Author's Note: I do so love having so many wonderful reviewers. I find I also love writing this fic. Needless to say, at the moment, I am a very happy dragon. Notice that I did indeed update again swiftly? Dragons always keep their promises, you know. Some of you may be wondering why I sound like I'm drunk or something, rambling about being a happy dragon. I have not slept in the last eighteen hours. I finished this chapter and started the next during that time span. So it wasn't a total loss. I should really stop talking now. Or typing. Whatever. You know. Eh.

Warnings: Slash, Light-bashing, sympathetic!Voldemort, increasingly insane!Harry, some swearing.

Disclaimer: Me no own.

The morning of the seventeenth of September, despite his hatred of mornings in general, Harry woke in a very good mood. This was mostly due to the fact that he had once again spent the night in Riddle's bed. He was awakened, in fact, by the feeling of his older lover trailing soft, suggestive kisses along his throat.

Harry arched closer to him, a low, unintelligible moan escaping him. "Mmm... that feels so damn good."

Riddle chuckled softly. "It ought to, I do pride myself on these things." the Dark Lord purred, reluctantly withdrawing his mouth from Harry's neck. "You overslept again, you know."

"I can't help it." Harry said rather petulantly, snuggling closer to Riddle's warm, muscular body. "I get nightmares when I'm not with you."

"Soon we won't ever have to sleep apart." Riddle murmured, stroking Harry's disheveled hair. "In the meantime, why not get Severus to give you a Dreamless Sleep potion?"

Harry flushed slightly. "Um... because I'm too paranoid." Riddle lifted an eyebrow, amused: Harry shrugged. "Too many people have tried to kill me too many times: I can't bring myself to take any potion that might make me sleep more deeply. I need to know that I'll wake up if something happens."

Riddle smiled faintly. "I can certainly sympathize. In our position, a certain level of paranoia is more than justified." He pressed a last gentle kiss on Harry's forehead then slid out of bed with serpentine grace. "Alas, unless you get going this minute, you're going to be late for class."

Harry grumbled under his breath at that, but as he checked his timetable a wicked grin spread across his face. "Oh good, I've got Potions first period - with the Slytherins! I wonder what Snape'll have to say today, about the new arrangements..."

All thoughts of the fun of tormenting his teacher were driven out of Harry's head, though, when he approached the Slytherin table. His friends all looked rather grim - and just a little bit skittish, as though waiting for a bomb to go off. Draco looked up, plastering a false smile across his face.

"Harry, morning..."

Harry frowned. "What's wrong?"

Draco, along with a few others, winced. "Ah... you're not going to like this." he said quietly. As Harry sat down, the Malfoy heir handed him a copy of that morning's Daily Prophet.

Albus Dumbledore Absent: Warrant Issued

"Fuck!"

Everyone within hearing jumped and flinched: Harry didn't swear all that much, but when he did, it was bad. Harry closed his eyes tightly, fighting for calm, reigning in his flaring magic. Not now, not here. Forcing himself to take deep breath, he skimmed the article.

It seemed that when the time of his trial arrived, Albus Dumbledore had simply not shown up. All efforts to locate the aged wizard had failed miserably, and no one had any idea where he was at present.

"Those idiots!" Harry hissed, his eyes glowing ever so slightly. "They didn't see this coming? I could've told them this would happen! Why the hell did they let him out on bail in the first place? Look at what he did in fifth year, for fuck's sake, the old coot's a flight risk to end all flight risks!"

A few people outside their little group were edging away from him, looking alarmed. Draco daringly laid a hand on Harry's wrist.

"Harry, relax. They'll get him eventually. On a brighter note, look at the next article."

Harry did, and felt his frustration ease a bit. He and Riddle had left one Ulama alive, turning it over to the Ministry of Magic: the day before, ironically during the funeral service for Hannah Abbott, they had definitively proven that the bird was acting under the orders of Dumbledore - via a powerful and highly illegal spell that hadn't been used in centuries. The charges of First-Degree Murder, Importing Dangerous Animals, and Use of a Prohibited Curse now joined the ever-growing list, along with some three hundred counts of Attempted Murder - one for every student in Hogwarts.

Harry smirked at that. "Well, at least when they catch him, he'll be headed straight for Azkaban." he said, handing the paper back to Draco. His friends visibly relaxed, and Ron grinned.

"They probably won't wait for a trial next time, they'll just take him right to the Dementors. Serves him right."

"Pity the wizarding world doesn't have the death penalty." Harry mused as he started in on his breakfast. Theo stared at him.

"You think that's necessary?"

"With Dumbledore? Absolutely. He's way too slippery: I'd much rather have him dead than locked up." Harry said, glaring at the picture of the old wizard that adorned the front of the Prophet - just in case there was one witch or wizard somewhere in Britain who didn't know what Dumbledore looked like.

At that moment, Lucius Malfoy stood to make an announcement. The Hall quieted instantly: the new Headmaster was already far more widely respected than the old. He smiled at the students.

"Good morning, all. I have a special announcement for you. In the wake of the unrest and sorrow that has gripped our school for the last few days, I feel that we all could benefit from a morale-booster. To that end, on Saturday night there will be a victory ball here in the Great Hall. Attendance is mandatory, for students and teachers both."

The Hall erupted into cheers. Harry smiled wickedly, already plotting. He'd seen the budding attraction amongst his little group of friends: this would be the perfect opportunity to make sure that things went smoothly. Hermione had tried to set him up often enough, now it was his turn.

...

Since the Ulama attack, guards had been posted at the gates of Hogwarts. Most people were under the impression that the guards were simply friends of Lucius's, or employees of the Ministry: in reality, Riddle had called in some of his most discreet Death Eaters. He didn't want anyone or anything that shouldn't be around getting near his new lover. Currently, Rodolphus Lestrange and Antonin Dolohov were on guard. Dolohov was still looking rather pale and sickly: Riddle had had him under the Cruciatus Curse for almost ten minutes straight when the Death Eater unwisely protested the Dark Lord's new relationship with Harry. He hadn't spoken a word since then, and seemed unlikely to do so in the near future.

The two guards were lounging against the pillars that marked the gateway, daydreaming about being the ones to find Dumbledore and bring him in, when the sharp crack of Apparition split the air.

Remus Lupin appeared, covered in small cuts and bruises, one eye swollen almost shut. He was holding his wand, but he slipped it back into his pocket when he saw the guards start up, and lifted his hands. "I'm not looking for a fight. I've left the Order. I'm here to see Harry."

Rodolphus frowned. "You're Remus Lupin." he said, eyeing the werewolf cautiously. "You say you've left the Order of the Phoenix?"

"Yes." Remus gestured to his eye. "A few of the Order members tried to chase me down. They regretted it. Moody probably won't be out of St. Mungo's for a week."

The Death Eaters exchanged glances, then lowered their own wands. "I'll have to take you to the Headmaster." Rodolphus said. "He'll want to confirm your story."

"Of course. I would expect nothing less." Remus said, relief clear in his eyes as he fell into step between the two Death Eaters.

...

Harry was in Charms, proving to Professor Flitwick that yes, he really could cast the immensely complicated Purification Charm, when Professor McGonagall entered.

"Mr. Potter, you're wanted in the Headmaster's office, immediately."

Harry was surprised, but nodded and rose. "Coming, Professor." He mouthed a quick see you later to Ron and Hermione and followed the Transfiguration professor from the classroom.

The ridiculous passwords had gone with Dumbledore: the new password for the Headmaster's office was Honour. Harry thought it was rather fitting - the one thing that Dumbledore had clearly never possessed. Professor McGonagall had gone back to her own classroom, so Harry went up alone.

When he entered Lucius's office, the first thing he noticed was that Riddle was standing next to the Headmaster's desk. The second thing that registered was that the man sitting in the chair in front of the desk was Remus Lupin.

Harry froze. "Remus?"

The werewolf's amber eyes filled with tears as he turned to see his best friend's godson, but he couldn't find the words to say anything. Riddle was the one who responded. "It seems Dumbledore did manage to deceive us one last time, Harry. Your werewolf friend here was not, in fact, aware of Dumbledore's plans to kill you. When he heard about the Ulama attack, he was... most perturbed."

Emerald eyes widened in surprise and hope. "Really?"

Remus swallowed hard and forced his recalcitrant voice to work. "Harry, I swear I had no idea of what that old madman was planning. The night you left, when Dumbledore suggested that you might be sent to Azkaban - I was furious. I would never have let that happen. But then when I heard about the Ulama attack and confronted him... he said that we couldn't let you ally with Lord Voldemort, no matter what. I lost it. I never knew he was that twisted, and I'm so sorry..."

Riddle's voice murmured in Harry's mind. We already tested him under Veritaserum, he's telling the truth.

"Remus, it's all right." Hurrying forward, Harry wrapped his arms around the werewolf, hugging him tightly. "I should have known you wouldn't have gone along with that, I just thought that everyone except Ron and Hermione was turning on me. How much did Dumbledore tell you about what's been going on here?"

"Not much, but... is it true you're working with Voldemort now?"

Harry bit his lip to keep from bursting out laughing. Lucius had paled visibly at the question, and Riddle was smirking broadly, his silver eyes gleaming with just a trace of red. Harry couldn't restrain his grin.

"Um, Remus, didn't Dumbledore say anything about Professor Riddle? Or Tom, I might as well say?"

Remus blinked, then paled. "Oh. I almost forget. He did say something, right before I... but I wasn't really listening... you mean..."

"Headmasters don't usually rely on their Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers to give them instructions on what to do about potential allies." Riddle said dryly. "Lucius knows better than to leave me out of the loop, though."

"After what you did to Dolohov, I think it'll be quite some time before anyone pushes the rules." Harry informed him, grinning widely. "I think they assumed you were going soft, but you've definitely disproven that theory, love."

Remus choked. "WHAT?"

Lucius groaned and dropped his head into his hands. "Oh, Merlin. I thought it was just wild rumors when Draco said... oh, good grief. I really did not need to know that."

Harry smiled at Remus. "Relax, Remus, don't worry about it. I know what I'm doing. What are you planning on doing now that you've left the Barbecued Chickens?"

Lucius and Remus both succumbed to a fit of hysterical laughter at that. Riddle smirked. "That name seems to be gaining in popularity. You say it was Hufflepuffs that came up with that?"

"And Demelza Robins, she's in Gryffindor." Harry said, grinning. "We needed some way to distinguish between them and the Chimaeras." In response to Remus's question look - the werewolf was too out of breath to speak - Harry laughed. "That's right, you don't know... I started an Order of my own. The Order of the Chimaera. It's mostly what's left of the old DA, but I've recruited some Slytherins as well. And yes, we're officially aligned with the Dark now. Being Lord Voldemort's consort tends to have that effect. Now, where were we?"

Lucius's face was rather red as he cleared his throat. "Ahem. In the past, during wartime Hogwarts has often offered asylum to those with nowhere else to go. If you would like to stay here, Lupin, you are more than welcome."

Remus looked quite startled, but also relieved. "That's - very kind of you, Headmaster. I would love to stay. I don't really have anywhere else to go, now that I've broken from the Order."

"Excellent." Lucius said, smiling. "In that case, I must politely insist that you all vacate my office - yes, even you, my Lord. I have a dance to plan, and I can't have you hovering. Oh, and Lupin, you'll be expected to attend as well: must set a good example for the students, you know." With that, the Headmaster shooed the three of them out of his office.

Riddle shook his head. "Once I've rooted out the last of the Barbecued Chickens, I may just have to let him keep this post, you know. He seems to be enjoying himself terribly."

"He's already doing a better job than Dumbledore, I think you should let him stay." Harry said, grinning. "After all, someone's got to run this place. You won't have the time, you'll be busy with your plans for world conquest."

"True." Riddle admitted. Harry noticed Remus staring at them, his mouth hanging slightly open, and the younger wizard grinned.

"You'll get used to it, Remus, everyone else has - more or less. I think Draco's still a little unsettled by it. Now if you'll excuse me, I have teachers to manipulate." Harry swept off, leaving a very stunned werewolf and a very amused Dark Lord.

Remus swallowed his shock and turned to Riddle, drawing himself up. "I want to make one thing clear. Harry certainly seems happy, and he's finally learned to stand up for himself, so I'm glad for him. But if you ever hurt him, Dark Lord or no, you'll have to deal with me. Clear?"

Riddle raised one eyebrow, amused, but also impressed. "Understood." he said, studying Remus curiously. Then, abruptly, he smiled. "I'm glad Harry has such steadfast friends around him - he'll need the support when the world at large finds out what's happened. I'm not deluded enough to think that my ideas will be popular at first."

Remus was amazed he hadn't been hexed into next week, but he managed a smile. "Good. I'm glad we understand each other." he said, turning to go.

He had only taken a few steps when he heard the Dark Lord's voice. "Oh, and Mr. Lupin?"

The werewolf turned. Riddle's eyes had turned crimson as he gave Remus a very dangerous smile. "The same goes for you."

Remus swallowed hard. "Understood." he said quickly, then turned and hurried away to his own quarters. Riddle smirked, then turned and swept off in the direction of his classroom.

Good to know he still had the touch.