A/N: HecateDeMort - Thank you. Lady Mandara Snake - Yes, it will be HP/DM. Thank you. Kateri1 - Thanks. MarsMoonStar - Thanks. ProudSlytherin - No problem. *hugs* It'll grow! Jaded Angel8 - Thank you. HermioneGreen - Thank you. TheLazyReviewer - Thanks! Insanechildfanfic - Thanks. Nemati - Thank you. The Cat That Killed Curiosity - Lol. I'm glad I have you ensnared! Don't feel bad. TYLV is under a different author name. Mistik-elf13 - Sorry. I'm glad you like it even with the cliffies. SheWolfe7 - Thank you. I love dark Harry. Sylvanus Snape - Thank you, especially for the translation! Leean Meanlock - Thank you. DespairingAngel - :) Mikito - Thank you. SeparatiX - *hugs* Thank you for the nine reviews! You are awesome. I'm glad I was able to hook you with this story. None of my other Snarry friends read it except for JA. Lee Lee Potter - Sorry for the cliffie. I'm glad you gave my foray into HP/DM a chance. Believe it or not, I started this before TYLV. That's why the beginning's a little shaky. Now that I've updated, it's your turn. :) npetrenko - Thank you. CrimsonTearsOfPain - Thank you. Coming right up! Dracos-girl8706 - Thank you, I agree. I do plan to read your story, but I've been a bit swamped. But, I will definitely review it. Blackdragonofslytherin - Thank you. Janai - Thank you. Agnei Smith - Thank you.
A/N2: Please welcome and hug my new beta SeparatiX. She has been beta'ing TYLV for me for a while, and I finally got her hooked on this. She is also going through the old chapters and fixing them as well. I'll let you know when they are all fixed.
Ignorance Isn't Bliss
Chapter 20 - Planning
Previously
At five minutes before eight that evening he waited in his sitting room for Draco to arrive. If Draco arrived. Marcus sincerely hoped he would.
__________________
At eight o'clock exactly Marcus could hear voices from outside the room. A moment later the door opened revealing one of the guards.
"My Lord, Draco Malfoy to see you."
Marcus nodded, he was relieved that Draco had shown up. He watched closely as Draco entered the room. Draco was wearing a semi-formal black cloak and his hair was slicked back as usual. His face was not showing any emotion, which sent a chill up Marcus' spine.
Draco walked up to Marcus and kneeled down before him, kissing the hem of his robes. "My Lord, I am yours to command."
Marcus rolled his eyes and motioned for Draco to stand. "You know that I didn't call you here to command you. I think it's time we had a serious talk."
Pursing his lips, Draco seemed to be thinking hard. "I am here as your servant as I agree with your politics. But Harry Potter is no friend of mine. If you have no orders for me I will take my leave." Draco turned to leave, but was stilled by a hand on his arm.
"What about Marcus Snape?" Marcus asked a bit more harshly than he intended.
Draco sneered, which, if Marcus wasn't a stronger person, would have chilled him to the bone. "What about him? He was my friend, but I don't know who he is anymore. He was a phony."
"Dammit Draco, Harry Potter was the fraud! He was manipulated by Dumbledore and that whole frickin' Order of his. I left Harry Potter behind two years ago."
Realization that this really was the same Marcus struck Draco like a brick wall. "Who knew? Who knew who you really were?" Draco whispered.
Marcus was trying hard to keep his temper in check. He felt like he needed Draco to understand. If Draco didn't understand who would? "This is who I really am! This is the real me. As for who knew? My father, Dumbledore, Lord Voldemort, and eventually Hermione."
Draco finally succumbed to his emotional state and slid down into a chair. Marcus sat in the chair across from him. "Marcus..."
"Yes?"
"All right, Marcus, perhaps you could start from the beginning. The truth please."
So, Marcus began the tale of the past two years, starting with when he first ran away. Several times Draco tried to interrupt, but a raised hand by Marcus quieted him. He felt an enormous weight being lifted off of him as he told his tale, and he was relieved to see Draco's features soften into the more understanding Draco of the past year
"I'm sorry for the way I've acted. I've been an idiot. Can you forgive me?" Draco asked, going down on his knees.
Marcus smiled and stood up, pulling Draco up with him. He wrapped his arms around Draco, perhaps tighter than necessary. "I don't blame you for being upset. I'm just happy that you're back, Draco. I can't do this without you."
Marcus held the hug longer than he normally would have. He still wasn't sure the best way to approach Draco about that. Deciding to just leave subtle hints, Marcus released the embrace slowly. He let his hands linger near Draco's for a moment before they were completely separate. "I don't know about you, but I'm starving. Will you join me for dinner?"
Draco's cheeks were tinged red as he smiled and replied, "Of course."
As they entered the dining room Marcus wasn't surprised to see Lord Voldemort waiting for them. He gave Marcus a knowing look and nodded to Draco. Draco was speechless. Marcus realized that he had probably never met the Dark Lord, and his shock was clear, his face had gone slightly paler than usual. Marcus was glad to see Lord Voldemort rise from his seat and approach them.
"You must be Lucius' son. It is a pleasure to finally meet you, Mister Malfoy. You may call me Lord Voldemort."
"The pleasure is mine, sir."
Dinner was a pleasant affair. While Draco was still quite nervous, Marcus conversed with both he and Lord Voldemort the entire time.
Voldemort slid several papers down the table, which Marcus picked up. "It seems you've made the front page with the Ministry. I think we will need to have a meeting soon."
Marcus nodded absently as he looked through the pages of the Daily Prophet.
"Magic Misused All Over Europe."
"Many Magic Violators Fined."
"What the Ministry is Doing to Curtail Muggle Curiosity."
"What Really Happened to Harry Potter."
As Marcus read through the articles his face heated up with anger. It seemed that many of his followers were being persecuted just for performing magic. They weren't torturing anyone. Some of the fines were given out for such silly things as levitating a bag in front of them as they walked instead of carrying it. The final article dealt with how he wasn't really Harry Potter, or that he was but was being controlled by Voldemort. As he pushed the papers away he closed his eyes and willed himself to calm down.
Voldemort excused himself from the table first, leaving the two young men alone. Draco knew that the articles must have upset Marcus, so he changed the subject entirely to lighter things. They chatted amicably for a bit until they were both becoming tired.
As Draco rose to leave Marcus stuck out his hand. When Draco grasped it Marcus pulled him into another embrace. He whispered close to Draco's ear, "Be well. I hope to see you soon." As they broke apart Marcus moved his hands to Draco's upper arms, grasping them tightly. He stood there for a moment, just looking into Draco's eyes. He could clearly see desire in them. He noticed, with rising anticipation, the rosy tinge to his friend's face, and the way his lips were slightly parted. It took most of Marcus' self control not to move in for a kiss. Instead, he settled for a smile as he walked Draco to the door.
He was startled when Draco stopped suddenly and turned. "Will you mark me?"
Marcus inhaled sharply; he had yet to mark anyone himself. He knew it was a painful process and didn't want Draco to go through that. "Why don't you wait a little while Draco? Get a job first and settle down."
"But I want to serve you!" Draco said, his hands making fists by his sides. It reminded Marcus of how young they really were.
Marcus grasped Draco's chin lightly. "Even once you are marked you will not serve me like the others do. I could never let you be that subservient to me. Let me think on it"
Draco nodded solemnly and turned to leave.
Marcus leaned against the doorway and watched as Draco apparated away.
"You like him."
Marcus spun around to face Lord Voldemort. "Yes, I think I do."
"I know you do. Now what do you plan to do about it?"
Marcus sighed as he walked alongside his mentor back into his sitting room. "I haven't decided. I don't know that I could provide the type of attention he would need. I have so many plans and ideas for this world."
"So you don't want to be tied down? Is that it?"
Marcus chuckled, "Oh, I want to be tied down... But I think Draco deserves someone who can devote more time to him. I won't pursue him as relentlessly as I'd like to." Marcus smiled slyly. "However, I won't turn him away either. I just hope he knows what he's getting himself into."
Voldemort chuckled, "He does. Malfoys always know what they are getting into. Good night, Lord Snape."
"Good night, Lord Voldemort."
The week passed by slowly. Every morning Marcus would frown over the Daily Prophet and then meet individually with various supporters. He was beginning to plan a takeover of the Ministry.
The Ministry shocked everyone on Friday by upping the penalty for misuse of magic to a month in Azkaban. Within three days almost a tenth of the Death Eaters had been sent there.
Things were getting desperate, so he called a meeting.
Murmurs of dissent were evident, but Marcus couldn't blame them. He shot sparks from his wand to get their attention.
"First, congratulations on what we have accomplished thus far. The Ministry's obliviators are working non-stop, but can only manage to make it to a third of their calls. The Muggle world officially knows about us." He paused to wait for the applause to die down.
"These are tough times for us. Every revolution has begun out of hard times, and now is the time for our revolution. We must not give up now. Those of you who have been given fines will be rewarded. Our brothers in Azkaban will also be rewarded greatly when their month is up. Unfortunately just breaking the law isn't going to get us very far. We need the laws changed. And the only way we can do that is by taking over the Ministry. Right now we already control one fourth of the Wizengamot. They vote on most of their own membership, so we must start persuading the others to see our side. We will need to start nefariously. But be smart about it. Only use mind-altering potions and charms on those who are already close to our position. We only need to control them long enough to vote in more members.
Also, a law is not made by just the Wizengamot, the Minister of Magic has great control over the laws passed. Not only does he sign them into being, but also he chooses a third of the Wizengamot. We could easily change laws then. We would have the Statute of Secrecy and Muggles Protection Act repealed in no time. For Minister of Magic I propose Artemius Zabini."
Marcus paused again to let the applause die down. Mister Zabini was well known for being an upstanding member of the Ministry. "As the current head of the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes, he will easily be voted in with our support behind him. Artemius Zabini come forward."
A tall, thin man with long black hair approached and kneeled. "I am here to serve you, My Lord"
"Rise and remove your mask Artemius."
Artemius removed his mask, showing his dark complexion. He reminded Marcus of a darker complexioned Lucius Malfoy. Artemius had the aristocratic features and a grace that impressed everyone.
"Do you agree to run for the Minister position? I have a feeling it will open up shortly."
Artemius bowed his head slightly. "Yes, My Lord."
Marcus turned back to the crowd. "Now we just need to open the Minister position. The several of you that I have talked to this week, it is time."
The Death Eaters knew when they were dismissed, and they left in a much better mood than when they had arrived. One remaining death eater approached the front of the room. Marcus could pick out that stride anywhere.
"Father!"
Instantly Marcus went from leader to child as he pulled his father into a tight hug.
"I've missed having you to talk to this week."
Severus removed his mask revealing a grin. "And I've missed you nosing around my quarters. You did a great job today. I had suggestion to make after the meeting, but you don't need them. You've covered it all."
Voldemort quickly joined them as they talked, hugging Severus when he arrived. The three of them talked well into the night.
"The werewolf came to see me." Severus added suddenly.
Marcus raised his head sharply. "He did?"
"Yes, it seems you've piqued his interest. He wants to meet with you."
Marcus grinned. "That's great. I asked Hermione to talk to him. I guess she did. I'll meet with him tomorrow"
Marcus spent the next hour writing a letter to Remus and creating a portkey for him. He loved it when all of his plans came together.
________________________________