Chapter 9:

The first day was like hell. Harry had been left alone in his cell with nothing but a tray of food, which resembled nothing more than a take-out order from Mickey-de's- minus the fun toy! Harry had taken one look at the lethal looking concoction with grease bubbling out of it and blanched as white as the big fluffy cumulus clouds floating just outside his window.

He decided he'd rather stay occupied by talking to Hedwig, who would go back and forth from the outside world to his cell. After she tried to get to motherly with him, he picked up his book and settled down on his cot to read. He finished the book and contemplated it for a while as he tried to keep his mind from wandering to the subject of Mr. Malfoy. Harry actually wanted him to visit again. He wanted to talk to him about the book, or failing that, anything else just to keep himself occupied.

Instead of Mr. Malfoy, Voldemort himself came to visit Harry. It was obviously a business call since they kept to the subject of politics and two bodyguards who reminded Harry of Crabbe and Goyle lurked outside the cell and hung on every word they exchanged.

"I don't understand, Tom. Why don't you just run for Minister of Magic instead of going… Hey, you know what? The only way we're going to get the message to be is for me to have full control." Harry said as he leaned back on the cot, absentmindedly scratched his leg where the cuffs had rubbed it raw.

Malfoy had explained to Harry that the cuffs were standard procedure. The cuffs only proved to Harry that the Death Eaters did not trust him.

Harry laughed when they put the handcuffs on him and when they asked him why he was laughing, he looked though his fringe with an evil look. "Do you realize that if I wanted to kill him, I would have done so long before now. There is a lot you do not know about me." He paused for a second as if he was reading their minds, then continued. "Trust the fact that the things you are seeing in my trunk are items that I am allowing you to see."

There was a very terse silence following that announcement before Harry laughed. He waved his hand in front of Malfoy's face, "I'm not going to attack. I only laughed because you all are making me feel like a dangerous animal." He was lying through his teeth, knowing full well that he could kill Voldemort any time he wished without even using magic.

Harry snapped out of his thoughts when Voldemort answered his question. "I was young; mostly all I really knew was the rules of war. There was also the fact that they were never going to permit a half-blood to be Minister. The Wizarding world has always been very prejudiced "

Harry hummed and noticed that Voldemort's lackeys hung on every word that he said as if he were Merlin back from the grave. He scrunched up his nose and restrained himself. He knew there were tons of flaws in Voldemort's plans and he also knew, due to his visions and intuition, that Voldemort would need his help. Harry knew that this was to his advantage. He was not one of Voldemort's cronies; he was more than his equal and had damn well better be treated as such.

After Voldemort left, Harry sighed. He did not like this side of him that was starting to surface. It exposed signs of weakness in him and sometimes Harry vaguely wondered if he weren't developing a multiple personality disorder.

The second day of confinement was worse than the first. He had been used to walking around when he need to think and his cell was definitely not accommodating as far as walking around space. He trudged back and forth in the too small cell and would sometimes do something different like lie down and do pushups or crunches to get his heart going but he was limited by the cuffs on his arms and legs. Still, he was willing to try movement of any kind was good and he found himself willing to do anything to keep his mind off the cramped space he was in.

It could have been minutes or hours later, Harry wasn't sure and really didn't care anymore, that he heard the door creak open. He turned swiftly and saw the frail looking green man come into the room and shut the door. "What? No cronies today?" He asked in a sarcastic manner, not really caring if they were there or not.

"No, actually. I just lost them a minute ago. They keep flanking me because they want to. I may look frail but I can take care of myself in my own home, damn it."

Harry almost choked on spit. Tom did not normally use such sarcastic words.

"I guess I wouldn't like to be flanked by them either. Especially since their IQs are lower than a rock."

Voldemort gave a raspy laugh. "Quite right. Now, let's see, I came to ask why you are grinding an indent into my floor. Is there anything you would like to talk about today? I should like to speak of something other than politics if you don't mind. After having spent several hours discussing that subject with you already and then my other meetings today…I'm rather fatigued with the subject." He added.

Harry snorted but nevertheless began questioning him on some of the artwork he had on display at the manor. It seemed strange that the great evil git had a soft spot for painting, preferably oil paintings, and Van Gogh in particular. Harry was prepared to swear that Voldemort had the original Starry Night.

A couple of hours later there was an attentive knock on the door and Mr. Malfoy entered the cell. "Lord, you have a meeting with the Katzan now." He reminded the older man. Lucius seemed to be rather shocked that Voldemort was alone with Harry, no guards anywhere near them.

Voldemort nodded and stood up. He stretched gently to ease the cramp in his back and sighed pleasurably when it cracked. "I think I may be getting too old for this." He said as he nodded a pleasant farewell to Harry before drifting out the door.

Lucius followed him out the door. "Sir, why were you alone…"

Lucius was cut off mid-sentence by Voldemort. "Please assemble my most trusted Death Eaters. I want them to meet Mr. Potter and then I plan to brief him on his mission."

Lucius was about to protest but one look from Voldemort shut him up quickly.

"I only want my most trusted. I do not want word to leak out that Potter will be joining us quite yet."

Lucius nodded soundlessly and watched as Voldemort continued on his way. When the Dark Lord had moved to the next room, Lucius calmly turned around and went back to Harry's cell. He had a compulsion to discuss Mr. M.s book and he was sure that Harry Potter was intelligent enough to help him figure out exactly what it was about that book that bothered him…

SSS

"It is Wednesday." Harry absentmindedly said to Hedwig. "I should have never rushed through that book DAMN IT! I have nothing to do now. I need some exercise, my legs are cramping like hell." In the middle of his rant he started pacing again.

It has been two days in his confinement. Mr. Malfoy had spent some time yesterday with him and they discussed the book. Harry was oddly disconcerted that Mr. Malfoy seemed convinced that some of the principles the author discussed were fact rather than conjecture. He had actually spoken in depth about the probability of flight.

Again the guard came to his door and left "food": Another hamburger and French fries. Harry looked at it with disgust. Sure, it was a nice fryer kind of food if you actually liked hamburgers and fries. The pumpkin juice almost tempted him but he decided against it. No not because he feared poison, the fact was he truly hated processed food.

Harry wasn't sure what the Wizarding world would call him. He was not necessarily a vegetarian, he just couldn't tolerate any food that wasn't one hundred percent all natural. He never ate anything that was fried, maybe that could account for his beautiful complexion. He always thought it was strange considering he could eat a nice tuna sandwich and not get sick. Though there was a rumor that the tuna sandwich was actuary lettuce with mayonnaise.

Harry wasn't brave enough to open up the sandwich and look inside it, thank you very much. He had been well and truly put off food that was processed because that what Dudley got to eat. Duddikins had been stuffed with nice porky meat and over processed food while Harry had been given the apples after they developed spots or started to wrinkle from age. He occasionally got left over string beans, peas, or carrots. He was never given any meat while he was younger and now that he had access to it he found that any type of oily or greasy food would have him throwing up in a second.

He finally ventured back over to the window. He found it strange that there was no spell on it. He could easily jump from the window, land gracefully on the ground and easily run away. He knew all this and still remained at Riddle Manor.

He has plans, damn it. Just because he had many spilt personalities, it didn't mean that he was going to stop right in the middle of something once he had started. He was going to change the meaning of Death Eaters. And since he was getting tired of waiting here in this cell they had better let him out soon so he could get started.

Disregarding his comfort, he wanted to stay. He felt like he belonged here, regardless of whether he actually did or not. Breathing the fresh air made him feel slightly giddy as he contemplated his future. A future that was starting with the door behind him being opened by a Death Eater come to take him to Voldemort finally.

"Mr. Harry?"

Harry chuckled. It must be difficult for him not to say Potter. "Hello, Mr. Malfoy." He said without turning around. He did not want the man to see how pleased he was that he had company so he continued to pet Hedwig at that certain point behind her wings that made her coo with joy.

"Why have you not eaten?"

Harry wrinkled his nose. "I don't eat processed oily meat."

Lucius came up to him. "Why didn't you say anything? It would have saved you some effort to hold out to not eat any food at all. We thought you thought it was poisoned."

Harry chuckled. "If it were poisoned I would be able to smell it." He could not resist looking at Lucius. The wind playing in the man's hair gave him an almost irresistible charm…Harry sighed and brought his hand to his face to rub his eyes. Lucius reminded him of HIM. Harry chuckled to himself, that was definitely not a good idea.

"Harry, today you are going to see Voldemort. Are you ready?"

Harry crooked his neck to the side. "Is there anything in particular I should do?"

Lucius just smiled. "Sorry. I am not able to help you there. All I can say is there will be other Death Eaters there so try to act like a gentleman." He led Harry out of his prison cell and down a lavish hallway.

Harry felt his spirits lift. He noticed that the curtains were open for once. The sight of the grounds outside were breathtaking. He literally felt like he was smack dab in the middle of a beautiful forest. It took some doing to wrestle his thoughts back to Lucius. He knew it wouldn't do to be distracted and do something to be tripped up.

Harry was led to the same room Voldemort had been in the first day Harry had been brought to Riddle Manor. He felt the warm air from Lucius' breath ghost across his neck as the older man whispered a good luck behind him. He shivered in delicious anticipation of a different voice whispering much more whimsical things to him…

The door opened and Harry immediately felt all eyes on him. He felt slightly more than a little uncomfortable. He clothes were a little messy after wearing them for three days straight. Sure, he had been allowed to use the shower, but he hadn't had access to the rest of his wardrobe. Vanity forced him to run his hand down his robe and perform a minor cleaning spell.

It was weird to see Death Eaters with out their masks. He also recognized the fact that there were not very many of them there. It was such an odd group that he was presented to that he immediately began to panic and think, "They're going to turn on me. Aren't they? I somehow did something really wrong and now I'm going to die."

Just before he completely panicked he felt something try to soothe him although he could not identify exactly what it was. It worked though, because his train of thought regarding another betrayal stopped all together. Harry gathered up his wits and staidly but attentively went up to Voldemort, unsure of what to do.

He stood there, in front of Voldemort, and tried to seek out the answer. When no answer was forthcoming he hardened his face and waited. What he had not planned on was Voldemort screaming out.

"You should bow to me. CRUCIO!"

Voldemort really had no way of knowing that Harry was impervious to the unforgivables at this point. Tired of experiencing Voldie's bad temper since his return two years ago, Harry had managed to erect a barrier around himself. The curse bounced off the shield and disappeared into thin air like no spell had been cast in the first place.

Harry smiled cruelly and cocked his head to the side.

Voldemort though, not knowing what the boy wanted, was in total shock when he did not obey. He threw another CRUCIO at him, which also bounced off.

Harry, realizing that Voldemort was clueless here, let his shield that blocks Voldemort from his head down. He closed his eyes and smiled crookedly before sending the message, "This is not what I want." though his mind link.

Voldemort stopped his temper tantrum immediately. He realized the significance of what Harry had just done. They should not have been capable of communicating through a mind-link except that Harry had made it possible with his power. "Explain." Came out in a raspy but calm voice.

"I'm not a lackey. I'm not a Death Eater. I do not wish to become your servant. I will not bow at your feet and kiss your robes. I am here for one thing and one thing only: I'm here to see through that you do what you say. Think of me as an asset to the Death Eaters. I am equal to you." At this Harry raised his hand for silence as everyone in the room hissed angrily.

He looked around calmly before continuing. "I don't want your power. I am here to help you finish the war." Then he mind communicated, "And I am here to help you by arguing, disagreeing, and forcing you to stop acting like a child and start acting like an adult again."

Voldemort was once again shocked beyond words. He said nothing, merely managed to nod eventually. A pregnant pause built slowly in the room as Death Eaters waited in silence for their master to act. Voldemort mind communicated back, "I do not trust you yet. Still, I find myself agreeing with you. You cannot become a Death Eater because you are so much more than that. I have not yet grasped the total concept of what you mean to do, yet I recognize the fact that I need you."

Voldemort cleared his throat after giving Harry a few seconds to answer him and saw him give a nod of agreement. "Your mission then?"

Most of the people in the room gaped. They were in awe of the fact that the CRUCIO had not affected him at all. They had actually feared to the youngster who looked like a small child when he refused to bow to their master. Now their master seemed to be as confused as they were.

Harry lowered his eyes, waiting to be spoken to, as he snickered softly to himself. He knew that he was acting out of character for Harry Potter but something about this past month seemed to have brought out personality traits that even the original Harry could not appreciate. He may not like himself much at this point but he was getting the job done finally.

"Young Harry, I have two missions for you. Tomorrow you will serve your first mission. At noon you shall leave for a large town in Finland. At 13 Salirt Street, there resides a book called Grudige. You must bring me this ancient book along with its owner Do you agree to take up this task?"

Harry nodded his approval.

"Good! Vertices, show young Harry to his new room."

The old Harry would have gasped for joy at this. If he were getting his own room it must mean he had a chance. He merely inclined his head and followed Mr. Vertices. There was a second Death Eater with them but he did not acknowledge him. He was contemplating the task that had been set for him. He was also pleased that he was not going to have to kill anyone. However, Voldemort had said there would be two missions involved so Harry did not get his hopes up too high.

"This is your room. It is set to magically lock and unlock when you are in a state of undress. The wards will recognize if you are trying to keep the door locked by going about without clothes on and will adjust accordingly. When you are not in these rooms the wards will seal and your personal items will remain safe. Our Lord has cast the wards themselves and they will not fail. Enjoy." The man finished his lecture, sneered at Harry and jerked his head around to indicate he was to enter.

Harry stepped into the room and felt the tingle of magic accept him. The other Death Eater entered behind him and went to sit on the bed while Harry gazed about his new room.

It was not the most inspired room he could have wished for but it did contain a king size canopy bed with red drapes adorning the four-posters and black sheets peeped out from under a duvet pieced together in blocks of red, blue, purple and green. The room itself was a solid black and when you moved the room seemed to shimmer a wine red color. The furniture was comprised of a hard black lacquered wood; headboard, dresser, chest of drawers, a desk and chair and in the corner furthest from the window was a perch for Hedwig.

Harry opened the door that led into his bathroom and gazed in awe at the bathing pool decorated in alternating tiles of red and black marble. His sink also shimmered red and black depending on how the light hit it. His accommodations were quite acceptable.

He sighed as he reentered the room remembering that some one followed him. "Hello, Snape." Harry said recognizing the greasy hair anywhere.

"Mr. Potter. I am quite surprised to see you here." Professor Snape said as he brought his right knee up to cross his legs.

"Yes. Well, it shocked the hell out of me too. " Harry sat down next to Snape to study the man closer.

"Here this is all the information that you need. I Need to warn you that there are certain other people after the book too, not only us."

Harry flicked through the file that Snape handed him. It contained locations, times, and other assorted stuff. "How am I to get back and forth?" Harry asked curiously.

"By portkey. We cannot have you apparating. Too many ministry men pass by there."

Harry nodded.

Snape looked at the small figure beside him. "Harry, this is also your chance to leave if you want. It is a good place to disappear."

Harry sighed and flopped backwards on the bed. It bounced and made him spring back up before finally settling in the comfortable bed. "I want to stay and at the same time I want to run for my fucking life. But, there is a reason for this. I can't tell you why right now but there really is a reason."

Snape chuckled. "Does it have anything to do with a certain blond/silver haired boy who is back at Hogwarts going crazy because his lover is missing?"

Harry threw a pillow at Snape, not noticing that they were talking as if they were the best of friends instead of hated student/teacher. "NO!" He tried to hide his blush.

Snape smirked. "Just remember while you are traveling that deNile is not just a river in Egypt." He outright laughed at Harry's groan and stood up. "Have a goodnight sleep, Mr. Potter."

Harry hissed. "I no longer have the Potter last name. Do try and stop calling me that."

Snape looked a little off. "Explain!"

"All part of a lovely crafted plan that I began already. However, I am not sure I needed to do that part of the plan though." Harry said to his confusion.

Snape shook his head at the confused boy. "Whatever. I am not even going to pretend I understand." He stood up and unwrinkled his robes before exiting the room and quietly closing the door behind him.

Harry moved to the high windows and smiled. This new view from his rooms where just as beautiful as the ones from the room down the hall. He brought a hand to the window and felt the cold run from his hand straight to his spine. These windows, too, were unwarded from exiting. It was the cold weather itself that had him shivering. He walked to his trunk and decided to bring out one of the books and his knitted black blanket. He curled up in his bed and read until he silently drifted off to sleep.

SSS

Beta lurks in hallway until Snape exits Potter's new room and follows the lucky Death Eater out of the building. Just as he raises his wand to apparate she grabs him and disapparates to an igloo somewhere in Upstate Alaska.

Snape breaks free and runs for the door only to realize he has no chance of survival in the cruel weather conditions…He turns back with a lecherous look at the smirking beta. "Well, it looks like we can't get any fishing done right now. Any other ideas?"

Beta contentedly smiles and pats a large comfortable bed covered with furs. "Nothing comes to mind. Let's just get comfortable and wait for the storm to die down, yes?"

Once more I am appraising my beta here but she is scaring me…though she does have the best ideas….lol….thanks reviewer for the last chapter and thank you if you are going to review now! Don't worry guys this hurt me as much as it hurt you , im not to fond of this chapter but my super B made it better so three cheers for her!