Fateful meeting
The idea of intervening in the theft of the philosopher's stone was quickly turning incredulously stupid in Harry's head. As first years they had next to no magical talent and even worse, Harry was almost a squib already; a fact that had been ground into his self-perception most viciously during his stay at this premier magic school. Add to that his sister, the savior of the wizarding world, the most illustrious girl-who-lived and protege of none other than Albus Dumbledore, had in less than a second been disarmed, bound in ropes and gagged.
Of course, he did not hold that against her. The more surprising development would indeed have been her overpowering their opponent despite the odds. No wonder the smart one of us decided to turn around.
Alas, there was no time to do as Hermione Granger. It was far too late for hindsight, not that he'd have learned. Harry's own wand was in the off-hand of his opponent. He hadn't fared any better by any stretch. So here he was and for the first time in his life Harry James Potter locked eyes with the dark wizard his sister once defeated as a baby, the Dark Lord Voldemort.
Or at least what was left of him. A pale disfigured face on the back of another's. It wasn't living as much as it was barely existing in Harry's honest grossed out opinion. Even as Harry stared at him, he found himself under scrutiny as the thing had turned its gaze from his sister, Rose Potter, who lay bound and gagged on the ground beside him. He would have moved to help her free, but under the stare of that thing he felt his insides freeze to ice, objecting to any and every motion. It didn't mind him much. It seemed pretty futile either way at this point and that way he would likely end up bound too and that wouldn't help anybody. Though to be honest he didn't understand why he wasn't bound to start with. He had a nagging suspicion but he squelched it lest he gave it further power over his thoughts.
"Harry Potter, the twin of the famed girl-who-lived," Lord Voldemort said with all the drawn-out drama of an unfolding theatrical piece. "After more than a decade we finally meet again. And I see you've brought your sister too. A wondrous coincidence. Not only will I acquire the Philosopher's stone. In the same move I shall also exact my vengeance on the Potters and restore myself to full power."
Without much else to do, Harry stared. He didn't actually know who this guy was. Not really.
"Who are you?" He asked tentatively. Rose tried to answer or possibly warn him but she was muffled by the gag. Harry ignored her. It didn't take much to know he was more than abnormally dangerous.
If Voldemort was surprised then he didn't show it. Instead he adopted a calm voice as if talking to a small child, which was fitting given the situation. "I am Lord Voldemort, Harry. The greatest Dark Lord to ever walk the earth and soon I shall do so again. With your help, of course."
"Who?" Harry blurted out. He instantly regretted it, as Voldemort raised a single would-be eyebrow at him.
"You-know-who?" Voldemort tried.
"Erm... Wait, I think I've heard of him." Harry half-heartedly answered, only faintly aware of Voldemort's title gained through a decade of fear and blood. Harry almost considered apologizing not for knowing him, but Harry decided that at this point, manners probably didn't matter. And Voldemort certainly didn't seem to mind at all.
"Intriguing, Harry. You are very intriguing." The Voldemort-face regarded him mysteriously. "No no, do not apologize, it's quite alright. You know nothing of me and I know every little thing about you and your sister. This gives me the opportunity to fill you in, starting at the night I killed your dear mudloving parents."
The thing that was a representation of Voldemort's face morphed into what could be called a smile. A silent smirk at a joke that Harry simply hadn't been privy too, before now that was. Or perhaps he saw something in Harry that Harry didn't even realize yet which caused him such mirth. In Harry's mind, confusion turned to denial.
"My parents? My parents died in a car crash!" Harry said, more than a little angry and unnerved but at the same time unwilling to believe him at face value. Harry didn't trust him and he certainly wouldn't believe him just like that. And did Voldemort just read his mind?
"Oh little Harry, you're not lying I can tell." Voldemort said patronizingly with that damnable knowing smirk. "But neither are you telling the truth. I know the truth. I was there after all and it was where you and your bastard sister undid all my work and reduced me to this sad existence."
"You're lying!" Harry yelled at him.
"Who's lying?" he returned and cackled like he enjoyed the spectacle. It was a bitter sound that echoed loud and harshly in the chamber.
Harry couldn't believe it. Wouldn't believe it. After all, he'd been told they died in a car crash all his life by...
"Yes, Harry! What did those worthless muggles tell you?" Voldemort, who had been intently staring, perked up and barely constrained his mirth.
Harry didn't answer. His head was simply a whirlwind of emotions and thoughts. The Dursleys had lied to him. In hindsight, that should have been obvious. But it didn't change his existential crisis. What was a lie and who could he now trust? Certainly not this maniac before him, but he would grudgingly admit he was a far better source than his deranged family, the Dursleys and even most on this school.
"Oh, but Harry. There is more! And you better listen too, Rose Potter. Now why do you think that I bound your sister and left you as you were?" Voldemort asked and continued without even waiting for an answer. "That's right! Because you're almost a squib. A wizard without magical ability. You have almost no magical power and as far as I've seen, you have trouble casting even rudimentary spells. Even as insignificant as you both are next to my power; you're infinitely less dangerous in comparison."
Harry was red-faced as he clenched his fists in anger, but he didn't speak out. It was all true and he couldn't do anything about it. But what was the point? He knew all this already.
If Voldemort noted his darkening mood, he didn't remark on it.
"But you weren't always like this! Something drained you of your power and left you a dry husk. The events that transpired that night in Godric's Hollow is something that I am the only one in the whole world able to remember in excrutiating detail. And what happened has been burned into my mind. She took your power, Harry Potter. Just as she also stole some of mine. And to what end? To form a flimsy protection against me and since that day, we've both just been shadows of what we used to be."
As Voldemort raved on, the two children listened. Rose had finally stopped her rather unfruitful endeavor of resistance and had settled for hotly glaring at Voldemort.
"Is this true?" Harry asked silently. Voldemort laughed.
"Yes, she, unwittingly I admit, stole your powers and my some of my own. She took your power and with that so much more. With as meagre power as you then possessed you barely made it to Hogwarts. You were expected to live a life as a muggle, so you were left at the Dursleys. Unaware of your true inheritance. But that life hadn't been worth living. No, the whole world would have you imprisoned and limited your freedom to that of a slave in a invisible gilded cage. But it's not too late to get your power back. To get your life back. If you survive this that is." Voldemort got a manic gleam in his eye. Then the strangest thing Harry had seen all year happened and that was something. Voldemort detached himself from his host, who collapsed with a groan. In the air above him Voldemort's face lazed about and quite suddenly before even Harry's often exceptional reflexes could even go off in alarm, the ghost face speared him and disappeared.
"You're quite lucky, Harry. For what I am about to do won't just help me. I will give you knowledge. And with my knowledge, I will give you power. All this I will give you and that power will set you free. So guard it well and do not shy away from it. Do not let the rules of weaker people chain you down and then perhaps we can look each other in the eye some day." Voldemort's disembodied voice said. Seemingly coming from everywhere and yet nowhere.
Disembodied? No... Rather in my head! Harry panicked.
"Get out of my head!" He vaguely noted a numbness spreading through his body, yet it was suddenly moving on its own. His vision began swimming as he tried resisting whatever it was that was happening. Intense pain flared into being as he fought for dominion over his own body. All he managed was make himself shudder a moment.
"Oh Harry, that just won't do." Voldemort chastised. "I can't let you interfere. After all, I'm doing this for the both of us." He retrieved Harry's wand and ever so slowly leveled it on Rose. The girl-who-lived looked back in silent abject horror.
"Now, do you know what is 'funny' about the killing curse, Harry?" Voldemort said slowly with a tinge of dark humor. "Even someone like you can cast it with ease. All that matters is putting the heart into it. You just have to mean it!"
"No, don't!" Harry screamed in his own head, but he didn't know if he was even heard. He couldn't even feel his mouth twitch.
"Now Harry, let me give you your first lesson. The Lesson of Power! AVADA KEDAVRA!"
A/N: Introducing and killing an OC in the Pilot chapter? Maaaaybe :)
As hinted at, this is a pilot chapter. Just trying to feel out the mood for a story like this. It'll be a Twin-who-lived story in case you haven't noticed. Harry is almost a squib but it'll perhaps change after this. Unless Voldy is lying to him of course. ;)
It won't always be this dark, but it won't always be lighthearted either. Important fact is that this is not the actual start of the story. The story starts out somewhere around when Harry gets his letter, but I will try to fast forward a bit from there. All that depends on whether I start writing this sooner rather than later.