The Devil in Me

Slowly Out of Line

The chapter title is from the song:

You're Gonna Go Far, Kid by The Offspring

As October marched on, Harry began to feel relatively confident in his recruitment role. From time to time, Voldemort (or sometimes Artemis) would remind him that it was dangerous to become too arrogant.

All the same, Harry marched on with his day to day life, enjoying the relative peace and quiet from Voldemort. He could only assume that he was out of the country conducting business, but Harry wasn't complaining either way.

By the time the October full moon rolled around, Ginny was still M.I.A, and Harry had managed to convince Aberforth Dumbledore to keep his nose out of things and leave the light to their inevitable demise. It hadn't been a difficult task; he hated his dead brother as much as Harry did which, knowing about his family history now, made sense to Harry.

As early evening closed in on the night of the full moon, Harry was lounging with two of his favourite people in the Head Common Room when his left arm burned.

"Fuck," Theo hissed, gripping his arm through the soft material of his shirt.

Lily closed her book and looked at him, "Really, Nott?"

"Come on, Lil, we know Theo has a pretty low pain threshold," Harry said, shooting the other boy a grin as he got to his feet.

Theo grumbled but didn't deny it, pushing himself to his feet at the same time.

"What do you think he wants?" Theo asked as they left via Harry's bedroom and took a shortcut through the Slytherin common room.

"Since nobody is due to be marked tonight, as far as I know anyway, I suspect it will just be a Death Eater meeting," Harry mused, "But if he's calling one, that means he has news. I wonder if Howard Abbott told him anything."

"He was a Hufflepuff, he probably caved quickly enough," Theo agreed.

"Hufflepuffs are loyal to those who they love," Lily reminded Theo, "That makes them resistant to torture."

"Until of course, the Dark Lord gives him proof that the only person he loved - his beloved daughter – is dead," Harry added, "Then I doubt he would have much to fight for."

"He might have just died out of stubbornness," Lily pointed out.

"Yes, that much is true," Harry agreed. By the time they had gone through Harry's dorm room to the common room, Draco and Blaise had left. As such, they walked through the darkened school as a trio, a very different one to the trio Harry had previously been part of.

Lily glanced side-long at Harry, "Do you think I should mention what Amycus Carrow did to Ginny?"

Harry grimaced, "I don't know. Amycus is one of the Dark Lords oldest and most loyal followers, Lil. It might not be worth the fight."

"I think he might listen to me," Lily said.

"I thought that at the beginning, right up until I overstepped and got tortured worse than I ever have in my life," Harry said, giving her a warning look, "However nice he can be, however charming he acts, you need to remember who he is. He's a weapon – a killer."

Theo nodded from Lily's other side, "You can use a spear as a walking stick, but that will not change its nature."

Harry and Lily both looked at him in surprise.

"Where did that nugget of wisdom come from?" Lily asked.

Theo frowned, "Old wizarding proverb, all the elders say it. Haven't you heard it?"

Lily shook her head, "Filthy mudblood who recently found out she's a Black. Remember?"

Harry snorted, "Half-blood raised by filthy Muggles, remember?"

Theo tutted, "Honestly, I surround myself with heathens," he smirked at Harry, the last word was laced with sexual innuendo.

Lily rolled her eyes in amusement, and Harry smiled at Theo's antics, "Really though, Lily – tread carefully."

"I will," Lily promised.

As it turned out, there was a small marking ceremony on the October full moon. Several families swore an oath of loyalty to the Dark Lord – the Shafiq's and the Browns were amongst them, as were the Montague family whose eldest son, Graham also joined their ranks as a Death Eater.

As Harry had expected, a Death Eater meeting followed the oaths, and interestingly enough, Severus was the last to arrive at the dining table in Malfoy Manor.

Harry leaned back in his chair, wondering if they should change the setting, it was challenging to fit them in the long, thin room. Maybe they should move this outside, with a wooden table, a round one.

Voldemort, who Harry kept thinking of as Tom in his head now because he looked like Tom again, raised an eyebrow at Harry and thought, Why a round table?

Old Muggle story, Harry thought back, King Arthur and his knights of the round table.

King Arthur was the Muggle king with which Merlin himself was rumoured to be in love.

Harry had not known that, Merlin, a Slytherin, was in love with a Muggle?

Reputedly so.

Well, that was interesting if nothing else. Their mental conversation was put to a stop when Severus entered the room with an apology, "My apologies, my lord – I was held up at the school."

Voldemort bowed his head, "I have called you here today to discuss some recent developments. Several of you are aware that Howard Abbott was being held captive. We have extracted all relevant information from him, and he is now dead, as is his daughter, Hannah."

That had all been relatively common knowledge, so there were no gasps of surprise.

"Hannah's death was interesting, to say the least," Voldemort said, looking down the table, "But then again, it should not come as a surprise that the son of Alfred Nott was the one to think of choking Miss Abbott to death with a Gemino Cursed Galleon."

There was a shuffle and with it a lot of murmuring, as everyone looked at Theo. His father positively beamed at his side and patted him on the back proudly. Theo smiled and muttered a, "Thank you, Father."

"This is, of course, a huge blow to the Order of the Phoenix," Voldemort said with a wicked smile – it didn't matter if his eyes were red or blue, they were still filled with malice. Snake-like or handsome, his smirk and his smile were still menacing.

"They lost the support of the Dumbledore family too, my lord," Harry spoke up, "Given the recent information about the family that has come to light, thanks to Rita Skeeter. I am sure you can understand why Aberforth does not wish to support his brother's friends."

Voldemort chuckled, "Indeed."

"My lord," Snape said boldly, "I also have news regarding the Order."

Bill raised a hand, "As do I, my lord."

Voldemort motioned for Severus to continue, "Yes, Severus?"

"I have it on good authority that the cracks in the Order have begun to appear," Snape continued, "The Order has split into two factions."

At this, Voldemort gave Snape his full attention, "Is that so?"

Snape bowed his head, "There was a disagreement between Molly Weasley and Andromeda Tonks. It appears that those who have taken Molly Weasley's side favour a more militant approach and those who have taken Andromeda's favour a peaceful end to the war."

Voldemort looked from Snape to Bill, "You have further information, Weasley?"

"I have heard rumours, my lord," Bill replied, "The militant Order is set to rebrand themselves as The Army of the Phoenix, led by my mother and the Auror, Kingsley Shacklebolt. I believe he has several of the Aurors who were expelled from the ministry when we took over, on his side. But the militant faction is small, the majority of the Order elected to remain defensive, not an offensive force."

Voldemort gave a small nod, "Thank you, Weasley."

He looked around at his followers, all of whom were awaiting some sort of announcement. Voldemort thought it over for a moment, glancing at Harry as he did so. Harry could tell what he was thinking, even though Voldemort wasn't projecting his thoughts so, with a small nod, he let the Dark Lord know that he thought it was a good idea too.

"The militant Order members will suffer," Voldemort said coolly, "Treat them as you treated all Order members in the last war."

"Kill them on sight?" One of the Lestrange brothers asked eagerly.

Bellatrix grinned widely, "Or worse," she said with a little chuckle.

Voldemort looked Bellatrix directly in the eye, and she was instantly silent.

"We shall attempt to turn the more peaceful Order members to our cause," Voldemort said, his high voice filling the room, "But some would choose death over subjugation. That is their choice, and they may have it."

Bill looked down but said nothing.

"My lord," Yaxley said, "I have news also."

"Yes, Yaxley?"

"The scheme we have been working on these past few weeks has been successfully launched."

Harry looked up sharply, but Voldemort did not flinch, "Continue."

"We named it the Muggle-born Marriage Law," Yaxley said.

"And it was written up exactly as I asked it to be?" Voldemort asked, raising an eyebrow.

Yaxley floundered under Voldemort's stare, "Uh….yes, my lord. Only the Head of a pureblooded family can enact the Marriage Law. When they do, all other contracts are overwritten, and as long as a female heir marries a muggle-born, the family name along with all of its assets and lands can be passed down the female line."

Voldemort nodded, "Excellent. Have your staff prepare the advertising and ensure that when the scheme is launched, everyone hears about it."

Harry was smirking to himself, which caught Voldemort's attention.

"Harry, would you care to share your amusement with the rest of the group?" Voldemort asked, his voice even but with a hint of sarcasm bubbling under the surface.

"Oh, it's just that to ensure the Browns loyalty, I promised Kevin Brown a young muggle-born wife to give him an heir," Harry said, still smirking.

"He jumped at the chance to kill his wife, but soon it seems he will discover that his sacrifice was unimportant because his daughter, Lavender, would have been able to give him an heir all along."

Some of the other Death Eaters chuckled at that too, but Voldemort did not. He said nothing and drew his eyes away from Harry.

"My lord," Yaxley said again, "My aide – Dolores Umbridge has also suggested a Muggle-born Registration scheme to draw out the Muggle-borns and imprison them until they can be married into pureblood families."

Harry scoffed but said nothing.

Voldemort looked at Yaxley, "We do not need to imprison them, Yaxley. We simply need to be aware of who they are. I suppose from the inelegant noise that just escaped your mouth that you agree, Harry?"

Harry nodded, "I agree that drawing them out is required for the Marriage Law to work. But rather than imprisoning them, we can keep them on file and use the data you uncover for a more scientific purpose."

Harry looked over at Gus, "But from what Gus has told me, Muggle-borns are already being invited for blood tests to determine their true parentage."

Gus gave Harry a nod.

Harry leant back and tapped his fingers against the table, "I suspect the results would be interesting – several supposed Muggle-borns like Lily herself are half-bloods who never knew one of their parents after all."

There was an intake of breath from several of the Death Eaters who hadn't been privy to this little gem of knowledge. Harry used this moment to think, And the Wood baby, otherwise known as Hermione Granger.

Voldemort had already known about this little gem of information. He and Harry spoke in their heads regularly after all. As such, he thought back, Indeed.

Lily smirked and gave a little wave, "Hi I'm Lily Black, daughter of Regulus and therefore the Black family heir."

"Quiet, Black," Voldemort said.

"Sorry, my lord," Lily returned.

Voldemort spoke to the room as a whole, "I do believe that Harry's idea for the commission is more efficient."

He turned to Yaxley and ordered, "Yaxley, see that mandatory blood testing of all Muggle-borns is introduced immediately and once you have the required data, keep all confirmed Muggle-borns on record for the Marriage Law scheme."

"Yes, my lord," Yaxley said, looking a little put-out, "I shall get Dolores on it immediately."

"Dolores?" Harry muttered then he said something much ruder under his breath.

Yaxley frowned, "Yes. Do you have a problem with that, Potter?"

Harry scoffed.

"Answer Yaxley's question, Harry," Voldemort said, his voice quiet but demanding, "Do you have a problem with Dolores Umbridge?"

"Well, since according to dear old Dolores 'I must not tell lies', yes, I have a problem with her," Harry said, looking up at Voldemort, "She is a vile woman with no more magic than Argus Filch. She lies about her heritage when, in reality, she comes from nothing and her father was a lowly janitor in the Ministry. She took pleasure in torturing children while she worked at Hogwarts, and if I'm honest, she's a social climber with no real skill whatsoever."

"You forgot about the centaurs," Lily piped up.

Harry snorted, and Voldemort raised an eyebrow, "Centaurs?"

"She was kidnapped and probably assaulted by Centaurs a couple of years ago, and if anyone deserved it, it was her," Lily fumed.

"You have a problem with her as well?"

Lily held out her hand and showed Voldemort thin scars that were etched there, "It says, 'I must learn my place', she had me etch it into my own skin with a dark quill because I kept answering back when she told us the wrong information in class."

Harry showed Voldemort his hand.

"Mine says, 'I must not tell lies' because she turned the entire school against me for telling everyone that you were back, all because the ministry was terrified of the uproar, so they were trying to deny it had happened."

Voldemort was silent, and the room was tense.

"Do you want her killed?" Voldemort asked Harry quite calmly.

"No, I don't want her killed," Harry replied, "I want to kill her."

Voldemort smirked, "Yaxley, find a new Ministry employee to conduct your scheme. Perhaps, Percy Weasley?"

"He would be honoured, I'm sure," Bill said, a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

Voldemort asked if anyone had any further information to relay, and as they did not, he dismissed the meeting but asked two people to stay behind.

Await me in my private quarters. We need to have a conversation, and the utmost privacy is required.

Harry looked at Voldemort with interest, Okay.

He fell into step with Theo and murmured, "I need to talk to the Dark Lord privately, don't wait up."

Theo nodded, "Just Moon and me tonight then," he joked.

"Lillian," Voldemort's high voice said just as Lily was about to join them.

"Yes, my lord?"

"Stay back, please," Voldemort instructed.

Harry looked at Lily nervously, but Lily seemed unphased by the Dark Lords request. Theo made a face at Harry, "Just me then," he said.

Harry nodded, "I'll see you later," he said because they had reached the entrance hall and therefore had to go their separate ways.

"Have you officially changed your name to Black?" Voldemort asked Lily when the room had emptied.

"I filed a request with the Ministry, but as of yet, it is not official. I have to wait for the blood results to come back and for someone to sign off on it," She waved her hands irritably, "Bureaucracy, you know what it's like."

"Indeed," Voldemort said, his eyes surveying her, "I presume you are wondering why I asked you to stay behind?"

"I presume it's because Amycus Carrow said some rude things about me."

Voldemort opened the dining room doors and said, "We ought to walk."

Lily frowned but stepped into the garden with him silently. He held out his arm and wordlessly, Lily linked hers through it.

"Yes, Amycus did have rather a lot to say about you," Voldemort mused.

"He accused you of overstepping your bounds and being both disrespectful and condescending."

"I did do all of that," Lily confessed.

Voldemort looked sideways at her, "And why would that be?"

"Well, my lord, there is no easy way to say this," Lily began diplomatically, "But Amycus likes to touch little girls and given my history with men like that, I think I was quite restrained."

Voldemort's jaw set, but he said nothing at first. They walked past a fountain with plimpys swimming around, occasionally jumping out of the water with a squeak.

"Forgive me if I'm too frank here," Lily continued, "But I think you give your followers too much credit and too long a leash. I very much doubt you would employ him in a school if you had known about this character flaw of his."

"Are you questioning my authority, Lillian?" Voldemort asked, his voice low and threatening.

"No," Lily answered honestly, "Just your decision making."

They paused by a bench, and Voldemort let go of her arm, "If anyone else had spoken to me the way that you just did, I would have cursed them. I have killed people for less."

Lily met his eye, "So why haven't you cursed me?"

"I have no idea," Voldemort returned, his eyes on hers, "All the same, you are correct. I would not have employed Amycus in a school if I had known about that character flaw. I will have to do something about it, of course, and I think I may have a solution, but you will have to leave that in my hands."

Lily gave him a little nod and sat down on the bench, looking up at the vast manor, "The Malfoys have done rather well for themselves, haven't they?"

Voldemort sat down next to her, leaning back to survey the manor, "Yes, they have, but they are followers, not leaders. They find the most powerful man in the room and cling to him until he dies, then they move onto the next person. That is what they have done throughout history and look at this," he motioned around the garden, "This is what they have achieved."

Lily sighed, "I grew up in a council estate in London; you probably don't know what this is."

"I am aware of what a council estate is," Voldemort said, his blue eyes darkening, "And I know London rather well. I grew up there too."

Lily looked sideways at him, "Did you? What area?"

"Lambeth," Voldemort replied quietly.

Lily frowned, "Lambeth? I grew up near there in Whitechapel, but Lambeth…that's all been demolished, it's all offices and businesses up there."

"It was bombed heavily by the Germans during the filthy muggles second war," Voldemort said, his voice still quiet and his dark eyes still on the house up ahead, "I suspect the orphanage I grew up in was demolished for 'redevelopment' as the Muggles like to call it."

Lily was silent as she contemplated his words. He spoke like he knew, like he had been around while the Germans were bombing the city. She didn't think he was that old; she thought he had been a relatively young man in the last war.

"So were you a kid in the orphanage when that was happening or…?" Lily cut herself off.

Voldemort looked sideways at her, "No, I was at Hogwarts for the majority of the Blitz, but I was forced to return to the orphanage during two summers while the Germans bombed the city. My entire childhood was spent in the shadow of the foolish Muggle war."

Lily tried not to show how much she was reeling from that revelation. She listened as he spoke, but she was also doing the math in her head.

"They had a war that killed 20 million people," Voldemort said distastefully, "They called it the war to end all wars and then twenty years later, they were back in the same old fight."

Lily frowned, "I'm sorry if this is disrespectful, but isn't that what is happening right now? Isn't this our World War Two?"

"No," Voldemort said, his eyes on Lily's once more, "One could argue that this is not a war at all. The last time I had to strike terror into the hearts of the nation, but now they already fear me. This has been more of a political overthrow than a war thus far. There have been no pitch battles, only mere skirmishes with a handful of wizards on each side."

Lily shrugged, she couldn't argue with that logic to be fair.

"Have you discovered what age I am yet?" Voldemort asked, "I could tell that was what you were trying to work out."

"You're 70," Lily said, involuntarily casting her eyes over him, "But I must say, you wear it well. You don't look a day over 45."

Voldemort let out a reluctant laugh, "This is not my true face; it is an imagined form of what I might look like had I aged normally."

Lily nodded, "I know what you really look like, or I've heard the stories at least – red eyes and a…"

"Snake-like appearance?" He finished.

Lily nodded, but neither of them said anymore on the subject.

"Anyway," Lily said, changing the subject, "I can't imagine what it must have been like, growing up during the war."

Voldemort nodded, "It was interesting, to say the least."

"Also," Lily frowned, "What kind of Headmaster sends a kid back into the middle of the bloody Blitz?"

"Armando Dippet," Voldemort said dryly.

Lily shook her head in disbelief, "If you grew up in London, I guess you never found out about your parents until you were older? Like me, with my father?"

"I knew a little about my mother," Voldemort replied, "I knew she had died at the orphanage after my birth. But I did not find out why she died until I was much older."

Lily didn't question him, even though she wanted to know what had made him into the monster that everyone viewed him as.

"I suspect you have already guessed," Voldemort said, glancing at her, "But like you and Harry, I am a half-blood."

"Muggle father?" Lily guessed.

Voldemort frowned at her, "How did you guess?"

"Only people with Daddy issues see the signs," Lily joked, "Sorry if that's overstepping, dark sense of humour, remember?"

Voldemort made a noise, somewhere between a snort and a humph.

"So your name isn't really Voldemort then, is it? I guess it's probably something boring like Tom, Dick or Harry, so you changed it to sound more pureblood?"

Voldemort's eyes snapped to her in shock, "How did you do that? Are you using Legilimency?" he got to his feet and reached for his wand.

Lily jumped and got to her feet in alarm, "What? No! It's an old saying – every Tom, Dick and Harry."

Voldemort's hand twitched as he resisted the urge to grab his wand and point it at her throat.

"I'm sorry," Lily said, swallowing and looking at him warily.

"I was unfortunately named for my muggle father," Voldemort said distastefully, "My mother was a disgrace to the Gaunt family. Not only did she fall in love with a muggle – she fell in love with the great-grandson of the man who took our family home from us."

Lily frowned, "Muggles took your family home?"

"The Gaunt family had been dying out for years," Voldemort explained, "Inbreeding had led to infant mortality and insanity. It made it easy for that muggle family to take our family manor from us. My mother was raised in a hovel, a shack, just outside of the grounds of what had once been our family home."

"Have you taken it back now?" Lily asked curiously.

Voldemort bowed his head, "I have, and when I have not been conducting business, I have been restoring it to its former glory. Malfoy Manor will remain our headquarters – it is strategically placed to defend against our enemies in Wales, but I do not wish to reside with

Lucius and his peacocks forever."

Lily nodded, "I'm sorry for bringing it up. I understand why you feel sensitive about it. I'm changing my name too, for similar reasons."

Voldemort narrowed his eyes, "You have already told me that you are changing your name to Black."

"No, I'm changing my first name too," Lily said, suddenly very aware of the distance between them and the shift in the air.

They had been close, confiding in each other and happy with the others company and now there was a literal void in-between them.

"I don't want to keep my filthy Muggle grandmothers name, so I'm changing it from Lillian to Lilith."

Voldemort's guard dropped for a moment, "Lilith? Meaning 'she of the night'?"

Lily shrugged, "Well, it's accurate. Isn't it?"

Voldemort did not reply immediately, but he seemed to be at ease again, "I apologise for acting in such a defensive manner," he held his hand out to her.

Despite the frightening display, Lily didn't hesitate to take it. He pulled her towards him but did not relinquish his grip. He intertwined his fingers with hers and led her further into the rose garden, away from the grand manor.

"I do wonder what has caused the Order of the Phoenix to fracture so suddenly," Voldemort mused. Lily would have been surprised by the rapid change of subject if it weren't for the fact that she could tell Voldemort was just trying to steer away from the topic of contention.

Lily cleared her throat, "Well, it will have something to do with the fact Ginny Weasley just discovered that her Mother has been manipulating her and lying to her for the past two years."

Voldemort looked down at Lily, "Elaborate."

"Ginny had this ring, it had a compulsion charm tied to it," Lily explained, "I found out after I supervised her detention with Amycus Carrow. I had her talk to McGonagall about it, and they were both visibly shocked when they discovered what Molly Weasley had done. Nobody has seen Ginny for the best part of a month, so everyone thinks she's had a mental breakdown and I suspect it was the cause of the argument between Molly and McGonagall."

"I would suspect you are right," Voldemort said quietly, "Do you know why she manipulated her daughter?"

"She wanted Ginny to fall in love with Harry, to keep him on the side of the light, for money and status too," Lily said with a shrug, "She compelled Ginny to drug Harry with a love potion in sixth year."

Voldemort scoffed, "Love potions have a lot to answer for. If I could outlaw them and destroy any reference to them in literature, I would."

Lily looked up in surprise at this, "You seem to have a personal vendetta against love potions."

Voldemort's jaw set again, "I believe they are very dangerous potions that create very dangerous people."

Lily frowned, "You can't be talking about the old myth? Surely someone as smart and logical as you doesn't believe that?"

"There is no proof to the contrary," Voldemort pointed out.

"There is, it just hasn't been published in any book," Lily remarked, "How can a child conceived under the influence of a love potion not be capable of love? Love potions don't affect the soul or the DNA; they alter the brain of the victim, not the child that is conceived."

Voldemort said nothing.

Lily shook her head, "Saying a child conceived in that manner is not capable of love is like saying that a child conceived through rape is not capable of love. But look at me, we both know that's how my conception came about, and I am."

Voldemort remained silent.

"Everyone is capable of love," Lily finished, "Some people are just too scared of it to accept that."

Her words struck a chord with him and got his mind reeling as he thought of Bellatrix and the baby he had instructed Narcissa to dispose of.

"As interesting as your opinion is, I am not entirely sure that I agree with it," Voldemort said diplomatically, turning around and beginning to walk back to the house.

"Life would be incredibly boring if we all agreed all of the time," Lily countered.

Voldemort smiled slightly, but they fell silent. They enjoyed the cool night air, and the slight breeze in silence of the comfortable variety until they reached the boundary where they would go their separate ways – Lily would go back to Hogwarts and Voldemort would re-enter the manor.

At this point, Voldemort dropped her hand, but he hesitated before he walked away from her.

"Tom."

"What?" Lily asked, turning around with a frown.

"My name," Voldemort said, his eyes meeting hers, "It is Tom, Tom Riddle."

Lily smiled and cocked her head at him. For a moment, he thought she wouldn't say anything, but then she took a step forward and tentatively kissed him on the cheek.

"Goodnight, Tom."

Voldemort swallowed, he didn't think he had ever heard his name said so tenderly.

"Goodnight," He caught himself before he could call her Lillian, "Lilith Black."

Harry was falling asleep in an armchair by the fire when something was dropped into his lap. He jolted awake and looked down at a locket.

"What's that?" Harry asked stupidly.

Voldemort sat down opposite him, "Open it."

Harry pried the locket open and took out a note. He scanned it with a frown then looked up at Voldemort.

"It should have been a Horcrux," Voldemort said distastefully, "Placed carefully inside Salazar Slytherin's locket. However, thanks to Regulus Black, it is not."

Harry rubbed his scar as Voldemort's anger bled into him, "So that's how Regulus Black died then?"

"He died stealing the real locket and swapping it out for this cheap replica," Voldemort said, casting a disdainful look at the locket.

Harry frowned, "If he died then how did he manage to switch them?"

"I do not know," Voldemort said, resting his head in his hands, "But the underground lake surrounding that locket was full of Inferi, so I can only assume he has joined them."

Harry's eyes lit up, "Then we can ask him about it, can't we?"

Voldemort gave Harry a dubious look, "Harry, you really ought to read more about dark creatures. Inferi cannot talk or function remotely like human beings; they are the walking dead. They are nothing more than puppets!"

Another sharp pain coursed through Harry's head.

"Right, sorry," Harry said sheepishly, "This is bad, isn't it? We're back to the drawing board with no idea where the real locket is."

Voldemort gave a small, irritated nod.

"I mean, it might have been in Grimmauld Place at one point," Harry continued, "You know the Black family home? But Mundungus Fletcher ransacked that place a couple of years ago and pawned everything."

"Where?" Voldemort asked, suddenly paying a little more attention, "At Borgin and Burkes?"

"I don't know, maybe?"

Voldemort sighed, "I will talk to Mr Borgin in the odd chance that it has passed through his hands, but you are correct – we are back to the drawing board once again with this particular artefact."

"It is the last one though, isn't it?" Harry asked, "The diary and the ring have been destroyed, and the rest are accounted for?"

"They are, yes," Voldemort said, getting to his feet, "But I have already lost two. I cannot afford to lose another."

A thought flitted through Harry's mind before he had a chance to stop it or block it out. More valuable to you than your actual child then.

Without drawing his wand, Voldemort locked the door and threw Harry up against it with magic. Harry tried to suck in a breath, but couldn't and before he knew it, he had Voldemort's wand against his chest.

"I do not know how you found out about that," Voldemort hissed, "CRUCIO!"

The words were uttered were such rage that Harry knew before he felt the sharp, burn, that this would be painful. He yelled when the curse began to make his blood feel as if it was boiling and steaming through his veins.

"But that is strictly need to know information" Voldemort continued as Harry's nerves burned as if they were on fire, he cried out in pain, as he had on that tombstone in the graveyard a few years back, "And you do not need to know!"

Harry was quite ashamed of the scream that left his lips as the pain worsened; he thought his bones might shatter.

"And it is certainly not any of your business!" Voldemort roared, thrusting his wand at Harry and pushing him through the door, onto the hard wooden floor in the hallway.

Harry was gasping for air, cradling what he thought might be a broken arm, and all the while trying not to pass out from the unbearable pain of Voldemort's anger, coursing through him via his scar. He threw his head back, leaning against the cold, stone wall and wishing that he had been better at Occlumency.

Harry had no idea how he managed to apparate himself back to Hogwarts without killing himself. He was in something of a daze as he wandered through the castle halls.

"Potter?"

Harry looked up blearily, "Yeah Headmaster, I'm out of bed, I know. Is it really the time for detention, though?"

Snape narrowed his eyes at Harry, "What happened to you?"

"What do you think happened to me?" Harry muttered.

Snape sighed and took Harry's arm, "Come to my office; I can give you a healing draught."

Harry was in no mood or physical state to argue. He let Snape drag him into his office, and when he handed him a vial of yellow potion, Harry knocked it back.

"It is only a simple healing draught; it will not fix everything," Snape said, his eyes sweeping over Harry, "I can cast a diagnostic charm to ensure there is no further damage."

"Don't bother; I'll be fine."

"I am trying to help you, Potter," Snape said irritably, "I have been trying to help you from the moment I told you the truth."

"Yeah but I'm starting to get the impression that I didn't do what you wanted me to do with the truth," Harry said, narrowing his eyes at Snape.

Snape pursed his lips but said nothing.

"And I'll be honest, I really don't think you give a shit about me or my welfare," Harry added, "I think from the moment I arrived at this school, you've tried to help me, to keep me alive because of some sick debt you feel like you owe to my mother for getting her killed."

"How dare you," Snape hissed.

"You're angry because I'm right," Harry said, pushing himself to his feet shakily, "I think you told me the truth hoping it would give me a better chance of survival while I fought the Dark Lord because deep down, you are not loyal to him. You want him dead for what he did to my mother. Are you a traitor, Snape?"

"No," Snape said coolly, "And questions of such significance ought to come from the Dark Lord himself, not the boy who claims to be his right hand."

"You didn't expect me to take the truth and turn to the man you secretly hate the most," Harry finished, a little vindictively.

"And you're terrified that if there is an afterlife, my mother will hate you when you get there for giving me the information that turned me dark, but I wouldn't worry about it too much, Severus."

Snape's hand was twitching as he resisted the urge to reach for his wand.

"Because if there is an afterlife, and if it is as simple as up or down, heaven or hell?" Harry said, his hand on the door handle, "Let's put it this way, the likes of you and I will be going down, and my mother definitely isn't going to be there."

"You overstep your bounds, Potter," Snape hissed, "Just like your insolent father!"

"Back to that old chestnut, are we?" Harry asked calmly, "I don't trust you, Snape, so you know that old saying? The one about snitches?"

Snape narrowed his eyes at Harry.

"Betray us, and they won't have anything left to stitch back together," Harry threatened, "I'll be the one to put you in the ground and send you down to the devil's domain."

Without waiting for Snape to say anything else, or potentially curse him, Harry left the office and made his way along the corridor to the Slytherin Common Room.

As he walked, he felt a stabbing pain begin in his side, and as the pain worsened, sweat began to glisten on his forehead. At first, he thought Snape had cursed him, but as the pain worsened, he realised that it had to be related to what Voldemort had done.

When he stumbled into the common room, it was empty bar from Theo who had waited up despite Harry telling him not to.

"Thank fuck I waited up," Theo said, catching Harry as he stumbled, "Why didn't you go to Narcissa?"

Harry shook his head and mumbled that he was fine.

"Like hell you are, you look like you're on death's door," Theo said, leading Harry towards his dorm room, "I'll have Lily take a look at you, and if she can't help, then you'll have to see Narcissa."

Harry tried to speak, but he was pretty sure his words came out all mashed up. He was in a haze of pain, the world around him was blurring and shifting, he felt sick, and he could barely keep his eyes open as Theo dragged him into the Head Common Room.

"Harry! What happened?" Lily asked, jumping from her chair.

Theo gave her a knowing look, "I think the better question would be 'who happened?'. He's been tortured with the cruciatus curse, and we both know where he was this evening."

Lily frowned and cast a diagnostic charm over Harry then sighed, murmuring a spell that instantly knocked him out. Theo was already supporting Harry's weight, so he lay him on the sofa.

"The Dark Lord must have had his reasons," Lily reasoned.

Theo didn't argue with her, he wasn't stupid after all, "Uh-huh. Can we do something about this?" he asked, gesturing to Harry's entire body.

Lily nodded, "Hold his arm tightly, it's broken, and it looks like he's used a healing charm to stop an infection, but I'm not entirely sure that it worked."

Theo did so, and with relative ease, Lily mended his broken arm. Harry, being in a forced sleep, didn't flinch.

Lily threw a cloth at Theo, which he used to mop up the sweat on Harry's forehead, "He's boiling, Lily."

Lily felt his head and sighed, "That break in his arm, did it pierce the skin?"

Theo removed Harry's shirt with one tap of his wand, and they saw the wound.

"Fuck," Theo muttering, "How did he apparate home like that?"

"It probably happened while he was apparating," Lilly said, pulling the cork off of a bottle of dittany with her teeth, "How he got to you in the common room without passing out though? That shows how resilient he is."

"Of course he's resilient," Theo said, his eyes on the sleeping boy in front of them, "He's not just been to hell and back, he's walked through hell with his head held high. The Devil let him go because he realised he was more use to him out here than in there."

Lily raised an eyebrow at Theo, "Philosophical. Have you been reading again?"

Theo shot her a vaguely amused look, "Here, I'll do that."

Lily handed him the dittany, and Theo dabbed it onto the cloth in his hand – he rubbed the dittany onto the wound where Harry's broken bone had pierced the skin.

The wound began to seal itself shut, and Theo turned to Lily, who was rummaging in a small potions kit, "What do you think he did?"

Lily turned around with a bottle in her hand, "Knowing Harry? He probably answered back when the Dark Lord wasn't in the mood to let it go. Although," she frowned and handed him the bottle, "I don't know why his mood would have changed so drastically. He seemed fine when I left."

"What did he want with you?" Theo asked curiously.

"Give Harry that potion to flush any toxins from his blood," Lily ordered.

Theo sighed and did so. He sat on the floor next to Harry with a bucket at the ready in case the flushing potion made him throw up.

Lily frowned, "Are you going to stay there all night?"

"Well, I don't want him choking on his own sick and dying, do I?" Theo asked rhetorically.

Lily gave him a small smile, "You're in love with him."

Theo scoffed, "In love? Come on Black, he's a good shag, but it's only been a couple of months."

"And now you're deflecting," Lily said with a knowing look, "Because you can't admit that I'm right."

Theo just changed the subject, "How do you know the Dark Lord was in a good mood?"

"Because he and I spoke after the meeting, you know that," Lily said, somewhat irritably.

"What did you speak about?" Theo asked.

"Nothing that concerns you," Lily shot back.

Theo sighed, "Fine. I'll quit asking. I'd probably have more luck speaking to a brick wall than you anyway."

Lily cast her eyes over Harry one last time then looked at Theo, "I'm saying this because you're a nice person, and I actually like you, Theo…be careful with Harry."

Theo frowned, but said nothing as Lily continued, "I can tell you care about him, whether you love him or not, well that depends how deep your denial runs. But I'm not sure he feels the same way about you. After everything he's been through…I don't know if he knows what real love looks like anymore."

Theo's frown deepened, but he said nothing. Lily just gave him a nod then headed into her bedroom.

While Theo kept watch over him, Harry dreamed, but his dreams told him how much damage he had done that night. Voldemort was angry, he felt conflicted and so much so that Harry was seeing into his head in a way he hadn't done since fifth year.

It took Harry a while to work out that the strangely distorted visions were not his own, but Voldemort's. They frequently shifted, from a dark room with a dwindling fireplace and the sound of a baby crying – to a hospital room in St. Mungo's with a newborn baby in a cot-bed – to an old orphanage.

A young boy was crying on the doorstep, there was a note signed, "I will love you always and forever, Merope – your mother."

The young Tom had his knees drawn tightly to his chest. Then the scene shifted, and that invisible baby cried some more as flashes of memories and thoughts flitted through Voldemort's dreams, love potions featured heavily until at last, something jolted Voldemort awake.

It wasn't enough to break the connection or wake Harry up – Lily had put him in an induced sleep after all. But, the moment Voldemort awoke, he realised that Harry was in his head and his first port of call was to try and push him out.

Wait! Harry thought, Please, just let me apologise.

For invading my dreams or my privacy? The thought was as sarcastic as it was bitter.

Both, Harry thought back, I found out about the baby by mistake, I swear. I overheard Bellatrix and Narcissa talking.

Voldemort was silent, so Harry thought, And I'm sorry for invading your dreams, I didn't mean to do that either. I think I'm in an induced sleep because I cannot wake myself up whatever I do. I think that's why my focus is so good too.

If you are searching for an apology, you will not get one.

I know, Harry thought back to the Dark Lord, And I don't expect one. But can I speak frankly?

I assume you would do so anyway, even if I said no, Voldemort thought dryly.

Harry would have chuckled if he had been awake, but he wasn't, and he wasn't in much of a mood for laughing either.

I'm going to deduce from your dreams that the reason you don't want this child is because it was conceived under the influence of a love potion but-

Do not give me the speech about how it is a myth that those conceived in such a manner cannot love. You and I both know that it is not true. Thanks to Albus Dumbledore, you are the only living person who knows my story.

Exactly, and your story is what makes me think it's a myth. I don't believe you are incapable of love, I think you are scared of it, and I think you grew up not knowing what it was. I can understand that, probably more than anyone else. You accuse me of being rash, but I think your decision about this child is rash.

A pang of pain shot through Harry's scar, and even in his unconscious state, it hurt, I know I'm overstepping my bounds, but someone needs to say this to you before it's too late. You think this child will be just like you, but I think you can give her a better start in life.

There was a long pause.

Her?

Harry paused, he had assumed that Voldemort knew that pivotal bit of information.

Clearly, I do not.

Bellatrix knows it's a girl, Harry thought to Voldemort. She said something to Narcissa about how she would be your heir.

There was another long silence then. I suppose every lord does need an heir.

Harry would have scoffed if he could have, Is that all this child means to you?

What does she mean to you? Voldemort countered.

Harry sighed internally, Honestly? Tom, I think this child can offer you the one thing you have always sought with your brotherhood of Death Eaters but have never actually believed you had.

And what is that? Voldemort thought back; he sounded torn between being curious and irritated.

The unconditional love of family.

The silence that greeted Harry told him that he was right, that he had pulled the right strings to get Voldemort to change his mind about Bellatrix and their unborn child. He could feel the shift in Voldemort's conflicting emotions; he could sense the thought about how he would have to talk to Narcissa and then, all of a sudden, it all went black as Voldemort put his walls back up.

* TBC *