Chapter Twenty-Five

Harry stayed in the darkness for the meeting, hidden under the Invisibility Cloak as Snape was there. The meeting was held in Malfoy Manor like always, Tom, disguised in his black robe, stood in the center of a larger crowd than usual. Harry could feel the intensity, the power, and insanity radiating from the new members. The room was darkly lit as usual, the fire place and a couple of candles providing light, the flame's illumination licking off the pale gaunt faces of the new additions. Harry's eyes couldn't stop but linger on the sole woman in the group. Her hair a twisted mess of shiny black, she had heavy-lidded eyes and long eyelashes. She was a tall woman, and something about her made Harry feel a terrible fear. Her eyes were glinting madly, so full of life compared to the haunted, almost soulless look the other escapees held. Voldemort stopped circling the inner clearing and stood in the center.

"My brothers, my sisters," Voldemort began. "We are gathered together to celebrate the most anxious return of those who has always been loyal to their Dark Lord. Antonin Dolohov, Bellatrix Lestrange, Rasbastan and Rodolphus Lestranges, Augustus Rookwood, Travers… and Mulciber. You six have shown truer devotion to their Lord than any of my followers. And with that comes a certain sense of praise."

He paused, and looked around the room slowly; the escapees all had a sense of pride about them while some of the other Death Eaters had a look of shame, of guilt of their cowardness. Snape's face, however, remained as stoic as it always has been. Voldemort noticed this, "Severus, why must you look so serious on a night of celebration?" he asked, slithering his way towards Snape.

Snape looked as though he was thinking up an answer as his concentration tensed up for a second before relaxing. "I am merely wondering, my Lord, what your next move will be… and what information you wish for me to report to Dumbledore."

"Ah yes, always with business then," Voldemort said. He moved to the center of clearing again where a throne-like chair appeared. He sat in it. Looked at his followers, and turned his gaze for a second to where Harry was hiding. "Shall we begin?" he hissed.

"Yes my Lord…" Harry hissed back, smirking in delight at the fear the Death Eaters all held at the sound of Parseltongue. "I will summon snakes to slither around, to make it so you are talking to them… Serpensortia!" There was a small flash under the cloak, unseen by all as snakes burst out of Harry's wand, fell to the floor, and slithered angrily away. The snakes moved towards the crowd of Death Eaters, slithering and twisting their ways around and through their feet towards the Dark Lord.

Voldemort ignored them as he focused on his followers. "Dumbledore will die this year, Hogwarts will be mine… the Ministry will fall to my rule. Or else you will die in the attempt," he began. "Not now, however, but in June… to give our returners time enough to recover and practice their spells. It would be a shame to have you fall now due to a lack of practice. There is a passage way into the castle, a route that only I know of. That I shall reveal on the day we strike. Until that day, rest, and be vigilant. For you never know when I will call you."

There was a silence. Harry stayed in his place as the Death Eaters nodded slowly. Snape, having a curious look as ever. "My Lord, if I may…" he said, bowing down. Voldemort motioned for him to speak. "What day should I tell Dumbledore?"

"We strike at the beginning of June," Voldemort said. "That should give Dumbledore something to worry about until the true day we do strike."

"And… that is?"

"Crucio." Snape fell to the floor as the torturing curse hit him. Voldemort kept a dull look about him as he held the spell, not caring about the screams the man gave or the look of pity or winces from his other followers, though they did not step up to help Snape. For ten solid minutes, Voldemort kept the spell on Snape, his expression never changing as the snakes gathered around his throne, climbing up to drape his body. When he finally released the spell, someone took a step towards Snape. "Do not help the fool," Voldemort said, "unless you wish to share his fate."

The Death Eater stopped. Snape's body convulsed for a couple minutes until he gained enough energy and control to stagger back to his feet. He immediately fell to his knees and said, "Forgive me my Lord, I've forgotten my place."

"Indeed…" Voldemort said slowly. "I find your lack of faith in your lord disturbing, Severus. I hope that yours is the only faith in this room that needs… reminding… of why you follow your Dark Lord." The room did not move. Harry could taste the fear rising and couldn't help but give a sadistic smirk, giggling softly.

"Parkinson!" the Dark Lord said suddenly, "Step forward."

Mr. Parkinson stepped towards Voldemort and fell to his knees automatically, crawling pitifully to the Dark Lord and kissed the hem of his robes.

"Parkinson, you are faithful to your Lord… are you not?" Voldemort asked, eyeing the man down.

"Yes, yes, I am my Lord," Parkinson nodded quickly.

"And you would do as your Lord commands?" Voldemort inquired, a growing smirk the snakes around his throne seemed to sense the Dark Lord's mirth. They coiled around his body, hanging loosely from his neck like a necklace, wrapping around like a bracelet, and some moved closer to the trembling Parkinson, hissing angrily and baring their poisonous fangs.

"Yes…yes my Lord," Parkinson nodded. Harry could see that the man was starting to get nervous. His doggish face was turning red, his bald forehead shining in sweat as his neck and jowls trembled slightly.

"Good… of course you would, you are faithful to your Lord, as a good follower should be," the Dark Lord said. He was now twirling his wand between his fingertips. Harry sensed immediately what was going to happen. And though a small part of him wished for it to stop, a larger, darker side of him wanted to watch, wanted to see every nanosecond of the upcoming event. So, still under the security of the Invisibility Cloak, he snuck closer to the circle, squeezing through a small gap of the followers into the inner clearing, and tip-toed towards the chair in the center, his eyes never leaving Mr. Parkinson.

The snakes sensed his presence, but did nothing, only looked lazily in the direction Harry should have been standing if he was not invisible for a second. Voldemort ignored him.

"Tell me… Parkinson… would you die for your Lord? For his cause?"

Mr. Parkinson looked up for the first time. "My Lord?" he said, shocked.

"Would you die for your Lord, Mr. Parkinson?" the Dark Lord asked again, emotionless as he continued to twirl his wand slowly between his fingertips.

There was a look of doubt on Mr. Parkinson's face, but it lasted only a second before he looked up at his Lord again and nodded slowly. "Yes… Yes I will die for you, My Lord. That is how strong my faith in you is," he said.

"Good," the Dark Lord smirked. He relaxed in his seat. "Then I command you to die."

"My Lord please do—"

"Avada Kedavra!"

With a flash of green light, Mr. Parkinson's body fell dead in front of Lord Voldemort. He glanced at the snakes surrounding him, and with a finger commanded them. The snakes encompassed the freshly dead body, leaving no trace of skin or cloth from their slimy, slithering green and gray scales.

"I wish to speak to our brothers and sister who escaped Azkaban's horrors alone," Lord Voldemort said. "The rest are dismissed." Snape was the first to leave, looking anxious, while the others left one by one, some giving the body one last look while others simply avoided it.

Soon, it was just the eight of them, the six escapees, Lord Voldemort, and Harry. They were quiet, the snakes' hissing being the only sound. Voldemort waited until they were done, slithering away from the body, which now resembled a husk with chunks tore off. A smell filled the room and Harry had to clamp a hand on his mouth to keep from gagging.

The Dark Lord looked at his followers, and stood up slowly. "My friends," he said, spreading his arms as though he was indeed greeting old friends, "I wanted to reward you all tonight, for showing unwavering devotion to your Lord."

The Death Eaters stepped closer to the Dark Lord by his motion. He held out his hand to Bellatrix Lestrange first, "Your arm," he said.

"My Lord," Lestrange said, looking honored as she extended her left arm and pulled up the sleeve, revealing her inner forearm and the black Dark Mark tattooed on it. Voldemort pressed his wand against the mark and Bellatrix let out a strange, almost erotic noise as the Mark burned a hot, vivid red. Steam boiled from her skin, as though the Dark Mark was being seared fresh into it before it began to fade to black again. Lestrange held her arm up and admired her Dark Mark as Voldemort moved from one to the next, doing the same procedure.

"A gift," Voldemort said. "Power. My Power. Used to kill my enemies. I expect you will use it well when the time is needed."

"Yes my Lord… thank you, my master," Bellatrix Lestrange said first, the others saying their thanks after her.

Voldemort dismissed them. Once the room was empty, Tom took off his robe, revealing his night robes, and sat down in the throne-like chair. "What did you do to them? Really?" Harry asked, taking off the Invisibility Cloak.

"An interesting spell I found one day while reading," Tom said, holding out his arms for Harry. The smaller boy moved around and sat on Tom's lap, nuzzling into his lover. "It is my power inside them now, that is not a lie, and it is used to kill my enemies… them to be precise. Their marks now hold the collective poison from all those lovely snakes you've conjured. Taken, quite subtly I might add, from our friend Mr. Parkinson." He looked down at the body and smirked. "When the need arise I can simply just… activate the spell. The poisons will rush through their bloodstream and they die simply like that." He snapped his fingers for emphasis. "And with that, my love, my little snake, the most dangerous of Death Eaters will be out of our way for the better future."

"Just like that?"

"Just like that," Tom nodded.

They shared a smile and slowly kissed, their lips meeting together tenderly. "God, I love you so much Harry," Tom sighed.

"I love you too Tom," Harry smiled. "You're my everything. I would kill for you…" He murmured as he rested his body against Tom's, closing his eyes momentarily. Tom wrapped his arms around Harry and kissed the top of his head. Resting on it, he whispered, "I know, little snake, I know…"

The thought of what was going to happen, of the Death Eaters storming Hogwarts, getting the Elder Wand for Tom from Dumbledore, killing the old man and their enemies kept Harry going as the school year continued on. Shortly after the meeting, Harry thought that he and Tom were at a roadblock. Umbridge found out about the D.A. and where they were practicing. She used the club as ammunition to take control of Hogwarts, and though Harry thought Dumbledore was going to be arrested, the old man fled with Fawkes. Harry worried that Dumbledore was gone forever, but Tom comforted him. "He loves Hogwarts too much, little snake. Threaten it, and he will come…"

Hogwarts under Umbridge was totalitarian. It seemed to Harry that every day Umbridge was introducing new "Educational Decrees" to make life as miserable as possible. Harry felt he had to become a mute just to stay from getting in trouble with the woman. However, with each day that clicked closer to his O.W.L.s, Harry felt that his excitement for the coming chaos outweighed his anger, his stress, and his anxiety for Umbridge and the tests themselves. After all, Tom is tutoring him. He can never fail when he has his Daddy with him.

Harry soon found out that his mail, along with everyone else's', were being watched. This made him feel more sad then anything, as he couldn't write to Sirius and Remus directly as long as Umbridge was in charge. Thankfully, Ron was kind enough to propose sending the letters to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, who can then forward it to his adoptive fathers.

And this was how Harry lived, suffering under Umbridge's rule, seeking refuge in Tom's arms and secreting letters to the two men he loved a little less than his boyfriend. Days became weeks, weeks turned into months and months went on slowly, screaming in agony, waiting to be released into an orgasmic, destructive rush that June will bring.

Finally, before they knew it, it was time for Harry and Tom to take their O.W.L. exams. The exams were taken over a period of two weeks. Theory in the morning, practical in the afternoon. With Tom's help, Harry never felt anxious about performing the spells, or crafting the potions when the need arise. The two made sure to sit together, or as close together as possible, able to hide their Parseltongue beneath the scribbling of quills on parchment. Each night they celebrate the only way they know how and repeat the process again the next day.

At last, at the end of their final exam, History of Magic, Harry and Tom convened together in the Slytherin Common Room, smirking to themselves. "When will we do it?" Harry asked, his body shaking with excitement.

Tom pulled Harry close and kissed him heatedly. "Tomorrow night, Friday night, we shall strike. Spread to word around the common room, make sure that nobody goes out to help… no, do that tomorrow. Tonight…" One of his hands drifted downwards towards Harry's ass, gripping it tightly, "tonight I want to fuck your pussy Harry Potter."

Harry smiled lewdly and giggled as he pulled Tom upstairs with one hand, his other reaching for his wand.

The next day, they've spent it warning the Slytherins to not step outside. It was early night, around six, when they left through the secret tunnel connecting Hogwarts and Honeydukes. "Follow me," Tom whispered, and the two snuck up the wooden stairs that led to the storefront. They ignored the door leading to the store itself and followed a second wooden staircase further up into the flat above.

The sounds of soft snoring could be heard as Tom silently opened the door. "We just need to make sure they don't wake up," he whispered. "Put them in a deeper sleep."

Harry nodded. They crept through the old-fashioned apartment, Harry not paying attention to the decoration as he was too focused on his task, and moved into a small bedroom mostly filled by an antique-looking bed where the old couple who runs the store below lied sleeping. Tom pulled out his wand and moved around the bed to the wife while Harry aimed his wand at the husband. Somnus aeterna," they both whispered. A faint glow came from their wandtips and washed over the couple. Their snores continued, and Tom smirked, satisfied.

"Come on," he said in a louder voice, "let's go get our followers."

A few minutes later, Harry and Tom were back at Malfoy Manor, this time Mr. Malfoy was dressed and waiting for them. "Still should have warned me about Parkinson," the man grumbled.

"Why should I?" Tom said cockily. "It wasn't as though you've liked the man."

"He and his family have been a pain, but still to murder him in my own home?"

"I needed the poison," was Tom's explanation. Harry pulled the Invisibility Cloak over him as Tom summoned the Death Eaters. They waited, and soon the room was full, once more, wit the Dark Lord's faithful.

"Tonight, we strike," Voldemort said. "Hogwarts is vulnerable, tired from a year of education, and missing her true headmaster. Tonight, she will serve as our battleground, and Dumbledore will die with his Order and Ministry!" He paused as the Death Eaters cheered, smirking, he looked directly at Snape. "To avoid notice, we shall travel to Hogsmeade, and I will show you the passage we shall use into Hogwarts, hidden under the sweets shop the students are fond of. Severus, stay with Lucius. You two shall travel last. Bellatrix, keep them company."

Harry smiled when he saw a twinge of fear in Snape's face. He listened as Voldemort ordered the Death Eaters, telling them when to travel to Hogsmeade and in what order. When he was done, Voldemort tapped his wand and black smoke erupted from it. He and Harry left the room through the fireplace, the black smoke hiding the green flames, and they appeared back in Honeydukes. They waited in the basement, just outside the trapdoor, which laid open.

In Ones and twos the Death Eaters appeared, and Voldemort ordered them through the trapdoor. Their wands all in their hands, the secret feeling of war brimming inside them all as they snuck through Honeydukes and into the trapdoor. Snape was last to arrive with Bellatrix Lestrange. Voldemort watched as the two secreted into the trapdoor. "Snape, wait," Voldemort said.

Severus Snape stopped as Lestrange continued. "My Lord?"

"Tell me… do you know my façade?" Voldemort asked.

"My Lord… I do not understand," Snape said.

Voldemort chuckled darkly. "I asked," he said slowly as his hands reached for his black robe and pulled it off, revealing his face and body, "if you knew of my façade." Tom smirked as shock filled Snape's face.

"I guess not," Tom chuckled.

"Mr. Riddle…"

"Harry, show yourself," Tom chuckled. Confused, Harry pulled off his Invisibility Cloak. "Tom?"

"I just wanted to see what will happen now," Tom smirked. "Well Severus?"

Snape looked between the two of them. "Dumbledore—"

"Will die tonight by our hands, isn't that right Harry?" Tom asked.

Harry nodded. "He will," he said, catching on quickly. "So Snape? Who will you serve? Dumbledore… or us? Either way, you most likely will end up dead…"

Snape faltered, looking at both boys, an unreadable expression on his face. Tom and Harry just stared at him, looking bored, expectantly, at the man. Snape looked ashamed, but hid it quickly as he turned around and went down into the trapdoor.

Harry and Tom shared a victorious look and interlocked hands. "Let's have fun tonight my love," Tom said. "Just follow my lead."

"Always Tom," Harry smiled, and they made their way through the trapdoor.

A/N: Next time…. It ends.