Sorry it's been a while, but thankfully school has finished- No More GCSEs- so I will hopefully be able to write more and post more.
Hope you enjoy-
CHAPTER 2
TRUST
Lord Voldemort sighed as he sat down in the large throne, feeling the soft silk cushions at his back he relaxed. The throne was made out of pure silver; intricate ruins and parselmouth adorned the sides, and the back was tall and similarly designed, the arms were constructed from silver snakes and currently the hand of the Dark Lord rested on the head of one silver serpent with ruby eyes.
His chin was rested on one hand as he glanced down to the floor to the right of him; there the little white wolf pup sat pawing the silver lead that was magically fastened to the throne, which was itself fused to the floor. The wolf pup looked remarkably like a cat toying with string. Suddenly, his hind was up and his front down whilst his bushy white tail wagged furiously; then he pounded catching the thin line in his razor sharp claws, he chewed and yapped at it happily. Quickly he became tangled in it as he rolled over and over again; then, seemingly noticing he was being watched, he froze. The Dark Wizard merely cocked an eyebrow at the pup who looked up at him with large puppy eyes and a floppy right ear.
Harry sat up, still tangled in silver, trying in vain to free himself; Voldemort chuckled but with a wave of his hand Harry was free- just in time as Death Eaters began to pour into the hall.
Once everyone was settled the Master addressed his followers: "This meeting was called unexpectedly, and I'm glad that all of you were able to attend tonight as I have some very important information to give you." He began. "Not all of you were able to attend the meeting yesterday, and you may not have been informed of a certain change in our plans. There is no longer any need to hunt Harry Potter." There were a few mumbles and whispered words in the huddle of Death Eaters, Voldemort hurried to continue as he sensed rising questions. "You see because Harry is no longer with the light but here with me at my side." He gestured to his side to the pup who had been getting questioning glances from masked men since the beginning of the meeting.
Harry shrunk back at the sudden attention, the Dark Lord continued: "Let it be known that from now on he is not to be harmed under any circumstances, if there is something that you think is wrong you will consult me before hand and will not directly confront him in anyway that could be a threat- he is no longer our enemy." With a wave of his hand tables appeared in the hall with him at the head of it, "That is all I have to inform you about, we may continue this meeting over dinner- you all know your ranks, be seated." An army of house elves appeared carrying an assortment of the finest cuisine; the plates were laid and the order was given for them to begin eating, which they all did after removing their masks.
The scent of hot freshly cut meats wafted down to where Harry was sat on the floor; he felt oddly left out as he watched Voldemort eat, he couldn't see the other dark wizards eating but he could see their polished black shoes under the emerald table cover. His stomach growled and he walked over to the throne.
All of a sudden the skin piercing sound of claws being brutally dragged across the poor surface of cold metal echoed through the hall, which had unsurprisingly fallen silent. Voldemort lent over his chair arm and saw Harry looking at him large eyes pleading silently, his front paws were up on the side of the chair so he was as close as possible- he saw the claws twitch in a silent threat.
Seeing no other possible course of action the Dark Lord tenderly picked up the pup, vanishing the lead he sat him down in his lap. Harry was immediately up and towards the steaming plates, a hand pushed him down. "Stay." Was the command, it was ignored; "Stay." The command was repeated, more force behind the words this time; yet Harry would not be beaten. He made to rise again, this time he wasn't stopped but blunt words reached his ears, "Do you wish to remain here, with the food; or do you wish to be replaced on the floor, without the food? Stay." The Lord won.
Throughout the meal Voldemort fed Harry succulent, tender pieces of meat; of chicken, beef, pork, goose, duck and whatever other meats were on offer. He had tried to feed him pieces of vegetable but to no avail; what more was he to expect from a wolf, and was rewarded with a piercing glare from brilliant emerald eyes- not another vegetable was offered.
Soon the main was finished and the house elves set about cleaning the table in preparation for the next course. Voldemort had been too focused in conversation with Severus Snape to notice the adventurous pup sneaking away till the weight on his lap had vanished, by then it was too late and the pup was already racing down the table.
Small paws struggled to find purchase on the soft silken table spread that trailed down the centre of the table and he found himself sliding uncontrollably instead of running, so instead he moved to where there was purchase to be had. The mahogany wood was much easier to run upon than silk, that much was clearly obvious as Harry made his way down the left side of the table knocking cutlery to the floor and vintage wine onto extravagant grand gowns sending ladies into a fit of hysterical wailing, and the elves into a frenzy.
Finally, he came to stop before a paled haired Death Eater :Draco Malfoy. Harry examined his school rival; his black clothing was neatly cut, trimmed and seamed; he wore a black silk shirt (all of the buttons done up so it was tight against his neck), over that he wore an equally midnight black blazer, that too had its silver buttons fastened; his platinum white hair was brushed neatly back and like always he wore the emotionless Malfoy mask. Harry could see straight through it and edge closer to his rival.
As Harry moved forward Draco moved slightly back into his chair till Harry came to sit at the edge of the table, emerald eyes looked straight through him. Draco quickly glanced to the Dark Lord seeking his input, but the Lord was silent whilst he watched them intently. A small wine drew him back to the wolf who was trying to get closer but then suddenly turned and went straight towards his hand. Before he had time to draw his hand back soft fur met his hand and it felt like heaven against his skin; soon he found himself petting the wolf, a small smile reached his lips.
There was a pop signalling the arrival of the next course: dessert! The sweet smell of chocolate, caramel, syrup and all those good sweet glorious things filled the room and the senses of the pup blew up. He turned to the nearest dish, it only happened to be Lucius'. At only an inch away he was stopped, "That's mine, Potter."
Harry looked up to the eldest Malfoy, puppy dog eyes were back out in a silent plea; the chocolate smelt so good! They engaged in a silent war of wills, Harry was determined to get just a spoonful of the cake. It continued on for long seconds, he would not give in.
"Here Harry." He turned and found Draco holding out a small piece of cake to him; he forgot all about Lucius and his cake. Gently, he took the cake from him and relished in its taste; as a human it had tasted good but never this good and he wanted more. Only when the fur surrounding his mouth was covered in icing and the plate clean was Harry slightly satisfied, Draco had allowed him to have the remainder of the cake which he couldn't stomach after a heavy main, Harry was starting to feel the same. The warm cake was beginning to feel sickly in his stomach.
He turned to the rest of the table, everyone had finished their servings; all except one, and so Harry went racing back down the table to the red eyes Lord.
"You are not having." Voldemort smirked as he took another bite of the vanilla ice-cream all the while looking into the wide green eyes of the white wolf, he was determined not to cave, not again.
Several minutes later Voldemort was engaged in conversation with Lucius over the proceeding in the Ministry as the pup lapped up the remains of vanilla ice-cream.
"Have you got the minister under your absolute control?"
"Yes, my Lord. He follows my advice without question."
"Good, very good. Everything is moving along nicely." He glanced to his white wolf.
6 months later
To say the house elves were unhappy would be an utmost understatement of the situation; they were frantically dashing this way and that, running up and down narrow corridors and creaking stairs, then tripping people over as they popped out of small doors that had sprung suddenly into existence along the walls of Riddle Manor.
There was a reason to all this chaos, even the portraits knew this as they laughed at the Death Eaters that struggled by in torn robes. Harry was teething.
Mind you he had been teething for more or less two months; then Voldemort had been able to keep him contained, at his side and out of the feather stuffed mattresses and pillows. The problem was that Lord Voldemort was not here. He had been gone for little over two weeks on a business trip to South America; unfortunately no wolves were allowed on this trip and he had been left at the Manor, Lucius and Draco had been given the honours of looking after him.
Sharp claws screeched on wooden floorboards closely followed by the rapid footsteps of pair following closely behind. Draco led the way, skidding himself when the wolf made a sudden change of direction down separate path, both them and the wolf knew which corridors led to a dead end and he was extremely careful to avoid those passageways to doom.
"Harry!" Draco yelled trying to gain ground on the white wolf before him; the word 'bath' was not a word to be uttered around a young wolf, not even in passing or in whisper; Aunt Bella had only gone announced it to the who of Britain. If this had been a week ago, Draco would have given up the chase hours ago, but the Dark Lord was returning tomorrow and thanks to the usual British weather Harry had found a nice muddy puddle to paint himself with.
Of course they could use cleaning spells, and they had, but not even that would be enough to remove the muddy wet smell from where it hung to his silky white coat.
Panting heavily he began to slow and the distance between him and Harry grew and grew; then by a miracle a figure blocked the end of the corridor. He and his father came to a halt, so did Harry for what stood before them was Snape. Draco advanced on them, then just as Harry was about to dash for the hills the young Malfoy conjured a very strong leash and attached it t the collar. "Thank you, Sev." Gasped Lucius, who was still recovering.
"Where you intent on giving him a b-"
"Shhhh!" Draco silenced, Snape fell silent. "Come we better get started, the sooner that we are started the sooner we can finish and I can go to bed." They headed off in the direction of the bathroom.
Half-an-hour later they had all bathed, they had had no choice in the end, it was either be pulled in or get in. Bottles of shampoo had been poured and lathered into thick fur, they had begun working their way through the masses of it. It had been then that they had made a most remarkable discovery. The roots of the hairs were beginning to darken, most were just a thin layer of dark silver whilst others had small amounts of black, unable to come to a conclusion now they agreed to confront the Dark Lord on the matter when he returned.
Two hours later all of the bubbles had been rinsed from his fur, and all four of them were once again dry, and thanks to the fluffy towels and drying spells Harry was also fluffy. Something none of them thought he quite appreciated. Draco then returned Harry to Voldemort's room using a quick but strong locking spell to attempt to keep him there; he then returned to his room.
It was around midnight (two hours later) that the howling started, just like it did every night for the past two weeks. Each howl seemed to shake the very stone walls of the Manor and echoed through every corner of the building. Tonight it was the loudest it had ever been, a deep mournful howl which kept many awake that night; Draco couldn't sleep, the howls raking over every bone and nerve in his body.
With a heavy sigh he sat, removing the green bedspread from himself he placed his feet onto the chilling floor; clad only in black silken pyjamas he ignited a candle stick and made his way through the Manor to the opposite side. As he grew closer and closer the howls became even louder, each portrait help a sleep deprived person, the same as every night. "Thank god Draco, will you please settle him so I can sleep." Came the demand from a rich plump fellow in one painting.
Draco came to the door and with a flick of his wand the locking spell was undone, he creaked open the door. The candle light immediately illuminated the room and he could see, on the floor by the cold fireplace and empty armchairs, laid the white wolf.
"Come here Harry." He commanded softly, with a stretch Harry stood and made his way towards the young Malfoy. As soon as he was close enough Draco crouched down and intertwined his hand with Harry's fur, he gently ran his fingers through it. "It's okay, he returns tomorrow. You'll be alright." He stood to full height again he turned and whispered, "Come." He left and Harry followed.
Draco set the lantern down on his bedside table, he climbed under the silk bedding. He watched as the white wolf settled beside the small fireplace in the room, just the right spot to keep a watchful eye on both Draco and the door, but not because he didn't trust Draco, no it was quite the opposite really.
Morning sprung to life with the singing of wild birds and the stars slowly fading away under a blanket of dark blue and molten orange as the sun peeped over the horizon. Draco was up, it was only half-past four in the morning, but due to an old habit he had never got out of. Most of the Manor was already up, the smell of bacon was already wafting through the whole building. Harry was already up, instead of being by the door he was sat on the window shelf looking intently down at the gravel entrance below eagerly anticipating the Dark Lord's return.
He wasn't the only one; everyone in the house was strained after the past two weeks: they had been under strict orders not to allow Harry out Riddle mansion, everyone had agreed after what had happened last time they had attempted to walk him. So consequently Harry, being a cooped up wolf pup, had been rampaging through the Manor. Voldemort was the only one who could really contain him.
There was a knock at the door; quickly, he finished tying his tie before brushing the creases from his clothes and standing. Once at the door he opened it to find his Godfather; "Good Morning Sev."
"Good Morning Draco," Snape replied, "Harry isn't in his room. Would you happen to know where he is?"
"Ah, yes. I brought him-" Draco was cut of by a large bark and was almost run of his feet when the wolf raced past. "Looks like the Master is home"
Severus nodded, "It would seem that way." They made their way down towards the entrance, Harry was no longer visible down the long corridor.
Once through the door Voldemort had vanished his cloak and hat to the storage cupboard, he hadn't even turned when he was swallowed by a frosty white blur. He fell back on the door in an attempt to remove the wolf from him, he had grown since he had last seen him. "Alright pet that's enough." He smiled as the wolf got down from where he had been jumping up. He now stood at a height of just above Voldemort's knees. "That's a good boy." He praised running his hands through the soft fur; Harry leant into the hand.
"Bella?" He turned to the witch, "How has he been whilst I've been away."
"Very good, my Lord. Although I would not be the best to ask, Lucius, Draco and Severus have been looking after him mostly." She informed with a bow.
"Very well." Just then Severus and Draco reached the bottom step, "Severus, I hear you have been looking after him."
"Yes, my Lord." Snape bowed along with Draco, "He has been quite a handful at time, I'd put it down to his age, the confinement but also your absence. I have noticed, as well as the rest of the Manor, that he wails at night when you are not present. Draco has had to comfort him so that we can get some sleep, no silencing charms can help."
"Very interesting." Voldemort mused, "That is very helpful." He turned back to Harry, "I guess you would like to go out?" A happy yap confirmed an answer.
They walked for hours, till the sun was fully in the sky. Now at a fast walk they made it to the open wildflower meadows; the Dark wanted to test something. So with a flick of his hand the leash vanished, Harry looked to him confused, "Go on, run. After two weeks in that house I'm sure you have plenty of energy to burn off."
Suddenly there was a rustle in the long grass and it stole Harry's attention, but he didn't move; not until Voldemort whispered: "Go, run!" The white wolf took off like a bullet, chasing rabbits, birds, mice- whatever could be found, and when there was nothing the wind seemed the only match.
The Dark Lord conjured a bench and settled down; he wanted to see if Harry would return to him if he called; even after being given a taste of freedom. Harry could even get into the surrounding forest beyond the wards, he had no doubt that he would, but would he come back?
Harry felt the cool breeze running through his fur as he ran, he legs carried him as fast as they could and as far as he could. He halted at a faint tingle of magic, the wards to the Monor, Ever so slightly he could see the shimmer of magic before him; he knew he couldn't pass through them.
There was a sudden movement to beyond the barrier, a hare, all caution left him and he raced forward barely even noticing that nothing harmed him as he passed. He was free.
The sun was setting over the horizon, the Dark Lord flipped the final page and closed the book he had been reading. They had been out here all day; he hadn't moved merely conjuring foods and tea when he felt hungry. Now night was approaching and a meeting was needed to be held in little over an hour. Looking up at the wind-swept grass, he wasn't surprised to find it barren, he had been notified that Harry had left the wards hours ago. Yet, he wasn't worried, he would return or he would be found and brought back.
He stood brushing himself back, he let out a yawn and brushed his hair back, "Harry!" He called, his voice echoed through the woods. Now was the moment of truth.
Forty minutes later the Dark Lord decided that he had misjudged the signs; after pacing for ten minutes he had sat back down. He hadn't bothered to call him again, if he hadn't heard him the first time then he never would. Frustration swelled inside him; the meeting was in less than half an hour.
With a heavy sigh he turned to go back to the Manor; it was then he had then seen the white form bobbing up and down over the long grass. So he had returned. A few minutes later the wolf was by his side panting heavily, it seemed he had run flat out to get there from a considerable distance. The scowl was replaced with a smile as he crouched down to stroke his soft fur, "You took your time, but at least you came back. Good boy." Red eyes locked with emerald who wore a happy wolf face.
Then all of a sudden the face was gone, and before he could blink there was a scream from behind him, then followed by a large crash and wails of pain. He spun and found a man screaming in agony under the cruciatus curse, a spell that hadn't come from his wand.
The black fur grew longer, pushing away the pure white.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter- PLEASE REVIEW! (it's nice to hear what you think)
