Hope Dies First

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all associated characters and situations are the property of J. K. Rowling; I make no claim to ownership.

Chapter One

A Very Slytherin Plan

Harry Potter sat on his bed and wondered what would actually happen this summer. This had to be one of the worst ones in Harry's already miserable life, as he had watched a Hogwarts student die right before his very own eyes, then had to endure a ritual reviving his personal enemy, the darkest wizard of all time. Soon after, he had to walk the halls of Hogwarts on eggshells, ignoring the horrified and suspicious looks thrown at him, while he couldn't bring himself to listen to anything anyone had said. And his closest friends, or at least who he thought were his closest friends promised him to write, well at least Hermione did. Harry knew what Ron was like, so he didn't expect much writing from him, but he expected from Hermione to send him a bunch of helpful and encouraging letters, at least. But he only got vague letters in which Ron and Hermione expressed how sad they were that they couldn't tell him anything of what he asked them.

So, he had been at Privet Drive for the past month pondering day after day about when Voldemort would be going to strike, and when he finally would go to the Burrow. It was both strange and frightening, that some days he would sit in the garden and think about being with his friends, but then, as if turning on a light switch, he could suddenly feel a burning hatred for the people who all but abandoned him this summer. They always said they would be here for him no matter what would happen, although it now seemed like they had been lying all the time. The only person, who he could understand was Sirius, as he was obviously not being able to send him letters, due to the risk of getting caught, but his friends' letters had been little to no help at all.

Then there were the dreams, oh the dreams. Harry knew what they were now, and it scared him, as they were Voldemort's thoughts. There were several clues that led him to this abhorrent conclusion. The first one being seeing Crouch and Wormtail talking with 'baby' Voldemort. Then, there were all the other visions he had been experiencing since the aforementioned one. He suspected that these visions had actually happened. It was like Voldemort would be talking to Harry in his sleep, as if he would be calling for him to listen, but these events hardly made any sense, as the most common vision was of dark corridors and shelves with hundreds of white orbs on them. It made no sense, and he wouldn't have been able to figure out these were Voldemort's thoughts, if he hadn't seen him torturing a few death eaters. So, every night, Harry either investigated his thoughts or relived the graveyard memory, as some nights he could swear that the dreams had been from Voldemort's point of view, but that couldn't be possible, could it?

Harry entered the tiniest bedroom of number four Privet Drive, resenting Dumbledore, the Ministry of Magic, the Dursleys, his so-called friends, and Voldemort as well. Now he was being expelled because he protected his cousin and himself from Dementors, like that fat pig would ever deserve protection (most of all Harry's protection). Harry now thought that he should have simply left his cousin to get his soul sucked out and ran away. Yes, that's what he should have done, although as usual, he couldn't bear the death of another human being, and in exchange, he'd be expelled. Now he just had to wait for the Ministry Officials to arrive and commence the snapping of his wand.

As he was thinking, an owl showed up, which was from Dumbledore. As it turned out, he was able to both get him a hearing and hold off on the expulsion, much to the Minister's annoyance, but in the letter was also the weird request, that Harry wasn't supposed to go outside of the Dursleys house until Dumbledore himself would come and get him, so if someone from the Ministry should show up earlier, he could tell them what happened.

Harry ripped the letter apart angrily and threw himself back on his bed. At the moment he really hated the old man, as this whole situation was just ridiculous. Why the hell would Dumbledore need him to tell what happened, if he'd do the actual same thing at the Ministry's hearing? Of course, as usual, the Headmaster wouldn't tell him the real reason behind this.

Now laying on his bed, he contemplated his options. He could wait for Dumbledore to come and get him, or he could just head to the Burrow now. Harry found it funny how they seemed to forget the fact that two Dementors showed up, so it couldn't possibly be safe here. Deciding to ignore the letters, he packed up what little clothes he had in his already half-filled trunk, as his books and other magical belongings hadn't been unpacked yet. Thinking of a plan he decided to rig his trunk to the end of his broom and try his best to cover himself, his trunk and broom with the cloak while he flew to the Burrow, as there weren't many places he could go now. That was the only place he knew where he would find some help.

Turning over, he saw Hedwig sitting on her perch.

"Hedwig, I'm going to the Burrow, although I don't know how to get there on my own. I want you to go ahead and show me the route, okay?" he asked the snowy-white owl. She hooted happily and launched herself off the perch and out of the window elegantly. Harry got up, let his eyes sweeping over his — now former — room, took a calming breath and he left.

Lumbering down the stairs with his trunk in his left hand and his Firebolt in his right he was met by a furious uncle Vernon, who was glaring at him.

"What is it?" he snapped irritably.

"What have you done to Dudley?" his uncle roared back.

Harry looked at him with utter disgust and hatred.

"Nothing at all! And the only way to get him better is by feeding him lots of chocolate. I'm leaving and hopefully we will never have to see each other again. Now move!"

His uncle still glared at him, and didn't make a move, but now Harry's frustration was so high that he dropped his trunk and placed both hands around the base of his firebolt, raising it like a bat; and before his uncle could react, he smacked him across the face, hard. Tumbling down the final few steps, Harry angrily picked up his trunk, and resumed as if nothing had happened stepping over the now groaning form of Uncle Vernon. It brought pleasure to him to see the man he loathed in severe pain, but Harry also knew he had to leave before Vernon could try to do something, after what he'd curse him so hard, that he'd get into even bigger trouble. Taking one last glance at the house he glared at his aunt slumped over her husband, while she looked up with fear in her eyes at her nephew (which pleased Harry greatly). Then he opened the door and stepped outside, searching for Hedwig with his eyes.

"Good evening Mr. Potter."

Instead of his snowy owl, in front of the door stood one of the people Harry didn't want to see right now (or any other time, to be honest). The one greeting him, was Lucius Malfoy. Harry never liked the man, as he always acted snobbish and like he was better than everyone else, and he could just tell that this was the man of whom Draco, that annoying little git, got his behavior from. Moreover, he didn't forget how the blonde wizard treated Dobby, his former house elf (who Harry freed from him), and what trouble he caused in Hogwarts with Tom Riddle's diary. Remembering that Malfoy had been one of the death eaters at the graveyard, who laughed at him, while Voldemort was torturing him, Harry glared at the man.

"Yes, Malfoy." Harry said through gritted teeth, while looking at his surroundings. He noticed two people who looked like Ministry officials, Aurors to be exact.

"We are here to escort you to the Ministry for questioning. Don't worry. You are not under arrest, yet." Malfoy said with a wide grin.

Something about the man just made Harry distrust him instantly. Besides the fact that he worked for Voldemort, and he was a real bastard, who tried to murder the whole muggleborn population of Hogwarts with a cursed diary. He just seemed to always be up to something what could have never been good.

"Sorry, but I don't plan to go along with a death…"

He never got to finish the sentence as someone standing behind him cast the full body bind curse. Dropping to the ground, Harry's eyes franticly looked around at the scene before him; Wormtail appeared seemingly out of thin air and turned to Malfoy. Harry was pretty sure that if looks could kill, Wormtail would be dead now.

"Master always said you were a formidable caster of the Imperius Curse."

Wormtail chuckled and pointed to the two wizards in Auror robes. When Harry looked at them, he noticed that both had glazed-looking eyes. He then realized they hadn't said a word or even moved. Harry mentally groaned, he was as good as dead now.

Malfoy looked pleased with himself and turned to the Aurors motioning for Pettigrew to follow, so they both stood behind the imperiused Aurors. Malfoy waved his wand and seemingly caused the curse to fail. The two wizards looked at each other confused before they were both struck with scarlet jets of light which Harry knew to be the Stunning Spell.

It just gets even worse, Harry thought. Wormtail, that rat-bastard traitor was now picking up all his things and disappeared with a faint crack. Malfoy on the other hand simply held out a piece of rope and grabbed Harry's arm. Harry couldn't understand what they were doing, unless he felt a familiar tug behind the navel, and they were both whisked away to an unknown destination. Harry didn't know where they were off to, but he had a good guess and began to fear, for he knew who he was very likely going to meet when getting there.

When the spinning finally ended, Malfoy grabbed Harry's wand, then muttered the counter curse freeing him from his bodily prison. Getting up and frantically looking around he noticed that they were in a well-lit and — for what Harry noticed — a nice-looking dining room, very fancy. Very fancy, a rich family must live here, he thought, although now this wasn't his biggest problem, as he had to come up with a plan to escape. Harry was brought out of his thoughts by the hissing voice of his nightmares. It was the man whom every wizard and witch in the wizarding world feared.

"Good evening, Potter. Take a seat, we have much to discuss. Refreshments will be served, as we might be here a while, I fear. The result is all up to you. I could kill you right now. You realize this, don't you? But, as I have said before, I am a merciful lord, and so, I will speak my piece and gage your reaction before doing something that cannot be undone so to speak."

He said this with an inhumane smile that made Harry's blood turn to ice, so he could only nod. "Good. Lucius, if you would be so kind as to have your elf summon refreshments for us. I daresay our little survivor here can survive a little Firewhisky, can't you Potter?"

Harry nodded again. He couldn't get it. Why was Voldemort being so… nice? A trembling elf appeared, and Harry thought this elf must be looking how he felt right now. He carried three glasses with what looked like dark brown liquid, Fire Whisky to be exact. Harry never had an alcoholic beverage before, he only heard about it from Ron and the twins, who told him that it was really strong. Harry stared at his bottle with a fiercely beating heart. He really needed to come up with a good plan very soon, otherwise he would end up being killed. Harry knew that in the Muggle world, alcoholic drinks made people braver, so it seemed logical that this had to be correct for wizarding drinks as well. Calming his slightly trembling hand, he grabbed the glass and took a gulp, but it turned out soon that it was the wrong decision. Gasping as the liquid burned its way down his throat, he could feel his eyes start to water, and when he looked around, Harry saw Malfoy grinning and Voldemort smiling again. It was just wrong. It didn't look right; that Voldemort, the pale and snake-like man with his flat nose and barely non-existent lips, smiled.

"So…" Harry said, not really trusting his voice in the current situation, but it supplied Voldemort with all he needed to know.

"Well Potter, I wanted to congratulate you on defeating me at the graveyard those months ago. You were commendable, and I must say I am impressed, as you weren't even fifteen and able to defeat me."

Harry could sense a hint of annoyance and sarcasm in his voice, but he merely shrugged, as Voldemort went on.

"But now, onto the reason I brought you here, do you know why I wanted to kill you as a baby?"

Harry shook his head; he had asked Dumbledore and the headmaster had said he would tell him in time. It made him extremely angry as he felt that he deserved to know it now, as it was about him (and his possible death).

"Do you want to know?" Voldemort repeated the question.

Harry shrugged, of course, he wanted to know, but why would Riddle tell him? He was the enemy, that simply didn't make any sense, so he didn't reply, but this only seemed to infuriate the Dark Lord.

"Of course, you do want to know!" he snapped angrily. "I can tell you do, and I will tell you right now. It was because of a prophecy foretelling a baby who would bring about my downfall, and naturally I acted by going after you, this precise baby, but it backfired. I never heard the full prophecy, only the first two verses."

He then repeated the first two lines of the prophecy, while Harry was still sitting on his chair, shocked: "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."

"You were born on July 31st, which fits the description. So, I naturally decided to nip the bud so to speak. I would also like to apologize, which I do not do often for murdering your parents. They were casualties of war so to speak, they needed not to die. I even asked your mother to step aside but she felt it necessary to protect her own."

"I know! Every time I get near a Dementor I hear you ripping the family I never got to grow up with apart! Why are you telling me this? Why not just kill me?"

Harry didn't care about anything anymore after hearing the prophecy. According to this, Voldemort had to kill him, if he ever wanted to gain absolute power, so it was merely pointless for him to hope that he'd spare his life at the end of this meeting.

"As I have said, I never heard the full prophecy and seeing as you have been able to defeat me on several occasions, I would like to hear it. So, you are going to get it for me." Voldemort stated it calmly, but matter of factly.

"And what do I get in return?" Harry asked mockingly, knowing he wouldn't get anything in return.

"Whatever you want, except for the death of me or my death eaters."

Harry muttered something that sounded like not even Wormtail, which brought a grin to Voldemort's pale snake like face. The fact that he managed to joke with Voldemort, while he was almost sure he was going to die soon, was something that shocked him even further. Although it seemed like the Dark Lord wouldn't kill him, Harry still couldn't allow himself to believe his words. Besides, handing the prophecy to Voldemort would basically mean signing his death will. Suddenly, a thought struck him. He had to act as if it would have been a pleasure for him to do business with Voldemort. But he mustn't overact, as then Voldemort would know what Harry was doing. Maybe, just maybe, if the plan just succeeded, then Voldemort wouldn't kill him. Harry didn't really like acting and deceiving people. It was just "too Slytherin" for him, but he knew that it was really necessary now. Not only because of his life, but because if he would succeed, he would show Dumbledore what he's capable of, and how wrong he was, when he thought that he was too weak to be informed of the events that were happening in the wizarding world.

"I want you to leave me and my friends alone. How does that sound?" Harry finally asked.

"That would be fine, but I know that it will not work. I will gladly leave you and your 'friends' alone, but I know that petulant Order is going to be a nuisance."

"Order?" Harry thought out loud.

"Dumbledore hasn't even told you about the Order of the Phoenix?"

Harry shook his head, as his anger was once again starting to boil over.

"Nope, the old man has dumped me with those filthy muggles…"

Did he just say filthy muggles? He never said anything like that before, he didn't like them, sure, but he wasn't openly racist like this, was he? Even though he knew he's acting here, a part of him felt bad for saying blood-purist things like this. What really scared him, though, was that one tiny part of him who was actually glad for him mocking the Muggles. Harry desperately tried to suppress this feeling, and (although it was difficult) he managed to succeed.

"I mean, Dumbledore makes me stay with my relatives, and treat me in a horrible way. And I haven't heard any news about your return either, not to mention getting attacked by two Dementors earlier today and getting expelled from Hogwarts. Then the old man sends me a letter telling me to stay put." Harry snorted.

"I see you do not agree with him. Why do you follow him, then?"

"If not, then follow who? You?" Harry snorted again. "Sorry Tom, but I'm not really into torturing muggles for sport."

Voldemort glared at Harry for using his muggle name but didn't let his anger show beyond that, even though Harry knew that this was a hazardous outburst, but he knew that if he needed to do this, in order for his act staying credible.

"That is simply a tool I use to please my Death Eaters. As you know, I am a half-blood like yourself. I do not like muggles, but I do not find it necessary to mingle with them either, their deaths do not disturb me at all. What I want is simply what Grindelwald wanted. I want wizards to take their rightful places in the world. Did you know that he and Dumbledore were friends?"

Of course, Harry didn't know this, and he shook his head. In fact he knew almost nothing about Grindelwald, except for the fact that aside from the man sitting in front of him, he was the only Dark Lord in wizarding history, who tried to make slaves out of muggles, and was defeated later by Dumbledore.

"Oh yes, very few know this. Dumbledore and Grindelwald were very close friends. They were going to conquer the Muggle World together, but an argument ensued, and Grindelwald killed Dumbledore's sister. This caused a rift between the two which could not be repaired. Years later, Dumbledore defeated Grindelwald and sentenced him to life sentence in his own prison, not out of justice for the people, as the fools believe, but as revenge for his family. Oh yes, it runs in the family, muggles attacked his sister when they saw her doing magic and his father slaughtered the muggles and their families. Got himself thrown into Azkaban, but I daresay he passed on the gene to his son. You may ask how I know about this? Well, I spoke with Grindelwald myself, he told me everything about the dirty little secrets of your beloved Headmaster."

Harry didn't know why but he was listening intently, and he was believing every word of it (albeit reluctantly). He could just feel that he wasn't being lied to. Did he really think that Voldemort would tell the truth about Dumbledore? Of course not, Voldemort is lying, because he wants to use you, don't believe him, he told himself.

"Why are you telling me this?" Harry finally croaked, trying to get his mind off his increasing doubts.

"I want you to join me."

Harry was shocked. He stared at Voldemort with his mouth agape.

"Wait… what?" he finally stammered.

"You have powers Potter, I know. Not only were you able to defeat me in the graveyard but I have seen them over the years. Do you think Wormtail did not report your tales to me?" he asked, amused to see the shocked look on Harry's face. "I also saw that fancy bit of magic you used against those Dementors-"

"So it was you!" Harry interrupted furiously.

"No, it wasn't me. It wasn't even my plan. Instead, one of the members of the idiotic Ministry tried to get your soul sucked out. Kind of a foolish thing to try, given your incredible skills of magic, Potter. And I saw it because I can see your thoughts, dreams, and emotions. And I know you can see mine."

Harry gulped. He had thought he was seeing strange things in his dreams, and even though he tried to just brush them off as nightmares, after a while he chad to came to the conclusion that they weren't nightmares or dreams but visions. He nodded slowly.

"We are connected Potter; a bond has been formed. I can sense your power, and I respect power, as I said to you before the Mirror of Erised. I even tried to recruit your parents, well your father at least. He was a powerful pureblood who would have fit well with my Death Eaters, alas he was in Dumbledore's pocket for far too long and took to fighting for the wrong cause. And your mother was a powerful witch herself, but she wouldn't fit amidst my ranks as for being a muggleborn. I could tell she was special when Severus asked me to spare her." Voldemort drawled.

"Snape? That's another thing. How can you trust him?" Harry asked confused. He had always thought Snape was on Voldemort's side, and he now found himself asking Voldemort how he could trust him. It really was incredible.

"Severus and your mother Lily were very good friends… until Dumbledore stepped in of course. He began pressuring her to the 'light' side so to speak, making her resent Severus for joining the death eaters. One of her own childhood friends." Voldemort shook his head in disgust, and Harry's mouth gaped wide open after hearing this new information.

"Back to my point, I would train you to be the best you can be, you would be third, or even second to only me or maybe Bella; we'd have to see if you can surpass her after your training."

Harry stared at Voldemort shocked. Did he really want to do this? The biggest problem was that, in fact, if Voldemort would have asked him to join, whether he wanted to join him, or not, the only proper path towards victory would be agreeing, albeit very reluctantly. Harry really hoped that this wouldn't happen now, as most likely, he'd even have to take up the Dark Mark, which was one of things he really wanted to avoid. He was broken out of his thought by Malfoy, who huffed indignantly.

"Silence Lucius, you have seen what the boy is capable of, so do not question me. I also haven't punished you for your mistakes so you should be more respectful" Turning to Harry he continued. "I would train you myself as I have done with some of my more prominent death eaters. It is all here Potter, I asked you a little over three years ago to join me. At that time, you foolishly rejected it, but the offer still stands. If you refuse however, I fear our paths will cross and I will be forced to kill you." Voldemort sighed.

"Wait… Hold on, why do you trust Snape? I saw him in my first year threatening you in the forest."

Voldemort grinned evilly at this.

"It was all an act. Yes, he threatened me, only so that he could provide Dumbledore with the memory of him doing so. He knew it was me before I entered the school. Of course, he could not show his support for me, but he did his job so to speak. In the end it was you who thwarted me." Voldemort sighed.

"I had thought that it was Snape trying to get the stone for you, and Quirrell was just some teacher in his way, so Dumbledore really trusts Snape then?"

Voldemort grinned manically.

"I can't see, why are you surprised, Potter? I thought being so close to the old fool in all those years would provide you with the knowledge that he trusts almost everyone."

Harry sat back letting everything sink in. It seemed to him that Voldemort was both right and wrong, and that there were pieces still missing. He had already started to resent Dumbledore before he had heard what the Dark Lord had to say, but after hearing that the Headmaster was no better than Voldemort, he really started to feel disgust at the man's hypocrisy. If Dumbledore hadn't interfered who knows? Maybe Harry's parents wouldn't have sided with anyone and they would have been spared. Now really thinking about it, he wondered how dumb or even naïve had Dumbledore been? In his first year he'd let Voldemort walk around the school and did nothing. Second year, Harry had to fight a giant snake on his own, not to mention hiring Lockhart, that disgusting cheating bastard. Third year, he'd let Harry believe his godfather had been a murderer, also he didn't bother to tell him that Sirius Black was actually his godfather. Finally, fourth year, he'd let a death eater in the school, who impersonated one of his oldest friends, and didn't even suspect him until he's seconds away from ending Harry's life. Now to the other things, for some reason unbeknownst to Harry. Dumbledore had stuck him with the Dursleys, although he would have even been happier to live with the centaurs in the Forbidden Forest, or with Hagrid in his hut. But no, Dumbledore had to send him to the immensely dreadful Dursleys. Harry needed to hear this prophecy, as there was something going on here and he had a feeling it would put everything together. How had he been able to defeat Riddle all these times? Some of it had been a combination of luck and skill, but other factors were just something he couldn't explain. Thinking again about all his adventures, it seemed like Dumbledore had always a hand in them. First year he had taught Harry about the Mirror of Erised, and then the mirror had been the final task from stopping Riddle. Second year the Chamber of Secrets had been reopened, and he had been given that cryptic message about needing help, and in an instant his bloody phoenix showed up and saved the day. Third year Harry and Hermione had to save Sirius, when Dumbledore could have done it himself as well. Last year, besides the fact that he'd let the death eater teach, he'd let Harry into the Triwizard Tournament, even though Harry was sure, that he could have put better security on the goblet. It seemed to him that Voldemort was right, and Dumbledore was a meddlesome, old fool.

Harry shrugged. Remember that this is merely an act to fool Voldemort, you shouldn't believe the monster who killed your own parents, Dumbledore was always good to you, and he has always helped you in your life, like a grandfather figure, he told himself angrily. He decided to ask about these things from Dumbledore later, besides if he'd really succeed in fooling Voldemort, and gained something by that act, the Headmaster will surely respect him enough to tell him all his secrets. Now, Harry's focus had to be to provide the least service to Voldemort he could, without the Dark Lord realizing that he's only acting.

"Can I think about this? First, I will get you the prophecy if you promise me that you or your death eaters won't attack me or my friends. And before becoming your apprentice, I want to ask Dumbledore some questions first, let him plead his case." Harry stated, as he turned his gaze to Voldemort. He hoped that this would please the Dark Lord enough.

Voldemort drew his wand. "I, Tom Marvolo Riddle, aka Lord Voldemort, swear on my magic, that if Harry James Potter retrieves the prophecy about him and me, that I will not attack him or his friends, but if they strike first, I will have the right to defend myself, and my death eaters will not attack him or his friends under my orders. So mote it be!"

Harry had never seen anything like this before, and Voldemort quickly spotted the surprise on his face.

"Potter, this is called a Magical Vow. If I break my promise, I'd lose my magic, so I obviously won't do that. This is how wizards make promises. Hasn't Dumbledore told his Golden Boy about this? How shameful of the old fool… But anyway, this doesn't really matter now." He turned his head and addressed Lucius, who had tried to maintain his face emotionless, but he didn't completely succeed. "Lucius, since Potter has been so kind, I believe you should put some money into Fudge's pocket, to have him drop the charges against Potter, and while you are relaying our instructions, I believe Potter here should retrieve our prophecy."

Lucius stood and motioned for Harry to follow him, and Harry forced himself to a nod to Voldemort before leaving. Wait, did that just happen, did he just have a civilized conversation with the Dark Lord? Even though, he was only fooling him, he still found everything what happened that day incredible. As he wanted to leave the room, he heard Voldemort calling after him.

"Oh, and Potter, you can tell the Headmaster whatever you like, but I would refrain from saying we had this little sit-down. Be cautious, I fear that if you tell him what we discussed here, he might try and probe your mind, so do not look into his eyes, and especially do not let him touch you! He will perform Legilimency on you."

As Harry gave him a confused look, Voldemort sighed irritably.

"He will try to invade your mind, avoid his touch and gaze at all costs. If he enters your mind… well, you will know. The best defense for Legilimency is Occlumency, but I don't have enough time to teach you now, albeit a strong shield charm should stop it, but it isn't as good as the aforementioned technique for many reasons. One reason is, it lets your invader know that you know that he is there, and it's much more visible than simply bringing up an internal shield. As I have said, I don't have enough time to teach you how to defend yourself, but you will get private lessons from the most powerful wizard in the world Potter, if you'd accept. Just think about that. Power, respect, freedom, even love; everything you could ever want could be reached."

"Thank you," Harry said slightly embarrassed.

Voldemort nodded, and Harry responded similarly, before leaving with Malfoy, who gave him back his wand before speaking.

"We are going to go to the Ministry. I will speak with Fudge and give him some gold to drop the charges against you. You are to go to the main desk, where you hand over your wand, and then you are going to ask to be taken to the hall of prophecies. Since you have one there, they will send you with an Unspeakable to retrieve it, but only you can grab it, at first at least, after you touched it, anyone can. We will then return here to listen to the prophecy, after that you may do whatever you like."

Malfoy led Harry into the parlor where they used the Floo network to the Ministry; they wound up in the Atrium, and Malfoy pointed to the desk where he would be assisted before leaving to have his 'talk' with the minister. Malfoy left for the Minister's office while Harry walked towards the desk. He couldn't help but notice the odd looks he got by most people as he looked curiously around, being in the Ministry for the first time.

"Harry Potter, to retrieve a prophecy from the Hall of Prophecies," he stated clearly, and surprisingly for him, the witch behind the counter looked up with an emotionless mask.

"Very well, although I fear that I'm going to need your wand." She waved her wand but didn't say anything, then she held out her left hand waiting for it. Harry handed the holly and phoenix tail feather wand to the woman. She ran a few tests on it and wrote something down on a piece of parchment before handing it back to him. Harry figured out that they were just running tests to make sure it was the wand he was registered with, as he knew that the best wandmaker, Ollivander had to send all the sales he made to the Ministry.

He was told to sit on a chair and to wait for the "Unspeakable", whoever that was, to bring him to the Hall of Prophecies. A few minutes later as he sat there waiting, a man wearing a long grey cloak approached him.

"Harry Potter?" Harry nodded. "Follow me."

He looked confused to the woman, who gave him a look that clearly said he wasn't her problem anymore, so he should simply follow the stranger.

Harry followed the cloaked man to the lift, and he didn't say a word during the entire time. They were standing in front of the lift, waiting for it, when surprisingly someone came sprinting towards the lift yelling his name, and as he turned around, he saw Mr. Weasley and groaned inwardly.

"Harry! Sir."

He shook Harry's hand frantically, then gave the man in the gray cloak a strange look.

"I thought we told you to stay home, Harry. Dumbledore isn't going to be happy about this, as some problems might occur."

Even though this was most likely not the case, to Harry it seemed as if Mr. Weasley said that in a tone that conveyed Dumbledore wasn't happy and Harry should feel ashamed for disobeying his Headmaster.

"Oh, sorry, I haven't left a note, Mr. Weasley, feel free to tell him, that I came to the Ministry to talk with the Minister."

Even though Harry wasn't particularly angry with Mr. Weasley (except for the fact that he hadn't done anything to convince Dumbledore letting him to leave the Dursleys), he really enjoyed watching Mr. Weasley's jaw drop. Harry was quite sure that the red-headed wizard would tell everything to Dumbledore as soon as he'd be able to, but he didn't really worry about it right now. Despite he still wanted to fight on Dumbledore's side against Voldemort, and needing the old man's help for that, he was tired of him not telling Harry any secrets. Maybe, he thought, after seeing that he would be able to achieve things by himself, it would convince Dumbledore to trust him more.

At that time, the lift finally arrived with a loud 'ding' causing Harry and the cloaked man to step in, leaving a shocked Arthur Weasley behind. Harry looked up to see the cloaked man hit the number 9 on the pad where he had to push the number of their desired destination.

A few minutes later, they reached their destination, and Harry followed the cloaked man out of the lift with a fiercely beating heart, as he was very afraid of the possibility that they were in the wrong place, and he'd rather not imagine, what Voldemort would have done to him if he'd come back with empty hands. He was quite sure, that it wouldn't just ruin his plan, but knowing Voldemort, there was a very likely chance that he'd even get tortured, he thought, as he watched him use Crucio on his death eaters after his revival. He was broken out of his thoughts by his companion.

"Welcome to the Department of Mysteries," the Unspeakable said.

As Harry looked around, he could clearly see that he was at the right place, at the place that he had seen in all of those "nightmares" he had shared with Voldemort through the summer. He let out a relieved sigh and went to search for the prophecy.

Author's Note: I know I have another fic, what I haven't updated in a while as well, but I had an idea of an OotP beginning Dark!Harry fic, and unlike that story, I already planned almost everything here, so I decided to focus on this right now. Thank you to my betas, Hidden Inner Timothée, and Idefix for their incredible work on this story. Please let me know what you think about the story in reviews/PMs.