AN Hello! Yeah! Back with chapter 4! Hopefully this chapter will be actually 3k words. It's mainly centered around the first christmas Harry celebrates with Voldemort… although it's going to actually be more important the present he gets. Thanks to oleg212 who corrected me when I accidentally posted chapter 2 again instead of chapter 3. Anyways, to the story!
"Good morning hatchling" Nagini hissed as she slithered into Harry's room at 7am in the morning.
"G'morning Nagini" Harry greeted politely. He quickly got dressed. Only after being halfway down the stairs he remembered that it was Christmas! In honor of how well Harry had been doing on the few missions he'd gone on, almost all of them like the Alice and Frank mission, he was getting a single present from the Dark Lord. They were on Order members, a few glamours made Harry look slightly different. Sometimes Harry just got to surprise people, instead of playing cute little boy. Recently though, he'd had to do more and more by force, as people started to not trust him. Likely the Order knew of his existence by now, though he wasn't sure whether they knew of his position as the Dark Lord's son. Probably at least suspected it.
Walking into the kitchen, Harry saw a high stack of pancakes and thick syrup made by the House Elves. They were all terrified of the Dark Lord so they never did anything out of line. Or anything less that perfect, Harry noted as he noticed the eggs, sausage, and bacon. There were also bunches of different kinds of berries and jams on the table. Rolling his eyes, Harry grabbed a chocolate chip pancake, then set it on a plate charmed to keep the food on it moderately warm. Then he grabbed the syrup and some sugared sliced strawberries, putting them on the pancake.
Three pancakes, two cups of juice, and a huge sausage later, Harry left the table, "Nagini? Where did the Dark Lord put my present?" he hissed loudly in parseltongue, he wasn't sure where she was, but was pretty sure she would be able to hear him. Then she slithered into view.
If a snake could roll her eyes, Harry bet she would. He and Nagini were sort of like friends to an extent. He respected her, she respected him. She was also supposedly his babysitter, really she just made sure he didn't blow anything up, "You're present is by the fireplace."
Harry immediately dashed towards the living room, "Thanks Nagini!" he said as he left. He ran into the room, sitting by the fire was a round light brown colored object. It was a bit larger than Harry's head. Picking it up Harry examined it closer, unless he was wrong, it was a hungarian horntail egg! The Dark Lord was going to trust him to raise a dragon?
Suddenly, Harry saw the fire brighten up, turning green and dispensing a man, The man had long greasy-black hair, and a long nose and grumpy-looking face. Harry looked at his arm and saw a dark mark. What was a Death Eater doing here? The only ones who knew the name the Dark Lord used for his floo was his Inner Circle and Harry. The man hadn't noticed Harry yet, so Harry quickly disguised his surprise beneath a cold mask, pulled out his wand, and hid the egg.
The man had (finally) noticed Harry standing there glaring at him, "Who're you?" the man snapped. Harry rolled his eyes, if this man knew, he wouldn't be so snappy. Harry smirked at him. Harry noticed Nagini coming into the room.
"Oh… that'ssss not good… Harry, that is Severus Snape, guess you had to end up meeting someone in the Inner Circle at some point." Nagini hissed.
"Hello, Severus Snape," Harry said, he knew that Severus was a master legilimens. Luckily, the Dark Lord had taught Harry occlumency himself, so even looking into Severus's eyes he knew he couldn't read his mind.
Severus inwardly shivered, the boy in front of him was undoubtedly the one who had been murdering so many Order members. Looking into his eyes, Severus found strong occlumency barriers. The boy's eyes were the exact same color as the killing curse, and his hair was about as long as the Dark Lord's. His hair was slightly messy, and was like a void, it was wispy and didn't shine at all in the light. Severus had no doubt this boy was the Dark Lord's son now. Other than the fact the boy was in the Dark Lord's manor, he also resembled the Dark Lord greatly.
"How do you know my name?" Severus asked. Then he immediately realized how stupid that was, if the boy hadn't know his name before, he was pretty sure Nagini had told the boy. After all, the Dark Lord was a parseltongue, so why wouldn't his son be?
"Nagini told me," the boy said, "Are you looking for my father?" he asked.
Severus noted the wand held in the boy's hand, it was obvious the boy was adept with using it as well, "Yes, I just came to tell him that the large cage he ordered to have built in the forest was done."
"Sweet!" The boy exclaimed, smiling, "Uh, I mean, good," the boy corrected himself, reminding Severus that while he was the Dark Lord's son, he was still likely only about six.
"Well, I'll be going now, be sure to tell him," Serverus said awkwardly, stepping back into the fire.
"Well that was interesting," Harry told Nagini, "I should probably tell the Dark Lord that happened shouldn't I?"
"Tell me what happened?" The Dark Lord asked, he'd just gotten back from punishing one of the Outer Circle Death Eaters.
Harry looked at him, "While I was looking at my egg, one of your Inner Circle Death Eaters flooed in, Severus Snape. He told me to tell you that the cage you ordered to be built in the forest was complete," Harry told him, hopefully the Dark Lord wouldn't be too upset. Anyways, it might be better if the Inner Circle found out about him anyways.
"Well, it was bound to happen, tomorrow we'll reveal you to the rest of the Inner Circle, you're egg should hatch either today or tomorrow as well. For the dragon, it will be entirely your responsibility. If it causes any damage to this house that you do not repair it's dead. Understand?" the Dark Lord warned.
"Yes sir," Harry agreed, then he ran off to his room again. He'd also gotten a day off of lessons for Christmas, so he wasn't sure what to do, since normally he had something he should have been doing.
Setting his egg on the bed, he cast a decently strong heating charm on it. Then he pulled out a book on wards. Apparently there was a type of magic you could learn to avoid wards, but it had to be imprinted on a still developing magical core, luckily, that's exactly what Harry had. It made it so you simply didn't exist to the wards. Eh, why not! Harry decided. The book said that the technique was rarely used and side effects were possible, although none had been proved to happen before. All it required was a cut and casting a spell while his wand was partially inside the cut. The incantation was Torris Furtivus. Harry glanced at the egg, he had enough time. 'Parva Sectis' He thought, pointing to his hand. A tiny cut appeared, just big enough for the tip of his wand. Wincing slightly, Harry pushed his wand into the cut, his instincts screaming at him to pull it out. It was in about a cm when Harry decided it was deep enough.
"Torris Furtivus" Harry said, watching as the tip of his wand glowed suddenly a burning sensation burst into his arm, gasping, Harry dropped his wand. Luckily, the spell was already active. The burning sensation spread throughout his whole body, reminding Harry of the Cruciatus, which the Dark Lord had used on him once when he was being rude, and of course when he used it when they first met. Quickly, Harry grabbed his wand, casting the best silencing spell he could.
When the book said the pain was extreme, Harry had assumed it couldn't be worse than the cruciatus, but it had long since passed that amount. Harry knew he'd need a potion to fix his vocal cords. It felt like days had passed, all Harry knew was pain, a burning extreme. Luckily, the book said the magic coursing through his blood protected him from going insane. Eventually, Harry fainted.
Splash! Harry sat up quickly, the Dark Lord was standing over him, wand raised, an annoyed look on his face, "Uhm, hi?" Harry said weakly, his voice still a bit weak.
"What'd you do?" the Dark Lord asked, raising an eyebrow at Harry's cut hand and blood-tipped wand. Oh and also at his glowing eyes, which pretty much finished the whole looks-like-the-killing-curse thing.
"I, uh, I read in a ward book about a ritual that would make wards directed against individuals useless against me, it said pain was involved, it hurt a bit," Harry told him. He really hoped the Dark Lord didn't Cruciatus him, though he was certain he would and that it wouldn't hurt at all compared to what he'd just experienced.
"Well that's interesting, and you know that I'm going to punish you for doing something stupid again," the Dark Lord told him, with a quick time check, Harry realized he was supposed to be meeting the Inner Circle soon. Harry nodded, "Crucio!" Voldemort said.
Harry didn't even try to scream, he just stood there as he felt the pain wracked through his body, the only way one could tell he was in pain was his eyes and slightly tensed form. the Dark Lord raised an eyebrow, Harry barely even seemed bothered by one of the most powerful known torture curses. After at least ten minutes of them simply standing there, the Dark Lord canceled the curse.
"Get dressed, we're leaving in ten minutes," he told Harry. Harry nodded.
The Dark Lord obviously knew the book and the ritual Harry had done, he just hadn't realized some of the side effects it seemed to have. He pulled out the floo powder by the fire, waiting for Harry to come down. He had decided that Harry would simply be referred to as the Dark Prince or the Dark Assassin.
Eventually, Harry came down in a black cloak. The Dark Lord grabbed a handful of floo powder, and handed Harry the black goblet holding the floo powder and a silver mask. The silver mask had a cold expression, with a small barely noticeable smirk. Harry's eyes glowed underneath the mask, making the look a lot more frightening. Then the Dark Lord stepped into the fireplace, shouting their destination. Harry soon followed.
They both stepped out of the floo calmly as if it didn't feel like they'd just been shot out of a cannon. Harry looked around. To the right, he saw a moderately tall Death Eater standing by the door. A little bit of pale blonde hair could be seen on the side of his or her face. Harry guessed it was a he, because the Dark Lord said Bellatrix was his only female Inner Circle member. The man didn't look like he was too surprised to see them. He immediately kneeled when he saw the Dark Lord.
"Rise, alert the others of the Inner Circle of my arrival," The Dark Lord ordered.
"Yes my Lord," the Death Eater said, disapparating away.
A few minutes later five Death Eaters appeared, one being the one that was there before, they immediately kneeled. Harry made note that Severus Snape was among them, and he saw a woman whom he assumed to be Bellatrix Lestrange.
"Rise, I have called you because I have decided it is time to introduce you to my son. He is my heir and will be treated with the same respect as I, he is the Dark Prince," the Dark Lord put his hand on Harry's shoulder.
They both knew that it would be better if they were thought of as a family although Harry was more of a very loyal Death Eater. Harry had only known the Dark Lord for around a year but he was already completely loyal to him. Harry would do anything to serve, short of killing himself. That also set Harry apart, he wasn't a leader, he was more of a loner, but he followed the Dark Lord. Harry looked at the shocked Death Eaters before him, their bone-white masks hiding nothing of their emotions.
Slowly, the Dark Lord pointed to each Death Eater, from left to right, "Lucius Malfoy, he has a son your age named Draco," He pointed to the blonde man, who looked surprised that Harry was the same age as his son, "Nott, also father to a son around your age named Theodore. Rodolphus Lestrange, husband of Bellatrix Lestrange. Bellatrix Lestrange, one of my most trusted Death Eaters, she also has a thing for torture. Lastly, Severus Snape, he is also a very trusted Death Eater, and is a Potions Professor in Hogwarts," The Dark Lord introduced them, each bowing a little in return.
Then there was a bit of an awkward silence, then Bellatrix looked at Harry, "My lord, could the Dark Prince give us the honor of joining on the raid coming up? It would seem proper that your son would come with us for the first raid we've had in seven years," she asked.
The Dark Lord paused for a moment, "Very well, he will join you, should anyone ask, you have permission to tell them, provided they're a Death Eater of course," he paused for a moment, "Since that's all, you are dismissed."
After they had flooed back to Riddle Manor, Harry turned to the Dark Lord, "When is the raid?" he asked.
"It has been decided to be on the day I was 'killed', almost a year from now," he told him.
"Cool!" Harry said, then he went upstairs to his room.
In the center of the room, the egg was sitting, just as Harry walked in, he thought he saw it wiggle a bit. Immediately, he dashed over and sat on the bed next to it. A tiny crack appeared on the shell as a dusty-brown beak broke through. Slowly, the beak pulled back and pushed again, the cracks spreading over the top half of the shell. Then it pulled back again and slammed it's beak at the shell, and Harry watched as the tiny spiked dragon burst out of its shell and landed in his lap.
"Hello little dragon," Harry said, looking down at it. The little dragon looked up at him with two big hazel-colored eyes, then nipped his finger playfully, drawing a bit of blood.
"Ow! Bad dragon!" Harry snapped, sucking on his finger. Then he watched before his eyes as the baby dragon's eyes turned bright red and his scales became midnight black, "Woah! Did you just do what I think you did hatchling?" Harry asked, the dragon nodded, it's eyes sparkling happily.
"Well then, I better give you a name, how about Goliath?" Harry asked, the dragon let out a cat-like purr, curling up on his lap. "I've never heard of a person having a blood bond with a dragon, guess we'll see what happens, hm Goliath?" He asked affectionately, he was certain that his attachment to the cute dragonling was because of the blood bond, but he didn't care.
Goliath had fallen asleep, so Harry gently set him on his bed, casting a slight warming charm. Then he stood up, he'd better get some food for the little dragon. Walking into the kitchen, Harry poured some milk into a glass, then transfigured the mouth to be smaller, warmed the milk, and made it so it held more than it appeared to. Now it somewhat resembled a baby bottle, although Harry wasn't particularly talented at transfiguration. Walking back up the stairs, Harry cast a quick tempus, seeing that it was only ten minutes before his training session with the Dark Lord started.
He dashed up the stairs. Goliath was still curled up on the bed, "Goliath" Harry whispered, immediately Goliath's eyes snapped open, "I got some milk for you to drink," Harry told him, then Goliath launched himself at the glass bottle, chugging more than Harry would have thought possible for such a small dragon, maybe the little dragon had an expansion charm on his stomach. Harry knew that was impossible, but it was fun thinking it. Anyways, the books he'd read said baby dragons grew extremely fast, and their size depended on their type of dragon, chance, and how much food they had access to. Apparently dragons had excellent digestive systems.
Thinking about digestion, Harry quickly pulled out a box and transfigured a bed sheet into sand to make a litterbox of a sort, "Goliath, don't poop all over my room, only in that box, okay?" Harry asked, the dragon huffed and nodded.
"Then I need to get going, if you need more to eat, ask Friz, Friz, if Goliath looks hungry, make sure he's well fed," Harry ordered the house elf, then hurried down the stairs to the library where his father was waiting.
"Today we're going to start your training with the unforgivables," the Dark Lord told him.
-=Order of the Phoenix Headquarters=-
James, Lily, and Sirius watched as Severus walked in, his normally grumpy face was replaced by a look of complete horror. Now don't get him wrong, he hated Snivellus, but if he was scared, it was for a reason.
"What's wrong?" Dumbledore asked, having entered moments later, he was likely the only person who didn't really want Severus to be unhappy.
"It's… the Dark Prince. I was right, the Dark Lord has a son, and his son isn't any better than his father, if anything, he's worse," Severus told them.
"Why? What'd he do?" Lily asked.
"Nothing, it's just. He looks terrifying, and reeks of Dark Magic. His eyes, they glow the color of death. If ever one could depict the image of death, of death's human form, he'd be it. His hair is the color of shadows, it looks like it's made of shadows," Severus said.
"Would you say he had eyes of death more so than the Dark Lord?" Dumbledore said, a worrying and contemplative look on his face.
"Yes, why do you ask?" Severus asked.
"A prophecy I heard, a little over a year ago, it spoke of a Dark Lord rising, with eyes of death and soul of black. I assumed it meant Voldemort was back, but maybe not so," Dumbledore told them, everyone flinched at the name of the Dark Lord.
"Another Dark Lord? Also, I don't understand, I mean, what could be so frightening about a boy's appearance?" Sirius asked.
"It's… impossible to describe, I can show you the memory, if you would like," Severus responded, seeming to forget his hate of Sirius.
Everyone was a tad shocked, but agreed nonetheless, and so Severus pulled out the memory and put it into the pensieve.
AN Boom! Two chapters in one day! Beat that! Next chapter will be Harry going on a raid. Also, Harry won't ever own Hedwig in this fic, his familiar is instead Goliath. Not really sure what else to put in this chapter. This story is going to have a still extremely corrupt Ministry, so that if Dumbledore tries to prove Harry is the Dark Lord's son, everyone will fail to believe him except for Order members. So, yeah!
-Ariana Flynn Riddle