Nr words in this chapter: 2,186
"Talking"
'Thinking'
{Talking on the fireplace, phone}
–Parseltongue–
Thinking in 3rd person POV/Dream/Memory/Flashback/Others
Letter/Journal/Book/Newspaper
Time change/Date of time
Change of POV
Chapter XVI
–Professor Slughorn–
Saturday, 29 June 1996
HJP's POV
Harry groaned, punching his pillow not quite believing he had let Voldemort manipulate him into another kiss. With this one it made two. If the man kept this up he would have kissed him more times than Cho had!
Harry took a deep breath to calm down… at least he knew the man hadn't left the encounter smirking.
–MR–
Sunday, 30 June 1996
Harry finished serving everyone, minus one person who continuously kept glaring at him, and sat, starting to eat his breakfast. He could see the way Sirius and Luna were biting the inside of their lips to keep the laugh at bay.
"Hmm… Papa?" Stanley dared to say when Voldemort finally made a move to serve himself.
"Yes, Stan."
"Why is your face…?" Stan glanced at his sister unsure about what to say.
"Red." Harry put in and Stan nodded. "Because his face happened to collide with my hand." Harry answered.
"Why did Papa's face collided with your hand?" Miley asked as Sirius snorted unable to hold it back.
"Because someone thought that he could manipulate me into letting his lips came too close to mine's."
There was a silence as the twins assimilated the news, Voldemort glared openly at Harry and Sirius and Luna pretended not to laugh.
"Papa tried to kiss you?" Miley finally asked and Harry nodded. "And your hand collided with his face?" Harry nodded again.
"Actually the correct term was that he tried to manipulate me into letting him kiss me." Harry argued.
"You can't manipulate the willingly." Voldemort said.
Harry turned to the man, glaring at him.
"If I do remember correctly, that mark on your face was made with my hand because you kissed me. How can I be, in any way, more direct than that?" Voldemort raised an eyebrow. "I can't wait to be old enough to be able to curse you out of my sight." Harry hissed under his breath.
Voldemort smirked and turned to his tea. Harry wondered how he would handle the rest of the summer.
–MR–
Harry glanced up to see a blond fat man entering Riddle Manor, he was obviously a Wizard by the look of his robes.
–Dad?– Miley called and Harry turned to her at once, returning to reading her summer holidays homework. –Who is that?–
Harry shrugged.
–Don't know.– He answered, before looking at dog Sirius by the fireplace. –But Sirius knew he was coming or wouldn't have shifted already.–
Miley glanced and then nodded. Finally Harry returned the parchment to the girl who started checking what she had done wrong. Harry glanced at the Wizard again to see Voldemort talking with him.
"Harry?" Voldemort suddenly called. Harry stood and approached when the man turned to him, offering him a hand. "Harry this is the Potions Master that your Lord of the family contacted. Professor Slughorn, this is my nephew Harry Potter." The man introduced.
Harry bowed his head at the Wizard. Slughorn smiled at Harry.
"Indeed my old student gave me quite the surprise when he contacted me this morning to came and tutor Harry Potter so he could remake his OWLs. What is your median grade in Potions?"
"Acceptable, sir."
Slughorn nodded in thought.
"In my time my students could continue with an A, but I suppose that my old student Severus has his reasons. So we'll have to pass you to an Exceed Expectations in two months, don't we?" The man added with a smile and walking along side Harry to the table. "Your Uncle told me that you intend on taking both a Potions and a DADA Masteries."
Harry turned his head to glare at Voldemort as the Professor pulled him to the table, but the man had disappeared.
"I'm a good cook, so my Uncle thought that I should take a Potions Mastery as well. As we spoke about what I like, DADA class was mentioned and before I know I'm having classes next year to both take a DADA, a Potions and a Cook Masteries." Harry explained. "Leys, this is my tutor Professor Slughorn. Professor, these are my cousins Stanley and Miley Evans."
Slughorn looked to one and then the other with a smile.
"I have to say, Miss Evans, you look remarkably like young Harry's late mother. Lily Evans was one of my best students, actually."
Harry's eyes grew as he and the man sat at the table.
"You knew my Mother?"
"And your Father. I was their Professor, you see? Now do you have this year Potions OWL exam?" Harry nodded and grabbed the parchment from his shoulder bag that he had on his chair and offered it to the man who read it. "I know quite a few Cook Masters myself, if you and your Uncle would want I could get in contact with one of them so he would teach you next school year."
"I don't want to bother, sir… you are already going to tutor me."
Professor Slughorn smiled at Harry.
"It is not a bother. Actually it's more like a pretext to speak with them. Now which speciality of cooking were you taught?"
"Home taught myself… Muggle cooking?" Harry added, scratching the back of his head.
Slughorn frowned in thought.
"Let me see, who do I know…? What about a mix between Muggle and Wizardry cooking? I know who took a mastery with both, but just Muggle cooking I'm not quite recalling anyone."
"It is quite acceptable, sir." Voldemort's voice said as the man re-entered the drawing room where they were sitting. The man approached and sat at Harry's and Miley's side. "Here, I have written down every discipline that Harry has decided to follow next school year." The man added while offering a small Muggle notebook.
Professor Slughorn picked it and opened the first page to read it.
"Have you contacted Hogwarts yet?" Slughorn asked turning towards Voldemort who shook his head.
"I sent Harry's owl yesterday before dinner and we had the talk at dinner time. The owl has yet to return." Voldemort answered.
Slughorn nodded.
"Which inheritances does Harry have?"
"Slytherin, Potter and Black." Voldemort replied.
"Three lordships he'll win when the courting has finished, I'm sure." The man added pointing at Harry's ring and Voldemort nodded. "Basic Healing could be Madam Pomfrey although I would advise a real Potion Master to teach the subject."
"Not Professor Snape." Harry pleaded.
Slughorn smiled.
"As you have yet to contact Dumbledore I can contact him myself. I heard that the DADA substitute Professor he had found with Umbridge's death has left the subject. I will propose myself to re-enter Hogwarts then." Harry frowned confused. "As it is no secret that Professor Snape wants to be a DADA Professor, I'll take his job as a Potions Professor becoming the Potions Master of the school, by so you will be able to enter my class with a simple A, but we will work hard on your grades to get them higher, while at the same time I will give you Basic Healing classes. So the only two Professors missing would be the Cook Master and a Professor to teach Harry about his inheritance. I will speak with Dumbledore and the School Board about this, but I'm sure that Lord Riddle – as Harry's actual and only Lord – will have every right to become Harry's tutor in that area."
Harry's eyes grew and he turned to Voldemort who was looking at Slughorn in thought. Harry wondered if that had been the man's idea all along.
"Riddle? But sir…" Harry started.
Slughorn smiled.
"He is your Lord of the family, it is perfectly right for him to teach you everything you need to know."
Harry opened his mouth to argue but Voldemort's hand found his shoulder, grabbing it… hard.
"Thank you, Professor Slughorn. We would be most grateful if you would help us with it."
"Nonsense. It will be a pleasure to help Harry Potter."
–MR–
Harry crossed his arms, glaring full heartedly at the older man. Voldemort looked up from his paperwork towards Harry and then back to it.
"What is it this time?"
"What did you told Slughorn?"
Voldemort smirked amused.
"So that's what this is all about." The man looked up at Harry again. "Professor Slughorn is a collector. He collect students. He would never pass off the opportunity of collecting the Boy Who Lived. And even more if you would feel the desire to thank him for all the help he gave you." Harry raised an eyebrow. "He was the Head of Slytherin house until he reformed and Severus took his place. All those contacts he spoke you about… all belong to his former students who he collected." Voldemort smirked. "I never thought that one day being his old student would came in handy."
"Why would you want him to collect me?" Harry asked confused.
"Because he has contacts, not just in the subjects you will follow next school year, but also in the School Board and in the Ministry. And he is Slytherin enough to manipulate Dumbledore to let him back."
Harry frowned and approached the window looking outside where Sirius was teaching the twins how to fly on Harry's broom. It was a good thing that Voldemort wasn't seeing it or the man would've already killed the man.
"Sirius can'…"
"Black himself put a Silence Ward around my office. It is not strong but is enough so he can't hear what I say in my office… he can still smell us though." Voldemort answered. "What means that I still can't shift back to my real form."
"Why do you care about the contacts Slughorn has in the Ministry?" Harry asked, turning towards the man.
Voldemort stood and hovered over Harry in a threatening manner. Harry didn't let himself be intimidated, besides when the man was looking so alike his Mother it was actually hard for Harry to be intimidated by him, and looked at the man's eyes dead on.
"In case you have forgotten I'm still trying to take over the Ministry." Harry sneered and was ready to pull the man away from him when Voldemort grabbed his chin and forced Harry to look back at him. "Muggles aren't very accepting of our world. There is a reason why we were separated all those centuries ago. There is a reason why we still make the old ways. Because if we don't: the Wizardry World will end. Muggles will kill us or use us as text subject, and don't dare to tell me that they won't, because you know first-hand what they do to someone different." Harry kept his retort at bay, remembering his relatives. "Besides our magic will die without the old ways." Harry's eyes grew. "I am not lying, Harry. It is the truth."
"But…"
"The only way is the separation between the Muggle and the Wizardry World, completely."
"Good job doing that, considering you're pretending to be a Muggle."
Voldemort's eyes narrowed.
"That's why I'm using Slughorn. With Slughorn I can enter the Wizardry World as Tom Riddle. Any Muggle who accepts our world will have to cut any and whatever relation they have with the Muggle part."
Harry narrowed his eyes.
"That would make them no better than a Squib!"
"And yet you don't see this Muggle complaining." Voldemort argued and pulled Harry's chin up, forcing Harry on the tip of his toes, before lowering his own head down and kissing him.
Before the hand that was going his way managed to make contact, Voldemort's free hand grabbed it, while the man deepened the kiss. By the time Voldemort moved back Harry was panting hard. Voldemort smirked and turned around, returning to his desk.
"I have work to do."
Deep red, not quite believing that he had let Voldemort do it again, Harry fled the room.
–MR–
LV's POV
Voldemort looked up as Harry practically run from the room. He couldn't wait for Harry to start having feelings for him. If he could get this reaction from the boy from a mere kiss he couldn't even imagine how it would feel to have him under him. Voldemort smirked to himself and stood from his desk, leaving the office. He could either ignore it, or take care of it…
As Voldemort passed through Harry's room he could hear the water coming from the inside. It seemed like he hadn't been the only one who had had a not so little reaction to their kiss. With a smug smirk in place, Voldemort walked all the way to his room to go take a bath. It seemed like Harry wouldn't be so hard to sway after all… last night's slap was suddenly all worth it.
(TBC)
Next Chapter: First-Time