Title: Shattered
Series: Lies in Redemption 1/?
Author: Althea
Feedback: althea@alexandria.cc or FF.net
Rating: PG-13 this part R eventually providing I can write the smut
Pairing: Harry/Lucius
Summary: Can two enemies find redemption in each other? Or will they be forever alone with the burden of others expectations.
Warnings: AR, Slash(Yaoi), possible OOC including dark!Dumbledore
Spoilers: All five books
Author's Note: Will be multi-parter will try to get at least one chapter out a week. Sorry will work as fast as I can but I have RL concerns as well. A two year old son, husband who works full time and goes to school and school myself. Will definitely finish this though I don't know how many parts it will be.
Archiving: Beloved Enemies, FF.net, my own site althea.dreamscrying.net all others just let me know so I can brag to my friends.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Harry was glad to be back at Hogwarts. The summer had been too long with no escape from the Dursley's. Dumbledore had decided at the last minute not to let Harry leave to go to Grimauld Place. Harry still couldn't understand why he had to stay the whole summer. Hermione and Ron both were allowed to stay at the Black residence with the Order members, but Harry was not. Remus told him that no one knew why Dumbledore had changed his mind, only that he had insisted Harry stay with his relatives where he would be safe. It was hard enough not having Sirius in his life without feeling isolated from his remaining friends.
It was now a month into the term, and he was finally starting to feel at ease again. The summer had been brutal. Uncle Vernon knew Sirius had died and despite the warning he had received at the beginning of the summer, he felt that since they didn't want Harry enough to come and get him then he could get away with overworking Harry toward his own aims. On top of that, he had spent the whole summer depressed without Sirius. He missed his godfather more then anything. Now the exhaustion and malnutrition was starting to reverse itself. He was back with his friends in the only home he had ever known. Of course, being Harry Potter meant that life could never go too smoothly. Lucius Malfoy had been released from Azkaban and had been here and left only moments ago.
How could he feel so confused about his own feelings? He and Lucius were enemies. Lucius was a killer. One of Voldemort's most ardent supporters. He should not feel attracted to the man. Especially after losing Sirius in a fight with Lucius and other of the Dark Lord's supporters due in part to his own recklessness. He could accept that he was partly to blame; after all, people were likely to die if they got too close to him. Especially if he cared for them at all. That didn't mean that he didn't blame anyone else for their own parts in this. Voldemort lured him out in the first place, Dumbledore didn't trust him enough to tell him the truth or warn him, the Order treated him like a child, Severus didn't stop Sirius from going, no one even told him about the stupid prophesy. Then there was Bellatrix. Sirius' cousin and a Death Eater. She killed Sirius and Harry hated her even more then he hated Voldemort.
He needed Sirius now. Someone to talk to and give him advice on how to handle these feelings. Up till now he hadn't even known he was gay. Of course the kiss he had shared with Cho Chang last year, should have told him that girls might not be the gender he preferred. She had never made his pulse race in the way that just looking at Lucius could do. The blonde Slytherin was almost godlike to look at and unfortunately knew it. He was also straight. He had a son and a wife, although Harry had found out that Narcissa died of some mysterious illness over the summer. It was almost enough to make him feel sorry for Draco, if he wasn't sure that Voldemort had something to so with it.
As he sat next to Ron, his thoughts were racing. There were things he just couldn't tell his best friend. Ron was sometimes too hot headed and Harry could still remember how betrayed he'd felt in fourth year. He wasn't going to risk losing his friend again. Hermione wasn't as fickle as Ron, but she was also not likely to understand. There was something almost unbearably young about her. She was so intelligent but at times she was too naive to understand what he had to live with. She saw things in a black and white way, studying and rules were the extent of her concerns in life. She never realized how it felt to have to depend on things other then books to get you through. She couldn't see that Harry was expected to act as an adult and be treated like a child for a world that didn't care at all about him. It would have been nice to have someone to talk to.
"Harry, are you even listening? I was saying that that git Malfoy must have paid his way out of Azkaban. How could they let him go?" asked Ron. His face was as red as his hair with suppressed anger as he complained about the Malfoys.
"It doesn't matter Ron. Everyone knows what he is now. He may have gotten out, but he'll have to be careful because he's being watched now. "
"Harry, of course it matters! The Malfoys think they can do anything! I bet the Junior Death Eater over there really thinks he's something now."
"Yeah, maybe but we know he isn't. So it doesn't really matter."
Harry then saw the Headmaster heading out of the Great Hall and his Head of House, Professor McGonagall heading over to him. She looked to be on a mission. Harry didn't think this boded well for him. He would most likely have to see Dumbledore, and he wasn't really sure he was ready for that. So far this year, he had been avoiding the man. Much as he had avoided Harry the previous year. As she arrived at the Gryffindor table she slowed to a stop in front of Harry.
"Mr. Potter, Professor Dumbledore would like to see you in his office. The password is 'ice mice'. Please go immediately." With that she strode away, not even waiting for a response. She assumed that Harry would just obey, and why not he always did.
"Yes ma'am," Harry replied as he stood to leave the Hall. He really did not want to see the Headmaster right now. Ever since he found out that information and secrets were being kept from him, he had found it hard to be around the man. He wanted to go back to trusting like he had before, but looking back over the years he found too many reasons to be suspicious. He hoped his doubts were unfounded but a part of him really was worried about how much faith to place in this man. His secrets allowed for Sirius to be killed and his insistence that Harry stay with the Dursley's nagged at Harry's mind.
After all it was pretty obvious when his Hogwart's letter arrived addressed to the cupboard under the stairs, that someone had known things weren't all sunshine and roses. Everyone remarked that Harry had seemed to get angry easier and some even seemed to think Voldemort had something to do with it. He was angry because no one would tell him anything. They just kept him in the dark and treated like a child. He couldn't remember ever being a child, thanks to the Dursley's.
Too many people thought that he was just a typical teenager! He would love to be just a typical teenager. The truth was, he had a right to be angry. Everyone wanted him to fight some war and defeat a dark lord, but they didn't want to tell him anything or act like he was able to handle anything. If only someone would have told him about the prophesy or about what Voldemort might have been able to do, he could have prevented so much. He was starting to think that Dumbledore did it intentionally. He knew the wizard was manipulative, now he was starting to wonder just how much.
He thought on this as he made his way to Dumbledore's office. He had been practicing his Occlumency over the summer. He suspected that part of the reason that Dumbledore knew so much about what went on in the castle had to due with his own abilities with Legilimency and he did not wish for his own worries to become known to the man in case his fears were well founded. It would not due to have a man as powerful as Dumbledore know that Harry didn't trust him anymore. Not until he knew what to do if he was right.
For if he was right, who would he turn to? Sirius was gone, Remus had to many cares as it was with being a werewolf and Dumbledore could make trouble for him, the Weasleys all saw him as a child or were too young themselves to do anything, Hermione was muggleborn and to enamored of rules to really be of help, he really wasn't sure if he could trust Snape if in fact his suspicions were true, and everyone else seemed to loyal to Dumbledore even if he could prove he was right. He had no one to turn to and he really wasn't sure what he could do.
As he arrived at the gargoyle statue, he cleared his mind and gave the password. He went up the spiral stairs and met with the man whose intentions he was very unsure of.
"Harry, my boy, good to see you. Lemon drop?"
"No thank you, sir."
"Very well. I asked you here to discuss Lucius Malfoy's visit here today. He pulled a great many strings to be allowed here and in the end I had no choice but to allow it. However, I wanted to know if you observed anything odd about his visit with his son?"
"No sir. He seemed to just speak quietly with Malfoy, I mean Draco, sir. Then he left. He didn't say anything to me or anyone else that I saw."
"Hmmm. Most peculiar. I expected him to try something. What could that man be up to. Well I would like to restrict your visits to Hogsmeade for the time being."
"But sir..."
"Now, now my boy. We wouldn't want Lucius to take you to Voldemort, now would we? No, I think it best if you stay here at the castle for now. That will be all."
"Yes sir," Harry replied as he turned to leave.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When he returned to the common room, Ron and Hermione asked what Dumbledore had wanted. Harry thought about not telling them but in the end decided it really didn't matter. They would find out soon enough, when he either couldn't go to Hogsmeade or had to sneak out. So he told them to come closer, he didn't want the whole common room to hear. Then he told them what the headmaster had said. He could almost predict their responses.
Ron just gave a grin, "That's ok Harry. We'll just use the cloak to sneak out!"
Hermione gave Ron a look, "Ronald Weasley! You will do no such thing. If the headmaster thinks it is too dangerous for Harry to go to Hogsmeade, then he won't go. We are much too old to still be doing things like that. And Harry, after last year, do you really think you ought to even consider not listening to him?"
Harry sighed, "I didn't say I was going to sneak out Mione. I was just telling you what he said. You did ask after all."
Hermione looked chagrined, "I'm sorry, Harry. I shouldn't have jumped on you. You're right we did ask and you never said you were going to sneak out, that was Ron."
Harry smiled, "That's alright Mione. I'm going to head upstairs. Goodnight." A chorus of goodnights followed him upstairs. He lay in his bed, behind the curtains, and thought about his completely chaotic life. What he wouldn't give to be ordinary. Finally, it got to be too much and he put his Invisibility cloak on and took the Marauder's Map and went for a walk.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sitting in the Astronomy Tower shortly after midnight, Harry tried to make sense of all his jumbled thoughts. As he did this, he unknowingly talked aloud. Unfortunately, or perhaps not, he was being observed by someone else. Someone who was about to hear his thoughts and who would in turn irrevocably alter his perception of the world.
"...can't go to Hogsmeade. Well with the cloak and map, I can sneak out anyway. Can't tell Hermione, she'll tell someone. Dumbledore was so odd. He always seems to manipulate things to go the way he wants. Every time I have faced Voldemort it has felt like there was something more there then simple chance. He always says just the right thing to get me to act a certain way. What if he planned it all? Maybe the Dursley's are even his way of making me dependent upon him...could that be? Would he go that far? I really hope not. If I'm right...is that why Siri is gone? Did he get to close to me? Damn! I wish I had more proof! Someone who wasn't under his spell!"
As he listened to Potter talk to his self, Draco wondered if he should make his presence known. Being a prefect had its advantages. He started listening hoping to get some blackmail material from the Gryffindor Golden Boy, before he took points and sent Potter back to the dorms. Now however, he was thinking he might try something else. Listening to the other boy, Draco couldn't quite believe that Harry was really thinking some of the things he was saying. Of course, Draco didn't trust Dumbledore. His father had told him all about how the man was. He was surprised that Harry might have doubts though. He thought that Harry was too enmeshed within the Headmaster's schemes to realize the man's true character.
"Potter, can we talk?"
"Malfoy? What are you doing here?"
"I'm a prefect, Potter. I was patrolling when I heard you talking to yourself. I never thought I'd say this to you, but you're right. You shouldn't trust Dumbledore. I never thought you of all people would see it."
"Why should I believe you?"
"Maybe because I have absolutely no reason to lie to you. You don't like me. You never have. If I wanted I could get you into trouble for being out of bounds and take house points. The fact that I'm not should tell you that there may be a reason. Also, I happen to think you are finally using your brain and thought I could help. If you're not interested then I can take points and we can forget I said anything."
"Ok so why do you think I shouldn't trust Dumbledore? Besides the obvious fact that he opposes your master."
"Look Potter, you don't know as much as you think you do. Not about me, not about my father, not about Voldemort, and most especially not about Dumbledore. He manipulates people to get what he wants, and everyone thinks he is the greatest wizard around. He defeated Grindelwald so they revere him. In reality, he only defeated Grindelwald because of the threat he posed to his power. He only opposes Voldemort, because Voldemort is powerful. Voldemort may in fact have enough power to stop Dumbledore. You have been lied to Potter."
"What do you mean? Voldemort is evil. That's why Dumbledore is trying to defeat him."
"No, Harry. You were not told the truth. Very few people know the truth. You are also a threat to his power. That is why he is doing what he is to you. He couldn't suppress Tom, so he made him out to be an enemy. With you it was easier. He knew how powerful you would be ahead of time. He already had his reputation and power base. So he came up with a way to control you. He made you dependent upon him for your happiness and freedom. He controls what you do, even when you are away from here. You have to stay with muggles who don't want you, and the only time you are happy is here. A place he controls and allows for you to enter. He controls what you receive and what you do not. He may even have a hand in who your friends are. The Weasleys support him; you can count them among your friends. Hermione is obsessed with rules and structure. She would place her faith in a figure such as the school Headmaster, so she is a safe friend. I, however, am not. I know what he is, and do not trust in what he says. You were coached to stay away from Slytherins weren't you?"
"I was told there wasn't a witch or wizard who went bad who wasn't from Slytherin. That's not true though. Wormtail, Peter Pettigrew, he was in Gryffindor. I just don't understand though. I mean Voldemort is still evil. Even if he is that way because of some opposition with Dumbledore."
"No. Tom isn't evil. You were lied to, in fact most people were. Most of what people think Voldemort has done has been staged it isn't real. Get to know me. Try being friends with me for a while. Let me show you what I know. If you still don't believe me then just walk away. Forget we ever knew each other let alone that we might have been friends. Just give me a chance. I'll make the offer again to be friends. Please take me up on it. I meant it then and I mean it now." With that he offered his hand to Harry, just like he had on that fateful day now more then five years ago.
Harry took it. With that one act, his world would become shattered.
TBC
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This is that revised chapter one! Special thanks to Eowyn6 and Undomiel1! You two are a great motivation for me plot wise as well as getting me to update as quickly as I can!
Series: Lies in Redemption 1/?
Author: Althea
Feedback: althea@alexandria.cc or FF.net
Rating: PG-13 this part R eventually providing I can write the smut
Pairing: Harry/Lucius
Summary: Can two enemies find redemption in each other? Or will they be forever alone with the burden of others expectations.
Warnings: AR, Slash(Yaoi), possible OOC including dark!Dumbledore
Spoilers: All five books
Author's Note: Will be multi-parter will try to get at least one chapter out a week. Sorry will work as fast as I can but I have RL concerns as well. A two year old son, husband who works full time and goes to school and school myself. Will definitely finish this though I don't know how many parts it will be.
Archiving: Beloved Enemies, FF.net, my own site althea.dreamscrying.net all others just let me know so I can brag to my friends.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Harry was glad to be back at Hogwarts. The summer had been too long with no escape from the Dursley's. Dumbledore had decided at the last minute not to let Harry leave to go to Grimauld Place. Harry still couldn't understand why he had to stay the whole summer. Hermione and Ron both were allowed to stay at the Black residence with the Order members, but Harry was not. Remus told him that no one knew why Dumbledore had changed his mind, only that he had insisted Harry stay with his relatives where he would be safe. It was hard enough not having Sirius in his life without feeling isolated from his remaining friends.
It was now a month into the term, and he was finally starting to feel at ease again. The summer had been brutal. Uncle Vernon knew Sirius had died and despite the warning he had received at the beginning of the summer, he felt that since they didn't want Harry enough to come and get him then he could get away with overworking Harry toward his own aims. On top of that, he had spent the whole summer depressed without Sirius. He missed his godfather more then anything. Now the exhaustion and malnutrition was starting to reverse itself. He was back with his friends in the only home he had ever known. Of course, being Harry Potter meant that life could never go too smoothly. Lucius Malfoy had been released from Azkaban and had been here and left only moments ago.
How could he feel so confused about his own feelings? He and Lucius were enemies. Lucius was a killer. One of Voldemort's most ardent supporters. He should not feel attracted to the man. Especially after losing Sirius in a fight with Lucius and other of the Dark Lord's supporters due in part to his own recklessness. He could accept that he was partly to blame; after all, people were likely to die if they got too close to him. Especially if he cared for them at all. That didn't mean that he didn't blame anyone else for their own parts in this. Voldemort lured him out in the first place, Dumbledore didn't trust him enough to tell him the truth or warn him, the Order treated him like a child, Severus didn't stop Sirius from going, no one even told him about the stupid prophesy. Then there was Bellatrix. Sirius' cousin and a Death Eater. She killed Sirius and Harry hated her even more then he hated Voldemort.
He needed Sirius now. Someone to talk to and give him advice on how to handle these feelings. Up till now he hadn't even known he was gay. Of course the kiss he had shared with Cho Chang last year, should have told him that girls might not be the gender he preferred. She had never made his pulse race in the way that just looking at Lucius could do. The blonde Slytherin was almost godlike to look at and unfortunately knew it. He was also straight. He had a son and a wife, although Harry had found out that Narcissa died of some mysterious illness over the summer. It was almost enough to make him feel sorry for Draco, if he wasn't sure that Voldemort had something to so with it.
As he sat next to Ron, his thoughts were racing. There were things he just couldn't tell his best friend. Ron was sometimes too hot headed and Harry could still remember how betrayed he'd felt in fourth year. He wasn't going to risk losing his friend again. Hermione wasn't as fickle as Ron, but she was also not likely to understand. There was something almost unbearably young about her. She was so intelligent but at times she was too naive to understand what he had to live with. She saw things in a black and white way, studying and rules were the extent of her concerns in life. She never realized how it felt to have to depend on things other then books to get you through. She couldn't see that Harry was expected to act as an adult and be treated like a child for a world that didn't care at all about him. It would have been nice to have someone to talk to.
"Harry, are you even listening? I was saying that that git Malfoy must have paid his way out of Azkaban. How could they let him go?" asked Ron. His face was as red as his hair with suppressed anger as he complained about the Malfoys.
"It doesn't matter Ron. Everyone knows what he is now. He may have gotten out, but he'll have to be careful because he's being watched now. "
"Harry, of course it matters! The Malfoys think they can do anything! I bet the Junior Death Eater over there really thinks he's something now."
"Yeah, maybe but we know he isn't. So it doesn't really matter."
Harry then saw the Headmaster heading out of the Great Hall and his Head of House, Professor McGonagall heading over to him. She looked to be on a mission. Harry didn't think this boded well for him. He would most likely have to see Dumbledore, and he wasn't really sure he was ready for that. So far this year, he had been avoiding the man. Much as he had avoided Harry the previous year. As she arrived at the Gryffindor table she slowed to a stop in front of Harry.
"Mr. Potter, Professor Dumbledore would like to see you in his office. The password is 'ice mice'. Please go immediately." With that she strode away, not even waiting for a response. She assumed that Harry would just obey, and why not he always did.
"Yes ma'am," Harry replied as he stood to leave the Hall. He really did not want to see the Headmaster right now. Ever since he found out that information and secrets were being kept from him, he had found it hard to be around the man. He wanted to go back to trusting like he had before, but looking back over the years he found too many reasons to be suspicious. He hoped his doubts were unfounded but a part of him really was worried about how much faith to place in this man. His secrets allowed for Sirius to be killed and his insistence that Harry stay with the Dursley's nagged at Harry's mind.
After all it was pretty obvious when his Hogwart's letter arrived addressed to the cupboard under the stairs, that someone had known things weren't all sunshine and roses. Everyone remarked that Harry had seemed to get angry easier and some even seemed to think Voldemort had something to do with it. He was angry because no one would tell him anything. They just kept him in the dark and treated like a child. He couldn't remember ever being a child, thanks to the Dursley's.
Too many people thought that he was just a typical teenager! He would love to be just a typical teenager. The truth was, he had a right to be angry. Everyone wanted him to fight some war and defeat a dark lord, but they didn't want to tell him anything or act like he was able to handle anything. If only someone would have told him about the prophesy or about what Voldemort might have been able to do, he could have prevented so much. He was starting to think that Dumbledore did it intentionally. He knew the wizard was manipulative, now he was starting to wonder just how much.
He thought on this as he made his way to Dumbledore's office. He had been practicing his Occlumency over the summer. He suspected that part of the reason that Dumbledore knew so much about what went on in the castle had to due with his own abilities with Legilimency and he did not wish for his own worries to become known to the man in case his fears were well founded. It would not due to have a man as powerful as Dumbledore know that Harry didn't trust him anymore. Not until he knew what to do if he was right.
For if he was right, who would he turn to? Sirius was gone, Remus had to many cares as it was with being a werewolf and Dumbledore could make trouble for him, the Weasleys all saw him as a child or were too young themselves to do anything, Hermione was muggleborn and to enamored of rules to really be of help, he really wasn't sure if he could trust Snape if in fact his suspicions were true, and everyone else seemed to loyal to Dumbledore even if he could prove he was right. He had no one to turn to and he really wasn't sure what he could do.
As he arrived at the gargoyle statue, he cleared his mind and gave the password. He went up the spiral stairs and met with the man whose intentions he was very unsure of.
"Harry, my boy, good to see you. Lemon drop?"
"No thank you, sir."
"Very well. I asked you here to discuss Lucius Malfoy's visit here today. He pulled a great many strings to be allowed here and in the end I had no choice but to allow it. However, I wanted to know if you observed anything odd about his visit with his son?"
"No sir. He seemed to just speak quietly with Malfoy, I mean Draco, sir. Then he left. He didn't say anything to me or anyone else that I saw."
"Hmmm. Most peculiar. I expected him to try something. What could that man be up to. Well I would like to restrict your visits to Hogsmeade for the time being."
"But sir..."
"Now, now my boy. We wouldn't want Lucius to take you to Voldemort, now would we? No, I think it best if you stay here at the castle for now. That will be all."
"Yes sir," Harry replied as he turned to leave.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When he returned to the common room, Ron and Hermione asked what Dumbledore had wanted. Harry thought about not telling them but in the end decided it really didn't matter. They would find out soon enough, when he either couldn't go to Hogsmeade or had to sneak out. So he told them to come closer, he didn't want the whole common room to hear. Then he told them what the headmaster had said. He could almost predict their responses.
Ron just gave a grin, "That's ok Harry. We'll just use the cloak to sneak out!"
Hermione gave Ron a look, "Ronald Weasley! You will do no such thing. If the headmaster thinks it is too dangerous for Harry to go to Hogsmeade, then he won't go. We are much too old to still be doing things like that. And Harry, after last year, do you really think you ought to even consider not listening to him?"
Harry sighed, "I didn't say I was going to sneak out Mione. I was just telling you what he said. You did ask after all."
Hermione looked chagrined, "I'm sorry, Harry. I shouldn't have jumped on you. You're right we did ask and you never said you were going to sneak out, that was Ron."
Harry smiled, "That's alright Mione. I'm going to head upstairs. Goodnight." A chorus of goodnights followed him upstairs. He lay in his bed, behind the curtains, and thought about his completely chaotic life. What he wouldn't give to be ordinary. Finally, it got to be too much and he put his Invisibility cloak on and took the Marauder's Map and went for a walk.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sitting in the Astronomy Tower shortly after midnight, Harry tried to make sense of all his jumbled thoughts. As he did this, he unknowingly talked aloud. Unfortunately, or perhaps not, he was being observed by someone else. Someone who was about to hear his thoughts and who would in turn irrevocably alter his perception of the world.
"...can't go to Hogsmeade. Well with the cloak and map, I can sneak out anyway. Can't tell Hermione, she'll tell someone. Dumbledore was so odd. He always seems to manipulate things to go the way he wants. Every time I have faced Voldemort it has felt like there was something more there then simple chance. He always says just the right thing to get me to act a certain way. What if he planned it all? Maybe the Dursley's are even his way of making me dependent upon him...could that be? Would he go that far? I really hope not. If I'm right...is that why Siri is gone? Did he get to close to me? Damn! I wish I had more proof! Someone who wasn't under his spell!"
As he listened to Potter talk to his self, Draco wondered if he should make his presence known. Being a prefect had its advantages. He started listening hoping to get some blackmail material from the Gryffindor Golden Boy, before he took points and sent Potter back to the dorms. Now however, he was thinking he might try something else. Listening to the other boy, Draco couldn't quite believe that Harry was really thinking some of the things he was saying. Of course, Draco didn't trust Dumbledore. His father had told him all about how the man was. He was surprised that Harry might have doubts though. He thought that Harry was too enmeshed within the Headmaster's schemes to realize the man's true character.
"Potter, can we talk?"
"Malfoy? What are you doing here?"
"I'm a prefect, Potter. I was patrolling when I heard you talking to yourself. I never thought I'd say this to you, but you're right. You shouldn't trust Dumbledore. I never thought you of all people would see it."
"Why should I believe you?"
"Maybe because I have absolutely no reason to lie to you. You don't like me. You never have. If I wanted I could get you into trouble for being out of bounds and take house points. The fact that I'm not should tell you that there may be a reason. Also, I happen to think you are finally using your brain and thought I could help. If you're not interested then I can take points and we can forget I said anything."
"Ok so why do you think I shouldn't trust Dumbledore? Besides the obvious fact that he opposes your master."
"Look Potter, you don't know as much as you think you do. Not about me, not about my father, not about Voldemort, and most especially not about Dumbledore. He manipulates people to get what he wants, and everyone thinks he is the greatest wizard around. He defeated Grindelwald so they revere him. In reality, he only defeated Grindelwald because of the threat he posed to his power. He only opposes Voldemort, because Voldemort is powerful. Voldemort may in fact have enough power to stop Dumbledore. You have been lied to Potter."
"What do you mean? Voldemort is evil. That's why Dumbledore is trying to defeat him."
"No, Harry. You were not told the truth. Very few people know the truth. You are also a threat to his power. That is why he is doing what he is to you. He couldn't suppress Tom, so he made him out to be an enemy. With you it was easier. He knew how powerful you would be ahead of time. He already had his reputation and power base. So he came up with a way to control you. He made you dependent upon him for your happiness and freedom. He controls what you do, even when you are away from here. You have to stay with muggles who don't want you, and the only time you are happy is here. A place he controls and allows for you to enter. He controls what you receive and what you do not. He may even have a hand in who your friends are. The Weasleys support him; you can count them among your friends. Hermione is obsessed with rules and structure. She would place her faith in a figure such as the school Headmaster, so she is a safe friend. I, however, am not. I know what he is, and do not trust in what he says. You were coached to stay away from Slytherins weren't you?"
"I was told there wasn't a witch or wizard who went bad who wasn't from Slytherin. That's not true though. Wormtail, Peter Pettigrew, he was in Gryffindor. I just don't understand though. I mean Voldemort is still evil. Even if he is that way because of some opposition with Dumbledore."
"No. Tom isn't evil. You were lied to, in fact most people were. Most of what people think Voldemort has done has been staged it isn't real. Get to know me. Try being friends with me for a while. Let me show you what I know. If you still don't believe me then just walk away. Forget we ever knew each other let alone that we might have been friends. Just give me a chance. I'll make the offer again to be friends. Please take me up on it. I meant it then and I mean it now." With that he offered his hand to Harry, just like he had on that fateful day now more then five years ago.
Harry took it. With that one act, his world would become shattered.
TBC
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This is that revised chapter one! Special thanks to Eowyn6 and Undomiel1! You two are a great motivation for me plot wise as well as getting me to update as quickly as I can!