'Finally!" I hear you say ... Bit short, sorry.
Chapter 12 - Bargains
Dear Konor,
I'm perfectly fine - I was not in the shop at the time of the attack, thank Merlin!
It's terrible what happened, though. Jessica and Kiani were both good friends, and Ana Patel, while I didn't know her very well, is aunt to the Patel twins who I believe are in second year.
In answer to your inquiries about how long it will be until Madam Malkin's will be rebuilt, don't tell the newspapers this but the answer is never - Madam Malkin was heading for retirement anyway and has decided she'd had enough and is applying for a permit to go on holiday to France.
This does of course leave me jobless, but I'm applying at the the robe shops, and at Slug & Jigger's as well. Fingers crossed!
I'm sure you're keeping up with all your studies, but do be careful not to lose yourself in them. Spend time with your friends as well.
Love,
Mum.
Harry had forgotten Lily was now out of a job.
A crease formed on his forehead as he frowned. This could be rather problematic, although her long time at Malkin's ought to give her a good reference.
He had noticed the Patel twins had been rather subdued, but hadn't taken much notice. I should probably console them or something.
Now, however, he had a detention to go to.
Voldemort had instructed him to go to his office as per normal, but to wear walking boots and a cloak. So presumably they would be going somewhere outside the castle, bur other than that Harry didn't have a clue.
The Dark Lord was waiting in the office when he arrived. "Good morning, Harrikon. Hold onto my arm."
Apparition? "But we're in Hogwarts," he protested, placing his hand loosely on Voldemort's proffered arm nonetheless.
He didn't receive an answer; presumably the pressure of the Disapparition was deemed enough.
They appeared on a hillside, and Harry had to screw up his eyes against the wind and rain. Wherever they were, it wasn't near Hogwarts; there was a blanket of snow on the ground, and the first flakes had yet to appear at school. Somewhere further north, or high up, then.
Voldemort began to lead Harry towards a large outcrop of rock, striding over the snow without even leaving a track; Harry had to struggle to keep up. "Where are we?" he asked, but got no response other than a quickening of step.
The Dark Lord didn't slow down as he reached the rock, and instead glanced briefly at Harry before abruptly halting and pushing him forward.
Harry closed his eyes in a grimace, but the expected impact never came. He opened them with a gasp; the interior was a large cavern, built entirely of dark rock and metal.
It was both amazing and terrifying.
"Follow me."
As Harry hurried after Voldemort, he tried to read the plaques on the doors they passed. Some were names, none of which he recognised until -
Harry Potter
Lily Potter, read the next door.
They swept past the two doors, but Harry's mind was whirling. Was this an investigation center?
"My Lord," someone said, and Harry refocused as they passed Lucius Malfoy. The man's silver eyes flickered briefly, revealing a hint of what he thought was jealousy before his face hardened into contempt.
Voldemort finally stopped when they were deep down in the rock, by a door menacingly labeled Death Row. Harry tensed, but the Dark Lord opened the door without a pause and led him in.
The room was long, with cells on both sides, a corridor down the middle. There was a lurch in Harry's stomach as he saw that most were occupied, many with people who looked barely old enough to Apparate. They looked up as the duo passed, but none spoke, fear rising in their haunted eyes.
But the worst thing was the absolute hopelessness in their eyes, in their slumped shoulders, in the set of their faces.
What were they doing here?
What was he doing here?
Is this where I would go if discovered?
"This, Harrikon, is my headquarters."
"Your secret base?" Harry couldn't help the small, amused smile that crept through. The idea was just so cliché - of course Voldemort had to have secret base from which to make his evil plans.
Said Dark Lord raised an eyebrow, and Harry wiped the smirk off his face. "Now, Harrikon, I want you to pick a prisoner."
"What? Why?"
Voldemort smiled. It wasn't a nice smile, Harry thought distractedly. Full of malice and satisfaction. "To test your shield on, of course."
Harry's heart sank. "My … Shield?"
"To see if it can withstand a killing curse. Didn't you guess?"
Crap. Harry swallowed, glancing at the prisoners. "But it shouldn't. It won't."
He continued as if Harry hadn't spoken. "I want you to pick one, and teach him the spell."
"I can't. I won't."
Voldemort's face darkened, and his wand raised before Harry could move. "Crucio."
Pain.
His bones were melting, flames roasting his skin from the inside out, hammers nailing his head, drilling through -
It stopped, and Harry lay on the ground panting, aware now that he'd fallen to the floor. And had screamed, judging by how sore his throat felt as he sucked in air.
"Get up," Voldemort said, disappointment lacing his tone.
Harry scrambled up, wobbling slightly, his muscles aching. He glared at Voldemort, but kept silent.
"Now," the Dark Lord said, and it was evident from his hardened ruby eyes that he would not tolerate any more defiance, "Pick one. And keep in mind they are all destined to be killed anyway."
Harry considered, standing stiff, before jerking his chin up. "And you will allow them to live if the shield absorbs the spell?"
Voldemort's thin lips twitched, out of irritation or amusement Harry didn't know. "Yes."
"And they will be free?"
Voldemort paused. "Under supervision, but yes. They will not be ensconced in a cell."
Harry nodded sharply, turning to the cells.
Each had a plaque on the wall next to them, containing name, age and a few sentence explaining their wrongdoings. Rage boiled up inside Harry as he read some of them: Stole from the Malfoy family. Caught spreading anti-Lord propaganda. Eavesdropped on Death Eater meeting three times.
Harry stopped at Anitia Davidson, 12. Suspected member of resistance. "She's twelve!" he said heatedly, turning on the Dark Lord.
"No younger than you. Do you chose her, then?"
Harry wrung his hands. "Can she even do magic?" Merlin, this was horrible.
The girl looked up slowly, her dull eyes meeting his. "Yes," she croaked.
"This one?" Voldemort repeated, taking out a wand from a locked box above the cell.
Harry nodded, swallowing.
The cell was opened with a wave of the Dark Lord's finger, and Harry ducked inside to pick up Anitia, but she recoiled away from him. "I can walk," she said, her voice slightly stronger.
Acquiescing, Harry stepped backwards and watched as Voldemort gave her her wand back. She closed her eyes briefly as the magic ran up her arm, and when she opened them, there was a blue fire rekindled in their depths. "What's the spell?"
Harry quickly took out his wand and showed her the first movement. "A diagonal cut down towards your left foot with incantation Capio cant."
She followed his instruction and the shield popped up, not as large as Harry's had been but still strong. Harry became aware of a sharp pain in his lip and he realised he'd been chewing it; shaking himself, he nodded at Voldemort.
"Expeliarmus," Voldemort said, and nodded in satisfaction as the spell was absorbed into the shield. "Crucio."
Harry tensed, but the Unforgivable was likewise absorbed.
"Release and recast the shield," the Lord ordered.
Harry blinked. Yes. That made sense. "Say Ceio with a small clockwise circle," he whispered. The shield moved forwards, and Voldemort cast a mildly irritated glance at Harry before swiping his wand through the shield, dispersing it. "Recast."
Anitia shivered, and Harry placed a hand gently on her shoulder. "Recast it as strong as you can," he said, trying to keep the fear, the turmoil out of his voice.
"Capio cant," she said, her voice strong and chin up.
She looked the Dark Lord straight in the eyes as he raised his pale wand again. "Avada Kedavra."
The emerald spell raced towards the shield, and Harry's heart leapt as the shield expanded, turning green -
- and then he saw a point of the light start to pass through the shield, and lunged forward, knocking the girl down, feeling the spell whoosh over his head.
Anitia lay panting beneath him, and Harry slowly stood up, reluctant to turn back to the Dark Lord who was by the sound of it walking towards him.
A hand clenched on his shoulder, and Harry stiffened. "Harrikon," the voice said, deadly soft, "it appears the shield failed."
Taking a deep breath, Harry whiled around, his shoulder twisted awkwardly as the hand didn't let go. "Let her live," he said, his face set.
Voldemort raised one eyebrow. "You nearly killed yourself trying to save her when we agreed she would die if the shield did not work. Avada -"
Harry grabbed the man's wand hand, and tensed as her felt the man stiffen, his red eyes acquiring a murderous gleam. "Please." He let go of the man's wand arm, though. He wasn't quite suicidal.
Voldemort's eyes took on a calculating gleam. "You do so often ask for favours, Harrikon," he said in a mocking tone. "What would I get out of allowing her to live?"
Right. He needed to play this carefully … "What do you want?"
Not the best thing to say.
The Dark Lord's mouth pulled up in a smile. "I want, Harrikon, your pledge to service."
"W - what?"
"Oh, not right now. Marking a twelve year old would raise too many eyebrows. But I want your pledge that on your fourteenth birthday, you will take the oath and become a Death Eater."
He glanced at Anitia, curled up against the wall, her large eyes following the argument avidly. They were bargaining with a life, and Harry's stomach turned.
"Seventeen - I'll be of age then. And I want Anitia released," he challenged.
Voldemort considered, the tips of his fingers stroking his wand in a motion that was both mesmerising and threatening. "Davidson will be released into the care of a family and will attend Hogwarts as of next year. She will be treated like any normal mudblood taken under adoption. And in return, you will be Marked after you kill someone."
"That'll be never then."
The smirk he got in response made him take a small step back.
Voldemort waved his wand, and a circle of pulsing light sprang up between us. "I, Lord Voldemort, swear that Anitia Davidson will be treated as if she were never convicted with regards to her bodily health., and will be sent to Hogwarts in September next year."
The circle pulsed, sending a jet of light to the end to Voldemort's wand.
Touching his holly wand to the circle, Harry recited, "I, Harrikon Evans, swear that I will, upon killing someone, take the marl."
The circle pulsed again, connecting the two in a flash of white light before disappearing.
There was a small burn on Harry's left arm and, frowning, he pulled up his sleeve to check the swearmark. Usually they were supposed to appear on the back of the neck …
The circle, made out of the words he had recited, were burned in red just below his wrist.
Voldemort had pulled back his own sleeve, Harry noticed, though he didn't see his swearmark before the fabric fell forward again. He pulled his own back down, thanking the stars that binding pledges didn't actually require a true name.
But as they left the building, Anitia following behind them, he couldn't stop the niggling doubt that his assertion of never being marked wasn't quite true.
After all, wouldn't it be funny if the oath kicked in after he killed the Dark Lord himself?
Voldemort thought that had gone rather well.
Harrikon had, understandably, been horrified, but the important part was that he'd accepted it - and accepted the vow.
He would kill soon enough.
And if he didn't, well, Voldemort would get him begging to be allowed to kill. The boy would be turned from any light influence until being a Death Eater was his greatest wish.
After dropping the sullen Harrikon back at Hogwarts, Voldemort took Anitia to his office, pointing her to one of the wooden chairs in the corner. "Sit."
She glared, but sat.
Voldemort walked down the hall to Malfoy's office, not bothering to knock.
Lucius looked up and then sprang out of his chair, bowing deeply. "My Lord," he said, "What can I do for you?"
"It is my understanding, Lucius, that you have not taken in any mudbloods."
Lucius paled slightly.
"Even though I recommended one to you years ago."
"I apologise, my Lord. Granger -"
Waving away the apologies, Voldemort interrupted, "Granger is beating your son at school as I understand it, but she is of no consequence now. I wish for you to take in a resistance child who is now in a protected position. She is called Anitia Davidson and, although half-blood, will be going to Hogwarts in September as a muggleborn under the care of the Malfoy family, and she will be pleased about it." Voldemort leant forwards. "You may not physically harm the girl, but I am giving you the job of making sure she will never think to run back to her family. You also may not use Legilimency. Do you understand?"
Lucius looked like he'd been hit, but nodded. "Yes, my lord."
"Come," the Dark Lord said, leading Lucius back to his office.
Davidson was still sitting in the chair. Good.
"Kneel," he ordered, and though defiance surged up to her eyes, the months in the cell had worn her down; she knelt.
Taking her left arm, Voldemort smirked at the soft gasp which emanated from Lucius. "Repeat after me: I swear allegiance to you, my Lord."
There was new terror in her eyes. "I - I swear allegiance to you … my Lord."
Touching his wand into the soft skin of the underside of her left arm, Voldemort continued, "I give you my life, my wealth and my wand."
Swallowing, she murmured, "I give you … my life … my … wealth, and my wand."
"Morsmordre," Voldemort cast, and the mark blossomed on her skin. She doubled over, gasping in pain, and a sharp keening sound emerged from the back of her throat.
Stepping back, Voldemort picked up Davidson's discarded wand and tossed it to Lucius. "Take her home."
Bowing, Lucius did as requested, levitating the girl out to go the nearest floo point.
Well that was one loose end cleared up. The girl would be so stricken with guilt that she's turn to the dark so as to never have to face her family.
And when they saw her on the Hogwarts lit, he might even catch some of them when they tried to break her out.
The days rushed by as Harry threw himself into his studies.
Voldemort had left him alone since that day, but Harry could sense the red eye son him at meals and when they passed in the corridors.
His classmates had been ignoring him even further - ignoring except for the missing books, the taunts thrown at him when they were in a group, the snide looks and smirks.
And so it was the Weasley twins found him hiding in a deserted shortcut, books around him.
"Well, what do we have here," one of them said.
"It looks like a sad little elite duelist to me, Fred."
"What should we do?"
"We could say hello."
"Hi!" they both said, plopping themselves down either side of him.
Harry looked up reluctantly. "Hello."
The one on the left - Fred, he thought - grinned widely. "We thought we'd find you here. We have -"
"- a business proposition for you," finished George.
Harry put his books down.
"You see, we're pranksters. And that means we prank people," George explained, winking as Harry rolled his eyes.
"And we've come across a bit of a problem. See, we took a bet with a friend a few weeks ago that we would prank our dear Lord of he managed to get himself the commentator position after the latest fiasco where he got a month's detention with McGonagall."
"And the wee problem is, McGonagall was in a bit of a flap and said yes."
Harry smiled slightly. This sounded interesting …
"So," Fed said, "We noticed you're almost on good terms with the Dark Lord. And all we need you to do is get something into his drink at some point."
Closing his eyes, Harry laughed. They were actually going to do it … Merlin it seemed so ridiculous. "What would it do?"
"Well, that's a surprise."
"Can you do it? We'll pay you in pranking materials to get all those nasty yearmates off your back."
That was a possibility … Harry's mind flooded with thoughts of his classmates' books going missing, or potions exploding or and work sabotaged .. This could be quite fun.
"Deal," he said decisively, and the twin grinned, George handing him a small vial of colourless liquid.
"Thanks, mate," they said together.
"Te materials will be on your trunk by tomorrow," Fred added, and both scampered off.
So. How to do this.
Slowly packing away his books, Hay thought quickly. Voldemort's evening drinks always arrived as either a goblet of water of a bottle of wine …
…. Bottles that, now he thought about it, he had seen in his office.
Right then.
Harry stood up, vial in his pocket, and after dropping his bags off at his silent dormitory, headed to the Dark Lord's office.
Over 100 reviews! Thank you soooo much!
Sorry about delay but homework ... revision ... preparation for interviews ... etc. In my defense, I did post a new story in the meantime ... Writing is procrastinating my work instead of facebook atm though which is good for you guys haha.
So, my readers ... who else loves My Chemical Romance? I seriously have got sooo into their music!
UPDATE 07/04/16 ^and as of now about a dozen other bands haha.
Unfortunately I haven't been writing much due to (urgh) the revision ... after exams (be over in three months) I will be back onto a weekly+ schedule but until then I might get one chappie up ... sorry
