Chapter 2: Into Perspective
I'm still not sure where this is going. I'm just letting my muse guide me.
Please remember this is AU and so most of the characters will be OOC. If you are expecting canon, then you will be disappointed.
Hphphp
Voldemort was a very confused Dark Lord. He was sitting on his makeshift throne, in the Riddle manor. He had had Peter grab him some robes, that were made of the finest silk, and were bordered with gold. He felt like he was the ruler he was meant to be, but he wasn't feeling like he should. His thoughts were too caught up in getting to Harry Potter.
He had meditated and still didn't understand why he was caring about the boy. He had Peter go and get him a purging potion and taken it right away. The hour that followed was not pleasant and did nothing to relieve his symptoms. He was still thinking about Harry Potter and how to help him. He wanted to make sure the boy was safe and where he was right now, didn't feel safe to Tom.
He was with Dumbledore, and Voldy knew that that was not a safe place for anyone. Especially a young boy who was connected to him. Oh yeah, he knew of the connection. How could he not. He used it all of the child's first year. He thought the boy knew where the stone was. Harry had no shields to speak of, and he was friends with the giant. He felt bad for all the pain he caused, now, but then, he relished it.
He had not been in his right mind then. Now, though, he was thinking much clearer than he had in years. Possibly since he had attended Hogwarts himself.
He knew he would need all his guild and cunning to get the boy away from the headmaster. He would also need his Death Eaters to get the child away from that man. But how to do that without them hurting anyone? That was the question.
He knew if they went on a rampage, then Harry would not trust him enough to come with him away from that manipulative old bastard. Yet, for some reason he didn't feel the need to sow chaos in the bloody sense. In the political sense, yes. In the mental sense, yes. But in the physical sense, no. It was unnerving.
He was the most feared Dark Lord in centuries, and here he was worried over a child and what he would think of him if he hurt anyone. He didn't like this line of thinking. Yet, he felt no qualms over torturing his Death Eaters, or any of those who were evil. He knew that Harry would approve of that. So maybe the child was gray, and not as lily white as the world like to portray him. He got the feeling that that was propaganda that Dumbledore perpetrated to make the boy seem more than what he was.
He also felt the need to absorb his horcruxes. He knew now that 'fleeing from death' was a mistake and that he should just get them and reabsorb them back into his body. He would have to do the Arithmancy to see what magic he would need for that. However, he was sure he could come up with the correct ritual for it.
He would send Peter to get the diadem at Hogwarts, and have Lucius bring him the diary and cup. Nagini was easy, and the one in the Potter boy would be easy too. The necklace would be an issue, the liquid was made to be drank, so he would need a patsy. He would have to get it soon. The ring was just down the road. He could do that at any time.
He needed to get his spy here. If anyone knew what was happening to him, it would be Severus. Oh, he knew the man was a double spy, and that he reported to Dumbledore. However, he also knew of the vow the man had made to protect the boy. They had a common goal. He would use that to bring him to his side. That decided, he call Wormtail to him.
"Give me your arm," he told Peter, using the arm to call Snape.
Five minutes later, Snape appeared in the room. They were still in Riddle Manor. The wards extended out about a yard from the manor, so Snape had to walk from there.
"Master," the man said, from a kneeling position. He was dressed as he normally was in his many buttoned up robes that form fit his skinny figure. His greasy hair gave to the fact that he had been brewing recently.
"Get up, Severus," Voldemort said, waving the man to stand. "We need to talk," he said, leading Snape to a black wrought iron table with a fine tea service set upon it. There were finger sandwiches and pastries as well.
"My lord?" Snape asked, not sure what to do with himself. He had never sat with Voldemort for tea before. It was unprecedented. He knew what to do if Dumbledore invited him to tea, but Voldemort was more than likely to curse you than to serve you.
"Come and sit," Tom said, waving the man to the chair opposite.
Snape sat gingerly in the chair, his hands on his knees, unsure what to do next.
"You and I have a common goal. We both want to protect the Potter boy. You want to protect him from me, and I want to protect him from Dumbledore," the noseless man said, picking up the teapot and serving himself up some tea. He poured Severus some, though the man didn't look like he would partake. "The reasons are unknown as to why I feel this way. I would like your opinion." He sipped his tea and waited. He picked up a crustless cucumber sandwich and ate it neatly.
"You want to protect Harry Potter?" Snape asked in complete disbelief. "How did that come about?" he asked, ignoring the fact that the Dark Lord had just told him that he didn't know.
"I just said I don't know," Tom reminded him, almost gently. He knew that the boy didn't like Snape, but he needed the man and was trying to get him on his side. He would try torture later if kindness didn't work. Though he was loath too. Severus was an arsehole, but he was not an evil man.
"Forgive me, my lord," Snape said, flabbergasted at the kindness he was being shown. "If you could tell me how you were revived, perhaps I could make a speculation on how this came about," he offered, thinking if he knew the ritual, he'd know what happened. And then he could report it to Dumbledore.
"Only if I have your word, vow even, that you will not report it to anyone," Voldemort said, knowingly. He took a small pastry and bit into it and put the rest onto a napkin as if he had not a care in the world.
"Of course, my lord," Snape said instantly, cursing inwardly. He made the vow a moment later.
Voldemort gave him the steps of the ritual that Wormtail had used to restore him to life. He made sure to leave nothing out, not even how he was feeling afterwards. He sat back and waited for Snape to go over the event in his head. He continued to partake in the tea, while Snape thought things over.
"You used Potter's blood? That might be the catalysts that brought about your change," Severus said, finally picking up his tea and taking a sip, only to grimace at the coldness of it.
"How so?" Tom asked, serving the man a fresh cup of hot tea.
"I have been brewing loyalty potions for Dumbledore to give to Potter since he began school. one for the headmaster, one for the youngest Weasley boy, and one for the Weasley girl," Snape said, looking almost ashamed of being caught doing such a menial thing. Making such things were beneath one such as he. He was the youngest potions master in decades. He should be creating potions that were curing diseases, not making trivial things like loyalty potions.
"That doesn't explain my infatuation with the boy. Shouldn't I be loyal to the headmaster and the two Weasley brats?" Voldemort asked, putting his cup down. That only made sense.
"The ritual might have changed the potions to make you care about your enemy. Lily's protection might have changed it, to make it so. It is ingrained into your blood now. You say you took a purging potion?" He waited for the nod and continued. "Then there is no getting rid of it. You are now and forever going to want to protect Harry Potter," Severus said, a slight sneer on his face. He wasn't sure if this was a good thing or not.
"Like I said, we have a common goal," Voldemort said, picking his cup back up and sipping it. He put it back down and topped it off with the tea from the pot.
"Why do you feel the need to protect him from the headmaster?" Snape wanted to know.
"Dumbledore is not the Leader of the Light everyone believes him to be. I have seen the darker side of him. If he were such a good man, why would he need to potion a child?" Tom asked, blowing on his cup to cool it a bit.
"He said he felt that Harry was not as light as he needed him to be," Snape answered, though now that he thought about it, that didn't make sense. Even if the boy was grey, there was no reason to potion him to be loyal.
"I see that you are coming to your own conclusions. Dumbledore is who turned me into the Dark Lord that terrorized Britain for a decade. Didn't you know?" Voldemort said, calmly putting his cup down and crossing his legs. He folded his hands on his lap in a casual manner. "He molded me into becoming the man that I was. He made sure that I found the things I needed to find to become the evil person I became. It was his doing and I followed along like a puppy. I see it all now in hindsight. I was led like a cow to slaughter."
"You must be mistaken," Snape said, not believing that Dumbledore would do such a thing. There was no way the Leader of the Light would make a Dark Lord. What reason would there be to do that?
"He needed a Dark Lord to fight," Voldemort answered his question as if he read his mind, which he did. "He was losing some of his brightness. There was nothing left to make him shine. So, he created me," he added, spreading his arms in a 'here I am' manner.
"No, you are trying to trick me into betraying Dumbledore, or Potter," Snape denied vehemently, forgetting who he was talking to. There was no way the grandfatherly man he knew could do what was being described. But there was doubt in the back of his mind.
"You know better than that. You are a Slytherin," Tom said.
"How can I be sure you are not trying to trick me?" Snape said, staring at the man sitting in front of him. His mind in overdrive. Things were starting to add up in his brain. Little things that he had disregarded before.
"I have no reason to do that," Tom said, standing and pacing in front of the confused man. "I don't need you. I could eliminate you right now and not feel any remorse. However, I think we can work together. I'll say it again, we have a common goal," he said, stopping his pacing and facing the man, who finally remembered where he was.
"Forgive me, my lord," Snape said, trying to recover his cover. He knew it was probably futile, but he had to try. His life might depend on it. Not to mention Harry Potter's.
"Don't," Tom warned, holding up a finger. "I prefer you to be open with me. You will be my confidant. You are not one of those that like to see the death and pain of others. I want you to be yourself with me," he added, looking into those dark eyes of the potions master.
"Of course, my lord," he said, this time with confuse wariness. He could play along for now and come to his own conclusion in time. Someone was playing him for a fool, and he would find out who.
"Now, let's talk about how we are going to protect Potter," Voldemort said, sitting back down and pouring more tea.
Hphphp
Harry Potter was having a strange couple of days. First, he had been confronted by the headmaster who would not take his word over what had happened. No matter how many times he said that was what had happened, the man accused him of lying. Sure, that is what he was doing, by omission, but he had been told to keep it to himself. He also was told not to look the man in the eyes, so Dumbledore was greatly disappointed when he stared at his nose. He had finally been dismissed with a firm disapproving look.
Now, his friends were after him to tell them what had happened after the portkey had taken him to the graveyard. He told them exactly what he had told the headmaster, but they didn't believe him. He told them that he couldn't say any more, and that it was under investigation. But they kept harping on him.
Right now, they were coming from the library, where they had remained silent, but Hermione was at him again about the last task.
"I don't understand you guys, why don't you just drop it?" Harry asked, finally having had enough. They had been hounding him all day. He hadn't had a moment's peace, except when they studied, so he didn't count that. It was Saturday and he had wanted to have some time to himself to go over what had happened so it would clear up in his head.
That and he wanted to write Sirius to see if he had written his solicitor yet. He had told him the day of the task, but that was four days ago, and he hadn't heard from him since. He was worried about the old dog.
"You have never kept things from us before," Hermione said, folding her arms in frustration. She was not used to Harry not telling her everything so she could help him. He needed her help. He always did.
"I have never been told by the cops to keep it a secret before," he said, throwing his arms in the air. "I thought you, of all people, would understand that. You seem to think that those in power need to be listened to or is that only those in educational authority?" he questioned, realizing she really only been around school officials.
"But," was all she said, until she thought about what he said, and came to the conclusion that perhaps he was right. She did know that those in charge should be listened to, especially the law. "I'm sorry," she said, and walked away. She had a bit of thinking to do. She didn't much like the way she had been acting the last few days.
"Hermione," Harry said, sorry he had snapped at her.
"I want to know," Ron said, stubbornly, keeping Harry from going after Hermione. "I don't like that you're keeping it from us," he stated, folding his arms, much the way Hermione had a moment before.
"I can't tell you," Harry said, just as stubbornly. "I won't even if I could, because you're being rude about it," he added, turning, and walking away. He wanted to see if he could catch up with Hermione.
"Don't walk away from me," Ron said, grabbing his shoulder and spinning him around to face him. He was tired of the little runt trying to be better than him.
"Don't put your hand on me," Harry spat at his best mate. "You have no right to know anything. I was told to keep it to myself. That includes you, and Hermione," he said, turning again, only to be forced to turn to face Ron again.
"I will not be ignored," the redhead stated, glaring at the smaller boy.
"Live with disappointment," Harry snarled, pushing the larger boy away from him and stomping away.
"What is going on here?" Snape demanded, coming from around the corner of where they were. He had heard their fight from a hall away. He knew the boy was in trouble and came to see what he could do and still keep his cover.
"Nothing," Ron said, belligerently. He knew that man was just waiting to get Harry in trouble and him by association.
"I was just leaving," Harry said, continuing down the hall without stopping.
"Five points from Gryffindor for fighting, Weasley," Snape said, standing there as if daring the boy to protest his demotion of points.
"What about Harry?" Ron said, pointing to the retreating boy.
"I see no fighting on his part," the darker man said, looking down his beak like nose at the teen.
"What are you talking about? He started it," Ron said, pointing to his friend, who whirled around at the accusation.
Harry stood with his mouth opened for a moment, then he turned around again and continued down the hall. He turned a corner and ducked into a secret passageway. He didn't care how many points Snape took off Gryffindor. He just wanted to get away from his overbearing friends right now. Yes, even Hermione. Didn't they realize how uncomfortable they were making him feel? Always badgering him to answer their questions as if they had a right to know everything about his life.
He was wandering around the seventh floor looking for a place to hide, when a door appeared out of the blue. He didn't remember it being there before, so he was cautious about opening it. He slowly turned the knob and looked into the room beyond. It was a huge, cavernous room that was filled to the brim with junk. Mountains of junk as high, and as far, as the eye could see.
There was everything a person could think of in there. Even the kitchen sink was there, and a big sink it was too. He was sure he could hear some things crawling around there too. He wondered why such a room would appear when he was trying to find a place to hide but decided to look around to see if he could find anything useful.
He was sorting through the nearest pile of junk and coming across many handy things, such as money, quills, jewels, and such.
As he was sorting it all, he was thinking. Why did Voldemort let him go? Was something different about the man? He did seem almost concerned about him. And what was going on with Snape? These last few days the man was almost nice. Like he was reevaluating his relationship with Harry. It was bizarre and Harry wasn't sure what to do with this change of circumstances.
Harry was shoving some of his loot in his pockets as he was thinking about these things. He wondered if he should put it all on paper to put it in perspective. It might clear up what was going on in his jumbled thoughts. As he thought this he came across a journal. It was mostly used up, but there were a few clear pages in the back.
He didn't bother reading who had written in it before, it looked like it was written in Olde English. He wanted to get his thoughts on paper before they all disappeared. He found some ink and used one of the many quills he had found and started writing.
In the end one thing was very clear. Voldemort was different and Snape had changed. Dumbledore was not to be trusted, and he needed more friends.