~Chapter 30~ Die trying – 31 July 1995

Chapter Summary: The Dark Lord introduces Dimitri to the rest of the Death Eaters...what could go wrong?

~Voldemort~

Voldemort watched as Narcissa and Lucius gave orders for the final touches to be put into place for the party. He knew that many people probably assumed that the party was to celebrate their victory over the light and that it was meant to both celebrate his return and to mock the fact that no one had seen Harry Potter in quite a while.

Many probably assumed that Voldemort had killed him, which made his creature growl at the thought and he made a note to mention that Harry Potter was still under his protection. It would work if he explained that the younger man had asked his help to get away from Dumbledore and he could easily reveal that they were both a part of the Peverell family and that the family had certain magicks in place to stop the heirs from killing each other. He could even use it to explain why he'd been unable to kill Harry Potter when he was a baby and also why he was able to come back. The Peverells were known necromancers after all.

He didn't like explaining himself and his actions, but it would ensure that Dimitri would be safe once he revealed himself as Harry Potter, and anyone that still had a problem with it would simply have to die, no matter who they were.

After about two hours the guests finally started arriving and he wasn't surprised to see a few Ministry officials that had managed to infiltrate the party as well. He knew they'd catch on sooner or later and if he'd still been insane he would've made examples of them. Not anymore though.

He walked directly toward two of them and he felt them stiffen as they sensed his familiar power even as they visibly stopped themselves from drawing their wands. He gave them a nod in greeting before motioning towards one of the rooms to the side of the ballroom.

They looked at each other before warily following him and Voldemort took note of Rabastan and Rodolphus following them to stand guard at the door. He turned towards them and made a show of crossing his arms instead of keeping his hands at the sides. It made them relax their stance a little as Amelia Bones stepped forward, "What have you done with Harry Potter?"

Voldemort almost wanted to roll his eyes at the lack of manners and the direct attack, but he restrained himself, "I have not done anything to him. He contacted me of his own volition once he found out what Dumbledore was doing and we made a truce. He cannot kill me any more than I can kill him."

He didn't expect his words to have much of an impact. They probably wanted their child soldier back. But the effect that his words caused was the exact opposite as he watched the witch and wizard's shoulders sag slightly in relief.

Kingsley Shacklebolt stepped forward slightly, "You took him away from…?"

The man seemed to struggle to find the words and it took a few seconds for Voldemort to realize that they were referring to the muggles whose location Dimitri still didn't want to reveal to him. He tilted his head slightly, "No, he managed to save himself, but…you don't happen to know the location of…?"

His question was cut off as the doors opened and Dimitri entered the room with Nagini draped around him. There was a suspicious bulge around her middle and Voldemort rolled his eyes fondly as she gave him a pleased snakey grin. Dimitri was really spoiling her a little too much.

Dimitri froze as he noticed the other two people in the room, though Voldemort was surprised when he gave them a genuine yet sad smile as he held out his hand in greeting, "Sorry for barging in like this, I'm Dimitri Peverell."

He shook their hands and listened to their introductions then turned to Voldemort with a soft smile, "Nagini seemed like she was looking for you…"

Voldemort didn't buy the innocent smile for even a second. His mate had probably sensed his intentions of finding the Dursleys and rushed in to keep him from finding out where they lived. Not that Voldemort was going to give up on finding out though.

He nodded and Dimitri handed Nagini over before leaving the room with a pointed glance in his direction. Voldemort gave a fond huff and carefully kept his thoughts on the night's coming events as he slipped the two ministry officials a short note. He then turned and left the room, not really surprised when a whisper of magic made a weight fall into his pocket before he left the room. If there was one thing that Amelia abhorred, it was child abuse.

He made it to the front of the room before familiar magic made the package disappear from his pocket and Dimitri gave an exasperated sigh from his right before he spoke under his breath, "I told you, I handled it."

Voldemort decided to leave it at that for now, though they both knew that he wouldn't leave it at that.

~Dimitri~

He didn't know whether he should feel irritated or happy that Voldemort wasn't willing to just forget his past. Honestly, it wasn't as if he'd ever see the Dursleys again.

He glanced around the ballroom, but couldn't see Barty anywhere, instead he spotted Severus, Sirius, and Salazar standing to the side of the room. Many witches and wizards seemed to want to get close to the three men, but they were easily redirected as Salazar's eyes flashed with power. The people didn't even realize that they were forcefully being redirected as they simply moved on to the next person.

Dimitri smiled and walked over to the three men, only for someone to stumble into him with a muffled apology before disappearing through the crowds once more. He saw Severus frowning at the retreating woman before he turned his eyes to Dimitri and nodded in greeting, but a troubled frown still covered his face.

Dimitri shrugged, but then became distracted as Voldemort took the stage before motioning him onto the stage as well. He frowned at the man, but Voldemort merely rose a brow in question before Dimitri sighed in resignation and made his way to the stage. Voldemort knew how much he hated being placed in the spotlight!

The lower ranked Death Eaters all gasped as they waited for the Dark Lord to punish Dimitri, but the Elite and Inner circles merely shook their heads slightly in amusement.

His mate sent him a wave of reassurance and purpose and Dimitri calmed ever so slightly as he stood a little behind Voldemort so that he would at least be able to block out the view of half of the crowds as Voldemort started speaking.

"I welcome all of you to this gathering tonight. For many years you have been hiding in the shadows, an outcast due to the affinity of your magic, labeled as dark and evil…but who do we blame?"

Calls of 'the light side' rang out from most sides and the ministry officials paled slightly, but Voldemort lifted his hand for silence and shook his head, causing confused murmurs to ring out amongst the crowds.

"I can promise you my followers that the so-called 'light', isn't to blame. How can it be when it would only keep us within the same cycle of 'light against dark'? For many years we've fought against each other, and both sides have lost many a dear friend, father, mother, husband, or wife…and in some cases, even a child, so how can we be so different? No, it is time that we set aside these labels and unite under a single title…that of magic."

Dimitri frowned as spots started dancing in front of his eyes and he felt slightly lightheaded, but he willed himself to stay standing. He couldn't think of anything that would cause such a reaction unless...

His eyes widened slightly as he remembered the slight sting he'd felt when the other person…a woman he reminded himself…had bumped into him. He shook his head slightly, not knowing that Voldemort had noticed the movement. Maybe he'd watched too many spy movies with Hermione.

He relaxed even as an itch started to spread throughout his body. With Selene's bite and the Fawkes' tears, his body would work through the poison soon enough. He turned his attention back to Voldemort's speech as his mate lightly pulled him against him, "Most of my most trusted had met Dimitri Peverell already, but for those of you who do not know, he is my soulmate and my equal."

Gasps echoed around the chamber as the people tried their best to take a look at him and Dimitri managed to give them a slight bow of his head in greeting. He stubbornly ignored the burning in his body as Death's voice entered his mind, but he struggled to make out what the entity was saying. His eyes were open, but he couldn't see anymore as the spots grew and he finally realized that something was wrong. He needed to warn Voldemort.

Suddenly his legs gave out from underneath him and he frowned at the numbness he felt all over his body. He tried to move, to hear, to see, to do anything that might allow him to figure out what was going on, but then it hit him.

The body he'd entered into in this world wasn't the same one that had basilisk venom and phoenix tears running through its veins, meaning that his current body held no defense against the poison. His eyes closed and he knew no more.

~Voldemort~

Voldemort internally frowned as he saw Dimitri shake his head slightly and the bond gave a warning shudder between them. Something wasn't right.

He turned back towards the crowd, intent on quickly finishing his speech and then taking Dimitri back to his rooms. His creature growled at some unknown threat and Voldemort cut out most of his speech by introducing Dimitri as his soulmate, as someone that needed to be protected, but before he could say anything else, Dimitri collapsed, and he just barely had time to catch his mate before he hit the ground.

His creature roared at the sudden threat and his magic flared angrily around the room, blocking off all means of escape as he crouched protectively over his mate. The terrified Death Eaters and ministry officials huddled close together in the face of his fury and it was only Severus' action of pushing a lone, yet bound, figure forward into his path that kept him from killing most of the people in the room.

The figure seemed to be that of a young woman from one of the lesser branches of the Greengrass family and he absently noted the crazed glint in her eyes. Severus spoke furiously even as he pushed her down onto her knees and spelled her to stay there as he rushed to Dimitri's side to try and heal him, "She bumped into Dimitri earlier before rushing off, no one else came near him."

Salazar and Sirius weren't far behind and Voldemort made space for the three men as he stood and advanced upon the kneeled figure. His creature seemed to sense that his mate was in good hands so it easily shifted its attention to dealing with the threat instead. Though the woman didn't seem to realize the danger she was in.

She started struggling and rambling almost incoherently as soon as she saw that his attention was on her. Her words were mostly gibberish, at least to those whose hearing wasn't creature-enhanced, "My Lord, I found him! I found Harry Potter! He deceived you, I heard him speaking Parseltongue in the kitchens! He can't be your mate, he isn't worthy! I saved you, my-my Lord?"

Voldemort absently noted the cold presence to his side as Death finally made an appearance, and the entity seemed to be almost as livid as he was. "Take her life, and I will take her soul. I will make her suffer until the end of time itself." Frost and decay mixed with Voldemort's shadows and as they approached the now-shivering woman, it finally seemed to dawn on her…she was going to die.

(A/N: I tried to make this chapter longer but I have a lot of other work to finish up tonight and this week with the hols coming up in two weeks. Can't wait until I can finally just chill and write all day! Fun fact, tik tok vids on star signs are hilarious to watch when you need a bit of a laugh. I found out that I might be the most uncharacteristic Leo ever! How else would you explain an introverted Leo that wants to hide away from the world in their cozy little house surrounded by music, manga, anime, fanfics, and books? Oh and of course a pc or laptop to write and play games on!)