Disclaimer – Isn't mine.

Be advised - There is very mild slash in this chapter.

Chapter 2 – Will he ever come back?

He looked at his old friend and shook his head. 'Before sending anything like that again Ron, ask Dumbledore what I have been doing all year while you have been playing Quidditch and going to Hogsmeade and being a normal teenager. Make him tell you the truth and you will soon realise that it will take a lot more than that to stop me.'

Harry looked around the room at the faces of his classmates, his eyes suddenly flashing with anger. 'Anyone else want to have a go?' he said quietly. Whether the Boy-Who-Lived purposely added the flare of magic that rushed out of him causing the hair on the backs of everyone's necks to stand on end, or if it was just an overflow from the anger he was feeling, didn't seem to make any difference. Nearly every eye in the room looked away and Harry sighed. It was time to go. Tom clasped his elbow and as one the large group, which now included most of the Slytherin seventh years and their parents, left the hall and walked slowly down to the gates before apparating away with a huge crack.

Back up in the now half empty hall everyone turned to look at Dumbledore. Some scared, some upset and some angry. Answers were wanted and wanted now and the Headmaster was going to have to provide them.

The mood was festive as the large group arrived back at Malfoy Manor; Harry though, was slightly subdued. As the elves laid out table after table of food, all the Death Eaters removed their masks and sat down, their families joining them. It was their version of the leaving feast.

'Harry?' Tom asked softly. His eyes concerned.

Harry glanced up at the Dark Lord. 'I'm sorry.' He said sincerely. 'I should be celebrating. I'm finally rid of the old coot and I'm home now with you.'

'But?' Tom knew there was a but. There usually was when it came to Harry.

'I can't help but think I let them down. They were all counting on me. I know, I know, they used me but I can't help it.'

Tom laid a hand on Harry's shoulder. 'I could kill Dumbledore for making you think this way.'

Harry raised an eyebrow. 'Why didn't you?'

Tom glanced around them to note that only Severus Snape who was sitting beside Harry and Lucius Malfoy who was sitting beside him, could hear them. 'I thought it might upset you.' He said softly.

Harry looked so stunned that both Snape and Malfoy burst out laughing. 'Wait a minute. You didn't kill Dumbledore because you thought it might upset me?' he asked incredulously.

Riddle flapped a hand and sneered. 'There were other reasons too, child. You were just one of many.'

Harry took no insult at the term of affection and smirked. 'Riiight.' He drawled.

Tom raised an eyebrow. 'Are you sassing me?'

'Not at all.' Harry said innocently as only the Boy-Who-Lived could.

Snape and Malfoy quickly stifled their chuckles as Riddle turned his piercing red eyes on them. Others nearby seemed to sense the sudden dark mood Riddle seemed to be in and quickly quieted. It didn't take long for the entire room to be silent.

It was then that Riddle stood, lifting his glass. 'I would like to propose a toast.' He said formally, startling them all. 'To Harry Potter. The Boy-Who-Lived is finally where he belongs. With us.' There was a great cheer that made Harry blush furiously much to Draco and Blaise's amusement. 'The wizarding world will be strong again. The future is bright and we shall prevail. The time is near when we shall crush the supposed light and emerge victorious.' Another cheer went up and this time Harry joined in. 'Enjoy the feast my faithful. You all did well tonight. Your restraint was noted and will not be forgotten.' Tom finished, lifting his glass and smiling as the Death Eaters all toasted Harry before sitting down. The Dark Lord had really mellowed since Harry had arrived.

'Are you alright, Harry? You look a bit flushed.' Tom snorted as he took in the young man's bright red face.

'You're as bad as Dumbledore. You both just love embarrassing me.' Harry grumbled, burying his face in his hands.

'Wash your mouth out, child. Besides, you're just so easy.'

Harry's head whipped up. Not at the insult but at the muggle saying.

Riddle, knowing exactly what the boy was thinking, just smirked and leaned towards him. 'Just because I hate muggles, Harry, doesn't mean I don't know them. I did grow up with them after all.'

Harry raised an eyebrow. 'I think the term growing up might be a bit ambitious.' He said dryly. That did it. The laughter Snape and Malfoy had been desperately trying to hold in exploded causing every head in the room to turn their way.

'You have three seconds.' Riddle growled. Harry face changed to an expression of mock terror as he shot out of his chair and practically flew down the hall, dodging the stunning spells Tom sent his way after the three seconds were up.

The guests knew exactly what was going on the moment Riddle stood and swept from the hall, his walk menacing but the small smile on his face explaining that it was all for show. Harry was the only one who could tease the Dark Lord. As his equal, it was his right and vice versa.

The heard a squeal of laughter and then nothing.


Tom Riddle walked swiftly through the halls and straight into the Library, knowing that was Harry's hiding place of choice. He saw the slight figure dart through two sets of shelves and quickly cast a notice-me-not and a silencing charm before hiding behind a tall bookcase. He picked up a book off the shelf and levitated it over towards the end of the bookcase and dropped it. Harry, thinking Riddle was over the far side of the room, darted out of his corner and shot across the room and straight into Riddle's arms.

'Oof.' Harry gasped as he ran into an unforgiving limb and then yelping loudly as the Dark Lord began tickling him mercilessly.

'Uncle.' Harry cried as he giggled helplessly.

'You're going soft, Potter.' Tom drawled.

Harry just laughed as he wiped the tears of mirth off his cheeks. 'Just reliving my childhood.' He said simply.

Tom snorted. 'Someone's childhood anyway.' He said wryly. 'I know for a fact it wasn't yours.'

Harry sighed, his good mood drying up slightly. 'Point.'

Tom looked at the young man who had become closer to him than any other before wrapping an arm around him. 'Cheer up Harry. We have Ministry's to conquer and worlds to rule.'

Harry raised an eyebrow, inwardly thinking the older wizard really was mad. 'You have such a way with words, Tom.' He snickered. Voldemort laughed, cuffing him on the back of the head before dragging him back towards the dining hall.


'Speak, now, Albus and don't leave anything out.' Molly Weasley's anger had reached boiling point. Hermione was crying on Ron's shoulder as most of the hall continued to look around them in stunned disbelief. Their world, as they knew it, was finished. Their saviour had deserted them and turned to the other side and together with the Dark Lord would make a force they were unable to reckon with.

Life was looking bleak indeed.

'Calm down everyone.' Albus said soothingly.

'Calm down.' McGonagall yelled incredulously, startling nearly everyone as she hardly ever raised her voice. 'Harry Potter has just walked out of Hogwarts arm in arm with the Dark Lord, taking the only inner circle spy we had with him and you're telling us to calm down. Do you even realise what this means?'

Albus held up his hands to quiet the shouting crowd. 'Do not fret, Harry will return.'

'You really are crazy.' Ron burst out. 'Harry won't be back. He hates you. He hates me. He hates us, all of us. The only way Harry will be back here will either be under a body bind or to kill you.'

The words silenced everybody again as the cold green eyes that had looked at them so calculatingly flashed before them once again.

Hermione sniffed and raised her head from Ron's shoulder. 'What did Harry mean? About what he was doing?' she asked quietly.

'Harry never told you?' Filius Flitwick asked curiously. Hermione and Ron glanced at each other before shaking their heads.

'Didn't you wonder were he was all those times over the last two years?' This came from Remus.

'Well, yes. But this was Harry. He was always doing things we couldn't know about. After a while we just stopped asking.' Ron explained.

'What exactly was he doing?' Hermione sniffed again.

'We were training him.' Albus replied. 'Filius taught him charms and shields, Kingsley taught him physical fighting, Severus taught him potions.'

'Who else?'

Albus glanced at Remus before speaking. 'Moody, Remus and I.' He said quietly.

'And just what did you three teach him?' Molly asked snidely. 'How to be an adult when you really want to be a child?' The sarcasm practically dripped off her words.

'No. We taught him to duel.' Albus snapped, his patience wearing thin. 'He needed to learn not only to defend himself. He was going to have to fight the Dark Lord.'

'And he's doing a lot of fighting with him now, isn't he.' McGonagall snapped back, several others joining in.

Albus had had enough. 'Silence.' He bellowed. 'Harry will be back, I assure you. He will think about what he's done and his guilt will eat at him until he does return.' The smug smile on the headmaster's face turned many stomachs. His piece said, Albus pushed through the still angry crowd and walked out of the hall.

'He's got to be kidding.' Ron whispered.

'No, he's not.' Neville piped up. 'He's conditioned Harry to think like that. It will take something very strong to stop Harry returning eventually, or someone.'

'You-Know-Who could stop him.' Ginny said.

Remus shook his head. 'No, Tom Riddle isn't that strong.'

Incredulous glances were exchanged around the room. 'Just how powerful is Harry?' Hermione asked nervously.

Remus looked at Flitwick, who nodded sagely. 'Unfortunately, Harry Potter makes You-Know-Who look like a first year.'

Deathly silence met that statement until finally Arthur Weasley spoke. 'You can't be serious, Remus. Harry can't possibly be that powerful.'

Remus sighed, rubbing his temple as a headache threatened to take hold. 'Put it this way, Arthur, the last time we duelled with Harry, it took him less than ten minutes to take us down. All six of us, including Albus. And there wasn't a mark on him.'

'Mother of Merlin.' Molly whispered as those in the hall began to have some idea of just how bad this turn of events was. If their life had looked bleak before, it looked positively desolate now.


Harry sighed. Staring out into the gathering darkness he mused idly at just how much the view from his window at Malfoy Manor reminded him of Hogwarts.

'You deserve a life too, Harry.' Severus Snape repeated what he had said earlier as he walked up behind the young man and wrapped his arms around him.

Harry sighed, leaning back into the warmth and comfort the older man provided. 'I know, but don't you feel the least bit guilty?' he said quietly.

'No.' Severus said bluntly 'And neither should you. You haven't done anything wrong, Harry. You don't owe them, or anyone else, anything. You do know that, don't you?'

Harry didn't answer right away. 'It is what I want. This, you, it is all I've ever wanted, but I can't help but feel it came at the expense of others.'

'And your childhood didn't. You gave up almost all of your life for those people and still they wanted more'

'This, what my life was, is, is not a path I would have chosen willingly.' Harry said softly.

'And yet it is the path you walk.' Severus clasped the young man's shoulders and turned him around. 'Harry, listen to me, the fates have been terribly unkind to you but that doesn't mean you have to live with their decisions. You are the master of your own future and you showed that the minute you took that Portkey last summer. Your presence here has saved many, many lives.'

'How?' Harry asked petulantly. 'I just condemned hundreds of people to a life full of sorrow.'

'And you just saved thousands.' Severus finished. 'The Dark Lord was not a nice man, Harry, and he will be the first to admit that, but ever since you came he has softened. He is much slower to anger and he thinks about things much more, his vision for the future is once again clear. Harry, you have tamed the serpent, and in doing so have probably saved hundreds of thousands of lives.'

Harry sighed, leaning forward and burying his head in the older wizard's robes. 'Why Sev?' he whispered. 'Why did I have to be the one?'

Severus gently pushed him away before tilting his chin and placing a soft kiss on Harry's lips. 'Because, my foolish Leo, you are the only one strong enough.'


'I can't believe it. I just can't believe it.' Ron mumbled.

The seventh year Gryffindors, Ginny, Colin and surprisingly Luna Lovegood, were sitting in a huddle around the fireplace in the Gryffindor common room.

The news of what had happened during the graduation ceremony had spread through the school like wildfire even though only the seventh years and their families had been present, and currently the other Gryffindors were watching them with looks of shock and disbelief.

'How can Harry have done this to us.' Hermione sniffed.

'He didn't do it to you.' Neville said quietly but firmly. 'He did it for himself.'

Ron sent the pudgy boy a dark glare. 'How can you say that?' he growled loudly. 'Harry just ran off with You-Know-Who. He betrayed us.'

'Don't you dare.' Neville hissed, leaping to his feet and startling almost all in the room who had barely ever seen him angry. 'We betrayed him when we didn't stop them. Every time we left him here, looking longingly out the window while we all went to Hogsmeade. When he was exhausted and injured and we didn't care enough to ask how.' Neville's voice grew in volume. 'We all knew they were training him, in spite of what we would admit out loud. We all knew he was a weapon, but we wouldn't admit it because we needed to think he could solve all our problems for us just like he said. We needed to believe that Harry would save us so we ignored everything. Pretended that all was right with the world and in between all of that. Between all of the blind faith in Dumbledore and the others, WE LET HARRY GET SCREWED. WE ARE JUST AS RESPONSIBLE AS EVERYONE ELSE BECAUSE WE CHOSE NOT TO DO ANYTHING. WE BLOODY FAILED HIM BY OUR INACTION AND NOW THE ENTIRE WIZARDING WORLD WILL PAY FOR OUR MISTAKES.' He finished in a bellow, his face red and his chest heaving with exertion. The outburst had stunned the entire room into silence and for the second time that day several jaws hit the floor.

'Well said, Mr Longbottom.' Came their Head of House's weary voice from just inside the portrait.

Neville spun around, his eyes wide. 'P…professor.' He stammered. 'I…I'm sorry.'

McGonangall waved a hand dismissively in his direction.'Don't apologise, Mr Longbottom. Everything you said is true. I too should have said something before but, as they say, ignorance is bliss and we were all very happy being blissfully ignorant.' The elderly witch seemed to have aged decades since the morning.

'Do you think he will ever come back, Professor?' Ginny asked quietly.

McGonagall seemed to ponder the question for a moment her eyes gazing at the assembled students around the room before landing back on Neville.

'Will he, Neville?' she asked softly. 'You seem to understand Harry better than anyone.'

'Hey.' Ron said indignantly.

The others ignored him. 'I doubt it.' Neville sighed. 'Something will stop him. Or someone.'

'But you heard Remus.' Dean spoke up. 'You-Know-Who isn't strong enough.'

'I never said he would be stopped from returning by force.' Neville said quietly. 'He may chose to stay for a reason.'

'Love.' Hermione whispered as comprehension suddenly dawned.

Neville smiled wanly. 'Yes.'

'But who the hell could Harry be in love with. I've never even seen him touch a girl since Chang.' Ron sniped. 'and I doubt he'd touch any of those Slytherin cows with a ten foot pole.'

Neville raised an eyebrow at him, at all of them who were nodding in agreement. 'Harry was right. None of you really knew him, did you?' he rolled his eyes.

'What do you mean?' both Ron and Hermione said in unison.

'Harry wouldn't have touched a girl. He's gay. He's in love with Professor Snape.'


'Good morning.' Harry said cheerfully as he joined Tom, Severus, Lucius, Narcissa, Draco, Blaise and Pansy in the dining room. He smirked at Draco, grinned at Tom and dropped a kiss on Severus' cheek before sitting down and tucking into the fare spread out before him with gusto.

'Good morning, Harry.' Tom snorted.

'You're in a good mood today, Leo.' Blaise said easily.

'That's what comes from shagging Severus all night.' Draco added cheekily.

Harry, very used to Draco teasing him about that, simply raised an eyebrow and sent a tickling charm using only his finger in the other man's direction and continued calmly eating his breakfast with one hand.

'S…stop.' Draco pleaded as he practically fell off his chair. Blaise and Pansy were busy laughing at their friend and even Lucius looked amused at his son's predicament. Eventually Severus took pity and placed a hand over Harry's holding it tightly and breaking the spell's connection.

'Jealous Draco?' The potions master raised a sardonic eyebrow.

Draco's eyes widened his mirth forgotten. 'Eww, Sev, you're my godfather. That's just gross that is.' His nose screwed up in disgust.

Harry couldn't help but snort loudly as Severus rolled his eyes dramatically. 'I meantof me, you moronic dunderhead. How on earth did you graduate?' He wondered aloud.

'Pansy did all of his homework.' Harry offered.

'Hey.' Draco cried. 'It wasn't all of it.' Suddenly the Slytherin realised his father was at the end of the table. 'Oh bollocks.' He groaned, dropping his head to the table top with a thud.

Most of the table snickered and Severus glanced at Lucius who was across from him. 'Are you sure he's yours?' he said dryly.

'Severus, don't be horrible.' Narcissa scolded, reaching across the table and patting her son's hand. 'He didn't mean it darling.'

'Mother.' Draco whined, blushing brightly.

Everyone laughed again and the meal continued in this same light hearted manner. Eventually everyone was finished and Tom stood. 'I believe it is time to put some plans into action.' The tone was off hand but no one could miss the glint that shined in the red eyes.

Harry stood also and nodded. 'There is much to be done.' He said solemnly. The three Slytherins, remaining seated at Narcissa's signal, watched as Lucius and Severus also stood and what would, within months, become the strongest war council the wizarding world had ever seen, walked silently from the room.