Voldemort put his feet up on Snape's immaculate desk, a large pile of parchment on his lap. He sighed as he flipped through the pages, each filled from top to bottom with scrawled sentences. It was Snape's end-of-month report and, as usual, it was as long-winded and wordy as a textbook.

"I do not see young Mr. Potter with you," Dumbledore commented from his portrait.

"You wouldn't," Voldemort mumbled without looking up, "He's off with Severus. They've taken quite a liking to one another. Strange really."

He could almost hear Dumbledore's grin. "I wouldn't say it was strange. Severus doesn't take a liking to many children, but he may see a bit of Lily in the boy."

Voldemort looked up from the parchment he'd been reading. "Yes, that's probably it."

"And you have no problem with the two becoming close."

"Close," he snorted. "You really think Severus Snape would let anyone, even a child, close to him? I think not. But he keeps Harry occupied while I'm indisposed, so I have no problem with the two spending time together. They should be back soon though, I'm taking Harry into the forest tonight."

"The forest!" Dumbledore exclaimed. "Why would you do such a thing?"

A catlike grin formed on the Dark Lord's face and he felt a wave of satisfaction pass over him at the way it made the old man shiver in his frame. "I told Harry I'd take him to see the unicorns."

"But why wouldn't you go during the day? Surely the forest is too dangerous at night."

"Dangerous? Nowhere in the world is dangerous for me and as long as Harry is with me, no place is dangerous for him either."

"But I still don't understand why…"

"And you won't," Voldemort sneered. "Unless I explain it to you. Would you like me to explain exactly why I'm taking Harry to see the unicorns?" He paused and waited for Dumbledore's nod.

"You see, when I was in the Room of May Have Been," he began to explain. "I was shown something amazing. If I would have attempted to kill Harry, I may have inadvertently created another horcrux. That horcrux would have been Harry."

"That is the connection that is missing," Voldemort continued, the excitement in his voice growing, "That's what the basilisk meant when she said that Harry is missing a piece of his soul. He's not missing a piece of his soul, he's missing a piece of mine."

Dumbledore was shaking his head now, a truly horrified look upon his face. "No, you can't mean that you're going to make Harry into a horcrux. That you would even consider turning a child into a dark artifact…" His voice trailed off and he continued to shake his head.

"That's exactly what I'm saying old man," Voldemort confirmed. "You know what it takes to make a horcrux."

"Murder."

Voldemort nodded. "Exactly. I must commit murder to split my soul, but for Harry I'm planning something special. He won't be the same as the other horcruxes I've created."

The former Headmaster gave him a confused look. "I don't understand Tom."

"Of course you don't," he sneered. "Because you're so light that you can't see the beauty of the dark. I'm sure you thought that I would never love, but I do love and you have no idea the lengths I would go for that love. I am immortal and I don't plan on living out eternity alone."

Dumbledore gasped. "You wouldn't!"

"I would." The Dark Lord laughed as he stood. "I would and I'm going to." He strolled toward Dumbledore's portrait, eyes fiery and bright. "To transfer a piece of my soul to Harry, I don't plan on killing a person. I plan on killing a unicorn."

"No Tom, you can't. You know the consequences of killing a unicorn. If you go through with your plan then Harry will be tainted for the rest of his life."

"Tainted," he hissed. "Tainted just like I am tainted. Then he will truly be my equal."

"Please Tom," Dumbledore begged tearfully. "Please do not do this."

Voldemort sneered. "You're pathetic. No wonder you lost the war."

DSz

"There you are," Nancy Fallow chirped as she ran a thick, fluffy towel over the large black dog. "Look at your nice, shiny coat."

The dog let out an excited yip; it's tongue lolling out in the most adorable way. Nancy found herself unable to resist such a sight and she motioned the dog to follow her to the kitchens.

"I think we'll have a nice roast for dinner tonight," she commented as they walked, "Would you like that?" Another excited yip escaped the animal as his tail wagged back and forth.

A soft pop echoed through the kitchen. "Would Miss Fallow be needing Nellie's help?" The friendly house-elf asked as she appeared from nowhere.

"Hello Nellie, look what I've brought home." Nancy motioned to the dog. "I've decided to call him Blacky. Don't you think young Master Harry will just love him?"

The house-elf gave the dog a strange look before a wide smile broke out on her wrinkled face. "Nellie thinks the Mistress is correct, the young master will truly love him."

DSz

Severus Snape stalked through the darkened corridors, stopping every so often to pry apart young lovers in various coat closets and empty classrooms. His usual intimidating and frightening air was dampened somewhat by the small child jogging along at his side. But the large snake slithering along in their wake was enough to give any student nightmares.

"Mr. Mason and Miss Bulstrode," he sneered at the two fifth year students. "May I inquire as to why you are both standing in this darkened corridor, rather than inside your common room?"

"I…well, you see…it's like this…" The Mason boy stammered.

"Enough," Severus spat angrily, "I am severely disappointed in the both of you. A Slytherin and a Ravenclaw?" He shook his head. "I would expect this type of behavior from Gryffindors or even Hufflepuffs. Twenty-five points from both houses and detention next Saturday."

"But sir, it's Hogsmeade weekend," the girl complained.

"O, is it? I seem to have forgotten, but thank you for reminding me," he stated in an apologetic tone. "Make that detention Saturday AND Sunday. Now get out of my sight." He watched the pair rush away, before allowing a smirk to form on his thin lips. A soft chuckling drew his attention downward and he was surprised to see Harry's green eyes full of mirth.

"That was excellent!" Harry exclaimed. "And I thought Miss Fallow was scary when she's mad!"

Severus offered the boy his most sinister smile. "You haven't seen me mad. That, my young friend, was just doing my job. If I would have truly been angry, who knows what might have happened." He let the comment hang and Harry shivered.

"I'll remember that," the boy stated assuredly. "I wonder what's taking Voldemort so long."

The two began slowly walking down the darkened corridor. Nagini hissed softly and turned to the right.

"It looks like Nagini has found more troublemakers," Severus stated. "I'm sure the Dark Lord is reading my reports and I do make them quite detailed."

"That's means they're really long, right?"

"It's important that the Dark Lord know everything that goes on here at Hogwarts. I want to make sure he knows how grateful I am he appointed me Headmaster."

Harry looked up at the paintings and suits of armor. "You really love this place, don't you?"

Severus nodded. "It was my first real home."

"That's what Voldemort says too," Harry replied nervously. "I suppose it's not too bad of place. Not everyone can be trained by a Dark Lord after all."

"Quite right," he chuckled and then patted the boy on the shoulder. "Now, let's go scare a few more. By the excited look in Nagini's eyes, I belive she's found a few first-years. This should be fun."

dsz

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'm sorry this update has taken so long and I'm sorry it's so short, but I've been very busy. My fiance and I moved to a house across town on the same weekend that my company moved. Since I handle network and desktop support, I had to put in a lot of long hours. I'm still busy at work, but things at home have settled, so I should be able to start updating more often again. Thank you for your kind reviews. I'm glad that someone is reading and enjoying what I'm writing. It really means a lot.