When Harry got off of the lift he was greet by a very dark corridor stretching for what seemed like miles. He suddenly felt very small and afraid, the dark feeling heavy and oppressive. But you see, Harry was raised by four Gryffindors- two how were brash and very prone to mischief. So with all of his training in bravery he pulled up his metaphorical breeches and marched straight on into the dark.

Ignoring the small yelp when a torch suddenly came to life, he thought he was doing splendidly.

One foot after the other Harry stepped into the hallway. Every couple of feet he walked a torch would light on one of the walls. When he was a couple feet past the last one, it would turn off. So the entire time he could only see about a four-foot circle in front and behind him. The lights cast eerie yellow lighting onto the walls and the sides of his face.

As he walked father into the hallway he started to come upon sporadically placed doors and passageways. There was no rhyme or reason to how the doors were placed and the numbers placed on the doors weren't sequential.

The first door he passed had a plaque to the side of the handle with the number 12 written[AJ1] . The one right after had number 152. And now, the latest number he passed was labeled 89.

However, for an eight year old this wasn't the most pressing issue. He was more curious about the rooms themselves. Specifically what was inside of them.

He couldn't, in good conscience, let his father and dogfather down by doing them the injustice of not exploring, now could he? And really, he held back from opening all the previous doors.

If I wasn't supposed to be here someone would have stopped me by now. Harry thought to himself. He decided that the next passageway or door he came upon would be the one he explored.

So, as he promised himself, the next door he came upon he tried to upon. The key word being tried. It was to be expected, this was supposedly someone's office after all. But he was a kid, and kids were stubborn. As such he tried to open every single door from then on.

But all of them were locked. Every. Single. One.

Harry quickly became frustrated as all of his attempts at relieving his curiosity were crushed. Instead of the cautious steps he had been taking, now he was angrily stomping from door to door, trying to find one that was open. Just as he was about to give up he found something.

Apparently he had reached the end of the hall and now before him was a grand door. It was blanketed by an archway that skyrocketed over his small frame. Up, up, up he looked until he could see the top. But from this angle the words at the top were all blurry.

Finally, Harry thought, something interesting.

He walked up to the door and the torches on either side lit, illuminating the door. The wood of the door looked polished and shiny, a deep mahogany that stood in contrast to all the drab grey brick surrounding the rest of level 9. There were two intricate handles adoring the doors, begging to be used. So gently Harry reached out a hand and rested it on the door handle before giving a gentle tug.

And was promptly met with resistance.

He quickly brought up his other hand and started pulling with all his might. He dug his feet into the carpet and pulled and pulled and pulled until the carpet started to slide under his feet. Yet the doors weren't budging. He swiftly brought his hands down and heaved a frustrated huff.

"You stupid door, why won't you open?!" He yelled as he gave the door a solid kick.

To his surprise the door clicked open. Apparently the door was one that you pushed to open. Instantly he went pink in embarrassment, even though nobody was around to see his blunder.

Quickly Harry walked inside and gently closed the door after him, before spinning around to see the room. The room was a giant circle with a big dome top that reached seemingly to the sky. At the top, the dome came to a point and was entirely made out of glass. He had no idea how that worked, seeing as they were below ground. But, the moon was full and high in the sky giving the room a nice soft glow. Bringing his eye down to the bottom, he saw doors spaced evenly throughout the room. He talked allowed as he counted each one.

"One…three…five…twelve!"

With that done, Harry decided it was time to walk around the room and look at each door.

He started on the left and the first door he came upon was the 'Love Chamber'. With a grimace of disgust he quickly moved on. Up next was the The 'Time Chamber' and then the 'Space Chamber' which sounded fun; but he felt like he was being pulled across the room by some force.

Ever since he entered the room he kept stealing glances at the door farthest to the right. At first he planned to just ignore the strange tugging that was happening. But, the more he waited and looked around the more intense the tug became. Eventually, he gave up the fight and crossed the room, completely skipping the other doors.

The closer he got, the more unsure his steps became until he was practically shuffling the last couple of feet. Finally, he reached the door and turned his sight to the plaque resting above. It read 'Death Chamber[AJ2] .'

Harry felt a shiver go down his spine. It was ominous, the way he was drawn to this chamber out of all the others. Perhaps there was something inside that was calling him. He sat there staring at the door for a minute, his entire body lax.

And then once again, Harry's curiosity reared its ugly head and put a story in motion.

He raised his right arm from where it was hanging down by his side, slowly bringing it up to rest lightly on the door handle. Then he let his hand drop firmly down onto it. He paused here and took a deep breath to prepare himself and calm down. After a couple of deep breaths he pushed on the door.

Except that it was a pull door.

Huffing at the audacity of the people that installed the doors in the Ministry, he pulled the door open and walked inside.

He was immediately met with an ice cold blast of air right to his face. He crossed his arms and started rubbing to conserve some heat. He had a feeling that nothing would abate this chill however. Harry thought it might be from the giant archway taking up the middle of the room.

Nothing else in the room could distract Harry from the archway. It was towering and made completely out of stone. It wasn't smooth, decorated or polished. Even without it being anything fancy, it gave off a strong magical presence and the sheer size of it alone was daunting enough.

The chamber was, once again, a giant round room. The arch was settled in the middle on a giant platform that made it look even bigger than it was. There were a set of steps leading up to it, making it seem more inviting than it was.

For a young child like Harry, the distance from the door to the arch felt like a million miles. And to be honest, the arch was starting to creep Harry out. He could an oppressive weight settling over his shoulders, making him hunch into himself, and he was sure it was because of the arch. And yet, he still took his first hesitant step toward it. One foot after the other, he started to make his way over to the arch. His steps slowly grew more confident as he realized there was no booby-traps or monsters hiding around. Soon he was at the platform were the arch was set upon.

Gathering his courage, he put his foot on the step and started to climb. He counted as he did so, to calm his nerves.

"One, two, three, four, five…" Harry's mumbled counting was the only noise he could hear in the room. Until he reached the arch that is. As soon as Harry was within a couple feet of it he could hear it. It sounded like a cacophony of voices whispering, each trying to be heard over the other, fighting to win. But, he couldn't distinguish one voice from the other.

Trying to block out the whispering, he started to study the arch. If he thought it was big before, it was gargantuan now. His neck was fully stretched out as he tried to see the top. He walked around it, looking at it from all angles, his curiosity at its peak.

"Why is there an archway in the middle of a room?" He whispered to himself.

As Harry looked closer he saw that something was moving between the two pillars. It was like a thick fog waving back and forth, confined to just the arch. Smokey wisps would escape ever now and again, before being brutally yanked back into its pseudo-jail cell.

And then he heard it. Once voice speaking over all the others.

"Harry," the voice whispered.

The suddenness of it made Harry stop in the middle of his tracks. His shoulders grew taunt and sweat startled to build on the back of his neck. He was going to push it aside as a figment of his imagination until the voice called his name again.

"Harry."

That's all the voice was saying, nothing else but his name. And Harry didn't think it was a coincidence. He made a full circle until he was standing in what he presumed was the front of the arch. Then squinting his eyes, he leaned forward until his nose was almost brushing the smoke and peered into it. He waited and searched for a minute, before he decided that he was just hearing things and started to back away.

"Harry," the voice spoke once more.

As Harry stared un-blinkingly into the smoke, a figure started to form. Or what he assumed was a figure. All he could really make out was a boney hand materializing and reaching out, pressing itself up against to wall of smoke.

As if in a trance, Harry raised his arm up took a tiny shuffle forward. He splayed his fingers out to match the hand on the other side. Then steadily brought his hand closer, until he was about to pass through into the fog and join the other. A voice cut through the silence and broke his trance. Startled, Harry lost his balance and fell on his butt, his hands supporting his weight from the back.

"You have many excuses, do not give me another." The voice was belonged to that of an older man. Smooth and confident, like one of the politicians his Dad always griped about.

"You were too keep and safeguard this item with your life. And yet here I am fixing your mistakes and retrieving an object that is worth more than your life that you so carelessly let be taken."

"I am sorry my lord, it will not happen again." Harry knew this second voice, but he couldn't remember from where.

"See to it that it doesn't." Here the first voice grew a harsh edge, "your punishment can wait until after the ball. Come to my manner directly after."

Harry could hear a quick inhale before the second voice replied, his voice hitching ever so slightly on their words.

"Of course, my lord."

The voices sounded like they came to a stop right outside of the Death Chamber now. Harry quickly scrambled to his feet, trying to make as little noise as possible. His mother would kill him if he was caught sneaking around the ministry. And from the sound of the conversation, Harry knew he didn't want to meet these two.

"Bones is closing in too close to our operations. She has already obtained information she should never had the opportunity to. That was your first blunder. Not stopping her before she could pass it on." The first voice was still even, despite his harsh words. "Information that could potentially harm me, stolen from you."

Before the other man could defend himself, the first barreled on.

Here, Harry could hear the man's voice grow tight with restrained anger. "Tonight we find the diary and destroy any of the information they might have obtained from it. Any more blunders, and your life will be forfeit. Understood?"

"Yes, my lord."

"And Bones?"

"She'll be dealt with shortly, My Lord."

"Good, now-" the voice abruptly cut off. "Abraxas, why is the door open?"

The first voice commanded the second, who Harry now knew was named Abraxas. Where had he heard that name before? But wait-what door are they talking about? It sounds like they are still right outside of the Death Chamber and the only door there was the entrance-

"Shit," Harry cried under his breath as he ran his hands through his hair and tugged harshly. He would surely get his mouth washed out for that, but he felt that was the only appropriate word for this situation.

He snapped his head to the left and to the right, looking for hiding place that he could get to in time. Except there was nothing. Absolutely nothing but this stupid archway!

Who has an entire room for an archway?! His panicked mind screeched. Curse his stupid Potter luck! As he was debating what to do, biting his thumb as he thought, he heard the two men speak again.

"Abraxas, wand ready." Snapped the leader of the two.

"Ready, sir." The door slowly started to creak open before it was flung open and Harry immediately had two wands pointing at him. So he did the only thing he could think of.

He charged with a battle cry.

Of course, maybe not his smartest move, he'll admit. However it startled the men enough to pause before firing any spells. Well, one of them anyways. The one with dark hair fired off a non-verbal spell and it stroke Harry dead on. He froze mid-sprint and couldn't move his body after.

"…a child?"

"Potter?"

Both of the men spoke in tandem.

Now that he was close enough and could see their faces he wanted to hit himself. Of course the only ones pompous enough to name their child something like Abraxas would be a Malfoy. And he had met the man before at functions, but always referred to him as Lord Malfoy. The other man, however, Harry had never met.

He was tall, exceedingly so, towering over Malfoy by a couple inches. Now Harry wasn't good with guessing heights, but he would say definitely over six-foot. The man's hair was perfectly coifed with a lone curl resting on his forehead. His face was distinctly handsome, sharp cheekbones and a strong jaw making him look chiseled. However, it was his eyes that were the most striking. A deep brown that, when he tilted his head and the moonlight reflected off his eyes, looked almost burgundy. Harry could have sworn they flashed red at some point, but that was probably his mind playing tricks. Overall this man was handsome.

Like one of the villains from a story his Mom would read him.

He was a child after all, and no matter how handsome somebody was, at his age somebody in a dark room with glowing red eyes? Yep, definitely a villain in Harry's book.

As he was examining the two men they were whispering harshly to themselves.

"Abraxas, who is the boy?"

"He is the Potter scion, the only heir to the Potter line and godson of the Black Lord, Sirius, My Lord."

"I'll deal with the boy while you find the book. Find room 89 and get the diary back. My entail says that's where it's being kept."

"My Lord, what about the other item[AJ3] , the-"

"Not now, we'll have to come back later. The diary is the most important right now. Now go!"

. He really wished he had been paying attention so he could hear what they were saying. Harry watched as the Malfoy lord slipped back out the door and shut it behind. As the door closed behind Malfoy, his eyes were once more drawn to the only other person in the room. His green eyes immediately clashed brown. He watched as the man walked-no stalked- over to his frozen form, wand now held down to his side. The man scrutinized him from head to toe and apparently found him not-threatening, as he released the spell with a causal flick of his wand.

Now they were standing five feet from each other, one tense and ready to bolt, the other languid and clam.

"Hello Heir Potter," the voice of the other caused Harry to start, too caught up in the one-sided staring contest, "I am Tom Riddle, a pleasure to make your acquaintance. May I inquire as to why a young boy such as yourself, is unaccompanied down in the Department of Mysteries?"

Here Harrys cheeks once again blazed red as embarrassment at being caught red-handed took over.

"How do you know my name?" Harry instead replied.

"I do believe I asked my question first. It is only polite to answer my question before I answer yours." Harry scrunched up his nose in frustration before acquiescing.

"I got bored at the party," was his short reply.

"Ah, I see. You're going to be a Gryffindor no doubt, with that amount of curiosity and brashness. However, I must say traipsing through the DoM is not the safest area to state your boredom. You never know what lurks down in the dark," Harry does not think he was seeing it this time when Riddles' eyes flashed bright red on the last sentence.

Still, Harry was not one to back down.

"I could ask the same of you," Harry starts. "What are two men doing down in here during the middle of a Ministry ball? Perhaps up to no good? Wouldn't it be terrible if somehow it slipped that two men were sneaking around the Ministry while it was unguarded?"

"My, my, my what a very Slytherin thing to say. And what would people say if they heard that a little boy was wondering the halls of the Ministry, in places they should not be?" Harry gained an affronted look at the Slytherin comment, but continued on.

He put on his best scared look and brought tiny tears to his eyes by pinching his leg harshly.

"But, I couldn't find my Mommy or Daddy! I didn't mean to, really, I promise! I just panicked and got lost looking for them. Im so-" cue hiccup "sorry!" Harry made sure to wring his hands to seem nervous, along with darting his eyes back and forth from the ground to Riddle.

Tom Riddle let his mouth curl upwards in a small smirk. He could admit that Potter's little act was quite good.

Before their conversation could continue, Malfoy opened the door and slipped back in. Harry noticed that he now carried a little black book in one hand. Malfoy walked over to Riddle and whispered in his ear before handing the book over. Riddle flipped through the pages before opening his dress robes and stuffing it in a hidden pocket. Then he looked back at Harry.

"As much as I've enjoyed our little chat, I believe it's time to say goodbye."

With a move so quick Harry could barely see anything, Riddle pulled out his wand and uttered a spell.

"Obliviate."

Harry was standing in the elevator, waiting for the doors to open. He has a pounding headache and felt like he hit his head against a wall or something. He just wanted to go home and go to sleep at this point. As the doors opened to the atrium floor Harry quickly pushed through them before they could even finish opening. And promptly ran right into his Godfather.

"Prongslet! Where have you been? This is the second time I've lost you tonight! You're going to give this old man a heart attack. And don't even get me started on what your Mother would do if she found out!" Sirius cut off his worried rant when he noticed tiny arms squeezing the life out of him and a head full of wild black hair shoved tightly into his stomach.

Bending down to be on level with Harry, he settled one hand in the unruly hair and the other cupped his cheek. Sirius stared into watery green eye filled with pain and felt his heart clench a little.

"Whats wrong, pup?" Sirius asked softly.

"My head hurts so bad Padfot." Harry whined as tears started to pull and overspill.

Sirius swiftly picked Harry up and pushed his head into his shoulder, wrapping one arm around his back. He felt little arms wrap around his neck and feet around his waist in a death grip.

"Let's go find your parents, okay?"

As they were walking away into the crowd Harry lifted his head off of his Godfathers shoulder as he felt a chill go down his spine.

He looked across the room, right by where the elevators were closing, and watched as Lord Malfoy and another man stepped off. His eyes clashed with the unknown man and he felt a sharp sting at the back of his head that made him wince. The man smirked slowly and sent a wink Harry's way before turning around and disappearing into the crowd.

Harry soon after fell asleep on the Sirius's shoulder, in too much pain to really think about anything too deeply.

Harry woke up feeling confused. He didn't remember crawling into his bed or changing clothes before falling asleep last night. But then his head gave a sharp stab of pain and he remembers falling asleep in Sirius's arms last night.

His parents must have taken him home and put him to bed. He must have been really exhausted if he didn't even wake up when they floo traveled.

So, after putting on some fuzzy bunny slippers and slipping on his glasses, he stumbled his was downstairs. As he got closer he smelt the glorious scent of eggs and bacon. He quickened his pace and raced to the bottom, his stomach ravenous.

As he walked into the kitchen he was greet to the sight of his mother sitting at the table, sipping tea and reading the newspaper. His father was over the stove, trying to cook pancakes and ultimately failing. Even from where Harry stood it looked like goo.

His mother picked her head up and smiled warmly at him before opening her arms for a hug. He walked over and gave her a light hug before taking the chair beside her.

"How are you feeling, my star?"

"I'm okay, Mom. My head just hurts a little bit still."

"Well let's eat and then get you back into bed." She said right as his Dad put a plate of food in front of him. The eggs and bacon looked delicious, but the pancakes looked wonky. Still he gave his Dad a grin and said thank you before digging in.

"Maybe if you're feeling up to it later, we could fly on our brooms and play a quick game?" His dad said as he sat down with a plate of his own.

Before Harry could answer, however, the floo lit up and Sirius' face popped up.

"James!" Sirius said urgently.

His dad was up and over at the floo in a second.

"What is it Sirius? What got you so serious all of the sudden?"

Harry knew it was bad when his godfather didn't even crack a grin at the pun.

"It's Amelia Bones." Here Harry could hear his godfather choke before he cleared his throat and carried on.

"She's been found dead in her home."