First
Harry Potter lay on the floor of the Chamber, his life slowly slipping away as the basilisk poison flooded his veins. The diary horcrux was dead, the soul-piece of a sixteen year old Tom Riddle gone into the ether. The broken fang had done its work, stabbed into the diary just as the basilisk made to eat the small child. Something had prevented it however; a force that had somehow hidden the boy from the senses of the gigantic snake. Feet away lay Ginny Weasley, her heart sluggishly beating. The horcrux had stolen enough of her magical energy and life that she was very nearly dead. If she didn't get help soon, she would also die. The basilisk had slipped away as soon as the horcrux controlling it had vanished, and it hid within the caverns and pipes of the Chamber, to sleep until it was called upon again.
I don't want to die, the child thought dimly. I don't really care if she does, but I don't.
"Really?" came a cultured, dark voice from the shadows. "Is that how you really feel?" Harry barely flinched at the disembodied voice, having seen and heard much in his two years in the wizarding world.
"Yes," the twelve year old murmured, just loud enough to echo through the Chamber. "I don't want to die. I can't let that bastard get away with taking everything from me."
"Ah. So it is vengeance you wish to seek, should you survive. Your hatred blackens your heart and soul, young Master. You would be a feast fit for a king." There was a pause before the voice came closer, Harry just able to see a man-shaped shadow outside his field of vision. "I can help you. I can save you so that you may take out your revenge against those who have wronged you. For a price." The shadow shifted toward the dying girl, and Harry could see red eyes gleaming in the darkness.
"If you want her, take her," he said softly, his breaths getting weaker. "I don't care. She's meaningless to me, and a price I'd willingly pay to live." The shadow chuckled lowly, the sound rolling over Harry's skin and pebbling it into goose flesh.
"I thank you for your generous offer, young Master, but it is not her soul that I require for saving you. Though I will not pass up the opportunity to sup on her, what I require for my help is a contract between you and I."
"What kind of contract?" Teeth flashed in the gloom, and a red tongue ran over pale lips.
"I require your soul. You will have complete control over me. You may order me to do anything you wish; I will grant your every desire and in return, I will have your soul when our business is concluded. Think carefully, young Master, for once you've agreed to the contract, there is no going back."
Harry Potter looked over the vast grounds of his estate, contentment in his heart for the moment. When he'd made that deal with the demon, he hadn't realized all it would encompass. He'd watched as the demon absorbed Ginny's soul, leaving her lifeless corpse on the chamber floor. Harry didn't care; he was only concerned with his own life. As soon as he'd agreed, the demon strode forward, circling around to kneel at Harry's head, and placed his hands on Harry's scalp. Moments later, the boy was screaming and writhing as the poison was leached from him through his skin. Gasping with the pain, he lay on the floor, shivering fitfully. Burnished copper eyes met his, and there was a slight smile on the demon's face.
"Your screams are beautiful, young Master," the being murmured, leaning closer. "I feel another's bond to you, through this cursed scar. I must rid you of it before we can complete our contract. It will most likely hurt, so brace yourself." Before Harry could take a breath, agonizing pain speared through his head, centered around his scar, and his vision went dark as the feeling of something tearing loose from his very being made him thrash against the floor. A ghostly black mass rose from between the demon's fingers, and Harry very nearly passed out as the feeling of relief flooded him. The demon slid his hands from the top of the raven's head down his cheeks to cup his face in a surprisingly gentle grip. Emerald clashed with copper as the demon read Harry's soul, before he smiled softly at the brunet.
"Now, young Master, we must complete our contract." The demon slid his hands beneath the brunet's shoulders and lifted Harry into a sitting position against his own chest, and pulled a white glove from his left hand, revealing a pentacle within a double circle. In the spaces between the pentacle's points was written the word 'tetragrammaton'. The demon placed his hand to the left side of Harry's neck, and a glow erupted from the demon's palm, burning an identical mark into the brunet's flesh. Harry's back arched and he screamed; the branding was excruciating, and he felt something like a collar and leash attach itself to him. "Now, no matter where you are or what you are doing, all you need do is call my name and I will come to you," the demon whispered in Harry's ear.
"What is your name?" Harry had gasped harshly, still quivering from the intense pain. The demon cocked his head, a small smile on his lips.
"Why, it is up to the Master to name me." Harry's brain wasn't operating properly; the events of the last several hours were beginning to take their toll.
"What was the last name you went by?" he asked, his voice roughened from screaming. The smile widened slightly as the demon answered.
"I went by the name Sebastian Michaelis."
"Rather an ironic name," the raven scoffed tiredly, "considering the man who previously held it was an inquisitor for witch trials and spearheaded demon hunts." A pause before Harry spoke again, amusement glittering in his emerald eyes. "I quite like it. Your name shall remain Sebastian Michaelis."
"Very good, young Master. Now, I shall take you to your Manor." Sebastian scooped the raven up in his arms, and Harry blushed crimson at the close contact. A smirk graced the demon's face at the embarrassment, before he ran through a tunnel and out into a hidden courtyard behind the school. A great leap and the pair were sailing through the air. The warm summer night and the strong, supporting arms lulled the raven to sleep, and before he knew it, he was sitting on a king-sized canopied bed within a bedroom larger than the whole of the Dursleys' downstairs.
"Where are we?" Harry asked as his butler knelt at his feet, fingers making quick work of the buttons of his school robes.
"We are in your Manor house," Sebastian replied softly, concentrating on stripping off the child's clothing.
"I don't have a Manor house," Harry said, looking into those gleaming copper eyes in confusion.
"Yes, young Master, you do. The old man at your school has kept a great deal from you. I was able to discover that you have several Manor houses, as well as vacation properties scattered all over the world. You are quite wealthy, sir."
"How did you discover this information, and why did you search for it in the first place? We've never met before today." Sebastian tilted his head, some hidden emotion within those riveting copper eyes.
"Your darkened soul called to me, young Master. It sang to me. So it was necessary for me to find out as much as I could about you, so that I might best serve you."
Harry shook himself out of his memories as Sebastian entered with tea. The demon had found some servants that were not only capable, but very protective of him. They bound themselves to him with no thought to themselves, and were rewarded handsomely for their selflessness.
"Your tea, young Master," Sebastian purred with just enough lilt to his voice to make the raven blush. Harry knew his uncontrollable reactions amused his butler, but there was nothing he could do to stop them.
"Thank you, Sebastian," Harry choked out. "What's on the agenda for today?"
"Today, you need to get to Diagon Alley and pick up your school supplies for your third year. Then, we need to discuss your attendance, as well as how I might be able to best serve you while you are away."
"Mmm," Harry murmured as he ate his toast with marmalade. "Are there any communications from Dumbledore?"
"Yes, young Master. There are now seven letters awaiting you in the study."
"I will attend to them shortly," Harry answered as he looked back out over the expanse of his gardens.
"Very good, sir," Sebastian bowed before taking his leave. Harry watched the man go, exceedingly grateful for his solid presence despite his being a demon. He turned back to the view and pondered his upcoming year.
Albus Dumbledore had sent letter after letter when Harry had disappeared from the Chamber of Secrets. The old man had gone down into the main chamber and had seen the destroyed diary, along with the dead body of Ginevra Weasley. Of Harry Potter, there was no sign. Dumbledore knew that the boy couldn't get out without passing his friends, and wondered how the young man had managed to escape. When it was discovered that the child was no longer in the school, the headmaster began to panic. He'd sent Mrs. Figg to the Dursleys to see if Harry had returned home in some way, to find that, not only was the boy not there, but that the Dursleys had no knowledge of ever having raised him. Frantic, Dumbledore began to send owls to everyone he could think of, trying to get the boy's location before Voldemort discovered it.
Taking a chance, he'd also sent an owl out carrying a letter for Harry. He was shocked when the owl returned the next day, clutching a response from the boy. Relieved, Albus began to send him letter after letter, begging him to return to the Dursleys, where he would be fully protected by the blood wards. Harry had refused.
Rising, the young Potter heir strode to his study, to once again reassure that meddling old man of his safety. He was quietly grateful that Sebastian had taken care of his relatives, and had modified their memories to erase any existence of Harry Potter in the muggle world.
"His missives get more and more desperate sounding," Harry groused to Sebastian as they walked through the Alley. Several people had called out to him, and Ron Weasley's family had tried to approach him, but as soon as he'd stiffened, the butler was standing in front of him, copper eyes glowing dangerously. Needless to say, with Sebastian's intimidating presence, no one dared get too close to his master.
"What do you wish to do about him?" the demon asked, looking down at the unruly raven locks.
"I'm not really sure," the child mumbled, thinking. "Unless I've discovered that he'd helped the Dark Lord somehow in the murder of my parents and godparents, I don't really want to do anything with him. As long as he doesn't try to interfere in any way with me, I'm happy to leave him alone."
"Understood, young Master," Sebastian murmured.
"Young Lord? You have visitors. Masters Lucius and Draco Malfoy. Shall I send them in?"
"Do you know why they're here? How did they find me? Lucius Malfoy is the right hand man of the monster that killed my family. He is one of those who need to be eliminated before I can kill my parents' murderer."
"I've extended an invitation to them on your behalf, young Master. I felt it was a good way to start planning your revenge by gathering your first allies. If I've overstepped my bounds, I do apologize." Harry shook his head, understanding in his eyes. Sebastian bowed his head before continuing. "As for why they're here, I'm not entirely sure, sir. They do not seem dangerous at the moment." Harry looked into copper eyes, his own shuttered, before he nodded curtly. Sebastian left, returning quickly with a young blond child and a much older carbon copy. He led them to the seats in front of Harry's desk, and made to leave.
"Sebastian, I wish for you to stay," Harry said quickly, emerald eyes never leaving the Malfoys.
"As you wish, Master," the demon murmured, coming to stand behind and to the left of the boy. Harry relaxed minutely at his guardian's presence, then turned his attention to the visitors.
"What do you want?" he asked bluntly, not in the mood to dance around the subject. Lucius grimaced at the uncouth behavior before schooling his features into a blank mask.
"I wish to speak to you about the Dark Lord. I come with a letter from him, asking you to join his cause and stand by his side." Lucius pulled the letter from within his robes and set it gently on the front edge of the desk. Harry glared at the message as if it would bite him, before raising burning emeralds to the older blond's face. Lucius flinched back minutely at the venom glowing in those eyes, wanting to sink into the ground under the force of that hate-filled glare.
"Why would I wish to join the monster who killed my parents and godparents?" he bit out, each word punctuated by the snap of his teeth. Sebastian moved forward slightly and lay his hand on Harry's shoulder. The raven relaxed back into his chair, a small smirk on his face. "Do you love him?" The question came out of nowhere, and Lucius scrambled madly for a response that would make sense, bristling slightly at the condescending tone in the child's voice.
"He is the Dark Lord," Lucius stammered out. "He means to purify our world by ridding it of the mudbloods and halfbloods. He means to see that the purebloods achieve their rightful place in our world."
"That didn't answer my question," the raven retorted softly. "Do. You. Love. Him." Almost against his will, Lucius answered truthfully.
"Yes." The smirk grew on Harry's face as his eyes darted over to the Malfoy heir. Draco's mouth was hanging open as he stared in shock at his father, sure the man had lost his mind.
"More than you love your son?" Harry's inquisition continued. The smaller blond's head whipped around to Harry, the eyes narrowing into a vicious glare.
"Yes," was the agonized whisper, and Draco turned back to his father, fury at the bitter betrayal in silver eyes. Harry smiled wider, before beckoning Sebastian. The butler leaned down and Harry whispered for some time in the demon's ear before Sebastian straightened, a calculating gleam in those copper eyes.
"It will be as you wish, young Master," the butler intoned, before rounding the desk and gripping Lucius by his arm. He dragged the elder Malfoy from the room, the older blond screaming like a small child as he was escorted from the Manor. Sebastian's orders were clear; erase all knowledge of the Manor's location before sending the elder Malfoy on his way. Draco watched, detached, his feelings on tight lockdown until he could properly process the events of the day. Harry turned his attention to Draco once Sebastian had returned to his place behind Harry.
"You obviously don't agree," he said softly, his emerald eyes filled with faux sympathy.
"No, I do not," the blond snarled angrily. "I've seen how my father returns from meetings. I've seen how the rest of my family has been treated by the Dark Lord. My father is a fool, and he's doomed our family to ruin. Father even had the gall to try and talk me into giving you that letter from the Dark Lord when we got back to school."
"If you serve me, I will free you," Harry said softly, watching the emotions play across silver eyes. For a long moment, there was no answer, before the blond slowly nodded once.
"What do you require of me?"