Possession
Chapter III - The Letter
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Dear Harry,
I am pleased to see that you have received my letter. It is a sign that you are nearly ready for me, that you are nearly ready to accept the truth and to stand by my side at the pinnacle of the world...
Ah... But I sense you do not understand...
You will.
In time.
For now though I must ask you to be patient. Nothing happens at the speed either of us wishes it to occur but it is the way of the world and the reward will more than compensate for such a small sacrifice. But how can I expect you to make such a sacrifice when you do not know the truth..? And at the moment, I know you do not have a concept of what is the truth... So let me start with your training.
Dumbledore is training you. He trains your magic, carefully nurturing you so that you may achieve greatness. But it is I who am truly educating you. I have shown you the truth of the world, not the sugar coated fantasy others believe. I have shown you power and such power is yours to command, you merely need to reach out and take it. I will help you there. I will take you through the difficult times of the first few but then you will truly understand, as you have always known, that I am right. The difference between knowing and understanding is subtle but I am patient, I will lead you through such rites until you are whole.
This is a truth you already know, Harry... I have shown you this for many weeks now. You need not fear me, for I will walk by your side and I will be there until you are ready to stand alone by me.
But there is another truth that you must understand and know, that you must accept before you can accept me. It is difficult for me to relate this to you because at the time, I did not understand myself and it is only now that I am much older do I see the necessity of the actions and their purpose...
I killed your parents...
I know you know that. It was one of the first things you learnt about me. That and the reason the Wizarding World looks upon you with such awe, and expectation.
I tried to kill you too... And I nearly succeeded but for your noble Mother's sacrifice.
You know that too.
But you do not know how much I regret it.
Not for what happened to me, but for what has happened to you, Harry.
And you do not know why I came to kill you that night.
Harry James Potter...
I know your Muggle relatives think it nothing more than a nasty common name. How narrow their perceptions are... They have the whole of the Wizarding World laid out before them through you but they try to beat it out of you... But your name is central to the reason I came that night however for you to accept and understand your own name, you must also know mine.
Tom Marvolo Riddle...
Another nasty common name but one from which I have crafted greatness.
I am Lord Voldemort.
Voldemort Salamir Slytherin.
Voldemort, for that is who I am.
Salamir, for the line that bears the Slytherin inheritance.
Slytherin, for the man whose powers I wield and whose ideals I will see recognised.
And now for your name.
Harry James Potter
Harry, for you. For the man you will become.
James, for your father, who died valiantly but in vain.
Potter, for the line that bears the Gryffindor inheritance.
I know your confusion Harry but I do not lie. I felt the same when I learnt that Salamir was my true name. Within your veins flows the blood of Gryffindor and it was that which I sought to kill. I suppose I could justify it by saying that Gryffindor and Slytherin are hereditary enemies and that the Heir of one line trying to kill the other is nothing special... But that would just be denial of the truth.
I feared you Harry.
That is the truth and that is the entire reason I came to kill you.
But why should I fear a babe who was still in swaddling cloths? Especially when your blood inheritance ran through your Father's veins as well. Why should I fear the child and not the man?
Because you are not your Father and you are the one who has inherited the true Gryffindor lineage.
You do not know the truth of that lineage, not yet and it is not quite time to reveal that information. Harry, I would ask you to think though, there were Four Founders to Hogwarts and each had their own unique power.
Hufflepuff had the power to feel the Earth and to know the truth.
Ravenclaw had the power to control the spirits of the Dead.
Slytherin had the power to commune with all Serpents.
And Gryffindor had the most dangerous power of all.
It is visible through his sword and in his hat whose enchantments have not worn off even after a thousand years. But I will tell you more of his power anon... When you are ready to hear it.
His power... Your power... I felt it at your birth but I had to be sure and that's why I waited. I had to know that it was you who would wield that terrible Gift and when I got confirmation, I came for you...
I no longer fear you Harry, and not just because I have taken your blood so that I might truly live again. Things between us have changed and they have changed more than you know. I told you, we are the same. Your power is the same as mine, for as you now bear Slytherin's Power through my Curse, I bear Gryffindor's Power through your Blood.
All the easier to kill you... I can see that thought, Harry.
But I no longer desire to kill you. You bear only a part of Slytherin's Power and I bear only a part of Gryffindor's. Enough that I can see how powerful you can become, Harry, that I can see what powers you will command in time.
Let me tell you how I know you will command those powers. And this knowledge is the overriding reason I wanted you dead. After all Slytherin and Gryffindor lived in relative peace together, why couldn't their Heirs? I could not live with you because of what I foresaw...
You know I was a brilliant student. Dumbledore, I'm sure has mentioned as such. Like you I studied Divination and like your Mudblood friend, I also took multiple electives so that I would not miss learning anything. But my story revolves around Divination.
Taken seriously and when practiced by a true Seer, Divination is the most powerful magic there is. However true Seers are very rare, and their prophecies are usually so vague that they can only be interpreted after the event. Powerful wizards though, such as yourself can sometimes glimpse the future and it was in my sixth year that I saw you. By then, as I have told you, I was well into my study of the Dark Arts and I knew the visions to be true.
I had two visions.
The first one was of a green-eyed Phoenix marked by lightning fighting another Phoenix before the two ceased battle and the green-eyed Phoenix left to fight a black Basilisk. The two were equal until an ethereal white Stag with a shield made from a necklace of Lilies entered the battle and the Basilisk was driven back, horribly wounded. It retreated to its lair where smaller serpents set upon their King, turning serious wounds into fatal wounds. When the King died though, the serpents fought amongst themselves until the Phoenix and Stag appeared and killed them all.
The second one was of the green-eyed Phoenix fighting with another Phoenix where it is cruelly defeated. The green-eyed Phoenix dies but in it's burning, which the other tries to prevent, it is reborn as a Basilisk, with the mark of lightning upon its brow. The black Basilisk nurtured this young Serpent King and in time, the green-eyed Basilisk killed many of the lesser serpents before they could harm the black Basilisk who was wounded from a fight with a Phoenix. Together, the young and old Basilisk defeated the Phoenix and the lesser serpents had no choice but to submit.
Two visions... Two futures... Two futures that showed I was still dependent on others.
I recognised myself as the black Basilisk but the green-eyed Phoenix's identity eluded me for many years... That Phoenix is you Harry. And the Stag and the Lily your Father and Mother. But where do the visions diverge? The vision depends on the young Phoenix's fight with the other Phoenix. That much is simple to determine. I suspect I know the identity of the older Phoenix but since the battle has not taken place, I cannot be sure. It could also be argued that the first vision will come to pass now as your Father is now most definitely an ethereal Stag and perhaps that is true but who is the older Phoenix?
Of course, these visions could be nothing more than the hallucinations induced by a bad potion batch, or they could have been completely changed by my rebirth. But they are the visions that caused me to seek you out. I would destroy the second vision, to avoid risk of the first. And I would destroy both so that I would not be dependent on others. By killing you I would have succeeded but we both know how that night played out. I gained something then... Despite my destruction, I did gain the nullification of both visions. And if I did not, I gained the ascendency of the second. You have my Gift for Parceltongue and while you do not know it, you have my knowledge from that time.
The black Basilisk nurtured this young Serpent King.
My Gift has helped you and my knowledge has given you strength to endure. I have nurtured you through the long years where you knew nothing of truth.
Neither vision concerns me now, Harry for since my rebirth I have had a third vision.
The black Basilisk comes for the green-eyed Phoenix and the Phoenix submits to the Basilisk. The lesser serpents jealous of the Phoenix attack it. The Black Basilisk desires revenge but can do nothing and it is a fire serpent that joins itself to the young Phoenix who saves the firebird. At it's burning the young Phoenix's fire touches both the Black Basilisk and the fire serpent and it emerges from the ashes as a Basilisk with the crest of a Phoenix. The lesser serpents attack the black Basilic but the green-eyed Basilisk unleashes the darkness for the black Basilisk. Those serpents that were loyal survive and in return for the power the young Basilisk used, the older Basilisk presents the younger with many tokens of thanks...
I would go further but you are not ready, yet, to hear that.
This is the vision that will come to pass. I will make it come to pass.
Soon, I will come for you so that you may stand by my side.
You will do it willingly Harry. I do not know the true path yet but you will turn from what you have known. You will give me what I want; Harry and you will do so willingly. You will give me such pleasure...
Know that I will come for you Harry. Know that nothing will stand in my way.
You are my little one, Harry. You are my Phoenix crested Basilisk and I will come for you.
Wait for me, my little one, wait for me.
You are mine.
Lord Voldemort.
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