Voldemort looked up at the impressive structure. Shadow Keep, where the vampire council had sent him, was very small for a castle. Despite its small size, Voldemort liked the foreboding aesthetic that the structure offered.
The solid black stonework, combined with the towering battlements, made one shiver with dread just looking at it. The castle, more aptly called a fortress, was only large enough to house forty or fifty people, but the defenses looked able to repel small armies. The ancient wards added their powerful magic to the keep's defense, and made the building seem nearly impenetrable.
Voldemort decided that, once the vampires had served their purpose, he would kill the occupants of the fortress and take it for his own. After all, vampires, despite their usefulness, were just animals. They didn't deserve such a magnificent structure.
Blitz was practicing tactics in his main hall with three vampires trying, unsuccessfully, to subdue him when the warning chime echoed through the spacious rafters. Blitz stopped his practice and got ready to meet his guest. He had two witches in his service, and they had told him about his prospective visitor, but he wanted to see for himself if the wizard was as bad as he had been told.
Blitz made a habit of keeping people who didn't know him off balance. When Voldemort was escorted in, the throne that he usually sat in was empty. Blitz was holding a wand, and was busy levitating a tapestry into place. Voldemort, having never seen a lightning-child, would assume that Blitz was a servant. Blitz could tell a lot about a man by the way he treated other people's servants.
If Blitz was expecting Voldemort to be courteous to a servant, he was to be disappointed. "Crucio!" was the first word out of his visitor's mouth. Blitz hadn't expected that. The initial rush of pain told him that the wizard was powerful, and took his breath away before he could begin to drink it in. The spell was canceled quickly, apparently just meant to get his attention. "Slave! I've come for an audience with your master! Fetch him quickly. I, Lord Voldemort, do not like to be kept waiting."
"I'm sorry sir," Blitz said, not turning to face the wizard, "but the master will not be available for a few more minutes. He is currently dealing with a very important matter, and was not expecting your arrival until later this evening. If you had given us more warning, perhaps the master would be ready for you."
"You're very impudent for a servant." Voldemort growled. "Perhaps I should do your master a favor, and punish you for him." Voldemort raised his wand, and Blitz finally turned to look at him. Whatever spell Voldemort had been preparing to cast died on his lips as he stared at the emerald green eyes of the boy he thought he had killed eighteen years earlier.
"I do apologize for my rudeness, but the master prefers to punish his servants himself." Blitz said. He noticed the look of horrified disbelief on the face of his guest, but couldn't, for the life of him, figure out why it would be there.
"Potter?" Voldemort choked out. "I killed you! You're supposed to be dead!"
Blitz had no idea who Potter was. "I'm sorry. I believe you have me confused with someone else. I have never met anyone named Potter before, and I've certainly never been killed before. I would remember something like that."
Voldemort realized what must have happened. The boy had survived the attack, but was picked up by the Vampires, trained to be nothing more than a servant. "This is glorious! Harry Potter, savior of the wizarding world, is nothing more than a common servant! I can simply not wait to meet your master, Potter. I must congratulate him personally."
Blitz suddenly had heard enough. It was bad enough that the man had no manners. It was terrible form to gloat over someone else's misfortune. It was time to get down to business. His posture changed subtly, switching from that of a passive servant to a stance more at home on a predator ready to pounce on unsuspecting prey. "Very well, then let's begin." Voldemort started slightly at the change in Blitz's attitude. "Voldemort, allow me to introduce myself. I am Blitz Moonshadow, leader of the Shadow stalkers. The council of elders informs me that you wish to do business with me."
Voldemort had the sudden sinking feeling that he had made a terrible error. "You can't be Blitz Moonshadow! You're human!"
"Perhaps I am human." Blitz allowed. If the man didn't understand what a lightning-child was, it wasn't his problem. It also meant that Blitz had a distinct advantage, in that the wizard would not expect him to be almost immune to spells. "Nevertheless, I am Blitz Moonshadow, and I speak for the Shadow Stalkers. If you have business to discuss, then let's discuss it; otherwise, you may leave."
Voldemort wasn't sure how Harry Potter had come to lead the most elite group of assassins in the magical world, but could see that the boy was being truthful. Thinking about it, Voldemort got measurably happier. Obviously, since the boy had no idea who he really was, he had been insulated from the wizarding world for his entire life. "Very well, let us begin our negotiations. In recent years, laws regulating what kinds of magic can be done have been passed. Creatures, such as vampires, are being persecuted; their rights and voices stripped away at an alarming rate." It was always a good idea to make it personal. People were easier to persuade when they thought things would affect them directly. "I aim to change all that. I want to make sure that all people have a voice in the government. Unfortunately, the current government is too insular to even consider my proposals. That is why I need your help. I need certain members of the government to be eliminated, so I can replace them with my own people, but I can't allow wizards to be blamed for it. The repercussions would be severe if the deaths were linked to my associates in any way."
"In other words," Blitz said flatly, "not only do you need assassins, but you need scapegoats as well. Blaming their deaths on Vampires would lessen the repercussions on you, but it would bring unwanted attention on my people. So far, this plan of yours isn't selling itself very well."
"The people to be eliminated are in the positions of department heads; places important to getting laws passed." Voldemort said, trying to salvage his slip of the tongue. He hadn't expected the boy to consider the negative implications of his proposal so quickly. The boy was sharper than he'd given him credit for. "With them out of the way, I can place my own people in their positions, and reverse the laws they have passed against your kind."
Blitz smiled sarcastically. "My kind? You seem to be laboring under the illusion that Vampires are somehow inferior to you; less than human, even. You probably regard us as little more than animals; not the best attitude to have when dealing with us. If you put people who share your beliefs in places of influence, how will that improve our situation?" In truth, the situation wasn't nearly as dire as Voldemort was making it out to be. The Vampire Nation had its own government; the council of elders made the laws, and it was not answerable to the wizard government. Blitz had never noticed any ties between the council and the Ministry of Magic. Still, Voldemort didn't seem to understand that vampires were outside the scope of wizarding law. Beyond the rogue vampires, the clan-less ones, wizards were scarcely aware of the existence of the Vampire Nation. "Wizarding racism always amazes me. I suppose next you'll be telling me that pureblooded wizards are superior to muggle-born ones."
Voldemort had not come to debate semantics with an animal. The boy was trying to have a philosophical discussion, but was dancing around Voldemort's proposal. Voldemort was done selling his idea on merit. It was time to wave money under his nose. The Shadow Stalkers were mercenaries, after all. They worked for money, not ideals. "I have a list of fourteen targets. I will pay you one-hundred thousand Galleons per head. That's one million, four-hundred thousand Galleons. Do we have a deal?"
Blitz changed the subject; he wasn't done talking yet. "When the council told me that a man named Voldemort was coming to see me, I thought they were joking." Blitz took a seat in his throne, finally. "My witches told me about you, about how evil and powerful you are. I have a question for you. Why would a man of such great power, a man who inspires so much fear, choose such a cowardly name?"
Voldemort's eyes glittered with repressed rage. He was not accustomed to such disrespect, but he needed the assassins. "What?" he hissed.
"I am fluent in six languages, Voldemort. Your name may be frightening here in Britain, but in France you would be laughed at. Translate the name into any Romance language, and the base words make a very strong statement. Vol de mort: Flies from death. For one so eager to dispense final judgment, it would be bad form to choose the name Voldemort. In order to take life, you must understand and accept death. The name Voldemort shows, for the entire world to see, that you are afraid to die."
"I fear nothing, Potter." Voldemort had his wand up, once again pointing at Blitz. "If you aren't interested in helping me, even for the large amount of money I will be paying, perhaps I'll just kill you. Perhaps the rest of your assassins will be more responsive to my offer."
"You fear nothing…" Blitz tested the words in his mouth, and decided that the man was lying. "Everyone is afraid of something. If death is what you fear, then it's nothing to be ashamed of." Blitz made a show of considering something. "I shall give you the benefit of the doubt, however. Let's test whether or not you fear death, shall we? It will be a simple test, just to see if you are lying. I can't deal in good faith with a liar."
"I am in no mood for games, Potter." Voldemort growled, raising his wand. "Avada Kedavra!"
Blitz's eyes widened at the use of that particular spell. Keeping his ability to drink the power of the spell secret, since Voldemort obviously had no idea what it meant to be a lightning-child, Blitz ducked out of his chair, dodging the spell by a narrow margin. "You would use that spell?" Blitz whispered, mortified. "You would rip the soul from its body, destroying any chance of a peaceful rest in the afterlife?"
"I am the Dark Lord Voldemort." Voldemort hissed, displaying his full power. "I do as I please, and no one can stop me. You will either accept my offer, or I will kill you."
Blitz was angered by the wizard's lack of respect for the soul. "Let's see if you truly are afraid of death." He said, standing up. "Kira! Katusha! Show him to the exit. Make sure he gets there quickly."
Voldemort leveled his wand once more, prepared to cast the killing curse, but something jumped into the path of his wand. Voldemort's ideas of killing the Potter boy were suddenly replaced with ideas of how fast he could run to get away from the boy's guardians.
Kira and Katusha, the pair of Nundu that Blitz had called, snarled at the wizard, and charged. Voldemort turned tail and ran from the hall. 'Just as I thought,' Blitz thought to himself, 'he's terrified by the thought of his own death. If he wasn't so worried about saving his own life, he would realize that I had told my pets not to kill him. I wonder who this Potter person is.'
Blitz had new questions for his witches. He wandered off to find them.
Voldemort escaped the massive cats by a small margin, and congratulated himself on surviving two Nundu. After all, it took almost a hundred wizards to subdue just one.
An outsider would know immediately that the wizard had a superiority complex. The Nundu had been instructed to show him to the exit, not kill him. If they had been told to kill, he probably would not have made it out of the castle.
But those thoughts didn't occur to Voldemort; he just convinced himself that he was too powerful to be killed by any magical beasts.
Voldemort called for his Death Eaters. For the moment, he didn't have the Vampires on his side. He would force them into an alliance before long, but the Potter boy had too much influence on their society at the moment, despite being a human.
Once again, an outsider would marvel at Voldemort's perceived superiority. He had somehow convinced himself that there was nothing special about Blitz Moonshadow, even though the boy was the leader of an elite assassin squad at the tender age of nineteen.
"My faithful Death Eaters," Voldemort addressed his followers once they had arrived, "tonight has been a disappointing night, but not without its revelations."
"My lord?" Bellatrix LeStrange asked tentatively. She was normally a very confident woman, but something about the Dark Lord made her nervous. "Did the vampires respond favorably?"
"No Bellatrix, they did not." Voldemort said. "The vampire council was unmoved by my request. They believe that any alliance they would form with me would only last as long as they were still useful." Voldemort laughed; a high-pitched, evil sound. "They are correct, of course, but I was not expecting the animals to realize my plan for them so quickly. I asked them if I would be allowed to approach the Shadow Stalkers, and they agreed to allow the leader, a Blitz Moonshadow, to hear my request, and possibly take the job offer I had."
"So," Lucius Malfoy said, his voice as oily as ever, "the vampire assassins will take care of our esteemed department heads, and we can put our agents in their place."
"Crucio!" Voldemort hit Lucius with a Cruciatus curse. "I will speak, Lucius. Afterward, you may babble if you wish. Do not interrupt me."
Voldemort ended the curse. Lucius scrambled to his knees. "Apologies, my Lord. It will not happen again."
"See that it doesn't." Voldemort hissed. "Blitz Moonshadow was receptive of my proposal, but was offended by the way I treated his servant." Voldemort saw no reason to tell them that he had poisoned the offer from the start by cursing Blitz Moonshadow himself. "He refused my offer."
Avery smirked. "I'm sure my Lord persuaded him to reconsider. No one refuses the Dark Lord!"
"Avery." Voldemort shifted his focus to the short wizard. "Open your mouth again, and I will persuade you to keep it shut." Avery blanched, and shrank away from his master. "Blitz Moonshadow and I, as it turns out, have something of a history together. Eighteen years ago, I murdered the Potters at Godric's Hollow. The Potter boy somehow survived the spell that I thought had killed him; the same spell that destroyed my body. The vampires appear to have adopted him, and have named him Blitz Moonshadow."
"But master," Wormtail whined, "surely he can't be the leader of the Shadow Stalkers! He is just a child!"
Voldemort became fed up with the interruptions. Flicking his wand, he forced Wormtail into his rat form, and banished him towards Nagini, his snake. The little rat squeaked, and began to scamper away from the snake, who gave chase. The giant snake was obviously thinking that it was dinner time.
"The next one to interrupt me will wish for my killing curse." Voldemort growled. "Harry Potter doesn't know who he is, or his history. He doesn't know that I killed his parents, or that I tried to kill him. He was simply offended that I had treated his servant poorly. I tried to convince him that I meant no harm, but he set both of his Nundu on me." The assembled death eaters gasped. As powerful as they considered themselves, they knew that Nundu were not good creatures to be chased by. "I showed him a courtesy; I didn't kill either of his Nundu. They will recover." He had barely escaped with his life, but his death eaters didn't know that, and it made him seem more powerful to his servants.
A delusional personality like the dark lord's was dangerous to couple with a superiority complex. By the next morning, he would have himself convinced that he had allowed the Nundu to live.
The dark lord sat down, and stopped speaking. Bellatrix LeStrange approached him cautiously. "What are my Lord's wishes?"
"Severus." The greasy-haired death eater approached, bowing. "Tell the old fool what you have learned here today." Voldemort laughed. "He will no doubt try to convince his Order that the Potter boy was kidnapped, and they will try to rescue him. An attack on the Vampire Nation might turn the blood-suckers to our side. Perhaps they will even approach me!"
"My Lord is clever." Severus said. "I shall tell the fool tonight. He will, no doubt, want a full report on whatever we discussed in this meeting anyway. He is always eager to know what my lord is interested in."
"The rest of you," Voldemort said, "I want to know why it was reported that Harry Potter was dead. He's not a vampire; he's still a wizard. His blood is still warm, so why was he thought to be dead? Find out for me. Also, find out how he survived; I need to know the specifics of his survival so that I may rectify my mistake."
The news that Harry Potter was still alive was of some concern to Severus Snape. When the boy had survived the killing curse, throwing the dark lord from his body, Snape had decided to switch sides in the hope of saving his neck. He was already playing double-agent; he just had to give Dumbledore a bit more information than before. With his information, the Order of the Phoenix had helped arrest more than half of Voldemort's inner circle, and Snape himself was granted amnesty.
Thirteen years later, when the blood of Cedric Diggory was used to restore Voldemort's body, Snape was convinced that the dark lord would eventually win, and had switched sides again. With inside information on Dumbledore's strategies, Voldemort was able to make sure that his forces always had the upper hand. The next four years were a study in how perfectly the power of the dark lord could spread.
With the news that the boy was still alive, Snape was once again forced to consider what to do. If the boy could convince everyone that he was dead, yet remain alive, what did that mean? Obviously, the vampires had hidden the boy; he had been "killed" when he was too young to even speak. Complicated spells and wards would have been beyond any sort of comprehension the boy might have had. But, if the vampires had raised him and put him in a leadership position, young as he still was, what did that mean? Was he the next Dumbledore? Was he being trained to supplant Voldemort as the next Dark Lord?
Snape didn't know. He would have to continue as he was for the moment, and wait for more information. If the boy was powerful, he might be able to destroy the dark lord. If he was powerful enough to kill the dark lord, perhaps Snape could help the Potter boy; the vampires could save him from either side. He had to think carefully.
With his neck on the line, Severus Snape headed for Grimmauld Place. He had a job to do, and, until he figured out what to do about the boy, he had to do it.
A/N: Ok, I know I'm supposed to be trying to finish "Fourth Power," or even adding a chapter or two to "Draconus," but this story has taken over all of my thoughts. I'm gonna put some serious effort into this one, and see if I can get all ten chapters posted In a relatively short time period. Maybe I can even have it finished by October or November. It might be nice to finish one, for a change. Let me know what you think of this chapter, and nobody state the obvious, please. Harry might have killed Voldemort in this chapter, but that would make the rest of my story kind of pointless.