Chapter 5

A/N: This may be the last chapter for the night, depending on how far I get with the next one. Thank you for the review, Gurgaraneth, I hope this chapter does not disappoint.

Warning: This chapter contains some bad language.

…Harry's POV…

Hadrian felt it when the Dark Lord's magic entered his body and immediately reacted as his heart thumped wildly in his chest and he let loose a blast of his magic. His first instinctive thought was that the man had discovered who he was and that he had to protect himself, but he froze in shock with his wand drawn even as the familiar feeling of a diagnostic spell, with a hint of something he couldn't decipher, spread through his body and he was left staring at the Dark Lord whose shield had already disappeared as if to say that he meant no harm.

They stood frozen like that for who knows how long, one trying to come down from the high of feeling the other's magic and the other trying to think of a way to diffuse the situation as this was the second time that he had attacked the Dark Lord, even if it had mainly been driven by instinct, and he was sure that there would be repercussions.

Hadrian also couldn't believe that the Dark Lord would cast a diagnostic spell for nothing, so the man either wanted to make sure that his followers hadn't failed his orders, or the true intent of the spell had been the one he had felt layered beneath it. A silent diagnostic spell of his own revealed that whatever the spell had been, it had not been meant to linger and it left him at a loss of how to react to it.

As he focused on the Dark Lord to try and explain, he was taken aback by the strangely euphoric expression on the man's face, though it disappeared the moment Marvolo caught his gaze and Hadrian felt a nervous shiver run through his body as the Dark Lord lightly licked his bottom lip as if he was tasting the air.

Hadrian suddenly felt very much like prey, but Marvolo simply broke eye contact as if to survey the magic that still swam around the room before glancing down at Hadrian's wand. "From your reaction just now, I would say that you have been attacked quite a few times, in fact, your reaction time was even better than most people that had taken part in the war."

Harry scoffed outwardly, but on the inside, it felt like his heart was racing so fast that it would stop any second now. He must have been truly insane to think that he could get the Dark Lord to talk about something as mundane as 'feelings' or 'thoughts'. Marvolo didn't have the title of Dark Lord for nothing, and it was clear now that the man was merely using the time to figure him out. And he was getting a little too close for comfort.

The sudden ringing of an incoming message distracted him from answering, but even then, he did not dare reach for his phone and to take his eyes off the man. It felt like he had unknowingly stepped onto a field of landmines, and they were all set to go off any minute now. But then his mind kicked into gear, and he abruptly lowered his stance and allowed a sheepish expression to cover his face.

"Sorry, I just really dislike it when people aim their spells at me without permission. Common courtesy you know? I would appreciate it if you didn't do that again." He was barely able to keep the growl out of his voice during the last bit, but it seemed to mostly diffuse the situation. Or at least it looked that way. You never knew with a Dark Lord, especially this one.

Marvolo nodded his consent before speaking. "I should have taken it into account, given that you were attacked earlier. Though I did not expect a simple diagnostic spell to set you off quite this much, especially since you constantly work with it. The spell that had been aimed towards you by your attacker had been quite dark though, so I merely wanted to make sure that it hadn't met its mark, even by a little."

Hadrian knew what the man was trying to do, and he barely stopped himself from revealing that he had felt the second spell layered beneath the first. The man was subtly playing the victim card as if he had been attacked while he had simply been trying to help. Unfortunately, unless he wanted to attract more attention, Hadrian now needed to give in to the man's demands, or at least act as if he did.

He sagged his shoulders a little and looked down as if he were feeling guilty, but he did not miss the shark-like grin that flashed over the man's face because of it and Marvolo's next words didn't surprise him much either. It did nothing to curb his anger at it though.

"Why don't you join me for dinner tonight? A night off should help you relax, especially since I am sure you have been working non-stop these last few weeks. I would even be able to arrange for someone to guard you during your stay here if that would set your mind at ease."

Of all the…! Hadrian bit his tongue and took a moment to compose himself. To his ears, it sounded like the bastard had just outright admitted that he had been stalking him the past few weeks and yet Hadrian could do nothing since his present self was simply supposed to take the words at face value, as if the Dark Lord were merely worried for his safety and that he had simply assumed that he had been working the entire time. Yeah right.

Fortunately for himself though, Hadrian already had another client that he needed to see, and it would require him to be out of reach for at least three to six days. Hopefully, it would give him enough time to think of a way to get out of this mess.

…Marvolo's POV…

Marvolo subtly congratulated himself at being able to corner Hadrian and he was sure that nothing could stop him from getting answers anymore. The man knew he was the Dark Lord, he was sure of it, and yet Hadrian treated him the same as he would treat any other person that dared to mess with anything that was his.

The thought led him into making another connection between Harry Potter and Hadrian Peverell, both the teen and the man had explosive tempers, consequences be damned. It was refreshing as much as it had initially infuriated him, but now it merely amused him when he compared it to the last struggles of a wild animal before it gave in to its human master and became tame. Not that he wanted to tame Hadrian, mind you, the man's fire was a large part of what drew Marvolo to him. That and the man's intoxicating magic as well as the hole his presence seemed to fill in his very being.

So, he stood still and waited for the rabbit to be ensnared in his trap, and it looked like he would succeed when the man nodded as if steeling himself…that is…until Hadrian looked up and the Dark Lord could clearly see the defiance in the man's gaze. Those were not the eyes of a rabbit that was about to submit to its fate, it was the eyes of a snake that was coiled to strike the moment the hunter tried to reach into the trap, and a spark of arousal traveled through the Dark Lord's body at the look.

"Thanks for the offer, but I must decline for now. I already made plans for the next week or so, I will be away for the next couple of days." Marvolo swallowed his displeasure at being told 'no' yet again. He may enjoy the man's defiance, but Hadrian's newest attempt was trying his patience. Did he really think he was going to allow him out of his sight for the next week after he spent two weeks trying to find out everything he could about him?

Marvolo decided that he might have been a bit too lenient with the man. "That sounds interesting, I was planning to go on a trip myself, though I don't have a destination as of yet. Would you mind if I joined you?" The horror on Hadrian's face caught his interest as he caught him unawares, but it was fascinating to see how fast the Healer managed to control his expression once again.

"I'm sorry but that would be breaking patient confidentiality." Hadrian's carefully closed-off expression refused to budge once it settled and Marvolo almost felt a little jealous of the man's client. Clearly, it was someone he cared about, otherwise, he doubted that Hadrian would be acting in such a way, even if he was generally protective of his clients. Marvolo's thoughts flashed back to when Hadrian had forcefully apparated him out of the building, the man's power and control were truly extraordinary.

Just as he was about to try to persuade Hadrian further, he noticed that one of the strings connecting him to his Death Eaters was trembling fiercely. He turned back to Hadrian, but as much as he wanted to continue their discussion, he knew that this specific Death Eater would not have contacted him for just any small reason. The man must have found something important during his mission.

"Hm, it seems like something has come up. I will contact you once I've sorted things out." And with that, he left. He just hoped that his subordinate finally had the answers that he had been seeking. The sooner he talked to the man, the sooner he could make plans to follow Hadrian as he was sure the man wouldn't just obediently sit and wait for him.

A ghost of a shiver passed through his form as he remembered the other man's magic, but all too soon he realized that it wasn't enough anymore and he recalled how Hadrian looked with his magic dancing wildly around him, and he had no other choice than to admit that he wanted Hadrian all to himself. No…he smirked…Hadrian was already his, he just didn't know it yet.

…Harry's POV…

Hadrian was left in stunned silence as he looked at the closed door, but that did not stop him for long. He knew that the Dark Lord had almost managed to trap him, and it made him want to thank the Death Eater that had called him away since there was no other reasonable explanation for the man's quick departure.

Luckily the portkey had been ordered weeks ago and he was sure that he hadn't mentioned to the Dark Lord about how he would be traveling or where he would go. He grimaced, not that it would be hard for the man to find out, but the location had to be carefully calibrated into a specifically created portkey so he was sure that the man would simply give up and wait for him to return.

His mind felt like it was going a thousand miles a second, but he forcefully pushed it down and gathered his shrunken things, that he had packed earlier, before moving to activate the portkey, yet something stopped him as he looked around. He had left a few harmless things here and there, just to show Marvolo that he was only going to be gone for about a week and no he wasn't going to look too deep into that thought. The man was the type to enter wherever he wanted though so it was better to be safe than sorry.

Everything seemed to be in place until his eyes fell onto his desk, specifically the drawer that held the book he had written Marvolo's past in. He had forgotten to burn it and the feeling that usually warned him about imminent danger had turned into a roaring thunderstorm.

Without a second thought, he pushed his shrunken bag into his pocket and removed his wand before summoning the book and burning it. He then discarded the ashes and took a relieved breath before finally activating the portkey. It was time to visit a friend.

…Marvolo's POV…

Marvolo apparated directly into his study and a dark-haired man was immediately admitted into the room by one of his house-elves. Barty Crouch Jr. looked as if he had pulled quite a few all-nighters but he also looked quite excited and the Dark Lord had to stop himself from showing how eager he was for news about the mission.

So instead of simply getting the facts straight from his follower's mind, he took a seat and motioned for Barty to do the same. The man laid a cloth down on his desk before he started piling random trinkets onto it. Alone they meant nothing and it was clear why they had been missed the first time, yet together they painted a very different picture, and given the fact that they still sang with Harry Potter's magic could only mean one thing.

Barty was barely able to keep the slightly insane grin off of his face as he whispered, "Harry James Potter, is still alive."

A/N: Yes, I know it's a cliffie, but I just couldn't resist. I am already busy with the next chapter though so you will be reading it tomorrow morning at the latest…maybe even tonight if the story keeps running away with me the way it is doing now.