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Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, or anything related to the Harry Potter universe.
"speech"
'thoughts'
-parseltongue-
Harry darted a glance at Voldemort, then turned back to the new wand. The man probably didn't believe that he'd have to do any work, and was now learning that it wouldn't be free. Harry knew he was being used but he'd be damned if he let Voldemort have his way with no effort.
"Can we meet in about 15 minutes in the front entryway? I just need to gather some supplies from my room," he asked.
Voldemort focused on him again and nodded. "If you insist on this - visit," he paused and continued after Harry nodded firmly, "I'll stop by my office and prepare to depart." With that he apparated out of the room.
Harry clicked his teeth but hurried to put the wand away. He couldn't apparate due to Voldemort's wards so it would take half the time just to get to his room from the workroom. He set a quick pace down the hall and back to his room, but paused in front of his father's suite which was next to his own.
"Father? May I come in?" he asked, knocking gently on the door.
There was no response, but he slowly turned the knob and entered. The front sitting room was empty but Harry continued inside. The suite was identical to his own so the bedroom and bathroom were the only other rooms to check.
Harry walked behind the loveseat to the rear door which led to the bedroom. It was cracked, and he could see his father's profile staring out of the bay window. The man seemed lost in thought as he sat in the window seat
"Father?" he called quietly, slowly pushing open the door.
The man jumped slightly and turned to his son.
"Are you alright?" Harry asked as he came to stand in front of the man sitting in the window seat.
"I miss our home," Mykrew responded. He returned to staring out towards the manicured lawn, and the edge of the forest beyond that.
"I miss home as well," Harry said. "But at least we're still alive and together."
Mykrew nodded but added nothing else. Harry paused and tried to find something else to say in the deepening silence.
"I'm going with Voldemort to see Sal," Harry volunteered.
"How can you go along with his wishes? We're trapped like birds in a gilded cage," Mykrew exclaimed as he turned again to face his son.
"What else can I do?" Harry countered. "If we do nothing we're as good as dead anyway! At least if I make the wand we might get out of this unharmed." Mykrew fell silent.
"You should come to dinner sometime," Harry added after a moment. "Or at least leave the room once in a while - the library is lovely and I'm sure you'd find something new there. Try to make the best of it, yeah?"
His father nodded again and gave a slight smile. Harry smiled back and left the suite, quickly stopping by his own rooms to gather his cloak and journal. He always carried the book with him when he went outside, just in case he had an idea or wanted to remember something. For this trip he wanted to review his notes on Voldemort while he was looking at wand cores; perhaps this time he'd find the perfect match with his notes and the man himself nearby.
He hurried out of the room and down towards the stairs that led to the main entryway. When he arrived Voldemort was already standing by the large marble fireplace, leaning against it while tapping his foot.
"Sorry about that - I stopped by my father's room," Harry said.
Voldemort sighed but nodded. "Where are we going?" he asked asked impatiently.
"We're traveling to a remote village in central Germany - I'll need to be able to get through the wards to apparate us," he said.
Voldemort raised an eyebrow. "Why don't I apparate us to a city in Germany, and you can lead us to the next location," he offered.
Harry held in a sigh - he had to at least try to get more freedom, even though he knew Voldemort would see through the ruse.
"Hanover would be sufficient, then," Harry answered. With that he stepped closer to Voldemort and took the arm that was offered to him.
He wasn't often this close to the other man, but he always noticed the significant height difference when he was in arm's length; he only reached Voldemort's chest. The man towered towered over him, his height along with his painfully handsome features only added to the intimidation Harry felt. Harry tried to hide it and appeared to be succeeding, but he often wondered what he was even doing, trying to understand someone so powerful. As the clench of apparition came over him, he wondered if he would ever truly know all of the layers that made up the Dark Lord.
They arrived in Hanover, in the main lobby of what seemed to be an upper-class hotel. Harry took in the opulence that surrounded him as well as the smell of fresh flowers and a hint of leather. The room was fairly empty, with a bell-hop levitating the luggage of an older couple as they walked down the hall. The receptionist behind the main counter stared at them in surprise, while the only other person in the lobby - a bored photographer - raised his camera with excitement.
Voldemort pinched his arm and he came back from his daze, apparating away a second after the camera bulb flashed. They appeared a moment later on an empty road on the side of a mountain. Voldemort let go of his arm and rubbed his forehead, sighing.
"You couldn't have apparated any faster? There will most likely be a reporter arriving at the manor tomorrow," he griped.
"Sorry - I wasn't expecting such a location. Do you go there often?" Harry asked curiously. He started walking up the mountain, keeping to the right side of the road.
"I sometimes stay there when I'm traveling through Germany for meetings. It's an adequate establishment," Voldemort answered as he kept pace next to him. "Where are we now?"
"We're near the small town of Lautenthal, which you can just see at the bottom of the mountain," Harry answered. "My supplier likes the peace and isolation of this area, and I guess it's easier to bring illegal goods up here." Voldemort nodded and fell silent as the incline grew steeper.
The road continued upwards but they turned off of it onto a small grassy plateau. There was a partially hidden dirt path that curved around the mountain and into some trees. They could hear sounds of the natural environment more clearly - some birds twittering, and the wind whistling through the leaves of the trees. Harry took a deep breath of the thinning air, focusing and clearing his mind for the upcoming meeting.
At the edge of the trees they reached a strong repelling ward. Passing it revealed a cabin that stood in place of the trees. They made their way to the front door and Harry tapped on it lightly. They weren't waiting long before the door swung open revealing a broad muscular man. He had deep brown eyes and his long black hair was gathered into a simple ponytail.
"...Yes?" he asked gruffly, darting his eyes between Harry and Voldemort.
"Sal!" Harry exclaimed. "It's me, Harvey! C'mon I know you remember me!"
The man paused a bit longer before he started to grin.
"Harvey! How long's it been - two years at least!" he said happily. He pulled Harry into a strong hug, then stepped back a bit, leaving his arm around Harry's shoulders.
"And who's this?" he asked curiously as he stared at Voldemort. Voldemort glared at Sal, but Harry cut in before he could respond harshly.
"Ah sorry - this is Lord Voldemort, a prominent figure in England's political scene. He came with me since he's my new client."
Sal nodded casually to Voldemort, but turned to Harry with a large smile.
"Client?" he asked teasingly. "Don't tell me you've finally started your own wandmaking business!"
"Not really," Harry answered sheepishly. "He's my first client really, I don't have a store yet…"
"If we could come inside, instead of standing on the doorstep like common beggars?" Voldemort cut in coldly.
Harry and Sal stared at Voldemort, before Sal chuckled.
"Where are my manners?" he asked said lightly. "Do come in." He made an extravagant bow, winking at Harry who snorted as he passed. Voldemort silently passed as well, sneering at the dusty cabin. Both side walls were lined with shelves, with a large display counter taking up space in the middle of the room. The only windows were the small squares right next to the door. Overall it appeared shady and unpopular, and Voldemort glanced back at Sal unimpressed. He was ignored as Sal swept past him to catch up to Harry who was examining the shelves lining the left wall.
"So what are we looking for today? Something interesting I hope?" Sal asked Harry, standing close on his right and looking into his face.
"Manticore," Harry responded, raising his eyebrow in challenge.
Sal whistled. "I should have known – going all out, are you? More powerful than he looks," he commented about Voldemort, who had come to stand on Harry's other side.
"You'll find out exactly how powerful if you don't show some respect," Voldemort snapped as he leaned around Harry to glare at Sal.
Harry elbowed Sal in the side, and he shrugged awkwardly. "Yeah okay, sorry," he said grudgingly.
Harry rolled his eyes at Sal and turned to Voldemort.
"Ignore him, he doesn't do well with strangers," Harry said. "But he does have an extremely large stock, so he probably has what I need right?" He directed the last bit to Sal, turning to him earnestly.
"Okay, okay, I do! I think they're in the back," Sal said and walked to the door in the back of the main room.
Harry and Voldemort in what felt like awkward silence as Sal searched his back storeroom. Harry glanced over at Voldemort who was still glaring after Sal. He looked away, shifting slightly.
Soon enough Sal came back with four black jars in his arms. He set them on the counter and gestured the other two over.
"Lucky you - I do have some parts in stock," Sal said, grinning at Harry. Harry grinned back and craned over the jars. Voldemort stood stiffly to the side, watching as Sal bent his head close to Harry's.
"Looks like...tongue...heartstring….teeth, and oh - a stinger!" Harry said excitedly.
He picked up the last jar and turned it around and around in his hands, closing his eyes. Voldemort and Sal both watched as Harry fell silent, standing still as stone. After a moment he turned and held the jar up next to Voldemort, who blinked at him confusedly.
"I think this is the right one…"Harry murmured. He glanced from the jar to Voldemort, seeming to not see either. He half turned to glance back at the other jars, but shook his head.
"This one, please," he said, handing the jar to Sal. Sal nodded and took the jars back to the back room. The wait was less this time, and he came back out with a small black bag.
"And now the part we all hate," Sal said with a sigh. He leaned over the counter with his head propped in his palm and placed the bag in front of him.
"You know how rare these parts are - let's just cut the bullshit. If they were on the market they'd go for at least 5000 galleons, so this is especially hard for me since these are questionable materials. I'll give it to you for 2300, since I like you," he said with a wink.
Harry smiled and also leaned forward, but didn't fall for the speech. "Can you do 2000? I know you've sold similar things to my father for that price…" he called Sal's bluff.
"Hell, I didn't think you'd remember those days," Sal said and scratched the back of his head. "Fine, 2000."
Harry beamed and turned expectantly to Voldemort. The man stared back at him with raised eyebrows, but gave in and pulled his coin bag from an inner pocket.
"You deserve only the best right?" Harry convinced. "This is the best, it's worth it!"
Voldemort ignored Harry's words as he reached into the bag linked to his bank account. After five minutes he had a large stack of galleons on the counter. Sal stared for a moment but pulled a scale from behind the counter and weighed the stack.
"Ok, looks like everything's set. Come back to visit again," he said, coming around the counter.
He handed the bag to Harry, who took it happily. "I'll try," Harry said as they all walked to the front door. "I'll be busy for the next little while, so I don't know when it'll happen." He couldn't tell Sal the truth, so it was better to leave it at that.
Back at the doorstep, Harry turned around and gave Sal one last hug.
"Thanks so much," he whispered into Sal's shoulder. Now wasn't the time to get emotional, but he couldn't help but feel disappointed at returning to Voldemort's manor. It seemed like this would be his last time outside those walls, as surely he couldn't come up with another reason to leave.
Sal held him tightly, with one hand on the back of his head. "Bye Harv, take care," Sal said softly. Harry missed the dark glare Voldemort sent to Sal, or Sal's answering smirk; he was taken by surprise when Voldemort pulled him away roughly. He shot both men a questioning look, but only received a smile and a shrug from Sal. Voldemort was already turning away to head back down the dirt path.
"Let's go, I have things to do," the man ordered over his shoulder.
Harry snorted with irritation, but shot a quick wave to Sal before running to catch up to the retreating figure.