Possession
Chapter V - Anticipation and Dread
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Voldemort smiled indulgently as he felt Harry finally work out the true meaning of his letter. That parchment carried far more than a lumos spell but the other spells had remained inactive until the boy had picked up the letter. There had been no other way to slip the letter through the Wards.

The Dark Lord was alone at the moment, in his most private chambers. The rooms were large and were warm. Nagini was coiled on the hearth matt, made from the skin of a lion, soaking up the heat from the fire. There were two large armchairs placed before the fire with a small table, bearing fine liqueur and crystal glasses, between them. A large four-poster bed was in a dark secluded corner, its sheets silken, the same green and black that coloured the chairs and the tie backs silver. A large trunk was at the foot of the bed and on one wall two shelves of books framed a door. The final wall had one door on it, but one door that like the trunk had many locks.

The Master of this room stood near the centre gazing into a large crystal ball that hovered in the air. But this crystal ball wasn't normal. It had a definite green tinge to it and running laterally, from top to bottom was a split, like one would see in the eye of a cat, or a snake. Voldemort was staring intently into it as it focused the visions from the parchment.

He knew exactly where his prize was now, well to within a few houses. While the Wards had destroyed the tracking spell on the eagle hawk the bird had gotten close enough that he knew it was Little Whinging, Surrey. And when he went to fetch the boy, the bird would lead him right to the place. The Dark Lord shook his head as he went back to his considerations. The spells on the parchment allowed him to see Harry and allowed him to see the magic that was active. The Wards had been made that way. You couldn't see what spell had been cast from the outside but once you gained entry, it was easy enough to determine the exact spell.

The Warding itself wouldn't stand long against him, and the alarm spells would be almost pitifully easy to disarm. The Anti-Apparition Wards would take another half flip of his wand to dispel and the shielding on the house, protecting it from physical harm wouldn't require his attention. He wanted the occupants, not the house, which left the ancient spells, inherent in blood ties and any spells that were on the boy himself.

With narrowed serpentine eyes he looked back at into the ball, focusing sharply on the boy. The blood ties were there but his red eyes opened wide when he saw how weak they were. These Muggles were Harry's closest relatives and even though they had no magic, blood magic was meant to be stronger than that! When invoked it was meant to be well nigh invincible...

Harry's Mother's shield was still there... What was her name..? Lily... The shield was still around the boy and it still glowed perfectly white, to indicate her willing sacrifice, to his magical senses. And it, despite it being fourteen years since her death, was stronger than the spells that were meant to be reinforced every time Harry saw his relatives...

Voldemort smiled... This was going to be easier than he thought. He had been anticipating a struggle against that magic, and had even prepared various potions that would force the Muggles to relinquish their unknown hold on that ancient power but it looked like they wouldn't be necessary. It was almost going to be too easy.

He looked again at the shielding as he shook his head. Stupid Muggles... They must hate the boy with a passion for the shielding to be that weak. Dumbledore was a fool, to place his trust in such people. Muggles. Weak minded pathetic individuals who did not know the value of the boy placed in their care.

"Well my little one, show me what other spells you have..." The Dark Lord whispered as a mist obscured his vision for a moment. When the mists parted, he saw the world only in terms of magic.

Harry filled his vision. The boy's magic had a brilliant glow, surrounded by ancient protection spells and one... memory spell?

Now why would the boy have an active obliviate on him? One that was tied into the very warding of the house. One that you wouldn't even notice unless you possessed the level of magic only a select few ever achieved. What was it hiding?

A soft laugh escaped him and his eyes glittered with reflected mirth. This was going to be too easy!

The only other thing the Dark Lord had truly worried about was the best way to claim his prize. The boy was stubborn and strong willed. Appropriately so but annoying when seeking his compliance. Imperio didn't work and he had doubted that other lesser enchantments would have worked. Pain would have eventually compelled obedience as would blackmail but both were poor techniques and he would have noticed the boy's resentment. Potions could be used but only sparingly. Harry's natural magical levels were formidable and eventually he would have grown immune to even the most potent potions Severus could have devised. No... While the Dark Lord was willing to use potions initially, eventually the boy's willing co-operation would be necessary.

He had planned on seducing the boy. A pleasurable endeavour but one that would have taken precious time and while it was still a distinct and most likely option, whatever that obliviate spell was hiding would help immensely in convincing his pet that he was the one Harry should follow. Finding evidence of Dumbledore's duplicity was difficult and this had just fallen into his lap!

Red eyes glowed in triumph. He looked back to Harry, shifting his vision back to the corporal world. The boy was still holding the letter, staring into the distance as he considered the words on the parchment.

"It is nothing less than the truth, Harry," Voldemort said softly, purring the name. "You will give me such pleasure, my little one, such pleasure. And you will unleash the darkness that is your birthright. All for me."

Once again he saw in his mind's eye the ending of the third vision he had been graced with. The young Basilisk, upon seeing such tokens of thanks had bowed it's head to the black Basilisk, in a traditional display of ritual submission and acceptance and then the two had mated, twining together until it was uncertain where one began and the other ended.

He smiled, the other Phoenix had flown away but he had vowed to hunt it down. "If it's you, Dumbledore... If it's you, I swear you will scream for mercy before I grant you death."

Voldemort collected himself and waved his hand at the crystal after taking one last look at Harry. "Soon, my little one," he murmured by way of parting before striding from his chambers as the crystal vanished.

"WORMTAIL!" The Dark Lord called as he strode through the corridors of his fortress. "WORMTAIL!"

"Y... y... yes, My Lord?"

"Summon Lucius, McNair and Flint. I wish them here by 1800. The plan goes ahead tomorrow."

"My Lord?" the little rat questioned. All three bore their Master's Dark Mark, wouldn't it be easier for him to summon them?

"I do not wish the signal to be intercepted," Voldemort explained, reading the rat's thoughts as he fixed red eyes on his balding servant, running his tongue over his lips. Wormtail shivered as he recalled his Master's latest threat to eat him whole.

"Yes, My Lord!" Wormtail snapped and scurried away, breathing a sigh of relief when he wasn't hit by a Crucio spell. His Lord was really looking forward to capturing the Potter boy to let him get way with a slip like that!

Voldemort watched as Wormtail scampered away. Lucius, McNair and Flint would be adequate for the task but his loyal servants, the servants only he and Harry knew, would back them up unknowingly. And he would accompany them himself. "Nothing will stand in my way... Wait for me."

But first he had orders to issue and spells to prepare. The blood magic would fall before him but the obliviate may require some more work. It was nothing he couldn't handle.

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Harry gulped as his Aunt's shrill voice broke through his reverie. Lord Voldemort didn't want to kill him... He wanted something much worse...

He wanted Harry to stand beside him as his equal, to be his mate. To sleep in the same bed and to...

Harry frowned. How did two men do... it... together?

NO! He shook his head frantically. He did not want to know!

"Harry!" His Aunt called again and as he heard her footsteps on the stairs he quickly stuffed the envelope and letter under his thin pallet and ran to the door.

The sound of locks being undone forced him to give his room a quick final inspection, to make sure that nothing was out of place before he stood to attention.

Petunia stepped into the room with a sniff that clearly stated that she didn't want to be here, having to deal with him. "Go down to the kitchen, boy," she said coldly after looking over everything. His bird was still caged and everything appeared in order. The window wasn't open and a quick inspection revealed that he hadn't been attempting to pry or destroy the bars by force. While his magic gear was locked away, you could never be too careful when dealing with someone of his obvious ill breeding. "Prepare breakfast for Vernon and my dear Duddlykins. Then I'll give you your chores for today."

Harry nodded not really listening but forcing himself to look alert even as his mind slipped back to the Dark Lord's words. Petunia's orders were the same every day. "Yes, Aunt Petunia," he intoned as he slipped past her and headed downstairs. She locked the door again after he had left so that he couldn't retreat and slack off.

It was not a good day for Harry. The Dark Lord's letter and its implications weighed heavily on his mind and he was midway through cooking breakfast when the immediate tone of the letter struck him. The egg in his hand cracked and fell awkwardly into the pan and the yoke broke. Harry cursed softly. Dudley refused to eat eggs that had broken yokes and he would get the blame but it was only an instant before thoughts of the Dark Lord consumed him again.

Soon I will come for you.

Those had been the exact words. What was soon though? Harry had an uncomfortable feeling that it would be far earlier than he could ever imagine.

After the breakfast fiasco was over - Harry had survived it with a badly bruised arm and no food when Vernon had grabbed his arm, squeezing viciously as he made Harry promise not to waste any more food - he moved onto his chores.

A broken plate, a shattered glass, a sudsy flood in the laundry, followed by a burnt shirt, a chipped garden gnome, a broken spade, badly pruned rose bush, a ring barked prize azalea bush, paint splattered on the side walk, bubbling and peeling vanish on the door from when he split the brass polish on it, a shattered vase and an unrinsed and dangerously slippery shower and Petunia had finally noticed that something was on her nephews mind and had relieved him of the remainder of his chores sending him to sit in his room with a slice of bread and a glass (plastic) of water.

Harry was only thankful that Vernon hadn't been home otherwise he would have been black and blue before he was even half way done. As it was, he was dreading his Uncle's return but not as much as he was dreading Lord Voldemort's arrival.

He was only fifteen years old! Sure he had faced off against the Dark Lord in his first, second and fourth years but that had been different... First the Dark Lord had barely been alive, second it had been only a memory and fourth...

You helped the darkest Lord ever revive himself...

Harry shook his head savagely, giving half his bread to Hedwig. It didn't matter what had happened then, it had been different. The Dark Lord had wanted to kill him and now he didn't...

Now he wants me to be his mate.

Harry stared out the window, unable to get past that thought, feeling a rising sense of dread fill him.

The Dark Lord was coming for him... And that had changed everything.

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Note: Harry knows that two men can love each other but he has never thought about the practicalities of such a situation. I based this off the absolute lack of out right sexuality in the books. While some sex has been obvious, it has only been in the abstract, in that certain characters have had to have sex in order to produce children. There has only been definite mention of sex when dealing with older students and nothing, I see that has definitively related to a same sex couple and there has been no mention of a sex education program in Hogwarts. As such I don't see it as being improbable that Harry wouldn't know about how two men can make love to each other.

There is a definite reason Harry doesn't know how and besides, I thought it was cuter this way. -