The shadow of a doubt
When he had gotten his full powers back, Voldemort had immediately started to assemble his followers and grow his forces. His priority was to kill Harry Potter, but when the boy had managed to escape the graveyard, he had changed his plan to transform this defeat into an advantage. He would never appear weak in front of anyone. He had sworn to himself while forging his first Horcrux, that the World would now fear him or be destroyed. He would get the respect he deserved, and he would stop at nothing.
His Fall had served him right. It had allowed him to rise again from the dead, appearing now like a god. And the best part was that no one was believing the little brat who had flown away like the coward he was. How delightful it was to hear Lucius tell him about the miserable life Potter was having at Hogwarts between the Ministry, who had chosen to ignore him, the Prophet, who was relentlessly mocking him, and the other students, who were now treating him like a freak.
He had used Harry Potter to reborn, thanks to his blood, he would use him again to get the clue he was lacking to destroy the boy once and for all. The plan was going well. Everyday, Potter was getting weaker and, apparently, there was a connection that allowed him to use his Legilimency even though the boy was "safe" at Hogwarts. Another tool to weaken his sworn enemy. Another tool to turn Potter's mind against himself and lead him eventually to the clue.
But slowly, hiding in the shadow, something had risen unbeknownst to Voldemort. Potter had managed to close his mind. And before Voldemort had found a way to overcome the boy's new ability, he had escaped Hogwarts. It had been a complete shock for everyone, Voldemort included. It had thrown him into a fit of rage.
After spending a month looking for him everywhere, wasting some of his best and most resourceful henchmen, he had to face the fact that the boy had escaped him again. And this double defeat was undermining him in front of his Death Eaters. He was supposed to be the one leading them against the Ministry and give them back their position of leaders in the Wizarding World. He was supposed to be the powerful wizard who would defeat even the great Albus Dumbledore and destroy every hope among their opponents. But he couldn't catch a little boy. How embarrassing…
However, the worst was yet to come. When his most faithful, and maybe powerful, servant had been found lost in her own garden, they first had thought she had been attacked by Aurors. But there was an alerting detail that only Voldemort truly understood. She hadn't been brought in a cell or killed. She had been obliviated. And when his Death Eaters found Potter not far away from the Lestrange Manor, near the broken Cup of Hufflepuff, a strange feeling he had almost forgotten started to rise within him.
All those events where dancing in his mind making the World around him spin. Upon receiving the news, he had sent everyone away threatening to torture and kill anyone who would disobey him.
Harry Potter knew about his secret. Harry Potter was hunting him down. Him! Lord Voldemort! How was this possible?! When had the role reversed? Why hadn't see it coming?
The boy had used and obliviated Bellatrix to get to the Cup. Why the Obliviate? He couldn't know… could he? And if he did, how did Potter managed to get one of the most secret information about him. Panic was spreading in his system, blurring everything around him.
How did it come to this?
He tried to calm his frantic breath. The boy knew about the Horcruxes. How many had he managed to destroy? He looked around him anxiously.
'Nagini,' he called with a strangled hiss.
The snake slid towards her master and meandered around his ankles.
'Stay near me, Nagini,' whispered Voldemort.
The snake hissed to reassure her master, but she could feel something was not right. Nagini tightened her coils against her Voldemort's leg. May he rest assured, she would never leave his side.
Voldemort took one final breath. All his questions were pointless. Only one truth remained, he didn't have any time to lose. There were many things he had wished to accomplish before the decision he was about to take, but he knew he had appeared weak one time too many. He feared his servants, those pathetic excuses for wizards and witches, were now questioning his legitimacy.
He would have none of this. He summoned the Dark Mark. If Potter wanted a confrontation, he would give him war. A crude, cruel, ruthless war.
The Death Eaters entered the room warily. When the Dark Lord was angry, everything could happen. But as they heard his orders, they first didn't believe their ears. So, it was finally happening? If they had arrived with a nervous sensation, they left it with a renewed fervour. They were going to march on Hogwarts. Before the end of the year, they would crush everything that ever stood between them and their goal. The domination of the Wizarding World. The return of the pure blood supremacy.
Voldemort watched them leave with a burning gaze. They all had their tasks and Voldemort knew that they would all blindly obey. He smiled viciously remembering how Dumbledore used to encourage students to ask about the purpose of their essays. To be curious about why things were the way they were. With this kind of mentality you couldn't go anywhere. You were wasting a considerable amount of time explaining and debating with pointless people. With power, there was no question to be asked. Only action. His eyes sparkled in the darkness of the room. Because of this, Dumbledore would lose.
In the following days, he triggered all his alliances. The army wasn't as massive as he had wished it to be, but from what he had gathered, it would be enough. The Aurors were too busy chasing a fifteen-years-old boy, and even if Dumbledore would be there, it wouldn't be enough to defend the school. As for the teachers and students who would foolishly stay with the false hope of saving Hogwarts, they would all perish in the worst manner as possible. Voldemort would see to it.
But even if he was confident, something was nagging him. He couldn't stop from thinking about Potter obliviating Bellatrix. The servant he had called once "his Bella". His heart clenched a bit thinking about those old times. He remembered that one night where they had almost chosen to escape the intricacy of the Wizarding World to travel the real world. His desire of revenge had been so far away from him that night. Like a foreign feeling he didn't want to know anymore. For a moment, he hadn't sought power but something else. Something rather odd.
He spat on the ground and every furniture that had been standing around him exploded immediately. His wrath was again pumping through his veins. How did the boy managed to get to him like that? Why those vile and stupid memories he had worked so hard to bury deep down inside him were resurfacing now? He was so angry he wanted to destroy everything around him and kill anyone he would encounter.
'Easy,' hissed Nagini softly. 'Easy now, master. What is it?'
'Nothing,' replied Voldemort with a raging hissing sound. He forced himself to breath. 'Just a memory, it's nothing.'
He lowered his hand to pat the snake. He couldn't remember when he had started to talk to Nagini about his worries. But he couldn't deny the snake always knew the right words to use to calm him and help him stay focused.
'Is this the one about the Lestrange witch?' Asked gently the snake.
'Yes,' replied Voldemort with a softer voice. 'This Potter boy really managed to get to me. I can't allow this.'
'Because it makes you sad, isn't it?'
'Because it makes me weak!' Spat the Dark Lord.
'And mad,' mocked the snake.
'I am not mad because of this! I am mad because I don't understand why he obliviated her. I am mad because I don't know if he did it on purpose. It's impossible! There is no way he could have known!'
'Then he simply doesn't know,' said Nagini with a soothing hiss. 'Don't let this distract you.'
'You're right,' replied Voldemort while taking another deep breath. 'We have work to do.'
He had tried to sound as confident as possible, but the memory didn't want to leave him alone. Therefore, he simply pushed it away, drowning it under his thirst for revenge and violence. He would make Harry Potter pay for his audacity. He would make him pay as his life was no more than an insult to the true Wizarding World.
