It was now a Saturday in mid-October. Things went normal at school. Nothing remarkable had happened during that course of time. After settling down from the new year craze, Harry had started getting bored. He had taken to wandering the dungeon just for to bide his time. He was now wandering the halls feeling around as he roamed aimlessly. He felt a faint source of magic, tainted and delectable, and he was looking for it. He felt an insurmountable amount of excitement coursing through his body as he got closer to it. It felt darker each step he took, and he couldn't stop the slight trembles racking in his frame. He was just too damn excited.

He stopped when his foot came in contact with something lying on the floor. He slowly bent down to pick up the object, noting it was lightweight and felt to be a book or maybe a journal of some sorts. He felt letters written on the back of the book, and he traced them with his fingers.

"T.M. Riddle? Whose has those initials here? Odd..." Harry whispered to himself. The magic inside the book, or whatever the object was, pulsed happily in Harry's grasp, and Harry couldn't help clinging to the book. It just felt too damn important to leave it on the floor. Who would leave such an object laying on the floor to be trod upon by students? Then Harry thought about it. Maybe someone left it here intentionally. If someone left it here intentionally, no one would miss it if he took it. Harry reasoned it out deliberately, deciding it was true. Even if he did convince himself not to take it, he knew himself enough to know he would still take it. Harry walked down the chilly hallways feeling his way through the castle. Judging by the temperature drop, Harry knew he was somewhere close to the dungeons. Harry stopped outside a door feeling dark magic leaking out from behind it. Curious he touched the door. He didn't know what was going on beyond the door. He sometimes wished he could see, but it wouldn't do him any good wishing for something that would never happen. Harry breathed in deeply feeling the magical air filling his lungs, tingling sensations washing through his body. Dark magic coursing through his veins, it was calling out to the magic behind the door. Maybe if he cast a Silencing Charm on the door, he could open it and try to make his way in. But he didn't know these rooms yet. He had only wandered in the dungeons but hadn't explored the rooms in them. But it would only be a classroom or a laboratory in the dungeons. There's no harm going inside. If it was a teacher, he could claim he was lost. Determined finally, Harry cast the charm and opened the door slowly. He slipped inside sliding against the wall. He could tell there was a shelf of some sorts just beside the door so he hid behind it. The shelves he knew to be in rows when he reached out with his magic. The person leaking the dark magic was somewhere in the back he estimated, and from how strong the magic seemed it was probably a good ten feet away from Harry stood.

Something sounded off in the room. Harry could hear his breathing and the other person's, but there was something extra. It sounded like a slithering noise sliding across the floor. The slithering sounded to be close to Harry as it moved across the room towards the person. Harry withdrew his magic and only used his senses. He heard a soft hissing noise. He listened closely realizing he could actually understand it.

"Master... Someone is here. I can taste him in the air."

"Shh... Nagini. There is nothing that I can not handle. I will take care of him. Stay behind me." Harry's eyes widened fractionally before realizing they were talking about him. His brain finally kicked into gear, and he knew he had to run now. Maybe if he just skirted around the edges of the room he wouldn't get caught. He started trailing along the walls mentally casting a Disillusionment charm on himself. He quieted his breathing when he heard rather than felt the person quite near. Harry was hidden a corner of the room. Soft foot steps were getting closer as Harry tried to silence his breathing.

There was a whoosh of air that went around Harry's face. He paled dramatically. He was caught! Harry felt the person's breath stirring his hair. He could feel the warmth coming off the other person, notifying Harry just how close this other person was. Harry clutched the book closer to his chest feeling a small form of comfort battling the fear he was feeling for the first time. It wasn't a fun emotion to experience. "Who are you?" Words tumbled from the person's mouth silkily, caressing Harry. He shivered at how rich it sounded. Harry felt desire bubbling inside him. He wanted to touch the other person to see how he looked.

He let out the breath he was holding in slowly and took in more air. He smelled a sweet musky scent coming off the other person, and he couldn't help inching a little closer. Harry caught himself mentally berating himself for even wanting to get closer to the other person. "I said who are you?" The words sounded clipped. The other person was angry at Harry's silence. Harry shook his head trying to regain his wits. He softly cleared his throat. It was mid-October now, and the chilliness of the weather gave him a slight sore throat.

"I am..." Harry cut himself off. He didn't know he could speak like that. Arms grabbed him tightly, and Harry was held against a strong chest. His arms were crushed between the two of them and the book was digging into his own chest. It kind of hurt, but it wasn't the biggest problem right now.

"Tell me who you are and I may or may not kill you." The voice was whispered hotly into Harry's ear. Harry flushed crimson but withheld the soft sigh he almost let out.

"I" Harry rasped. It didn't sound so good to his ears when he spoke English. "I am... I am named Harry." Arms squeezed threateningly tight around Harry causing the air to leave his lungs. He couldn't uphold his Disillusionment Charm with the impending thought of needing air badly.

Moments passed, and Harry started to feel faint. His thoughts felt slower than usual. A thought ran through his head. "Am I really going to die like this? In the arms of someone who I don't know.. At least... it's someone I wouldn't mind."

The arms loosened a bit, just enough for Harry to draw in much need air. Harry coughed a little in the person's arms. When he stopped his coughing, he shifted his arms hoping to get free. He couldn't move at all. Harry tensed when he heard a hissing noise.

"Master, he is one of us. There might be more where he came from!" The voice sounded happy from wherever it came from. Harry was confused. He only felt one person, and that was the one that was holding him in his arms. He didn't feel anyone else in the room when he sensed around with his magic earlier.

"Why can you speak parsel tongue boy?" Harry got even more confused. He had never heard those words before.

"Parsel tongue? I don't understand."

"A person who can speak the serpentine language. Like you are doing now." Harry could feel the man's voice just beside his ear. The man's lips were barely brushing his ears when he talked. Harry couldn't stop the little tremors wracking his body. He just didn't know what to feel now. Emotions that had never surfaced before were making him confused and really worked up. He felt feverish and his breath came out in shallow and quick breaths like he couldn't just get enough air. Tingling sensations pooling in his stomach made him feel elated. It was just too much for him to handle right now. The wall that kept his emotions in check had mysteriously disappeared with this man's presence.

"Who are you?" Harry asked quickly in one breath. He couldn't get enough of the man's voice. It just felt so good to hear it in the silent room.

"I am the Dark Lord." Harry squirmed suddenly in the man's arms. He knew he shouldn't have crept inside the classroom, but the tempting dark magical aura that was leaking from the classroom was just too damn enticing. He knew dying in this man's arms would bring him great pleasure, but if Harry really thought about it, he really didn't want to die. Right now he just wanted to run away from the dark lord. It wasn't safe near him, even if Harry still like being around this man. He was just too dangerous to be acquainted with. It would be like playing with fire if Harry stayed around this man. "What do you have here?" Harry was shoved lightly away before he felt hands prying at his own. He didn't relinquish his hold on the book he held. He didn't want to give it to someone when he himself had found it. That didn't make Harry a crook though. He had found it, so technically it was his right now. When the man managed to touch the book under Harry's arms, Harry felt a sharpness
in the air. Something wasn't right with the book... "Where did you find this?" the dark lord hissed out quickly, fiercely.

"I found it while wandering the halls. It's mine now." If Harry wasn't blind, he might have been scared to death by the glare worn by the dark lord. The malice in his aura was tangible, and it was suffocating Harry almost. It seemed like it wanted Harry to obey, give in. The book was ripped out of his hands harshly, and a great feeling of loss washed through Harry's body. Disappointment pulled his mouth down into a slight frown. Anger contorted his frown to a grimace. All this happened just in a matter of seconds.

"This diary is mine. Why did you pick it up from where you found it?" Harry shifted sideways, hoping the dark lord wouldn't notice he was preparing to leave. Almost like the dark lord read his mind, he was harshly pulled to the man's chest. Harry sighed softly, resigned.

"The magic... the diary contained was just so, well it felt really good." Harry shivered feeling the dark lord's magic lash out slightly. It didn't feel so oppressive. Maybe a little amusement?

"You can feel the magic coming from the diary, even when it is so faint." It didn't really sound like a statement to Harry. It sounded like he needed an answer and now.

"Yes..." Harry mumbled softly into the dark lord's chest.

"I didn't hear you. Repeat what you said." The man sounded like he was teasing Harry!

"Yes..." Harry felt a finger lifting his head from where it lay on
the man's chest. The warmth he felt was gone from his face.

"I want to actually hear you."

"Yes..." Harry trailed off sheepishly. He didn't know exactly why he was feeling embarrassed suddenly.

"What does it feel like?" Harry smiled. The dark lord must know how Harry feels when there's magic in the air.

"I always feel a tingling sensation run through my body. It makes me feel so good. It's just... I don't really know how to explain it." To Harry, it sounded like he had an addiction to dark magic. Maybe he did, but Harry hadn't done any dark magic to make himself really addicted. So that didn't really make sense to him. Maybe he just like dark magic more than light and neutral magic. Light magic had an airiness to it that Harry wasn't quite fond of. It made him think of fakeness just to make everything seem happy. That wasn't really appealing. Neutral magic didn't really have a feel to it. It felt more of a passive force, which it was anyways, but it didn't have power behind it. It just didn't cut it for Harry's tastes. "Your magic is dark. It feels better than the diary's magic. It feels more amplified."

Harry heard a melodious laugh come from the man. The dark lord's body shook slightly, and Harry shifted his unseeing gaze back down to the man's chest. It felt better with his head over the man's beating heart. Harry had his head turned to the side listening to a steady heartbeat. It was calming him down. "You are an odd one. Never expected the Golden Boy of the light to be so tainted. Able to feel, taste," the dark lord caressed Harry's cheek, he continued, "sense dark magic. How very unusual. It seems almost befitting though. You who have never seen anything in life, so you wouldn't know the difference between evil and good. To learn you must have been read or taught about the dark arts, so how have you learned of them? Hogwarts' curriculum doesn't condone teaching students the dark arts."

Harry felt even more sheepish. "I had some access to the dark arts. I was taught..." It was true. He was taught, just self-taught. There
wasn't much of a difference was there. Bending the truth isn't as worse as lying, especially when it comes to someone like the dark lord.

"You lie, child. Tell me the full truth." The dark lord's hand on Harry's face gripped his cheeks tightly.

"Ow.. I read from books."

"How would you read from books? You are a blind child. You don't even have pupils in your eyes."

"Have you forgotten we are living in the wizard world? I used a spell to read books, even if I am blind."

"Interesting. You have great potential." Harry was let go. He missed the warmth, it was quite chilly in the dungeons, especially with the winter coming soon. "Come back here in a month." Harry left the room in a stupor. He walked back to the Slytherin dorms dazed. When he lay down to bed, he noticed he still held the diary. He smiled feeling the magic swirl animatedly when it was recognized. It almost seemed to have its own personality. Harry thought back to the meeting earlier. Just what was the dark lord doing here? He took note that he should not talk in parsel tongue again. It wasn't something common, that much he could conclude from the dark lord's shocked tone. He sighed into his pillow. He felt mentally exhausted and fell asleep immediately.