A/N:
I apologize for the long absence (as of Apr., 2018). A lot unpleasant (to say the least) stuff had happened. A brief note is on my LJ, if anyone's interested.
I am finally back to writing, though the writing style and mood could have changed a bit, due to circumstances.
I have couple of more chapters of MoD, but still try to polish them to my liking - seems like I've lost some of my writing skills along the way, too, or just became more critical towards my own texts. Some of you may even find the boundary, dividing the part of this chapter, which had been written last Autumn, from the part, which I wrote just recently.
You can expect two-three more chapters in the near future. Right now I am in the middle of writing chapter 13, and rewriting 11th and 12th. .
In addition, I am meaning to post the beginning of at least one (or maybe even two) new tomarry (or harrymort) stories.
And also I'm planning a special treat for readers of MoD ;-p Though firstly, I need to check again if the rules of the archive will allow me to do it the way I want.
Stay tuned! :-)
Your reviews are always welcome, and now even more then ever before! 3 3 3
"Any instructions I should follow at dinner?" Harry asked on their way towards the dinner hall.
Tom shook his head minutely.
"Just the usual. Don't provoke anyone. Ah, I almost forgot. Here," Tom held out his wand, carefully holding it by the tip. "As we discussed. I don't want you without a wand when among my people. Even the Inner Circle. I'll take Lucius'."
Harry frowned, but nevertheless took the Dark Lord's wand, although reluctantly.
"I don't think I need to ask if it will obey me," he grumbled. "We just recently discovered it will. And gladly." He huffed and pursed his lips. "Why are you so sure Malfoy would share? Doesn't he need it, too?"
"Not my problem," the Dark Lord grumbled. "He can wield a fork for all I care," he snorted. "Or go buy new one right after dinner," he shrugged, but stopped in mid-motion, wincing slightly. "Bloody vamps," Tom grunted under his nose. "Remind me to thank Avery for this," he asked.
"I don't think I will," Harry replied teasingly. "I might just forget it, you now, if you plan to grant him your regal Crucio."
"He still mucked up," Tom grumbled, "so he needs to be punished."
"I don't recall you've said anything about Crucio on the menu for these dinners," Harry retorted. "As I understood they should be more of a friendly social affair, not another Death Eater meeting."
"You're right," Tom sighed. "Here we are," he motioned towards double doors they came to. "Don't hesitate to ask for anything you need. There will be several of my people serving us, and you can always ask myself, of course." He pushed the doors open and strolled inside in sure steps.
'You are not going to use a glamour?' Harry inquired mentally.
'These people know my human form, there's no need.' Tom went along the big table to its end where two throne-like chairs were standing. 'You will sit with me, Harry.' His mental tone held no room for argument, not that Harry was going to protest anyway.
Again, like Tom did during the lunch with werewolves, he took out the chair for Harry before taking his own place at the table.
The Dark Lord gave a sign to one of the several masked Death Eaters, acting as servants, urging them to bring food and drinks for everyone still sitting in front of the empty plates, even after forty minutes from the official start of the dinner.
About five minutes passed in silence. Despite the fact that the food had finally been served, no one touched their cutlery, before the Dark Lord took the first bite, washing it down with a sip from his cup.
"Lucius, do you have your wand with you?" the Dark Lord inquired in a low voice.
"Naturally, my Lord," Lucius replied with a polite nod.
"I shall borrow it then," holding out his hand, with his palm up, towards Malfoy, said the Dark Lord.
Lucius took out the wand and, holding it by the tip and handle with both hands, gave it to Voldemort with a slight bow.
"Thank you, my friend," Voldemort purred, taking his wand and lightly swishing it to test the magic. A silvery strand of smoke appeared at the tip and flew towards one of the men, sitting nearby. "Avery, how's your leg?" the Dark Lord inquired with polite interest.
"I am good, my Lord, thank you," responded the man with gray shoulder-length hair, nodding. "Our Healer did a splendid work on it."
"Ah, the Healer. You didn't mean Algernon, I suppose?" the Dark Lord raised a brow. "I heard he was called to the Ministry."
"No, my Lord. I met with the Healer Rudy, she was most helpful, thanks to her wast knowledge and experience with magically inflicted wounds," Avery clarified.
"Theophil, I see you've finally brought your son with you?" Voldemort switched his attention to another man at the table. "I recall we discussed him joining the ranks in near future, right?"
"Yes, my Lord. Please, meet my son, Theodore."
Harry looked at the only young man at the table with surprise, recognition dawning on him at the sight: Theodore Nott was from Harry's year at Hogwarts. Harry remembered seeing him with Malfoy Jr. several times, so the lad must be from Slytherin, he mused.
"Welcome, young Theodore," the Dark Lord murmured suavely. "How do you fare?"
"Thank you for asking, my Lord," the boy replied without a hint of trepidation or fear in his voice or on his face. "I am most certainly good. I must express my sincere gratitude for your help to my godfather, Christophe, my Lord. If not for your timely interference he would have become vampires' dinner, for sure," Nott Jr. lowered his head in a deep bow.
"No need, Theodore, no need," the Dark Lord made a gesture of dismissal with his hand. "I would do the same for anyone in this room, naturally. You're all dear to me, my friends," he purred with a sweet smile. "I have a special personal request for you, boy," the Dark Lord raised a brow, as if asking if Nott Jr. would help him or not, though it was clear for everyone, that there was no room for denial to his so-called "request", as Voldemort's tone really implied an ulterior order.
"I am at your service, my Lord," Theodore responded in kind.
"What do you think of him, Harry?" suddenly switching to Parseltongue, asked Voldemort. "Will he suffice?"
"Will you mark him?" Harry inquired with a hint of interest to his tone.
"I may."
"And if I asked not to?"
"Then he shall remain unmarked," the Dark Lord responded curtly. "It could be useful though."
"No. I have three other Knights bearing your Mark. That's more than enough, I think."
"We'll discuss it at length later," the Dark Lord concluded.
When Voldemort and Harry began to talk in snake-language, everyone around them stopped chatting even in hushed voices, attentively listening on, probably trying to catch some familiar-sounding words or names.
'Do you think they are scared?' Harry asked amused, when noticing the tense silence around the table.
'Might be. I suggest you choose couple other Knights, while we're at it. Severus will leave for Hogwarts shortly and Lucius should attend Ministry more often, too. This leaves only Barty.'
'What about this Avery guy? Does he have some exclusive tasks currently? And Theo's dad looks cool, too.' During their mental conversation, Harry searched the faces of people around the table with an apprising look. 'That guy with scraped face also feels like a powerful wizard.'
"Rookwood. Algie's uncle. He helped with his promotion to become the Unspeakables' advisor and was one himself in his early years. Avery's partner."
"Partner? As in 'sex-partner', I get it?" with curiosity Harry spared brief glances to both men in turn.
'Right. Though I find it repulsive, frankly speaking. Augustus was madly in love with Avery's father from their days at school and till his death,' the Dark Lord explained. 'Then he transferred his desire to the son.'
'Says the man who fucked his own supposed killer, who is more than three times younger,' Harry remarked snidely. 'Judge not, that ye be not judged.' Harry smirked, feeling the wave of annoyance through the mental link.
'You're too well-versed in Muggle cliches,' the Dark Lord grumbled mentally, then turned towards the rest of the people at the table.
"Theophil, Theodore, Augustus, Christophe, I have a personal request for you," the Dark Lord spoke calmly.
The men, whose names were called out, straightened their backs and then bowed to their leader.
'Talk to them, Harry,' Tom suggested. 'They need to understand who will be in charge of their lives from this moment on.' Then he continued verbally, "Actually, Harry here has a request for you all." Tom made an inviting gesture to Harry.
"Gentlemen, honestly speaking, I just sense that your magic is very strong. And I need several strong wizards at my side. So I want to offer you a special post of sorts. You shall be my Knights," Harry noticed a fond smile appearing uninvited at the faces of the older men, when they heard the familiar title. 'Should I tell the reason?' Harry threw a brief glance at Voldemort.
'As you wish,' came the nonchalant reply.
"Maybe some of you already heard of this news, but – " Harry gulped nervously, sending another glance at Tom, "I am pregnant with the heirs of your Lord. Hence I need several wizards with enough magic to support the babies during my pregnancy." Harry tried hard not to look at young Nott, who surely should be gaping now, hearing all this. "I don't order you anything, you're free to decline with no consequences. If you agree, you shall become a special squad, answering directly to me. Those of you not bearing the Mark shall not receive it, either, unless it is your wish, of course. You don't need to answer right now. I still have Severus, Lucius and Barty in reserve, just in case," Harry let out a small smile, remembering Voldemort's speech during the lunch with werewolves. "I suppose you'd like to talk to them, before deciding. I stress again, this is not an order, but my personal request. The Dark Lord has no say in this," he sent a warning glance towards Voldemort, who sat with impassive expression, which was almost successfully hiding a satisfactory glint in his eyes. 'You gave me cart-blanche yourself, so – '
'No, no, I am good,' with a pleased mental smile purred Tom. 'Go ahead.'
'Had it turned you on?' Harry snorted amused, then returned his attention towards the potential Knights. "I won't put a time limit, but I suggest not to drag the decision on for too long. Impatience is not an exclusive trait of the Dark Lord only," Harry smirked with a glimpse of an indecipherable emotion in his eyes. "Oh, and Augustus, you may speak with your nephew, as well. Algie became my personal Healer just recently," he winked at Augustus and lowered his eyes towards his plate in a clear sign of dismissal. 'How did I manage? Did I scared them, too?' he asked mentally.
'Probably. You've certainly surprised them,' the Dark Lord's smirk was obvious in his mental voice. 'Poor Theodore almost choked to death on his steak, when hearingabout the babies.'
Harry tried to suppress the one-sided smirk, threatening to appear at his lips at that.
"Theodore, how's summer hols?" Harry asked nonchalantly, just to unnerve the young man more.
Nott Jr. startled at hearing his name from Harry's mouth.
"Uhm, well. I guess," he said carefully. "Don't suppose I should ask you this same question, though" he mumbled.
Harry giggled.
"Don't, please. You might hear something you're not ready for, yet," Harry let out a bark of laugh. "Too eventful, I fear."
Theodore nodded jerkily.
Harry looked at the other men around him.
"Barty, had you searched for that book I asked?" Harry raised a brow at the Death Eater. Barty shook his head.
"No, my Lord Petite Mort," with a slight smile responded Barty.
Harry winced.
"Lucius, you sure have big mouth, when it benefits you," Harry grunted.
Lucius tried to smile at that, but his amusement was strained.
"Pardon me, my Lord, I didn't mean to offend – "
"Leave it be, Lucy," Harry drawled, showing his teeth in a nasty smirk, which became even wider, when he saw Malfoy wince at his pet name, invented by Harry with a help of Snape. "If not you, then it might be Algie himself who told everyone of his favorite joke of the Dark Lord," he shot a glare towards Tom. "Besides, I don't mind. Got used to it already," Harry waved his hand dismissively. "Pass the tea-pot, will you?" Harry pointed to the item in question innocently with Voldemort's wand, drawing several thoroughly suppressed gasps from those around the table who recognized the wand. "My magic is wonky these days, don't want to spill the tea all over the table."
Malfoy curtly complied.
Grimmauld Place, 12
"Ron, I need to talk to you. It's important!" Ron was roughly yanked by his shoulder and dragged to a tight space under the stairs of the Black House at Grimmauld Place, 12. Ron turned around to yell at his sister, because only she could be that brave as to drag him around the place by his limbs and get away with only harsh words from Ron, who was usually just rude to everyone, his elder brothers and parents included.
"What is it, 'Mione?" Well, here was another girl, to whom he was polite, or as polite as he could be, at least. But that was only, because he still hoped to date her some day, so Ron always tried his best with Hermione.
"No need to be so hopeful, Ronald! It's about Harry – Come to think of it, Ginny needs to hear this, too, so go find her and bring to the attic, so we wouldn't be overheard."
"Fine," Ron grumbled reluctantly. Despite Ginny being his younger sister, sometimes he thought that it was him, who was the youngest in their family, as Ginny was bossy with him the most of all their brothers.
Hermione let out exasperated sigh, pushing her friend in the back towards the door.
"I think, I saw her outside. And make it quick, please, we don't have much time!" she urged.
Almost half an hour later Hermione was impatiently pacing the small space of the attic at the very top of the Black house, nervously fidgeting with stuff in her charmed purse every now and then, trying to organize all the books and necessities there, but actually making more chaos than bringing them into order.
"At last!" she cried out softly, seeing two youngest Weasleys finally entering the cluttered room, quietly bickering on their way.
"What is so urgent, Hermione?" Ginny asked gloomily. "Ron said, you know where is Harry – " she trailed off, her eyes lit with hope.
"No, Ginny," seeing Ginny's face falling, Hermione quickly corrected herself, "not yet."
"Ron!" Ginny raised her voice in anger. "You've said – "
"Be quiet, Ginny," Hermione whispered. "If we're overheard – "
"What does it matter? If it's some stupid nonsense, I am not listening!"
"Merlin's beard, girl! It is really important!" despite her annoyance, Hermione nevertheless managed to shout at Ginny in a whispering tone. "Harry really needs our help right now! He is somewhere out there all alone, and can not come back here, because he had very serious argument with Dumbledore the last time he came. Honestly, I am not fond of breaking the rules in general, but glad, that I overheard, when the Headmaster was talking to Kingsley. I am not sure, what got into him, but Dumbledore ordered to catch Harry. Like some criminal! With Stupefy and such! Kingsley tried to argue, but the Headmaster didn't listen to him! I don't know where is Harry, but we need to warn him! I am thinking to leave the house to go help him. I thought you need to know." Letting all this out in one breath, Hermione visibly deflated. "I don't have the right to ask you both to go with me, it can be dangerous. Though with Headmaster acting like he is, well, this place is not totally safe either, I suppose. So – "
"Mione, you are out of your mind!" despite the degrading comment the tone in which Ron has issued it betrayed his admiration. "You overheard Dumbledore!" he shook his head in disbelief. "And are going to escape from here," bright smile threatened to split Ron's face in half. "Noway I am going to let you go, you know," he added smugly. "Alone, I mean. I'm going with you!"
"Ron!" Hermione's eyes filled with tears. "I – Thank you!" Her lips trembled. She made a step towards Ron.
"Please, spare me your sappy hugs," Ginny grumbled. "This all is nice and well, but you're right. Harry needs to know, he needs our help. And I am coming, too! And don't you dare start, Ron!" she put her finger in her brother's face, seeing him opening his mouth to shout at her. "I have grown up! I want to help my Harry! Especially, since he – he – " she let out a dry sob and shook her head, bringing a hand to her mouth to held in the sounds of her own crying.
Hermione enveloped her in a loose embrace, patting her back gently.
"Sh-sh, I know, I heard them, when he had been here. I heard about the pre-pregnancy," Hermione sniffed, too. "I get it, that you had listened on as well. We can cry about this later," she stepped back and tried to collect herself, "but now we need plans. Preparations. Then we'll move on with them and leave, all three of us. Just promise me something first, Gin?" She looked at the younger girl sternly.
"Yeah?" Ginny squinted her eyes in suspicion.
"You have grown up alright, I see that. I don't have the right to stop you from coming for Harry. But this situation is very dangerous. Sometimes there could simply be no time or room for arguments, so – "
"I understand, 'Mione. I will try not to be a bother," Ginny gave her a watery smile, "I know, I can be a real pain in the ass sometimes, especially, when it comes to the one Harry Potter."
"Good!" Hermione beamed at her. "And now let's plan!"
Three friends moved closer to each other and began discussing their plans in hushed voices.
They never noticed dark shadow, roughly resembling a human figure, which moved closer to them from one of the corners of the attic seemingly of its own accord.
Dark mansion
The rest of the dinner with the Inner Circle came by rather peacefully, with Harry quietly conversing with either Snape, Lucius or Barty, who were sitting close to his end of the table. The Dark Lord mostly kept to himself, sparing only occasional glances at his followers, while calmly eating and helping Harry once in while to get salt, tea or sauce, when the boy asked him – sometimes aloud, other times inside their minds, just to test his newly found ability.
After the dinner ended, one of the Death Eaters came up to Harry and Tom's end of the table.
"My Lord," he bowed his head.
"What is it, Yaxley? If you want to say again that you haven't found anything, you could have just jumped out of the window and spared me your pointless report," the Dark Lord warned with a frown.
Yaxley ran a nervously trembling hand through his hair, and nodded resentfully, after briefly glancing towards the window the Dark Lord hinted at.
"It's Crucio, Yaxley," the Dark Lord drawled almost lazily, slowly fingering the newly acquired wand, while raising it at a firing level. "Or do you wish to say something else?"
"No, My Lord," Yaxley gulped loudly. "We checked every inch of the mansion and grounds. Dungeons. Even the woods outside the boundary. The wand is nowhere to be seen."
Voldemort let out a dramatic sigh, as if tired, but instead of issuing the Torture Curse, suddenly winced, as if from a sudden migraine, and turned to Harry, who seemed to be immersed into making yet another three Sickles bet with Barty. The Dark Lord's annoyance was clearly written over his face, but no angry words came out of his mouth. He simply waived a hand in dismissal towards Yaxley and stepped closer to Harry.
"You know, it's very annoying!" Voldemort grumbled, "I was going to rightfully punish Yaxley – it's about your wand, by the way! And here you are, singing this silly tune inside my mind," he said through gritted teeth, his anger rising.
"It looks, like it is you, who bears our children, not me," Harry observed calmly. "Those mood swings of yours -"
Tom just wordlessly growled at him. Harry shrugged nonchalantly.
"You can make a scene right here, or we can go talk in private," he supplied, before leaving silently fuming Tom and going to the exit from the dining hall.
Grating his teeth with such force, that those, who stood nearby, shuddered at the sound, and sending death glares to no one in particular, the Dark Lord followed him.
"You do realise, how it looked like, right?" Tom grunted, entering their rooms after Harry.
"Like I have you under my thumb?" snorted Harry. "Consider it your punishment for earlier," Harry gave Tom a toothy grin. "And now we can talk!" he announced merrily.
"Talk?" echoed Tom. "About what?" his mood still remained gloomy. "What has gotten into you?"
"I am perfectly fine! That's you, who are brooding!" Harry let out a short laugh. "Even though just recently you have been on the cloud nine hearing me ordering your minions around!" He raised his brows suggestively.
"I was not," Tom protested weakly, but a suave smile, which was gradually growing on his lips, betrayed him.
"And now you are sounding like a five year old!" Harry snickered. "Okay, back to business. I was just thinking – When I saw Theodore at dinner, I remembered something. Hogwarts! I want to attend it – Wait, don't start yet, hear me out first!" Harry held up a hand with his palm turned towards silently fuming Tom, "Algie is coming soon, we will hear what he says of my health first, of course. And don't worry, I perfectly remember, he'd said earlier, that we need to stay close to each other for the first trimester. Considering all that's happened, I'd make it four months, not three, so it should be safe maybe, like, in November."
"Harry – "
"I miss my friends, Tom," Harry made puppy eyes at him. "And I want to finish my education somehow – "
"Harry, it is absolutely not safe there, right under Dumbledore's nose, out in the open, among wild teenagers!"
"Tom, I am sure we can arrange something – "
"Like private tutors here, for example?" acidly suggested Tom.
"Your minions are even stupider, than first years!"
"More stupid," Tom interjected.
"Oh, so you agree!"
"It should be 'more stupid', not 'stupider'," Tom clarified.
"And what of my friends? I said already, I miss them!"
"Just moments ago I saw how you sniggered with Barty over some nonsense and laughed with Snape at the face Lucius made hearing the nickname you two have invented for him." Tom smiled almost fondly.
"Tom, they are adults, hell, they are your servants with their own tasks, they can't be around all the time!"
"You acquired new Knights just now, who, thanks to your insolence, are tasked exclusively with keeping you healthy and entertained! Are they not enough?"
"Tom, no! Don't you have friends – Oh, who am I asking? You don't, right? That's why you're so uptight all the time!"
"Harry!" Tom said in warning. "You're walking on thin ice – "
"Don't start, you!" Harry pointed his finger in Tom's face. "If your nose is too high in the sky, that doesn't mean others can't have friends!"
"Potter, don't provoke me!" Tom growled through gritted teeth, tightly clutching his wand in the white-knuckled trembling fist, but not raising it against Harry yet.
"You know, you can simply say, that you don't want me to leave," Harry suddenly said calmly and stepped closer, his chest going in contact with the tip of half-raised wand, head held high and cool green eyes locked with Tom's furiously sparkling red ones. "That doesn't mean that I comply, though," he smiled softly. "I still miss my friends and the only place that I had ever called home – before now, I mean. Because now my only home is where my children can be safe. Under your roof." He slowly raised on the tips of his toes and reached Tom's lips with his own in a plain kiss.
Tom stood there, dumbfound, not answering the kiss, but not moving away either, continuing to stare into Harry's eyes. His hand dropped to the side, wand clattering on the floor under their feet.
Before the kiss could become more heated though, Harry drew off with a soft sigh.
"Like you said earlier, we are not iron-made, Tom," he murmured quietly, putting a hand on Tom's chest in attempt to stall him.
Tom flinched at the touch, the ghost of his pain from still not fully healed wounds easily sliding through their firmly established mind link to Harry.
"Oh, sorry," Harry mumbled embarrassed, removing the hand, "I didn't mean to – "
"That's okay," Tom responded in low whisper, taking Harry's wrist in an almost painful grip, bringing it back to his own chest and putting it over his heart with force.
They both shuddered.
"Tom," Harry's warning was drowned by Tom's loud sigh, his breath touching Harry's lips in a glimpse of a kiss. Tom put his other hand on Harry's back and brought him closer roughly, squeezing in a tight embrace.
"Tom, stop!" Harry finally said firmly.
Tom didn't move away from him, only dropping his forehead on Harry's shoulder and breathing heavily somewhere into his neck, never releasing his grip on Harry's back and wrist.
"I am loosing my head with you," Tom murmured softly between heavy breaths, nails of his hand on Harry's back digging into the boy's skin even through layers of clothing from the force, with which Tom hugged him.
"Are you drunk again?" Harry tried for the lighter tone, but failed, his voice laced with worry. He wanted to finish this conversation, not to wrestle drunken, sex-driven Dark Lord again.
"If you haven't noticed, there was only water in my glass during dinner," Tom grumbled, finally stepping away from him and looking into Harry's face again. "Or did you hope for the opposite?" he frowned, not understanding neither his own feeling, nor Harry's emotions on the matter.
Harry sighed and moved to sit in the chair. It looked like they won't be returning to the discussion about Hogwarts any time soon.
"Tom, I suggest we make a deal. When we want something from each other – we talk. And not suppose something on our own silently, but hear each other out and arrange something together to solve a problem. How do you like that?"
"I don't," Tom grunted. "I don't talk over things, I order them."
Harry rolled his eyes at him.
"I am not your servant. Nor I am your enemy any more. Either we are truly equals, or I am leaving right now and you can sod off. Don't look for me closer than Australia in such case," Harry pursed his lips and raised his eyebrows in provocation.
Tom shook his head.
"You are not going anywhere, while you are bearing my children. Come to think of it, even after giving birth I won't let you leave. And that's final. We will not argue over this, talk or else."
With this Tom turned on his heels and went to the bathroom, loudly slumming the door shut. Seconds later Harry heard a sound of glass shattering and a muffled cry of outrage in there. He didn't move an inch from where he sat in the chair. He'd let Tom went his anger out, and then they still were going to talk, Harry decided.