"Out of the deep have I called unto thee, O Lord; Lord hear my voice.

            O let thine ears consider well the voice of my complaint.

            If thou, Lord, wilt be extreme to mark what is done amiss, O Lord, who may abide it?

            For there is mercy with thee, therefore shalt thou be feared.

            I look for the Lord; my soul doth wait for him; in his word is my trust.

            My soul fleeth unto the Lord before the morning watch; I say, before the morning watch.

            O Israel, trust in the Lord, for with the Lord, there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption.

            And he shall redeem Israel from all his sins."

                        -Psalm 130 (also not mine)

Chapter 9:  Out of the Deep

            The attack on Diagon Alley came the next week, but not because Voldemort wanted Harry to learn the Killing curse.  He wanted to prepare his troops, and he had faith in Harry's preparedness. 

            Harry, Voldemort and 30 Death Eaters Apparated in to Diagon Alley early on a Tuesday morning as everyone was headed to work.  The losses were catastrophic.

            Harry indeed 'killed' Fudge, but with something called Mortis Sensulis.  Voldemort didn't question him, because it came with a flash of green light, just like the Killing Curse.  10 Death Eaters were killed or captured.

            7 Deputy Ministers and 36 others were truly killed, and nearly 12 men were captured, mostly Aurors and members of the Order of the Phoenix. 

            Harry sat in a chair in his room at the Riddle mansion, with his elbows resting on the table in front of him, head in hands.  He had removed his jacket upon his return and he sat only in his shirt, trousers and boots.  He turned to Paladin and hissed, "Get me Severus.  Get him here quickly."

            The snake nodded and slithered swiftly away to find the Potions Master.  Harry sat there, trying to escape the pain of his injuries by imagining a chess game being played in his head.  They had succeeded at Diagon Alley so he was plotting the attack on Hogwarts.

            "Milord?  You sent for me?" Snape asked, then stopped as he saw the shiny patches of blood on Harry's solid black shirt.  "Are you injured?"

            Harry nodded, a gesture that shot fire through his back and forced his eyes to tear in pain.

            Snape moved closer and magically cut away the shirt to find huge gashes on the teen's back.  "Harry," he whispered.  "Can you lay down on your stomach?"

            "No," he said revealing a similar shiny patch on the front of his shirt, from right chest to left abdomen.  "Damn Aurors with their cutting curses.  They've come up with a new one that attacks the skin directly, working under clothing.  Otherwise, my jacket would have protected me."

            "Aurors," Snape echoed, feeling hatred for the incompetents that the Ministry relied on.  He summoned a healing salve, which he prepared to put on the boy's back.  "This will hurt a great deal, milord."

            Harry flinched, biting his lip and the tears fell as the pain was intense.  Snape worked quickly, but gently to finish the task.  "It will disinfect and aid in the healing process, but it will not heal it magically.  I must work on the other one too, then stitch them up separately."

            Harry nodded tightly, as Snape removed the rest of his shirt and placed the medicine on his chest.

            "Paladin, I apologize for sending you again, but go find Avery if he is unharmed.  Have him bring the red-headed long haired prisoner as well."

            The snake obediently left as Snape began stitching.  "What do you need with Avery?" Snape asked, pausing to give Harry a pain potion. 

            "He's going to get the cover for your return from the dungeon.  You'll take back Bill Weasley," Harry replied sipping gently.

            Less than 10 minutes later, Snape was nearly finished with Harry's wounds.  Avery tossed Bill Weasley unceremoniously into the room and he landed on his face at Harry's feet.  "Thank you Joseph.  I'll take it from here."

            Bill gaped at the injuries that Harry had sustained, and was about to speak, but Harry silenced him, then said, "Dormiens Paladin."

            The snake fell into a deep sleep. 

            Harry smiled at Bill.  "I don't want my keeper ratting on me to Lord Voldemort right now, now do I?  Severus, are you almost done?"

            "Yes, milord.  Let me get you a robe.  It's drafty."  He moved off towards Harry's wardrobe and was only stopped by Harry's voice.

            "It's fine,"  he snapped.  "We don't have enough time for that.  Cast a glamourie on Bill, and make him look more injured, like he was just pulled from Diagon Alley."

            Snape nodded, and put a spell on him.

            "Bill, I want you to listen to me carefully.  Snape rescued you from Diagon Alley; you were injured in the initial blast.  You never saw me up close, we never talked and I was not injured.  But if you are asked by Albus, tell him that I used the Sensation of Death curse on Fudge - it wasn't Avada Kedavra, but Voldemort would have killed me had Fudge lived.  As it stands, he died knowing the pain that others felt at his hands."  Harry looked away, forcing himself to snap back to the present, away from the memory of those dead eyes.  Also, the assault of Hogwarts comes on Tuesday at dawn, and to watch the older Slytherins, or there might be trouble.  My debts to your side are discharged, Bill.  Tell them that," Harry said holding his body as still as he could.  "Severus, when you are done, go."

            "Harry…"

            "Go, the both of you, or he wins.  My Lord will come to my side soon anyways.  Avery will inform him that I am injured.  Go," he said, coughing softly.

            "Harry, thank you."

            "Tell them I'm sorry.  Hermione most of all."

            Snape had grabbed a shirt and put Harry gently into it.  "I will see your message safely delivered, milord."

            Harry nodded as the other Death Eater lifted Bill to his feet.  They DisApparated, leaving Harry alone with his single white serpent.  With his right hand, he stroked the snake back to consciousness.  "You are tired from this long day already, Paladin?"

            "Yes, Master."

            "As am I.  If only I had the strength to move."

            A soft knock came at the door. 

            "Come in."

            Voldemort entered the room, walking directly to his protégé.  "Avery told me that you were injured."  He knelt down beside the boy, then moved Harry's bangs and crimson eyes again met silver.  "What happened?"

            "The Aurors have developed a new slashing hex that can cut through dragonshide without damaging the material.  They cast it twice on my back and once on my chest.  I was unable to defend adequately," he admitted as Voldemort opened Harry's shirt to see the wounds. 

Voldemort cursed, and said, "It's still bleeding through your shirt."

            Voldemort's hands were cold, and Harry shivered.  "I'm sorry about that," Harry's surrogate father said, trying to warm his hands.  "Severus was here already?"

            "Y…yes, father.  How… how did you know?" he said, stumbling over the words.

            "I knew because I recognize his stitch-work.  You are not the first Death Eater that he has had to sew up after an attack," Voldemort replied, buttoning the shirt again.  "Once they have stopped bleeding, I will show you a spell for the healing of such curse wounds.  It may scar, but it will stop hurting."

            "I sent Severus back as you requested, with one of the pureblood non-Auror prisoners.  I figured you would want to keep as many Mudbloods as possible," Harry said, as Voldemort got to his feet.

            "Very good.  The plan went well, my son.  You played your part beautifully today."  He smiled.  "I'm proud of you."  Voldemort looked cautiously at Harry, placing his cool hand against Harry's feverish forehead.  "Do you need to lie down?  You seem barely awake."

            Harry smiled weakly.  "I'm not sure that I can.  The pain is too intense.  The cuts were deep, milord."  He knew he was right and Voldemort nodded.

            Voldemort cast a charm on Harry's bed to cushion him, then helped him to his feet.  Harry winced, and gasped as he was laid on the bed.  "I never thought that I would be putting a 16 year old to bed, my child."

            He watched, sitting down beside his surrogate son, and felt his forehead, fingers lingering on the curse scar that connected them.  "You did well today in the attack.  I was very proud of you."

            Harry relaxed under Voldemort's touch.  "The pawn in charge of the Ministry has been captured and eliminated from the board," he breathed, half-delirious.

            "Sleep, my fallen angel, and rest."  Voldemort walked to the desk where Paladin lay and hissed, "Let none disturb him but me.  Find me the moment he awakes."

            The snake nodded.  "Yes, Master."

            Snape nearly dragged a combative Bill from the Apparition barrier to the castle.  "What are you doing, Weasley?"

            "You just left Harry in the middle of a Death Eater stronghold.  He's hurt badly.  He could die if you just leave him there," Bill yelled.

            "He just saved your life and mine.  That place is his home now, and Voldemort will see to his injuries," Snape said, not loosing his grip even as they entered the castle.  "Harry knows what he is doing.  We had planned this attack down to the last detail.  His injuries change that, but not by much.  I was still to return to preserve my cover here, and I was actually to have Obliviated you.  He didn't tell me to, however, so you are not to lose your memory."

            "If you have planned everything, then why did he ask me to apologize to everyone?" Bill snapped.

            "Because in all likelihood, Weasley, neither of the two of us will get out of this alive," Snape sighed.  "He just has more people to say goodbye to than I do."

            Bill stopped fighting.  "Who will you be standing with?"

            Snape sighed again and released his grip.  "Albus hasn't asked.  I feel pulled in both directions.  My students are what make me want to stand here.  But Harry is one of my students, and he needs me the most."  Snape walked Bill to the Hospital Wing, and began taking off the faked injuries.

            "Bill, you're okay!" Molly said from beside the bed where her injured husband slept.  She got up and raced to his bed, showering him in embraces. 

            "Mum, lay off, I'm not hurt.  I just got a little dirty in the dungeons," he said, pushing her away, then feeling his shoulder pop.  "What happened to Dad?"

            "He pushed Percy out of the way of a Cruciatus.  He's been asleep ever since Madame Pomfrey gave him some Dreamless Sleep Potion.  It's been a couple of hours," she sighed.  "Percy's back at the Burrow with the twins."  She turned to Snape.  "Severus, thank you for bringing him home."

            Snape nodded, and left to find the Headmaster.

            "Snape, I have something to tell Albus about the attack," Bill cut in, getting to his feet.

            Snape scoffed.  "Which one?"

            "Both.  He told me about the next one, as well as this one."

            "All right.  You stay here and I will go find Albus."

            Bill nodded as he watched the Potions Master go.  He was right.  He was pulled in two directions, with loyalties to both Dumbledore and Potter.   But weren't they all?  Both had defied Voldemort, but hopefully it was not only Harry who had the strength to defeat him more than once.

            Harry stirred in his bed, at the sensation of a cool cloth wiping his forehead.  He opened his silver eyes to find Voldemort leaning over him.  "Welcome back to the world of consciousness," he whispered, moving the cloth back to a bowl of water.  "You've been out for nearly a day."

            Voldemort had removed Harry's shirt, and laid him on a series of towels to clean the blood off his chest.  Harry looked down to see shiny new skin where the cuts used to be.  His left hand reached tentatively to the new scar, and Voldemort pushed it away. 

"They still have to heal a bit more.  You lost a great deal of blood, and you're still very pale, so I want you to stay here today.  I will have Severus bring you a few restoratives.  I want you to take every potion that he gives you.  Do you understand?"

            Harry nodded, no longer feeling the pain from the cuts, but still more or less unable to move. 

            "Send Paladin or Severus if you need me," Voldemort said, as he picked up the bowl.  "I have some last things from the Alley to take care of.  I will return as soon as I can."

            Harry lay there, hearing his surrogate father's footsteps recede.  He closed his eyes and breathed slowly.  There would be screams from the dungeons tonight.  Cruciatus would be doled out freely for the men who hurt Harry, the beloved heir of Voldemort.

            "Milord?" Severus' familiar timbre called from the doorway.

            Harry's eyes fluttered open again.  "Hello, Severus."

            "Harry, are you okay?"

            "Not quite.  Did you bring any blood restorative?" he asked, his eyes tearing up again, but not from pain.

            The Potions Master walked closer, to comfort the boy.  "I did.  Here," he said, placing a hand behind the boy's back and guiding him to a sitting position.  He uncorked the bottle and handed it to Harry.

            Harry swallowed, coughing as the last bit went down wrong.  His chest felt like it was on fire, and he despised the reflex as it sent paroxysms of pain throughout Harry's body.

            Snape was torn between patting his back and not, because of the wounds.  "I shouldn't have left you here.  You should have come to Hogwarts with us, Harry," he breathed, as the boy's coughing fit subsided.  Snape removed the wet towels, and laid a soft, dry blanket under him.

            "As though my guardian would have allowed it," he whispered, as Snape laid him back on the bed.  "Besides, I think I wouldn't have made the journey conscious or alive."  His breathing was ragged, but his voice was calm.  "I ordered you to go.  I would have hexed you had you tried to stay.  Even for me, Professor."

            "You don't have to call me Professor any more," he said, recapping the bottle and setting it on a nearby table while looking for the breathing aid potion in his pocket.  "In fact, I think I am rather used to you calling me Severus.  No one but Albus does."

            "Why not?" he asked, as the blue potion was found.

            "I don't let them.  Lupin tried when he worked at Hogwarts, but I forbid it," Snape said, gesturing for the boy to sit up.  "You get too close to too many people and you put yourself at risk."

            Harry nodded, as he took the second potion from Severus' hand.  "I understand."  After he swallowed it, he looked away to find the tears flowing freely now.

            "What's wrong, Harry?"

            He wiped the tears from his eyes.  "I don't know," he said, almost breaking into sobs.  "I… I killed Fudge.  I watched him die at my hand, and I knew that all the pain he had caused me, he now felt.  The nights in Azkaban, the ridicule, the beatings of the guards.  He even felt the betrayal the day the Aurors took me away.  I have avenged myself on him and on my Uncle, who beat me, and… tried to use me.  I thought it would make me feel… I don't know.  Righteous.  Free when they were dead.  But I'm neither.  I'm a murderer, and now I'm right back where I started.  I don't feel anything.  I'm so numb, Severus.  I don't know anything any more.  In killing them, I killed myself."

            Snape did the only thing that he could think of at that moment.  He took Harry into his arms and held him tightly.  "Harry, I'm here for you, you realize that, don't you?  You are far from alone in this.  Albus is here for you, I couldn't be anywhere else, and you have the love of Voldemort if you want it."

            Harry forced himself to laugh through the tears.  "I like it when you call me Harry.  I was afraid for a second you were going to call me Potter again.  Like when I was in school.  The first day of classes, I was only trying to prove that I was listening to you.  I was… taking notes on your speech.  But you knew I was muggle-raised although essentially pureblood.  You knew I wouldn't know anything about Potions.  I hated that."

            "Well, you were hopeless in my class, and a Gryffindor at that.  I had to treat you in that way," Snape said, stroking the boy's hair.

            "Can you keep a secret?"

            "Of course," Snape breathed.

            "The Hat wanted me in Slytherin," he admitted quietly.  "It said that I had a thirst to prove myself.  I was too afraid of going Dark at the time to listen to it.  I begged for Gryffindor.  After all this time, the hat was right.  I have chosen the Darkness, and I find myself not quite believing why."  Glassy silver eyes looked at Severus, not pleading, not asking, just needing someone to be there.

            "You would make a good Slytherin, Harry.  Willing to do what is necessary to survive," Snape said, avoiding the words 'would have'.   Harry needed to believe that he still had a great future ahead of him.

            "Breathing is not living, Severus," he whispered, dabbing his hand at his eyes.  "You think if we survive this, that we'll still be friends?"

            "It is my greatest hope that we do, Harry," he said.  Snape waited for nearly a quarter of an hour, as the sobbing subsided to hiccups.  He pulled out the syringe with a tranquilizer in it, and uncapped it, slipping it into the back of Harry's right arm and injecting it gently.  He gently rubbed the teen's arm, and then waited as the drug entered his system. 

            "Severus, what are… you… do…ing?"

            Harry's vision blurred, and he went limp in Snape's arms.  Severus could think of nothing better.  The boy was in desperate need of sleep, and his emotional upset would do nothing to help him recover the loss of blood.  He placed Harry back under the sheets and pulled the blankets up to his shoulders.  He picked up the empty bottles and replaced them with Dreamless Sleep Potion, blood restoratives, and pain potions.  Snape paused at the door, placing his right fist in front of his mouth and clenching his hand until the knuckles went white.  He was no father, and the child needed more than he could give him.  He needed Black or Dumbledore.  But neither could come.  So the next best man must come.

            He watched as Harry slept, to make sure his breathing and pulse were strong and regular.  Confident that the teen was okay with the dosage he had administered, Snape called Avery into the room.

            "Joseph, I must go speak with Lord Voldemort.  Stay with the Silver Serpent until my return," he whispered at the doorway.

            Avery looked at the sleeping form.  "He's just sleeping isn't he?  Why would he need to be watched?"

            "I gave him a tranquilizer.  He was far too agitated and just generally worsening his condition.  Just watch his breathing until I finish speaking with Lord Voldemort," Snape explained.

            Avery nodded and took his place at Harry's side.  Snape left the room, walking down the stairs and reaching the familiar ballroom.  Only a few Death Eaters stood guard, as the rest had gone home after the attack.  He approached one of the others and asked, "Have you seen our Master recently?"

            The young man turned to recognize Snape.  "Professor?"

            "Malcolm."

            "Yes, Lord Voldemort headed to the dungeons."

            Snape eyed Baddock.  "He said something?"

            "Something about making those Aurors pay for hurting his son.  He has a son?"

            Snape raised an eyebrow.  Being in the inner circles had its perks.  "Yes.  The Silver Serpent is his adopted child.  Thank you for the information, Mr. Baddock."

            Snape walked onward, passing both paintings and doors, until he reached a nearly hidden spiral staircase.  After going down one flight of stairs, he came to a door guarded outside by Malfoy and McNair.  There was no screaming from inside, which meant that either they were all dead, or the torment had yet to begin.

--00--

I'd been sitting on this chapter for a while.  Let me know what you think.  I'm not really happy with parts, but hey, so sue me.

I would have cut it off earlier, but then it would have been 1650 words, and I know that you guys would have killed me for the short chapter.  Now I just have to get off my arse and write the next in the series.  We're nearing the end… perhaps one or two more chapters, as this fic is only 22,000 words unless I pad a couple of scenes, or add an epilogue.  I just might do an epilogue though… it might be good.  *muses silently for a moment before sighing*  Now I just have to chase after the plot bunnies for the sequel.  Where the hell did they go?

And now for reviewer thanks.

Leena, Coward in the Shadows, Enivrement (Thanks, and sorry for the wait.), selua (probably one more chappy after this, and maybe an epilogue, depending on reviews), Daniel (true, it says why, but not how.  Maybe that's a good plot bunny for the epilogue.  Thanks), Snape coolgirl (I think Snape is rather eloquent, especially given his rather refined insults.  I would be with that accent, yum.), Kira (I made you wait, I suck), Cr1Ms0n^D3v1L, luke-6622427, Goku-chan2002, Usagi Serenity Yui Cosmos, RaistlinofMetallica, Kalina Quantum (Well then, welcome to the realm of Dark!Harry, and I hope you enjoy your stay.  I think that anyone could go Dark with the right pressures, and I think that there has been enough pain and stress in Harry's life to expect this.  Thanks for the review!), ntamara (by the way, thanks for the LJ post… makes me actually remember that people are out there.  And I wish I could have drank at 16… what country are you in?  BTW, good point about only a month left!!), Trinalla, Mike Potter 2002 (As I stated before, I think that Harry will be celibate in this… needs to remember what familial love is like, before he is ready for any kind of a relationship.  Don't worry.), Dark-past (okay, I just wanted to be on the safe side.  Besides, the battle for Hogwarts comes soon, so there may be more.), Dark-past (honestly, the Weasleys at least should have known, don't you think?), LadyHuntress, Fallen Dragon, Artemis MoonClaw (nearly done, but here's the next chapter.)

Now, if you want to be updated with my next chapter, join my yahoo group.  It's on my profile page, but don't worry, it's not anything worse than my stories are, except my LJ uses more than the occasional swearword.  I unfortunately filed it in the directory under 'adult' and can't get it out!  If you want a more personal email reply, let me know, I'd be more than happy to do so.  I get bored and lonely some times.

Next chapter will find Hogwarts under attack, and I hate to say it… the end of this part of the story arc, sans epilogue.  And if you hate cliffies, get out now, because you won't like what I've done.

The more reviews I get, the faster I will post.  It's already written, I just have to format the chapter, and write commentary for the reviews.  That's all. Let's see if we can't get 20 reviews in 24 hours.  Tell your friends.

As for Bellatrix, I don't think I have a good enough handle on her personality to write her well.  She may show up, but we'll see.

RHF

6-30-03