The Devil in Me

We Are the Dark Horses

The chapter title is from the song:

Dark Horses by Switchfoot

The August full moon was nearing when Voldemort approached Harry. He was sitting in the dining room with a cup of coffee next to him and the Daily Prophet in his hands. Reading the news was pretty pointless these days, mind you. Now that they had taken control of the Ministry, they also controlled the Prophet, so all news was 'Voldemort news'. All the same, Harry was intrigued by the announcement of Snape as the Headmaster of Hogwarts. He had known it was going to happen, but he hadn't expected a full front-page article complete with a not-entirely-awful photograph of the greasy-haired bastard.

"You are less than complimentary about your Potions Master, Harry," Voldemort said as he stepped into the drawing-room, "And one can only wonder why that is. He has, after all, devoted himself to keeping you alive these past 17 years."

Harry looked up sharply, "You know about that?"

"I can hear your thoughts, at all times," Voldemort said dryly, "Of course I know about that."

"And not only is he still alive, but you're giving him a prestigious position at Hogwarts?" Harry asked. Those two facts just weren't going hand in hand for him.

Voldemort sat down opposite him and tapped a long finger against the table, "Yes, you see I am not only thinking in the here and now, Harry. I play the long game, as did Severus. He acted as a double agent, he kept his options open while I was gone, and in the end, he returned to me."

Harry's frown deepened.

"He told you the truth," Voldemort said, "He unmasked Dumbledore and brought me you. Your service, your loyalty, it is why I forgive Severus for his past transgressions."

Harry nodded as it all clicked into place, "Speaking of Dumbledore, have you had time to look through those letters?"

Voldemorts eyes glinted with malice as he dropped a photograph on the desk, "Yes, I have."

Harry looked down at the photo and frowned, "Who is that?"

"This is Albus Dumbledore," Voldemort said, a long finger tapping the photograph, "And this man by his side is Gellert Grindelwald."

Harry looked at Voldemort in disbelief, "They were friends? He was friends with Grindelwald, and he had the nerve to stand against you? What a hypocrite!"

Voldemort chuckled, "I applaud your show of loyalty, but it is not necessary. Dumbeldore never liked me, from the moment he met me in the orphanage, he labelled me as a lost cause. I never expected or wanted his adoration, but yes…his relationship with Grindelwald does make him a hypocrite."

"Relationship?" Harry echoed, "That implies they were…you know?"

"Yes, Harry," Voldemort said, his voice tinged with amusement, "I do believe the relationship was sexual."

Harry leant back, "Wow…I mean…wow. How do you go from pillow talk to defeating the other guy in a duel and locking him up in Nurmengard?"

"The same way you go from being sworn enemies to talking openly over firewhiskey," Voldemort said with a smirk.

Harry snorted, he couldn't argue with that logic, "So what changed Dumbledore's mind?"

"I believe he realised he was in too deep when his sister was killed," Voldemort mused, "She had been unstable ever since a group of muggles attacked her. Frankly, I do not know how the old man was such a muggle lover considering what muggles did to his family."

Harry frowned, "Was she young when she was attacked?"

"She was a child," Voldemort answered, "Dumbledore's father died in Azkaban when he went after them, seeking revenge. I gather from the letters that Dumbledore was incredibly bitter when his mother died; he had no interest in taking care of his damaged sister or his uncontrollable brother."

"Damaged," Harry sighed, "Her magic I guess? Because of what those muggles did to her?"

"Indeed."

"How could anyone love or defend muggles after that," Harry spat with disgust.

From the look on Voldemort's face, it was clear that he agreed with Harry, "That summer, he and Grindelwald became friends and lovers. It went sour over a duel between Albus and Aberforth Dumbledore and Grindelwald. I believe a stray curse hit Ariana Dumbledore and killed her, but no one ever knew whose spell it had been. Grindelwald fled afterwards, and that was the end of their relationship."

"So if it hadn't been for his sister's death, Dumbledore and Grindelwald would be ruling the world together right now," Harry scoffed, "Just when I thought I couldn't hate him anymore."

"Quite," Voldemort agreed, leaning back in his chair, "They were researching all sorts of things, Dumbledore and Grindelwald. Those letters were incredibly informative; thank you for having the forethought to search for them."

Harry nodded, "You're welcome my lord, but that brings me around to something else."

Voldemort's eyes narrowed, "I told you that we would not have this discussion again and most certainly not in such a public setting."

Harry rolled his eyes and switched to parseltongue, "You selected the books that Augustus gave me and tested me on. Why would you select the one about dark magic, specifically Horcruxes, if you did not want me to push you in this direction? If you put your soul back together again, you would be unstoppable. You would be Tom Riddle and Lord Voldemort, the boy who was smart enough and charming enough to get anyone to switch sides and the man who is feared across the country."

Voldemort fixed him with a slightly amused look, "I do not need to put my soul back together to be both Tom Riddle and Lord Voldemort, Harry. I have you. This is why you are my Head of Recruitment, you will be charming and intelligent enough to get those followers, and I will focus on the day to day running of things. Really, I should have thought about putting my soul into human vessels a long time ago, being able to split myself does ease the burden."

Harry snorted and switched back to English, "Speaking of which, have you filled all of the vacancies that you needed to yet?"

"No," Voldemort replied, "Alecto Carrow will teach Muggle Studies, and Amycus Carrow will teach Offensive Magic, as we discussed. But Augustus Rookwood cannot teach DefensiveMagic. I have given him his old job back as you well know."

Harry nodded. After the big party, Voldemort had held a meeting and dished out jobs at the Ministry – Gus had become Head of the Department of Mysteries, Avery had become Head of the Department of Magical Transportation, Dolohov had been made Head Hit Wizard, Jugson had been given his old job back as an Auror in the DMLE and Travers had been given a job in that department too.

MacNair had also been given his old job back in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. Fitz had gotten over his limp the minute he was told that he would be taking over that department with the chief goal of working out how to use the imperius curse on magical creatures to get the likes of the Centaurs and Merpeople on their side.

Lucius had been given one final chance at redemption due to his talent for politics – he had been elected as Chief Warlock on the Wizengamot. Alfred Nott had become the Head of the Department of International Magical Co-operation. Finally, in thanks for enabling the Ministry coup to happen – Yaxley had been made the head of the DMLE.

"I have an idea," Harry admitted.

"Yes?"

"Bill Weasley," Harry said, looking Voldemort in the eye.

Voldemort laughed softly, "He joins us in two days, and within two weeks of him being marked, you expect me to trust him?"

"You'll make him take an Unbreakable Vow when he joins," Harry pointed out, "It's standard procedure when you're bringing someone in from the 'other' side, isn't it?"

"You know this to be true," Voldemort pointed out.

"So he can't betray you and he wouldn't anyway," Harry said offhandedly, "The point is, he's getting fed up with the bank and the politics of it all, dealing with the goblins and what have you. His wife is pregnant, a slower-paced job is probably exactly what he needs, and he'll be perfectly placed to turn the least likely students. The students who prefer Defensive Magic over Offensive Magic will be the children of light families."

Voldemort said nothing, but Harry could tell that he was working through it in his head, "We shall see how his initiation goes and I may have a conversation with him about it. However, I have ideas of my own."

Harry just nodded.

"There is another decision that we must make before you return to Hogwarts," Voldemort mused, "Who will be your Head Girl?"

Harry frowned, "Do you have someone in mind?"

"The eldest Greengrass seems a wise choice," Voldemort said, "Perhaps you could get close to her and show her that she and her family will be safer with us than against us?"

"I could do that even if she weren't Head Girl, and it would likely look suspicious to her," Harry admitted, "I think we should make the Head Girl a Muggle-born."

Voldemort rolled his eyes, "It is only thanks to you that I am allowing Muggle-borns to return to school. Why should I give one such a high position?"

"To set an example," Harry answered, "Everyone knows we run the Ministry now and with the announcement of Snape as Headmaster, they will suspect we run the school too. They will be expecting their children to go back to a prison, so let's make sure that they don't. What we ought to do is keep the school running as normally as possible to show the children and therefore their parents, that while this is a new regime, it's not necessarily a bad one."

Voldemort's finger tapped the table once more, "You have a girl in mind, I presume?"

Harry nodded, "A Ravenclaw. My former friend Hermione knew of her. Her name is Lily, and her parents were abusive Muggles, I bet she hates them as much as I do."

"Very well," Voldemort said, "I shall let you conduct this little Muggle-born experiment."

Harry smiled, "Have you given any thought to placing Narcissa in the school? She would be a wonderful matron, and by placing her in the hospital wing where injured students have no choice but to go – she would become your ears in the school. With Filch as your eyes, you would always hear about any uprisings or rebellions amongst the children of light families."

"That is certainly an interesting idea," Voldemort remarked. He rose to his feet, "I will give it some thought, and I must travel once again. I shall see you for the initiation in a few days."

"Alright," Harry said, "Safe travels."

Voldemort paused on his way to the door, about to turn around and curse Harry for his cheek but then a small prod into the young man's mind told him that he was genuine. A slight flutter of emotion found its way through the soul-bond to Harry, which made him raise an eyebrow in surprise.

Voldemort cleared his throat, "Thank you," he said before he swept out of the room.

The August moon was highly anticipated, by several of the Death Eaters. They had all heard rumours about big things happening during this initiation, but very few people knew the truth, and Harry was one of them.

"Do you think Blaise is nervous?" Draco asked Harry in a whisper.

The two boys stood together by a large bonfire that had yet to be lit. Voldemort sat upon his 'throne' and those who were to join their ranks had yet to be led out into the garden.

"I doubt it," Harry said, his eyes falling on Blaise's parents – Osiris (formerly Caradoc Dearborn) was a highly accomplished, intelligent Death Eater. He stood with his head held high, and his hand in his wife's. She wasn't a Death Eater, but she was imposing enough, which probably had something to do with the rumours that her family had muggle mafia links.

"His mother is basically an assassin," Harry added in an undertone, "I doubt killing a Muggle bothers him as much as it bothered you two pussies."

Theo had just appeared on Draco's other side. He snorted, "Hi, Harry, nice to see you too."

Harry shot him a winning grin, "Hi Theo, how're you?"

Theo shook his head in amusement, "I'm great, Harry. How are you?"

Draco bit back an amused smile at the interplay between his friends.

Before Harry and Theo could wind each other up any further, the doors of Malfoy Manor opened, and everyone fell silent. Harry watched with interest as Bill Weasley and Blaise Zabini were led out by Gus - Blaise held his head high and smirked at his mother when he walked past. Bill didn't hang his head in shame by any means though; he walked with conviction through the crowd of Death Eaters.

Harry glanced across the garden and noticed Fleur for the first time. She was dressed all in black like the other women who weren't Death Eaters, and she was standing next to Narcissa Malfoy.

Bill and Blaise reached Voldemort and came to a stop in front of him. Voldemort looked up lazily but saw nothing in the night sky. He sighed and got to his feet.

"Let us begin!"

Voldemort summoned Bill forward with one long, crooked finger. Bill stepped forward wordlessly and performed the Unbreakable Vow – Harry could feel Voldemort's surprise at the eldest Weasley's sincerity. He had not believed him to be genuine until that point.

The warm summer wind blew through the garden while Voldemort had Bill's sacrifice brought forward. He looked relatively unassuming, a middle-aged man in a ragged suit with a scraggly beard.

"Will you tell us why you chose this Muggle, Weasley?" Voldemort asked.

Bill looked the Muggle in the eye for a moment then looked up at the Death Eaters, "This is not just any Muggle. This man is, in my mind, as low as a Muggle can get. He is what the Muggles call an 'archaeologist'. They dig on land that does not belong to them, old land, sacred land. They take things that are not theirs, and they put them in museums – they take ancient artefacts, some of them cursed and some of them with magical powers. They rip our heritage away from us and put it in museums all for their financial gain."

The Death Eaters boo-ed and some of them spat in the direction of the Muggle.

Bill looked back at the terrified man. He was obviously silenced because his mouth was open in a scream for help that Harry knew would never be answered.

"This Muggle has robbed us of many important artefacts and has personally pissed me off by stealing objects that I was trying to break curses on, from a tomb," Bill retorted.

"He deserves to die the same way that the curse he unleashed killed every other member of my team."

Bill raised his wand, and everyone watched with interest to see what he would do next. He slashed his wand through the air in a 'Z' shape then cut it upwards while saying the incantation.

Harry didn't recognise the spell from the wand movement, but he did when he heard the incantation. It was the Transmogrifian Torture Curse, and it was most definitely dark magic. No wonder Bill Weasley had been so easy to convert, that wasn't the kind of spell a good guy just happened to know.

The curse was horrific. It manipulated the body's shape until every bone was broken or until a crucial one killed the victim. Voldemort removed the silencing charm placed on the Muggle, and blood-curdling screams filled the air as crack after pop sounded. Bill kept his eyes on the Muggle the entire time, never wavering his focus. When the curse broke the Muggles spine, then his neck – he died pretty much instantly.

Bill ended the curse and levitated the corpse onto the fire. When he turned to Voldemort, he looked the Dark Lord directly in the eye and Voldemort smirked, "Very inventive. I have not seen the Transmogrifian Torture Curse used in this country for quite some time."

"I spent a lot of time in Egypt," Bill said, by way of explanation. He pulled his left sleeve up and knelt before Voldemort.

The Dark Lord took his arm and placed his wand against the soft flesh there. Harry expected Bill to show some sign of pain, like all of the others he had seen branded. However, Bill grimaced and growled under his breath when the spell began, but then he closed his eyes tightly and took it like a man.

When the mark had been burned, Voldemort bowed his head, "Welcome to our ranks, William."

"Thank you, my lord," Bill said. He rose to his feet and joined his wife, who Harry had expected to look pale or shocked, but she didn't. Fleur took Bill's hand and gave him an approving nod, further confirming Harry's theory that she knew exactly what her husband was capable of.

Blaise was up next. He did not need to make an Unbreakable Vow because his family, unlike Bill's, could be trusted and were already loyal servants. He made a standard vow, an oath of homage in essence. Then he turned to the Muggle that Voldemort had selected for him, he hadn't been fussy about who that person was.

Blaise wasted no time. There was no speech like the one Bill had given. He simply raised his wand and hit the Muggle between the eyes with a piercing curse. It was quick, and it was effective - it was an execution.

When Blaise was branded, he showed a little more discomfort than Bill. He twisted his arm as the pain throbbed through it, a few uncontrollable noises of pain escaped him, but he didn't scream like a baby as Theo had.

Blaise was welcomed into their ranks as Bill had been. He nodded and thanked Voldemort, then made his way over to his parents.

Voldemort looked to the sky once more, but he did not sigh this time. His lips quirked up at the edges, and Harry felt a wave of warmth hit him – he was pleased. Harry understood why when he felt the wind pick up, more than it should have done on a mild evening like this.

Other Death Eaters looked to the sky too as two dots in the distance began to get closer and closer. A couple of people screamed when they realised what those dots were, but Harry grinned. Two dragons, two riders, Felix had followed through on his promise to get Charlie on board.

Bill looked on in disbelief as the two dragons landed gracefully on the lawn in front of Voldemort.

"I apologise for the delay, my lord," Felix said as he jumped gracefully down from his Peruvian Vipertooth. The deep red dragon bowed its head and made eye contact with Voldemort.

This pleased Voldemort further.

Charlie jumped down, less gracefully, from his slightly more cumbersome albino Hungarian Horntail, "The Gulf Stream is a bitch at this time of year, my lord," he added, almost forgetting the crucial honorific at the end of the sentence.

Bill glared at Charlie from a distance, but the Weasley brothers both knew that this was not the time for discussion – that could come later.

"Sarris – show the Dark Lord some respect," Charlie scolded the dragon.

She huffed, and puffs of smoke billowed out of her nose.

"Sarris," Charlie said, his tone low and commanding.

If dragons could roll their eyes, this one would have done. Harry felt like it was his spirit animal. Charlie's scolding worked this time though; the dragon bowed its head respectfully to Voldemort.

Voldemort nodded in response, to the dragons and their riders, "Upon the death of one Rosier, we gain another in Albert's dear son, Felix."

The Death Eaters all knew fine well that Felix had been anything but 'dear; to Albert, but they said nothing on the subject as Voldemort ushered Felix forwards.

They went through the motions – Felix making the same standard vow that Blaise had. It all played out much the same until the time came for Felix to kill his sacrifice – an unassuming muggle woman who was cowering in fear.

Felix ran his hand down Lennox's head and murmured, "Kill her."

The dragon obliged instantly. Lennox lowered her head then raised it, opening her mouth and spitting fire at the muggle woman. Within seconds she was incinerated entirely, nothing but a pile of bones and ash.

Felix raised an eyebrow at Lennox, "I guess you weren't hungry then?"

Lennox shook her head and snorted distastefully as if to say, 'You think I would eat that?'

Felix seemed amused by the Death Eaters amongst them who were cowering from the dragon. He turned away from the crowd and held his arm out to Voldemort, dropping to his knees as he did so.

His smug façade broke the moment the mark began to burn through his flesh. He cried out in pain, gritting his teeth, his eyes watering as his skin burned before him.

Interestingly enough, Charlie had shown no signs of discomfort when Lennox was incinerating the Muggle, but he grimaced and turned away when he saw Felix in pain. At first, Harry thought it was fear – because he knew he was next – but quickly he realised that it went quite far beyond that.

Felix was breathing heavily when Voldemort finished. But he still bowed his head and thanked him when he was welcomed into their ranks. Charlie grabbed Felix when he stood up, his legs just a little on the shaky side. Felix gave Charlie an appreciative nod then let go, leaning against his faithful dragon instead.

Lennox pushed the sleeve of Felix's robes up with her snout then licked the burning wound, making Felix sigh in relief, "Thanks girl," he said softly as the dragon's saliva with its healing properties soothed his burning flesh.

Charlie purposefully avoided looking at Bill when he walked up to Voldemort – his dragon now obediently standing behind him. Like Bill, he made an Unbreakable Vow then it was time for his dragon to make its sacrifice.

Harry had been surprised that Lennox had chosen to kill her victim for fun, rather than for food. He expected something a little different from Sarris – but then again, Harry had far more experience than he would have liked with Hungarian Horntails.

Charlie looked Sarris directly in the eye, and she stared straight back at him. It was like they were communicating without words, and it was fascinating to behold. For one brief moment, he wondered if that was what he and Voldemort looked like when they were think-speaking to each other through the soul-bond.

But before Harry could dwell on that too much, Charlie nodded and tapped Sarris on the head. It must have been a command of some sort because Sarris lunged forward, towards the unsuspecting muggle man before her. She opened up her jaws but did not breath fire. Instead, she bit the Muggles head clean off, which was as dramatic as it was bloody.

Harry rolled his eyes at the girly shriek that Fitz emitted when the blood spurted out of the Muggle – who was still flailing around without its head – and entirely drenched him. The flailing body did not thrash for long because the moment Sarris had swallowed the head, she ate the rest – in one bite.

"Sorry," Charlie said to Fitzroy, "Scourgify!" the blood vanished from the Irish Death Eater, "She's quite impatient, it's no wonder she's always got indigestion."

Fitz humphed at the embarrassment but said nothing more on the subject. Charlie turned to Voldemort, probably expecting some unkind treatment due to his dragons rather barbaric way of killing.

Instead, he was met with a smirk, "Well – the old saying that dragons take after their trainers does have some merit after all."

Charlie snorted – he had always been able to laugh at his own expense.

"Yes, my lord," Charlie said, lifting his sleeve and holding out his left arm, "Sarris has less refined tastes than Lennox, that much is true."

Felix shot Charlie a knowing look and Harry finally understood the nature of the relationship between the two dragon trainers.

Voldemort grabbed Charlie's arm to brand him, and like Bill, Charlie did brilliantly. He hissed in pain when he first felt the burn, but he remained silent and still beyond that. It must be a Gryffindor thing, Harry mused.

You did not see Peter Pettigrew wail and scream like a baby when he was branded.

Harry snorted at the thought Voldemort had just sent his way, There is such a thing as a true Gryffindor and a snake amongst the lions, you know?

Quite. Voldemort thought back, looking over at Harry briefly as he dropped Charlie's arm, I am rather well acquainted with one.

Harry knew that Voldemort meant him and for a moment, that offended him, but he couldn't argue that the Dark Lord was wrong, because he wasn't. All the same, his thought process ended there when Voldemort welcomed the recruits into his ranks and informed them all to mingle and enjoy the final vestiges of summer.

Of course, the moment they were free to mingle, Bill approached Charlie.

"What the hell?"

"What? I saw the error of my ways like you wanted me to!" Charlie exclaimed.

Bill narrowed his eyes at him, "But I didn't convince you, Char. You didn't even give me the chance to convince you."

"I doubt you could be as convincing as I am, Bill," Felix said smoothly as he ran his hand down Lennox's back, "Char loves his big brother as much as the next guy, but there are some things that trump that."

Bill scoffed, "I couldn't convince you? Me, your brother and your best friend? But some dragon trainer you're shagging can?"

Charlie rolled his eyes, "You think he seduced me into joining the Dark Side? Really, Bill? Oh hey Charlie, come be a Death Eater, and I'll suck your dick real good."

Bill glared at him, "You're a prick."

"And you're petty," Charlie cut back.

Harry snorted from where he was standing near Felix, and the younger Rosier shot him a grin, "Brothers, right?"

"I wouldn't know," Harry said with an amused smile, "I'm an only child."

"Yeah well, brothers aren't always what they're cut out to be," Felix shrugged.

Harry pondered on that while the Weasley brothers continued their debate.

"He convinced me because he made it about the dragons," Charlie was saying, "And he's right, Bill. Magic dying out means dragons die out, they feed on magic, they live by it. Without it, they wither and die. Muggles fucking up their habitats, shooting them out of the sky, polluting the air they breathe? It's not on."

"So you joined because you want to save the dragons?" Bill asked, his tone laced with disbelief.

"You joined because you want to protect your family, your babies," Charlie said, nudging his head at Fleur, "The dragons are my babies, so yeah, I joined because I want to save the dragons."

Harry clapped his hands, "Beautiful show of fiery Weasley companionship, boys. Welcome to the ranks, both of you."

Felix chuckled, "Ever the sarcastic prick, aren't you?"

"You two know each other?" Charlie asked in surprise.

Felix laughed, "This is the Death Eater who convinced me to join and to convince you to tag along. As expected, you didn't take much convincing, but then again, you never do."

Bill rolled his eyes and Charlie punched him in the arm, "Shut up."

He would never admit it out loud, but Harry began to feel nervous in the final days before the 1st of September. It wasn't about the pressure to recruit, or pressure from the Dark Lord in general. He didn't feel like Draco had last year, he didn't feel like the task at hand was a monumental one – after all, he had already recruited two very talented Weasley's, hadn't he?

Indeed. So one ought to ask oneself – why the nerves?

Harry sighed. He was sitting in the garden, and although he had no idea where Voldemort was, he supposed he was nearby. His thoughts cut through the haze very clearly, which they only tended to do if he was in the same house as Harry.

I know I'm going back as Head Boy, so I'll have my quarters and common room, but I'll still be a Gryffindor. I'll still have to face everyone that I betrayed, Harry thought back to Voldemort.

There was a brief pause, and Harry wondered if Voldemort was too busy to reply. He leant back in his chair and surveyed the grounds – autumn was definitely upon them, the last days of summer were here.

You will be at the same school, and you were always going to have to confront them. However, I doubt they will be your housemates for much longer. Meet me in the dungeon corridor. I have something to show you.

Harry jumped up, instantly intrigued. He had never been down to the dungeons, and it wasn't because anyone had told him that he wasn't allowed to. He just didn't want to find out what was down there, as it was he could avoid the area, pretend he didn't hear the screams and remain blissfully ignorant.

All the same, Harry made his way through the grand, portrait-lined halls of Malfoy Manor – nodding to upturned nosed woman after golden-haired man as he went. The Malfoy's did think very highly of themselves, and really, Harry didn't know why. In essence, all they had done throughout history was pick the winning side and then reap the rewards.

The dungeon's door was half the size of the rest and not nearly so grand – just bare wood with a cast iron handle. Harry opened it and almost grinned, once upon a time he would barely need to duck to get through it, but now he properly had to stoop to avoid hitting his head. When he stepped inside, the door swung shut behind him, but he didn't jump. He had spent long enough in this house to learn that not only was it semi-sentient, it also liked to creep people out.

It wasn't like Hogwarts which sought to amaze and to a sense, be practical. The shifting staircases were useful most of the time but also a stop and stare in awe affair. The secret passageways made sense, but Malfoy Manor? No, it was just creepy.

It wanted to scare the occupants, to keep them on edge, make them fear their own home. Doors slammed shut of their own free will; windows burst open on stormy nights. People could be heard whispering in shadowy corners when you were walking the halls alone in the dark and, to top it all off, mirrors sometimes showed your reflection as it was and then just for fun, they would show you with a menacing grin, dripping in the blood of your enemies.

Harry gave himself a shake and looked around the tiny corridor that he was now hunched over inside. There was another small wooden door and at the end of the hall was a trapdoor. The main door opened and Voldemort stepped in, being taller than Harry, he was even more hunched over in the tight space.

"Down the trapdoor," Voldemort commanded.

Harry snorted, "Isn't that how we first met?"

Voldemort looked like he was struggling not to smile in amusement, "We first met when I tried to kill you."

Harry yanked the trapdoor open and said, "Yes, but that was the first time we met as two humans who could have a coherent conversation," he reminded him, "And there had better not be a three-headed dog down there, by the way."

Voldemort smirked, "No, it is something far more refined than that."

Harry didn't ask any more questions; he didn't want to test Voldemort's patience any more than he already had done. He just swung his legs onto the ladder and descended into the depths of the basement.

When he got down, he squinted in the darkness, and he was sure he could see another person – or was it more than one person? He reached for his wand, but a familiar voice said.

"No, she doesn't like the light – her eyes aren't developed enough yet."

"Charlie?"

"Yeah, Felix is here too," Charlie's voice returned.

Harry moved aside as Voldemort's robes brushed against his shoulder. The Dark Lord stood by his side – they were shoulder to shoulder in the tight space.

"She has hatched?" He asked the dragon trainers.

Naturally, Harry assumed that they were talking about a baby dragon.

"She has," Felix answered, "She just needs to be fed, which is why we called you, my lord."

Harry squinted, "What has hatched?"

"The Basilisk I had our dragon trainers take care of," Voldemort said, his velvety voice cutting through the darkness, "I had Gibbon attempt to hatch one, to no avail but of course he lacked experience."

"He hatched one, but he didn't know what to feed it," Charlie admitted, "Which was why it perished. Basilisk hatchlings must be fed within 24 hours, or they won't survive."

"What do they eat?" Harry asked.

"It's more of a drink, really," Felix said.

"Blood," Voldemort's clear voice said.

"And the person who gives them this blood becomes their sire," Charlie explained, "They will be unwaveringly loyal to that person and their blood descendants."

Harry breathed in realisation, "That's why the one in the Chamber of Secrets was loyal to you and not me – you're the heir of Slytherin, I just speak parseltongue."

"Precisely," Voldemort said.

"Can I feed it?" Harry asked eagerly, "I'd love a Basilisk for a pet."

Voldemort chuckled under his breath, "You were always going to be the one to feed it, Harry. I have Nagini, another female snake would become a challenger to her, and there would be a fight to the death. You and I both know that Nagini is far too valuable to me for me to risk that."

Harry nodded then realised how stupid that was in the darkness, "Yes, my lord."

"However, you cannot get too attached," Voldemort said, "She will be yours until she is fully matured, but then you must put her in the Chamber of Secrets – it is where she belongs."

"Yes, my lord," Harry said again, but he knew fine well he would get attached – he was attached to Hedwig after all and…unless he kept her in her cage, there was a good chance his new pet would eat his old one.

Harry was sure he heard Voldemort snort quietly at that thought which just confirmed that he was right.

"Give me your right arm then Harry," Charlie said.

Harry held his arm out, and Charlie made a cut, with a knife rather than his wand, Harry would guess from the cool feel of the blade on his skin. The next thing he felt was a ticklish sensation, one he quickly worked out was the small tongue of a snake, lapping at the blood on the wound. Charlie squeezed it a few times until the snake had eaten enough then he murmured a healing charm.

"Come a little closer," Charlie advised.

Harry did so, and at this distance, he could see the tiny snake. He reached his hand out, and she slithered on, fitting just inside the palm of his hand.

"She's tiny," Harry breathed.

Charlie chuckled, "She won't be for long. You'll need to stay down here for the next 24 hours because she'll need frequent feeding. By the time she's done, she'll be big enough to rest on your shoulders."

Harry nodded and looked at the snake in amazement, "Is she blind?"

"Nah, her eyes just aren't fully developed yet," Charlie answered, "In 24 hours, she will be able to see clearly, but she won't be able to kill anyone with her gaze until she's fully matured. Until then, she'll be able to give your enemies an awful migraine with one look."

Harry chuckled at that.

"What are you going to call her?" Felix asked curiously.

"Yeah, you'll bond better if she's got a name," Charlie agreed.

"Artemis," Harry said, pulling the name from the depths of his knowledge – Gus had been teaching him about Greek and Roman mythology, and it's magical roots.

"The Goddess of the Hunt," Voldemort said, and although it was dark, Harry could tell he had an amused smile on his lips, "Appropriate."

Harry smiled down at the little snake, "Well, I thought she looked more like an Artemis than a Medusa."

Charlie and Felix both let out soft snorts of laughter at that, and Harry grinned cheerfully. Going back with a companion, one that he would be able to talk to once she had learned how to speak – it made his return to Hogwarts a little more bearable.

* TBC *