Yo! Thank you to all readers so far!

Harry was still seated on the bed when Voldemort and Nagini came back into the room. Easily catching the apple tossed at him, he inclined his head politely and, not caring about whether or not it was poisoned, bit into it.

"You wished to speak to me?" Voldemort said after a pause.

Swallowing the bite of chewed apple, Harry nodded. "I'm not going to be so naive as to call for a truce, but I will ask this. What would you do if I decided to refuse to help the Light?"

Voldemort raised an intrigued brow. "That would depend. Are you neutral or Dark?"

Harry thought for a moment before answering. "Neutral leaning Dark," he replied. "Those choosing the same path as me have reached an agreement."

"And that agreement is?"

"We remain neutral in this war, until it's proven that one side will benefit us more. And while I know you want to kill Dumbledore, I have a different goal in mind."

"Oh? And what might said goal be?"

"I want to see him discredited. After all, what good will it be if all his mistakes, misjudgments, and crimes are revealed after his death?"

"Discredited?" Voldemort repeated. Though it didn't actually sound like a question.

"I want him to pay before he's killed. Death isn't revenge enough. Not for me. And not for plenty of others."

"I see. How very Slytherin of you."

Harry smirked. "Well, the Sorting Hat did want to put me there first. I only ended up in Gryffindor because I didn't want to be in the same House as Malfoy. He's a childish prick."

The Dark Lord released an eerie sounding chuckle. "Is that so?" This was good though, he realized, because it played right into his own plans. He had been thinking of turning the teen Dark anyway, and here he was, already leaning towards it himself. He peered down at the boy, who was showing no signs of distress or fear. What would it take, he wondered, to get Harry Potter on his side?

"Come," he said finally, "let us take this discussion somewhere else." He moved to the door.

Harry stared at him for a moment, then slid out of the bed and followed after him, discarding his apple core as he went, the two leaving the room and making their way down the hall and through the manor. Harry found it rather strange that he was walking right beside the Dark Lord, in his Headquarters no less, but he said nothing about it.

Voldemort led Harry into his study and took a seat behind his large, dark wooden desk, gesturing for him to sit down across him. Harry did so, lowering himself down in one of the high backed, dark leather chairs. Once they had both settled, the older man spoke.

"Tell me, Potter. What would you and your...companions require to join my side?"

Not surprised or bothered by the abruptness of the question, Harry replied. "I will not become another one of your minions," he said firmly. "If that's what you're hoping to get out of this, then this discussion ends here and you might as well just kill me. It won't happen. Ever."

Caught off guard by the firm words, Voldemort blinked, then inclined his head. "You wish to be my equal?"

"As equal as I can get, yes, especially considering you're the one who marked me as your equal in the first place." But he dragged his fingers through his hair, then went on. "I'm not saying you have to let me boss your Death Eaters around, but they won't be telling me what to do unless absolutely necessary. I acknowledge that they're older and more experienced than me, and there will be times when that will have to be done. The same will go for my companions. I doubt they'll be around you or the Death Eaters very much, so they'll primarily listen to me, again, unless it becomes necessary to do otherwise."

"Very well. You will have to inform me of who your companions are," Voldemort pointed out.

Harry nodded. "If we can come to an agreement, I will."

Again, the Dark Lord inclined his head. "Very well. What else?"

"We will not be marked. We have no desire to be branded, and in any case, it would be too suspicious. My companions and I have other methods of communication, and we will include you and your most trusted Death Eaters in this as well, but no one else."

Voldemort didn't argue with that, because he actually agreed. He could gain himself even more spies this way, couldn't he? Severus was a good spy, of course, but the more spies he had, the better. And even if they did only report to Potter, he and the teen would be exchanging information regardless, so any information would still be coming to him.

"We will not torture or kill, again, unless necessary, and definitely can't punish us or anything like you do the Death Eaters. As I said, they won't be around often, but you can't take anger out on me or any of them. We refuse to stand for that. We're not joining you-we're working with you."

Voldemort wasn't particularly pleased with that, even if he did understand, but figured he could just torture Wormtail a little more instead. That was always fun. "Anything else?"

"Other than that Dumbledore can't die until he's discredited, no."

"Ah, this discrediting. How do you plan on doing this?"

Here, Harry hesitated, not wanting to give too much away too soon. "Let's just say the old man has committed many crimes, and I want them revealed very publicly."

"I see. What do you plan for Hogwarts then, if the Headmaster is arrested and then killed?"

"That would depend."

"On?"

"Your own goals. I can't reveal everything I have in mind until we have an agreement, but I do need to know what your goals are, and whether they tie in with mine."

Normally, Voldemort wouldn't have even bothered answering such a vague and insolent statement. But he still believed having Harry Potter on his side would be very beneficial, and some leniency in his own behaviour would be required. Especially if the old fool could be discredited in front of the world first. An amusing prospect, really. "I wish for change, Potter. Change to benefit all of Mother Magic's children, whether they be a witch or wizard of any of the three bloods, or a magical creature."

Harry nodded but said nothing, listening intently.

"The Hogwarts curriculum must be changed to teach children of all magicks, instead of merely Light or those that are neutral Light. Old lessons removed must be restored, old books removed, the same, unless there is a better reason they have been removed. The emphasis on prejudice must be negated to give all children an equal chance to learn. This prejudice and discrimination needs to be erased not just from the school but the world in general-or at least this part of Europe."

Again, Harry nodded. "I was thinking about an orphanage for magical children, you know."

"An orphanage?" That hit a little close to home.

"Yes. Did you know we don't have even a single one? Yet the United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, France, China, Japan, Russia, India, Australia, and South Africa all do? And I'm sure I'm missing a lot of countries on that list too.

"What happens to Muggleborn children who have no family to take them in? Some Muggles might be pleased to have a wizard or witch in their family, but not all are. What about Half-blood children who only have Muggle relatives? Pureblood children generally have plenty of family to care for them, but the same doesn't stand for the others."

"Speaking from experience, Potter?" There was no humour in the Dark Lord's tone.

Still, Harry simply shrugged. "I was stuck with abusive relatives all these years, who were trying to beat the magic out of me. There were plenty of people here who could have taken care of me. Still, a Muggleborn friend of mine faces no such issue. Her parents adore her and are proud of what she is. Not everyone is that lucky."

"I agree." After all, he too had grown and lived in a filthy Muggle orphanage, forced to return to that terror each summer until he was finally of age. "I wish to start a new school. One for magical children under the age of eleven, primarily for Muggleborns and Half-bloods living in the Muggle world. They understand very little when they come to our world in their first year, and are treated like Purebloods, expected to know everything the Pureblood children do in terms of etiquette and culture."

Harry inclined his head at those words. "I definitely agree with that. I had issues with that myself, and having to write with a quill after having spent a decade writing with pens and pencils was only the tip of the iceberg. There's a lot people like us are expected to just...know once we first get to this world."

"Do my goals coincide with your own, Potter?"

"If everything you've told me is true, then yes, they do. One thing though."

"Yes?"

"You said you want equality for magical creatures as well, right?"

"I did."

"How would you do that? People are terrified of magical creatures."

"This is why I attempt to recruit them to my side," Voldemort explained. "Dumbledore makes promises, promises that are nothing but colourful lies, and helps pass laws that only hinder them more, though it appears otherwise."

"I have a werewolf friend," said Harry, frowning. "He was firmly on Dumbledore's side until he started learning the truth. He hated what he is, you see, but now he's accepted it, and sees where the old man went wrong. He can't hold a job for very long because, somehow, his employers always find out what he is and fire him. And he's a good, smart, hardworking, kind man."

Voldemort nodded. "This is common for many werewolves, unfortunately. It has become near impossible for them to find work, and werewolf children are forbidden from Hogwarts entirely. The Defence professor from your third year-Lupin, was it? He is the only werewolf to attend and teach at the castle for many centuries."

Harry's frown deepened. "I remember him telling me that was only because Dumbledore insisted he be allowed to attend, and that as long as certain precautions were taken, it would be fine. That's why they planted the Whomping Willow."

Voldemort frowned now too. "I see. That is strange. I know for a fact no werewolf attended after Lupin, and none for a very long time before."

"That's definitely weird," Harry admitted. Had Dumbledore been planning on doing something with Remus? "If I joined you, along with my companions, what would you have us do? What would be your terms?"

"That would depend on who is on your side, and what they have to offer. You will have to answer to me, however. I will not order you, but communication will be imperative."

"I certainly hope that goes both ways, you know. I have no desire to be left in the dark about your plans, while you know everything about my own."

Voldemort smirked, but didn't deny anything. "In any case, now that I have told you my initial desires, explain to me how you wish to discredit the old man."

Since they still hadn't officially come to an agreement, Harry knew not to say too much. Not just yet. "Why, take him to court, of course."

Voldemort blinked. "Court?" he repeated slowly, actually a little caught off guard, but trying not to show it.

"Yes. I plan on doing this the old fashioned way, and beating the old fool at his own game."

Voldemort understood immediately. "Politics." Dumbledore had always been fond of them, he knew.

"Exactly."

While that didn't exactly tell him very much, Voldemort could tell Potter was confident in his plans. Since it was Voldemort himself who had most of the influential Purebloods on his side, it only made sense that Potter would seek him out. He needed more backing if he wished to take this all the way to court. And while all Voldemort wanted was to see Albus Dumbledore dead, watching him be humiliated in front of the world would be the icing on the cake, so to speak. Death, after all, could come at any time.

So he focused on the boy sitting before him, and inclined his head. "I accept your terms, Harry Potter." He held out a hand.

Harry regarded him closely, judging the truth, and then nodded. "And I accept yours, Lord Voldemort." He extended his own hand.

And as dusk settled outside Riddle Manor, the Dark Lord and the Boy-Who-Lived shook hands, solidifying their new arrangement.

That's it for the moment. Now, if anyone reading this knows how the whole political thing works, please let me know, because it soooo isn't my strong point. I don't remember anything about government class from grade five, and utterly failed civics in grade ten. Why did I think it was a good idea to write a politically focused fic? I could really use help/suggestions. Please? Looking forward to reviews! Laterz!