Time skip five years, Harry is now thirteen and in just a few short months he will be heading to Hogwarts. This chapter will cover meeting Harry's friends, diagon alley, parts of his training, and the night leading up to Hogwarts express. Enjoy!

Chapter 4

"Reducto!"

A blasting curse sailed towards the young teenager with blistering speed only for the boy to dodge it at the last possible second. The man throwing curses around growled, "Move Harry, you are too tense. What have I told you? Stay loose, stay focused, stay moving, stay alive."

Harry was dodging curse after curse from his father and attempting to sneak a few back at him from time to time. Unfortunately none of his curses could break his shield, but at least his accuracy was making the man do something, "Diffindo, Reducto, Stupefy!"

The Dark Lord batted all three curses away and Lucius barked from the sideline, "You used a stunner spell on the Dark Lord? Have you lost your wits boy? You can't hurt him, what are you playing at?"

Draco was sitting next to his father on the edge of his seat watching the young boy who was like his brother battle his surrogate father in a practice duel that looked like a grudge match. Harry whirled in between two curses and did a lightning quick forward roll to avoid taking another to the face. His father was now silently casting to punish the boy for his foolish decision making, and taking away Harry's only advantage. Harry quickly however disillusioned himself and ran as fast as he could in an attempt to make it behind cover. Instead of picking the boy off with a stunner his father decided that the two could play the invisible game and casted a very powerful Nox Charm, making the whole room descend into darkness. The spectators began clapping politely at their master's skill and Harry scowled quickly knowing that his impressive disillusionment would do him no good. He quickly canceled the charm and walked out into the abyss of silence. His mind scrambled for anything that might keep him in the fight when he suddenly thrust his wand out, "Periculum!"

Red sparks shot from his wand and all he saw was a dark outline standing in a corner. Then a sick orange light filled his vision and he threw up the strongest shield he could manage, "PROTEGO AEGIS!"

The solid black shield appeared before him deflecting the curse, surprising everyone in the room except for a certain Lestrange who cheered loudly at her nephew's skill; it was after all Bellatrix who taught him such powerful Black family magic. Taking the advantage of the surprise he leaped over his cover and fired off spells rapidly, some verbally, a few non-verbally, "Expulso, Diffindo, Confringo, Conjunctivus, Deprimo, Augemnti!"

The Dark Lord barely had time to raise a shield and block the first four curses, which allowed the last two combination spells at the end to catch him off guard. The wind and water spell only made the man barely stumble backwards, but for Harry it was history to finally land a successful attack on his father, even if it was a fruitless one.

Harry shot forward with ill concealed glee in an attempt to stun and bind the man believing victory was in his grap, but his father suddenly disappeared with a soft pop. The green eyed young man swore lightly and took a defensive position knowing the battle was soon to be over. He heard the soft pop come from behind him, and spun around throwing a stunner which connected with the brother wand his father possessed and displayed a stunning show of power. Harry did not last long through the connection in a battle of wills, and had no way of throwing up a shield when another spell zoomed towards him making his world go black.

When his eyes opened he was in the same room he last remembered being in with Bellatrix and Lucius looking down on him with concern and his father standing close by. Harry groaned, "Nice shot, you blasted me right off my feet."

The Dark Lord shook his head, "Lucius specifically told you not to use a stunner on me, why did you do it again?"

Harry sighed, putting his hand on his head in pain, "I thought I had you when I threw up that shield and then knocked you back."

Voldemort chuckled amusement dancing in his eyes, "It was quite the surprise, but you should've known better than to think that you would best me. Your attacking has improved, but you are still fighting in a straight line when you get put on the ropes. You must remember to fight side to side, and in circles to avoid being an easy target. I will admit your defensive abilities have increased immensely, but we must continue to evolve your battle tactics if you are to be great."

Harry shook his head, "Yes sir. What did the inner circle think Bella?"

Bellatrix laughed maniacally, "They think you were brilliant! For any thirteen-year-old to stand with the Dark Lord in a duel is more impressive than most of our slippery friends would care to admit. Of course, your father was mostly playing defense to see where your spell work was, yet it was still an impressive course of action. You did well Harry."

Lucius patted him on the shoulder looking pleased while still wearing his superiority mask, "You were throwing spells that many OWL level Hogwarts students can have trouble mastering. Your shield was the most impressive display, but you did exceptionally better than I would have hoped for. You will be able to stand in Slytherin house as a prince just as you do here. You can rule with an Iron first, I suspect by the end of your third year, you will be the strongest Wizard in the school. Perhaps even sooner if you can keep up with your training during the term."

Tom Riddle scratched his clean shaven face in deep thought, "Yes, you will be able to lead the death eater's children by example. You know your Godfather will watch out for you, but you must be weary of showing your true power to other teachers. Be the best, but don't do your best, not yet. The old fool won't be around for all seven years of your Hogwarts experience, as soon as we can get him out of the way you will have free reign in school."

Harry's smile darkened as the mentioned Headmaster was brought into the discussion. Three years ago, on Harry's tenth birthday, he was told everything. He was told how his father had come into Godric's Hollow and killed James Potter. He was told that his mother was an enemy to the Dark Lord's cause, and how she was forced into a life of no magic.

Voldemort had made it very clear to Harry that Lily Potter had a choice in November 1981. She could either be killed by the Dark Lord for her treachery to his cause, or she could surrender her wand, and return to the muggle world under a new alias. She would be allowed to work, and have a life, but there would be no allowance of contact in the Wizarding World again. It was her only option, and in return she would be able to see her son a few times a year. It was a better deal than any before her had received, and Harry knew it. His father was not known for his mercy, and the fact that Severus Snape vouched for the woman, and ensured her loyalty and compliance couldn't have been easy for either of the involved parties, but she was alive, and that was a lot more than could be said than James Potter.

Harry had come to enjoy his time with his mother, and she loved to see him perform magic. She was astounded at what he could do for his age, and Harry relished in her praise when he visited her a few times a year. The young man dreamed of a day when the country and Hogwarts had truly fallen to his fathers control, and he would be able to restore a wand to his mother. He knew she had missed magic over the last twelve years, but also never dared to even mention a possibility to his father. As long as Dumbledore was around, and the light still stood in Britain, then Lily Potter could be a threat to the Dark Lord's conquest, and that was something not even Harry would allow.

The Death Eaters that raised Harry had feared his reaction when they told him about what had happened to James Potter, but Harry understood why Voldemort had made that choice. Harry had seen the memory, and knew the Dark Lord was not completely at fault. He had offered both of his parents a chance to survive, and if the man knew no mercy then Harry would be an orphan.

Having spent the first four years of his life believing that no one loved him only to find out that he still had a mother out there, and a man that was willing to share everything with him like a father should meant the world to him. He could have been bitter with the Dark Lord for murdering his father, but it wasn't his fault that Harry's birth parents were ignorantly loyal to the lights biggest idiot. The Slytherin heir was raised to be a leader, and knew that part of being one was to make difficult decisions, and he did not fault the man who raised him for the ones he made on Halloween 1981 especially when he found out why the events unfolded the way they did.

Harry was told the prophecy in its entirety. They raided the Department of Mysteries the day Harry turned eleven. The Dark Lord knew most of the lines of the prophecy, but without knowing its entirety they were blind, and needed the answers to what the future could hold. Harry had come to understand that it said one day he might kill the man he called father, for neither could live while the other survived. The answer to this was simple. Harry swore a voluntary magical vow to never betray his father in combat. He swore his allegiance to the man so none could dare question his loyalty to the Dark Lord. After that the two wizards together destroyed the prophecy, and swore to make their own destinies.

Part of the reason the young man had become so loyal to the Dark Lord was because he knew that he had been saved from a life of torture and cruelty from his biological aunt and uncle. A cruelty his birth parents would've left him too for the sole reason of defiance.

He had been shown the reaction by his Aunt Petunia when Voldemort originally tried to kidnap him, and he was more disgusted than he could ever say by that memory. The fact that she had been willing to sell him out without a single ounce of pain being inflicted upon the woman broke his heart, and he swore vengeance upon the Dursley's that day. He was also shown all the deceit Dumbledore did to throw his birth Godfather in Azkaban. This led to another oath that one day he would break Sirius Black out and show him the right side of things. He would beg his parents' chosen Godfather to join him and the Dark Lord, and maybe he would, but if he didn't then Harry would do what must be done.

Leading up to Harry's birthday the duo found themselves with an interesting task to complete as they set about to begin their day. Today they would return to his Aunt and Uncle's house to retrieve his Hogwarts letter. Draco had already received his and intelligence inside of Hogwarts says that Harry James Potter of the #4 Privet Drive had been sent his letter and the school was waiting on an acknowledgement. Snape had even been sent by the headmaster to meet Harry because they had not heard from him, and needed to know whether he would be attending or not. Harry and the Dark Lord weren't quite sure why the old man would send Snape to retrieve him, but it definitely worked out in everyone's favor that he did.

With only a few minutes of talking done Voldemort spoke to his only son and heir, "Are you ready to go?"

Harry said nothing, but offered his father a nod. The man stopped placing a hand on his son's shoulder, "You don't have to do this. I could just send Lucius or Severus to recover the letter."

The young man sighed, and shook his head. His desire for revenge against his former guardians could not be left unanswered. When Bellatrix had given him lessons in the unforgivables it had been his hatred for his abusive relative that made his spells work, and he needed to face this particular demon so he could move on with his life, "I need to face them father. I need to make them pay for what they did to me. For what they would have done to me had I been left to live there until my Hogwarts letter came. Call it righteous vengeance or even a simple training exercise, but I need to do this."

Voldemort offered his son an approving nod, "Very well. A training exercise it is. Now take my arm I do not wish to see you splinch yourself on such a long range apparition.."

Harry grumbled, "I can barely apparate into the hoop, much less halfway across England."

His father smirked as he felt the small hand wrap through his arm and they apparated out of the manor and to #4 Privet Drive. Upon arrival Harry looked around at the cookie cutter houses and spat on the ground, "What a disgusting neighborhood, I can feel the muggles taint on these streets."

His hatred for muggles was something of a boon for the Dark Lord and his Death Eaters. They had not instilled the Pureblood Supremacy traditions in the former Potter son like they had planned to. It was unnecessary, because when Harry had been told of why his muggle relative hated him he decided to return the sentiment with ferocity. This quickly evolved into the belief that any without magic were unworthy of this world, and he would squash any muggle that stood in his way. It was this belief that caused him to wish for his mothers magic to be returned to her.. He could sense her power even after all these years, and felt that one day the woman deserved to have the gift returned to her.

While Harry had grown to hate muggles he could never quite understand why some of the Death Eaters held such a distaste for muggleborns. They were just as magical as the Death Eaters, his father, and himself. In fact he knew his mothers power was something special when he did stretch his senses to feel it. He knew she was among the most powerful witches he had ever encountered, and couldn't find it in him to care about blood status. Power didn't discriminate, and when he explained this belief to his father the man did not outwardly disagree with him. This made Harry believe that the Dark Lord may hold similar beliefs, but due to his followers' impassioned hatred towards the Muggleborn community he kept it to himself.

Voldemort nodded at his young companions words while he stared at the house before him, and instructed the boy,, "Stretch your senses Harry, do you feel the remnants of the wards?"

Harry closed his eyes and concentrated. He could hardly believe that such a mundane area could hold anything magical, but after a moment he did begin to see something faint, "I feel it father, but I don't understand. Everything I have been taught about wards should mean they have fallen by now?"

"Lucius and Severus come by twice a year to repower the wards to a minimal standard, just to keep them from falling. Snape comes six months after Lucius and they do what they can each go around. We are sure if they actually collapsed the old man would come and attempt to retrieve you which obviously isn't something we are okay with."

Harry nodded in agreement and asked as they approached the front door, "So do we just knock, or should we play with them like Auntie Bella?"

Voldemort offered the boy a slight shrug, "I will follow your lead Harry. This is your moment."

"Let's make Bella proud then." The boy said with a slight grin.

The Dark Lord shook his head fondly, and shot his hand forward causing the door to nearly explode open with power. Harry returned a sadistic grin to his father and stormed in seeing that there was a fat walrus on the couch attempting to get up and shout at them for breaking an entry, but Harry waved his hand forward, barking out, "SILENCIO!"

Feeling good about his wandless magic attempt he quickly drew his wand casting a perfect body bind on the large man, and followed it up with a light summoning charm that worked remarkably like cow tipping. A mini whale then attempted to dive behind the couch to safety, but Harry quickly whirled his wand around casting a suspension charm to stop him in midair. Harry grinned as he saw a middle-aged woman looking at him pale as a ghost, "Why Aunt Petunia it has been so many years? How are you? Having a rough day all of a sudden? Good! Now I am here in seek of a letter that may have been incorrectly addressed to Harry James Potter of the #4 Privet Drive, under the cupboard? Ah yes indeed that would be mine, would you be a dear and fetch it, my father and I have rather important business to attend to and would prefer not to be kept waiting." Harry's eyes then turned several shades darker, "And you don't want to keep us waiting, do you?"

His Aunt quickly shook her head in fear and darted towards the kitchen. Harry as he waited strode over to his uncle who was now face down on the ground. He jumped on top of the man as if he was a particularly bouncy bed speaking joyfully, "Good afternoon uncle Vernon, how is your fat ass doing on this splendid day?"

Harry heard a chuckle come from his father who was simply standing back and watching the show with sinister amusement in his eyes. Harry then bounced off his uncle who clearly wasn't in a talking mood and walked over to his cousin, "Big D! I hear you are quite the bully in this town, now I may be a lot of things, but a bully sure isn't one of them, and I sure as hell don't like them! Do you have anything to say for yourself?"

Harry wandlessly removed his silencing charm on the room and his cousin wailed, "Please don't kill me freak! I swear I am just an innocent child!"

Harry's eyes darkened at the word freak, "Freak you call me? You're a thirteen year three-hundred-pound elephant that picks on little girls and boys, and will probably grow up to be sometype of pedophile, and I am the freak? Mind your manners in front of your betters, Fractura."

Harry's curse shot into the boy's clenched fist causing the bone to break and making him scream out in pain forcing Harry to reapply his silencing charm. Suddenly Petunia ran back into the living room, throwing the letter to his feet. Harry grinned, "Thanks Aunty, you're a real lifesaver. Now don't forget to brush your teeth three times every day, or after every meal, also it would behoove you to teach your whale some manners. Because if I come back and have to deal with either of those fat pieces of shit you will be experiencing my quickly improving cruciatus curse! Oh, you don't remember that one? Too bad let me give you a fresh reminder, Crucio!"

The woman wailed in agony as he picked up the letter and skipped over towards his father, "I am ready father, these disgusting people are no longer worth our time."

With nothing else to be said, in fake happiness he skipped out the door, his father right on his heels. When they made it out they both busted into laughter, his father grinning like the Cheshire cat, "Your torture curse needs work, but it was fun to watch them squirm. What did I tell you about dark magic?"

Harry brushed off his comments, "It's all about the intent, I know, I know! I was just trying to have a little fun, I didn't want to push them into insanity like Aunty Bella likes to do, that wouldn't work for our future plans. Besides I had to let my childish side out before I head off to Hogwarts in two weeks, I know once I get there I will have to be all work and no play."

His father shook his head, "Fair enough, now write your response and let us depart."

Harry quickly jotted down some words and blew a deep whistle. Suddenly as if from nowhere a large White Falcon emerged from the skies. Hedwig was unlike any other bird Harry had ever met, it was fast, agile, and one of a kind as far as he was concerned. The Falcon landed on his shoulder and Harry stroked her beak, "Here girl, take this to Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry, be swift too my friend."

With that the bird leaped off his shoulders and then darted off into the sky at speeds that amazed Harry every day. Harry smiled at his bird as he watched her leave his line of sight then turned to his father, "We are due at the Notts house for dinner to discuss the Hogwarts staff, we must make haste father. I hate being late."

Voldemort nodded in understanding and a tinge of annoyance. On one hand he was glad his son could be so charismatic for one day he would rule by his side, and that charming nature of his would be an invaluable asset. But on the other hand, his son would rise to be a dark lord one day, and he should not care about something as trivial as being late.

When the two gentlemen apparated to the front doors of Nott manor, Theo and Draco immediately answered the door. When they saw Harry, their mischievous smiles lit up, but at second glance they noticed the Dark Lord and both bowed in respect. Theodore spoke traditionally, "My Lord, welcome to our home, dinner is ready in the dining room, just waiting for your most gracious presence."

The man so many feared gave an appreciative nod towards the young boy and immediately sought out towards the dining room, as he had many times before. Harry however reached out and threw his arms around both boys dragging them along, "What have you two bums been doing in my absence today? Anything exciting?"

Draco threw Harry's arm over his head snarling, "You know we don't ever do exciting things without you around, especially with the Inner circle death eaters crawling around, it's far too dangerous. The only thing you missed was gathering the pertinent files on the Hogwarts teachers. We've already sorted most of them out so now you just need to look over them and see what you think of the staff of Hogwarts this year."

Theodore nodded, "I have also prepared a short list as you asked for the suspected Slytherin students to join in our year. Marcus Flint has also gathered you a short roster of allies we can trust in the other houses. It's not a long list, but he also promised to introduce you to the potential in the older Slytherin house."

Harry nodded his head, "Then we better get started because we don't have all night!"

With that the boys headed off into the dining room where many of the inner circle death eaters were sitting. When Harry walked in everyone, but the Dark Lord stood. Harry marched down to where his father was sitting and held both hands in the air signaling that everyone may be seated. Draco and Theodore both took seats as close to Harry as possible, but Lucius was Voldemort's right-hand man, so this allowed Harry to take the seat on his left..

Looking across the table Harry addressed his long-time mentor that sat across the table with respect, "Good evening Godfather is all well?"

The silence in the room was palpable as Regulus gave a smirk, "Things will be well when I see you, Theo, and Draco in classes next Monday, it will be nice to see some real talent come through my old house. It will be refreshing to say the least."

Harry returned his trademarked grin to a man he looked up to since he was a very small boy. The Dark Lord then cleared his throat looking to one of his long-time followers, "Severus perhaps you could inform us on what the 1993 staff of Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry will be like, no?"

Severus nodded, "Of course my Lord. Albus Dumbledore will be remaining as headmaster this year, we still of course retained Flitwick, McGonigal, Pomfrey, Hooch, Pince, Sprout, and the half giant Hagrid will be moving up to the care of magical creatures a few years earlier than expected, Professor Plank was killed in a rather unfortunate accident with thestrals just off the Hogwarts grounds."

Walden McNair, one of Harry's least favorite death eaters, snorted, causing Voldemort to look up and glare at the man for his interruption. McNair immediately put his eyes down to the floor in shame as Snape continued, "Augustus is fitting in splendidly with the rest of the staff, though I am sure many are just glad to see Binns out of the castle. I am not sure how you did it my Lord, but the headmaster never suspected Rookwood in the slightest. I believe it could be due to him being an Unspeakable, but I cannot say for certain. Of course, Regulus is upholding his position well in the Defense against the Dark Arts position, and Quirrell has now returned to teach Astronomy. Which leaves the long-standing professor Babbling and Vector for Runes and Arithmancy. With Rookwood, Black, Quirrell, and myself you hold 4 positions on the Hogwarts staff and the headmaster doesn't suspect any of them except Black. We also hold the majority on the board of governors, which will play to our favor in the future."

Voldemort clapped his hands together, "That is excellent news Severus, excellent."

Harry asked, "What about the new crop of students, how many are there?"

"Between forty and sixty, I cannot say for sure, I did not sit there and count them in the headmaster's office, but I would say more likely between forty five and fifty five for a more likely window."

"Slytherins?"

"I would say we have a rather large bunch this year. Parkinson's only daughter will be joining this year." Draco visibly flinched at that, causing Harry to nearly spit out his drink, "You both know Crabbe and Goyles sons will be joining you, unfortunately they are all too much like their fathers, so you won't get much talent out of either of them." Many of the death eaters around the table laughed at the potions professor's monolog, "A young girl named Millicent, I don't believe her parents are amongst our ranks, but I am aware that they are sympathetic to our cause. The Bulstrodes have also been in Slytherin for many generations so I am sure she will be one of us. A Zabini is coming through the ranks, I know his mother from school, she was a very cunning young lady, if her son is anything like her I assure you he will be a valuable asset to your cause, Harry."

At that point a death eater from down the table chimed in, "My youngest daughter Traveyn will be attending school this year. She is wicked sharp, she will undoubtedly be in Slytherin with you lads."

Harry recognized this man as Antonin Dolohov. Snape then nodded, "Then with you three and a few surprises that happen every year I say we will have over a dozen Slytherin students this year, not a bad number considering the war that has been taking place."

Harry knew the intended meaning. The war was no longer being fought in the streets, it hadn't been since Harry was brought home. His father was biding his time, gaining hundreds upon hundreds of followers, preparing for a final blitz. It was only a matter of time before all of England fell to his father's control.

With the topic of Hogwarts closing most of the conversations shifted more towards intelligence on enemy movements. This is where Harry lost what was left of his interest and swapped to sports talk with his friends quietly on the end. The food was served by the house elfs after the meeting was over, and before Harry knew it the final evening before school was over. The next day he would begin his journey and conquest of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

(A/N) Next Chapter is the Hogwarts Express and the sorting. Review!

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