feel stupid now, looking back, and I'm really sorry..."

"You got to the end," Tom's voice cut in.

Harry nodded his head. "Just about. Hermione and Ginny have been doing all the translating lately. I've helped a bit, but mostly I've just let them work on it while I hung around. It's given them the sense that we're still close and everyone else in Gryffindor always sees us hanging out together, which has helped convince people that I've made up with them."

"Ginny? Ginny Weasley? Isn't she the girl –"

"That had your diary in my second year, yeah."

"Hmm..."

"Yeah," Harry said and sighed heavily. "Anyway, Hermione and Ginny got to these three entries – one about the old elves' seers making some prediction about the end of the world. Then an entry about some group contacting Magic to warn it? But it already knew. That the prophecy basically said that muggles would bring about the end of the world by trying to steal magic that wasn't theirs. And that two lords would be selected from the magical-human half-breeds – from wizards – a Dark Lord and a Light Lord, and that it would be their task to stop the muggles from taking magic, and save the wizards and the magical creatures from the muggle's apocalypse..." Harry's voice trailed off and he sighed. "Is it true?"

"Yes, Harry," Tom's voice said softly. "There is a bit more to it than that, but that is the gist of it."

"I'm sorry if it seems like I was hiding something from you," Harry apologized in a strained, quiet voice. Part of him was terrified that Tom would be angry with him. "I didn't mean for it to happen like this. I swear I'll tell you of anything like this I'm doing in the future. It just seemed like a side pet-project to keep Hermione and Ginny busy. I didn't –"

"Shhh... it's okay Harry. I'm not angry," Tom said, reassuringly as he began to run his hand through Harry's hair again.

Harry heaved a great, relieved breath. "Really?" he gasped hopefully.

"Yes, Harry, really."

Harry sighed and nuzzled his face into Tom's thigh and smiled. The two were quiet for a moment before Harry spoke again.

"I'm glad it's you," he said in a near-whisper.

"Hmm?"

"I'm glad that you're the Dark Lord. If anyone can do it, you can."

Tom barked a small laugh and then sighed. "I hope you're right."

– –

Disclaimer: Don't own Harry Potter. JKRowling does.

First

Beta Pass

by Clemex

– –

It was May 24th; precisely one month before the third task, and that evening at 9pm the champions were supposed to gather to be informed of the details of the task. Of course, Harry already had a vague understanding of what the task would involve, mostly thanks to Barty.

Harry was instructed by Professor McGonagall to go to the Quidditch Pitch at 9pm, and he came across Cedric as he made his way out there.

"Hey, Potter," Cedric said, dipping his chin in greeting as he caught up to Harry. Harry nodded his head back and kept on walking. "Any idea what's coming up this time?" Cedric asked. Apparently the older boy was in the mood for small-talk.

Harry shrugged. "Nope. Not a clue," he lied.

They reached the large stands of the pitch and made their way through, past the locker rooms and out onto the field. Instead of the smooth pristine lawn that was usually there, rows upon rows of small hedges appeared to have been planted. Harry had been expecting this, but he still grimaced at the sight. Cedric looked affronted.

"What the ruddy hell have they done to the pitch!" he gasped.

The two were spotted by Ludo Bagman who was standing a bit further ahead with Fleur and Krum beside him.

"Ah! There you two are! Come on now, let's get this show on the road! Now don't you worry, your pitch will be returned to its original condition when the tournament is over. What you see here now is what will soon become a magical maze!" the man said excitedly. "In one months time these hedges will be more than two meters tall, and will form a maze that will be filled with all manner of dangerous magical creatures and challenges. It will be the task of you four young wizards and witch to make your way through the maze to the center! Whoever reaches the center first gets full points! Each subsequent champion will be scored based on the time it took them to complete the task, as well as the magical techniques they used to defeat the challenges they met along the way! Now, do we have any questions?"

–

Harry was making his way away from the pitch some twenty minutes later. Bagman was an overeager windbag and he had spent far too long describing something that was fairly simple. They weren't going to tell the champions anything specific about the task, just that there was a maze and that there would be scary dangerous shit inside it. How

that

had taken more than twenty minutes to explain was beyond him.

Harry didn't usually visit the manor this late at night simply because he usually didn't have any good excuses to slip out of the castle this late, but since he was already outside the castle wards he didn't see any reason not to take advantage of the opportunity that had been provided to him and was now making his way towards the edge of the forest so he could disappear from sight before 'disappearing' from the school.

He was just about to activate the portkey when he heard some strange muttering coming from a bit further within the tree line. He pulled out his cypress wand and began cautiously making his way inside the forest.

He came up short when he saw an extremely ragged and ill looking Mr. Crouch standing there and muttering incoherently to a tree.

Harry blinked at the man, wondering if he were imagining things. How the hell did the man get there? He was supposed to be locked up in one of the holding cells in the basement of the manor!

Harry walked forward slowly, keeping his wand to his side.

"Mr. Crouch?" Harry asked cautiously.

Crouch continued to speak to the tree as if he were talking to someone else. It appeared that he thought the tree was someone named Weatherby, and Harry vaguely remembered Crouch Sr. getting Percy's name wrong and calling him Weatherby a few times, so at first he assumed that Crouch was somehow under the delusion that he was speaking to Percy.

He stood there, listening in, trying to make sense of the ramblings for a moment longer. Crouch seemed to be under the illusion that he was speaking to someone about his son, but in his mind, Barty had only just graduated from Hogwarts. He was telling the man about all the NEWTs that Barty had scored.

"Mr. Crouch!" Harry said a little louder. This time it seemed to jerk Crouch Sr. out of his haze and he suddenly began to quiver and cower.

"You? You have to g-get Dumbledore... I have to warn him. Have to tell him. It's all my fault. I never should have... never should have... all my fault... have to warn them!"

"How did you get here, Mr. Crouch?" Harry asked a little louder now.

"Have to w-warn D-dumbledore. H-have to –"

Harry rolled his eyes in annoyance. "How did you escape? How did you get to Hogwarts? Did you apparate here?"

"Had to escape... had to get away. It's all my f-fault. Had to warn th-them. Fat little man... I st-stole his port-key. I have to w-warn Dumbledore!"

"Wormtail," Harry growled angrily.

Harry refocused on the sniveling Mr. Crouch and leveled his wand on the man. Crouch's eyes went cross-eyed as he gaped in surprise at the wand that now resided only inches from his nose.

"Stupify!"

Harry said, sending a red stunner right at the man's head and knocking him out cold.

Harry knelt down to his side and grabbed Crouch's hand. He held it against the leather cuff against his arm and whispered

Morsmordre; activating the port-key and disappearing with a soft

pop.

Harry and the unconscious Mr. Crouch appeared in the entry hall of the manor. Harry dropped the man's hand and sneered down at him. Harry reached out with his senses and quickly determined that Tom was in his study. He raced up the stairs and pushed the door open.

Tom was in the middle of writing something and didn't immediately look up when Harry poked his head through.

"Tom we have a problem," Harry said and the other man's head jerked up and he frowned.

"Problem?"

"You should see this," Harry jerked his head over his shoulder and Tom quickly got to his feet.

Harry quickly turned and headed back to the stairs and began to race down them two at a time. Tom followed with equal speed, but considerably more grace. By the time he had reached the center of the stairs he could see the crumpled, unconscious form of Bartemius Crouch Sr. on the floor at the base and his eyes narrowed and anger began to build in him.

"How did this happen?"

"I found him at Hogwarts," Harry said, folding his arms over his chest and raising an eyebrow.

"Hogwarts!" Tom hissed angrily.

"He was talking nonsense at first. Rambling to a tree like he thought he was at a dinner party or something. I yelled at him a few times before he seemed to snap out of it and started sniveling and whimpering about needing to warn Dumbledore."

Harry watched as the absolute fury in Tom began to grow exponentially.

"I managed to get him to say something about how he got to Hogwarts. He mentioned stealing a port-key from a

short fat man."

Tom roared. "WORMTAIL!"

–

Harry was having considerable trouble getting to sleep that night. His whole body was on fire. Thegood

kind of fire. The excited, energetic, 'I'm way too awake to sleep'

sort of fire. Harry had been given the honor and immense pleasure of holding Wormtail under the

cruciatus

for nearly two whole minutes minutes. It had been far too long since the last time he'd gotten to use that curse on an actual living human, and he had almost forgotten how utterly fucking amazing it felt. How inexplicably exhilarating it was to hold someone under his power so completely. Listening to the man's tortured screams sent a sick perverse glee through him and left him light-headed.

His very nerve endings were alight with dark magical power. Every time he thought back to how incredible it had felt, he caught himself giggling quietly under his breath. It was a challenge to hold it in.

The hardest challenge, however, had been leaving the manor that night without accosting Tom. He'd been filled with the strongest desire he'd ever felt, to jump the man and grind against him relentlessly until the two were writhing and moaning against each other. He'd been so aroused by watching Tom punish the stupid little man, and also undeniably

high

from the powerful dark curses. Watching Tom throw curses at the screaming, sniveling, pathetic little man had been a real laugh, but it was the pure power and control the man held that left him utterly awestruck, and inexplicably aroused. He'd latched onto the older wizard's mouth as soon as Wormtail had been violently kicked out of the room, and Tom had responded by pressing him against the wall for a hot, passionate, minute. But then Tom had abruptly broken it off and told Harry he needed to go back to the castle so Tom could re-secure the cells and get Crouch Sr. back under 'lock and key'.

To say that Harry 'pouted' would be an understatement. And now he was left, laying in bed, practically vibrating from a powerful dark magic high, and an annoyingly extreme arousal.

Huffing out in frustration, Harry reached under his pillow and pulled out his holly wand to cast a privacy charm around his bed. He slipped the loose cotton pants and his boxers down over his hips and began to tentatively run his thumb and palm along his straining arousal. A moan escaped his lips as images of Tom's lips, eyes, and long-fingered hands drifted through his mind.

His completion was almost embarrassingly fast. He was so sensitive, and he was already wound so tight. He lay in his bed, panting slightly and still basking in the glow of all the events and insanity of his late evening. He grabbed his wand and spelled the wet mess on his stomach away before collapsing into a restless sleep.

– –

It was now three weeks until the third task, and four weeks until the end of term. Harry had been waiting until now to send the charmed letter to the Dursleys 'persuading them' to allow him to stay with a friend over the holidays. He knew they would love the opportunity to be rid of him, but he also knew that they'd miss his services around the house and yard. Not to mention the fact that Vernon would enjoy any opportunity to make Harry's life miserable, and if refusing to allow Harry to go somewhere would make him miserable, Vernon would do it.

The Post Office in Hogsmeade not only rented out owls and post boxes, it also offered access to the muggle post and Harry planned to make use of that service in sending his letter to the Dursley's. Sending them an owl would be disastrous, so he wouldn't even bother trying that.

It was Saturday and Harry had every intention of heading down to Hogsmeade as soon as he was done with his breakfast. However half way through the meal McGonagall came up behind him and asked him if he would come join her in Professor Dumbledore's office.

Harry felt ice run through his veins, and only just barely managed to keep his expression neutral.

He had to keep reminding himself that this could be about any number of things, and to not panic. It was also important not to say or do anything that could give away anything until they had spoken first and he had some idea what this was about.

"Of course professor," Harry said, stuffing one last bite of his breakfast into his mouth and standing to his feet. He followed her in silence all the way up to the seventh floor to stand in front of the gargoyle that blocked the entrance to Dumbledore's office.

"Fizzing Wizbee," McGonagall said to the gargoyle and it jumped away revealing the entrance and the spinning spiral staircase.

Harry could feel his whole body stiff with nerves as he climbed up with McGonagall and entered through the two large doors. When he stepped inside, he found that

Hermione

was there, sitting in one of two, overstuffed chairs, opposite Professor Dumbledore and looking rather awkward and clearly cowed by the powerful authority figure she was sitting before. Dumbledore was smiling calmly and looked up at Harry and McGonagall with that frustratingly irritating twinkle. Harry forced himself not to sneer. Sneering would be bad. Very, very bad.

Harry was motioned to sit in the other available chair while McGonagall went to stand beside Dumbledore behind his desk.

"So glad you could come join us, Harry," Dumbledore said with that grandfatherly smile of his. "Lemon drop?"

"Er... no thank you sir. Can I ask what this is about?" Harry asked, hesitantly.

"Yes, of course. Mrs. Granger has come to your head of house, expressing concern for your summer living arrangements. I was hoping that we could get this whole misunderstanding sorted out."

Harry felt himself relax considerably. He finally understood what was going on. All he could do at this point was hope that Hermione had taken his warning to heart and hadn't mentioned his intentions to go somewhere

else

for the summer.

"Misunderstanding, sir?"

"Yes," Dumbledore said, nodding his head. "She seems to be under the impression that your relatives are not very fond of you, and do not treat you very well."

Harry deadpanned. "That would be an accurate assessment. If not, perhaps, a bit generous to the Dursleys."

"Whatever do you mean, Harry? I know that you and your relatives do not have the warmest of relationships, but they are still your family. Surely –"

"Professor, this is pointless," Harry cut him off rather curtly. "You and I both know how they treat me. We both also know that you're not going to let me go anywhere else."

"How

do

they treat you, Mr. Potter?" McGonagall asked, glancing down at Dumbledore with accusing eyes for a moment.

"They fundamentally despise me. They both hate and are terrified of magic and everything associated with it, and of course

for being the thing that has forced them to interact with magic. Growing up, they made it their goal to try and 'beat the freakishness out of me'. They spew obscenities at me; calling me worthless and insinuating that I'm less than human and that I don't deserve to live. They call me a freeloader and a slacker, and then they force me to clean their house from top-to-bottom, mow their lawn, paint their house, clean out the eaves, and do all the gardening.

"I have to cook their meals for them, and then they refuse to let me eat any of it. Up until I got my letter for Hogwarts they made me live inside a cupboard underneath their stairs and would lock me in there. Now for punishment, they lock me into the smallest actual room in the house. Despite being an actual bedroom, it still has bars on the windows, numerous deadbolts on the door, and a cat-flap on the door as the only access to the outside world. They feed me stale bread and cold tea through the flap, and let me out once a day to use the loo and an extremely fast, cold shower. The only other time I'm allowed out of the room is to clean their house or fix their food.

"And if that's not enough, growing up my cousin Dudley made an official sport out of beating the shit out of me, and Aunt Petunia used to hit me with the frying pans whenever I screwed up their meals. If that is not an

abusive environment, then I don't know what is."

McGonagall's face had gone pale and her mouth was hanging open a bit. She looked utterly horrified. Dumbledore was still smiling, although the twinkle was less prominent than usual.

"Now Harry, surely you can admit to exaggerating things just a bit," Dumbledore said, leaning forward, folding his hands, and speaking in a tone one would use when humoring a young child.

"Sadly enough, no,

Sir,

I am not exaggerating one bit. But surely

you

can admit that you were already well aware of the exact nature of my summer living arrangements."

"Albus!" McGonagall said, turning and looking down at him accusingly. "You cannot simply dismiss a claim such as this! If even half of what Harry says is true, you cannot seriously consider sending him back to those people!"

"Now Minerva, you know how important it is that Harry return to the protection that his mother's sacrifice has provided him with. The wards that exist around the Dursley's house are unsurpassed. There is no where else where Harry will be safer."

"Safe! Harry just told you that his cousin beats him up and his aunt hits him with frying pans! That they lock him in his room and starve him!" Hermione gasped.

"Now surely, Harry, it's not

that bad," Dumbledore said in that tone that Harry now recognized as being insultingly condescending.

"Sir!" Hermione gasped and Minerva looked down at him with stunned disbelief.

"I will send a letter to Harry's family expressing my desire that they treat him with respect and treat him as a member of their family, but I simply must insist that Harry has to return to his relatives home."

Harry snorted. Hermione looked horrified and looked over at Harry. He responded by raising a single brow and giving her a rather obvious 'I told you so' sort of look.

"Albus..." McGonagall said in a warning tone, but Dumbledore held up a single hand that seemed to indicate that they would speak later.

"Now, Harry, I will consider allowing you to go visit your friend, Mr. Weasley, after you have been with your family for at least several weeks. It's necessary that you spend a certain amount of time each year with them in order to guarantee the continuation of the wards there. Once I feel that the wards have been secured, and believe that an adequately safe place can be established for you to stay, we can consider relocating you."

Harry kept his face blank while he listened to Dumbledore speak. He refused to allow any of his emotions show on his face, because even the slightest hint of his true anger would surely give him away. He was too close to the end of the year to risk anything now.

"Now, Harry, I need you to promise me that you'll stay at your relatives' house until I can arrange for a safe place for you to go instead," Dumbledore said, leveling Harry with a strong gaze. Harry met his eyes for the briefest moment and felt something beginning to press against his mind. With a tremendous force of will, he instantly wrenched his eyes away and ducked his head, looking down at his hands, clenched in his lap.

He could only hope that Dumbledore wouldn't think into it too much. Most people would have found in difficult to break that eye contact. Harry could feel the strong compulsion to retain eye contact and not blink. If it weren't for Tom's lessons, he probably wouldn't have been able to break away as easily as he had.

Harry's occlumency was proceeding well enough, but he didn't think he could stand up to a full assault from Dumbledore. And even if Dumbledore wouldn't have been willing to do that with two witnesses in the room, the shields that Harry did have in place would only call attention to him and make Dumbledore start to wonder about him.

It took a considerably higher skill level than what Harry possessed to trick someone doing a legilimense attack into thinking that they were undetected, while diverting them to your 'safe' thoughts and memories, and keeping them away from the more sensitive ones.

Harry was scowling angrily, but was letting his lengthy fringe fall over his face to hide it from view. He started to fiddle with the hem of his robes in an attempt to look nervous instead of furious.

"I promise, sir," Harry mumbled out. Again, trying his best to sound cowed by his headmaster instead of the raging inferno of anger. The fact that the man had been trying to read his mind... would he have even tried to manipulate his thoughts? He knew from his own experience, as well as his reading, and Tom's lessons that it was possible to implant thoughts and ideas into a person's mind.

Had Dumbledore implanted thoughts into his head before?

The fury was becoming harder to hold back. He knew he needed to get out of there, and soon.

"Harry..." Dumbledore said again, and Harry felt another wave of compulsion hit him to look up into the man's eyes. But he knew it for what it was and he wasn't going to let it work. In fact, all it did was serve to enrage him further. He clenched his jaw gnashed his teeth, trying to reign himself in. Blowing up in the headmaster's office would destroy his plans. He had to control his temper. He felt his companion in the back of his mind, pulling forward memories of his sessions with Tom, instructing him of the importance of concealing his true emotions and controlling the anger within him.

He pulled up his most powerful occlumency shields and tried to push all of his emotions behind a strong, impenetrable wall. He was extra thankful when he felt his companion joining in and strengthening the wall around both his thoughts, memories, and his emotions. He felt himself go completely numb and cold and let out a quiet shuddering breath at the sudden relief from the thundering anger.

"I really should go, sir," Harry said flatly, still staring resolutely down at his hands in his lap. "It's a Hogsmeade weekend and I had some errands I intended to run today."

He could feel the slightest indication of tension and curiosity in the older wizard's magic, and was greatly relieved when he heard Dumbledore shifting his his chair and finally allowing Harry and Hermione to leave.

The two were down the spiral staircase and halfway down the seventh floor corridor before Hermione exploded.

"I just... I

can't believe it!" she yelled, in exasperation. Harry came to a jerky stop. The numbness was melting away and the fury was threatening to explode again. He needed to

destroy

something.

He glanced down the hallway and saw the turn that would lead to the Room of Requirement. Tom had told him more about the room in the past weeks. Tom had been unable to frequently visit the Chamber after Myrtle's death, and had had to rely on the Room of Requirement for his Dark Arts practice. It was lacking Slytherin's books, but it was still an unplottable room, and was shielded from the wards the notified the headmaster about illicit, questionable, and illegal magical use. He could blow off some steam there.

"How can he treat it as if it were nothing!" she continued to rant on, her own anger growing as she was entirely blind to Harry's current mood. "It was as if he thought you were lying! How can he call himself a

teacher!

How can he ignore such accusations! It's, it's... unethical! Would he do this to any child to came to him, with claims of child abuse! How many wizarding children have been sent back to abusive homes because that – that

man

had the nerve to-to-to... URGH!"

Harry found himself being pulling slightly out of his growing insanity by the shock of Hermione having so blatantly disrespected

Dumbledore. 'That man' huh?

Harry thought,

'perhaps there was still hope for her yet...'

"And you!"

Hermione continued, "I cannot believe you didn't try harder, Harry! Why did you just let him insist that you had to go back? How could you just sit there and let him insinuate that you were lying about something

so important!"

"It's easier this way, Hermione," Harry said simply and looking straight forward. "If I had stood up to him, he would be worried that I might stand up against him. He'd be suspicious that I might

do something,

and he would have been watching me more carefully then. He might have even given me an escort or something –

for my own protection, of course," he sneered sarcastically. "But now that I've

promised

to play nice and go back to the Dursley's he'll leave me be and I'll be able to get away easier."

"But... but what about all that stuff you said about him not having any legal grounds to control where you go? You're right about that, he really doesn't! He has absolutely

no right

to tell you that you have to keep going back to those awful people! You could go to Ministry about this! What your relatives are doing is criminal! Neglect and abuse of a minor is a serious crime, and they could be facing jail time! I mean, you could go to the muggle police even, but if not them, then surely there's some department in the Ministry for child services. It's just so... so... ARGH! I hate this! It's just infuriating! I cannot believe that he would allow this to go on happening! It just makes me soangry!"

An idea suddenly came to Harry and a tiny grin slid onto his face. It

could

be a good idea...

"Want to go blow off some steam, with me?" Harry asked suddenly, pulling Hermione out of her angry ranting.

She stopped and looked at him in confusion. "What?"

Harry jerked his head towards the corridor and said, "Come on," before quickly striding away, without waiting to see if she'd follow.

She did, of course, and within a minute they were standing in front of the wall opposite the tapestry of Barnabus the Barmy – the crazy old wizard who tried to teach trolls to dance ballet.

"Harry, what are we doing here–"

Harry held up his hand to cut her off as he began to pace back and forth before the blank wall. Tom had told him exactly what to request of the room to guarantee that it would hid any dark arts use. He didn't exactly plan on using any while Hermione was in there with him, but he still figured it would be a good precaution to take, anyway.

Hermione gasped as a door materialized in the wall out of nowhere. He reached forward and opened it up; looking back over his shoulder and smirking devilishly at her.

"Harry, what is this?"

"This," he paused for dramatic effect, "is the Room of Requirement. It can become whatever you ask of it. You just walk back and forth in front of the wall, three times, and concentrate on exactly what you want, and the room will appear."

She gasped. "Is this where you've been coming all year?"

"Yup," Harry lied easily. Honestly, it was a perfect cover. And not nearly as worthy of concern as him sneaking down into Salazar Slytherin's secret chamber.

He led her inside and the room was a very large, open space with practice dummies, and large clay pots placed every few feet. He wanted to destroy some stuff, and the clay pots would help with venting some of his frustration. The dummies were something he had yet to actually try out, but Tom had told him about how much he had appreciated them when he was a student at Hogwarts and used the Room of Requirement for his own training.

Apparently, if you specified it, the training dummies could even simulate the effects the spells would have on actual people. If it was a spell that would rend the flesh from a person, it would tear the cloth skin off the dummy. They could even bleed, although it was supposed to be black like ink. He hadn't requested those specifications this time though because he suspected Hermione would have found that a bit disturbing.

"Harry, what is this place... I mean... what's with the pots and..." Hermione trailed off, looking about the large open space with obvious confusion.

"I'm angry, Hermione. I'm trying to keep it bottled in, but I need to let it out, and the safest place to do that is in here. If I keep it bottled up in me, I'll just end up exploding at one of the students," Harry said in a monotone voice causing her to gape at him with surprise.

"What exactly are you planning to do...?" she asked, slowly, as Harry took a few quick strides into the room and pulled out his holly wand. He wouldn't be doing anything dark in there with Hermione about, and he wasn't willing to risk her seeing his cypress wand and asking questions.

He took up a powerful duelers stance that Tom had been drilling into his head, drew his wand and continued straight into a smooth slashing motion and sent a powerful severing curse at one of the clay pots. It shattered along the large cut he'd made across its surface and clattered loudly to the ground.

Hermione gasped, but Harry didn't waste anytime. He quickly sent a blasting hex at another pot, causing it to explode, and then a

diffindo

at one of the dummies. The feel of the spell impacting the dummy was far more satisfying than the hollow clay pot. No 'blood' came out, but the slashes did leave a puff of cottony stuffing sticking out.

He began to lose himself in the familiar motions, and the anger came to the surface, fueling the more explosive and damaging of the curses and hexes. Despite the powerful raging inferno of hate and disgust he felt pulsing through him for his one-time mentor, and ruiner of his whole life; he still managed to maintain enough of his mind to keep to school-approved spells – although most of them were NEWTs level. He was startled when he heard the sounds of a pot being smashed apart from behind him and turned to find that Hermione had sent a hex of her own at one of them. She ducked her head and grinned shyly at him. He smiled widely and gave her an encouraging nod.

He stayed mostly focused on his own emotional release, but he did pay Hermione enough attention to see that she was getting more and more into it the longer they continued. She even started to get a bit more creative as she went. Her offensive spell repertoire was considerably smaller than his, but he'd been working a lot on expanding the number of offensive neutral-affinity spells he knew, to use during the 3rd task. Barty had already warned him that the headmasters had a way to monitor all spells used inside the maze, so they could more adequately judge the champions spellwork and grade them appropriately.

Finally, Harry heard Hermione's attacks die away and he paused to turn and look at her. She was hunched over with her hands on her knees and panting lightly. He realized suddenly that she had hit a wall from magical exhaustion. She had used up all of her magic reserves. She just wasn't used to casting such destructive spells.

Harry knew that he wasn't even a fraction of the way through his magical reserves, but Tom had already told him that he and Tom were both anomalies among wizards. Few possessed the raw power that they did. He'd wondered what his own power level was in comparison to Tom's, but it had seemed rude to ask such a question when they were actually having that conversation. Besides he knew that even if they were somehow close in magical energy capacity, there was still a mountain of a gap between their spell repertoires and practical experience. Tom was simply in a league of his own. But he

was

the Dark Lord.

"You alright, 'Mione?" Harry asked with a small grin.

She nodded her head and continued to catch her breath. Finally she stood up and gave him a scrutinizing look. "You're not even tired!" she accused in annoyance.

Harry chuckled and shrugged. "Practice helps some. Your magical core is a lot like a muscle. The more you exercise it, the better, faster, and stronger it will respond to you."

It was true – but it could really only take you so far. Even if she practiced 24/7 she could never build her core up to Harry's level.

"Have you been coming in here to practice often then?" she asked, surprised. In truth, Harry had spent very little of his time in Hogwarts away from Hermione, Ron, or Ginny, lately. He almost always had an alibi for his trips outside the school. Since he was using the time turner whenever he was at the manor, he had plenty of time for all of his extracurricular activities, without having to disappear from his 'friends' like he used to to go down to the chamber. He might have to start leaving an hour or two of time where he actually wasn't anywhere obvious just to make room for time that he was away 'training'. The task was coming up, after all. It would only make sense.

Harry shrugged. "I try to. Sometimes I get up early in the mornings to do it, sometimes I do it during one of my free periods when Ron is busy with some of the other guys. I actually really need to start doing it more regularly again, since the task is coming up in three weeks."

"Your spellwork was incredible," she said. "I've never even heard of half of the spells you were using."

"I've been trying to expand the number of offensive and defensive spells I know," Harry said dismissively with a wave of his hand. "With this stupid tournament, it's been rather important."

She nodded hear head and then looked around the mostly decimated room.

"This room can become anything you want?" she asked.

Harry nodded. "Yup. You can even make changes after already being inside it," he said before focusing his mind and requesting a different room. It instantly began to shift and change around them and Hermione gasped in surprise. What had, moments earlier, been a large open room filled with crumbled clay pots and tattered training dummies was now a comfortable looking library-lounge. The walls were bookshelves filled with books, and in the center was a collection of couches and small tables.

"Merlin!" Hermione gasped as she raced over to the nearest bookshelf. "What books are these?"

"I can bring copies of any book that exists within the school's library into here. Including the restricted section. If the book exists in the school's library, it can exist here. But they can't be removed from the room. Slip it into your bag and walk out, and it will just vanish from your bag."

Hermione paused and then turned to look at him. "That's why you weren't able to bring out the old elf book? You could only access it from in here and whenever you tried to leave with it, it would just disappear?"

Harry blinked. It was a reasonable explanation, but now that she was in the room she would be expecting to see the actual book, and he still couldn't do that.

"Um... sort of –" Harry said slowly and in a hesitant voice. "But I don't think that book actually exists in the school's library either. Restricted section or not. It's sort of complicated. It will only appear for

me. I don't think I could make it show up in here if anyone else was in here with me."

"What do you mean it will only appear for

you? What sense does that make?"

"Hermione, how does this

make sense?"

Hermione huffed and put her hands on her hips with clear annoyance on her face.

"Look," Harry began, "I can't really explain why, but I know that I can't make that book show up in here for you, alright? Please just drop it." Harry's eyes silently pleaded with Hermione to give it up. She looked annoyed and huffed but didn't say anything else.

"Anyway," Harry said quickly to change the subject, "I have some things I need to do real fast, but then I really need to get down to Hogsmeade. I'm gonna run up to my dorm to grab and prepare a few things. Um..." he paused and looked around the room. "If you want you can stay in here. Any book you want you can just

think it

and it'll appear for you. It's brilliant."

Hermione's face brightened intensely with the sudden realization of just how useful the room had the potential to be. She bit her bottom lip as if she were torn between staying in the room and pursuing Harry with questions.

Her desire to learn won out and Harry was able to escape the Room of Requirement while Hermione stayed behind.

He raced up to his dorm room, but not because he had left anything there that he needed. Instead, what he needed was to modify the spells he had placed on the letters he intended to send to the Dursley's. Dumbledore had said he would be sending a letter to them as well, and Harry suspected that Dumbledore would be including some compulsion charms of his own. Harry had to work fast.

An hour later he was strolling down main street in Hogsmeade, walking away from the post office. He had sent off his letter, and was fairly certain it would serve its purpose. While standing in line in the Hogsmeade Post Office, Harry had gotten an idea that he would bring up with Tom later that afternoon when he went to visit.

The manor had powerful anti-owl wards around it. Tom didn't want anything to do with owl post because it left his defenses too easily exposed to 'idiotically stupid, simple attacks'. But he would still appreciate the ability to receive letters during his summer hols. Especially if he was going to keep Hermione and Ron convinced that he was safe and alive.

The idea was pretty simple. He would rent a post office box. He could do it at the Post Office in Diagon Alley, but perhaps some other random wizarding village would be a good alternative. Hogsmeade's Post Office offered a screening service for an extra fee. They would make sure that every letter received and placed inside your PO Box was free of all traces, curses, compulsion, etc. charms. Tom might still insist on additional precautions because he was Tom, and Tom was extremely paranoid, but Harry certainly couldn't fault him for that. Harry realized that he could also send Mixey to collect his post every few days so he wouldn't even have to go out into the open on his own.

It would be a great plan. Of course, Tom would have to approve of it first. Harry would also have to figure out what wizarding village's post to use. Perhaps Tom would have a suggestion or two...

– –

"France," Tom said with a dismissive wave of his hand.

"Huh?"

"If you're going to go to the trouble of using a post box to receive your mail, you should use one in another country."

"Er... why?"

"France has no laws against practicing underaged magic during summer holidays. Neither do Spain, Germany, or Bulgaria, for that matter, but I have some dealings in France anyway and will be sending Mixey there periodically, so she can make the trips there to acquire your mail at the same time."

"What difference does it make if France has no laws against practicing underaged magic?"

"You can claim that wherever it is that you're staying is in France. Therefore you are in a country where it is

legal

for you to be practicing magic," Tom said in an exasperated tone.

Harry's eyes brightened and he grinned. "That's not bad," he said.

Tom rolled his eyes but the corner of his mouth turned up slightly.

"I could also make it seem like I met one of the Beauxbatons students and that's how I ended up running off to France. It would be a perfect explanation, and a great diversion. Send Dumbledore off to France searching for me when I'm actually here."

Tom smirked. "Precisely. And a love-struck teen running off to another country is far less suspicious than a brooding, secretive teen, who vanishes without any explanation or link to his

friends."

"Do you know of any good candidates? I mean, any magical villages in France that I could go get a post box from?"

"I'll arrange one for you. Mixey can go set it up," Tom said dismissively. "With the proper charms placed on the box, all owls sent to 'Harry Potter' will automatically be diverted to the post box. You won't even

have

to give people your address, although on the last day of term it would probably be beneficial if you gave it to your two friends. The Granger girl and that Weasley fellow. Dumbledore is sure to question them before anyone else.

"Alright, I'll do that," Harry said smiling up at Tom. He shifted up from his position where he had been laying down on the chaise with his head in Tom's lap. Harry pulled himself up into a sitting position and leaned over, brushing his lips against Tom's. The other man grinned and returned the kiss, bring his hand up and fisting it into Harry's hair.

Harry's nerves around Tom had been decreasing drastically over the last week. Tom was forceful and impatient. He saw no point in dancing around things if he wanted them, so he had never hesitated to pull Harry into a kiss or an embrace when he wanted it. Because of this, Harry's own confidence had increased and he was rarely as cautious anymore. As long as they were already in established territory. When it came to going further than they had gone, it was always Tom who initiated.

Harry didn't mind. He wasn't in a rush, per se. His libido was certainly curious about going further, but part of him was also anxious. He was slowly realizing exactly what it was that two men did together, and he had to admit he was rather nervous about the prospect of things being done to his bum.

In an uncharacteristic display of concern for someone else, Tom had been taking things slowly with them. Harry had a feeling that the older wizard was occasionally frustrated with the pace, but he rarely allowed that frustration to shine through. More often than not they just snogged. Heavy snogging with grinding hips, grabbing hands, and heated kisses, but rarely anything further. In fact, Harry rarely saw Tom without his shirt anymore. The older wizard had taken to wearing one during his morning training again. He had said he needed to get things accomplished each morning and having Harry's hormones going crazy would only impede that.

Harry had still pouted and mumbled something defensively about being able to control himself. Tom had snorted and rolled his eyes.

Their kiss was growing more and more heated and Harry felt Tom's hands wrapping around him and forcefully grip his hips. Tom began to guide Harry onto his lap and Harry eagerly slipped into the position, straddling the other man. He moaned out as his pelvis brushed up against the straining proof of Tom's arousal, and Tom growled back into his mouth as he returned his hand to Harry's hair and fisted it.

Harry gasped out a loud groan at the painful tug. He was quickly growing to find the painful pull of his hair insanely arousing, which was probably good since Tom so clearly liked doing it. He ground against Tom again once more before his mouth sought out Toms again. Things were just getting really interesting when a little tinkling alarm sounded. The pair ignored it for a few minutes as they continued their heated snogging, but the alarm only got louder until Tom pulled back, panting and scowling in annoyance.

"What is that?" Harry gasped in obvious irritation.

"Severus is bringing Igor tonight. They will be here in twenty minutes," Tom growled.

"Karkaroff?" Harry asked in surprise. "He seemed absolutely

terrified

of coming back!"

"He is," Tom said with a smirk. "And he should be. Especially with Barty around."

"I don't follow you."

"It was Igor who testified that Barty was one of my Death Eaters. Igor gave away numerous names in an attempt to get himself out of Azkaban."

"Oh, ouch. I see why he's so scared."

"Yes." Tom drawled. "However, despite his traitorous cowardices, he has managed to get himself into a very useful position."

"Control the schools and you control the future," Harry said, echoing something that Tom had said to him a number of times over the last few weeks.

"Exactly. And Durmstrang has a very impressive Dark Arts curriculum. The graduating classes would be perfect for recruiting new Death Eaters. Beauxbatons teaches magical theory for both light and dark in equal measures, but does not have any dark magic classes. Beauxbatons has always opted to teach only neutral magics and allow more specific light or dark affinity magic to be taught by private tutors over the summer holidays."

"While Hogwarts," Harry continued for him, "teaches neutral and light magic, while denouncing the dark arts as if it were evil."

Tom sneered. "Yesss."

"If it weren't so important that I stay at Hogwarts, I'd consider transferring," Harry grumbled and Tom chuckled. "Well that and I don't speak Bulgarian or French."

"Are you suggesting that your dark arts education from me isn't sufficient?" Tom asked in mock shock.

Harry laughed. "Hardly. I have trouble imagining anyone else in the world getting a better dark arts education than what I'm getting from you." Harry leaned in and placed his lips lightly against Toms and hummed in pleasure as Tom returned it.

The alarm started chirping again and they both groaned in annoyance.

"You had better leave, Harry. I am not yet ready to risk Igor knowing of your alliances."

Harry sighed and shifted off of Tom's lap.

"Alright."

– –

Disclaimer: Don't own Harry Potter. JKRowling does.

First

Beta Pass

by Clemex

– –

The day after Harry had been dragged out to the Quidditch field to learn the details of the last task, Sirius had written to him asking him what he'd found out. Harry had replied and relayed all of the details he had learned from Mr. Bagman, while leaving out the far more useful details he had gotten from Barty.

Since then, Sirius had been writing him every other day with advice on spells to try practicing and voicing his concerns about the various dangers and speculating on how the plot to get Harry killed, by getting him entered in the tournament, could be played out before the end of term. Sirius was clearly worried about Harry's safety and wellbeing. Harry knew it was entirely invalid and had no fears at all about the upcoming task, but he was still touched by Sirius's concerns.

Sure – if he hadn't gone to Tom all those months ago and joined the man, the third task would have been the event where the Dark Lord had originally intended to abduct Harry and perform his original resurrection ritual, but that plan was obviously out the window now since it would be blatantly counter-productive to their plans. Instead he had given Harry a hard look and told him in no uncertain terms that he would be disgusted if Harry did not win the tournament by an obscene point margin. Harry had laughed.

The first week Sirius sent a letter every two or tree days, but three weeks prior to the tournament the letters started coming daily. Even if they were nothing more than a few brief words of encouragement, a tip or two, or just a muddy paw-print; it was still clear that Sirius was doing everything he could think of to try and help and encourage Harry. Harry was touched.

Harry had continued to send care packages every week ever since the meeting with Sirius after the second task. He had started out by just having the Hogwart's kitchen house elves prepare as much non-perishable food as they could and then shrink it, package it up and send it off with one of the school owls. In more recent weeks, he'd been getting Mixey to prepare things for him since she could go out and buy things that were specifically intended as camp food to last and be easy to prepare.

Tom knew he was doing it but never really commented. Harry knew that Tom didn't exactly hold anyfond feelings

for the ex-auror. Sirius

had

been a real thorn in Voldemort's side during the last war. He was dedicated, talented, and creative. He was also, apparently, a very skilled dueler. He had apprehended quite a fair number of Death Eaters during the couple years he worked as an auror for the Ministry.

There were just under three weeks left till the final task and Harry was sitting in Tom's study while the older wizard scratched away at a parchment and periodically reference one of the large tomes he had stacked around his desk. Harry wasn't entirely sure what he was working on, but it seemed important. He had been working his way through a theoretical book Tom had told him to read on magical energy management and conservation during long drawn out battles. He had insisted that Harry wasted far too much energy during their duels and finally grumbled at him to read the damn book.

But he had started to go cross-eyed from all the reading and he was getting a headache. This probably was mostly due to the fact that the book was hand-written in tiny, cramped little letters.

He set it aside, sighed and started to dig through his bag. He pulled out a folder where he'd been keeping the letters from Sirius and started to slowly flip through them. He'd been feeling more and more troubled about his godfather lately. He really wasn't sure what to do about the whole situation.

He had come to terms with the fact that by joining Tom he had essentially abandoned all of the people who had looked after him and cared for him since he first entered the wizarding world, but he found he didn't have a lot of trouble with ditching most of them. Dumbledore was a manipulative bastard who had not only fucked over Harry, but a great many other people, so Harry had no moral problems with considering the older wizard his enemy now.

Ron was an ignorant, childish, and jealous prat. Harry considered him a occasionally-useful friendly acquaintance now more than anything, and that was only to keep up appearances. The more time passed, the more he realized he really didn't like Ron much at all. They really had next to nothing in common. The only shared interest that remained was Quidditch, and even his interest in that had waned considerably. He wasn't even sure he wanted to continuing playing next year. He probably wouldn't, but he knew it would draw a lot of curiosity and suspicion if he quit.

Hermione... Harry really wasn't sure about Hermione. She was bossy and annoying, and exceedingly nosy, but she was also clever, and she did care about him... He was still on the fence with Hermione. He had been ready to put her in the same category as Ron and consider his once-close friendship with her a lost cause, but his companion had been hinting in recent weeks that Hermione could be turned, if he made the effort.

Harry couldn't even fathom this, but the piece of Tom's soul never mislead Harry or gave him bad advice. He didn't exactly spend a lot of time with the soul piece anymore, but it was nice to have him in the back of Harry's mind during some of his classes. Short bouts of discussion kept Harry from going crazy from boredom in his classes. At one point, during a Charms class where Hermione was being especially annoying in her pestering of Ron, and Harry had decided that they were both a total wash, Harry's companion had said to not give up on her so quickly. He basically said to just keep chipping away at her faith in the current authority figures, and she would begin to see the logic in his views. Harry was skeptical, but he figured it couldn't hurt.

However, it was the issue of what to do about his relationship with Sirius that had been worrying him more than the others.

Harry sighed heavily and let the letters setting into his lap.

He felt Tom's fingers lace into his hair and he closed his eyes, feeling some of the tension leave him.

"What is it, Harry?" Tom asked in a soft tone. Harry smiled at it but then frowned lightly.

"I'm... well I'm worried about Sirius."

"Black? What about him?"

"He's still living in that cave outside Hogsmeade. It's just... crap. The only food he's getting is the stuff I'm sending him, but he's still practically starving out there. He sleeps on the ground, and is still living in the same shitty prison robes he escaped from Azkaban in. It's disgusting. Him being on the run like this just... it just sucks."

"I cannot even fathom why he's staying in a

cave," Tom scoffed. "Surely he could have found something slightly more hospitable. He's the heir of the Black line. I don't see why he doesn't just go to one of his family's houses. I know there's at least one. From what intelligence I've gathered, I know that after Black was incarcerated Narcissa petitioned to gain control over the family's assets but lost, so as long as he lives your godfather still retains control of them. If he is declared dead, it will probably go to her then."

Harry frowned. "Narcissa? As in Narcissa

Malfoy?"

"Yes, your godfather is her cousin."

Harry blinked, gaping slightly before he shook himself and refocused.

"Er, yeah. Anyway, I know that Sirius has stuck to that damn cave because he wanted to be near me. He's afraid that..." Harry barked out a humorless laugh, "he's afraid that you're after me. Or at least some old Death Eaters are. He wants to be nearby to help me out when the time comes. He's doing all of this suffering for me. I just really hate it. Especially since it's entirely unnecessary."

"We've discussed this before. If we hand over Wormtail and get your godfather freed then Black will expect you to come live with him."

"I

know."

Harry sighed heavily again. "I know it's idiotic, but I can't help but wish he could just stayhere." Harry scoffed at how idiotic

that

idea sounded.

Tom chuckled. "Yes, I imagine that would be difficult to sell. Sirius Black was about as against the Dark as he could get, despite his own magical affinity."

"Wait, what?"

"Even if he fought against it, Sirius Black was a dark wizard. A very borderline dark. Practically neutral, especially after a few years with the Aurors since he refused to use any of the dark spells he'd learned, but there is only so much one can do against that level of hereditary affinity influence."

"Okay, you've lost me. What are you on about?"

Tom sighed and set down his quill completely. "Sirius Black is a

Black, Harry. They are one of the oldest, darkest magical family in Britain. If you were to trace their lines all the way back to when humans first mated with magical creatures, almost every creature they descend from was a daemon of some sort. Dark magic is in their blood. In addition to that, I know for a fact from Regulus that he and Sirius received tutoring in the Dark Arts from age seven until they got to Hogwarts, and then every summer afterwards. Sirius rebelled against his family and got himself sorted into Gryffindor – Regulus suspected it was to piss off their father. And if I recall correctly – which I always do – young Sirius ran away from home and ended up living with your father when he was fifteen or sixteen. So that's at least eight years of exposure to the Dark arts, combined with a hereditary propensity for Dark magic. There is no way that Sirius Black could have anything but a dark affinity, no matter how much he personally would have liked to go light, just to anger his family."

Harry was stunned. "Is that another reason why everyone was so quick to suspect him of betraying my parents?"

"Most likely. All it would take is an

affintatum reveleo

and the natural dark affinity would be obvious. And since all

Dark Wizards

are

Evil Wizards," Tom sneered mockingly with a chuckle, "having a dark affinity would be more than enough for certain factions to instantly judge him guilty. Just one more level to the magical world's ignorance."

Harry sat there quietly for a long time afterwards and Tom finally picked his quill back up and resumed his work.

"Hey Tom?" Harry said, breaking the silence after a very long quiet.

"Hmm?"

"Do you think there's any chance I could turn him?"

"What are you talking about Harry?"

"Sirius. I mean... if I told him the truth about all that Dumbledore's done – all the manipulations and the lies; the fact that it was

Dumbledore's

doing that got my parents killed, and that left Sirius rotting in Azkaban, I wonder if... if

just maybe

I could convince him to come to our side."

Tom set the quill down and leaned back in his chair.

"It's incredibly risky, Harry. I don't think you realize just how much Black despised the Dark. And I doubt that having been left to rot surrounded by dementors has helped his sanity any."

"But if I could do it, would you take him?" Harry asked turning a bit and looking up at Tom with hesitant hope burning in his eyes. Tom turned and looked down at Harry for a long time with a blank, calculating look.

"Perhaps..." he said, slowly. "Black was incredibly skilled. If nothing, it would be nice to guarantee he wouldn't be fighting

against me. Of course, it's up for debate how much of that skill has stayed with him, and how much of it has been sucked away by the dementors."

"He spent most of his time in Azkaban in his animagus form. The dementors didn't have as much effect on his mind because he was a dog."

"Yes, yes, Harry. You've already told me this."

"Oh! I've got it! What do you think about a swap?" Harry said suddenly.

"What?"

"Pettigrew for Sirius. You're always saying that Wormtail is a worthless piece of trash. He's a miserable minion and he annoyed the shit out of you. It can be our bargaining chip to keep from having to reveal my loyalties straight out. I can go under Polyjuice or something and offer Sirius the information on Dumbledore, and then make the offer that we're willing to hand over Wormtail – with the last year of memories

obliviated, of course – if he's willing to come to our side."

"Hmm..." Tom hummed slowly and Harry could see the wheels turning behind his thoughtful eyes. He was planning and Harry grinned widely.

"The only people left who Black is loyal to are you, Dumbledore, and Remus Lupin – correct?"

"Right."

"If we can destroy his loyalties in Dumbledore, that only leaves you and the werewolf. If he shows any indication that he could be swayed at that point you could reveal your loyalties to him as well. It is possible that at

that

point, he could be fully convinced. At

that

point, it would also be much easier to sway the werewolf. As a Dark Creature he feels an instinctive pull towards me. The wolf wants to be loyal to the Dark Lord, it is the man who fights it. If we could turn both of them..."

"Yes! Yes!" Harry said excitedly.

"It has potential, Harry, but neither of them have the stomach for what we do. They have both spent their lives denying the darkness within them. Getting them to accept it will not be an easy task."

"I want to try. They're the closest thing I have to family. If there is a chance that I can save them from Dumbledore's schemes and agendas then I have to try."

"Lupin would be a useful resource. A public face to lycanthropy that is non-threatening. Having a werewolf such as him working towards my cause would help build support for the cause of Dark creatures, which would in turn bring more of them to my side..."

"Lupin will probably be harder, but if I can get Sirius to join, I'm sure I can get Lupin too." Harry said with determination.

Tom took on that calculating look again for a moment before a wicked grin began to spread across his lips making Harry suddenly wish he were kissing them.

"And best of all, Dumbledore would likely recruit the both of them when he starts up his little Order of the Phoenix again. They were both members during the last war... it would be good having additional spies inside Dumbledore's midst."

"Yes!" Harry agreed enthusiastically.

"This idea has legitimate merit, but we must tread carefully. Gaining either's allegiances will be tricky and we cannot risk exposing you until we are sure we can convince them, or gain an unbreakable vow of their secrecy."

Harry agreed and the pair began to brainstorm on ideas. After about twenty minutes of discussion Tom stood to his feet and beckoned Harry to follow him as he led the way down to his lab in the basement.

As they passed the door that led towards the hall of cells Harry couldn't help but wonder if Barty Crouch Sr. was still down there or if Tom had finally just killed the man. Tom disappeared inside the lab and Harry quickly hurried after him.

Inside, Tom was standing beside the large work table in the center of the room. All of the potion brewing tools and supplies were shoved to the side or put away. In the center of the table was a stack of parchment that appeared to have a lot of arithmantic equations scribbled across them in Tom's elegant scrawl, and a few other sheets with various rune diagrams.

"What is all this?" Harry asked as he looked down at the complex sheet of numbers and symbols on the table beside him.

"I've been crafting an object. I've been layering some rather complex bits of magic into it and it's taken some work to get all the magic to cooperate together. It's almost done, actually," Tom said absently as he moved aside several things and pulled a very small box forward.

"Crafting something? You mean, like that orb that you had me use on Snape?"

"Not exactly, no. This," he paused and held open the box to show it to Harry. Inside was a silver ring with a thick masculine band and a perfectly spherical green gem set into it. "is for you."

Harry blinked at it in confused shock. "What?"

"As I said, it's not done yet, but when it is, you can key in a very specific set of glamors.

Powerfulglamors. Not just those worthless childish ones that they teach you in school. It will remember one specific set of glamors, although I'm considering crafting another one that can hold multiple appearances that a person could switch between. For now, this will do. In addition to putting up the fake appearance, you can key certain people into the ring. Anyone that you key into it will see past the glamors and see you for your true appearance."

"Oh! Oh, wow..." Harry said, stunned.

"I've been working on it for you to use during your summer stay here in the manor. By then, more and more of my Death Eaters will be frequenting this place and I am not yet willing to reveal your identity to most of them. Those who will be aware will be selected individually. This will allow you to wander the manor without having to worry about being seen by the wrong person. You will even be able to attend the meetings."

"That's incredible," Harry said with awe in his voice as he looked down at the ring in the box.

"Once I am finished with implementing the last of the spellwork we can set the appearance you wish to use for the glamor. It will also be necessary for you to come up with an alias. There was that alias you were using earlier in the year... Notechus Noir, was it?"

"Oh, yeah... hmm... Well, yes, that is what I used, but I don't think I'll stick with it for this. Too many things were mailed to

Hogwarts

under that name. I'll come up with something new."

"That is probably wise."

They discussed their plans for a short while longer before it was time for Harry to head back to Hogwarts.

– –

A few more days passed and the populace of the school was slowly growing more and more anxious for the coming task. Exams were also a week away, which was also causing a good amount of tension and anxiety among the students.

Harry was excused from exams because of the tournament but he still studied with the others. He wasn't even convinced he would take advantage of the option to skip out on his tests. He'd come a tremendous way as far as his academics were concerned and he was curious to see if he could manage 'Outstanding's on all of his tests.

That day during a study session that a very insistent Hermione had dragged Ron to, and that Harry had willingly joined, Ron remarked on Harry's willingness to take exams and how utterly insane he thought Harry was because of it.

"If there was any doubt in my mind before, I'm convinced now," Ron started as he shut his transfiguration textbook. "You are completely

mental,"

he said to Harry with absolute conviction.

"Why's that?" Harry asked disinterestedly without looking up from his own book and parchment while he continued to revise his notes.

"Why? Because you've basically got a

free pass!

I mean, if nothing else good came from you getting forced into this tournament, at least you get out of taking your exams and yet you're still studying! You're mental!"

"Ronald!" Hermione scolded him with a mild scowl.

"What! I'm serious! It's insane!"

"I personally think it's fantastic that Harry's taking his studies seriously this year! You could really benefit to learn from his example!"

"Oh, not this again!" Ron groaned.

"Besides, Ron," Ginny said coming up from behind them and plopping down on the couch beside Hermione, "getting out of exams is hardly the best thing that will come out of Harry being in the Triwizard Tournament. With the lead Harry already has, I'd be willing to bet money that he's going to win. Then he gets the prize money too."

Ron groaned. "Ugh. Don't remind me about the money."

Harry kept his head down, ignoring them, but he couldn't help but roll his eyes.

"What

are

you going to do with the money, Harry?" Ginny asked in an excited conspiratorial whisper. "I can only imagine what I would do if I came into that much money! It would be amazing." She gave a slightly sad sigh and leaned back into the couch.

Harry just made a non committal mumble and shrugged. The truth was that Harry really wasn't surewhat

he was going to do with the money. He certainly didn't

need

the money. The correspondences he'd had with Gringotts in recent months made him more and more aware of just how loaded he was. His trust vault was overflowing with gold, and when he reached his magical maturity he would gain access to the ancient Potter family vault which was considerably larger. He had offered the winnings to Tom, since it was Tom's doings that got him into the tournament in the first place, but the man had scoffed and told Harry that it was his money and he should do with it what

he

wanted. And that 1,000 Galleons was hardly a drop in the water of his funds.

Harry had again insisted, suggesting that it could go towards the war effort but Tom had told him that the considerably sizable sum of money that had been in Tom's vault during his 'absence' had been gaining interest over the years and was more than enough to fund his war for a while. He was also sure that he would have no trouble getting additional financial support from several of his followers.

So again, Harry was left wondering what to do with the Tri-Wizard tournament prize money.

The next morning, Harry was sneaking through the common room under his invisibility cloak – he had just come back from his morning workout, which had degenerated into a very heavy snogging session, and Harry had yet to check himself over for the marks that Tom always left, so he opted to stay under the cloak until he could get up to the 4th years bathroom, when he saw the Weasley twins huddled in a corner over a stack of parchment.

With exams coming up it wasn't odd to find people studying, but it

was

odd to come across the Weasley twins studying – especially so early in the morning. It seemed far more likely that they would be planning some epic end-of-year prank than actually studying. If that was the case, Harry would prefer to be forewarned so he could try and dodge it.

Harry crept over to the pair silently and stood just to the side to listen in.

"We're going to need some serious capitol if we're really going to do this," Fred... or maybe George, said with a sigh.

"I know my dear brother. If only Ludo Bagman hadn't renegged on our World Cup bets! We'd have enough!"

"We can still get in some betting in the tournament though."

"Harry's a shoe-in to win."

"He's already in the lead and Ron says he's practically turned into a defense genius."

"True, true... but we still need starting capitol for the bets."

"And we've hardly made up from our losses to Ludo."

Again they sighed, this time simultaneously.

"What do you guys need money for?" Harry said as he pulled the hood of his cloak down and exposing only a floating head and neck.

They both jumped and turned in their seats to look at Harry with wide startled eyes.

"Harry!" they both said.

"What are you doing up so early?" one of them asked.

"And sneaking around in your cloak, no less!"

"Are you up to something you shouldn't be?" they were both smirking at him inquisitively.

Harry chuckled and simply shrugged – which probably didn't come through very well considering that he was mostly invisible.

"That's for me to know and for me to know," Harry said smirking. "So what's your deal? What do you two need money for?"

The twins looked at each other doing that silent communication thing that the pair seemed to do before nodding silently and turning back to Harry.

"You absolutely can't tell mum," one twin said sternly.

"Or Ron. He's absolutely worthless at keeping secrets."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I know. Don't worry, I'm

much better

at keeping secrets."

They snorted. "So we've heard," they said in sync.

"Well?" Harry persisted.

"When we graduate, we're going to start our own joke shop," one of them said.

"We've got a bunch of inventions already down,"

"And a lot more already planned and in the works."

"But we need to do some research and development capitol before we can really get started."

"And even after we've got everything ready, we'll still need a down payment for a shop."

"Or at least rent," they finished, shrugging.

"Hmm..." Harry hummed slowly, giving the pair a long hard look. It certainly wouldn't hurt to have the twins indebted to him. Weasley's were a strictly light family, but Harry got the feeling that the twins were far from having a Light magical affinity. They weren't dark, but they weren't afraid to use questionable magic. And while it was true that they didn't exactly perform all that well on homework and exams, Harry knew they were both brilliant, not to mention incredibly inventive and creative. Would there ever be any chance of him making use of their skills in the coming war, or would that be a pipe dream? Even if it was unlikely, getting them financially indebted to him would be a good first step.

"I can do it," Harry said with a dismissive nonchalance.

The twins blinked at him with obvious confusion.

"Do what?" one of them finally asked.

Harry rolled his eyes. "I can front you guys the money. Hell, if I win this stupid tournament you can have the winnings. A thousand galleons should help get things started, right? In case you guys didn't realize it, I'm the last Potter and have apparently inherited a mountain of gold, and a bunch of property. I'm loaded. I certainly don't need the prize money from the tournament."

"Are you joking!" The other one choked out, gaping at him.

"No that's your job. You're the pranksters, remember?"

"You would really give us your winnings!"

"Sure," Harry shrugged.

"We'll pay you back," one of them said with a determined nod and the other one assumed the same determined face and nodded his agreement.

Harry waved it off, "Don't bother. Maybe I can be a silent partner and you guys can give me free merchandise."

The twins were still stunned but finally they looked at each other for a minute. They turned back to Harry, both looking uncharacteristically serious.

"We won't forget this Harry. And we'll find a way to make it up to you."

"Don't worry about it. Just make sure you succeed at it. Come up with some brilliant inventions and once you get the actual shop started, make sure it doesn't flop."

"We won't let you down, Harry!"

"Yeah, we'll make sure you don't regret your investment."

"Do you need any help preparing for the last task?"

"You're already in the lead, but that's no guarantee that you'll win."

"We'll do anything you need!"

"Help in any way!"

Harry laughed. "Don't worry guys. Besides, even if I don't win – which I will – I'll still give you guys the front money. But like I said – don't worry. I'm

going to win." He smirked wickedly and the twins shared a look before grinning back.

They spoke for another minute or two before Harry turned to head up the stairs, just as he reached the bottom of the stairs one of the twins called after he and he turned back to face them.

"Yeah?"

"Is that a hickey we see?" Fred and George asked in sync with a wicked salacious grin on each identical face.

Harry's face went red and a moment later he was scowling back playfully. The twins burst out laughing and Harry shook his head at them before jogging up the stairs.

– –

One week before the task there was an article in the Prophet that caught Harry's attention. Apparently the wizarding world had finally woken up and realized that Mr. Crouch was missing. According to the Prophet his assistant – who just so happened to be Percy Weasley – had been convinced that he had been receiving instructions from Crouch Sr. on a weekly basis, going so far as to insist that he would certainly recognize his own boss's handwriting. Harry found this exceedingly funny since he knew that half of the letters had been sent from Barty, and the other half from Tom himself. They had been coming from two different people, depending on which one of them had had the time to write them, and Percy hadn't even realized.

A thorough search had finally been conducted and people realized that absolutely

had any idea where Bartemius Crouch Sr. was. Percy had been put under a magnifying glass since then, and had been heavily questioned to determine if he really was an ignorant bystander, or if he had perhaps had something to do with the man's disappearance. Because of this, he would not be allowed to sit in as judge in Crouch's place for the final task like he had for the second task. Instead the Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge would be taking that honor.

When Harry read this, he couldn't help but grin. He'd been hoping for an opportunity to speak with the Minister for Magic again. The last time had been before his third year after he accidentally 'blew-up' his Aunt Marge, and he had been too stupid and naïve to understand what an opportunity it was to gain such a powerful ally at the time.

Tom was positive that Fudge felt extremely threatened by Dumbledore. Fudge had been in office for a very long time, by this point – having gotten elected only three years after the unfortunate events that destroyed Tom's original body. There wasn't a term limit for the Minister for Magic, but after having been in the job for as long as he had, the public could easily get bored with him and want something new – or at least something different.

From his research and the intelligence that he'd collected so far, Tom was convinced that Fudge believed that Dumbledore was after his position. Harry had asked Tom if he thought it was true but Tom didn't think so. He knew that Dumbledore would never give up his position as headmaster of Hogwarts, and that would be necessary if he were to take on the job of Minister.

Still, whether the fear was founded or not, it was still there. Fudge thought of Dumbledore as an adversary, and if Harry could demonstrate to the Minister that he was on

his side, it could be extremely beneficial to him.

– –

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1. Chapter 1 2. Chapter 2 3. Chapter 3 4. Chapter 4 5. Chapter 5 6. Chapter 6 7. Chapter 7 8. Chapter 8 9. Chapter 9 10. Chapter 10 11. Chapter 11 12. Chapter 12 13. Chapter 13 14. Chapter 14 15. Chapter 15 16. Chapter 16 17. Chapter 17 18. Chapter 18 19. Chapter 19 20. Chapter 20 21. Chapter 21 22. Chapter 22 23. Chapter 23 24. Chapter 24 25. Chapter 25 26. Chapter 26 27. Chapter 27 28. Chapter 28 29. Chapter 29 30. Chapter 30 31. Chapter 31 32. Chapter 32 33. Chapter 33

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Harry Potter and the Descent into Darkness

Author:

Athey

PM

4th yr. Through an accident Harry and Voldemort's Horcrux begin to interact and Harry slowly begins to change. He becomes stronger & slowly grows aware of the sinister events that have perpetuated his entire life. Dark!Harry eventual HP/LV SLASH

Rated:

Fiction M

- English - Supernatural/Drama - Harry P. & Tom R. Jr. - Reviews:

1,068

- Chapters: 33 - Words: 265,936 - Updated: 10-02-10 - Published: 07-21-10 - Status: Complete

A

a

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Light

Dark

1. Chapter 1 2. Chapter 2 3. Chapter 3 4. Chapter 4 5. Chapter 5 6. Chapter 6 7. Chapter 7 8. Chapter 8 9. Chapter 9 10. Chapter 10 11. Chapter 11 12. Chapter 12 13. Chapter 13 14. Chapter 14 15. Chapter 15 16. Chapter 16 17. Chapter 17 18. Chapter 18 19. Chapter 19 20. Chapter 20 21. Chapter 21 22. Chapter 22 23. Chapter 23 24. Chapter 24 25. Chapter 25 26. Chapter 26 27. Chapter 27 28. Chapter 28 29. Chapter 29 30. Chapter 30 31. Chapter 31 32. Chapter 32 33. Chapter 33

Disclaimer: Don't own Harry Potter. JKRowling does.

First

Beta Pass

by Clemex

– –

Sirius Black was extremely antsy. He just couldn't sit still. His godson would be partaking in a deadly and dangerous task in just a few days time and there was absolutely nothing he could do about it. He couldn't even

be there

when the damn thing happened. The minister for magic would be there, not to mention 'Mad Eye' Moody and his damned magical eye. Even if Sirius showed up in his animagus form, Moody's damn eye could probably spot him, and then everything would be thrown to the shitter.

He was returning from another trip down into Hogsmeade Village, playing his role as the lovable stray, Snuffles. He came upon the entrance to the cave and transformed back into his human form. He'd been doing this for months now and perhaps he'd gotten complacent, or perhaps his mind was just too distracted by his worries about Harry; whatever the reason, Sirius Black was caught completely off guard when he came face-to-face with a man, leaning against the rock wall beside the entrance to the cave.

He froze for a stunned moment before he had his stolen wand drawn and aimed at the unidentified man's chest. The man in question, who looked to be around twenty years old and had dish-water blond hair tied back into a loose low ponytail and had bright blue eyes, did not actually respond to suddenly having a wand drawn on him. Instead he just grinned and slowly rose his hands to about mid-chest, with his palms out showing that he was unarmed.

"Who are you, and what are you doing here!" Sirius demanded as his eyes began to dart around checking for any signs of an ambush or aurors.

"Don't worry, I'm alone," the man said calmly.

Sirius could detect a trace of amusement in his voice and he narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the young man. "That didn't answer either of my questions."

The blond man grinned wider. "No, I suppose it didn't. My name isn't really all that important, so I'll skip that one and move along to the second instead. What I'm doing here, Mr. Black, is to provide you with some information, and make an offer."

Sirius froze. Whoever this guy was, he knew who Sirius was.

How the hell did he find me!

"I mean you absolutely no harm, and if, in the end, you are not interested at all in what I have to offer you, I will leave and you will never hear from me again. I won't tell the aurors or call out dementors or anything of the sort. I was only sent here to deliver a message."

"Sent by who?" Sirius asked.

"We'll get to that," the man said with a smirk.

"And I'm supposed to just

trust

what you're saying?"

"How about this? I'll make an oath. Swear on my magic. Would that help you feel better?"

Sirius's eyes widened minutely in surprise. Only an idiot would throw out a magical oath carelessly. Magical oaths were serious business.

"Alright, but draw your wand slowly."

The young man nodded his head and snapped his wrist lightly causing a yellow-golden wand to shoot out of a hidden holster and into his hand. Sirius tensed at the sight of it but the man kept his movements slow and obvious. He held his wand in a loose grip, pointing it at his chest and spoke clearly.

"I swear on my magic that I have no ill intentions towards Sirius Black, and have no intention of harming him while I am here today. I do not have, nor will I call in reinforcements, and I swear that I have not, and will not report his location to any branch of the Ministry. I also swear that the information that I am here to deliver to him is, to my knowledge, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. So mote it be." A golden light swirled out of the wand and then around the man causing him to glow for a moment before it faded.

Sirius was stunned, but as he fully took in the words, he did feel himself relax, even if only minutely. If the young man standing before him went against his word in any way, he would be left as nothing more than a squib.

"Satisfied?" the man asked and Sirius was pulled out of his shock.

"Alright," Sirius nodded slowly. "I'm listening. So what do you want?"

"I've got quite a bit to say and some things to show you. Can we, perhaps, go into the cave?"

Sirius's eyes narrowed but he nodded his head. He led the man into the cave, and they were instantly greeted by Buckbeak the hippogriff. The man stood a few feet from the large half-horse, half-eagle creature and bowed low. Buckbeak eyed the man for a long moment before it lowered his head and bowed back. The man grinned and walked forward to lightly brush the creatures head before turning back to Sirius who had watched the entire thing with a significant air of surprise.

"Impressive creature. He got a name?" the man asked as he walked to the opposite side of the cave and pulled a small mokeskin pouch from inside his black robes. He tapped it with his wand and it tripled in size.

"His name is... Witherwings," Sirius said.

The man looked up at Sirius with a raised eyebrow and chuckled. "Sure it is." He pulled the opening to the bag open wide and pulled out a large heavy bowl with runes engraved all around it. Sirius's eyes widened again.

"Is that a pensieve?"

The man looked up and grinned as he pulled out two small crystal phials filled with the silvery liquid that he recognized as memories.

"That is correct, Mr. Black. This

a pensieve."

"Those are pretty hard to come by," Sirius said slowly. "Damn expensive and rare."

"That they are," the man confirmed. "I've

borrowed

this one actually, and have to make sure it gets back undamaged. However what I have to tell you is difficult to believe, and I doubted you would even consider believing any of it without some sort of evidence."

"Okay..." Sirius said slowly as he came to stand beside the man as he conjured a table and two chairs with a few wordless flicks of his wand. Sirius had to admit he was impressed. It was one thing to transfigure a table and chairs

from

something, but conjuring from nothing was a considerably more difficult thing to achieve. Chances were that the pieces of furniture would dissolve in a couple hours though.

The man placed the pensieve on the center of the table and set the two phials beside it as he sat down in one of the chairs. Sirius followed suit and watched the man suspiciously.

"All I ask is that you keep an open mind and realize that I am not trying to deceive you. I swore an oath to you that what I'm telling you is true to the best of my knowledge and I meant it," the man started and Sirius nodded.

"You are Sirius Black, once the best mate and best man of James Potter, and the man that he and his wife Lily named as the godfather of their son, Harry James Potter," the man began. "This being the case, I am assuming that James Potter at least

mentioned

to you that there was a prophecy made about Harry Potter...?" the man trailed off as a question.

Sirius stiffened and his eyes went wide. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

The man smirked. "I'm sure you don't. During Lily's third trimester Albus Dumbledore went to the Potters and informed them that they were likely the target of Voldemort because a prophecy had been made that targeted their son. He had been there when the prophecy was first made, and witnessed the entire thing. However another person had been spying on he and the seer and had also overheard

part

of the prophecy. This individual happened to be a marked Death Eater and took the partial prophecy to Voldemort. Dumbledore told the entire prophecy to the Potters, but I suspect he told them not to tell anyone else, so I would assume that you are unaware of the exact wording, correct?"

Sirius floundered, unsure what was safe to say. He really

didn't

know what the prophecy said, and this guy clearly already knew about it's existence...

"No, I don't," he admitted finally. "I have no idea what it says."

"I do. I have it right here. Want to see?" he said as he picked up one of the phials and swirled it a little between his fingers.

Sirius felt his heart thrumming loudly in his chest and slowly nodded his head. The man uncorked the phial and slowly poured the silvery liquid out into the bowl in front of them.

"Have you used a pensieve before?" the man asked and Sirius nodded. A moment later they were both 'descending' into it together. They landed suddenly in the center of the Hog's Head pub in Hogsmeade. Sirius blinked for a moment, catching his bearings and looking at the room around him. The Hog's Head was a fairly shady place during the first war. People had been unaware at the time that the pub was actually owned by Dumbledore's brother, Aberforth, and that the headmaster of Hogwarts had taken advantage of its seedier clientele to spy on Darker wizards. Sirius also knew that Dumbledore had used the pub a few times to leak information to the Death Eaters and Voldemort.

"The Hog's Head?" Sirius asked, in surprise.

"Yes, funny thing that, huh?" the other man said. Do you know what Dumbledore was here to do?"

"No," Sirius said shaking his head.

The other man nodded his head towards the door as it opened and Sybil Trelawney walked in, then loudly announced to the barkeep that she was there to see Dumbledore for a very important interview. She also made it a point to mention her great grandmother, who even Sirius recognized as a well renowned Seer.

The barkeep lead her up the stairs and Sirius and the blond man followed them up. Dumbledore was already in the room waiting and the two went through some standard greetings and began to commence the interview.

"He's conducting a

job interview!" Sirius asked incredulously. "In the Hog's Head?"

The blond man snorted. The two watched with mild disinterest as the 'interview' continued for a few minutes. "You were an auror," the blond began, stating it rather than asking a question, "so were you trained to spot anomalies in memories?"

"Of course," Sirius said.

"Is there anything...

off

about this memory? It came from Trelawney, by the way. Just so you know the source."

"Yes, I figured it was her," Sirius said distractedly as he seemed to concentrate on the illusion around them. His brow puckered and he frowned for a moment before his eyes went wide with realization. "She's under the

imperius!"

The blond smiled and nodded his head. "I noticed that as well. Funny thing that. If you dig into the memory with your magic you can feel the spots where her exact words have been manipulated. The important part is about to come up, so pay attention here."

A moment later Trelawney's eyes glazed over and her voice changed as she clearly entered a trance and began to recite the prophecy. Sirius watched intently. Half way through they heard the scuffle in the wall outside the room and Sirius was distracted by it for a moment before he refocused on Trelawney. Once she finished speaking there was a knock on the door and Aberforth appeared holding Snape by the collar and began to growl about having found him in the hall eavesdropping by the door.

Sirius looked like he was about to explode in anger when the blond man froze the memory.

"We'll get back to the fact that Severus Snape was the spy who gave Voldemort the partial prophecy later. Lets go back to the actual prophecy," he said as the images before them suddenly reversed and then replayed at the start of the actual prophecy. He paused it again when the disturbance first sounded in the hall.

"This is as far as Voldemort heard," he said turning to Sirius.

"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...

With that much of the prophecy Voldemort deduced that there were two possible candidates for the identity of the one who would have the 'power to vanquish' him. One was the Potters, the other couple was the Longbottoms. Both Lily and Alice were pregnant and due at the end of July – the seventh month. Both couples had openly opposed Voldemort and had faced against him and survived, on three separate occasions."

"Frank and Alice..." Sirius breathed in a quiet voice.

"Correct. The thing that eventually separated Harry Potter from Neville Longbottom was that Neville was born on the 30th while Harry was on the 31st. So it was the Potters that Voldemort decided to focus his efforts on, and thus, the Potters went into hiding under the Fidelius."

Sirius refocused on the man with suspicious eyes. "You are extremely well informed," he said in a low voice.

"I am. And there's more. First, we need to ask ourselves, what could be behind the fact that Sybil Trelawney was clearly under the

Imperius

curse while making that prophecy."

Sirius's eyes darkened and he frowned. "The prophecy was fake."

"And what's more, someone wanted it to be overheard by the

wrong sort. The only reason to have that conversation in a place like the Hog's Head is if you

want

someone to overhear it. Look here," the man said pointing to Dumbledore. The memory was still frozen at the moment that the scuffle had begun out in the hall. "Does he look pleased?"

Sirius looked at Dumbledore's aged face and gave a small start of surprise as the anger in his eyes as he glanced at the door. It wasn't the annoyance at being disturbed, it was far deeper than that.

"It looks to me like

wasn't very pleased that their eavesdropper got interrupted," the blond man mused with a hard look at Dumbledore.

Sirius's brow furrowed for a moment before realization crossed his face. "You think Dumbledore set this up?" he gasped.

"Dumbledore

wanted

that prophecy to get to Voldemort.

Dumbledore

put Sybil Trelawney under theImperios

curse," the man said and there was no amusement in his face or voice.

"That's absurd!" Sirius shouted angrily.

"I ask that you reserve judgment. I have one more memory to show you. Come on."

And with that the memory dissolved and the two of them were back in their seats at the conjured table in the cave. The blond man used his wand to siphon the memory out of the basin and back into the phial before uncorking the other one and pouring it in.

They entered the memory to find themselves in Albus Dumbledore's office at Hogwarts and Sybil Trelawney sitting in the chair opposite the Headmaster's desk.

"This is the previous day," the blond man said as he came to stand at the end of the desk and Sirius came to stand beside him.

"The previous day?" Sirius echoed.

"Correct.

This

is the date that Sybil Trelawney and Albus Dumbledore originally had scheduled time for an interview. In Sybil's

modified

memories, she recalled getting an owl an hour before the interview from Dumbledore telling her that something had come up and asking to reschedule it for the next day down in the pub.

This

memory was a bit harder to find, but it was still there. Dumbledore was afraid that if he mangled her memory too much it would have an affect on her Seer's sight."

Sirius gaped at the blond man disbelievingly but his attention was drawn back to the memory as Sybil's voice suddenly shifted to a lower, gravely tone.

The only one with the power to match the Dark Lord approaches...

Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies...

The Dark Lord will come for him and mark him as his equal.

He will have two paths from which to chose. From one path, the End will fall upon us all. From the other, we shall be saved.

The Dark Lord and his Equal will either rule together, or destroy each other.

For either to die, it must be at the hand of the other for neither can die while the other survives...

The blond man stopped the memory and stood there silently as Sirius stood there dumbfounded.

"Can you play it again," Sirius whispered.

The other man nodded and the memory resumed from the beginning of the prophecy, playing through once more.

A thick silence spread through the room for a few long minutes afterwards.

"If you examine the magical signature of the memory you can see that it hasn't been tampered with and she is not under the

Imperius

here,"the blond said.

Sirius nodded his head slowly, as if numb. "Yes... I noticed," he said hoarsely.

"Do you understand what it means?"

"According to this prophecy, the only way for Voldemort to really

die

is if he and Harry kill each other..." Sirius said slowly. "Harry has to

die..."

The man nodded. "It would appear that Dumbledore either misinterpreted it in the beginning, or he simply hoped that having Voldemort attack the child would be sufficient to destroy the Dark Lord. Dumbledore modified Trelawney's memories and then used the

Imperius

curse to control her and make her reenact the interview and prophecy in a more public setting – only with a modified prophecy that would make the Dark Lord target the child and try to kill him; thus destroying himself. He used Trelawney, Snape, and the Potters in a scheme to destroy Voldemort without having to actually lift a finger himself. They were all expendable pawns in his plans for the

greater good," the man sneered

Sirius seemed to snap out of his stunned silence and turned to look at the man with a horrified expression.

"No!" he hissed.

"Yes!" the man hissed right back. "And when Harry Potter was alive afterwards, and marked on his forehead Dumbledore realized that instead of finishing the prophecy he had only set it in motion. He knew then that Voldemort wasn't

really dead

and that the scarred child left behind would be left with two paths he could choose from. On one hand, Harry Potter could choose to be a martyr for the Light and destroy the Dark Lord by sacrificing his own life. On the other hand he could go dark and join the Dark Lord, making him unstoppable. Dumbledore, being the master manipulator that he is, decided that he would need to try and control the child to make sure he would

make the right choice,"

again the man sneered the last few lines with disgust.

"However, Dumbledore also knew that James Potter undoubtedly would have told you about the fake prophecy since you were the child's godfather. You would know that Harry had been foretold to be the one who would destroy Voldemort and you would raise him appropriately. With you Harry could have had a happy childhood with people who loved him. He would know what it was like to have

joy

in his life, and he would want to live. You would also train him to fight. You would have taught him advanced magic and raised him to be a proper marauder," the man smirked at Sirius's surprised expression.

"Dumbledore would have

control over him if he were to be raised by

you. Dumbledore didn't need a fighter, he needed a weapon who would die by Voldemort's hands. He didn't need someone strong willed and happy, he needed someone broken and malleable. Someone that he could sculpt into his perfect

weapon.

The perfect

martyr.

Harry Potter's childhood was beyond miserable. He was beaten and starved by people who hated him and treated him no better than the Malfoy's treat their house elves. Then he was

rescued

by Rubeus Hagrid, who was sent by Albus Dumbledore personally. Hagrid, who did nothing but proclaim what a great man Dumbledore is. Dumbledore needed to be Harry's savior. His mentor and the person that Harry looked up to and confided in. The only way that this would all work is if Dumbledore maintained control over Harry's living arrangement.

"Fortunately for him, the rest of the world was under the impression that you had been the Potter's secret keeper. Are you aware who it was who cast the Fidelius around the Potter's house?"

Sirius frowned and shook his head. "I wasn't there. Peter was the only other one there because he was the secret keeper."

"Neither James nor Lily cast the actual spell. Neither had done it before and they didn't trust themselves to the task. They were afraid it wouldn't be cast properly or be done strong enough, so Dumbledore volunteered to cast it for them."

Sirius's face went white and he suddenly looked ill.

"Obviously, since he was there, and he

cast

the spell, he knew perfectly well who the secret keeper was," the blond finished airily.

"How do you know this?" Sirius whispered hoarsely.

"Peter told me."

Sirius's face went from horror stuck to fury in point-five seconds.

"WHAT! When! You've seen that rat bastard? Where?"

The man chuckled lightly and held up a hand. "We'll be getting to that in a moment actually. Shall we exit the memory?"

Sirius nodded his head jerkily, still clearly upset and a moment later the images around them were dissolving away and they were back sitting in the cave.

The man used his wand to siphon the memory back into the phial and corked it before slipping them back into the bag, followed by the pensieve. He shrunk it down and slipped it back into the inner pocket of his robes.

"As you can see, I still have my magic, so I have not lied to you," he said easily as he settled back into the chair and crossed one leg over the other knee.

Sirius blinked, seemingly confused for a moment before he frowned and nodded his head.

"Dumbledore

knew

that you were not the one who betrayed the Potters. I have no proof, but I would be willing to bet that he

knew

that Pettigrew was already a marked Death Eater. I would even be willing to bet that it was

he

that originally suggested Peter to James as an alternative to you as the secret keeper. Dumbledore

wanted

Voldemort to get to Harry, after all."

"No..." Sirius said in a weak whisper as he shook his head.

"Denial is more than a river in Egypt, Mr. Black," the man smirked, but Sirius saw no humor in the current situation. The man waited a moment and then spoke again. "He threw you away. You were in his way. You were no longer useful or necessary to his plans, so he considered you expendable – everyone is always expendable if it's for the

greater good.

He always had the power and the knowledge to get you free, but he let you rot away in Azkaban because as long as you were there, he had control over Harry Potter's life. Control over his

weapon."

"No... no, I... I can't believe it," Sirius said again, shaking his head furiously from side to side as his face contorted in anger and despair.

"Dumbledore is not the man that everyone believes him to be. He puts on this grandfatherly facade; the barmy, slightly-senile, but brilliant old wizard that is kind and loving and that you can always trust to

do the right thing," he said sarcastically and then snorted. "It's all fake. It's

a lie. He puts up a fake persona to put people off their guard. He's a lying manipulative, deceitful old bastard, and you

can not trust him.

Least of all, with Harry Potter's safety. Dumbledore doesn't want to save Harry, he wants him dead. Why the hell has Harry Potter come face to face with almost certain death in every year he's been at Hogwarts? Ask yourself how many of those things could have been stopped by Albus Dumbledore, and then ask yourself why he didn't stop them?"

Sirius was still shaking his head, but he knew he couldn't deny the truth in the other man's words. He couldn't deny what he had seen in the pensieve. He still didn't know what to think of that prophecy. The

real

one.

"You said you spoke to Peter," Sirius said after a moment, latching on to a distracting diversion for a moment.

"Yes. I suppose its a good time to transition into the proposition portion of our little talk. Where to start... well, I suppose the direct approach is best. I was sent here by the Dark Lord."

Sirius was suddenly sitting ramrod straight, and at full attention. His mouth was open to say something, but Sirius found himself so stunned by the statement that he didn't know what to say.

"What!" he finally gasped, hoarsely.

"The Dark Lord sent me. He's returned to a body and is already full strength again. Has been for some time now. He's building things back up quietly before going public. He's given me permission to offer you Wormtail. Peter is unaware of this, of course, but who gives a damn what

he

wants, hmm?" the man chuckled and grinned as he clasped his hands on the knee that was folded over the other leg.

Sirius's jaw floundered for a moment. "Offer me Wormtail? What do you mean? In exchange for what?"

"Even trade. You get to take him and do whatever the hell you want with him – be it torture and kill, or hand him over to the Ministry and get yourself cleared – and in exchange, you join the Dark Lord and take Pettigrew's place."

"NEVER!" Sirius hissed as he stood to his feet.

"Why?" blond asked calmly without so much as flinching at Sirius's outburst.

"Because he's a murdering bastard!"

"And Dumbledore

isn't?"

"He killed James and Lily!"

"Dumbledore

set them up. Voldemort never would have personally targeted and gone after them if Dumbledore hadn't concocted the fake prophecy and intentionally leaked it to one of the Dark Lord's Death Eaters."

"He's a bigoted bastard. He wants to wipe out all the muggleborns and kill off all the muggles!"

"No he doesn't," the man said simply.

Sirius scoffed. "Oh really?"

"Still under my oath here," the man reminded Sirius with a pointed look. "The Dark Lord doesn't give a damn about the muggleborns so long as they can keep a damn secret and follow the rules, and he has no intention of allowing his Death Eaters to resume slaughtering muggles this time around. The muggles have progressed a long way and their news travels fast now. Attacks upon the muggles would risk our exposure which is, quite literally, the last thing he wants. He wants to gain control over magical Britain and demolish and rebuild the governing system. It is corrupt and run by incompetent fools."

Sirius stared at him for a long minute, still angry and confused. He shook his head slowly and spoke. "I would never betray everyone like that. I would

never

betray Harry." He paused and gave the blond man a hard glare. "That's why you want me, isn't it? To get to Harry. Voldemort wants to get Harry on his side and you figure that you can do that if you get me to join?" he scoffed and stuck his nose in the air, insulted.

"No. Believe it or not, that is

why I am making you this offer. We have absolutely no intention to try and use you to get Harry Potter to join the Dark Lord. Oh, and

still

under oath, here," he added, smirking as he waved his wand and conjured a wordless

lumos

to illuminate the cave. The sun was setting and it was growing a bit dim but Sirius knew that the real point was to demonstrate that the man still had his magic.

Sirius looked back disbelievingly. "Why, then?"

"There are a number of reasons. The Dark Lord is willing to take you in Pettigrew's stead because he knows you'd be a considerably better asset. Wormtail is a worthless ball of sniveling, cowardly, lard. The man is a pathetic dueler, he can't act as a spy except in his rat form, can't really risk being seen in public, he is a rather low powered wizard, he sucks at wards and charms and is only mildly good with transfiguration and herbology, which is still not remotely useful to the Dark Lord.

"The man has no backbone and the only reason he returned to the Dark Lord in the first place was because he hoped that Voldemort could protect him from

you,

Dumbledore,

and Harry Potter. He did not return out of loyalty or a desire to see the Dark Lord reborn, he did it out of fear and in an attempt to save his own sorry hide. He is worthless and a total waste of space.

"In contrast, you were one of the most formidable aurors to cross the Dark Lord's forces during the first war. You are a powerful wizard with a great many useful talents. You are a highly skilled dueler and if we give you Pettigrew and you hand him over to the Ministry, it will clear your name and people will realize that you were

responsible for the Potter's deaths, and

a death eater. They will likely feel guilty for you having been wrongfully imprisoned and you will be welcomed back into the Light with open arms. And when Dumbledore calls his Order back together, you will undoubtedly be invited back in."

Understanding dawned in Sirius's eyes and he scowled. "You want me to be a spy," he hissed.

"Among other things, yes."

"I won't be a murderer, I won't be marked, and I won't betray my friends," Sirius growled.

"You won't be asked to kill if you do not wish to do so. If you ever go on raids you can stun and use other non-lethal spells. As for being marked, obviously it would be unwise to mark you if we wish to use you as a spy, so that is not something you will have to concern yourself with in any sort of immediate situation. As for betraying your friends, well that's relative."

Sirius barked out a disdainful laugh. "Relative, he says."

"We hope to bring Remus Lupin to our side. He

a werewolf; he

belongs

with the Dark. Dumbledore will never truly push through any reform that benefits werewolves, no matter what he claims. He is the Light Lord, and werewolves are Dark creatures. They do not fall under his protection and he bears them no responsibility. It is a part of the Dark Lord's task to reassure the safety and prosperity of all Dark magic users, both human and creature. When he builds a new magical government the dark creatures will be treated with the respect that they are due."

Sirius snorted. "Moony would never join the Dark."

"He might. If you and Harry joined. The only thing that's keeping him back are his ties to the light. His debt to Dumbledore, who really is only just using him, and his loyalty to you, and to Harry Potter."

"And what about Harry? He wouldn't join you. You would have me betray my own godson? Never. I will

never

join the dark."

"Let me pose you different question, then," the man said calmly. "Would you join the Dark if Harry chose it?"

"What?" Sirius blanched.

"The prophecy itself says that Harry Potter has two paths. That he could rule by the Dark Lord's side as his equal. If Harry Potter

chose

that path, would you support him? Would you stand by his side?"

Sirius scoffed. "Harry would never join Voldemort. Voldemort

killed his parents. No matter what role Dumbledore might or might not have had in it, it won't change the fact that Voldemort killed James and Lily."

"Hypothetical scenario. If Harry joined the Dark Lord, would you follow?"

"He wouldn't!"

"Hypothetical scenario!"

the man said, raising his voice for the first time.

Sirius scoffed and looked away scowling. "If

Harry chose to go against Dumbledore...

if

he... if hejoined

Voldemort – which he

wouldn't... then I'd stand by Harry. He's my godson. I failed him before and left when I should have stayed, but I won't abandon him again. I'd stand by Harry no matter what path he chose. It's my duty. He's mine to protect."

The blond man smiled softly and Sirius was startled and confused by the depth to the expression.

"I sure hope you mean that, Sirius," he said and Sirius watched as the blond man brought his hands up and began to slide a silver ring off his finger. The moment it left his hand completely his appearance shimmered and then melted away.

Sirius gasped as he found himself sitting opposite his godson.

"H-harry?" Sirius asked.

"Will you join us, Sirius? Please?" Harry asked with hope in his voice.

"Whaa.. how... Ha-harry?" Sirius stuttered while his mouth floundered like a fish.

"I'm sorry I had to lie to you Sirius. I've been hiding things and you've been so worried about me, with the tournament and all... but I just couldn't risk telling anyone what's really going on. I couldn't risk anyone finding out the truth. If Dumbledore gets wind of what I'm doing... of

who

I'm with, then... I don't know. I wouldn't be surprised if he tried to have me killed. Or lock me up somewhere. If he realizes that he's lost control of his weapon; that I've

joined Voldemort, he'll probably do anything to keep me from him. There's no telling what Dumbledore will do if he gets desperate. I just

couldn't risk it."

"What... what is going on! How did this happen? You... you joined

Voldemort!

Harry, are you insane!"

"He's nothing like what I used to think he would be. Not really."

"He's

Voldemort!

He killed your parents!"

"Yeah, well I've forgiven him for that, alright! Besides, he was tricked! Dumbledore was trying to trick him into destroying himself, and me and my parents were just collateral damages! Voldemort was used and manipulated right along with the rest of us! Dumbledore is

still

doing it! Every year, he has allowed these different situations to spawn and grow out of control, all in the hopes that Voldemort and I will come head to head and finally just destroy each other! I'm not going to be that man's pawn anymore! I refuse to be someone else's weapon!"

"So you'll be Voldemort's weapon!"

"It's not like that! And at least Voldemort is

honest

with his followers! No one joins Voldemort without knowing exactly what they're getting into."

"Yeah! Death, murder, torture and servitude!"

"IT'S NOT LIKE THAT!"

"VOLDEMORT IS AN INSANE, MURDERING, MEGALOMANIAC!"

"HE IS NOT!" Harry yelled, standing to his feet and knocking his chair out from behind him.

Buckbeak made an annoyed screeching sound and the two turned to look at him warily for a moment. Harry still felt himself fuming but he picked his chair back up and sat down.

"At least... he's not insane. Yes, he's a murderer, but he only kills when it's necessary to progress his plans. And he's not a megalomaniac... he's just really ambitious," Harry said in a low cold voice.

Sirius barked out an incredulous laugh. "Ambitious? Harry, he's trying to take over the world!"

"He's trying to save the world!"

"That's ridiculous!"

"You don't know anything about what's really going on, Sirius! I mean it! Nothing! There is so much more going on than anyone ever realized. Publically, people were told that the war was all about wizarding supremacy and power over muggles, but it never had anything to do with that! Not really. Voldemort drew in some of his followers with that line just so he could get them to work for him, but

his

goals,

his task, has nothing to do with that!"

"Well what the hell

then?"

"I can't tell you!" Harry moaned and collapsed back into his seat. "Not yet... even I only know bits and pieces of it and that's because I stumbled across it on my own and confronted him about it. He admitted that I was right, but hasn't yet been willing to go into deeper detail. He's bound by an oath to Magic itself. This is so much bigger than anyone knows."

"How can you possibly trust him, Harry? How? He's... he's a

monster, Harry! Even if what all you say about Dumbledore is true and he really is a lying manipulative old bastard, how can you think that

Voldemort

is any better?"

"I know because I've spent the last few months getting to know him. I mean,

really

getting to know him. He's nothing like I ever expected him to be.

Nothing,

Sirius. You don't know what Voldemort is like in person or in private because you've never seen that side of him. Hardly anyone does. He keeps his true self really private because he can't really trust hardly anyone. But he

a person. He's got this big, omnipotent, scary, alter-ego that he shows to the public and to his lower followers, but it's just a mask. It's how he deals with his responsibilities. How he maintains control of so many aggressive and ambitious personalities. He has to use fear and respect to control most of them, but if you really get to know him, you see he's a real person behind the scenes. He's still human."

"Human! Harry are you kidding me? I mean, I guess I haven't seen him since his

grand return, but if he looks anything like he did before, he hardly classifies as human! Bloody snake-faced bastard!"

"That's just a transformation! He can still look human if he wants! In fact, it took him more than a month to teach his new body to take on his old form."

"What?"

"It's not important. The point is that he

is human.

He still

looks human, as long as he's with someone he trusts – which admittedly, isn't often – and no matter how much of a crazy bastard he acts in public, he's still a man. He still thinks and feels and is still capable of giving a shit about people. Yes, he's a controlling bastard. Yes, he's a murderer. He has goals and he believes strongly in them, and he's willing to do whatever it takes to achieve his goals, but that doesn't mean he's a monster."

"Has it ever occurred to you that maybe his 'real person' thing could be the act, and the controlling insane bastard is the real him?"

"It's not," Harry said with a hard, determined voice. "Look, Sirius, I've been at this for

months.

I've gotten to know him pretty well."

"And how the hell did you

get to know

him? How could you have been working with Voldemort formonths!

You've been in school!"

"I go visit him every bloody day, Sirius! I've got a two-way port-key that takes me directly to his manor house and back, and I use a time-turner so that it never looks like I'm missing from the school."

"Oh, Merlin!" Sirius groaned as his hands came up and began to rub his tired and haggard face.

"Come on, Sirius! I'm trying to help you, here! You won't have to stay in this damn cave, or

anycave, if you come join us! You can stay in the manor house with a bed and three meals a day! Tom's house elf Mixey is a great cook and she's not weird or crazy or anything. And I'll be there! That's where I'm staying this summer."

"Wait, what!"

"I'm not going back to the Dursley's this summer," Harry stated in a hard voice while sitting straighter and folding his arms across his chest."

Sirius paused and sat, unsure what to say for a moment. "Does anyone know of this plan?"

"Ron and Hermione are aware that I don't intend to stay with the Dursley's. Obviously they don't know where I'm really going. I'm going to let them think I'm staying in France."

"France? Why France?"

"Hermione and Ginny are under the impression that I've got some secret love interest at the school. I wouldn't tell them who he was with the excuse that he wasn't out to his family yet, and we didn't want to risk the tabloids getting a hold of his name. Basically I intend to let them think I hooked up with one of the male students that stayed this year from Beauxbatons. If Dumbledore thinks I ran off to France with my boyfriend it will look less suspicious than me just disappearing from sight for three months without any explanation at all.

"I know it would be easier to stay under Dumbledore's radar if I just went back to the Dursley's, but I absolutely

refuse

to go back there! I will not be forced into the company of those bastards, ever again. The only reason Dumbledore sent me to live with them in the first place was because he wanted them to break me. Well

fuck him!

And fuck the Dursley's! I won't ever go back there!"

"Fine, Harry. Alright. But... but Voldemort's manor? Are you crazy?"

"I swear it, Sirius! It's nothing like that for me. He trusts me. I trust

him!

I know it sounds mental, but I... he and I we're like... friends?"

"Friends?" Sirius echoed incredulously. "Lord Voldemort does not have

friends, Harry! That's idiotic! It's just an act! You're angry that Dumbledore manipulated, but now you're just being manipulated by Voldemort instead!"

"I AM NOT!" Harry roared. "You know

nothing

about this, Sirius! Nothing! You're making all of these statements and assumptions from things you saw and heard second hand during the last war, but you've never seen it yourself or actually spoken to the man as an ally or a friend. He's totally different. You've only seen the side of him that he shows to enemies on the battlefield! I've spent hours and hours,

every single day for three months

in his company, Sirius! I'm not a fool or an idiot. He's not playing me."

"What the hell are you doing with him to warrant spending

hours

with him every bloody day!"

"He's been teaching me. Dueling and magic. We also work out together."

Sirius stared at Harry with shocked disbelief.

"You

what?

You

work out

together? What the bloody hell does that even mean?"

"He has a big gym set up in the manor house with exercise equipment that he designed and built. Weight training and muscle building. He'd been working out in there every morning since he got his new body back. He needed to get it into proper shape, so it made sense for him. After he started teaching me dueling, he told me I needed to work on my stamina and endurance so I could last longer in battles, and to improve my dodging and foot work. That's when he told me to start coming for his morning work out too and he'd teach me to use his equipment."

Sirius still looked dumbfounded and blinked several times as if he was still having enormous trouble wrapping his mind around what he'd just heard.

"The Dark Lord

works out

in a gym?" he said slowly.

Harry smirked. "Yes, he does. Most of his exercise equipment looks like it's basically modeled after muggle exercise equipment too. He's even got a magical treadmill."

Sirius's jaw floundered for a moment before he shook his head in disbelief. "I cannot even

picturethat."

Harry laughed.

"He's in his real form whenever we're in the gym. I guess it would probably look pretty weird to see him in there each morning in his serpentine form. I'm going to have to get used to that form though, since he's going to be using it a lot more often during the summer."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, well he's going to be bringing in all his old Death Eaters soon. He's been sending out magical pulses through the Dark Marks on a regular schedule for the past month, and he's sped it up to every two days, and by next week he'll be doing it every day, and then at the end of that week he'll actually call them."

"Wait, why is he doing all that?"

"Warning, really. Giving them time to prepare. They'll know that after it's pulsed once a day for one week that he's going to call them to him, and knowing that, they'll be able to plan and prepare for it. They also know he's back to full power now because the magical pulses have been growing in strength for months. With this much advance warning, there's no excuse not to show up. Anyway, once he's called them back to him, Death Eaters will be coming and going from the Manor all the time, so he'll probably be staying in his Serpentine form almost all the time."

"What about you? You said you'd be staying there this summer. You'll get seen."

"That's what this is for," Harry said, pulling the ring out of his pocket. "Actually, I want to key you into it, so we'd may as well do that now." Harry slipped it back onto his left index finger and his appearance shimmered and shifted back into the older, blond-haired man from earlier.

"That is crazy," Sirius said with a bit of awe to his tone. "Where on earth did you find something like that?"

"The ring?" Harry asked, although his voice was lower and smoother now.

"Yeah! Merlin, it even disguises your voice!"

"It's incredible, isn't it? Tom made it."

"Who?"

"Oh, shit. Er... Voldemort."

Sirius's eyebrows rose slowly into his hairline. "His name is

Tom?"

Harry chuckled and shrugged. "Yeah. But I wouldn't recommend ever

ever

calling him that to his face. He'd probably

crucio

you, if you did."

"What about you?"

"Well, he lets me call him that. But he and I have a... weird sort of relationship between us. The whole prophecy thing. There's also this er..." Harry paused, pulled off the ring and then pushed his messy black fringe away from his forehead exposing his scar. "My curse scar? It's more than anyone ever really suspected. Voldemort and I are connected together by some incredibly powerful and old magic. You know the part in the prophecy about how we can only die except by the hands of the other, and neither can die while the other survives?"

"Yeah..." Sirius said slowly.

"It's... true. I mean, we're literally immortal unless we kill each other. He cannot die as long as I live, and I cannot die as long as he lives. The only way that the two of us can die is if we shootAvada Kadavra's

at each other at the same time. Otherwise, we're immortal."

Sirius's jaw dropped and he fell back into his chair as if he had just been stunned. "That's insane!"

"It's true. It's really complicated, and I can't really risk some of the details getting out so I'm afraid I won't be explaining it in any more detail, but just trust me when I say it's true. I know that you're afraid that all of this stuff is just being fed to me by Voldemort and that he's manipulating me or tricking me or something, but I seriously found out most of it on my own. He didn't get me, Sirius, I went to him. I found him, and went to him on my own. He was

shocked

when I first showed up. He thought it was some sort of trick or a trap. And he didn't feed me the prophecies,

I found them.I went digging around in Trelawney's head and dug the memories out of her on my own. I gave them to Tom!"

"What do you mean that

you

dug it out of her head?"

Harry grinned. "I'm really good at legilimency. Anyway, I got side tracked," he paused and put the ring back on, slipping back into his blond alter-ego. He rubbed his finger over the green stone set into the thick silver band and then extended his hand across the table to Sirius. "Touch the ring and it will key into your magical signature."

Sirius looked as if he wanted to protest and get back on the thing about his godson being skilled atlegilimency

of all things, but huffed and touched the ring. It glowed for a second and a moment later Harry's appearance shimmered and shifted back to that of black-haired, green-eyed, Harry Potter. But he was still wearing the ring.

"What just happened?" Sirius asked.

"I keyed you into the ring. Now you'll be able to see through the glamors to the real me. I can wear the ring all the time at the manor over the summer. When I look in the mirror I will see my real face, although I can switch it so that I see the glamors myself in case I want to make adjustments to it. Anyone keyed into the ring sees my real appearance too, but anyone else sees the fake me."

"And Voldemort

made

that?"

"Yup. It's incredibly complex magic. He's amazing at crafting things like this. You should have seen this magical orb that he made for when I went to Snape."

"Snape? Snape! He was the spy who told Voldemort the prophecy!"

Harry rolled his eyes. "Yes he was, but he's been used and fucked around almost as much as the rest of us. Dumbledore has screwed him almost as much as he screwed you. But Snape got a cushy job out of it. You got locked away with fucking dementors."

Sirius's face went hard and he scowled angrily.

"Anyway, Sirius... I hate to do this, but I really need some promises from you before I can keep going. I've already told you

way too much, but I really want to trust you."

Sirius sat up and looked at Harry. "What do you need?"

"I need a vow that you won't go to Dumbledore. An

Unbreakable Vow

that you won't reveal any what I've told you, to Dumbledore. You don't have to join Voldemort or the Dark if you don't want to, but I need to know you aren't going to betray me to the Light either."

"I would never betray you, Harry!"

"Then make the vow.

Please, Sirius," Harry pleaded.

Sirius stared Harry in the eyes for a moment before sighing and running his hand through his hair. "Of course, pup. I'll make the vow."

The next five minutes was spent with their left hands clasped while they each held their wand in their right, pointing at their joined hands and speaking the vow.

Sirius swore to never reveal the secret of Harry's allegiances to anyone, but specifically Dumbledore or anyone in the Order of the Phoenix or Ministry, unless given express permission by Harry himself. Once the magic had settled the two sat in silence in the dim cave for several long minutes.

Finally Sirius heaved a big, defeated sigh and leaned forward in his seat, resting his elbows on his knees.

"Are you really sure about this Harry? I mean...

Voldemort?"

Harry chuckled and shook his head at his godfather. "Yes, Sirius. I really am sure."

"How did this happen? How did you end up going to Voldemort? You said you found

him?

That you went to

him?

How...?"

Harry sighed and leaned back in his chair, crossing one leg over the other knee. "After my name came out of the cup on Halloween, everyone ditched me.

Everyone.

I mean, I know you stood by me, but you weren't here. It took months for letters to come back and forth between us, so I was basically all alone. Ron and Hermione ditched me.

"I did a lot of thinking in the beginning. I sort of went into myself and started questioning and thinking about things that I'd ignored or taken for granted before. I also sort of accidentally stumbled across this huge resource of magical energy inside me that I didn't realize was there. I can't really explain it, but an enormous amount of my magic was being diverted and focused on something completely frivolous. Once I stopped it, I suddenly had access to all this magical energy and mental focus that I never had before. I could think more clearly and my mind was more focused. I

things. And I could see and

feel

the magic around me. It suddenly became so much easier to do magic, and it was amazing.

"I started teaching myself some more advanced magics in preparation for the tasks and it just sort of took off from there. I ended up digging into the Dark Arts all on my own," Harry paused as he saw Sirius's head shoot up in attention and his eyes widen a bit. "There's a place inside the school... it's not on the Map so I don't think you or the Marauders found it. It's called the Room of Requirement."

Sirius frowned. "I've heard of that. But everyone said it was just a myth. James tried to find it but we never did."

"Well I know where it is. It can be whatever you need, and that includes unplottable and exempt from the dark magic wards around the school. If you perform dark magic in there, no one will know. I practiced it in there."

Harry had decided to just stick with this story for consistency sake, but also because he wanted to keep at least one of his secrets in the school

secret.

If ever he needed to escape somewhere inside the school, he wanted to be able to go to the chamber without anyone knowing that he was there.

"So that's how I started getting into the Dark Arts. You remember how I told you about that vision I had during the summer? The one where Voldemort was talking with Wormtail and another man I didn't recognize? Voldemort told the third man that he wanted me for something – remember?"

"Yes, I remember," Sirius said nodding his head.

"Well, that wasn't the last vision I had. I kept having them all year and they got longer and clearer the more er... the more I tapped into my own dark magic. Not only did they get easier to remember, but they stopped hurting. I guess the more my affinity shifted to dark, the more compatible my mind was with the visions from Voldemort's mind so they didn't hurt anymore.

"The thing I never really explained to anyone about my dreams and visions about Voldemort is that I wasn't

watching

the dream, I would experience the whole thing from Voldemort's perspective. Like I

was

him. I would speak his words and think his thoughts and then I'd wake up from it and be all confused and disoriented for a minute while I realized that those weren't

my

thoughts, but

his. Anyway, the more visions I had and the more I got into his head, the more I realized that there was something much bigger going on. Things that had been hidden from me my whole life by Dumbledore. I also realized that Voldemort was a

person.

He had thoughts and feelings like a real human being – not the insane monster I had always thought him to be.

"The more time passed and the more visions I had, I started to figure some things out. I also figured out where he was staying, and who he had working for him inside the school. So the week after the second task I confronted his spy inside Hogwarts and asked that he take me to him.

"By that point I had already decided to... I don't know... help him? Join him? My affinity is completely dark now. I'm a Dark Wizard and I'm proud of it. I love the Dark arts. They're thrilling and exciting and... everything is just so... it's just..." Harry's voice trailed off in awe and he was shaking his head and had a far away look in his eyes. Sirius could see a slightly crazed glow in Harry's eyes and felt a pang of fear.

"Harry, are you addicted?" he asked suddenly.

Harry's head snapped back and he refocused on Sirius. "Not anymore. Tom's made sure I got it under control. But... well, I was. I guess it was probably pretty bad too."

"Tom

did? Sirius asked incredulously.

"Gah...

Voldemort. Voldemort made sure I got it under control."

"I get that, I just find it hard to believe. Seems to me like he'd benefit from having his followers addicted."

"Dark wizards who are in control of their magic are far more useful than Dark wizards who are controlled

by

their magic," Harry said, repeating something that Tom had told him several times. "And he didn't want me to be weak or for my actions to be controlled by my magic, rather than my mind."

"Maybe he

says

that, but I know for a fact that the more high on Dark magic a wizard is, the more apt they are to go to him. The Dark magic makes them

desperate

to go to the Dark Lord. You can't claim that it had nothing to do with you going to him."

Harry sighed and ran his hand through his shaggy black hair. "It did. I'll admit that. I know now that it's true. I probably wouldn't have actually gone to him if I wasn't so enticed by the power of the Dark magic I had been using. But I can only be grateful that that happened. The path that took me to him was a bit iffy, but I wouldn't change any of it. I'm

glad

I went to him. So much has come out of it that I wouldn't give up for the world. And I finally feel like I'm in control of my own destiny. For the first time I'm staying on top of things. I finally know what's going on, and I'm doing things about it.

"And the more I've learned about what's really going on – the more I learn about the Ministry, and Dark creatures, and what the real differences are between Light and Dark magic... the more I realize I

agree

with Voldemort. With his real goals. His political ideals. There are some things we come to head about, but they're minimal. And he's not unreasonable. He's willing to listen to other opinions on things. He just doesn't want to show weakness to his followers, so if a person ever disagrees enough to try and contradict him, they just have to make sure they do it in private. If you go against him in public it'll just make him angry, but if you are respectful about it, and do it in a private setting, he'll listen to a logical, rational, argument. He welcomes it, even."

Sirius sighed and shook his head. "I just have some trouble taking what you're saying and what I personally saw in the last war and reconciling the two."

"I know, Sirius. I know. But... can you just give him a chance?"

"You mean, can I give being a Death Eater a chance?" Sirius asked, grimacing.

Harry sighed. "Is it true you have a Dark magic affinity?"

Sirius's grimace deepened. "Just barely. It's more neutral than Dark. Heredity and years of tutoring is hard to counter act, no matter how badly you want it."

Harry nodded his head. "He is the Lord of all Dark wizards. Deemed so by Magic itself. He fights for the rights and prosperity of Dark magic. The Light has been in control of magical Britain for so long that the balance is completely out of whack. Things are too one-sided. He's going to fix that. But he's also working towards an even greater thing. Something so important... it's not just for the Dark magic users, it's for the good of

all

magic users. Wizards and creatures alike. If he fails... it'll be bad Sirius. People don't realize what's really at stake."

"Then

tell me!

Help me understand, Harry."

Harry huffed and ran his hand through his hair again. "It's complicated...but... here's how I first learned about it. Before I even spoke to To-Voldemort about it. Tens of thousands of years ago, when the the High Elves still lived in our world, their seers foretold the end of the world. According to their vision, if muggles ever discovered the existence of magic, they would try to steal it for themselves. When they succeed at that, the end of the world will come, and we will all die.

"They somehow communed with

Magic

so that they could warn it of their vision, but it already knew. They learned that Magic was setting a plan in motion to try and save at least

of us. It could only save the magical creatures and the magical human half-breeds – wizards – but not the muggles. It assigned two magical Lords – a Lord of the Light, and a Lord of the Dark. It was the task of the magical Lords to keep a magical balance, and to make sure that the secret is kept and that when the time comes for the muggle's Armageddon, we stop them from stealing the magic and save ourselves.

"Dumbledore is the Light Lord and I

think

he

may

know about all this, but I don't think he realizes that there is no way to save the muggles. I think he thinks he can save everyone. Or something... I don't know. In any case, he's a fool for ignoring the harsh reality of the true prophecy, which is that the muggles can't be saved. They're doomed no matter what. Our options are to save ourselves, or save no one. We all die, or only the muggles die. To-Voldemort has no qualms with sacrificing the muggles. He admits that in his youth he thought he could just bypass the waiting and destroy the muggles now, saving the rest of us. But he's realized that will never work. That he was young and naïve. He isn't going to focus on the muggles this time, but instead focus on the magical system. Getting things back in balance, and increasing the security and secrecy of our society. And when the muggle Armageddon comes, he'll fight it. But he isn't going to do anything that will risk making it happen sooner than needed – which is what the muggle slaughtering was really doing in the end."

"You're serious?"

"No,

you're

Sirius."

Sirius blinked at him before chuckling and shaking his head. "I cannot believe you just used that joke."

"What?" Harry asked in mock innocence and laughing.

Sirius sighed but smiled. "So where did you find out about this whole end of the world thing?"

"An ancient book I found. The whole thing is written in Old Albric. Hermione, Ginny, and I spent most of the last term translating it. The legend was in it."

"Old Aldric? How in Merlin's name did you translate

that?"

"A book I found on the language," Harry said shrugging.

Sirius blinked at him in mild disbelief for a moment before chuckling and shaking his head. "Alright, fine. So you went and confronted Voldemort about all this then?"

"Yes. He was pretty shocked I found out about it on my own. Just about no one knows about this stuff anymore, and he's bound by an oath of secrecy not to speak about certain aspects of it. It has something to do with how he became the Dark Lord in the first place. Apparently there's some sort of system in place where each successor has to discover how to take the role on their own, so no Dark Lord can speak of it to any one else. It's to prevent a Dark Lord from choosing their successor. Fate has to do it, or something. It's the same for Light Lords."

Sirius frowned and gave Harry a long, piercing look.

"You aren't aspiring to be the next Dark Lord, are you?" he asked suddenly, in a completely serious tone.

Harry blinked once before bursting out laughing. "No Sirius. I'm not going to be the next Dark Lord. It's impossible."

"And why is that?"

"Because a new Dark Lord cannot come into power until the last one has died. The only way that Voldemort is going to die, is if I die with him. So, no chance of me being his successor."

Sirius grimaced and his brow furrowed deeply. "I still don't get what's going on with that. How the hell can the two of you be tied to each other like that?"

"I told you it's complicated and I also told you that I can't tell you about most of it."

Sirius grumbled and leaned back in his chair, pouting slightly. "Can you tell me about

any

of it?"

Harry sighed. "It's a combination of things. He's immortally linked to me because of something that went wrong when he tried to kill me, and I'm immortally linked to him because of an unexpected side-effect of the ritual we used to give him a body back a number of months ago. We didn't really get any of it figured out until after I'd found the real prophecy and we did some real digging into it's meanings. It was after

that

that we realized that we had already accidentally made it true without even realizing it."

"But how can you be

immortal?"

"It's not perfect immortality. Not a physical immortality. Our bodies can still be damaged, and potentially even killed. His was destroyed all those years ago, for example. But our souls and magical cores are immortal. We're both bound to this world by each other's existences. We're tethered here, so our souls cannot cross over."

Sirius shook his head and looked, unfocused at the cave wall. "Crazy..."

The two sat there in silence again for a minute. "I need to leave soon," Harry said, finally breaking the heavy quiet. "I'm going to need you to make up your mind before the end of term. It'll be harder for me to get away from the manor after that. Once I don't show up at Privet Drive, Dumbledore is going to be searching for me like crazy. As long as I stay inside the manor's wards, he won't be able to find me, but that means I won't be able to come out to meet you then."

"You're going to spend the entire summer inside Voldemort's manor?" Sirius gaped.

Harry rolled his eyes. "You do realize that otherwise I would have been spending my entire summer locked inside my room at the Dursley's and only let out of it to clean their house and do their gardening, right? I didn't get to go anywhere there either. In fact, I had considerably less space. The manor is quite large and the grounds are expansive. Voldemort made sure the wards extended all the way out to the edge of the property so there's a lot of land. The grounds and the garden are pretty overgrown and messy, but he's planning to get a couple more house elves in the next month to help keep the place up. Since it was just him and Wormtail there regularly right now, he didn't see there being a lot of need for more help, but since the Death Eaters will be frequenting the house soon, he decided to finally do it."

"Right...

Wormtail...

So... so you've seen him? You seriously spoke to him?" Sirius asked, incredulously.

Harry nodded and then remembered something that caused him grin, wickedly. "I have. In fact, I got to practice two unforgivable on him."

"What?"

"When Voldemort was teaching me how to do the

Imperius, we used Wormtail as my test subject. And a number of weeks ago when Wormtail did something insanely idiotic, and Voldemort was punishing him for his undeniably grievous mistake, he let me throw the

cruciatus

at the stupid, fat little man as reward for stopping the mistake from becoming a huge problem."

"You've cast two of the three Unforgivables!" Sirius exclaimed before groaning. "Oh, Harry..."

"Actually, I've cast all three. Got the killing curse to work the first time I tried it."

Sirius's head snapped up and he looked horrified. "Harry!" he hissed. "Please tell me you're joking!"

"I'm not. And the stupid bitch I threw the curse at deserved what she got."

"Oh, Merlin, Harry! Please don't say that..." Sirius moaned.

Harry just sat there with a blank, unapologetic expression on his face.

Sirius sighed and looked up. "Who?"

"Rita Skeeter."

Sirius blinked and gaped at him.

"You killed Rita Skeeter."

"Yes."

"Anyone else?"

"No. She's the only one."

"How long ago?"

"It's been months."

"And no one suspects it was you?"

"She was an unregistered animagus. Her form was a small beetle and she used it to spy on people. No one knew of her form and no one knew she was sneaking into Hogwarts. There's no way that anyone could suspect me of having the opportunity to do it."

Sirius grumbled and ran his hand through his long, messy hair in a frustrated gesture. "You've got to be careful Harry. Using just one of those curses on another person is enough to get you a lifetime sentence in Azkaban. And believe me when I tell you that you do not want to go there."

"I know, Sirius. Don't worry. I'm not an idiot. Besides, if I ever got caught, Voldemort would get me out."

"You can't know that, pup."

"I know it," Harry said in a tone that showed no doubt.

Sirius sighed and shook his head. "Alright, Harry... look, I said I would stand by you and I meant it. You're my godson, and I'm going to be there for you, no matter where you go."

"Don't agree to this lightly, Sirius. You can stand by me and remain neutral too. Just stay out of everything. Don't agree to join the Dark unless you really think you can do it. You won't have to kill anyone, but you

will

have to show Voldemort deference. You have to treat him with proper respect, and follow his orders. But if you do join, he's willing to hand over Wormtail. We're going to have to clean out the last year of his memories with one hell of a powerful

obliviate, but you can have him once we do that."

Sirius nodded his head slowly as his eyes shown how intently he was thinking over this.

"If you get an offer to go back to the Order, you will be expected to spy for us," Harry continued.

Sirius groaned lightly under his breath. "Right..."

"But if you join, you get your name cleared, and if you want, you can stay at the manor this summer with me. A soft, clean bed, three square meals a day with clean clothes and access to me for as long as you stay at the manor. Of course you'll be a cleared man by the end so you can come and go as you please."

Sirius gave him a long, scrutinizing look before he sighed and nodded his head.

"I'll do it, Harry."

"You have to be sure, Sirius."

"I'm sure. I'll..." he heaved a large sigh, "I'll join the Death Eaters."

Harry smiled at him softly and nodded his head. "Okay, but I'm still going to give you some time to think on it before I take you to him. I don't want you rushing into this and regretting it because there's no going back afterwards. If he gives up Wormtail he's going to want something in return. He's willing to do this only really because I asked him. This is a personal favor to me, you know. He's still a bit iffy towards you because of all the trouble you caused him during the first war."

Sirius quirked an eyebrow and Harry noticed the corner of his mouth threaten to turn up into a proud smirk.

"If you do this, you cannot be an ass to him in any sort of public setting. I meant it when I said he doesn't mind hearing opposing ideas and input, but it has to be in private. You can't openly oppose him if there are any other Death Eaters around, you got me? You can't push his buttons. He wont' stand for it. And I don't want you getting hurt."

"I can look after myself, Harry. I'm the adult here, remember?"

"Yeah, and you're a Gryffindor."

"So are you."

"I'm nothing more than a snake in the lion's den, Sirius. I was never supposed to be in Gryffindor."

Sirius blanched. "What?"

"The sorting hat wanted me in Slytherin. I had to beg and plead with it to put me anywhere else. It reluctantly put me into Gryffindor, but not after making it blatantly clear that it thought I belonged in Slytherin."

Sirius's lips moved slightly but no sound came out. He closed his mouth and sighed. "You were still a Gryffindor."

"I was forcing it. I was trying so hard to live up to everyone else's expectations. All I wanted was to finally please someone. To finally make people happy. My whole childhood was spent being told I was a worthless, good-for-nothing, freeloader and a freak. There was

nothing

I could do that would please the Dursley's.

Nothing.

"Hogwarts was like a fresh start and all I wanted was to

finally

be able to make someone care about me. Make someone proud or pleased. It was all a part of Dumbledore's plan – I see that now. Do you realize that the first two people I really spent any real time with in the wizarding world were Hagrid and Ron? And you know what both of them told me? Gryffindors were brave and courageous, and Slytherin's were all dirty lying bastards who went dark and turned into murderers. And the guy who killed my parents was a Slytherin and he was the darkest most evil bastard of them all. How do you think I felt when the hat said I belonged in Slytherin?"

"Oh... Harry..."

"So I tried...

so hard

to prove the hat wrong. I was sorted into Gryffindor and I had to prove to myself and to everyone else that it was where I was supposed to be. I was sorted there because it was where I belonged, not because I begged the hat not to put me in Slytherin. That's the real reason I acted the way I did. Part of it was real, but part of it was always forced. It was a reaction... an

over-reaction. It was me compensating..." Harry sighed and leaned back in his chair, running his hand through his hair roughly.

"I feel better now," Harry said quietly. "I feel more like...

me. Like I'm finally comfortable in my own skin. Like I've come to terms with things and I'm not lying to myself anymore. I know, rationally, that there are things a bit...

wrong, with me. But I'm okay with that. I enjoy things that the moral standard says are wrong to enjoy. But I don't care. I'm done lying to myself. Done trying to force myself to be something I'm not. Anyway, we've run off on another tangent again, and I really do need to get back.

"The point is that, while this life is the one for me, and I would really like to have you as a part of my life, and to be able to help you, I also know that this life might

be the life for you. So, I'll come back the last week of term – probably a day or two after the third task. If you're still sure then, I'll take you to him."

Sirius held Harry's eyes for a long moment before he nodded his head. "Alright pup. I'll... I'll think on it."

"Good."

Harry stood up and straightened his nice black robes. Harry pulled the mokeskin pouch out of his inner pocket again and pulled out a smaller bag from within it. He set it on the table and with a tap of his wand, it unshrunk to the size of a medium sized suitcase.

Sirius looked at it and then up at Harry in confusion.

"Food," Harry said with a small smile and a shrug. "And several sets of clean robes and a few other supplies."

Sirius ducked his head, feeling ashamed that his godson was having to take care of him when it was supposed to be the other way around. He had failed Harry in so many ways...

"Thanks, pup," he said in a raspy whisper.

"I'll see you in a week," Harry said as he headed to the mouth of the cave.

"Bye Harry."

"Bye."

–

–

–

–

Disclaimer: Don't own Harry Potter. JKRowling does.

First Beta Pass by Clemex

– –

The morning of the third task dawned and Harry made his way to the Great Hall for breakfast. It was a bigger deal than usual since the Minister for Magic was there, as well as a number of extra guests, even thought the actual task wasn't until that evening. Harry had been exempt from his exams because he was one of the tournament champions but he had only taken up that offered relief in History of Magic and Divination. In his other classes, he had insisted on taking the exams anyway. Ron had been utterly dumbfounded by this, while Hermione was beaming with pride.

That morning, for example, was his History of Magic exam that he didn't need to, or even remotelywant to

take. So his plans for the morning was to sit in the back of the classroom and read. His plans were interrupted when Professor McGonagall came up behind him and told him that all of the champions were supposed to gather in the small chamber off the Great Hall.

"But the task isn't until this evening," Harry said, looking at her in utter bewilderment.

"Yes, but the champion's families are invited to watch the final task. This is simply a chance for you to greet them."

Harry gaped at her in utter dumbfounded confusion.

"My...family?"

Harry deadpanned.

"Yes, Mr. Potter."

Harry gave her a piercing look and she actually looked a bit unnerved by it. "Is this Dumbledore's idea?"

He didn't seriously get the Dursleys down here, did he? Harry was quite sure that nothing short of the

Imperius

curse would get Vernon Dursley to come with in a hundred miles of Hogwarts.

"You may be surprised by what you find there, Harry. You have until the end of breakfast," she said before turning and heading off to inform the others.

Harry blinked after her, still entirely confused as to what was going on. There really was

no way in hell

that the Dursleys would be at Hogwarts. Just

no. way.

So who was it? Surely not Sirius? He hadn't written anymore letters since Harry's visit the week prior, so Harry really didn't know what was going on with his godfather. He could have taken polyjuice potion and disguised himself, but even that would only work with Dumbledore's assistance and Harry just didn't see that as being very likely. And even if it was, it was an insanely risky thing for Sirius to do! The Minister of Magic was sitting no more than twenty feet from Harry at this very minute.

"What do you think is going on, Harry?" Hermione asked in a hushed, worried, voice.

"I have no idea," Harry said, still staring after McGonagall.

Hermione was frowning and looking just as concerned and suspicious as Harry. Finally she sighed and looked at her wrist watch.

"We'd better hurry, Ron or we'll be late for Professor Binns."

"Right," Ron said before stuffing another fork full of eggs into his mouth. He finally finished and then gave Harry a slightly concerned look before speaking again. "Well er... good luck, I guess?" Ron said giving Harry a hesitant look and shrugging.

"Yeah... thanks," Harry said nodding his head at them. They both stood and hurried out of the hall to take their History of Magic exam.

Harry finished his breakfast in the emptying Great Hall, slowly mulling over what could be going on. He watched as Fleur got up from where she was sitting at the Ravenclaw table and joined Cedric as he crossed to the side chamber and entered. Krum slouched off to join them shortly afterward.

Harry was frowning away at the door. He was almost dreading what he found find behind that door. Finally he stood up and slowly made his way towards it.

The door of the side chamber opened suddenly and Cedric stuck his head out, momentarily searching around before he spotted Harry.

"Harry, come on, they're waiting for you!"

This only made Harry start. Who the bloody hell was 'they'? If it was Sirius under Polyjuice, it would he a 'he'. He didn't know enough potential family members to form a 'they', and he still

knew

that there was no way in hell that the Dursleys would set foot in Hogwarts.

Unless Dumbledore really

did

put them under the

Imperius. Did he seriously think Harry would fall for that? That he wouldn't notice? Was this some attempt to convince him that it would be okay if he went back to his relatives? Was –

Harry stepped through the door and blinked. There, standing a few feet from Fleur, her mother, and her little sister Gabrielle, was none other than Mrs. Weasley and Bill, standing in front of the fireplace, beaming at him.

"Surprise!" Mrs. Weasley said excitedly. Harry gaped at them before a small smile crept onto his lips.

Well, this was certainly better than anything he had feared. He walked over to them, still rather stunned, and came to an awkward stop directly in front of them.

"Thought we'd come and watch you, Harry!" she said as she leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. He felt himself go red at the overly affectionate gesture and stood there stiffly as she began to look him over.

"Good Merlin, Harry! Look at you! You've shot up like a weed! You were always such a small dear, no offense of course Harry. You must have grown half a foot! If not more!"

Harry ducked his head and ran his hand through his hair, trying to hide his grin.

Mrs. Weasley made a tutting sound next though, and he looked up at her curiously. "Really should do something about that hair though. Getting a bit shaggy," she said and Harry saw her eyes dart over to Bill and frown at his long hair, tied into a loose low ponytail. Harry grinned.

Bill rolled his eyes at his mother and offered his hand to Harry. "Hey, Harry. Charlie wanted to come too, but he couldn't get time off. He said you were incredible against the Fireball. Said he's never seen anyone able to dominate one like that before. I know some people get kinda squeamish over the parseltongue thing, but Charlie couldn't help but wonder if he could find someone who speaks it to recruit for up at the reserve."

Harry barked out a small laugh and Bill smirked.

Fleur, Harry noticed, was eyeing Bill with great interest over her mother's shoulder. Harry could tell she had no objection whatsoever to long hair or earrings with fangs on them.

"This was really nice of you two," Harry said taking a step back and grinning at the two of them. He really was quite surprised, but he couldn't help feel a bit odd about the whole thing.

Harry glanced over a Fleur again and then back at Bill, who had now noticed her as well.

"Hey, can I introduce you two to everyone?" Harry said suddenly, smirking at Bill. "This is Cedric, although I suppose you probably already know him...?" he trailed off and both Weasley's nodded. Cedric grinned and nodded at the two of them, giving a quick greeting. "And over there is Viktor Krum. Hey Viktor!"

The Bulgarian turned over and looked at Harry with mild confusion. They had got on well enough at the Yule Ball but that was

ages

ago, and they really hadn't spoken since. They barely said anything at the second task and hadn't even come within five feet of each other since then.

"Viktor, these are some very good friends of mine, Mrs. Molly Weasley and her oldest son, Bill. I'm sure you two are already aware of who Viktor is."

"Oh, er, yes dear. It's a pleasure to meet you," Mrs. Weasley said. Bill, however looked considerably more enthusiastic and made a couple comments on various noteworthy games and plays that Krum had been responsible for.

"And of course, the oh so lovely Ms. Fleur Delacour," Harry said doing a sweeping motion with his hand and smirking up at Fleur who was grinning and rolling her eyes at his antics. "Fleur, this is Mrs. Molly Weasley and her eldest, Bill. Bill works as a curse and ward breaker for Gringotts.

Fleur's face lit up when she came face to face with Bill and Harry thought he even saw the faintest dusting of a blush. His grin widened.

The two began to speak then and Fleur even introduced Bill to her little sister and mother. While they chatted away, Amos Diggory came up and glared at Harry who stood there with a bewildered frown on his face.

"Can I help you with something?" Harry said curtly.

"You think you're hot stuff, do you Potter?"

"Uh.." Harry blinked, not finding the man even remotely amusing.

"Ignore him," Cedric said stepping between the two and trying to pull Harry aside. "He's been angry ever since Rita Skeeter's article about the Tri-Wizard Tournament – you know, where she made out you were the only Hogwarts champion."

"Didn't bother to correct her, though, did he?" Amos Diggory said over his son's shoulder. "But you'll show him, Ced. You've beaten him once before and you'll do it again!"

Harry gave Mr. Diggory a blank, bewildered look. When the bloody hell had Cedric ever beaten him at anything? He almost said as much before he realized what the man was likely referring to.

"Wait, you mean during that quidditch game where a hundred dementors attacked me on my broom, fifty feet in the air, and sent me falling to my death? Well, I suppose if you want, you're free to consider that a victory, but I think Ced has more pride than that."

Mr. Diggory looked as if he were about to explode before Mrs. Weasley cut in abruptly.

"Rita Skeeter always went out of her way to cause trouble, Amos!" Mrs. Weasley said angrily. "I would have thought you'd know that, working at the Ministry!"

Mr. Diggory looked as though he was going to say something angry, but his wife laid a hand on his arm, and he merely shrugged and turned away.

Bill finally separated from Fleur and came over to investigate what was going on with the Diggorys. Seeing that things were possibly getting a bit uncomfortable he turned to Harry and asked, "Fancy giving us a tour, Harry?"

Relieved for the distraction Harry grinned and agreed.

The rest of the morning was spent walking over the sunny grounds with Bill and Mrs. Weasley, showing them the Beauxbatons carriage and the Durmstrang ship. Mrs. Weasley was intrigued by the Whomping Willow, which had been planted after she had left school, and reminisced at length about the gamekeeper before Hagrid, a man named Ogg.

Finally, the trio returned to the castle for lunch.

"Mum – Bill!" Ron said, looking stunned as he joined the Gryffindor table. "What're you doing here?"

"Come to watch Harry in the last task!" said Mrs. Weasley brightly. "I must say, it makes a lovely change, not having to cook. How was your exam?"

"Oh... okay," said Ron hesitantly. "Couldn't remember all the goblin rebel names, so I invented a few. It's all right," he said, helping himself to a Cornish pasty, while Mrs. Weasley looked stern, "they're all called stuff like Bodrod the Bearded and Urg the Unclean; it wasn't hard."

Fred, George, and Ginny came to sit next to them too and Harry suddenly felt as if he were back in the Burrow surrounded by the army of gingers.

Hermione showed up and Harry couldn't help but notice that Mrs. Weasley seemed a bit cold to her. He couldn't come up with a single reason as to why the change of attitude could have taken place until Ginny leaned in close and reminded him on the article in Witch Weekly that came out about Hermione and Krum all those months prior.

Harry couldn't help but find it humorous that earlier Mrs. Weasley had scolded Amos Diggory for thinking badly of Harry because of something Skeeter had written, and now she was doing the same thing to Hermione.

After lunch Harry found himself itching to slip away from the pair to pay his daily after-lunch visit to Tom. He hoped that he would just manage to get his time-turner activities lined up perfectly and begged off from the pair for a moment to 'go use the loo'. He slipped inside, pulled on his cloak and activated the map. He saw the second Harry Potter dot waiting in the hall outside the privy he was currently standing in and grinned. His other self was simply waiting for him to leave so he could slip in and take his place.

Perfect.

He slipped out, watched the dot of his future counterpart slip in after him, and quickly made his way out of the castle and across the grounds towards the edge of the wards.

A matter of minutes later and Harry was using the portkey and appearing in Tom's entry hall.

Obviously, his afternoon breaks no longer had anything to do with Tom meditating. Instead they usually skipped straight to an hour or two of dark arts instruction and some dueling practice.

Harry stepped into the study and let his bag slip off his shoulder as he came over and sat down beside Tom's chair. The older man was already comfortably perched in his chair with a periodical of some sort in his hands. Harry sighed in relief as he leaned back and Tom's hand automatically went to his hair.

"How has your day been so far?" Tom asked airily.

"Had a bit of a surprise come at me this morning," Harry said with a chuckle.

Tom paused and looked down at him curiously. "Oh?"

"Yeah, apparently there's this whole thing about the 'family' of the champions coming to the third task, and right after breakfast we were supposed to meet with them. For a minute there, McGonagall actually had me convinced that Dumbledore had somehow forced the Dursleys to show up. Turned out that Ron and Ginny's mum and oldest brother turned out to watch. I've been playing host all morning. It's honestly getting a bit exhausting, and I still have the rest of the afternoon to show them around as well."

"Playing tour guide to a pair of blood traitors, how droll," Tom sneered and Harry chuckled.

They quickly slipped into their normal routine, but Tom cut it short after only forty minutes of dueling practice. Since the task wouldn't be held until late that evening, he didn't want Harry to be excessively tired from his overly extended day.

He walked Harry to the time-turner room and just as they got there he spoke. "Ah yes, one last thing, Harry."

"Yes Tom?" Harry said turning around.

"I will be calling the Death Eaters to me tomorrow night. Severus will likely be late to the meeting since I have instructed him to go to Dumbledore first. I expect the man will send Snape to me to resume his role as spy, so I am still confident that he will make it, albeit delayed."

Harry nodded his head. "Alright. Will it be suspicious if Barty disappears from the castle at the same time as Snape being summoned? And what about Karkaroff?"

"I have told Igor not to attend. It is for the best on several levels. Dumbledore will likely be watching to see if the Durmstrang headmaster returns to me. It is also likely that several people he tried to sell out to save his own skin will attend and they will likely not be pleased with him. Barty will slip out ahead of time and hopefully his absence will not be noted."

"Should I be there?" Harry asked, finally voicing the one thing that he was most curious about.

Tom paused but smiled. "Yes,

pet. I would like you there. I have plans, actually. We need to discuss them in more depth. I want you to make sure you come tomorrow after lunch so we can go over them."

"Alright. I'll be here."

"Good," Tom said with a small smirk before leaning forward and wrapping a hand behind Harry's neck and pulling the younger wizard in close. Their lips brushed against each other lightly once, causing magical sparks, then twice, magic popping and hissing even more, before the kiss deepened and they both momentarily lost themselves to the heady, needy, feelings. Their lips parted and tongues began to come together in a sinful dance. Harry groaned and pressed himself against Tom as his body was suddenly desperate for more contact and more friction.

Tom, always being the one with far more self control and restraint, finally pulled back and Harry whimpered. Tom chuckled lightly before smirking down at Harry with mild amusement, layered in lust.

"Mmmm... so responsive. So eager." He leaned forward and brushed his lips lightly against Harry's while letting his thumb rub circles into Harry's jaw. He brushed across a faint stubble and chuckled. "You need to shave," he mumbled against Harry's lips.

Harry shrugged. "Do you mind it?"

"No. It's good to know you're old enough for facial hair."

Harry rolled his eyes and gave Tom an annoyed look. "I'm almost fifteen, not twelve."

"Please don't remind me of your age, Harry. I prefer to remain blissfully deluded."

"You're the one that brought it up."

"Yes, I suppose I did." Tom sighed and took a step back and hissed open the door to the time-turner room. "Alright, pet. You should be getting back. I expect you to return to me victorious. It would be utterly obscene for you to lose to those incompetent children."

Harry snickered. "Those 'incompetent children' are all three years older than me."

"Again with the age... Yes, they are older, but they are not

you, and they have not been trained byme."

Harry grinned and nodded his head. "Alright, I swear not to disappoint you," he said in a cocky, amused voice. "If I get the chance, should I visit tonight after the task?" he asked, more serious now.

"If you wish. I suspect you will be quite worn by then though. Just come to me tomorrow so we can prepare for tomorrow night."

Harry smiled and nodded one last time while walking backwards into the small room that contained the time-turner. Tom finally closed the door and Harry sighed as he turned around and slipped the small magical hourglass around his neck.

–

Once again hidden by his invisibility cloak and using the Map to guide his way, he made his way back into the castle and waited outside the bathroom while his earlier counterpart slipped inside and then disappeared. He went inside, removed the cloak and stuffed it and the map into his bag before exiting and meeting back up with Bill and Mrs. Weasley, who were none the wiser to the fact that he had actually been gone for nearly an hour, in the time that they thought he had merely gone to the loo.

He, Bill, and Mrs. Weasley whittled away the frustratingly long afternoon with a lazy walk around the castle, and then returned to the Great Hall for the evening feast. Ludo Bagman and Cornelius Fudge had joined the staff table again. Bagman looked quite cheerful but Cornelius Fudge was looking rather annoyed.

There were more courses than usual, but Harry ate about as much as ever. Nerves weren't really an issue here. He'd had Tom throwing nasty dark hexes and curses at him every day for more than a month and didn't honestly expect anything that he would find in the maze more dangerous than the Dark Lord. Granted, Tom hadn't been honestly trying to kill him, but the man didn't pull his punches either. In more recent weeks, every dueling session had ended with a twenty minute 'break' where Harry would rest while Tom healed his wounds and applied the counters to all the curses he'd been hit with.

But he had been getting hit with fewer and fewer curses ad their training progressed. So if nothing else, Harry knew he had gotten a lot better at dodging.

He was also confident about the task because he had gotten a summery of all the different things inside it from Barty weeks ago.

After the last course Dumbledore called the Great Hall to attention and spoke a few words that Harry didn't care about and absently tuned out. McGonagall came up behind him and gathered him up to leave with the other champions. He, Cedric, Fleur, and Viktor were all lead out of the hall and across the grounds towards the Quidditch field. They went through the locker rooms and onto a small open patch in the field at the entrance of the now twenty-foot tall hedge maze. The task would be starting at 9pm, and it was currently 8:32. Harry could hear the sounds of the spectators gathering in the surrounding stands and found himself gazing up into the dimming evening sky. The horizon was glowing orange but if he looked straight up he saw a deep purple filling the air.

That would be the only thing to really complicate the task. It would be done in the dark. But that was the point. The task was intended to be frightening. Being in a dark maze; lost, unsure where to go, and what you would find around the next corner. Only the dim glow from the tip of your wand to illuminate your surroundings. The creatures inside weren't necessarily all that bad – mostly they were creatures raised by Hagrid, and while Harry would easily admit that Hagrid had an idiotic love for deadly creatures, he knew that none of these were beyond his ability to handle. But it was thenot knowing

that was intended to make it frightening. Add that to the frantic search for an end to a dizzying maze...

Harry found himself sorely contemplating using his serpentine sea krait form and the locator spell again. He knew exactly what he was looking for. At the center of the maze was the Tri-Wizard cup. All he would have to do was zero in on that cup and he would be led straight to his destination. And if he used his sea snake form, he could slither right under the damn hedges. His skin was tough enough to endure some stupid brambles.

But that would leave him vulnerable to some extent. There were some things that he would have difficulties dealing with in his snake form. His offensive parselmagic repertoire was still fairly limited. Tom had been teaching him some parselmagic spells, but it hadn't been their focus.

Besides that, there was that whole 'the judges would be monitoring his spellwork' thing to consider. And Cornelius Fudge was one of the judges. Dumbledore knew about his so-called animagus form, but none of the others did. And if Fudge found out about it, it would

have

to register as an animagus... even if he wasn't one.

So that idea was out. He couldn't fall back on his sea krait form. He would have to do this as a human. But he could still use the locator spell. He just wasn't sure if the summoned black snake would stick to the hedge pathways or if it would just cut right through them and leave him behind.

Of course... he

could

just cut his way through the damn hedges. There was nothing in the rules that said he couldn't.

Harry was pulled out of his musings by the sound of Cornelius Fudge's voice a bit behind him. He turned around and saw the three headmasters and the Minister of Magic gathering with Ludo Bagman and talking amongst themselves. Harry checked his watch and saw that it was now 8:45pm.

Cedric, Fleur, and Viktor were all standing around in various states of nervousness. Harry realized he was the only one out of the four that didn't look about ready to piss himself and he smirked. Harry walked over and watched as Fudge separated himself from the headmasters who seemed to be in the middle of some sort of talk with Bagman. Fudge clearly looked tired.

"Minister Fudge?" Harry said in the most innocent eager voice he could muster. It was surprisingly convincing.

Fudge started and turned around to blink owlishly at Harry.

"Oh, my! Harry Potter. How are you doing, young man? Was there something I could help you with?"

"Oh no, I don't need anything, I just wanted to greet you and thank you."

"Thank me?" Fudge asked, clearly confused.

"I know it's been quite a while, nearly two years now, in fact, but I really wanted to express howgrateful

I am for the help you gave me back during the summer before my third year. You know, the summer when I accidentally 'blew up' my muggle aunt, and you allowed me to stay in Diagon Alley after Sirius Black had escaped."

"Oh! Oh, yes... well that was.. a very... busy time. Much going on then. Quite hectic. And it really was no problem at all – that mess with your aunt, I mean."

"Well, I really did appreciate your help. I understand that elections are being held this summer. It's really quite a shame I won't be of age to vote yet, because I'd love the opportunity to vote for you. I'm really looking forward to when I'm old enough to finally partake in the whole workings of the magical governing system. In fact, I learned this year that along with inheriting the ancient Potter fortune, I've apparently also inherited the right to a seat on the Wizengamot for the Potter line. I intend to claim it once I'm old enough."

Fudge blinked and looked a bit dumbstruck for a moment.

"I-I had no idea you had political aspirations," Fudge stuttered out.

"Well, certainly not anytime soon. I'm only just about to turn fifteen next month, after all. But I've found that the inner workings of governing and politics have sparked my interest recently."

"Oh... is that so? And you say that you'd vote for me?"

"Of course," Harry said with mock eagerness and an only partially hidden sly smile. "I know that the word of a teenager probably isn't much, but I'd be more than willing to give you a public endorsement."

Fudge's face instantly lit up and Harry could see the calculating glint in the man's eyes.

"Is that so?" Fudge asked in a tone that was apparently supposed to sound only mildly interested, but came off as rather eager. Harry smirked.

"Of course."

"You know, Harry my boy, I have to admit I'm rather surprised. I was under the impression that you were..." Fudge trailed off, as if he were suddenly unsure what exactly he wanted to say.

"Ignorant of wizarding politics? Too stupid to know how to make use of my famous name? Far too loyal to a certain headmaster to support someone he rarely shows much love or the proper respect for?"

Fudge blinked at Harry's response for a stunned moment before a sly grin of his own spread across his face.

"You are certainly not what I had been led to believe you were, Mr. Potter."

Harry's grin widened. "No I'm not. And Albus Dumbledore does not show you nearly enough respect for the powerful position you hold. You are the Minister of Magic and you've been the Minister for five years already. You'd think after five peaceful years under your leadership would earn you some proper respect from the man."

Fudge's chest puffed up and his nose rose a bit into the air, imperiously. "Yes, you would think that," he said with an indignant air.

Harry noticed out of the corner of his eyes that the Headmasters and Bagman seemed to be wrapping up whatever they were discussing. "Well, I should probably go back and rejoin my fellow champions. But if, during the summer sometime, there are any events or perhaps some place that you think would be beneficial for the two of us to just happen to run into each other in the presence of photographers feel free to send me an owl and let me know."

Fudge's grin grew feral for a moment before he masked it and gave Harry a curt nod. "I just may do that, Mr. Potter. It's been a pleasant surprise speaking with you."

"The pleasure is all mine," Harry added with a grin of his own before giving the Minister a curt nod of his head and walking over towards the other champions.

A few more minutes passed and the judges left the starting area for the judges box and the four champions were left standing beside Ludo Bagman. The man brought his wand to his throat and said

Sonorus,

activating the voice amplifying charm.

Good evening ladies and gentlemen and welcome to the third and final task of the Tri-Wizard Tournament!" he called out excitedly. "For tonight's task our four champions will have to make their way through this magical maze filled with dangerous challenges and deadly creatures! The current standing of our champions are, Harry Potter in first place with a total of 88 points! Cedric Diggory in second place with 76 points! Viktor Krum in third place with 72 points, and finally Fleur Delacour in fourth place with 60 points.

"As the champion with the highest current standing, Harry Potter will be let into the maze first. Two minutes later he will be joined by Cedric Diggory, than another two minutes they will be followed by Viktor Krum, and finally Fleur Delacour. The champion that reaches the center of the maze first will receive full marks! The champion with the highest number of points by the end of this evening will be our new Tri-Wizard Champion!" Bagman finished with a loud yell and the crowd cheered.

Bagman removed his wand from his throat and turned to the champions. "There will be professors walking the perimeter of the maze so if any of you get into any trouble and can't get yourself out of it, just shoot red sparks into the air and someone will come to get you."

They all nodded and finally he turned to Harry. "Well, Mr. Potter. On the count of three, head in.

Harry stood before the entrance to the maze and waited as Bagman counted down from three and then shot off sparks from his wand.

Harry quickly strode forward and made a left at the fork in the path and walked a short ways down the hedge before he stopped and took a deep breath to calmed himself a bit. He focused on a mental image of a great black serpent, coiling and slithering. He felt the build of his parselmagic and called it forth, coiling it around him like the great black snake in his mind. Then he focused on the image of the Tri-Wizard cup.

Once he was positive he had the correct image and focus established, he hissed out

§find the Tri-Wizard cup§.

When he opened his eyes, the familiar hazy, distorted image of the great black serpent filled his vision. It had been a while since he had used this spell and he smiled at it. It was slithering in mid-air in front of him, turning it's head from side-to-side for only a moment before it began to slither down the path in the hedges and turned a corner. Harry lit a quick Lumos on the tip of his wand and hurried after it.

Every corner Harry took with caution, but after about ten minutes of encountering nothing but more bushes he began to feel an annoyed sense of disappointment. Finally, as he was making another left, trailing after his black locator snake, he felt a powerful disturbance in the magic near him. He brought his wand up higher and put a little more power into the glow on the tip of his wand to increase the light level. He could hear a clicking sort of sound growing louder as he continued to progress further. The clicking sound increased in volume and quantity – whatever was making the sound, there was more than one of them. It was also unnervingly familiar.

He turned another corner and saw white webbing stringing across the hedges and ground and many small black things moving and scurrying along the ground and climbing on the bushes.

Harry almost groaned as he called his locator snake to stop and wait for him. Baby acromantula. Each one was about the size of his palm and they already had fully formed pincers. Harry also knew that even this 'small' their poisonous venom was still nasty enough to hurt quite a bit and leave him temporarily paralyzed.

He aimed his wand and began to send out wide range slashing hexes. The blasts left his wand like five-foot long slashes of sharp magical energy that severed any spiders in his way. Unfortunately the spiders didn't exactly line up in neat little lines to be sliced up and the huge number of fist-sized spiders were quickly encroaching on him so he quickly switched tactics to an area affect blasting spell that radiated out from him at the center. He knew Tom would scold him for using such a magic intensive spell, but Harry knew he had plenty more magical energy in reserve and hopefully he could keep his attacks more focused from here on out.

The blast had easily taken out the vast majority of the spiders and most of them were now running from him. He continued down the row and stepped on several of the acromantula as he walked, smirking viciously as he felt them crunching beneath his dragon hide boots.

"Send my regards to Aragog," Harry muttered under his breath as he left the pathway filled with dead spiders behind and instructed his locator snake to keep going.

The night sky was growing darker the longer he continued to go but he felt confident that he was making good progress. The snake hadn't led him into a single dead-end the entire time, which was a promising sign that it was working correctly.

After another turn he came across a long stretch of hedge filled with a strange yellow mist. He was almost sure he'd read something about it at some point but couldn't quite place what it was. It was as if it were on the tip of his tongue, but just not there. He grumbled to himself about Barty not warning him about whatever the hell this was and cast a few detection spells with his wand to try and identify any harmful effects the mist might have.

His spells didn't turn up much. It wasn't poison. It wasn't a sedative. It wouldn't cause pain.

What the hell was it?

He considered trying to find a way around it. His inner Slytherin was telling him that self-preservation was paramount and if he had no idea what he was up against, he should turn back. He hated the idea of relying on his Gryffindor side for anything, but in this instance, he was just too annoyed at the whole thing to go back. Plus his locator spell had been working

so well

so far.

With a muttered

'Screw it', Harry took a few steps back and did a running jump into and through the mist. He felt the effects the first time his foot hit the ground, but he had a running start and his momentum pushed him forward a few more long strides before the disorientation got to be too much and he came to a total halt.

Despite the fact that his feet were planted firmly on the ground, Harry felt as if the entire world had just turned upside down. Literally. His shaggy hair and school robes were all hanging up as if the sky were down, and he felt the effects of gravity trying to pull him into the air. Part of his mind screamed that if he lifted his feet from the ground he would just go floating away, but he knew that was idiotic.

"Oh hell. Anti-gravity mist," Harry muttered to himself as his hand came up and he smacked his forehead.

Harry lifted his wand, closed his eyes and began muttering lowly under his breath. The counter to disable the spell wasn't a single spell, but rather a short chant that had to be repeated several times before it started to work. About a minute later the mist was dispersing and Harry could feel the disorienting feeling of the world turning right-side-up again and suddenly down was down and up was up. Harry heaved out a sigh, quickly followed by an annoyed huff.

A few quick strides and Harry had caught up with his locator snake, that was waiting around the corner for him. Two turns later and Harry was dodging a blast of fire from the largest and most horrendously ugly blast-ended skrewt that Harry had ever had the displeasure of seeing.

The thing was at least ten feet long and had a gigantic scorpion's tail with a stinger on the end, curled up over its back, ready to strike. What Harry could only assume was its front end, was expelling blasts of fire, and its back was covered with a hard protective shell that Harry knew was resistant to most neutral spells. He could think of a half-dozen dark spells that would rip right through it and growled out in frustration at not being able to use any of them. He found himself loudly cursing Hagrid for ever breeding the damned creatures as he dodged another blast of fire, and rolled out of the way of its tail as it came down and pierced the ground where he had been a moment before.

As he rolled on the ground he caught sight of it's unprotected underbelly and quickly aimed his wand, sending off a powerful blasting hex. The skrewt was sent flying several feet into the air from the force of the blast and ended up falling back down on its side. Harry jumped to his feet, darting back a few feet to give himself more space and began sending powerful cutting curses at the now exposed underbelly. He slashed into it again and again, causing sickly whitish gray goo to seep out of it. He nearly wretched at the stench of it and as soon as he was sure the damned thing wasn't going to get back up, he ran around it and down the hedge row after his locator snake that he had to call back to him because he'd forgotten to stop it this time.

Harry continued down the seemingly endless rows of hedge, grumbling to himself about stupid half-giants breeding stupid killer monsters when he came face to face with a sphinx. It looked for all the world to be a large lion, except instead of a lion's head, there was the face of a woman inside the large furry mane. A wide grin spread across Harry's lips. He knew he was close. The Sphinx was supposed to be guarding the inner-most access point to the center of the maze. Beyond this would be a single giant acromantula and then the cup.

He took a few cautious steps towards the sphinx and came to a stop several feet from it. It had been pacing back and forth but now came to a stop and sat down, looking at him calmly.

The feminine face smiled at him and then spoke. "You are very near your goal. The quickest way is past me."

"Alright... I know it's not as simple as me asking you to move aside, so how about you get to the point."

"You must answer my riddle. Answer on your first guess – I let you pass. Answer wrongly – I attack. Remain silent – I will let you walk away from me unscathed."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Yes, yes. Can I hear the riddle?"

"First think of the person who lives in disguise,

Who deals in secrets and tells naught but lies.

Next, tell me what's always the last thing to mend,

The middle of the middle and the end of the end?

And finally give me the sound often heard,

During the search for a hard-to-find word.

Now string them together, and answer me this,

Which creature would you be unwilling to kiss?"

Harry blinked and quickly started repeating the words to him in his head. Barty had warned him that the damned thing would have a riddle, but he'd had no way of knowing what it would be.

"Can you repeat it slower?" Harry asked, hesitantly.

Again she smiled and repeated the poem.

"A person in disguise," Harry muttered, "who lies... oh..." Harry chuckled. "A spy. I'm familiar with that... Alright, that's the first part. Last thing to mend, middle of middle end of... D. Okay, spy, d and... the sound often heard during the search of a hard to find world. Uh... no. Er? Spy, d, er... Spider." Harry scoffed and rolled his eyes. The last creature he had to face was a giant acromantula. He already

knew that.

So of course the answer to the damned riddle was 'Spider'.

"Spider," he said confidently.

The sphinx smiled more broadly, got up, stretched and moved aside. He dashed ahead and resumed following the locator snake. The spell led him to the right-hand path and Harry could see the faint glow of the Tri-Wizard cup at the end of the long path he was currently on. Part of him wanted to just make a run for it, but he knew it wouldn't be that simple. There was supposed to be a giant acromantula here damn it, and he wasn't going to get caught off –

"GAH!" Harry yelped as something fell down from above and he quickly had to roll away before a pair of giant pincers came snapping down at him.

He growled angrily at himself for being caught so easily off his own guard and quickly began throwing hexes and curses at it to distract it from its focus on him while he scrambled to put some distance between them. Once he finally felt like his footing was reliable again he threw a well aimed severing curse at one of the beasts legs. It came right off and the enormous spider roared out in angry pain. It stormed over to Harry's position and he quickly found himself being pressed into the bramble filled hedge. He used another area effect curse that blasted the beast back enough for him to try to bolt away. Unfortunately one step and he found himself falling head first into the dirt. Some evil little creeping tentacle-like vine and twined itself around his ankle and was currently digging its barbs into his skin.

Harry roared in anger and quickly aimed his wand down at the plant, freezing it and then pulling the remains off his leg. The annoying distraction had given the spider enough time to recoup and he only just barely crawled out of the way as the damn thing crashed down with it's giant pincers again. It was up and crashing down again and again. Every time he managed to shuffle a few feet to one side or the other and it was instantly upon him again. Finally he manged to get a good shot off and sent off another powerful area blast that sent it flying away from him again.

Harry staggered to his feet, feeling his magical reserves running low. All these damn high level neutral spells were draining him too fast and it was irritating. He sent off two more aimed severing curses, cutting off another two legs. He quickly ran and rolled underneath the flailing body to the opposite side and severed another pair. The monstrous spider was screeching in pain and anger and took another low swiping snap at him. He dodged it and managed one more severing curse, cutting off another leg and sending the beast crashing down to the ground. Unfortunately the ground it was crashing into was the same ground that Harry was currently crouching on.

Harry made to dodge and roared out again, cursing the tournament and Professor Sprout because he was

sure

that she had something to do with these damn bloody vines, as he found himself once again trapped by one of the nasty barbed plants.

The spider crashed down on top of him, and he screamed out in pain as one of its pincers sliced down along the side of his torso. He freed his wand arm, pointed his wand directly into the acromantula's head that was only feet from his own face, and sent off the most powerful non-dark blasting spell he knew. The beasts head exploded and its body became nothing but dead weight upon him.

Harry groaned miserably and felt himself collapse back into the dirt, exhausted and angry. He felt mostly annoyed at himself for being hurt so badly by something he knew was coming. He would never hear the end of it from Tom.

Oh, and acromantula bites are poisonous. Great.

With a groan, Harry began to shimmy out from underneath the beast. He sent several freezing charms at the various thorny vines that were

still

trying to get their barby mits into him.

He finally managed to pry himself free of it and weakly stood to his feet... and promptly fell to his knees with a sharp yelp of pain.

His ankle, which was bleeding from the barbs from the thorn, also seemed to be sprained... or maybe broken. He hoped it wasn't the latter Again, growling in anger and annoyance he cast a numbing spell and spelled himself a temporary splint to support his weight. He felt the searing burn of the acromantula venom in the large bloody slash down his side as it slowly spread. His body was going a bit numb and he could feel his head getting heavy but he pushed himself past it. He couldsee

the damn cup. He wasn't going to pass out until after he'd touched the fucking thing.

Then

they could take him to the infirmary.

He limped down the pathway, wincing at the sharp pain in his ankle, and grumbling and growling to himself under his breath. He was wobbling and weaving from side to side as he just barely clung to consciousness. Finally, just as his vision was growing dim and he was about to slip into a quiet abyss, his hand stretched out and grasped the edge of the ornate Tri-Wizard cup from the pedestal it rested upon. He and the cup fell to the ground and then vanished with a soft pop.

– –

Harry woke up with a pounding headache. He blinked several times to find nothing more than a whitish blur. It took him a moment to realize that his glasses were missing. He really needed to investigate that ritual Tom had mentioned about fixing his eyesight. He was laying on something relatively soft, but the sheets and pillow were overly starched. He heard voices and saw the blurry forms of people rushing about. He pushed himself up onto his elbows and looked through his shitty vision to make sense of his surroundings.

The hospital wing. Ah. That makes sense.

"Oh, Harry!" a shrill female voice gasped from somewhere to the left and he turned his head to see a red-headed blur that he figured was Mrs. Weasley. "Oh goodness dear! We were so worried when you appeared with the cup

unconscious!"

She continued to prattle on about all her worries but Harry wasn't particularly paying attention. He turned and looked towards his bedside table and found his glasses and his holly wand sitting there. He grabbed his glasses and by the time they were back on his face, several other people had joined Mrs. Weasley at Harry's bedside. Hermione, Ron, and Ginny were there, and Harry noticed that Moody was standing against a wall on the opposite end of the hospital wing, watching him closely.

"I'm fine, I'm fine. Really!" Harry said loudly as he raised a hand, trying to calm them all done.

"Fine?" a surprisingly distraught Ginny yelled. "Harry your ankle was broken and you got bit by an acromantula!"

"Broken? Shit, I didn't realize it was that bad," Harry said, grimacing. "I was hoping it was just sprained."

"Were you the one that conjured the first aid splint, Mr. Potter?" the voice of Madam Pomfrey broke into their discussion as she came up to them from where she had been standing beside another patient's bed. Harry realized suddenly that Fleur and Cedric were also in the infirmary, and each of their beds were currently surrounded by their family members.

"Huh? Oh yeah, the splint. Well it happened with only about twenty feet to go before I got to the cup so there was no way I was going to just sit there and send up sparks when I could literally

see the cup, mere feet from me. So I cast a numbing charm and conjured the splint."

"You walked on a broken ankle?" Mrs. Weasley yelled and Madam Pomfrey gave him a very stern, disapproving glare. Harry grinned and shrugged, unapologetic.

"Well, I suppose it could have been worse, knowing

you." Madam Pomfrey said with a heavy sigh. "That was a very impressive healers splint, Mr Potter."

"Thanks," Harry said with a grin. He glanced back over and Fleur and Cedric and nodded his head towards them. "What happened to them?"

"One of Hagrid's skrewts got Fleur," Ron said in a quiet sympathetic voice. "I heard they were nasty."

Harry scoffed. "Nasty doesn't even begin to cover it. Came across one of those myself. You know those damned things grew to be ten feet long?"

Ron's face paled.

"We don't actually know

what

happened to Cedric yet. He's still unconscious. Viktor came upon him and found the hedge trying to eat him. He sent up sparks to alert the professors," Hermione said quietly as she looked over at a very concerned Mr. And Mrs. Diggory who were standing at Cedric's bedside.

"So did Krum at least finish?" Harry asked.

"Oh yeah, he made it to the center. They'd returned the cup portkey to the middle by then and he appeared with it thinking that he'd won," Ron said. "But you had shown up first with it, and it took him nearly thirty minutes longer than it took you."

Harry smirked and let himself fall back down onto his bed. "So Poppy, how long will it take for you to fix me up this time?" Harry said as he stretched his arms out and then folded them behind his head.

Madam Pomfrey's eyes went wide and it looked like there was a battle going on inside her over whether to be annoyed, angered, or amused as his use of her first name. The Weasleys and Hermione all looked stunned, except for Ginny, who apparently found it funny.

"I will be keeping you here until tomorrow evening, at the earliest. I've removed all of the taratal barbs from your legs and ankle and your broken ankle should be mended by morning, but it will probably be tender for several days. I've administered the antidote for the acromantula venom, but I want to keep an eye on you to make sure you aren't suffering any adverse effects from your bite," Madam Pomfrey said after having decided to ignore his earlier use of her first name.

Harry frowned at this and sat back up. His eyes darted over to 'Moody' who was still standing towards the back of the hospital wing, clearly listening in.

"Are you sure you can't cut me a break and let me out after lunch if I promise to stay in bed?" Harry asked taking on his most innocent look with the biggest puppy-dog eyes he could manage.

Pomfrey's eyes narrowed and she rose a single eyebrow at him as if silently asking 'Do you really think that's going to work on

me?'.

"No," she said.

"Pleeeease?"

Ron snorted and Ginny had to put her hand up to stifle her snickers.

"No means

Mr. Potter," Madam Pomfrey said looking stern.

Harry huffed out in frustration and rolled his eyes. "Fine, fine. Hey Ron, do you think you could grab my bag from the dorm? It's sitting on my bed and it's got some stuff in it I need."

"You are to

Mr. Potter," Madam Pomfrey said in a scolding tone.

"I

will!

I promise! But sometimes I can't get to sleep without reading for a while first, alright? Just books, that's still resting, right?"

Pomfrey frowned but sighed. "Fine."

Harry turned his attention back to Ron and gave him pleading eyes.

"Er, sure mate. You want me to go get it now?"

"Nah, just if you can make sure I've got it before you go to bed, I'll be fine."

"Alright."

The group went on to talk for a bit longer. Bill showed up several minutes later. He spent a few minutes with Harry showing his proper concern, and congratulating Harry on his win, but Harry could see the man's concerned eyes frequently darting over to Fleur's bed and Harry couldn't help but smirk. Bill was only able to stick around for a short while before he had to leave in order to get back home for work the next morning. Mrs. Weasley reluctantly left with him since it was getting quite late. At some point Cedric woke up, but Harry wasn't able to hear whatever it was that he'd told his parents and Madam Pomfrey about what had knocked him out. Whatever it was, Cedric looked pretty embarrassed by it, so Harry figured he'd let the guy save face and

ask.

Ron was enthralled by Harry's tale of the various nasty things he went up against and had Harry describing every bit of it even though everyone in the stands had gotten a play-by-play announced by Ludo Bagman thanks to some sort of magical surveillance system that allowed him and the headmaster's to watch and judge the champions. Apparently hearing it from Harry himself made it more interesting, plus Bagman hadn't caught everything. The visibility wasn't always best and they had trouble focusing it on more than one or two champions at once. Harry asked how it was that no one knew what happened to Cedric and Ginny said that whatever happened to him happened at the same time that Harry was fighting against the acromantula and people were a bit distracted.

Hermione told Harry that he'd gotten a full fifty points for completing the task first, and in a record-breaking time. They'd asked him how he managed to make it through so fast, and Hermione pointed out that Bagman hadn't mentioned him hitting a single dead-end. Harry had whispered to Ron and Hermione that he'd used the same spell he used to find Ginny in the second task. Ron didn't seem to remember what spell exactly Harry was referring to, but Hermione seemed to catch on, remembering that it was a parselmagic spell, and changed the subject.

Obviously since Harry had been in first place already, finishing first in the maze meant he'd won the Tri-Wizard Tournament. The crowd had roared and cheered for him as he was levitated and carried off the field and back to Hogwarts for medical treatment.

Madam Pomfrey came in and told them all that her patient needed his rest so they all bid him farewell and left. Ron told Harry he'd be back right away with his bag and disappeared out the door.

'Moody' came over and Harry was surprised that the man had stuck around that long.

"It was my understanding that you had an appointment tomorrow afternoon," Moody said quietly under his voice as he came to stand beside Harry's bed.

"Yes and I still intend to keep it. That's why I'm having Ron bring me my bag," Harry mumbled, keeping one eye trained on Madam Pomfrey who was currently attending to Fleur and working to shoo her sister and parents away.

"Will that be possible?" 'Moody' asked.

"Of course it will. As long as I can use T-our Lord's

time-turner, I can leave and get back here without anyone ever even realizing I was gone," Harry hissed quietly.

"Time-turner?" Moody said, looking surprised.

"Yeah, that's how I've been getting away so often for the last few months."

What was left of Moody's eyebrows rose high into his forehead but he didn't say anything else.

"Do you need my assistance getting out?" he asked instead.

"If you can come by around lunch time and leave the door open so I can slip out under my cloak that would help," Harry whispered quickly.

'Moody' nodded his head before standing taller and leaving.

A couple minutes later Ron returned with Harry's bag and then bid his friend goodnight. Harry quickly checked through his bag and confirmed that the Map, the cloak and his cypress wand were inside inside the security pouch in the bottom.

Out of habit Harry's right hand slipped up his left sleeve of his simple white hospital wing robes and fingered the leather cuff strapped there. He was glad that Pomfrey hadn't felt the need to remove it when she'd spelled off his torn and bloodied clothing to address his wounds. He probably would have had a bit of a panic attack if he'd woken up and felt it missing.

Satisfied that he had everything he needed he resecured his things inside his bag, and pulled out a book for the sake of keeping up his story for the healer. He only read for about twenty minutes before he felt his exhaustion totally kicking his ass and he set the book and his glasses back onto his night stand and settled down into his bed.

–

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1. Chapter 1 2. Chapter 2 3. Chapter 3 4. Chapter 4 5. Chapter 5 6. Chapter 6 7. Chapter 7 8. Chapter 8 9. Chapter 9 10. Chapter 10 11. Chapter 11 12. Chapter 12 13. Chapter 13 14. Chapter 14 15. Chapter 15 16. Chapter 16 17. Chapter 17 18. Chapter 18 19. Chapter 19 20. Chapter 20 21. Chapter 21 22. Chapter 22 23. Chapter 23 24. Chapter 24 25. Chapter 25 26. Chapter 26 27. Chapter 27 28. Chapter 28 29. Chapter 29 30. Chapter 30 31. Chapter 31 32. Chapter 32 33. Chapter 33

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–

Harry was woken by Ginny and Hermione showing up with food the next morning. Fleur was allowed to leave on the conditions that she was being transferred into the care of her family's healer. Her burns had been bad and were only partially healed but her family wanted to get her back to France. Harry bid her a fond farewell and wondered if he'd ever see her again.

Hermione and Ginny were eventually joined by Ron but none of them could stay very long since they all had exams to attend. Harry was a little annoyed that he was missing his transfiguration exam, even if he didn't need to take it. As soon as he was done with lunch Harry pulled out his bag and made it look like he was sorting through books to read. He wrapped his entire bag up in his invisibility cloak, making it disappear entirely. He sat and waited for Moody to show up and open the door to the hospital wing and as soon as the man did, Harry got up, telling Madam Pomfrey he was just going to use the loo.

He disappeared inside, wrapped the invisibility cloak around himself, activated the map and smiled at the second Harry Potter dot currently standing directly outside the door to the bathroom. His future self must have followed 'Moody' into the hospital wing.

Relieved that he wasn't going to have any trouble with his plan he opened the door to the loo and quickly slipped out. His other self slipped inside and Harry quickly hurried out of the hospital wing while his other self stepped out of the bathroom, sans invisibility cloak and returning to his bed. Harry caught a glimpse of himself as he darted out the open door and felt a shudder down his spine. It was never wise to see yourself when messing with time. There were horror stories about people going mad from it. Harry really wasn't sure

why

a person would go crazy from seeing themselves, especially if they completely understood why and how, and were even

expecting it, but he still felt a weird quiver in his magic so he figured that there was probably just some weird magical law about time-travel that just made the whole thing a big no-no.

Twenty minutes later and Harry was limping his way up the stairs in the manor and feeling quite a bit out of breath. He had to admit that the damn spider's poison had left him feeling a bit weak. Just as Harry reached the top of the stairs, he heard the door to the study open and there stood a scowling Tom. Harry ducked his head instinctively but looked up at the Dark Lord through his long eyelashes with an innocent smile.

"Stupid foolish brat."

"I won, didn't I?"

"Have you seen what the papers are saying about the task yet?"

Harry blinked. He hadn't thought about that. "No, but it's probably all lies."

"It damn well better be," Tom growled.

Harry continued to make his way over to Tom, trying his best to minimize his limp but Tom noticed.

"Well they clearly got one thing right. You broke your ankle," Tom said crossing his arms over his chest and giving Harry an angry glare.

"S'not broken anymore. Promfrey healed it up rather nicely. It's only a little sore now," Harry mumbled defensively and looking away.

Tom scoffed and walked over, bending low and wrapping his arm under Harry's armpit and supporting his weight as he led Harry into the study. Harry was rather startled by the gesture but greedily leaned into the older man's side, soaking up the soft warmth of such physical contact. Once inside, Tom pulled out his wand and directed his chair out from behind his desk to the open section of the room and then transfiguring it into a couch. He sat down and pulled Harry onto it, laying him down with his head in Tom's lap. They had only assumed this position on the chaise lounge in the library before, but the arrangement was familiar enough that Harry quickly eased into a comfortable position and raised his injured ankle up onto the opposite armrest of the couch. He sighed happily, enjoying the arrangement greatly.

As was usual, Tom's fingers instantly found their way into Harry's hair.

"You worried me, do you realize that you stupid boy?" Tom said coldly, but Harry could hear something deeper behind the words and they caused a strange warm fluttering to fill his chest.

"Sorry," Harry apologized quietly, but he couldn't refrain from smiling through the words. "It wasn't all that bad. I'm sure that whatever the Prophet said was grossly exaggerated."

"It said that you managed to break your ankle after a battle with a giant acromantula that managed to bite you and then fall

on you, crushing you beneath it."

"It didn't bite me so much as one of it's pincers scratched down my side while it fell

beside

me," Harry said.

"I'm sure," Tom said sarcastically and Harry could tell from the tone of the man's voice that he was probably rolling his eyes.

"I wouldn't of had so much trouble with the stupid spider if it weren't for the damn aggressive weeds in the hedges. The taratal vines grabbed hold of my ankles when I was busy shooting off the acromantula's legs and dug their nasty little barbs in. Tripped me and made me lose my opportunity to properly dodge. I had everything under control until that. It was a stupid little mistake and I know I was an idiot for not realizing what was happening sooner, but I still made it out of there fine in the end and I won with a record breaking time. I completed that maze faster than anyone ever has in the history of the Tri-Wizard tournament. I think that's gotta be worth something."

"It said that you appeared at the entrance to the maze unconscious and hanging onto the cup portkey," Tom said accusingly. "Making it out unconscious is hardly making it out

fine in the end."

"I knew the cup was a portkey that would get me to the judges and thus,

a healer.

I think I did pretty good. I could have passed out before getting to the blasted cup and then the stupid taratal vines would have tried to pull me into the hedge and eat me or something."

Tom made a displeased growling noise in his throat and Harry felt Tom's fingers tighten in his hair for a moment. Finally he heaved a sigh and resumed gently massaging Harry's scalp.

"We have things to discuss."

"Right," Harry said nodding his head slightly in the other wizard's lap.

"Did you ever come up with an alias to use for the summer?"

"I did, actually!" Harry said, his voice perking up. "I was thinking Evan Harris."

"Evan Harris?"

"Yeah, with the last name as Harris, if anyone slips up and calls me Harry in the presence of any of the Death Eaters, they'll think that I was just called 'Harris' and not pay it any mind."

"That's good... I like it. And Harris is a very common name. There are a number of pureblood lines with that name. None are very well connected or have any significant standing, but that only makes it easier for you to disappear into the background without any proper proof of your identify. Very good, Harry."

Harry grinned widely at the praise.

"And Evan?" Tom asked.

"My mum's maiden name. Evans. It isn't too obvious is it?"

"Obvious would have been you going by James or Jim."

Harry chuckled. "Yeah, I figured out right away that using my middle name was out. When Evan occurred to me, I realized I really liked the idea. I mean, me liking it doesn't even really have much to do with it being based of my mum's last name – I actually just really like the name. I think I can be comfortable with going by that name."

"Mm," Tom made an acknowledging sound in his throat and nodded his head. "Evan... I believe I can get accustomed to that. You realize that I will have to use the name most of the summer, correct?"

"Oh yeah, I get that. I think I prefer it. I kind of like the idea of not being Harry Potter for a while."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, I mean... Harry Potter isn't really even

me. Harry Potter

is the Boy-Who-Lived. The Gryffindor Golden-boy. Dumbledore's man. I hate that. I mean, it's like Harry Potter is a character in the wizarding world's favorite fairy tale and they all have these irritating expectations about me. All that rubbish in the tabloids is just another level to it. People don't give a damn about

me, they just want to know more about the story of

Harry-bloody-Potter. I'm sick of Harry Potter," Harry finished with a disgruntled sigh.

"And you think becoming Evan Harris will help?"

"Did becoming Voldemort and throwing away Tom Riddle help you?"

"Point taken. I suppose I cannot fault you for wanting to create a new identity for yourself. Would you prefer me to start using Evan even in private now?"

"You can call me whatever you like in private. I really don't mind what you want to call me. You know

me. You know the real me, so when you call me Harry I'm not Harry Potter, Boy-Who-Lived. I'm just... Harry. But I think it might be nice to be Evan too... In any case, you let me call you Tom, and I love that you let me do that. It just feels... significant," Harry said trailing off in a whisper. "So whatever you like calling me, is fine with me."

There was silence for a minute and Harry wondered if he'd made a mistake voicing his inner thoughts.

"It is significant, pet," Tom said finally and Harry smiled at both the admission as well as the pet name. Tom was doing it more and more lately and Harry found that he really loved it.

They were quiet for another long minute before Tom spoke again. "Tonight I will be calling the Death Eaters at midnight. I would like for you to be here an hour early. Their marks will direct them into the entry hall since that is the only place within the manor wards that will accept their apparition travel. I want you to help guide them into the ballroom as they arrive."

"Alright," Harry agreed easily.

Tom pulled out his wand and with a flick a box floated over from the desk and levitated in the air before them. Tom removed his hands and Harry got the message that he was to sit up. He shifted his legs down and sat up beside Tom on the couch. The older man leaned back and his arm stretched along the back of the couch, stretching out behind Harry. Harry plucked the box from the air and opened it. Inside were what appeared to be fine pitch black robes. He pulled them out and found a chrome silver mask with etched designs into it, laying on the bottom.

He felt his heart stop for a moment before suddenly speeding up tremendously.

It was his Death Eater uniform.

The mask was different though. It was unlike any Death Eater mask he had ever seen before. Instead of a full face mask, it was a Venetian half mask. It only covered the upper half of his face and had a ridge for his nose. It was also silver instead of the bone white masks that he had seen at the Quidditch World Cup the previous fall.

Granted, every Death Eater mask he had seen was slightly unique, but they had all been full-face masks, and they had all been white. He'd never seen one that only covered part of the face. This would leave the lower half of his face completely unobstructed.

"It's beautiful," Harry whispered without even realizing he'd spoken. He looked up and met Tom's eyes. "It's different though."

"You are not merely a Death Eater. Even

Evan Harris

will not simply be one of my followers," Tom said.

Harry frowned, not quite understanding. "What do you mean?"

"You are to be known as my personal assistant and my...

apprentice. The others will be made aware of your special position and rank tonight at the gathering."

Harry gaped at him, too stunned and overwhelmed to know what to say.

"You have done much for me Harry. Your services, loyalty, and sacrifices

will

be properly rewarded."

"Just being here with you is reward enough," Harry whispered shaking his head.

"And that is just one more reason..." Tom trailed off as his free hand came up and brushed lightly against Harry's cheek. Harry's eyes closed and he tilted his head into the touch, sighing contently.

"Tonight, my return will finally be known by all of my followers. Tonight I take the first step towards rebuilding my army, taking control of the magical world, and working towards my task, andyou

will be at my side."

Harry let out a shuddering breath as he tried to wrap his mind around that full enormity of that statement and what all it might mean. It filled him with such a powerful emotion and he wanted nothing more than to kiss one of those long slender fingers that were currently caressing the side of his face.

Instead, the next thing either of them knew, their lips were pressed together and they were both grabbing and pulling at each other, trying to get closer.

Heavy shallow breaths, swollen lips, marked flesh and tousled hair was followed by Harry feeling Tom's strong hands grabbing hold of his hips and pulling him up to straddle the older wizard's lap as he remained seated on the couch. Gasping breaths, keening whimpers, and long low moans escaped them as the two began to desperately writhe against each other. Robes were suddenly being desperately removed and buttons were undone as frustrating cloth was shoved to the side. Whispered pleas and names were panted and rhythmically called out as flesh was grasped in a warm, long-fingered hand, and hair was roughly pulled by the other.

Through his heavy lust-filled haze Harry managed to dig into Tom's trousers, grasping hold of the other man's length for the first time. The noise that escaped Tom's throat was euphoria to the younger wizard's ears and he knew in that moment that he could live his entire life with no other goal than to hear that sound again and again and be a happy man.

Harry came hard, panting heated breaths against Tom's neck and holding onto the older wizard as if his life depended on it. The other man quickly followed, muffling his own pleasured grunts in Harry's hair. He had never felt so drawn to one person; so in-tune and connected to one person before. So understood and so

cared for. This man cared about him. Worried about him when he was hurt. This man wanted Harry to stand by his side while he conquered the world.

As he held onto Tom, slowly coming down from his euphoric high one thought kept echoing through Harry's mind and it almost gave him pause.

I'm falling in love with you, Tom...

But he couldn't say it. He couldn't say the words because he was just too afraid. Too afraid of breaking his perfect weird thing with Tom. He wouldn't be the one to screw this up. He

needed

it too badly. He needed Tom. So instead he clung to Tom harder, slowly letting his breathing calm to a normal rate.

The two eventually parted and Tom spelled them clean with a simple flick of his wand. They spent a bit more time discussing plans for that evening and it was decided that Harry would leave his Death Eater robes in the manor. He would put them on when he arrived that evening.

Tom helped Harry down the stairs, frowning at Harry's limp and eventually spelling Harry's ankle numb for him. He escorted Harry to the time-turner room and they shared one last passionate kiss before Harry disappeared inside.

– –

Harry was greatly relieved to find himself released from Madam Pomfrey's evil clutches that even for dinner. His limp was almost gone now and he didn't feel nearly as light-headed as he had earlier. A few extra hours and a few more potions had done him a world of good.

He walked into the Great Hall and the room fell silent for a moment before the entirety of the Gryffindor table began to applaud. Harry stood there, blinking in shock for a minute, trying to figure out what the hell this was all about. The Ravenclaws applauded and Harry saw the Hufflepuffs grudgingly joining in. The Slytherins were clearly above such actions, and in fact, several were sneering at him. It finally registered in Harry's brain that this was because he was now the Tri-Wizard Champion and had won the cup for Hogwarts.

He couldn't help but snort at the show of support the school was now so enthusiastic to show him when they had all utterly shunned him when he had first been forced into this ridiculous circus. He made his way over and sat down on an open bench beside Hermione and across from Ron. Ginny came over and sat down on Harry's other side, beaming at him enthusiastically.

"So Madam Pomfrey let you out early?" Ginny exclaimed.

Harry just looked at them all slightly blankly, still a bit unsure how to react to all of this. "Er, yeah. She let me out." He glanced around at the eager Gryffindors who were all looking at him with a level of pride and smugness that made him want to curse the lot of them.

"So Harry, is it true that you fought against a giant acromantula?" Seamus Finnigan exclaimed from down the table.

"Yes..." Harry said slowly, looking at Seamus funny.

"Is it true that you killed it?"

"Yes, I killed it," Harry said, rolling his eyes.

"How?" Seamus exclaimed.

"I stuck my wand into its head and hit it with a point-blank blasting curse," Harry said slowly in a tone one would use explaining something to a child.

"You got close enough to stick your wand in it's head?" Dean yelped.

"Well this was after I'd cut off most of its legs and it fell to the ground."

"You cut off its legs?" a fifth year down the table gasped. "How?"

"A severing curse," Harry said in a very slow, condescending tone."

"What –

diffindo?

Diffindo

cut through an acromantula's legs?" Another older Gryffindor said.

"No, not

diffindo."

"What then?" the same boy asked, as if he couldn't imagine what other spell Harry could has possibly used.

"Uh, I think I used

concisus

on the spider's legs," Harry said with an exasperated sigh. This was getting old. He wondered if he'd even be able to eat.

"How the bloody hell did you learn

concisus?"

the boy exclaimed.

"Language!" a female 6th year prefect scolded him, but then looked at Harry with obvious curiosity.

"Er... a book?" Harry asked giving them a look that said 'duh'.

This continued for several annoyingly long minutes before Harry finally had enough and made it none-too-clear that he would rather be eating right then than speaking to any of them, any longer.

As the meal drew to a close Dumbledore stood from his chair and called the hall to attention.

"Attention, everyone! As I'm sure you are all well aware of now, the final task of the Tri-Wazard Tournament was held yesterday evening. Three of the four champions had to be taken directly to the hospital wing after exiting the maze, so no proper awards ceremony could be held during the actual event. And while young Miss Delacour is now resting at home in France, we do have the other three competitors here with us tonight, so we ought to take advantage of what we've got.

"Prior to last nights task, Mr. Harry Potter was in first place with a total of 88 points, Cedric Diggory was in second place with 76 points, Viktor Krum was in third place with 72 points, and finally Fleur Delacour was in fourth place with 60 points. Fleur Delacour and Cedric Diggory were both rendered unconscious and defeated by the foes within the maze and received ten points each for surviving for as long as they did, despite the dangers. Viktor Krum survived the maze and escaped with minimal injury and through the use of impressive spellwork. For his efforts the judges awarded him 40 points.

"And finally, finishing in first place after most skillfully dispatching a nest of young acromantula, a full-grown blast ended skrewt, anti-gravity mist, solving the sphinx's puzzle, and battling a full-grown giant acromantula, and coming to the end of the maze in

record breaking time, Harry Potter was awarded a full 50 points!"

The hall burst into cheers, although Harry once again noted the lack of any enthusiasm from the Slytherin table. Although now that he looked closely he realized that Draco was looking at him with a rather odd look. It certainly wasn't loathing, that was for sure. Harry still didn't know if Draco had told his father about Harry's switch in loyalties, although he supposed he might learn about that tonight.

"Thus the standing leaves Mr. Harry Potter in first place with 138 points and the winner of the Tri-Wizard Cup!" Dumbledore called out, grinning and twinkling madly as the hall erupted in another round of cheering.

Harry suddenly realized he was being beckoned up to the front and gave a grudging sigh before standing up and plastering a gracious smile on his face. He walked to the head table and was presented with the cup and a heavy sack full of galleons from Ludo Bagman who seemed to by eyeing the money bag with hungry eyes. Harry held it tightly and kept his eye trained on the man. He also decided to make sure he counted the money before he handed it over to the Weasley twins.

Harry thanked the headmasters and Ludo Bagman and was grateful when he was able to escape the spotlight without having to do some sort of public speaking.

Harry left the Great Hall feeling burned out and irritated with all his new-found fans. Their two-faced-ness only stoked his anger. Did they honestly think that he would so easily forget how they had all treated him when this whole mess had started?

He stayed in the common room for as long as he could stand, but the admirers just kept coming and he eventually escaped up to his dorm room, claiming fatigue from his injuries. At 10:30 Harry secured his curtains around his bed and slipped down into the common room under his cloak. Invisibly slipping out the portrait hole without anyone noticing it opening and then closing was accomplished with a few silent notice-me-not charms.

He made his way down through the school, across the grounds and it was just after 11pm when he activated his portkey and reappeared in Riddle Manor. He could feel Tom's magical energy emanating from the ballroom on the first floor but he went upstairs to the study to collect his robes and mask first. He entered the room and picked the box up off a side table where he'd left it earlier in the day. He smiled to himself at the memory of their earlier escapades and had to squish the images out of his mind as he felt a shudder of desire surge through him. He slipped on the black robes and then slipped the glamor ring onto his left index finger and felt as the illusion took over his form. It was a strange magical effect. The illusion was semi-corporeal. He could

feel

the changes if he touched his face. He could even run his hands through the long blond hair that now hung from his head. But since he was keyed into his own appearance, if he looked in a mirror, he only saw his normal reflection staring back at him.

Finally he reached down into the bottom of the box and pulled out the silver-chrome half-mask and held it in his hands. It was really quite beautiful. He thought so at least. It had some simple flowing lines etched into its flawless metal surface from each side of the bridge of his nose up over his eyebrows.

Harry conjured a standing mirror with a flick of his cypress wand – his holly wand was carefully stowed inside his bag behind Tom's desk – and he came to stand before the mirror. Slowly, Harry rose the mask and applied it to his face. The masks had a magical sort of sticking charm applied to them that would prevent them being removed by anyone other than the wizard themselves, and the Dark Lord, so all he had to do was place it there and it was secured.

He stared into the mirror, mesmerized by what he saw there. He was still seeing himself, rather than his blond glamored appearance. After a moment of looking at himself in the mirror he pulled the hood of his fine black cloak up over his head, shrouding his face in darkness. The light caught off the chrome mask though, and made it that much more ethereal to see.

He shuddered in perverse pleasure at the sight. He felt powerful and dangerous. He felt like a force to be reckoned with. A force to be feared.

Harry made his way down the stairs and straight to the ballroom. Tom was there – or rather,Voldemort

was there. He had already transformed and was standing there in the center of the room in all of his bone-white, hairless and scaled, serpentine glory. The man always felt overwhelming with parselmagic in this form and Harry felt himself grow slightly lightheaded from the power. It was intoxicating and he felt the most insane urge to kiss the man.

He was endlessly relieved that he was still able to be attracted to the man, even in this form, although it did make him wonder if there was something

wrong

with him. Because –

honestly

– Voldemort did appear entirely monstrous and frightening like this. There was nothing about him that should be considered attractive by anyone who was sane. Well, maybe his power. But being attracted to his power wasn't quite the same. Harry still felt attracted to

him. To Voldemort. To Tom. Harry really couldn't find any logical way to describe what he was feeling, so he gave it up as a bad job and shoved the thoughts from his mind.

Tom was distracted with preparing for the gathering. He'd acquired two more house elves in the last week and they had been working with Mixey to get the manor in spotless condition, and had begun to work their way through the grounds. But that would be a lengthy and on-going process, and it wasn't like any of the Death Eaters would be seeing the grounds tonight anyway.

Harry stood in the ballroom, observing and lending aid whenever Voldemort required it. The Dark Lord spoke, mostly to himself, as he planned over certain things aloud, and Harry added in his opinions when it seemed appropriate. Voldemort didn't give much outward hint to it, but Harry could tell that the Dark Lord appreciated him being there.

Barty arrived at 11:30pm and by 11:45 he had returned entirely to himself and completely discarded the 'Moody' persona and all of it's paraphernalia. He had been confused as to who Harry was and it took Harry a moment before he remembered he had the glamor ring on. He chuckled and keyed Barty into his ring allowing the other man to see his true self. Voldemort also took that opportunity to inform Barty that Harry would be known as Evan Harris from here on out in the presence of any other Death Eaters.

At 11:50 Voldemort drew his yew wand and pressed it to Barty's left forearm, calling his Death Eaters to him for the first time since his return. Barty's flinched minutely and Harry could see beads of sweat upon his brow from pain, but the main smirked triumphantly despite it. Harry felt the leather cuff on his left arm warm up and was suddenly filled with an image of the manor's entry hall. He gasped a bit in surprise but then grinned widely up at Voldemort, who was secretly smirking right at him.

Harry hadn't been sure if his cuff portkey would really be activated along with all of the other normal marks, but found he really liked the idea that it did.

Harry knew what his expected task was and with a quick bow of his head he left the ballroom to wait in the entry hall to greet the Death Eaters as they arrived.

Harry stood there, leaning casually against the archway that lead from the entry hall to the long hall that lead to the ballroom. A few minutes passed before the first sound of apparition popped into the entry hall. The man standing there was already dressed in black Death Eater robes and a white full-face mask that had dark lines carved into it giving the shape the cheek bones and upper teeth of a skull. The person blinked at him in surprise and Harry gave the man a curt nod.

A moment later they were joined by another man. This one's mask was decorated in a fashion that reminded Harry of the restraint masks that were used in muggle asylums with only a small hole for the mouth filled with vertical lines to prevent anything large from entering it. Again, Harry gave the masked man a curt nod as he looked at Harry with a sign of surprise. The two men then looked at each other for the briefest of moment, silently acknowledging each other.

A second later the entry hall was filled with another two pops and two more black robed figures were suddenly there. Again, each one had a unique mask as their only distinguishing feature.

"The entry hall will get crowded quickly, you may start making your way towards the ballroom," Harry said suddenly, causing all of the men to focus on him. There was another pop and a fifth man entered the room. Harry jerked his head towards the archway. "Through there, to the left, down to the end and through the large double-doors. I'm sure you all will recognize the magical signature enough to know where to go."

The group shared a look before silently walking past Harry and through the archway.

After another five had gathered Harry repeated his instructions, sending them on their way. Six more after that arrived almost at the same time and he sent them to follow the last batch. Four more a moment later, and then an additional seven filled the entry hall in the span of ten seconds. Harry was glad he was clearing out the entry hall as fast as he was or else people would have started falling over each other. More and more came and he was impressed by the turnout, but these people

had

had months of warning.

Finally, at 12:05, Harry called one of the new house elves, a young male named Kibby and had him stay there for any who arrived especially late. He suspected Snape would be the only one he would encounter. Anyone stupid enough to be list late wouldn't be showing up at all. Harry briskly strode down the hall and entered the ballroom.

Voldemort had erected himself an elaborately molded silver, emerald and malachite throne atop a stone dais. As Harry walked in, what looked to be the last of the procession was crawling back from the Dark Lord on their knees and then standing to their feet.

Kissing his robes

, Harry realized suddenly. He wondered if he should do it too. Tom hadn't mentioned any such thing, and he didn't mind doing it in the least...

"Ah, my dear Harrissss... come here and join uss," Voldemort said inclining his head and showing the barest hint of an upturned mouth. A small smirk stole its way onto Harry's lips but he mastered his expression and briskly walked across the large space to stand beside Voldemort and knelt down.

"My Lord," Harry said with honest reverence in his voice and a bow of his head.

"Stand, Harrissss and join my other Death Eaterss. You rightful spot is in the front row."

Harry quickly stood and walked over to stand in an opening towards the center of the smaller line that made up the front row. Behind it was a wider curved line that was extending all around Voldemort in a large semi-circle. Harry noticed out of the corner of his left eye that long platinum blond wisps were escaping the black hood of the man beside him and smirked to himself having a pretty good idea of exactly who he was standing beside.

Slowly, Voldemort stood to his feet and stepped down off the dais as he swept the crowd with his piercing red eyes. "Twenty-seven..." he began in a deadly quiet voice. "Twenty-seven of my followers who remained faithful and returned to me when called."

He paused and narrowed his eyes at many of those in the crowd. "Or have you? You have all returned to me now that I am restored to my full power, but not

of you sought me out!" He spat in an quiet angry hiss. "Thirteen yearsss, I was left to wander and not one of you came to my aid..." his voice trailed off and Harry could feel a shudder of fear run through the crowd and he felt a shudder of excitement and eager anticipation crawl up his spine.

"Please, my Lord! Forgive us!" one man from the front row called out as he threw himself onto the floor at the Dark Lord's feet.

"Forgive?" Voldemort's voice went high and angry and his wand was out faster than the eye could register. The next few seconds was filled with the tortured wailing of the masked man's screams as the Dark Lord cast a crucio on him.

Harry realized his voice had become fast and shallow with excitement and a mad grin had spread across his lips as he watched the man writhe, and felt Voldemort's powerful, intoxicating magic, fill the room with such a sudden fervor. The screaming ceased and Harry quickly blinked and masked away his emotions, trying to force himself under control.

"Forgive?" Voldemort hissed in a deadly whisper, speaking into the suddenly thick silence. "For now I may forgive but I will not forget," he spat. "Thirteen years you all lived comfortable lives after publicly denying your allegiance to me. Pleading coercion, mind control, and innocence. You spent your lives in comfort, hiding amongst our enemies and watching as they slowly destroyed our world with their ignorant philosophies and morals. All the while, I was left as little more than a specter, trapped and unable to save myself."

Suddenly the door opened and several heads turned to look at it out of instinct. Harry was sure that many of them were also curious to see who had the gall to show up several minutes late.

"Ah, Severus," Voldemort said, raising a single hand and beckoning Snape forward.

Snape took several steps forward and fell to one knee and bowing his head. "My Lord."

"Rise, Severus," Voldemort said and Snape stood to his feet, several feet from the Dark Lord. "I am to assume that all went as planned?"

"Yes, my Lord. It was just as you anticipated."

"Good. Go to the front line."

"Yes, my Lord," Snape said again as he bowed his head briefly and took a few steps back until he came to stand in a space cleared to Harry's right side.

"Please, my Lord!" the Death Eater directly to Harry's left who he was now

positive

was Lucius Malfoy, said. "We all want to know. How did this miracle come to pass? What happened to you and where have you been all these long years?"

"Where have I been?" Voldemort sneered quietly. "I have been but an echo of my former self. Stripped of my body and my power. Capable of nothing more than possessing the simple creatures I encountered. I whiled away months and then years in a dark little hole, deep in the Albanian forests. Unable to wield a wand or perform the magic necessary to restore myself, I waited. Waited and hoped for one of my faithful followers to seek me out, but none came." Voldemort's hard cold eyes swept the group again with angry accusation burning through them.

"Why, I asked myself, would none return to my side? Surely they knew better than to actually believe me gone. My followers, who knew of the enumerable steps I had taken to guarantee my continued existence. I, who have gone further on the path to immortality than any other before me! Surely they knew better than to think me gone?

"If not that, than perhaps they had chosen to side with my enemies? To stand at the side of the Light sided sycophants? Perhaps they chose to stand with

Dumbledore?"

At this Harry could feel an aura of disagreement and several shifted as if they wished to argue against the assumption, but did not have the guts or the idiocy to speak out of turn..

"Than perhaps they believed that I had actually been vanquished? Destroyed by the child hailed as the Boy-Who-Lived?" Voldemort continued on, glaring at the gathered men with narrowed eyes.

"Do you all wish to know what actually took place that night, more than thirteen years ago?" He asked raising a single hairless eyebrow, questioningly. The group shifted and murmured very quietly under their voices, but none spoke above a whisper.

"It was the magic of dear Lily Potter that did it," He said in a soft voice and Harry saw Voldemort's eyes travel to Snape. "It was requested that I allow Lily Potter to live. It was a request that I saw no reason to deny since the man who requested it had served me well and done me a tremendous service. So when I went to the Potter's home that night, I easily dispatched of James Potter and then followed Lily Potter up to the young Harry's nursery. I gave the woman the option to flee. She did not need to die, and I did not wish to kill her. Little did I know, this would be my final downfall. You see, young, innocent,

Light, Lily Potter was secretly a practitioner of the Blood Magics and had enacted a pact with ancient magics I had not anticipated.

"When Lily refused to move aside and died by my hand when it was not necessary, she sacrificed her life in exchange for her son's. It created a protection powerful enough to deflect the majority of the force behind my killing curse. Young, fifteen month old Harry Potter was merely scarred while my very soul was ripped from my body and cast to the abyss. However it was clear that at least one of my experiments into the nature of immortality had worked because I was not dead, when I surely should have been. So you see, my followers, Harry Potter did not

vanquish

me. He did

nothing.

He was merely a baby, and nothing more. It was Lily Potter who brought about my temporary fall, and she is

dead."

Harry was surprised by how utterly unaffected he was by listening to these words spoken to such a crowd, but it was clear by the short moment when he and Voldemort's eyes locked, that the Dark Lord actually harbored the briefest concern for Harry. The concern behind the man's eyes would have gone unseen by anyone else, but Harry saw it, and he returned a soft, reassuring smile that was banished a moment later behind a blank mask.

Voldemort instantly continued, refocusing on his gathered Death Eaters. "The Boy-Who-Lived

is a fairytale. He is a fantasy character, created by the Light, and told to their children as a bedtime story to give them false hope. He does not exist. Some of you are aware that there was a prophecy that I had been pursuing in regards to the Potters. They had gone into hiding and were under Dumbledore's protection because a Seer had claimed that their child would be born with the power to vanquish me."

He paused and the room shifted with anxious anticipation.

"It was all a lie," Voldemort sneered. "The entire thing was concocted by Dumbledore in an elaborate plan to try and have me destroy myself. The Prophecy claiming my fall at the hands of Harry Potter

is a lie."

Hushed murmurs broke out but were instantly silenced with a sharp look from the Dark Lord.

"What of Harry Potter, my Lord?" Lucius asked, and Harry could detect that there was somethingmore

to that question than was actually spoken. Snape glanced past Harry's position, and looking towards Lucius Malfoy for a moment before looking forward again. Harry knew that neither of them knew who he was and he fought to keep a smirk off his l lips.

"Ah, yes.

Potter," Voldemort began slowly. "It is good that you ask, Lucius. This is a matter that I feel is of the utmost importance to discuss with you all tonight. Harry Potter," he began slowly, leaving a pause for dramatic effect, "is

not to be touched.

Under no circumstances should any of you approach him. Under no circumstances should any of you

attack

him. I have plans already set in motion regarding Harry Potter and I do not want any of you messing them up by interfering.

"Should I, at any point, learn that one of you was responsible for harming or attacking Potter, without my direct instruction, you will be punished

most severely,"

Voldemort hissed threateningly and his eyes flared with a bright flash of blood red. The gathered crowd shuddered.

"Now back to more pressing matters. As you can all see, I have been back for some time now. I have been making preparations slowly and quietly. My miraculous return, as you asked, dear Lucius, is the result of three faithful followers. Wormtail, step forward!"

Wormtail flinched from his place at the far end of the first row and took a few quivering steps forward as he bowed his head.

"Wormtail was the only one of you to seek me out. He came to me, finding me as I drifted deep in the forests of Albania. It was through his initial aid that I was able to begin setting my plans in motion. But even Wormtail did not seek me out due to loyalty. No. Wormtail came to me seeking protection from those he had chosen to betray. He came to me out of

fear." Wormtail flinched again and Harry could hear the lumpy man whimpering under his breath.

"Step back, Wormtail," Voldemort said with an air of disgust to it. "Barty!"

Barty stepped forward from his place four to Harry's right, tall and proud. "Now young Barty Crouch here is a truly faithful follower. He went to Azkaban rather than deny me as his master and Lord. He suffered there for over a year before he was secretly broken out by his

dearly departed daddy,"Voldemort finished in a mocking tone. "He suffered for a decade but freed himself and came to my aid. He has served me well this last year and has done much for me. He will be rewarded appropriately."

"Thank you, my Lord," Barty said bowing his head low before standing straight and taking a step back into the line.

"And finally, I would like to introduce you all to someone

new.

Someone who has proven himself loyal and valuable to me in ways that no one else could accomplish. Someone who has done for me things that no one else could possibly do and who has proven himself to me

fully and completely.He is young still, but you all

will

show him the proper ressspect!" Voldemort said in a fierce voice before pausing to trail his eyes across the crowd.

"Evan, step forward," Voldemort commanded at last and Harry took several steps forward, coming to stand directly before the Dark Lord. "I wish to now introduce you all to my

apprentissss;

Evan Harris." Voldemort reached out and grasped Harry's shoulder, turning him to face the crowd. Harry easily spun around and bowed his head for a moment before standing tall again and looking out over them all.

It was clear that they were all stunned by the pronouncement, and Harry couldn't fully hide the slightly smug smirk that graced his lips as he looked out over the gathered group of Death Eaters.

"Evan will be living here in the manor for the next few months. He will be working as a personal assistant to me as well as attending to additional tasks. If there is any point that you come to the manor to deliver a report or other intelligence and I am indisposed, but Evan is available, you may leave the information with him and he shall make sure that I receive it quickly. Now..." Voldemort paused again, looking over the crowd and placing a hand on Harry's shoulder to indicate that he should return to the line. Harry quickly turned to face the Dark Lord again, bowed his head and took two steps backwards to resume his position in line.

"Quite a few of you have managed to gain positions within the Ministry. For this I am pleased. I wish for you all to prepare as much information about your department, work, the people who you work with, and those who you have influence over and bring it back to me. I will meet with each of you individually to discuss what you bring me.

"Much time has been wasted. While I was left to wander the abyss, the Light has been growing and growing in power. Passing legislation and establishing new departments that weaken the foundation of our society and leave us vulnerable to the muggles. The egregious actions of those idiots who have come into power must be rectified!" he hissed. "We must act swiftly, but we must act in secret until everything has been properly prepared for. This is a war that will initially be waged in the shadows, but once we are ready, we shall take control swiftly and secure it within an iron grasp!

"Our mission is paramount! The wizarding world is in more danger than they realize and it is not by our hands that they shall fall, but by their own! They are slowly destroying themselves and they are taking us with them. We shall all perish by their idiotic governing, when the muggles become aware and decide to act against us. We must gain control of the Ministry and the Wizengamot, and finally we must take Hogwarts. A new day is dawning, my faithful followers. With you by my side, I shall lead our world and restore the great glory to our society!"

The meeting went on for quite a while. Harry was eventually summoned to sit on the stone dais beside Voldemort's throne and to take directed notes. He quickly conjured parchment and a quill and began to note down each of the specific things that Voldemort would lean over and quietly speak to him to, as the Dark Lord discussed things and questioned different Death Eaters individually. Mostly the notes were reminders of things to investigate or to prepare, and objects that would be useful to crafted to serve specific spying purposes.

The back row was dismissed first after they had each been briefly debriefed and then assigned specific tasks. That then left what Harry figured was Voldemort's Inner Circle to stand before him. More things were discussed and more tasks were dolled out. Each person present was expected to prepare several reports on various intelligences and bring them back later. As Harry sat there, scribbling away on the rolls of parchment before him, he noticed several people in front of him eyeing him speculatively, and several eyeing him with contempt. It was clear that there were those among the Inner Circle who were less than pleased with some young unknown coming in out of no where and suddenly being assigned the title of 'Apprentice'. The idea of the Dark Lord taking on an apprentice at all was unheard of and had undoubtedly left quite a few of them bewildered.

The only person among the crowd who was currently keyed into Harry's glamor, besides Voldemort of course, was Barty. Even Wormtail was ignorant to Harry's true identity.

One by one, as the night wore on, the Inner Circle Death Eaters were dismissed until there was only Lucius, Snape, and Barty left standing in the line. Wormtail had long since been sent off to his room. At some point during the lengthy debriefing Nagini had come into the room and she was currently stretched along the base of the throne at Voldemort's feet.

The Dark Lord had just finished giving Lucius his final assignment and it would be the most obvious moment for Lucius to leave, but it was obvious that he was itching to ask another question and yet unsure if he should.

Voldemort smirked at the man's hesitation. "Was there something else you wished to speak to me about, Lucius?"

"I heard a... curious rumor, my Lord," Lucius said, bowing his head lightly and chancing a quick glance towards Snape and Barty.

"Did you now? About what?"

"About Harry Potter, my Lord," Lucius said, once again glancing towards the other two in the room and lingering most suspiciously on 'Evan Harris' sitting on the dais. "Perhaps we could discuss it in private when you are done with the others?"

"That will not be necessary, Lucius. Everyone else that still remains in this room is already aware of that which you are asking about," Voldemort said with a light air of amusement. The startled surprise in Malfoy's unobscured eyes caused Harry to duck his head to hide his smirk. He apparently didn't hide it well enough since Lucius was now glaring down at him.

"I am to assume that your son Draco probably made suggestions to you that Harry Potter said something to him that would suggest that the Boy-Who-Lived had become the Boy-Who-Switched-Sides?" Voldemort asked airily.

"Yes my Lord. I had my doubts to it's validity though. I suspected that Potter might be trying to trick Draco into admitting things he would be best served not admitting to someone like

Potter.However Potter mentioned the date of March 20th, suggesting to Draco that on that date my mark would have reacted. It did of course – am I to assume that was the night of your full resurrection, my Lord?"

"That is correct."

"When Draco asked Potter how he knew such a thing, he said it was because he was there for the resurrection..." Lucius said, letting the sentence trail off into an unspoken question.

"He was," Voldemort confirmed easily. Lucius blinked and it was clear, even with the mask, that the man was stunned.

"He... was?"

"Potter has aligned himself with me. He played a crucial role in the ritual that restored my body and magical powers. He is secretly working against Dumbledore, and his switch in alliances must be kept secret at all costs."

"Yes, my Lord!" Lucius said, only barely recovering from his shock. His lips wavered a few times as if he were searching searching for words to speak, but unsure how to properly voice his questions without getting cursed. "H-how..."

"How did Harry Potter end up coming to my side?" Voldemort asked with a slight smirk gracing his lipless face.

"I must admit, my Lord, that I am also desperate to understand how this came to pass," Snape said from Lucius's right.

"Didn't Potter explain it to you when he first approached you for me?" Voldemort asked airily and Lucius's eyes widened behind his mask and darted over to Snape with shock.

"He... did," Snape said slowly. "He said that the reason his name was initially put into the cup for the tournament was your doing. The original plan was to abduct him during the final task and forcefully using his blood in a ritual to restore your body."

"That is correct."

"However he said that through the course of the year he came to several realizations, as well as discovering your plans."

"Again, correct. The realization that the prophecy was false, and that it was an elaborately constructed scheme by Dumbledore in an attempt to destroy me made it obvious that there was no legitimate reason for the two of us to continue attempting to kill each other. We both came to the realization that our efforts could be much better put to use working together to take down our common enemy – Albus Dumbledore."

"Harry Potter

considers Dumbledore an enemy?" Lucius asked disbelievingly.

"We are all fully aware of the levels of duplicity that the man is capable of. He is also remarkably skilled at deceiving those around him. Unfortunately for Dumbledore, Harry Potter has had a bit of an awakening, and has learned to see the old man's deceit for what it is. He came to me of his own free will, with absolutely no coercion. He is loyal to me and has served me well so far.

"It is true that he made mistakes, but he was young and being played by a master manipulator. During his first year, when he prevented my acquisition of the philosopher's stone, he had no idea it was even I who was after it, and he was only acting because Dumbledore had secretly directed him to. In his second year, again, his actions cost me an extremely valuable object, and resulted in the death of a thousand-year-old basilisk, however, again – he was merely being used by the old man. He was an extension of Dumbledore's hand. He was being used. I do not blame him for his actions. He was young, naive, and he had been tricked.

"He has repented for his actions against me, I have forgiven him his past misdeeds and he has moved beyond those I have committed against him and come to terms with working under me. He has since proven himself dependable and devoted to me and our cause. I do not question his loyalties to me.

You, however, have left me with my doubts."

"M-my Lord! I have only ever devoted myself to the dark cause! I have always and forever been loyal to you first! I –"

"You discarded a powerful magical artifact that was both precious and irreplaceable, for your own personal gain," Voldemort interjected with a harsh, angry, sneer.

"That muggle-loving fool Weasley was trying to push through legislature that would greatly hinder our cause, my Lord. I only ever wished –"

"To humiliate him and discredit him. Yes, I saw that much for myself, Lucius. Whether or not your actions actually had any effect on the bill failing to go through, however, is debatable. I can approve of the goal, however, I left that artifact with you with the expectation that you would guard it with your very life, and instead, you let it fall into the hands of light wizards. Your actions resulted in the diary's destruction, and for that, you

will

repay me."

Lucius's eyes were filled with barely concealed terror and he quickly shook his head before bowing low. "Y-yes, my Lord."

"Now, Lucius," Voldemort said sitting up straighter in his throne and calling the elder Malfoy to his full attention. "The school term is as good as over, but during the next school year I will be requiring your son's assistance with Potter."

"Of course, my Lord. Whatever you need."

"Bring him here to the manor during the summer so that I may speak with him."

Harry could see the discomfort in Lucius's posture but the man tried to mask it well. "Yes my Lord. I will bring him."

"Good. That is all Lucius. I expect the report from you within a week."

"Yes my Lord," Lucius said as he dipped to one knee and bowed before standing and preparing to leave. Harry wondered how many times that evening he had heard the phrase 'yes, my lord'.

"Evan, escort Lucius to the entry hall and wait for me in the study," Voldemort said then, pulling Harry out of his musings. Harry nodded his head and began to stand up. He had been expecting this. Snape and Barty would finish their Hogwarts debrief, and receive any end-of-term instructions now and Harry would be filled in later.

He rolled up the scrolls he had taken his notes on and tucked them under his arm. He stepped down off the dais and strolled over to Lucius's side. The pair quickly left the room, leaving Voldemort alone with Snape and Barty.

Harry and Lucius walked down the long hall in silence at first, but the silence was broken by Lucius.

"I must admit that my curiosity is beyond peaked about you," he said in a calm conversational voice.

"Oh? And what about me would inspire such curiosity?"

"I don't think I have ever heard of the Dark Lord taking on an

apprentice.

It is absolutely unheard of."

"Ah, that."

"Yes,

that."

Lucius said shortly and finally turning his head and giving Harry a sharp look. Harry smirked back causing the elder Malfoy's eyes to narrow.

"It is a position that I somehow slipped into my fluke. I was not seeking out the position, but the Dark Lord desired to teach me."

"He desired to teach

you?" Lucius remarked disbelievingly.

"There is much about me that goes unseen," Harry said, grinning back.

"I would assume as much if you were able to catch the attention of the

Dark Lord," Lucius said coming to a stop now in the entry hall and giving Harry a long look over. Not that there was a lot of look at since they were both covered head to toe in black robes. Although Lucius's eyes did linger longer of Harry's half-exposed face. The elder Malfoy was clearly intrigued by the unique mask, but didn't remark on it.

"Evan Harris, was it?" Lucius asked, conversationally.

"That's right."

"You wouldn't be related to the Tutshill Harris's or perhaps the Portree Harris's?"

Harry just gave the other man a small smirk and remained silent.

"Hm," Lucius huffed quietly before pulling his cloak around him better. "Well I suppose I shall be off."

"I suppose you shall. If you come to the manor often this summer, we shall probably see much of each other."

Lucius rose a single eyebrow before narrowing his eyes. He gave a curt nod before apparating away. Harry smirked and chuckled lightly under his breath before turning and heading up the stairs to wait in the study.

– –

Disclaimer: Don't own Harry Potter. JKRowling does.

First Beta Pass by Clemex

– –

Severus came to stand before the gargoyle entrance to the headmaster's office and took a deep calming breath as he quickly locked away all of his conflicting emotions tightly behind his occlumency shields.

The last month had been both enlightening and trying on his patience. Going back to the Dark had brought an amalgam of emotions to the surface that he had spent a decade suppressing. But if he was being totally honest with himself, the most prominent emotion of them all had been...

relief.

Potter had been right about one thing. Serving the Light had most certainly not been fulfilling. Everything about aiding the Light had felt

wrong. It made his skin itch with disgust and frustration. He was a Dark Wizard and the Dark was where he belonged. If it hadn't been for his guilt and his strong emotional ties to Lily, he never,

never

would have gone to Dumbledore.

Allowing himself to become the servant to the Light Lord had been the one thing he had regretted most about his life, but he couldn't leave the man. He was trapped. Dumbledore's protection was the only thing that kept him out of Azkaban. He argued with himself that he had a decent enough life. He had a job that he could... tolerate, a regular income, a roof over his head, and freedom. Well, relative freedom.

But now with the Dark Lord back, he had an alternative. Before it was stay with Dumbledore or face the dementors. Now he had somewhere else to turn. Somewhere he felt far more at home turning to. He

belonged

with the Dark, and he held the Dark Lord with reverence and respect. True, he also feared the man. You would have to be insane not to. But he had always felt the draw to the Dark, and when the Dark Lord came into power during Severus's youth, he had been drawn to the Dark Lord like a moth to flame. His desire to remain by the man's side had never waned, but his love and loyalty to Lily Evans had been his one weak point.

A weakness that Albus Dumbledore had exploited to gain himself a spy and a servant.

Being the master of deception that he was, Severus had not had any problems concealing his conflicting emotions over the last month. But Albus had been utterly oblivious during that time. He had had no reason to give any of Severus's behavior any deeper analyzing. Now the Headmaster would

know

he had been to see the Dark Lord. Now he would be watching to make sure that Severus was remaining loyal. Now would truly test Severus's skill as a double agent.

Steeling himself he stood tall and spoke the password to the gargoyle.

Peanut Butter Cups. He sneered in distaste at the old man's idiotic obsession with sweets as he stepped onto the spiral staircase and climbed up to the double-doors that entered the headmaster's office.

"Come in Severus," the old man's voice sounded from behind the door before his hand had even reached out to grasp the handle. He had expected this of course. He knew damn well that the headmaster had proximity wards that alerted him to when someone, and

whom,

approached his office.

Severus pulled open the door and stepped inside, quickly making his way to sit down in the chair opposite the headmaster's desk.

Dumbledore looked tired and his face was lined with worry, but Severus could see that there was something hidden behind his eyes. Something kept masterfully hidden.

"Severus, you were gone for a very long time. I was beginning to grow worried," Dumbledore said.

I'm sure you were... worried you would lose your spy.

"I am as well as could be expected."

"What happened? Has he... has he truly returned?"

"He has. Apparently he has had a body for quite some time, in fact. He has been preparing and warding his new stronghold while secretly making contact with a select few of his old followers. Tonight was the first time he called a group of us back to his side."

Dumbledore's eyes widened. "For

some time?

How long, exactly?"

"I am not sure. He was not specific."

"How strong did he appear to be?"

"Full strength. I haven't felt a magical presence so strong... since during the height of his last reign."

Dumbledore frowned deeply and looked troubled as he clasped his hands in front of him on his desk. "This is most troubling... Did you see who all was in attendance?"

"Only a very small number of his followers returned to him. In total there were only six of us there. They were all dressed in black with full masks, but I know that Lucius Malfoy and Royce Avery were both there."

"Only six?" Dumbledore asked with a hopeful air to his voice.

"He was most displeased by the low turn-out."

"Hmm..." Dumbledore hummed thoughtfully as he nodded. "You were gone more more than four hours – what all was discussed during the meeting?"

"He described to those of us who were there what happened to him during his time... away. He also expressed his intense displeasure that none of us ever sought him out to assist him in his return."

"Were you cursed, Severus?" Dumbledore asked suddenly as he sat up straighter and took on an air of worried concern.

"I was not. But several of the others were."

"I am most relieved that you were spared."

Severus chose to simply respond with a nod at that remark.

"What else, Severus?"

Severus went on to explain all of the various things that the Dark Lord had instructed him to relay to the headmaster. Next to none of it was actually true, but it was convincing, and sufficiently misleading, so it would serve it's purpose.

"Did he speak of any of his plans for Harry?" Dumbledore asked after Severus had reached a break in his information relay.

"He said that he had very specific plans already in motion and that we were not to interfere in them. It would seem that Potter's entrance into the tournament was the Dark Lord's doing, after all. However it was part of a failed plot that was apparently discarded several months ago. Bartemius Crouch Sr. disappearance is somehow related to it but I am unfamiliar with the details. Once the plan was abandoned, Potter's continued participation in the tournament was no longer important, but had become inconsequential. The fact that he survived it was apparently disappointing, but not unexpected. The Dark Lord said that he would have been annoyed had he been denied the opportunity to deal with the boy himself."

Dumbledore looked troubled and nodded his head thoughtfully. "Thank you for what you've discovered. Please do you best to discover what his plans regarding Harry might be."

"I will see what I can do, however he seems to be holding his secrets most dear to him at the moment. He was never one for trusting his followers with the details of his plans, and he seems even more secretive at the moment. Much of the time tonight was spent getting intelligence from the few of us who returned to him."

Again, Dumbledore nodded.

"There is one more thing," Severus said slowly.

"Yes, my boy?"

Severus let out a mild sneer at the endearment, but this was normal behavior for Severus, so he knew Dumbledore would not take it badly.

"There was one unknown person who is apparently staying at his headquarters with him. "

"Oh?"

"He was a younger man that the Dark Lord called 'Evan Harris'. He looked to be a little more than twenty and was wearing a half-mask instead of the normal full mask. The Dark Lord called the young man his 'apprentice' and instructed us that if he were ever absent from the manor that we could give any reports to the young man instead."

Dumbledore sat up straighter in his chair and looked legitimately alarmed for the first time that night. "Apprentice?"

"Yes."

"Evan Harris... There haven't been any students at Hogwarts by that name as I can recall. I will have to go looking through the records to make sure... Did he look or sound familiar to you?"

"I did not recognize him. Though his unique mask left more of his face visible than is normal, I was still unable to see much. From what I could tell he had blondish colored hair. It was long since it was coming out from under his hood."

"And you say he's living there?"

"That is what the Dark Lord said."

Dumbledore sat with his hand folded under his chin, and silently contemplating for a long, silent moment before he looked up again. "Thank you Severus, again, for all that you are doing. It will be a tremendous help to me. I cannot express enough how important your contribution to the cause is."

Severus's lip curled in distaste, but he kept it to a minimum.

"It would seem that I will need to call the old crowd back together. With Voldemort's return confirmed it is imperative that we act as soon as possible."

– –

It was nearly 5am before Harry crawled back into his bed in Gryffindor Tower. He had been sorely tempted to just sleep at the manor, but knew that would be reckless and not really worth the risk of people noticing him not having actually slept in his bed. The only consolation was that the next day was a Saturday, so he could sleep in without anyone having anything to complain about.

Exams were now done, for just about everyone. All that remained were some NEWT exams that would be held on Monday and Tuesday. Everyone else had the week to relax around the castle until the end of year feast on Thursday, and then the train ride back to London on Friday. That gave Harry only a few days leeway in speaking with Sirius again.

Harry slept in again on Sunday, and found himself annoyingly occupied all day. He even had trouble slipping away to pay Tom a visit, and hadn't been able to free up enough time to slip away to Sirius's cave so he decided to schedule a nice solid block of time to do it on Monday.

As of dinner on Sunday evening, Harry was positive that Draco had had recent correspondence with his father because the Slytherin was looking at him with whole new eyes. Despite their encounters, conversations, and the fact that Harry had clearly been using Dark magic, Draco had still been skeptical about the validity of his claims... until now. Now it had been confirmed by the Dark Lord himself, and it looked as if Draco were going to have a brain aneurysm from the mere concept.

Harry Potter

really had

switched to the Dark.

Harry shot him a secret smirk and winked at him, causing the Malfoy heir to go wide eyed and quickly look away. Harry snorted into his food, catching the attention of Ron and Ginny, but he brushed their curiosity off.

Monday morning Harry managed to slip away from everyone, with the excuse that he needed some fresh air, some alone time, and the opportunity to take a nice long walk around the castle before he had to leave it behind for the summer holidays. His friends all knew how sentimental he was about the school, so they accepted this easily.

He shrunk his broom and slipped it into his bag so he wouldn't have to make the long trek to the cave on foot, and slipped out across the grounds under his invisibility cloak. Once he had escaped the wards, he enlarged his broom, hopped on while keeping the cloak draped over him, and flew low across the hilly terrain towards the cave that Sirius had lived in for the last few months.

Harry was relieved to find Sirius there when he arrived. He was sleeping on a rough pallet bed with only a few rather dirty blankets for cover. The sight made Harry frown deeply, and only increased his desire to help his godfather. While deep down he really did wish that his godfather could accept the Dark Lord, somehow deep inside, he really doubted it would really work out. Sirius Black really was a Gryffindor, and he had an ingrained hatred of the Dark Lord.

He felt so conflicted in regards to his godfather.

Harry stepped deeper into the cave, bowed to Buckbeak and waited for the hippogriff to return the gesture, and then knelt down beside Sirius on the cold stone floor.

"Sirius?" Harry said, as he gently shook his godfather's shoulder.

It took a minute of prodding but Sirius finally startled awake.

"Huh-h... H-harry?"

Harry chuckled and sat back on his haunches. "For someone whose on the run, you're a surprisingly deep sleeper.

"Er... had a late night..." the older wizard grumbled rubbing his hand across his jaw and standing groggily to his feet. Harry stood up with him and pulled out his cypress wand. He spelled them a pair of comfortable chairs and sat down in one while Sirius left the cave to relieve himself. By the time he had come back in, Harry had pulled out a bag of food and supplies and enlarged it. Sirius eagerly began the eat and the two sat in relative silence for several minutes.

Finally Harry broke the quiet. "Have you been giving it some thought?"

"Of course I have," Sirius said with a heavy sigh. "You know I got an owl yesterday from Dumbledore. He's calling the old crowd back together. Apparently he knows Voldie's back."

"Yup. There was a really large meeting two nights ago. The Dark Lord had Snape go to Dumbledore before hand, letting him know that he'd been summoned. As was expected, Dumbledore asked Snape to resume his role as spy and return to the Dark Lord. After the meeting, Snape was instructed to go back to Dumbledore and make a report on it."

"And you all honestly expect

Snape

to be loyal? The guy is a dirty two-faced snake. He'll always play both sides. How do you know he isn't really spying for Dumbledore and telling him all about where your loyalties really lie?"

"Severus is loyal to the Dark. It's where he's always

wanted

to be. He went to Dumbledore because he loved my mum and was afraid that the Dark Lord would kill her."

"And he

did."

"Yes, but now Severus knows that Dumbledore was the one really pulling the strings. Dumbledore not only used Severus to deliver the fake prophecy that ended up painting a huge 'kill me' on our backs, but then he used Severus and tricked him into indenturing himself to Dumbledore by playing on his guilt. Besides, Snape has made an unbreakable vow to protect me, and has sworn his loyalties to the Dark Lord under oath. We're relatively sure of his allegiances. We're also going to be careful of just what he knows in regards to

me."

Sirius opened his mouth to say something, but paused and got a funny look on his face. "Wait, he's sworn an

unbreakable vow

to protect

you?"

"Apparently he did it years ago when he first went to Dumbledore and offered his services as a double agent. It was how he proved his loyalties. He wasn't willing to swear a vow to Dumbledore, but he was willing to swear one to Lily's son."

Sirius looked utterly gobsmacked and sat there stunned for a moment before he shook his head as if trying to clear it. "Alright..." he said slowly.

"So what are you going to do? About Dumbledore's letter, that is."

Sirius sighed and ran his hand through his dirty tangled hair. "I don't know, pup... I guess it depends on me going and joining up with your

Dark Lord.

If I do go and join Voldemort, then I guess it will be expected of me to go back to the Order. Thing is I'm not the actor that Snivelus is. I'm not cut out for spying. I also only have rudimentary occlumency training. I have to admit I'm hesitant to spend too much time around Dumbledore knowing what I know."

Harry nodded thoughtfully. "That's reasonable."

"But..." Sirius started hesitantly, "Dumbledore suggested in his letter that the Order is going to need a new headquarters to hold it's meetings in. He asked if I still had control over my families old home in London."

"Home in London?"

"Yeah, on Grimmauld Place. It's probably a downright rancid old place by now. Been sitting empty about a decade, at least. It's the house I grew up in."

"And

do you

still have control over it?"

"Of course. Could go there anytime. It's already unplottable and had enumerable protections and enchantments on the place, which is what would make it so ideal for the Order's headquarters."

"Wait, it sounds like if you went there, even the Ministry couldn't find you."

"That's right."

"So

why

haven't you gone back there?"

Sirius grimaced. "I'd rather live in a

cave

than go back to that house. I suppose it..." he sighed heavily. "No... I hated that house. I hated my family and I hated the time I spent in that house. I just didn't want to go back there unless I had to."

"Alright. So Dumbledore is asking if he can use the house for his Order?"

"Right. But he'd also want to put a

Fidelius

charm on the house for added protection."

"And who would be the Secret Keeper?"

"Him."

Harry grimaced.

"He 'graciously offered it' so that it would be an added layer of security to keep the Ministry from finding me. He also suggested that if we can get Grimmauld Place cleaned up enough by August, we could possibly bring you to stay with me."

"Sounds like he's trying to sweeten the deal to get the house. I wonder if he really meant it..."

"Yeah..." Sirius sighed again.

"Well..." Harry said slowly, "mind you this is if you

accept

our offer, but one option would be that you agree and offer up your miserable childhood home to Dumbledore for his Order, but you don't stick around to help clean the place up. Leave that to him to deal with. You tell him that you're heading out to try and track down Pettigrew and you run off and disappear for a month. You spend that month hanging with me at the manor. During that time, we can keep Pettigrew unconscious down in the holding cells while the Dark Lord makes sure that the

obliviate

holds firm on him. At the end of the month, you take Pettigrew to the Ministry and get your named cleared."

"You make it sound so easy," Sirius said with an eyeroll. "I doubt I'll be able to just

walk

into the Ministry with Wormtail and get my named cleared. If you recall, Fudge has a standing order that I be kissed on sight."

"We can work with that, don't worry."

Sirius gave Harry an incredulous look. "We?"

"To–The Dark Lord. He's got several Death Eaters in the Ministry that even Dumbledore doesn't know about. Plus I've placed the seeds inside Minister Fudge's little mind that I'm a fan of his. I even offered to just happen to show up in some public venue over the summer and give him an endorsement for his re-election this fall."

"WHAT? Give that idiot Fudge a public endorsement?"

"Of course. He's an incompetent idiot. He would rather

look

like he's doing something than actually doing it. It will be far easier to dismantle the Ministry from the inside out if it's being run by a do-nothing moron who listens to Lucius Malfoy's every word."

"Oh

Merlin, Harry," Sirius moaned as he let his forehead fall into his hands. "I don't know if I can do this... siding with

Lucius Malfoy... trying to 'dismantle the ministry'? At the very least, you're helping the Dark Lord plan a coup d'etat, and at the worst, a war!"

"The Magical government of Britain is a corrupt, ineffective, and bigoted bunch of sycophantic morons. They're worthless at governing and they need to go."

"And you think that

Voldemort

will do a better job?"

Harry sighed heavily and leaned back in his chair running his hand through his shaggy black hair. "Look, I doubt we'll ever make any progress on this front. We each have an exceedingly different impression of the man."

"You may say that he doesn't care about muggles and muggleborns this time around, but do you honestly think he's going to treat muggleborns fairly in this new government he makes?"

"Muggleborns are just the offspring of several generations removed squibs. No human is just spontaneously born with magic. There

has

to be some creature blood in their lineage. Granted, muggleborns have a lot more muggle contamination, but we

all

have non-magic, human contamination, that's just a fundamental fact."

Sirius made to say something, but then came up short. "Wait, what?"

"Here... I'm going to tell you some things and you have to promise not to repeat any of it toanyone, alright?"

"Okay..."

"The Dark Lord is a 'half blood'. His father was a

muggle. Not even a muggleborn – a

muggle."

Sirius gaped at him in stunned silence.

"His father abandoned he and his mum while she was pregnant and she died right after he was born so he was raised in a muggle orphanage. He didn't even know he was a wizard until he got his Hogwarts letter, and his witch mum gave him his muggle dad's name, so he went to Hogwarts and was sorted into

Slytherin

with absolutely no knowledge of his ancestry. Everyone assumed him to be a muggleborn. I'm sure you can imagine how a muggleborn was treated in Slytherin."

"It would have been a massacre," Sirius murmured under his breath.

"It definitely wasn't pleasant. But he was a parseltongue, and when that got out, some of his house mates started to realize that there was clearly more to him than met the eye. He was also an exceptionally talented wizard and more magically powerful than anyone else in the school at the time. He got top marks in all his subjects. He's a

genius.

So he got respect, but it was a grudging respect and he had to work his ass off for it. He learned to work with and manipulate his house mates to serve his needs, and that meant using their prejudices against them.

"He

knows

the truth about muggleborns, but it's not an idea that is easily introduced. The old pureblood families would have trouble accepting something like that, especially since so many squibs came from long pureblood lines, and then got disowned and thrown out into the muggle world to fend for themselves. Most so-called muggleborn children are actually descendants of really ancient pureblood lines. If the old families recognized this, they could be faced with having inheritances threatened.

"He wanted to wipe out the

muggles, and it was easy to get people to follow him on that goal because of the prejudices many old wizarding families hold against them, but those same followers are just as prejudiced against the muggleborn and would target them as well. It was easier for the Dark Lord to let them do as they pleased because as long as they were happy they were helping him further his cause."

"But isn't that the same thing you've been complaining about Dumbledore? Willing to sacrifice innocents if it's for his 'greater good'?" Sirius argued.

"I never said Tom was perfect!" Harry snapped. "I

never

claimed that he wasn't a ruthless murderer. He is. I

know that.

He did some seriously fucked up shit in the past, and he's going to continue to do more in the future. I'm not excusing what he did or what he allowed to happen, but he

isplanning a different tactic this time around, and hopes to keep the bloodshed to a minimum. He also intends to slowly reintroduce the old knowledge about the creature lineage descent and eventually let that bleed into the realization of where exactly 'muggleborns' actually come from."

"So you're claiming that Voldemort is going to set up a magical government where muggleborns are treated as equals?" Sirius asked incredulously.

Harry sighed. "Look, it's not going to happen overnight, and unfortunately there's a huge anti-muggleborn stigma attached to his cause right now, which will make things difficult in the beginning, but in the end his goal is to create a government that properly serves

witches and wizards

and even

muggleborns

are are still witches and wizards."

"You make it sound like he's the good guy.

He's not the good guy,

Harry!"

"There's isn't really any such thing as heroes and villains, Sirius. Good and evil don't exist. Very few people get into this stuff because they're legitimately

evil. People have goals and motives and when someone is willing to fight for their ideals it's because

they believe

in what they're fighting for. They believe that

they are

the good guys. Everyone

believes

that they're the ones in the right and the people fighting against them are the ones who are wrong. It's all about perspective in the end. History is written by the victors, which is why the history books are always able to peg one side as evil while the other side – the

winning side

– were the heroes and saviors.

"Everyone has goals and objectives that they believe in and are willing to fight for, and no one fights with the goal of destroying the world unless they're an insane sociopath or something, and despite what you've been led to believe, Voldemort is not an insane sociopath.

"Dumbledore's side is fighting to maintain the status quo. That's what he's fighting for. To maintain the easy, already-established, and vaguely-functional government that we currently have in place. My side is fighting to tear it down and rebuild something that

isn't

a pathetic, ineffective, worthless pile of hippogriff dung run by incompetent imbeciles!"

"You make it sound nice, Harry, but in the end, your trying to rebuild it into a dictatorship withVoldemort

sitting in a throne on top a pile of bloody corpses!"

"A revolution is a struggle to the death between the future and the past."

"Oh, you want to throw quotes at me? Here's one.

'Every revolution evaporates and leaves behind only the slime of a new bureaucracy.'"

Harry sighed heavily and fell back in his chair, pinching his nose. "Look... we're getting nowhere. You clearly can't do this. Forget it. You vow still holds true. You can't tell Dumbledore –"

"Harry! Wait a damn minute!"

"No, Sirius. I realize I was just deluding myself, hoping I could help you, but in the end, you could never be happy over here with me. You will

never

be able to follow Voldemort. It's just not going to happen. You cannot be loyal to a man who you fundamentally despise, and nothing I say is going to change your mind on the issue."

"Harry! Come on now! Look, I said that I was going to stick by you and I meant it, I'm –"

"No. Just

no.

Look Sirius, if you come with me – if you take up the offer and exchange yourself for Peter, then you're committing yourself to our side. You will be expected to work towards our goals, and I just don't think you could be able to force yourself to do that in good conscience. You'd be miserable and you'd start to hate yourself, and I'm not going to put you into that position."

Sirius groaned loudly and collapsed back into his chair grumbling under his breath.

"You know I'm right. You just aren't cut out for this. Not for the Dark. Even knowing how badly Dumbledore has fucked you over, and how bad he's fucked me over... you still can't bring yourself to side with us. But I can understand that."

"I just don't understand how you can honestly think that

Voldemort

is going to make the world a better place!"

"And you think that Dumbledore will?"

"Well, alright, probably not him either, but –"

"Well I'm not seeing any other options right now. I'm picking Tom. I actually

trust

him."

"And there you go again! How can you possibly –"

"Just don't, Sirius. I'm not starting this again. Let's just agree to disagree and call it done."

Sirius looked like he wanted to argue, but then his face shifted to an expression of exhausted defeat and he let out a slow breath. The two sat in silence for a long minute.

"So what are you going to do now?" Harry asked, finally.

"I don't know..." Sirius said with another heavy sigh. "I'm not joining up with Dumbledore, that's for sure. I don't honestly think I could even stand to be in the room with the man, knowing what I know now."

Harry nodded his head solemnly. "I know how you feel. It was a real struggle not to curse the man the first few days after I learned about what he pulled with the prophecies. And I have to look at the bloody wanker every day at meals."

"See, I just don't know if I could do that. People would start to notice that there was something going on. I'm not that good an actor when I'm angry, Harry. I don't think I could convince the man that I still look up to and respect him. I don't think I even

could

do the spy thing for you."

Harry sighed. "Yeah... I know. I knew I was just being an idiot, trying to set this whole convoluted thing up. Tom told me that this probably wouldn't work out, but I had to try."

"You really spend a lot of time with the guy?"

Harry leaned his head forward and grinned at his godfather. "I know that to you, it sounds unfathomable, but I really do consider him a friend. More than that really. He... he

gets me. He and I have so much in common it's bizarre. Our childhoods, the way our magic works, the way we approach problems... He knows just how to explain something to make it make perfect sense. Whenever I'm stuck on some magical concept or spell and I just can't get it, he has a way of making it clear as day with the simplest explanations. I mean, we didn't even talk politics for the first month or so that I was spending time with him. We just talked about everything else.

"And a bit over a month ago we sort of... I guess we broke down a barrier, and since then it's like there isn't anything we can't talk about. Sometimes I'll ask a question he doesn't want to deal with and he'll change the subject, but 9 out of 10 times, if I ask a question, he'll give me a straight answer. And as I've gotten more comfortable with him, I've started asking pretty much whatever the hell comes to mind. We've talked about each other's childhoods, we've talked about each of our experiences at Hogwarts, we've talked about how we each first started dabbling in the dark arts... I mean, he's been willing to share really intimate, personal stuff with me and I just... it's... he's really..." Harry huffed in frustration and ran his hand through his hair.

"It doesn't matter," Harry finally said, leaning forward in his chair and resting his elbows on his knees. "Just because

I

can connect with him, doesn't mean that you ever will. I doubt he would ever willingly show you the side of himself that he's willing to show me. You'd never get to know him the way I've gotten to know him. And in the end, your politics and ours are just too different. This isn't going to work."

Sirius sighed and slowly nodded his head. "So what do you want me to do, Harry?"

"Do what you want. Just don't join the order unless you're willing to stand with

Dumbledore, against

me. Because in the end, the Order is my enemy. Dumbledore is my enemy. And someday, I'm going to be going to war with them, and it's probably going to be bloody."

Sirius looked defeated and shook his head slowly. "I promised I'd look after you. Promised I'd protect you..."

"I don't need protecting, Sirius. Hell, I've got the most powerful wizard in the world already looking out for me. I'm good."

"Yeah, but who will protect you from

him?"

Harry huffed out an exasperated sigh. "Don't bother, Sirius."

Sirius sighed again the the two lapsed into another thick moment of silence.

"You do realize that I can't give you Pettigrew now, right?" Harry asked.

Sirius grimaced but nodded his head. "You'd really stand beside the man who betrayed your parents?"

Harry shrugged. "One of these days, I'm going to kill him. When he's worn out his usefulness. He's still worth something right now though. Plus Tom's hesitant to just outright kill the man when he played a fairly significant role in helping the Dark Lord get a body back after thirteen years as a spirit. Even though he knows that Wormtail only returned to him is because he's a coward, and only because he wanted Voldemort to protect him, not because he wanted to help the Dark Lord or because he believed in the cause... but still... Wormtail helped him, and he refuses to 'reward' such behavior by betraying the man outright."

Sirius snorted. "The Dark Lord has a code of ethics?"

"He does, believe it or not. A lot of it would probably seem harsh or even cruel to you, but I think they're pretty valid."

"Give an example."

Harry growled lightly and ran his hand through his shaggy black hair. "Alright. He refuses to ever leave a magical child orphaned."

"Huh?"

"If the parents are both killed, the child is killed too. If possible, he prefers at least one parent is left alive, so that the child doesn't have to die. Generally the mother. But if both parents have to die, the child has to die too."

"And that's a

good thing?

That's disgusting! Killing an innocent child?"

"Better than having it raised by fucking

muggles

in some orphanage or group home, or by muggle relatives who will be afraid of it!" Harry snapped. "There are

no magical orphanages, Sirius.

None."

"Not all orphans would be treated the way you were, Harry," Sirius said hesitantly.

"Muggles are afraid of things they don't understand. Parents of so-called muggleborns are more-often-than-not still good to their children because they are their biological children and they love them no matter how frightening their crazy supernatural powers seem to be, but there's no bond like that with an orphan. No mandate that says 'love me no matter how big a freak I am'. Magical orphans are way more likely to end up abused and mistreated by muggles than anyone else."

"Just because you –"

"Tom too! Did you know the muggle woman who ran the orphanage he was raised in was so terrified by the things he could do, she brought in a priest to exercise him when he was

five? And then again when he was seven, and eight? Have you ever seen a muggle exorcism? It's terrifying! Imagine doing that to a five year old? Imagine being that young and confused and being told you have a demon inside you! How do you think that would feel? How fucked up do

you

think that would make

you?"

"Alright! Alright..." Sirius said, holding his hands up as if in surrender.

"We're just running in circles again. Look..." Harry paused and began to dig into his pocket. He pulled out bottlecap with a hole punched through the center, on a long length of twine. "It's a two-way portkey. It will take you to the manor house if you ever change your mind, or if you're ever in any serious trouble. The activation word is

Riddle Manor. It's keyed to only take one person, so you can't bring anyone with you. Even if you're holding onto someone at the time of activation, they'll still get left behind."

"How'd you manage that?"

"These aren't standard issue, Ministry port-keys. These are custom made by Voldemort himself. If you know what you're doing, you can put all sorts of specific little things into a port-key."

"I guess so..."

"Anyway, you take this," Harry handed over the portkey. "put it around your neck or something. You can keep it close. If the Ministry or the dementors get close you can always use it as an emergency get-away. Unfortunately, since it'll only take you, you obviously can't bring Buckbeak with you if you do come, but it's a two-way port-key so perhaps you could go back for him."

Harry sighed and stood to his feet. "I need to get going. People are going to start missing me if I'm gone all day. Getting mail to me this summer is going to be a bit slower. You can address owls to 'Harry Potter' and it'll get automatically redirected to a post box I've got set up, and then my mail will get collected every few days by a house elf."

"Huh? Why are you doing all that?"

"The manor has anti-owl wards on it. T–Voldemort doesn't like to take risks with tracking charms and other such things that can easily be placed on an owl delivering post. Or risk someone just following an owl on a broom. Honestly I'm shocked that the Ministry hasn't tried something like that to track you down. Just address a letter to Sirius Black and track the owl..."

"Ah, but that would be logical and intelligent," Sirius remarked with a weak grin. Harry smiled back, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. He wasn't really feeling in much of a smiling mood. Who knew if he'd be seeing his godfather again anytime soon.

"Well... goodbye Sirius."

Sirius got up and stood awkwardly in front of Harry for a moment before he leaned forward and pulled Harry into a slightly stiff embrace. Harry hesitated but returned the gesture after a moment. His chest felt heavy. Sirius was the first person from 'before' that he had been honest with, and now he was basically all but cutting ties. Sirius had been just as royally fucked over as Harry, and yet the man still couldn't follow him down his chosen path. But if he was being honest with himself, he'd known that it never really could work.

Sirius was just too much of a Gryffindor at heart.

"Goodbye pup," Sirius said into Harry's shoulder and neck. "I sure hope you know what you're doing. If you ever need an escape... I'm here for you."

Harry chuckled and shook his head. "Alright Sirius. I won't need it, but thanks for the offer."

– –

AN: Don't want to break any hearts here. Anyway, this isn't the last of the Sirius interactions. So no worries there. There will be more Sirius in the sequel.

AN: The last chapter. Woo. Crazy. This will mark the end of book 1. The sequel is already in progress. If you go to my author page there is a link to my fanfiction forum where I post updates on my progress.

When I post the sequel to ffnet, I'll add an announcement chapter to this story, so if you put this on Alerts, you'll get notified when the sequel is posted.

– –

Harry felt notably down for the next few days. Tom noticed but didn't remark on it. They both knew why Harry was feeling the way he was feeling, and they didn't need to discuss it.

Now that exams were done, Hermione and Ginny had returned their focus full-swing to translating the last few passages of the Old Aldric book. It had taken a backseat to the mountain of homework that had lead into revision and then exams.

The day before the end of term feast, Hermione and Ginny gathered Harry up after breakfast and hid themselves away in an abandoned classroom as they pulled out the last of the translation and handed it to him.

With a mixture of anxious trepidation and excitement, Harry picked up the bound parchment notebook and began to read.

The Record of Tarsang the second, son of Morac.

G.t 14407

I have spent much time studying and recording the details for prosperity, of the greater magical creatures of this realm in preparation for our final departure. I wished to understand the actions that had been taken by this worlds Magic in

its attempt to save it's Children and I think I can finally sum up my findings into something simple, to serve as my contribution to this text.

Goodness and understanding was needed in this world's greater magic users. Empathy, justice, and freedoms would help the half-creature Men thrive, and so those strong in the magics of Light were given the task of empowering these attributes. But Magic saw that those powerful in the Light would be more lenient towards the non-magical Men. They would fight for these non-magical beings 'rights', since they are the underdogs. They are weaker, and will forever be in need of someone to stand up for them and protect them, and it would be in the nature of the Light wizards to take up such a task.

It was foreseen that it would be the Light magical half-breeds who would risk true exposure of magic to the non-magical Men. They would believe that all humans had the right to magic, because it was the

just

and

fair

thing.

However, the fact remains that if non-magic Men gain the power to wield magic, then the End will befall this world and all will perish.

And so Dark magic was given power to keep the Light magic in check. To keep the Light from getting too powerful, and from exposing everyone, and thus, losing the magic for all.

It is in the Dark's nature to covet the power of magic and keep such a power to themselves. To seek it out in every form and to hoard it. The Dark would not want the power to spread to the non-magics because it understands that they are not worthy of the power, and them gaining such a power would be disastrous for all.

This world's End will come in one of two ways. The non-magical Men will steal magic, and use it to destroy all that exists, or the non-magical Men will destroy themselves with their own strange brand of magic, conjured from their too-fast-gained knowledge of sub-physical world and their 'science'. If the End is brought about by the non-magic sciences, the magical creatures of the world will have the chance to shield themselves from the fall-out and they will have the chance to survive. However if the end is brought about by the forces of magic, no one will be saved. All will die.

It is a tragic end, and one I hope this world will manage to escape. I wish them my best as my family and I make our final preparations for our departure. I am saddened that I will never know the fate of this world and it's inhabitants that I have grown so fond of.

Harry sat there staring at the page for several long minutes after he had finished reading it. It didn't really give him any new information. Basically a rehash of what he'd already figured out or at least guessed at.

Harry was broken from his pondering by the sound of Hermione sighing heavily and sinking down into a chair opposite him.

"I don't even know what to

think

about all this..." she said with a slightly dejected tone.

"It's not really anything new," Harry said shrugging. "Basically repeating what we'd already read earlier in the book."

"Yeah, I guess... it's still just difficult to take it all in. Do you really think it could be true?"

"Honestly?" Harry said, looking at the two girls, who were looking back at him expectantly. "Yes. I think it's true."

– –

The end of term feast was as spectacular as all of Hogwarts feasts always are and Harry collapsed into bed that night with an extremely full stomach. He had slipped down into the Chamber once that early morning just to make sure he didn't leave anything behind down there that he would want with him. He had hardly gone down there at all in months though, so there really wasn't anything he was in need of.

The next morning when Harry and his classmates made their way across the grounds to the front gates where the magical carriages were lined up to take them all down to Hogsmeade Harry came up short as he blinked owlishly at the skeletal horse-like creatures pulling them. He'd never been able to see the things pulling the carriages before, and for several moments he was completely confused.

It took him a minute to realize that no one else saw anything different at all. Then his brain turned back on and he finally recognized what the deathly looking creatures were.

"Thestrals..." he breathed under his breath as realization dawned on him. Once considered death omens because of their rather horrible appearance and the fact that they can only be seen by those who have witnessed death.

"Hmm?" Hermione had asked but he shook his head, dismissing it and pretending that nothing was up.

Of course he could see them now. He had killed someone in a rather brutal and horrible fashion. He was rather intimate with death now. He had caused it. But it made him wonder why he'd never seen them before. He

had, after all witnessed his parents death, and if that couldn't count because he was too young, there still remained the fact that he'd witnessed Quirrell die... again,

by his own hands. Hell, he had

literally

killed Quirrell with his own

bare hands.

So why the bloody hell was he only able to see the thestrals

now?

Harry shrugged it off. It didn't especially matter much. It was just one of those illogical things about magic that never really made much sense no matter how hard you tried to work it out in your head. Although, Tom would probably have a perfectly reasonable explanation for it.

Harry followed his friends onto the train, wishing he could just bypass this part and simply take his portkey to the manor house, but knowing he couldn't. Ginny hung out with them for a short while before heading off to meet up with some of her friends from her own year, leaving Harry alone in a compartment with Ron and Hermione.

"Oh hey, before I forget –" Harry started after the other two had been talking for some time about summer plans, "you two can send me owls to

this

address." Harry pulled out two pieces of parchment and handed one to each of them.

They both looked at him curiously before unfolding the notes and looking at what was written.

Hermione was the first to speak. "France?" she gasped.

Harry chuckled and shrugged. "Yup. Did you know that France has no restriction for underage magical use?"

"I – wait, it what?" Hermione asked, coming up short.

"Yeah, witches and wizards can use magic all they want in France – as long as it's not being done in front of muggles, of course – and they won't get punished or anything, even if they're not 17 yet."

"Wait," Ron started, "so you're running off to

France

so you can perform magic during your holidays? Do you even speak French?"

"No, and that's not why I'm going anyway. It's a coincidence really. It just so happens that the place I'm going to is in France and therefore I can perform magic this summer. Besides, that address isn't where I'm actually staying. It's a hired post box. A house elf will be retrieving my mail every few days and when I have outgoing mail, I give it to the elf and she'll bring it to a public post and sending it out with one of the owls there. Hedwig is just going to hang out with me all summer. She'll probably get a bit bored, not being able to deliver any letters, but the grounds are supposed to be pretty big so she'll have plenty of flying room."

"Wait, I don't get it... why are you going through all that?" Ron asked.

"The wards around the place I'm going to be staying doesn't allow owls to come in to deliver post."

"And...

why?"

"To prevent anyone from using an owl to track me. No owls, no risk of tracking charms."

"Wow..." Hermione said, blinking in surprise. "Whoever you're staying with is willing to do all that just to make sure no one tracks you down with an owl?"

"They had those wards up already. I told you guys way back when I first mentioned all of this, that the place I'm going has some of the most powerful wards a private property can have."

"And you really can't tell us where you're going or who you're staying with?" Hermione asked, clearly looking worried.

"No can do.

Merlin, chances are you two will both be getting visits from Dumbledore within the week as he starts desperately trying to track me down and haul me back to the Dursley's before the wards completely collapse there. If you don't know where I'm going, there's no way he can find out from you. It's just easier this way."

Hermione sighed and folded her arms over her chest but didn't persist in arguing. Ron just frowned.

"You can pass that address on to Ginny for me, right Ron?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, sure," Ron grumbled.

"What's up, Ron?"

Ron ducked his head, still scowling a bit and mumbled under his breath.

"What was that?"

"It's just you've been spending a lot of time with my sister this year and now you're going to be writing with her over the summer too?" Ron finally said, raising his head.

Harry blinked at Ron and had to fight to refrain from rolling his eyes. "Ron, she's a friend. She can write to me if she wants to. I mean, it's not like you have to worry about me fancying your sister or something. She's got the wrong plumbing, and I'm already pretty attached to someone else."

Ron's face went red and he blanched a bit before looking away embarrassed. Suddenly understanding seemed to dawn in his eyes. "You what?"

"Huh?"

"What do you mean you're attached to someone?"

"Oh well... I'm sort of seeing someone."

"What? Since when? Who?"

"Er... for a while now. I mean, it started out as a friendly thing but sort of slowly morphed into something else. And as for who, I can't tell you who for the same reason that I can't tell you where I'm going this summer."

"It's one of the Beauxbatons boys!" Hermione exclaimed suddenly with a gasp. "The mystery boy you refused to tell me and Ginny about – it wasn't a boy from

any

of the houses, it was a boy from Beauxbatons!"

"Er... no, actually. But... well, nevermind. Like I said, I really can't give you any details that might lead you to where I'm staying, Hermione."

"Huh? Wait a minute, Hermione.

You

knew?" Ron exclaimed looking at Hermione and then back at Harry with hurt. "How come you never told me?"

"The only reason that Hermione and Ginny know anything about it is because they caught me sneaking in after having met up with him. If that hadn't of happened, even they wouldn't have any idea. I've kept this super secret because I don't want to risk his identity getting out."

"Wait, Harry!" Hermione yelled, suddenly. "No clues to where you're staying? I thought you said that his family didn't know he was,

you know... But it sounds like you're going to go stay with him this summer. How..?"

"Oh his mum knows now. He told her. She's good with it, and with me being there. Don't worry, this is going to be fine. Still, we don't want to risk his name getting drug through the tabloids as Harry Potter's boyfriend so I'm still not willing to let it get out who he is."

"So you didn't trust me to keep it a secret?" Ron interjected in, still looking hurt.

"It's not that Ron, but we still have no idea how Rita Skeeter was spying on us, or if whatever method she used is still available to someone else. I just didn't want to risk anything. And then there's the whole Dumbledore questioning you two thing to try and figure out where I'm staying..."

Ron didn't look entirely appeased, but he did at least let it drop. Conversation turned to Hermione's plans for her holiday with her parents and she was startled to realize that while she and her family would be in Italy, she would be legally allowed to use magic. She'd had no idea and found the idea thrilling.

Draco did not pay Harry his normal Hogwart's Express visit, but Harry wasn't the least bit surprised by that. He doubted that Draco would know how to act around Harry right now, anyway.

Finally the train pulled up at King's Cross station and the three of them collected their luggage and exited into the platform. Harry shrunk his trunk using it's automatic shrinking feature, since he technically wasn't supposed to be able to use his own magic away from Hogwarts without getting caught, and then he grabbed Hedwig's cage. The Grangers were waiting there and found Hermione right away. Harry bid her farewell, and wished her a good holiday. By that time, Molly Weasley had appeared and had started gathering up her brood of gingers.

"I'll see you September first Ron!" Harry called out as he began to slip away.

"Oh, wait, Harry dear!" Molly Weasley called out and Harry groaned internally before turning around and giving her an innocent but confused smile.

"Yes, Mrs. Weasley?"

"Are your relatives here?" she said looking around the crowd curiously.

"I'm meeting them further away from Platform 9 ¾. They don't feel too comfortable this close to so many of 'my lot'.

You know how they are."

"Well if you'd just wait a few minutes we can walk out with you."

"No, that won't be necessary Mrs. Weasley. Besides, Uncle Vernon will get upset if I keep him waiting."

Molly Weasley looked torn as she looked back and forth from the twins and Ginny, and Harry.

"I've really got to get going. Thanks for the offer though," Harry called out as he resumed walking away towards the archway that would lead into muggle King's Cross. "See you in the fall Ginny! Ron! Bye Gred and Forge!"

"Bye Harry!"

"See ya later!"

"Have a nice holiday!"

"And thanks again, Harry! We really owe you one!" one of the twins called out as Harry grinned back at them over his shoulder and finally disappeared through the arch. Harry had given the twins his winnings the morning after the impromptu awards ceremony and from what he understood, they had already started to owl order loads of different ingredients and things. If nothing else, the twins would be good for a laugh.

Harry quickly made his way through the crowds of muggles before seeing an 'Employees Only' door, propped open slightly by a broom. Harry slipped his cypress wand down his sleeve and into his hand and discreetly cast a 'notice-me-not' charm on himself as he slipped in through the door. Once he was positive that there was no one around to witness anything, he made sure he had a firm grip on Hedwig's cage, turned on the spot, and apparated away.

He reappeared with a soft

crack!

in the entry hall of Riddle Manor. He grinned and heaved a big sigh of relief. It was summer holiday. He was

free.

It had really worked.

"Shall I be taking master's luggage up to his room?" a squeaky voice sounded from behind him, making Harry spin around in surprise. Standing there was Mixey, looking up at him with those huge tennis ball-sized eyes and big flappy bat ears. Harry grinned down at her.

"I can do it myself. I've already got my trunk shrunk down in my pocket."

"Then gives it to Mixey and I's be taking it up to master's room," she insisted with a nod of her head.

Harry grinned in mild amusement down at her and shrugged. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the matchbox sized trunk and handed it over to her, followed by Hedwig's cage. She graciously took them, bowed low, and disappeared with a soft pop.

Harry chuckled quietly, but it turned into a relieved sigh as he felt the familiar magical presence behind him.

"You're not wearing your ring," Tom said.

"Gah! I knew I forgot something," Harry said, smacking himself on the forehead and reaching into his pocket where he had stored his glamor ring. He slipped it onto his left-hand index finger as he was turning around and smiled up at the handsome man that had come to mean such an immensely different thing to him during the last few months.

Tom was looking down on him with an amused smirk as Harry shrugged sheepishly.

"How was your train ride?"

"Long and annoying," Harry said rolling his eyes. "I can't even tell you how many times I wished I could have just used the portkey or apparated straight here instead of having to bother with the damn train."

Tom chuckled and took a few steps forward. Harry felt his skin tingle with anticipation as the other man drew closer and instinctively gravitated towards him. Within the blink of an eye, Tom had gathered Harry up in his arms, one hand behind his neck and tangling long slender fingers into the long, shaggy fringe at the base of Harry's neck, and the other in the small of Harry's back. Harry's arms came up and wrapped around Tom's neck, his fingers lacing together where they met.

"All mine for two whole months," Tom breathed as he pulled Harry's face mere inches from his own.

"I'm yours forever, if you want me," Harry breathed back; the words escaping his lips before he even registered them in his mind.

"Of course, I want you, pet. But that's not what I meant," Tom said pulling back and smirking down at Harry with mild amusement.

"It's still true. I'm yours," Harry said, looking up into Tom's deep red eyes with such an intensity that it almost gave the elder wizard pause. They shared a long, lingering look before Tom bent down and gently brushed his lips against Harry's.

§Mine.

Tom hissed, causing a powerful shudder to course through Harry and a wide grin to spread across his lips..

§Yours,§

Harry hissed back.

Tom pulled back completely and took a step away.

"Come, Pet. We shouldn't linger in such a public place. It isn't likely, but my followers have free reign to come and go in this part of the manor and I would rather not be seen by them while in this form."

Harry blinked at the sudden shift and realized that Tom was still, well,

Tom. Harry smiled softly, realizing that the man had stayed in his natural form to greet him, even at the risk of being seen that way by someone else in what he considered his 'weaker' form.

Harry nodded his head, smiling softly up at Tom, the other smirked back and headed up the stairs. At the top of the stairs, Tom paused and turned to look at Harry over his shoulder.

"Oh, and Harry?"

"Hmm?"

"Welcome home."

– End Book One –