The next chapter is here, I hope you all enjoy it thanks again for the comments and reviews, you are all amazing!
I do not own Harry Potter.
Chapter 11
Harry was restless the rest of the afternoon, knowing that after dinner he would be having it out with Voldemort and his death eaters… well he would be talking to Voldemort and Bellatrix and the rest of their family. Still, it was nerve wracking and put him on edge, what could they possibly have to say? Rabastan and Rodolphus did their best to soothe him. They went for a big walk around the Manor gardens, while it was lovely, though Harry was too distracted to really appreciate the scenery. He did grip his soulmates hands tightly the whole way around and Rabastan and Rodolphus, perhaps sensing that he didn't feel like talking walked in silence, holding his hands close.
What would they talk about tonight? Sirius' death, obviously, probably his parent's deaths as well. If he was completely honest, he was more upset about Sirius' death, he had actually known Sirius, imagined a future together where they were a family. Maybe that made him a bad son, he didn't know. He also wanted to talk about Neville's parents. He could admit, if only to himself that he had been avoiding thinking about what his soulmates had done. He hadn't known his soulmates for long, but he struggled to believe they could do something so cruel, he needed to hear the truth of the matter for himself.
His stomach twisted with nerves and he couldn't force down more then a few bites of soup at dinner. He could feel Rabastan and Rodolphus' eyes on him but thankfully they kept their opinions to themselves.
Finally, when everyone had finished eating, Voldemort cleared his throat looking serious.
"Let's retire to the parlour, I will have Dae bring us some tea."
Everyone around the table stood without a word and walked off. Rabastan wrapped his arm around Harry's thin waist. He knew whatever this evening brought it would not be easy on his little soulmate. He also knew it was essential to get everything out in the open. There was no chance for future happiness if old hatreds and wounds were left to fester. Their father had believed firmly in forgiveness. Sometimes it came after a well extracted revenge but still it was important that it came. He explained that forgiving someone was more for yourself then for the other person. It didn't mean that you were soft or weak, just that you were no longer letting that other person have a hold on yourself. It would be hard on his soulmate, but he needed to hear everything if he ever hoped to move on.
They walked into the parlour, there was a small fire crackling in the grate even though it was summer. The Manor could get quite cold. The group took their seats, uncharacteristically quiet. Dae popped in with some tea just as Voldemort cleared his throat and all eyes settled on him.
"Harry, I know what we discuss will not be easy."
Harry grimaced, that was the understatement of the century.
"I believe we should start with Sirius, as it seems that his death is causing you the most pain at the moment."
Even just hearing the words, Sirius and death in the same sentence made tears spring to Harry's eyes.
"You know about the prophecy?" Voldemort inquired.
"I do now" Harry said spitefully. "Though no one had bothered to tell me about it before what happened in the Department of Mysteries. Story of my bloody life."
A few eyebrows rose around the room at that.
"Dumbledore keeps you in the dark often?" Lucius asked nonchalantly.
"They all do, tell me the bare minimum, leave me wallowing in fear and confusion." Harry said with a shudder.
Lucius frowned at that but didn't speak again.
"I was desperate, in my less then sane state, to hear what the prophecy said, certain it would lead to either my success or downfall."
"Well, I'd say worrying about what the prophecy said was what lead to your downfall."
Voldemort inclined his head in agreement.
"I have since realised my folly, but once I had regained a semblance of a body it was all I could think about."
Harry rolled his eyes petulantly, ignoring the flash of anger that passed over Voldemort's face.
"Yeah, I know, the number of times I had to dream about that stupid corridor and door because you wouldn't stop thinking about it was ridiculous. Not to mention sending Nagini to the Ministry to look for it!"
Voldemort's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
"How do you know I sent Nagini to look for it?"
"I dreamt it of course, the night she attacked Mr Weasley. How do you think they were able to find him so fast?"
Voldemort looked shocked, he had known that Harry and himself shared a connection but had not realised the extent of it. Before he could ask any more questions, Carmel cleared her throat.
"Perhaps we should stay focused, otherwise we will never get through all that needs to be discussed tonight."
"Right. Well, once I became aware of our connection" Voldemort said, indicating to Harry's scar.
Rabastan and Rodolphus froze beside Harry and the green-eyed teen looked up at them in confusion.
"Again, that is something that can be discussed another time" Carmel said exasperatedly.
"I knew I could manipulate our connection to get you to come to the Department of Mysteries yourself. I had learned that Sirius was the most important person in your life, father and big brother all rolled into one."
Harry let out a choked half sob at that, at the life he thought Sirius and he could've had together if only the world had been different.
"I know all this already" Harry said, wiping a treacherous tear from the corner of his eye.
"I just wanted to explain that I never intended for Sirius to actually come to the Ministry."
"Just me" Harry said with a small hiccup.
"Well, yes, that was the idea" Voldemort said unrepentantly.
"But he did come" Harry said accusingly, "and she killed him!"
Bellatrix let out a sad sigh.
"I did not mean to kill Sirius, I would never hurt my own family, even if I didn't agree with what they were doing."
"Is that why you were firing all those hexes at him?" Harry asked with a sneer.
"Harry, the hexes I fired at him weren't serious, just stunners and body bind curses mostly. I just hadn't counted on the Veil…"
She looked down at her lap and Harry was shocked to see tears in her eyes, so shocked that he shut his mouth, the scathing retort he was about to utter, falling away.
"No…" he whispered.
"I swear it's true, I will even take an oath if you want. I did not mean to kill Sirius."
More tears slipped out of Harry's eyes and Rodolphus pulled the small teen gently into his lap, Rabastan trying to wipe the tears away but they were flowing thick and fast.
"I think I wanted to blame you… to try to ease some of this damn guilt that is eating me alive" Harry sobbed, rubbing his aching chest, his face scrunching up in pain.
Everyone in the rooms heart broke at the sight of the crying teen, his despair so raw and primal, tearing at something inside them. Narcissa pulled Draco into her side and even though he blushed he didn't move away.
"Harry, you were just trying to do the right thing." Rodolphus said gently. "Trying to save your Godfather, you are not to blame here."
"But I am!" Harry cried out. "If I hadn't been so stupid as to believe Voldemort's trick, he never would have been in danger in the first place. People tried to warn me, but I just didn't listen!"
Rabastan reached out and rubbed his hands soothingly over Harry's legs and arms. It felt like Harry had kept all his emotions bottled up since his Godfathers death, it was good that he was finally letting them out, even if Rabastan wished that it wasn't so painful.
Harry let himself cry, clinging to his soulmates as the tears leached out of him, easing some of the guilt and sadness. He had bottled up his grief all summer, it felt good to let some of it out.
"Harry," Voldemort said gently. "You are not to blame. It is a series of unfortunate 'what if's'. If I hadn't tricked you into coming to the Ministry, if Bella hadn't hit Sirius with that spell, hell, if Dumbledore had told you the truth about the prophecy from the beginning, Sirius' death could have been avoided. I am sorry for the part I played in his death."
"As am I" Bellatrix said solemnly.
Harry blinked at the pair, he didn't doubt the sincerity in their words, and it was a shock.
He couldn't think of anything to say so he just nodded.
"The end of the Black line," Narcissa murmured sadly and it took Harry a moment to remember that she was originally a Black as well.
"Umm… well actually" Harry began, rubbing his face and eyes as he tried to right himself. "I'm the last Black."
The whole room stared at him.
"What are you talking about Potter, I'm more of a Black then you are" Draco said with a frown.
"Sirius blood adopted me last summer, I am actually Harry James Potter-Black. I'm just as much a Black as I am a Potter. Sirius said I got the black nose" he said with a small smile, pointing to his cute button nose.
No one spoke for several moments and Harry began to feel nervous, before Blaise let out a small chuckle that soon developed into a deep belly laugh.
"Of course, you are" he gasped between guffaws.
Draco started to laugh as well.
"Expect the unexpected around Potter" the blonde chuckled.
Harry blushed in embarrassment.
"So, our mate is actually a Potter-Black" Rodolphus purred in his ear. The brothers eyed him carefully and could pick out some other Black traits now that they were looking. The nose definitely, but there was also something about the shape of his eyes that reminded them of Bella and Narcissa.
"I- I was going to tell you" Harry stammered.
Before Rabastan or Rodolphus could continue Carmel cleared her throat again.
"I believe there is more still to be addressed" she said sternly, and the room sobered.
It was good they all had her to keep them focused.
"Right," Harry said wearily, "what's next?"
"Your parents…" Voldemort said softly.
Harry froze, "what's there to discuss? You were batshit crazy and let a stupid prophecy rule your actions leading to the deaths of my parents."
Voldemort looked taken aback at Harry's blunt assessment and Harry wondered if anyone had ever spoken to the Dark Lord like that.
"I love my parents. I- I miss them, but I never knew them, I don't really remember them. When I was young, I would dream about them coming to take me away, about anyone coming to take me away, about the life I could have had if they hadn't died but I gave up on childish dreams a long time ago." The room looked at him sadly after that pronouncement. "You do realise that by going there that night you marked me as your equal" he said pointing to his scar again, "thus fulfilling part of the prophecy, if you believe in that shit anyway."
Harry wondered if there was a limit for the number of times a dark lord could look shocked in one night.
"You've heard the prophecy?" Voldemort asked quietly.
"Ah, yeah, Dumbledore told me after Sirius' death."
"Could you tell me what it says?"
Harry looked unsure at that, what if Voldemort tried to kill him again?
"I will swear an oath not to harm you, no matter what the prophecy says, if that will put you more at ease?"
"I guess" Harry said, still with some trepidation. "Swear the oath first."
Voldemort did so without hesitation, so Harry started to repeat the prophecy.
The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not... and either must die at the hand of the other, for neither can live while the other survives... the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies...
Harry looked at Voldemort as he finished, waiting for a response but the Dark Lord seemed to be lost in thought. He glanced around the room and everyone seemed to be pondering the meaning behind the words.
"Is there anything you wish to discuss?" Carmel asked politely, seeing that everyone else was still lost in thought.
Harry nodded nervously.
"Two things, one, why aren't you insane anymore?" Harry asked Voldemort and the Dark Lord sighed in resignation.
"Fair question, I suppose. Simply, through the help of Severus and my own quite extraordinary power we were able to create a spell to right my unstable mind."
Harry nodded; he knew there was no way that he would understand the mechanics of it all but still, it was interesting.
"What was your other question?"
Harry glanced at his soulmates.
"I want to know what happened the night that Neville's parents, the Longbottom's were tortured."
He felt Rodolphus shift beneath him, Rabastan sharing a glance with Bellatrix.
Rabastan cleared his throat nervously and began.
"Harry, I want to be completely honest with you" Rabastan said earnestly, taking the smaller hand in his own.
"I have done things in my life that I am not proud of. We, that is myself, Rodolphus, Bella and Barty, went to the Longbottom's that night… and we did torture them."
Harry felt a wave of nausea roll through him; he had known it had happened but still it was hard to hear. Harry shifted restlessly; he wasn't sure what he was doing.
"Wait Harry, hear me out." Rabastan said and Rodolphus tightened his hold just a little thinking Harry was trying to leave.
"We did torture them, but… but not for long. Just to weaken them a little and then Bella used legilimency to read their minds. You wouldn't know this, but Bella is a very accomplished legilimens. We had no need to torture them to insanity for information, we found out very quickly that they knew nothing of our Lords whereabouts and left."
Harry's confused green eyes stared into Rabastan's deep brown.
"Then what happened to them?"
"We later found out, after we had already been sent to Azkaban, that Barty had gone back to the Longbottom's after we left that night. We had immobilised the Longbottom's when we left, it was easy for Barty to sneak back in. He didn't believe that they knew nothing."
Rabastan looked sad at that.
"I am not perfect Harry; we are not perfect" he said with a wave around the room. "But I do have my limits."
"Well why were you sent to Azkaban then, if you didn't do it?"
"Several reasons actually" Rodolphus said sardonically.
"We are supporters of Voldemort, we did torture the Longbottom's even if we weren't the ones to torture them into insanity and most importantly, because Crouch sent us to Azkaban without a proper trial. Refused to take any evidence that might have resulted in a reduced sentence."
Rodolphus eyes darkened in anger as he spoke, Rabastan's expression mirroring his brothers.
Harry felt anger course through him. It was exactly what had happened to Sirius! People not given a fair trial, he wondered how many others were locked in Azkaban who didn't deserve to be or who at least didn't deserve to be in there as long as they had been, it wasn't fair… it wasn't right.
"Bloody Crouch" he snarled, and his soul mates actually looked surprised at the fury radiating off their mate.
Rodolphus gave him a gentle kiss on the forehead, touched that their mate was so upset on their behalf.
"It's OK Harry, Crouch paid for it all in the end" Rabastan murmured, a vindictive glint in his eyes. "They both did."
Harry nodded but he wasn't happy, his mates were still fugitives, unable to even leave the house unless under a heavy disguise.
Harry took a deep breath and then let it out slowly, letting the anger leave him, he could deal with that later, as the anger faded, he was left with a bone deep weariness.
"I… I think that's about all I can take tonight," he said softly.
"Understandable" Voldemort said. "I feel there is much more that we still need to discuss but that can be done at another point in time."
Harry went to ask what else needed to be discussed, but instead let out a squeak as Rodolphus scooped him up into his arms and threw him over his shoulder.
Harry would deny it if asked, just how much it turned him on that his mate was so strong. He felt a shiver run down his spine as a large hand slapped his behind lightly.
"Well, if you don't mind, we would like to take our soulmate to bed now." Rodolphus said with a leer that cause Harry to blush and everyone else to laugh.
"Good night."