"Mind-Talk"

"Parseltongue"

(----------)

Tom stood just outside to the heavy double-doors separating the hallway and the thrown room, where he would be meeting his Inner Circle. He had summoned them over a half an hour ago, and just now he could feel them all present. He squared his shoulders just as he walked in. Immediately twenty four unmasked faces turned his way. This was more of a social call, welcoming the 'new' members.

The breakout from Azkaban had been performed quick and easy last night, and here they were. The eleven of them stupid enough to get themselves kicked in to Azkaban once again. Bellatrix had been lucky had gotten out of there, with her dignity almost crushed in small peaces. When he greeted them, he did it with a sneer showing his disappointment in them. As they bowed and kissed the hem of his robes, they trembled greatly. The fear could be seen in their eyes, expecting punishment for their screw-up at any minute. A pity they had to wait, for several days, maybe even weeks. Oh, this was going to be so fun!

"I trust you have freshened up since your arrival? Perhaps calmed down a bit from last night's escaped? I don't think you have eaten though. Why is that?" A few quiet murmurs could be heard throughout the large room. The echoing from the walls made it sound like the buzz of a bee. That was not a sign of respect.

"I asked you a question, and I expect an answer. Lucius?" The blonde stepped forward and looked straight ahead, speaking in a strong and quiet tone. Much like the other half of the Inner Circle, the ones not newly rescued from Azkaban, presented themselves. Now, that was a sign of respect. Tom noted that for later.

"We have not eaten because of the effects for the punishment we surely deserve for our mistake last month, My Lord." He stepped back again, head held high. Lucius had a way of talking of the most revolting things he might do but still keep his dignity in the way he said it. A true Slytherin and Malfoy matriarch.

"Indeed. Is this true?" He looked around the room and met the eyes of every man he meant the question for. For every pair of eyes he met a 'Yes, My Lord' was heard when said eyes were turned against the floor. Right after shame was flashed through their irises.

He would have laughed at that, had he not felt like his head was smashed inwards from the back. Shortly after a blow to his jaw, then his gut. Opening the connection he heard Harry's silent pleads to stop.

The Death Eaters around him saw this. They saw the pain that came so quickly their master did not have time to hide it. Narcissa Malfoy, in particular, saw this. When Tom collapsed in pain she didn't give a damn about protocol and rushed forward.

"My Lord?" Tom locked up and met her pale face, filled with worry. At that moment she looked angelic, but he didn't have time to ponder over that now. Harry was in pain, serious pain.

"Get potions.. gasp meet me here.. gasp hurry, Cissy!" She gave him a curt nod before disappearing trough the doors and down the halls, collecting the potions she thought she would need seeing him in that state. She collected Blood-Replenishing Potion as well because she had a nagging feeling that this was not about her Lord. When packed she hurried pack.

Still in the thrown room Tom managed to throw the pain in to back in his mind. He could still feel it, but not as much. He could feel Harry Slipping in and out of consciousness and as he slipped away the pain followed. He forced himself up and shouted 'dismissed' at the bewildered looking Death Eaters left in the circle. No body had moved but Cissy, but he couldn't bring the need to care at the moment, he would remember for later though, he always did.

"I said GET OUT!" He roared, crimson eyes flashing dangerously. That got them going and black robes swivelled after them as they left. As they did he thought that it was odd he would feel the pain inflicted on the teen. He didn't usually, Harry would normally feel trough his scar mostly, and Tom himself had to strong Occlymency-shields for Harry to get through. Maybe he had called out in a desperate attempt to get out of there? He knew by instinct this was the muggle's doing, didn't the old fool had wards to show when his Golden boy was in danger?

Thoughts and possibilities rushed fast through his mind before Narcissa returned. She tried to give him one of the lilac potions, obviously Pain-Relieving Potion. But he declined, they had to go. And they had to go now!

"We have no time. Come on!" She nodded again and hooked her arm with his. With a 'pop' they were gone.

(----------)

The pair arrived in an abandoned alleyway seconds later with another 'pop'. He could no longer feel pain, Harry was unconscious but alive, although barely and would surely not be for long if help didn't come fast. Taking the hand of the female beside him he dragged her out in to the open and down the road following the sign that said 'Privet Drive'.

Everything had happened had done so fast and he himself had acted as such. It was defiantly not how he normally did things but it could have to do. Narcissa had asked no questions, as a Death Eater she knew to act at not question, do so and explanations could be rewarded with later on. If things went according to plan.

It wasn't until they neared the house of number four as he gave wards and the damn Order a thought. Thinking things trough quickly he knew Harry lived with his relatives, the only ones alive. He lived with his blood. Therefore maybe the blood was what protected him. He almost laughed aloud with his new realisations. Tom himself was restored by Harry's blood, the house was surely protected not to let anyone bearing the Mark enter as well, if not Harry's I blood /I allowed it.

And his theories was confirmed as he entered the property when Narcissa's hand was ripped from him and left her standing dumbfounded at the road. Smiling to himself he said high and aloud.

"I, Harry Potter, give you, Narcissa Malfoy, permission to enter." Feeling a small tingle of magic running through her she nodded and walked towards Tom, now nothing stopped her. Dumbledore must be stupid or something she thought.

Seeing what she thought he silently agreed with her as they hurried together over the lawn towards the house, scarily looking like all the others around it. The Windows were open in an attempt to catch some relieving wind flowing through it in the summer heat.

Neither of them had even reached the door when it flew open revealing a tall, horse looking women in a dress and apron. Tom thought she must be Harry's aunt, but the resemblance with Lily was none-existent. That girl had been amazingly beautiful when this woman was revolting. Behind her a man the size of a whale came towards them, anger radiated of him and the blood on his white shirt was easily recognised.

"We don't want anyone of your freaks here!" The man whispered dangerously low. Tom merely raised an eyebrow at him before pointing his wand at the man. He and his wife backed inside, their eyes fastened at his wand. If they only knew the things that particular wand had performed! He smirked at them and gestured for Narcissa to follow them inside. She did and closed the door after her, locking it and threw up a couple of wards, one of them was a strong silencing charm.

"Good. Cissy, find Harry and heal him. I take care of these.. disgusting muggles!" He sneered at them as Narcissa nodded. But as she went further in to the house she hesitated. Tom knew why and threatened with his wand, that was all the warning the muggles needed before the grotesque man stuttered.

"H-he is u-upstairs.. T-the door w-with.. The locks." At that Narcissa locked horrified and rushed upstairs. The Potion vials clashing together in the bag she brought them with. When she was out of sight he turned back towards Harry's relatives and motioned for them to move to the living room where they sat down on the couch without fuss. They looked at him with fear, he had them at his mercy, just like he wanted them.

To scare them out of their wits he started pacing in front of them, slowly slapping his wand in his left hand like a whip. He smirked as he noticed how their eyes followed the wand's movements. Finally he stopped and turned against them. With a sigh he spoke.

"Do you have any idea of who I am?" He purred for the highest effect. Oh yes, he was a sadist!

"N-no." The woman said.

"It's funny it should be you who answered. Seeing as it was I who killed your sister." They looked ready to piss at themselves.

"V-voldemort?"

"The one and only. Now, I will play nice with you today, but I will be back at a later date. I don't know when, but believe me, I will. I will take Harry of your hands, until I know more. If Dumbledore asks, Harry run away. You don't were or why. I have never been here, what happened here today have not happened. You do that, and no one will be harmed. Understood?" He wanted to hex them in to oblivion bur reframed from doing so because he didn't know how Harry would react.

That was one of the things that had haunted him the last week, 'how Harry would react'? Since when did he care about Harry reacted to his doings. He kept telling himself it was to keep Harry happy so he would gain himself a new ally. After today, though, he wasn't to sure. He shook his head to clear it and noticed the muggles hadn't answered him. He raised his wand again and repeated himself. The 'Yes' came immediately from both of them. He smiled and said.

"Excellent." Before leaving them to their own devices as he went to search out Narcissa and Harry upstairs.

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Narcissa rushed upstairs after gaining the new information. Locks? They locked him inside? Sure enough, as she reached the top of the stairs she saw the door with the locks, five of them, and a cat flap. Somehow she knew the flap wasn't meant for a cat.

"Alohomora." She opened the door and the smell of blood hit her so hard she stumbled back out in the hallway. As she was a mother she generally cared for all children and the thought hit her that what is this had been her Draco, her little white dragon? It was not a pleasant thought and she pushed in the back of her mind as she peered inside. What see saw made her guts twist inside out with fury.

She found Harry Potter thrown casually against the wall on her left. Blood was everywhere, on the floor, on the walls, on the lonely window, the bed even on the snowy white owl perched inside her cage. And that was nothing compared to on the boy. His clothes were all torn and ripped not to mention blooded. He was leaning against the cabinet on his right in a pool of his own blood. His leg was twisted in a funny angle with the bone showing through a large and deep wound surrounding it. His nose was crushed, both his eyes, she knew to be violent green, were swollen shut, his lip split and his jaw surely broken.

Though the trashed shirt she could se the bruising on his chest as well as the lumps of his ribs poking out on the skin. The skin was deadly pale were it was not bruised. She got tears in her eyes of just the sight but she quickly snapped out of it to work mode.

She scanned his body and found his insides wasn't as broken as his outside, but still severely. He should have been dead. This was worse than what Crabbe and Goyle had ever done, with muggle means that is. As she healed the wound on his leg she heard the Dark Lord come in to the room but she kept on going and didn't acknowledge him.

His eyes were burning her in her neck watching her for several minutes. She healed and he watched in silence for what felt like hours before she felt rather than heard him move towards the desk picking up the cage of the owl before moving towards door again.

"I'll get his things and go pick up another person. Bring him to the Manor when he is ready to be moved. We'll meet there later on." She nodded her understanding and he left for the room.

(----------)

Ginevra Weasley was resting in her temporary bed at the summer camp for muggles. She had been against the idea at first, but by running the idea with Tom, she had changed her mind and gladly went. It would be a good disguise if for some reason Tom needed her. Being a muggle camp she could not correspond with anyone. Owls flying around might get suspicious. So that was taken care of because her parents couldn't correspond with the managers of the camp either, therefore not knowing if she disappeared. Easily said, Tom could just pick her, and a few charms would make everyone think she was never there in the first place or that she had never left, either way was perfect.

It was still quite early in the day and she knew Tom would be busy the first half of it with the Death Eater's from Azkaban. But she felt a bit uneasy with whole ordeal. Something may have gone wrong.

And if that was the case, Tom would pick her up. Her trunk was with her, if for some reason her things would be destroyed at the Burrow, which there was no way to, Tom had assured that. For now at least.

She knew full well what Tom did, he was Lord Voldemort, the Dark Lord, but had no qualms about it. He had her, almost, full support. And had had it since day one. She remembered when she had found out about him in the Diary. He had been honest with her and told her he was in fact Voldemort. Ginny had thrown away the Diary then, but after a while they started talking. They formed some kind of Brother/Sister-relationship and together controlled Galleri(1), the Basilisk, against the Squib-borns within the walls of Hogwarts.

Through the Diary Ginny had become a Parselmouth and Galleri felt the essence of Salazar Slytherin in her and followed her lead.

Despite Ginny's fascination of Harry Potter, she had deceived him by 'giving' him the Diary and luring him down to the Chamber of Secrets. She was excited to everything they planned except the Harry-part. It was something about him that she couldn't figure out, nor could she betray him.

Ginny would always support Tom, but she couldn't betray Harry. When it came to them trying to kill each other, she stayed out of the way. She would not take the Mark before Harry and Tom were on the same side. Tom had always wanted Harry on his side ever since they first met, and he decided to take that attempt one step further this summer.

She hoped with all her heart that Harry would switch!

The plan for now was that, would Harry for some unexplainable reason decide to live at Riddle Manor for the summer, Tom would pick her up. Or if something went wrong with the breakout. She had her hopes up on the first. She sighed, knowing the chances of that ever happening were slim.

(-----------)

A knock on the door woke her up. She had fallen lightly asleep together with her thoughts a while earlier. As she sat up the door knocked again, harder this time. Ginny hurried to door.

"Yeah, I'm comi.." She opened the door and the got the biggest chock of her life. She couldn't believe it at first and dropped dead in her movements to take him all in. Their eyes met for a few seconds before she launched herself in to her arms as she cried, "Tom!"

Tom just smiled at her, Ginevra was his little sister since little less four years back. Parseltongue was one only thing they shared.

"Yes, it's me." She laughed in to his chest before raising her head and looked into his eyes once more.

"I see some of Snape's potions is doable." Ginevra replied in the language they both shared, along with on other. He had missed her, he had not physically seen her, and acted to know her, in three years. He knew she felt the same, she felt left out and different from the rest of her family and much closer to himself. As she had so nicely put it some time ago, she was more a Riddle than a Weasley. And he just had to agree at that. Ginevra may be the little sister of a lot of redheads, but she was still his little baby sister, and would always be.

"Indeed." He pushed her out his arms to look at her, but stayed quiet a little while. Tom saw the emotions in her brown eyes, telling him she knew that what he was about to say was bad news, and therefore steeled herself for them. He waited 'til she was ready to speak again.

"Listen Ginevra, there's been kind of an accident and.."

"Harry?" Tom merely nodded at her, and her eyes widened before she rushed back in to the room and dragged out her trunk from under the bed and threw some of her things back inside before turning back to her 'brother'. "I'm ready to leave? (Tom nodded) Then lets go." She reached her hand forwards and he took it and once again apparated a woman from somewhere to another.

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1, Galleri is a Swedish word, and it simply means Gallery. When I decided to name the basilisk i quickly looked around me and my eyes got stuck on a painting and that was the first thing that came to mind, and I liked it. More words in Swedish will become names and I'll let you know when they show up.-x

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Love you all

-Iiv