Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

As this is my first story, could you lovelies please keep the flames down to a minimum? Thanks.

"talking"

'thinking'

/mind-talking/

Book 1—Dark Allies

Chapter 1

Harry screamed as the blinding pain in his scar intensified, rising for a moment over the possessed professor's pained and horrified shrieks as Quirrel burned to death under his touch. Harry let go of the man as Quirrel's face dissolved to ash, clutching his scar and whimpering. A smoky, shadowy figure separated itself from the rapidly dissolving remains of Quirrel's body. The almost indiscernible face contorted in rage upon seeing Harry, and the specter let out a furious yell as it charged toward him. Harry screamed shrilly again, louder than before, as he felt an invading presence in his mind and body. Terrified, he tried to fling the presence away, to make it get out of his head! He felt something snap deep within him, and his scar burned worse than it ever had before. Harry heard a rushing sound in his ears, and the last thing he heard before collapsing from magical exhaustion was a familiar voice calling his name.

HPLVHP

Harry lay in the infirmary bed, staring at his sheets. He didn't know what to think about his conversation with Dumbledore. The man had seemed friendly enough, but Harry had noticed the calculating expression behind that friendly demeanor.

/Personally, I think that your little chat is proof that the Old Man has finally cracked. He seriously said you survived because of your mother's love? He's gone completely mad./

Harry sat up ramrod straight in the bed, looking about the room wildly. There was no one to be seen, though Harry supposed someone could be under an invisibility cloak...

He heard a snicker. /I'm not out there, idiot boy./

Harry went perfectly still. 'Not out there... What was that supposed to mean?' Then, a horrible thought struck him, and Harry stuttered, "Are...are you inside my head?"

An amused voice drawled back, /I should think that that is obvious./

Harry, now in a full-blown panic attack, was only able to gasp, "Who...How?"

The feeling of amusement increased, though it was now joined by consternation and mild annoyance. /Who do you think I am, Harry Potter?/

The boy frowned in confusion, his mind racing, when a memory from his fight with Quirrel appeared in his mind. A translucent figure, furious yells, and Harry's burning scar.

"V-Voldemort!?" Harry gasped in horror. He felt as though the presence in his mind—Voldemort—nodded. The dark wizard then added, /And you don't have to speak aloud. Just think what you wish to say to me. It's less conspicuous./

Harry blinked. /Like this?/ he thought. He sensed the affirmative, and then thought, /So. What are you doing in my head?/ Harry hoped that he wasn't being possessed like Quirrel.

There was silence for a moment, and then Voldemort answered. /I tried to possess you./

Blinking rapidly and reminding himself that hyperventilating would not help, Harry asked, /Tried?/

Harry sensed Voldemort's annoyance as he answered. /Yes, tried. Unfortunately, my eviction from Quirrel's body left me weaker than I had thought./

Harry waited for a moment, expecting Voldemort to continue. When he didn't, Harry frowned and thought to him, /And? Why didn't you leave when you saw that you couldn't possess me?/

If Voldemort had had a face, Harry was sure it would have been glaring at him. /I...can't./ the Dark Lord managed to grit out.

/You can't what?/ Harry asked, growing curious. His scar burned, and he could clearly sense Voldemort's anger and frustration. It was more than obvious that Voldemort did not want to reply, and the spirit's reluctance only made him that much more interested.

Eventually, the Dark Lord finally answered, /I can't leave. You somehow managed to imprison me in your mind. You even succeeded in accidently taking control of my magic so I cannot force my way out of my...prison./

Harry was stunned. /So you're stuck here?/

He received a grudging /Yes./

Harry frowned at the curt answer. He honestly thought it served Voldemort right for trying to possess him, but he wasn't about to tell the Dark Lord that. /Can you do anything to me, while you're in my head? And would an exorcism get you out?/

Voldemort was quiet for a moment before replying. /I am trapped here. I am your prisoner, and so can do nothing without your explicit permission. Moreover, with you control over my magic, I couldn't try to take your energy or magic like I usually do with my victims./ The spirit paused, and Harry swallowed heavily, sick at the idea of something leeching his energy or his magic away, before Voldemort continued. /As to your second question, the answer is no. As you are the one holding me captive, you would have to personally release me. Unfortunately, to perform an act of this nature without killing both of us, you must be a master at the Mind Arts, and children under the age of fourteen are incapable of practicing even the basics of Mind Magic./

Harry frowned in contemplation, thinking over what the dark wizard had said. Knowing Voldemort couldn't do anything without his permission enabled Harry to calm down enough to approach this problem logically. Thoughtfully, he asked, /What about Professor Dumbledore? Might he have a way to get you out?/

Voldemort snorted. /Even if he did, I wouldn't allow him to try it. If Dumbledore even suspects that I am trapped here, and an exorcism does not work, he would kill you in an attempt to kill me./

Harry blanched. /The Headmaster wouldn't do that!/ he argued fiercely. Harry then paused as a creeping doubt filled him, and asked in a small voice, /Would he?/

Without a doubt. Voldemort grimly replied. /For all that he acts a saint; Dumbledore is really no different from me. He just hides it under a friendly grandfather mask./

Harry was silent. 'Maybe having a Dark Lord in my head won't be that bad,' he thought. 'At least Voldemort's honest.'

HPLVHP

Harry had begged and pleaded with Madam Pomfrey to allow his friends to visit him. He told them what had happened after he entered the Mirror room, with them gasping in horror at what Harry had faced. Hermione even shrieked when Harry described what had been under Quirrel's turban.

/I wasn't that bad looking, an aggravated voice commented. And it's not as if I had a lot of choices, either, being a bodiless wraith./

Harry bit his lip to keep from laughing at Voldemort's almost sulky tone.

He later managed to convince the nurse to let him out of the infirmary just in time for the End-of-Term feast. When Dumbledore had awarded the Trio and Neville all of those last minute points, Voldemort had grumbled in his head about unfairness and manipulative old coots trying to make Harry worship them. Harry honestly agreed about the unfairness. Even if Snape gave out points unfairly, the other teachers normally balanced it out by taking points from misbehaving Slytherins, so they had technically earned the Cup only for Dumbledore to take it from the Slytherins and give it to their rivals. Harry wanted to say something, but Voldemort's comment in the hospital wing about Dumbledore being just like him had absolutely terrified Harry, who was now trying to keep as low a profile as possible.

The next morning, Ron cornered him before they left their dorm.

"Hey, Harry. Can I ask you something?" Ron said, looking oddly nervous.

Harry blinked in surprise, ignoring Voldemort's snide comment about how the 'imbecilic red-head' had already asked Harry a question. "Sure, Ron, what do you need?"

"Well," Ron began anxiously, "I just wanted to know if something had happened down it the chamber. Something you forgot to tell us about. I noticed that you're always listening to something. Whenever you talk to someone, it's like there's another person talking to you at the same time."

Harry froze. /He knows!/

/I don't suppose you'd consider letting me Obliviate him?/

Harry scowled. /No! Ron's my friend. You're not just going to take away his memories!/

"See!" Ron exclaimed, pointing at him. "You're doing it right now!"

Harry bit his lip. "I...Do you think Hermione has noticed anything?"

Ron frowned thoughtfully. "No, I don't think so. I only noticed because it happens more when you talk to me."

/The imbecile is smarter than I thought./ Harry choked down a laugh. "That's because he thinks you're annoying and..." Harry winced, "well, he thinks you're stupid."

Ron's eyes narrowed in annoyance. "He? He who?"

"Voldemort. He's stuck in here." Harry tapped his temple.

Ron's eyes nearly popped out of his head. "Y-You-Know-Who is in your head?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah, he tried to possess me in the chamber, but I did some crazy accidental magic and now he's a prisoner in my head." Harry looked at Ron with pleading eyes. "It's not so bad, he can't control me or hurt me. I thought about telling you both, but Voldemort's absolutely convinced that if we tell Dumbledore, the headmaster will kill me to try and get rid of him. And...well...since he can't leave, we're in this together, and until Voldemort is out of my head he isn't going to let anything hurt me."

Ron's eyes were wide and full of fear. He had also winced every time Harry said the Dark Lord's name. "He really thinks the Headmaster would kill you?"

Harry nodded. "He said that Dumbledore is really no different from him. The Headmaster just hides his badness behind a mask."

Ron swallowed, digesting this, before clarifying, "So h-he can't do anything to you while he's stuck in your head?"

Harry smiled. "No, Ron, he can't. Voldemort can't even control his own magic, because of whatever I did." He then said in a pleading tone, "It's still me in here, Ron. I've just got company." He paused, and then begged, "Please don't tell Dumbledore. Or anyone."

Ron nodded. "Okay. If he can't hurt you, or make you hurt other people, I'm alright. I won't tell."

A huge grin spread across Harry's face. He jumped up and gave his friend a hug. "Thanks Ron!" Harry hesitated, then added, "Erm...Do you think you could help me keep Hermione from finding out? I really think she would go to a teacher. Hermione wouldn't understand."

Ron agreed. "Sure, I'll help. It's the least I could do for my best mate."

The two boys grinned at each other before jumping at the sound of Hermione's voice, insisting that they come down now before they made her late to the train.

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