A Touch of Evil

DaggersBloodPain

Chapter Twenty Six

Burn Out the Night

(Burnin' For You- Blue Oyster Cult)

Mirage's pulse was steady and his hands were dry as the first portion of the evening commenced, His wand was held with a firm but confidant grip and he lead his own group of death eaters through the ministry. Voldemort would meet them from the other side of the atrium as they cleared guards as they swept threw. He signaled to his group to follow him closely, he could feel the edges of the Dark lord's essence washing over him already, and he wondered if that was mutual.

"Mirage, take the door to your left, it will lead to the stairwell, go as high as you can go and head down to the farthest door on the hall, that is Fudge's office. He should still be there right now under a compulsion spell I cast on him earlier." Lucius whispered into the young leader's ear as they came in sight of the proper door, "We will follow and keep any remaining guards off your back, the Dark Lord will follow you from the other stairwell as we planned."

Lucius had only been informed up to the point where Mirage and Voldemort made it into the Minister's office whatever happened between the three of them after the door closed was only for the lords to know.

Harry easily followed the directions Lucius had provided and willfully ignored the sound of whispered spells and falling bodies as yet more patrolling guards were taken care of by the men under his command, he could sense Voldemort drawing nearer as he exited the top of the stair well and found a long hallway with doors leading off of it on both sides. A single door at the end of the hall caught his attention and he knew it was the right one to find the cowardly minister in.

He reached the door just as his partner-in-crime exited a door to the left of the minister's office. Lord Voldemort had his own contingent of Death Eaters following him, though he had a few less than Harry's entourage which was just as much for the younger one's protection as a way to prove Harry could and would fight, and with Mirage taking down half the guards himself he had readily proved that much to the men under his command.

This part was between Voldemort and himself. "Alright Mirage,I know even with all you have said and learned this will not be easy for you. I am making your first kill as simple as I can by giving you a target you already know needs removed and taking his life will be no great loss to humanity. Take your wand, aim it true, and cast the spell. For the first kill go for something quick and highly lethal, you can make it easier on yourself he first time by making a clean efficient kill, there will be time later to teach you the art of painful death." Voldemort coached as he nudged the door open quietly, Lucius' compulsion spells were of high quality but even the imperious curse could be fought if the victim had reason to, and two dark wizards entering your office was a pretty good reason.

"I will be alright," Harry assured with unexpected confidence, well for Voldemort it was unexpected, he hadn't realized just how thoroughly Harry's innocence had been shattered. Harry was more than ready to live up to his placement in the Dark Lord's ranks and it was time he proved that to himself and Voldemort alike.

"I'm sure you will be my venomous lion," Voldemort responded his quiet hissing drawing the attention of the lethargic Minister, who just blinked a bit owlishly at them and went back to contemplating the empty expanse of his cherry wood desk, though the overflowing inbox suggested he should be attending to other matters.

"Remind me to ask Lucius to teach me that spell." Harry ordered in English, not afraid in the slightest about ordering around the most feared wizard in Britain. He knew what Voldemort wanted from him was about as far away from death as it was possible to get.

"If you succeed tonight I will do whatever you ask," Voldemort agreed, "Just remember don't use the unforgiveables here, they will be able to track your magical signature if you do and we both agreed it is just too soon for you to be outed to the general public."

"Remember your promise," Was all Harry replied as he turned his still steady wand on the minister. He paused to think of just the right spell to kill the minister with. He knew Voldemort was right as much as he had fallen it would still be easier if he picked a slightly less messy mode of death for his first kill. He didn't need to see blood to know a job well done. "Arrestus Cardia," The sickly brown spell hit the now mumbling minister square in the chest and at first there was no immediate effect. Then a shaky hand was put on his left shoulder rubbing vigorously as if Fudge was trying to alleviate a severe muscle cramp. Then his hand moved further up the arm towards his collar bone, descending lower and lower until the minister was groaning with pain and panting from the effort his body was putting forth fighting the insidious curse. Finally the hand started pressing on his chest right above his struggling heart, and with a choked scream the man collapsed forward on his desk, his mortal body loosing the fight with the dark magic of the curse that slowly stopped the heart.

Harry knew if either man was so inclined they could call in a team from St. Mungos that could revive the minister in the next three minutes as his body used up the remaining oxygenated blood, but as neither wizard had any such desires the minister was left to die in a puddle of his own spit. The beauty of Harry's choice coming from the fact unless someone was specifically looking for the spell Harry had used it would look just like a heart attack, and even if someone was smart enough to look for the spell it did not leave traces of the castor's signature like the unforgivables did.

Voldemort took in Harry's calm almost serene expression and he knew without a single doubt he had chosen correctly, both when saving a twelve year old boy's life and with giving his own heart away to the man that boy had become. Harry really was his perfect match and when Harry turned to look at him, triumph lighting a fire in the green orbs Voldemort couldn't stop himself from stealing another soul searing kiss from the boy's unresisting mouth.

Well from Harry's perspective resistance was the last thing on his mind at that moment, he took it upon himself to wrest control of the kiss from Voldemort, he was much to hopped up on adrenaline right than to willingly submit to anyone Dark Lord or not. That fire and stubbornness just made Voldemort want him all the more, all kinds of interesting possibilities flashed through his mind about what to do with his willing partner.

Only to have all plans brought to a screeching halt by the familiar smooth knocking that Voldemort immediately recognized. "Lucius if I were you I would make yourself scarce before we open this door." The Dark Lord warned before hearing light footsteps half running towards the nearest staircase, and the very mild chuckling of the other death eaters. Harry just sighed turned to the disappointed Dark Lord, kissed him one last time and exited the office, ready to face the awaiting Death Eaters.

XXXXXXX

Mirage's first mission was toasted with a few too many bottles of fire whiskey that was passed around among the more trusted of the Death Eaters. It was not a good idea to get drunk with your rival who was always looking for an easy way to clime the political ladder.

Harry carefully monitored his intake of the potent whiskey, never having allowed himself the pleasure before he knew better than to try to out drink the more experienced death eaters around him. A few hours after midnight found them corralled in the meeting room of the manor, Mirage had sprawled out sideways in Voldemort's throne like chair, a crystal glass of the deep amber colored beverage swirling gently in his hand to catch the candlelight throwing back the shards of red, gold, and orange that gave the liquor half its name. The occasional burning sip proved the spirit was aptly named indeed. The preoccupied Mirage was unaware that a whispered conversation was being held between three wizards concerning him at the other side of the hall.

"Is he going to be alright?" Severus asked trying to keep his voice casual but apparently not succeeding very well.

Voldemort turned his gaze sharply to Severus before placing them back on the contemplative wizard. As far as he could tell Harry was just thinking, he didn't see any doubt or regret in Harry's eyes even now hours after the event where time and the application of alcohol should have burned away the adrenaline that might have been masking any discomfort. "I think he will be fine, I still remember my first kill and I would be shocked if either of you had forgotten yours. We all got through it and so will Harry. He is strong, and more importantly he actually chose this path. It might seem like a little thing when you take into account he really did kill another person tonight, but to Harry it makes all the difference. No one forced him to do it, it makes it that much easier to accept, if he was going to fly apart from this he would have already done it by now, or would have tried to drown himself in the first bottle of firewhiskey he was offered. He didn't, and he knows it was an option, so if that doesn't answer your question I don't know what would, unless you actually went over there and asked him yourself."

Severus sighed before replying, "I think I just might go talk with him," He excused himself and left Voldemort with Lucius. Though the Dark Lord was positive he heard Severus mumble something about the brat getting his wish.

"My Lord, I know he wants to be here, but what made you give the offer in the first place? You didn't let any others stay with you in the manor full time until they were out of Hogwarts and that was only for a week or two here and there. What makes him different?" Lucius knew the only reason he was still alive and conscious after that was because he had asked out of curiosity not derision.

"Are you questioning my sanity again Lucius?" Voldemort asked allowing a slight hint of a hiss to caress his words, this time intending to scare the hell out of the listener.

It was working wonderfully. "No, My Lord, I won't ever question your sanity, I just want to know your reasons for it." Lucius was proud of the fact he hadn't stuttered, and Voldemort had to suppress a smirk at just how ruffled the Malfoy Lord had gotten over a few hissed syllables that if it had been Harry listening would have possibly led into more interesting exploits.

"Lucius, he will be our best ally in this war, with no competition for the claim what so ever. He is strong and powerful, not to mention has more public acclaim than even you do. If Harry well and truly wanted to get something done in this world he could do it one way or another, and thankfully he is willing to work with us. Just don't ever make the mistake of telling him he is working for us, I won't be responsible for any damage to your person caused by him and if you make him carry out his threat to disappear so help me I will make Azkaban look like a destination resort." Voldemort warned, once again adding in the hiss.

"And the fact you love him doesn't factor in at all?" Lucius was brave enough to call him on it, but not so brave as to look him in the eye while doing so. He was willing to take a certain amount of risk but had also been born with a healthy dose of self-preservation instincts.

"Lucius, if I wanted your opinion on such matters I will ask it of you, and did you ever think that I love him for the same reasons he is our greatest ally? I didn't think it had to be said if it was just a restatement of facts." Voldemort replied civilly and Lucius was left wondering what was scarier the fact the Dark Lord was actually in love, or that he was openly admitting it. Even if Lucius was a trusted inner circle member, love had never been a topic of discussion even if Lucius was one of the few wizards selected to share his bed in the past.