Hello. Sorry this took so long. For once it wasn't because I didn't have time or got distracted by something else. This chapter was really hard to write. Kept getting writer's block.

You can thank my wonderful beta SchroedingersKat for making this readable. You should have seen it before.

Disclaimer: I didn't invent the Harry potter world. I just borrowed it cause its fun...

Warning: Um try reading the ones for the first 37 chapters, its the same thing.

Chapter 38

Harry put his fork down on the plate before him, sighing. The sound echoed through the rather large room, fortunately not the dining room, with its monstrous table and brilliant chandelier, but a slightly less imitating room designed for entertaining guests. Next to him sat Lucius at the head of the table and Severus had a seat across from him. A quick glance at the clock, a lovely thing with a crescent moon in mother of pearl adorning its face, told him that it was time to leave, to see what the Dark Lord wanted.

Peter had arrived earlier to tell Harry and Severus that Voldemort had called a meeting regarding Dumbledore's escape. They had been enjoying a bite to eat, at least that was Lucius had called it, Harry however considered it far closer to a gourmet meal, and discussing how to improve the success of Lucius campaign for Minister, something that had been going quite well with the boy-who-lived's support, when the rat arrived to inform them that the Dark Lord had requested their presence in an hour.

The man had quickly fled right after, leaving the three men to their debate. However it was only a few minutes before the man was expecting their presence and he knew both his lover and Lord Malloy wouldn't be comfortable making their Lord wait. Standing, he sent the wonderful food one last wishful glance, before he stepped into the arms of his lover who had gracefully risen the minute he had seen the younger man set his fork down. Together the three of them vanished with a pop from Malfoy Manor only to reappear seconds later at their destination. A horrible place Harry knew far too well.

The meeting place was the Dursley's house; or rather the remains of it, a large portion had been burned down in the flames. Apparently the Dark Lord had found something there that he thought would help him catch Dumbles. Severus and Lucius had discussed whether their Lord had found some trace of the old coots magic that could be used to track him; however neither of them knew for certain what the Dark Lord had found.

The house was dark; apparently nobody wanted to buy it. Not surprising considering what had happened there. Not that the muggles knew what exactly had happened, beyond the fact that there had been some mysterious deaths. Still, that didn't do much for the real estate value.

The three of them approached the house in silence. A quick spell got them past the locked door. Looking around Harry suppressed a wince. He had almost died here on more than one occasion after all.

"The Dark Lord wouldn't have called us here if it wasn't completely necessary," Severus murmured, placing a hand on the younger man's shoulder. Harry smiled up at his lover and nodded slightly. He could stand being here if it meant the end of Dumbles.

Catching sight of a man leaning against the wall wrapped in a black cloak, Harry started toward him, Severus and Lucius following. The minute they got closer, Harry immediately saw that the man was too short to be the dark lord. He could feel the two men next to him shift and he knew that they had both reached for their wands. The teen followed suit, as the man turned towards them.

Recognition followed by disgust filled Harry as he caught sight of the face of Peter Pettigrew. Despite the fact that the man worked for his grandfather, he hadn't forgiven the man who had betrayed his parents. It was one thing after all to kill those who were on the other side of a war; however the man had been their friend and had stabbed them in the back. It wasn't something Harry had any intention of forgiving.

"Ah so you are here," a voice called from behind them. Harry spun around in time to see the two Slytherins' step between him and the threat before he caught sight of red eyes glowing in the darkness. A chuckle filled the air as the Dark Lord stepped out of the shadows. Lucius and Severus relaxed when they realized that the voice had come from their lord.

"Trying to scare us all out of our wits, My Lord?" Severus asked sarcastically, lowering his wand. "Some of us don't have many to spare," he continued, smirking at Lucius. The blonde rolled his eyes, used to his friend's snarky comments.

"What, afraid of the dark?" the Dark Lord asked, softly. Harry snorted, after all the time he had spent locked in the cupboard in the dark; it was the last thing that scared him. He knew first hand that it was the people and not some bogy man that you had to be afraid of.

"So why exactly are we are we here?" Harry asked looking around, he hated this place. The burnt remains of the house made the place even worse, like some twisted nightmare. Frankly he would be happy if he never went near the place again.

"When strong magic is cast it tends to leave marks, especially if there is emotion of any kind behind it. In magical places like Hogwarts or Diagon Alley there are so many wizards casting magic that it can be difficult to track specific traces back to their casters. However here we have a clean trace, since there are only a few wizards who have used their magic here." The Dark Lord explained, his eyes gleaming.

"And what do we need trace remains of magic for?" Harry asked. This is the first time he had ever heard of something like this. Not that it meant anything; his grandfather probably knew lots of ancient forgotten magic like this. At least he assumed it was a forgotten art, judging by the confusion on his lover and Lucius faces.

"It's not used often now, since it is so difficult to find an untainted trail of magic among all the magic that builds up in places the magic population frequents, and it's rare that any serious crimes are committed in the muggle world, however at one point, when the magic population was less clustered together, magical traces were used in a variety of spells, including ones to track the one who left the trace," Voldemort explained. Lucius nodded once, his face shifting from confusion to understanding and triumph. Severus on the other hand looked down right vicious, no doubt plotting what he would do to the old coot, when they found him.

"Tracking isn't the only thing that the magic residue can be used for even if it was certainly the most commonly used. Magic is, as you well know, as much a part of a wizard as their blood. However, one wizard discovered that the traces could be used in much the same ways as blood is in spells and rituals." Voldemort continued, softly, almost like he was speaking to himself, his eyes unfocused.

"My Lord?" Lucius asked confused by the shift in conversation. The dark lord shook himself slightly, as if to escape a past memory. Before the dark lord could respond a second figure stepped out of the shadows. Harry suppressed a snarl as he caught sight of Peter Pettigrew. The man looked nervous, but then the he always did. There was a reason the rat was his animagus form after all. What purpose the Dark Lord could want him here for he had no clue.

"Peter," The Dark Lord sneered, "I trust you have prepared everything?" The man nodded groveling at the Dark Lord's feet.

"Then you know what comes next!" Voldemort murmured, his eyes glittering in the darkened room. Peter paled drastically, his form trembling. His eyes darted around the room before he nodded once shakily. Reaching into a pocket he pulled out his wand. In a sudden motion born more from years of fleeing then any true skill, he flung a spell at Lucius.

Not expecting it, the silver haired man toppled. Instinctively Harry stepped back, raising his wand, but before he could cast a spell, Severus beat him to the punch, binding the man with an incantation Harry vaguely recognized as an advanced binding spell. The man crumbled to a heap on the floor.

"What idiotic notion would cause such a spineless coward to suddenly turn traitor, in the Dark Lord's presence no less?" Severus wondered out loud, "he couldn't believe he had any chance to succeed in his endeavor."

Harry shook his head in confusion as his lover stepped towards Lucius, wand raised. Before he could respond a blue bolt slammed into the taller man. Horrified, he watched him sink to his knees, crumpling down next to the other Slytherin.

Senses dulled by the sight, he barely caught sight of a second bolt before it slammed into him. He collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut, the world fading in and out around him.

"He did so on my orders," the Dark Lord murmured, approaching the teen. Harry was helpless to do anything as he fell into unconsciousness to the sound of the Dark Lord's laughter.

Yeah, tried really hard to make that a shock. It was hard trying to word this chapter without completely blowing the surprise ending. I think I did an ok job. Next chapter is started so it shouldn't take as long.

review, please...