~Chapter 22~ Visiting the clans – 1 March 1995

Notes: Thank you for all the reviews, I love you guys! Sorry for not updating during the week, work started up again and I have been sick in bed since Thursday evening. Hope you enjoy the update

~Harry (as Dimitri)~

Dimitri watched the interaction between Voldemort and the pack leaders as they spoke about the treaties, but he knew that there was something else going on.

So far they had visited the Goblin tribes, the Vampire clans, the Centaur herds, and they were now visiting the Werewolf packs, with plans to visit the rest of the main clans later, but strangely enough, each clan seemed oddly excited by their arrival and they were often given a tour of the clans' most sacred places where one of the clan members would gift him with something extremely rare or valuable.

He thought almost nothing of it when it happened the first time when the Goblins showed them the river of gold deep within Gringotts and gave him a pair of daggers, one set in silver with green accents and the other set in gold with red accents, even though he knew that the Goblins only gifted a wizard with a weapon on very rare occasions, but then he noticed that he'd been the only one to receive something each time and that Voldemort seemed to watch his reaction with an intensity that made it seem like he had expected it to happen.

Not that the man was very open with his emotions…quite the opposite actually…but Dimitri quickly learned to read the man's different micro-expressions over the past few months. The only question now was why.

He knew that Voldemort had started spending quite a bit of time with him (Dimitri) at one point, but he couldn't remember exactly when the shift happened from Voldemort simply tolerating his presence to the man actually wanting to spend some time with him.

Unfortunately, there could only be one reason for it and something told him that Voldemort had discovered who he was.

He walked a little further away, but still in eyesight of everyone, under the pretense of wanting to take a closer look at the waterfall that hid the entrance of the Werewolf caves. It was truly an amazing sight, but his mind was elsewhere.

"Death…"

He felt the being's presence enter his mind, but the being's amusement gave him the answer before he could even ask the question so he lowly growled in frustration, "When were you going to tell me that Voldemort knew who I was?"

The being laughed and Dimitri could feel that Death wasn't even fazed, "He hasn't worked it all out yet, don't worry. However, your bracelet did give away that you are Ghost because he used the same charms as those that are placed on the Heir and Lordship rings…"

Dimitri swore softly to himself, but he allowed himself to relax just a little as he tried to figure out what to do next. He felt a mental shove from Death, "Maybe it's time to stop running around in circles? A lot of people would kill to have a soulmate and here you are trying to find more ways to evade yours. When did you become such a coward?"

Dimitri felt himself bristle at the statement and he was about to vehemently deny it when he froze and his shoulders slumped in defeat. "You know why…"

He could feel the being shake its head, "All I know is that Voldemort took the time to notice that you haven't really left the castle grounds and he arranged this entire trip because he believed that you deserve better than a simple night out. To him, your happiness comes above all else so why can't you do the same in return?"

Dimitri was about to argue that he did have Voldemort's best interests at heart, but he felt Death shake his head once more, "You may be giving him the means to win this war, but you are also denying him that which can make both of you whole."

Dimitri couldn't deny the being's words as he glanced back and saw that Voldemort was closely watching him, "What do I do? I don't want to reveal that I am Harry until the war is finished and it would also be better to reveal once I come of age in this body."

He felt the being nudge him in Voldemort's direction as he noticed that the man was walking towards him, "Then tell him about it. Reveal that you are Ghost and explain that you cannot reveal your true identity due to several reasons yet."

Dimitri mentally nodded, feeling his heart jump into his throat as Voldemort finally reached him, he squared his shoulders, "We need to talk."

~Voldemort~

He'd noticed Dimitri becoming tenser and tenser as they visited the clans and for the first time he felt doubt in the back of his mind. There were so many things that could be wrong that he finally gave in to the worried feeling when he noticed Dimitri standing alone at the waterfall with a look of defeat on his features.

He slowly walked closer as he watched the different expressions that ran over the young man's face until he finally stopped next to the man, but instead of smiling at him and schooling his features as Dimitri usually did when he thought no one was looking, the young man turned fully towards him, "We need to talk."

The four words sent a sense of dread through his system and Voldemort suddenly wished that he hadn't walked over to Dimitri. Maybe then the man would have forgotten about whatever it was that Voldemort had done wrong and then he could find a way to make it up to his mate somehow.

Instead, he nodded and they went to say goodbye to the clan. It was already late so no one thought it strange and Voldemort once more placed a hand on both Dimitri and Barty's shoulders before apparating them back to the castle.

Barty gave him a look of encouragement before he excused himself and Voldemort found himself alone with Dimitri as his mate hesitantly sat down on the one chair he usually occupied when he visited Voldemort's study.

Voldemort forced down the need to pace the length of the office, but couldn't fight the urge to stand rather than sit as he waited for his mate to tell him what he'd done wrong and how badly he'd messed up. Dimitri frowned at him, "Why don't you sit down?"

Voldemort shook his head, "I'm fine. What's wrong?"

Dimitri raised a brow before he stood up and grabbed Voldemort's wrist before leading him to the couch and gently pushing him down to sit on it. Voldemort wanted to argue, but then Dimitri sank down onto the couch next to him and his words were lost as he became almost painfully aware of his mate's proximity.

Surely he couldn't have messed up that badly if his mate was sitting so close to him…

Dimitri was quiet for a few moments as he seemed to organize his thoughts and Voldemort took the opportunity to observe his mate once more. Something seemed to have changed as if his mate had made up his mind about something, and Voldemort just barely stopped himself from brushing the man's hair away from his face in the hope of reassuring him.

Dimitri suddenly took a deep breath and looked him straight in the eye, "How long have you known that I was Ghost?"

The question threw him for a loop, but Voldemort felt a sense of excitement build within him. Dimitri was finally admitting to being his mate! "I saw the bracelet during one of your stress-baking days. At first, I thought that Ghost had given it to you, but then I remembered the enchantments on it."

Dimitri nodded and frowned slightly, "Why did you never confront me about it?"

Voldemort gave a slight smile as he took his mate's hand in his, "Because you seem to have a good reason for hiding who you are. I was simply happy to have you close to me, although I do have one thing that bothers me though."

Dimitri cocked his head to the side in question.

Voldemort tried not to think about how innocent the gesture seemed, "You said that the whole reason for having your 'brother' visit me was because you needed to protect Harry Potter, but if you are here, then who is protecting him?"

Voldemort saw his mate's eyes widen slightly before he gave him a sheepish smile, "He is perfectly safe, I made sure of it. In fact, he told me he is having the time of his life and that he might find it very hard to go back to Hogwarts once you win the war. I think he likes the anonymity."

Voldemort squeezed his mate's hand in acceptance before he returned to the initial topic of their current conversation, "May I know why you feel the need to hide who you really are? I have tried to figure it out, but the only thing that comes to mind is that you are on the opposite side of the war, but no one can control you with the amount of power you have so it shouldn't be hard for you to just change sides…"

His mate seemed surprised at his analysis, but the sigh he released told Voldemort that his mate's situation was anything but simple, and the next words proved it.

Dimitri closed his eyes before opening them with a renewed look of determination, "It is true that I was initially on the opposite side of this war, but not by choice…and it is why I came back to fix things once I realized how deep the manipulation ran instead of just accepting things and trying to pick up the broken pieces of my life."

It took Voldemort a few moments to realize what his mate actually meant and he froze as realization hit him in the gut, "You came back in time…"