Chapter Eleven

Run

Harry ran blindly, fleeing the sight of the ordeal as quickly as he could.  He had told Sirius that he should not come to Hogwarts, that no good could possibly come of it.  He had been right!  Of course, even the warm feeling he received from yelling "I told you so!" as he ran could not stop the other emotions that welled up inside of him.

For the first time in years, he was well and truly frightened.  The discovery of a Death Eater still prompted a race to kill of the foe similar to that of a Muggle witch hunt.  Dumbledore, though he had shielded Harry from the Ministry and the media for years, would not be able to do anything about this.  If he was lucky he might be locked up in Azkaban for the rest of his life.

Harry finally collapsed in an out of the way chamber that looked as if it had not seen use in generations.  Old-fashioned tables were pushed to one side and a thick layer of dust covered the stone floors.  "I can't Apparate away," he told himself, trying to find a logical option.  "And anyone who sees me will try apprehend me or call the Aurors or something.  There's nothing for me to do!  It's hopeless!"

"Now, now, Potter, we both know that that's not the case," a sickeningly familiar voice called out. 

Harry jumped to his feet and whirled about, breathing heavily.  "You can't be here; you're dead."

Standing in the middle of the room was Lord Voldemort, inky black robes rippling around his body and red eyes staring at Harry in amusement.  "Obviously I am here, and I'm not dead.  I almost was, though, thanks to you."

"You're welcome," Harry ground out, snarling as Voldemort laughed.  "What's so funny?"

"You are.  As much as you hate to admit it to yourself, you are much like me."

"I'm nothing like you.  I'm not a murderer."  Harry's eyes snapped in defiance and his chin rose.

"And yet you just admitted that you almost killed me."  Voldemort began to pace back and forth slowly, twirling his wand lazily between the pale, tapered fingers of his right hand.

"Killing you wouldn't be a crime.  You deserve to die."

"Harry, Harry," Voldemort sighed, stopping his pacing to approach the young boy.  "Your anger should not be directed at me.  I was not the one who ruined your life.  That was Dumbledore and that Sirius Black."

"I hate them too.  I just hate you more," Harry responded stubbornly. 

Voldemort chuckled again.  Harry shook at the sound.  "You used to love to make me laugh," Voldemort reflected, his voice thick with a fake wistful air.  "And now you shiver at the sound of my mirth.  What went wrong between us, Harry?  I loved you like a father, and I offered you the world."

"You killed my parents," Harry answered with narrowed eyes.  "And a world you had altered would be no world that I would want."

There it was again.  The spine-tingling onslaught of Voldemort's merriment.  Harry recoiled reflexively, scampering backwards until his back was pressed up firmly against the wall.  "Leave me alone, you monster," Harry commanded weakly, trying desperately not to let the sight of the still laughing Voldemort affect him.  "You've ruined my life so much already."

Voldemort advanced on him slowly, enjoying the terror that spasmed across Harry's face every time he took another step.  Finally, he was close enough that Harry could have touched him with almost no effort.  "You will learn Harry, you will learn." 

Harry sank down, knees shaking too hard for him to remain standing.  Maybe he was hallucinating.  In this case, that would be a good thing.

The Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom was in ruins.  Broken pieces of wood were scattered haphazardly amid sharp crystals of broken glass.  Parchments and quills were ripped into tiny pieces, some of the feathers still floating on the light breeze coming in through a few holes in the stone castle walls.  Ink was spilled over everything.

Dumbledore examined the room gravely, eyes darkened to a stormy gray.  "Harry, my boy, milady Fate has it in for you." 

Word of the outbreak had spread through the school with the fervency of a rampaging Hippogriff.  Although no students had been injured, according to the rumors there mere at least two dozen bloody bodies being secretly disposed of by the faculty.  The discovery of the Dark Mark had been blown into Voldemort appearing in the middle of the classroom along with a score of Death Eaters.

The rumors, unfortunately, were always precise about one thing, unfortunately: that odd Potter kid was a Death Eater. 

For some reason, everything was destined to be difficult for the boy.  He had already dealt with so much while he still should have been playing Exploding Snap and laughing with friends.  The poor boy had had his childhood ripped away from him and the time used instead to make him into a bitter, twisted soul. 

Albus turned with a sigh to find Severus regaring the room with an almost approving eye.  "He has a lot of power," the Potions master noted.

"It is to what ends that power will be used that concerns me," Dumbledore replied gravely.  "This will be a major setback."

"You must have known, or at the very least suspected, that he would bear the Mark of the one who raised him.  Appointing Song to teach her was a foolish thing to do."

"Voldemort has never before Marked a child so young, but I should have realized that Harry is an exception unto himself.  And the only reason that Song is here is because the Ministry decided that they needed more control over the curriculum here.  The Ministry will not be happy with this turn of events."

Snape nodded.  "That is why I am here.  The Minister is requesting- demanding, really- a meeting with you."

"Leave me alone," Harry ordered.  "What's the point of making me even more miserable?"

"I'm here to help you, Harry."

Harry laughed bitterly.  "If it wasn't for you branding me like some animal I wouldn't be in this situation."

"It is hardly my fault that your Mark was discovered by an overzealous Auror."  Voldemort started pacing again, red eyes flashing with conviction.  "You were once my most loyal follower.  I see no reason that you could not be again."

"I'll never obey you!" Harry cried vehemently, shaking his head firmly.  "I'm not on your side of this anymore!"

"But you are not on theirs."  The statement caught him off-guard. 

"Well, no, but-"

"Why, then," Voldemort asked smoothly, "should we not unite to destroy a common enemy?  After all, there will be plenty of time for you to kill me after Dumbledore and his ridiculous Order of the Phoenix is destroyed."

"Why don't I join with Dumbledore and defeat you?" Harry wondered aloud.  "I'd be doing the same thing."

"Ah, but there is one fundamental difference between Dumbledore and I."  Voldemort smiled, a serpent's smile, the smile of a madman who retained just enough sanity to not be self-destructive.  His red eyes shone with strength and Harry could feel himself being drawn in.  He wanted to believe in what Voldemort was telling him. 

"You see, Harry, Dumbledore is blinded by his position.  To him, there is no gray area.  Either you are with him or against him, there is no middle ground.  I, however, have no problem with you being not entirely on my side."

Harry closed his eyes, trying to breathe deeply.  He did not want to give in, but at the same time...

Voldemort was the closest thing to family that he had left.  Voldemort, until that one decisive moment, had never betrayed him.  The Dark Lord had always been there for him when he was younger. 

"If you'll remember, Harry," Voldemort's insidious voice continued smoothly," I offered your parents a choice.  They did not have to die.  They chose their deaths.  I did not want to kill you either.  I regret now that I ever tried to do so.  I allowed myself to be blinded by my rage.  Not anymore, Harry.  I realize the error of my ways.  Join me, Harry."

"I... I don't know..." he mumbled, cradling his head in his hands uncomfortably. 

You should join with him, a voice in his head whisphered.  He is trying to help you.  Join with him, and become powerful again.  Voldemort will seat you at his right hand.  You can have your revenge against Black and Lupin.

"Get out of my head!" Harry screamed.  "I don't want to join you!"

"Don't you remember things the way they used to be, Harry?  They can go back to the way they used to be.  All you have to do is listen to me."    

Voldemort drew out his wand and began to wave it in the air in intricate patterns.  "Remember, Harry, remember." 

A wave of darkness of overtook him and Harry lost consciousness.