Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, as always.

Just a quick note, all the chapters on have been repaired although I had to delete the entire story to do it, thus losing all my wonderful reviews :(. I did save them though, copied them so I do have them. I could never get rid of them. I look forward to hearing what you think and I'm sorry for the delay of this chapter. I keep my Livejournal updated with parts of the coming chapter so if you want to you can go there to read the beginning of the next part. I'll get started on the next chapter soon. Anyway, here's the story.

Chapter 24

Summer was almost at an end and it was soon time for school to begin again. Atani and Draco were more then ready to go back and see what would happen during the coming year. Voldemort had explained to Atani that he was going to send him 'visions' that he was to tell Dumbledore about. He wanted to get his son on his good side so that perhaps they could find out what the light was planning before they could act. The dark lord wasn't stupid, he knew that there was a spy in his midst as well but he didn't know who, that was also Atani's job, to find out who the spy was. He had gotten stronger over the summer, physically and emotionally. Sirius had also changed over the summer. He vowed to take care of and watch over Atani no matter what the cost; he had even gone so far as to agree to follow Voldemort. He was going to spy for him, keep an eye on Atani and help him with Dumbledore. Sirius didn't take the dark mark, knew that they would find it if he had it and then he would be back in Azkaban.

The two boys were packed and ready to go. Some people may find it odd that two teenagers were looking forward to going to school but vacation gets boring after awhile and they couldn't wait. Draco had been made a prefect that year as well, much to his father's delight.

Sirius took them to the train by himself that year, he was going to be at Hogwarts that year, Dumbledore had asked him to come and stay for the school year. Sirius had expressed his desire to stay near Atani so he could keep an eye on him, Dumbledore agreed. He saw Sirius as a means of control, Voldemort was sure of that, he was sure that he would continue to attempt to control Atani.

"Now, remember, if anything happens you are to come see me the minute it occurs." Sirius said as they got on the train.

"I know, I know. I remember and I won't forget." Atani said, rolling his eyes.

Sirius thumped his nose playfully, "Don't be a brat Harry."

He was about to tell him that his name wasn't Harry but he bit his tongue, remembering that 'Harry' was the name he had no choice but to go by until later. He hoped it would be soon, he hoped he could reveal himself as Voldemort's son and heir. He loved his father, didn't want to hide their relationship. The two Riddle's got along very well, were truly father and son. Of course they had their moments, what family didn't, but what mattered was that they were family and they were together.

"Who? Me?" He half smiled and turned around, walking into the compartment that Draco and him were sharing.

Sirius shook his head, watching him disappear in a flourish of black robes, "You are a brat Atani." Draco said with a laugh as he walked in.

He shook his head, "No, I'm not, I'm just me."

"Well, being you is being a brat." He replied.

Atani raised an eyebrow, "Alright, whatever you say." He said, rolling his eyes, "Anyway, do you have any idea what kind of things my father's going to be sending my way? He never told me, just that I wouldn't really like it and that I had to tell Dumbledore." He paused, "Asshole." He mumbled under his breath, referring to Dumbledore.

"No idea but whatever it is I hope it doesn't scare you, I don't want to be woken up in the middle of the night from you screaming or something."

"Ha, ha, very funny." He hit him on the arm playfully, "I'm not a wuss."

"Could have fooled me these past few years."

He rolled his eyes, "I was mentally scarred, what do you expect? After what those Muggles did to me, you should be happy I've recovered as well as I have. Papa spent a lot of his time helping me with this."

"I know, I know, and I'm sorry for mentioning it." He said, leaning forward and planting a soft kiss on his lips.

Atani smiled, "Alright, I forgive you."

"Good."

The rest of the train ride was in relative silence. Draco had a prefect meeting to go to at one point and Veneficus hissed every now and then, making his presence known. He had been being rather lazy as of late, just expecting to be feed and then running off on his merry way. He enjoyed his alone time but he always came back and curled up with Atani at night, preferring his body heat to anything else. The opening feast went off without a hitch; the hat had a new song, as always. After dinner Snape stopped Atani on his way out of the Great Hall.

"Professor Dumbledore desires to have a word with you." Atani blinked slightly, surprised but it wasn't unexpected.

There was something off about Snape, he wasn't sure what to think but he did know he would have to be watched carefully, "Alright." He said, going with him to the headmaster's office.

They walked in to find the headmaster at his desk, his phoenix sitting on a perch beside it. He smiled at Atani as they walked in, a warm, welcoming smile. Something had to be up for him to look like that.

"Yes professor?" Atani questioned, choosing not to sit.

"Lemon drop?" He asked, offering him a dish of little candies.

"No thank you, sir. I was curious as to know why you wanted to see me." He said calmly.

He smiled again, "I wanted to talk to you about what happened this summer."

"Oh, well, nothing unusual happened if that's what you mean." He shrugged, "It was summer, I had fun."

He was silent for a moment, "Did Lucius do anything suspicious? He is known for being a Death Eater, a follower of Voldemort. That's why I wanted to bring you to Hogwarts for the summer. I feel it would be safer here."

Atani looked at him for a moment, deep in thought, "I understand your concern but really, I'm fine. Lucius takes good care of me and Sirius is there too."

"Alright Harry, I just want you to be safe. I don't want any of my students to be in danger."

Atani inwardly snorted at his words, he had been put into danger plenty of times over the past four years and had faced it relatively alone, "Is there anything else sir?" He asked, "I'm really tired after the feast and the train ride, I'd like to go to my dorm and get some sleep."

"That's the other reason I called you here. It has been decided that you're going to be staying in the Gryffindor dorms this year."

His eyes grew wide, "What? Why? All my friends are in Slytherin! I'm not going to be staying with any Gryffindor!" He shouted, he was beyond angry, he was enraged, "I will not stay there!" He slammed his hand down on the desk. He had been taught to control his emotions but he had enough, he would not just sit by and let this happen.

Snape, who was still standing in the office, looked dumbfounded at this display. He was surprised at Atani's outburst, "Professor Dumbledore, perhaps this isn't the best idea…" He started but stopped, knowing that the headmaster wouldn't take no for an answer on this matter.

"Calm yourself Harry, no reason to get so worked up. Think of it as a change of scenery."

He shook his head, "No. I'm going to owl Lucius; we'll see what he says about this." He said, turning on his heels to go.

"Your things are already in Gryffindor tower; Minerva will show you the way. She's waiting outside to take you." Dumbledore said calmly.

Atani took a deep, calming breath, "We shall see about this…sir…" He said, his voice calm and cool, dangerous sounding.

He walked out, looking at McGonagall, "Come along Mr. Potter, I'll show you to the dorms." She said, talking him through the halls to the tower, she didn't look too happy about having a Slytherin in her tower.

Atani held his head high as he walked, he wasn't about to lower himself to the level of a Gryffindor, even if he had to go to their dorm. He spent the entire walk in silence, refusing to speak with McGonagall even though she tried to talk with him a few times. The moment she took him into the common room he knew he should have just gone down to the Slytherin dorms. His black, silver, and green robes clashed with the red and gold of the room. Not only that but every person in the common room gave him dirty looks. He sneered at them, green eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Mr. Potter will be staying with us for awhile; I want all of you to make him feel welcome." She said, looking around the room. She looked at Atani, "The dorm is up those stairs, you'll find your trunk at the foot of your bed." She said before walking out.

Atani looked around, "Well then. Let's lay down a few ground rules, the first and most important of which is, leave me alone." His voice was cool, calm and had an air of authority about it, "And now I'm going to write a letter, if anyone disturbs me they'll be hexed into the middle of next week." With that he walked up the stairs to the door.

The moment he stepped inside he let out a snort of disgust. They didn't have their own rooms, had to share one big room instead of two to one like the Slytherin's had. Pulling out parchment and quill he began to compose his letter to Lucius, Veneficus looped loosely around his neck, watching him write. He rubbed the snake's head absently as he wrote, making sure to put every little detail of what happened in his letter. When it was finished he sealed it with black and emerald wax, the two colors swirling together.

Will you take this to Drac and have him send it for me? He asked the snake, hissing softly to it.

Yes. He replied, taking it from him and slithering away, careful to make sure no one saw him.

He sighed, flopping back on the crimson and gold sheets, "Disgusting." He mumbled.

"We don't want you here Potter." Someone said from the door, "Get out."

"Well, I'm not left with much of a choice, I have to stay here. If I had my way I'd be back in the dungeons." He replied, eyes closed, not looking to see who was there, "Now, I suggest you cease speaking with me. Now I'm going to bed, if anyone wakes me up they won't be happy." He said, getting up and pulling on his night clothes before crawling into bed.

Soon after he was asleep he understood what his father meant about sending him things. Torture and blood, horrible images of death and destruction. He screamed, jolting awake. That certainly wasn't what he expected, he needed Drac, he needed the comfort he could give. He sat up, panting, body covered in a cold sweat. His head throbbed from the nightmare and it made him wonder if what he saw was true. If all those people really had just been tortured and killed. He shook his head, rubbing his temples. He had to do what his father said and speak with Dumbledore, he didn't want to but he didn't have much of a choice. Carefully he got out of bed and slipped on a black silk robe trimmed in green. Without a word he silently left the dorm, making his way toward the headmaster's office. It was after midnight and everyone was supposed to be asleep, they weren't. The headmaster and Snape were speaking in hushed tones in one of the corridors. Atani narrowed his eyes, deciding to listen to them, not wanting to be seen. He wanted to know what they were speaking of.

"I have no idea what Voldemort is planning." Snape said softly, "He seems more careful now and he's hiding something. I'll try to find out but I'm not sure I'll be able to."

Dumbledore nodded, "We need to help Harry see the light, he's pulling further and further away from us."

Atani inwardly snorted, he was never close to them to begin with, how could he pull further away? Snape nodded, "He's our only hope of defeating Voldemort." The headmaster nodded, "I don't think making him stay in Gryffindor tower put you on his good side. It more then likely is making him resent you more."

"It's for the best. He'll come out better for it."

Atani now had a good idea of who the spy was, Snape. He would inform his father in his next letter. He decided it was time to make himself known, he walked around the corner, letting them hear and see him.

"Sir?" He questioned, rubbing his head, it still ached a bit.

The two adults ceased talking when they heard him, turning to face him, "Harry? What are you doing out of bed?" Dumbledore questioned.

"There's something you should know." He paused, trying to decide how exactly he wanted to word it, "It has to do with Voldemort. I had a nightmare; a lot of people were killed tonight by him. I don't know where but I do know that they were tortured before they were killed."

"Are you sure Harry?" Snape asked, looking at him intently.

"Of course I'm sure, if I wasn't do you think I'd be talking to you?" He snapped.

Dumbledore nodded, "It's alright Harry, why don't you go back to bed and we'll talk about this in the morning." He said calmly.

His eyes narrowed slightly, "Fine." He said, turning on his heels and walking back the way he had come.