Disclaimer: I am nothing but a worshipper of the great J.K. Rowling playing in her universe. Anything you recognize is not mine.

A/N: Updated 17-05-2005

DARK PHOENIX

Chapter 3: Voldie's Arguments

Harry was gobsmacked. All his thought processes were completely jammed. He could even begin on the path to comprehension. All his beliefs were being shattered. He was seriously considering laughing himself to death and checking if Hell had suddenly frozen over.

Voldemort was unfazed, and continued as if he was expecting this. Well he had been expecting this, and had actually prepared excellent arguments. He was a Slytherin, and he was fully set on exploiting Harry's speechlessness.

"Harry, I will not lie to you again. I do not know how to bring back the dead yet. Therefore, I will not promise to bring back your parents. However, I can promise this: with me, you can be yourself. I have said it before; I know a lot about you, Harry, more than you think. You are undeniably trapped with the Boy-Who-Lived image. People around you judge you without knowing you. They listen to the media, their opinion of you going from Golden Boy to raving lunatic in a matter of hours. I do not believe such nonsense. Like you, I hate the media, and understand the loathing you have for your own fame. In my circle, a person is judged based on achievements. I must admit, Harry, your achievements have already made me admire you, as well as your bravery and cunning.

"I know what you must be thinking at this point and I must disagree. No matter how loyal your friends are to you, they have been and will be swayed by your image as well as their own jealousy. It has happened before; it will probably happen again, no matter how strong your friendship. It is human nature, as we call it.

"As for Dumbledore, I hate to shatter your illusions, well to be honest I don't hate it at all, but you must realise the Old Fool is using you. He has been manipulating you ever since he gained knowledge of the prophecy. I do not know all its contents yet, you have protected that intelligence well, but it is obvious that he is using you and your unwanted fame as an icon to rally forces to the Light. He is trying to make you believe you must save everyone, trying to make you in the hero you do not wish to be.

"Remember, Harry, he gave you the means to confront me for the Philosopher's Stone instead of protecting it himself. Do you really believe a wizard as powerful as he had not detected my dark essence residing in Quirrell? He was setting it up so that it was you, and no one else, who would have to face me and thwart my plans in obtaining the Stone. His bird, the phoenix, could have spirited Ginny Weasley from the Chamber of Secrets anytime, yet he let you face a full-grown Basilisk at twelve with only a sword. I saw in your mind glimpses of what happened during your Third year as well. Don't you think Dumbledore could have used the Time-Turner himself instead of sending two half-trained wizards? Another way to shape you into the Wizarding Worlds Saviour. Finally as you recall, Dumbledore was not opposed to you participating in the Tri-Wizard Tournament. He actually managed to persuade the other judges into giving you more points because you tried to save the other victims! The point I'm trying to make is that Dumbledore is causing you to feel as if it is your duty to save everyone. No wonder I easily coerced you into the Department of Mysteries with the image of your Godfather. You have been taught you are supposed to save the entire world. Stop feeling guilty about those deaths, Harry. No one can save everybody and you certainly did not cause those deaths. It was the result of the Old Fool's manipulation and my attempt to gain information. Yes, I do take the blame for your Godfather's death.

"Dumbledore's actions, on the other hand, are most hypocritical. He makes you into this self-sacrificing hero, yet he always keeps you in the dark with his plans and has yet to give you weapons. All the offensive magic you know, you had to find out on your own.

"This is what I am offering you. I can train you, give you weapons. I can give you the power of knowledge. I can also give you acceptance and recognition, something I know you crave. And don't worry; I will not oblige you to join me, per se. If you wish to simply stay out of the war entirely, I would still give you what I can, knowledge and sanctuary."

Voldemort paused there, giving Harry time to mull over what had just been said. His brain cells had finally decided to cooperate again, and he was thinking furiously. What the hell did Voldemort want? He was hoping to turn Harry to Darkness that much was obvious, but he should know that it wouldn't be that easy.

Then it clicked. The prophecy. Voldemort had always failed to kill Harry before, so he was hoping to protect himself from the prophecy by befriending Harry, if befriending could be the term used. All Voldemort knew was that Harry was "The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord". He was hoping to save his own ass with this bold move. Fascinating.

"You're trying to protect yourself from the prophecy, aren't you? Of course, it's obvious. But then, if I, by any chance, decide to take your offer, how do you know I won't turn around and kill you first chance I get!"

"Ah, quick you are, Harry. Indeed, you figure my motives well, although I admit I do hope you will help me with my mission in time. Now to answer your question, even though I am notoriously hard to destroy, I would request that you go through a Loyalty Spell. It is a very simple but very strong spell that will only, and I insist only, keep two parties from harming each other. No bindings to obey or anything else. This way, neither of us could harm the other. It is, I believe, a faire trade-off."

"I see," cautiously answered Harry, "It would be a fair trade-off, as you say, except for the fact that, for very obvious reasons, I do not trust you. I do not trust you to have told me everything about this spell and I would be sincerely disappointed if you didn't have a trick up your sleeve. And that spell, I believe, would not protect my friends. No deal, Voldemort."

"I guess I was a little too optimistic. In that case, I will leave you for now, but first, let me say this: I was and still am completely honest with you. There is no trick to the Loyalty Spell, and if you asked, I would refrain from killing your friends unless they directly stood in my way. My offer still stands, Harry, I suggest you think about it. If you change your mind, you can find me in Little Hangleton."

With those words, Voldemort pushed Harry out of his mind. He was satisfied. His discussion went better than he believed. Maybe this would work out. It had too, he was getting desperate. Five times! Five times the boy had survived only lightly wounded at worse! If only he could turn the boy from a nuisance to an associate of some kind...

"The seeds have been planted and watered," he whispered, "All I can do now is wait and see if the tree grows."

TBC