Finally, here's another part of the story...
The Memory of a Dark Lord
Part Four
Tom stood, in Snape's usual fashion, in the corner of the room, arms crossed and watched the Order of the Flaming Bird squabble like chickens over how they were to find the supposed mole in their operation. More than a few thought the idea of a traitor was just Snape trying to sow dissent amongst them for his real master.
He had to ruthlessly suppress the smirk that threatened to slip through his occlumency barriers. After all, they were a hundred percent right.
"Are you absolutely sure your Death Eater buddies cannot find Harry where you are keeping him, Snape?" asked Bill Weasley. "Shouldn't we help guard this place?"
"And if one of the guards is the spy?" Tom asked, eyebrow raised questioningly. "What then?"
"Severus is right," Dumbledore nodded. "Until we find the one leaking information to Tom, Harry best stay with Severus."
Tom wondered silently what exactly Severus had done to gain such blind trust with the Headmaster. He made a mental note to ask at a later time.
"Severus, what is Voldemort's reaction to this?"
Tom smirked. "The Dark Lord made no comment to the rumor you were questioning your own people with Veritaserum. Lucius on the other hand was in a panic and called for the Dark Lord early. Going by Lucius' appearance, The Dark Lord didn't appreciate being interrupted, whatever he was doing away from the Manor. He only told me to report any findings on your part. To me, its seems as if the identity of his spy is VERY secure."
"He would be, wouldn't he?" sneered Bill. "Professor Dumbledore trusts YOU beyond any doubt!"
"I guess you will just have to wait and see, won't you? If the boy shows up on September first or not."
"Boys ,boys, calm down. We are all friends here," Dumbledore urged.
"How is he doing, Severus?" asked Molly Weasley.
"He is not starving. He is not worked until he collapses. He is not locked up in a cupboard for days on end with only a bucket for a bathroom…"
"Severus!" Tom was cautioned by the Headmaster.
Tom sighed and continued. "He has a large bedroom suite, with his own bath, three full meals a day and access to his broom and wand, he is allowed to do his homework and may move freely around the property; all things he was not allowed at his Dear Family's house. Going by how said Family treated him, it is a miracle the boy hasn't defected a long time ago." Tom held in his smirk.
"Harry would NEVER!" Molly screamed outraged.
The Headmaster once again had to quiet the room and admonished Tom. "Now, Severus, do try to not antagonize your allies unduly." he looked at Tom with his patented "I'm disappointed in you" look.
Tom crossed his arms again and leaned back against the wall. "Very well, Headmaster," he nodded.
The rest of the meeting was as boring as a lecture by Binns. He finally understood why the Order meetings irked Severus so much. Nothing was ever 'done' or 'decided', all they did was squabble.
Not even the threat of a spy amongst them seemed to get them to actually DO something about it. As long as 'Harry' was safe, nothing else seemed to matter. It would have been absolutely maddening had he actually been on their side of things.
When it was time to leave, several of the women in the Order hasted to give him several packages for 'Harry' that had been returned to them on his birthday. Molly even foisted a large cake onto him. He shrank and pocketed them without comment before he made to leave. He couldn't wait to get back to his two bonded in Greece, they were training their new bride that afternoon.
Tom made his way to the exit in Severus' usual billowing manner when he found himself grabbed by two pairs of arms and pulled into the parlour.
"We know you're not Snape!" one growled.
"What are you playing at, Harry?" one of them growled, pointing in his face with a finger.
"I am not Potter," Tom sneered. "Unhand me this minute!"
"Good try, Harrikins, you got the voice and the sneer down perfectly..."
"...but you see, we have this handy little map we recreated."
"It tells us everyone's full and real name. It's our responsibility to make sure no one comes polyjuiced or disguised in any manner into this house."
"And you're not Snape, You're Harry James Potter."
The two of them now unhanded him and stood in front of him with crossed arms. "We're waiting," they chorused.
Tom groaned and pressed his fingers to the bridge of his considerable nose to try and stave off the headache he had already fought at the meeting. This was not part of his plan to spy on the Order.
Tom sighed theatrically. "Snape did this to me. You know he hates these bloody meetings, right? So, since I'm staying at his place this summer, he decided I could bloody go to these meetings myself, since I'm always pestering everyone about attending or finding out what they talk about." He chuckled, something that always sounded weird as Severus. "So, he had me drink this potion and suddenly I'm Snape. And, it's not bloody polyjuice. It's been three bloody days by now and I'm still bloody Snape. He said if I blow my disguise, he wouldn't turn me back. Then he goes and disappears himself at a Death Eater meeting two days ago. Now I don't know what to do."
The twins stared at him. "He pranked you!"
"He pranked you good!"
"I bloody know, okay?" He hissed. Inside he was making faces at the twins, they were the ones being pranked.
"And then you pranked the whole order. They have no idea you're not Snape, do they?"
He smirked. "Completely clueless, the whole bunch. Now that I've been to a meeting, I'm seriously doubting we have the shadow of a chance at defeating..." he almost said Dark Lord, but that wasn't Potter's way was it?" "...Voldemort. No wonder they're pinning it all on me."
"Maybe you should start your own group? Even if we're all young we can't do much worse than the Order. They were already failing back in 1981 when you came along, weren't they? "
"Would you be part of my organisation? Swear loyalty to me and everything?" he asked, wondering how serious they were.
He gaped in utter surprise when the both of them went down on their knees. "We, George and Fred Weasley do hereby swear eternal loyalty to you, Harry James Potter. We swear to always support you, protect you, fight for you and keep your secrets; for the rest of our lives; or as long as you will have us. So mote it be."
"So mote it be," Tom replied. The magic took, even with only one part of his identity in the oath.
When they stood, he was no longer Snape, he was Tom Riddle. He crossed his arms and studied their confused faces. "Do you have any idea what you just did, you young fools?" he sneered. "You swore loyalty to the Dark Lord."
"But...the map never lies," one of them tried.
"No, it does not. But neither does it tell the whole truth. I was indeed Harry Potter, but things changed on my birthday. I am also Tom Riddle, the Dark Lord reborn as Harry Potter." he got no further before he heard voices down the hall. He quickly returned to his Severus Snape visage and told the boys to get back on their knees for the moment.
Their mother entered the room and was faced by the peculiar sight of having her troublemakers on their knees in front of the Potions Master.
"What is going on here? Snape, what have they done for you to make them kneel before you?"
Tom smirked. "I have made them my Apprentices. They wished to learn from me to further their business. I agreed as long as they became my official Apprentices."
Molly gasped and turned towards the boys. "What have you done!" she exclaimed in panic staring at the boys next. "A sworn Apprentice is little more than a slave to their Master. He'll ruin you!"
"I will not!" Tom protested. Purposefully misunderstanding her meaning he continued: "When they take their Masteries in three years, I swear to you Molly, they will be the wealthiest troublemakers in Britain, or Europe even."
"I'm not talking about bloody Money! What about their souls? You're Dark, you'll TAINT them!"
Tom looked at the boys and snorted. "Molly, Molly, they're not tainted, they're as Dark as you get already. Have you been in their workshop? Have you seen their secret stash of Dark tomes, filched from this very house?"
"You're a disgrace! A stain on the Weasley name! Don't you dare show your face here or at the Burrow until you're free from this...this...Dark Wizard's control!"
The boys gaped at their mother and their new Master's masterly manipulation of her. They'd been played, and they knew it.
"She turned towards who she thought was Snape. "You may be a member of the Order, but I'm telling on you to the Headmaster."
"I may take up to four apprentices at a time, it's in my contract with the school. As long as they are of age, he cannot interfere. Just because I've never taken one before doesn't mean I can't at all, Mrs. Weasley. Besides, do you really think he will object to them when they are in the Order as well? No conflict of interest." He turned towards the twins and gestured towards the exit. "I believe it's time for us to leave."
"I don't understand why you're so angry, Mum. We'll be Potions Masters," one twin said sadly to his mum.
"We thought you'd be proud of us. There's been centuries since we had a Master in the family."
She squirmed. "Did it have to be a Dark Master?"
"Mum, Dumbledore trusts him. He keeps telling us every time the order doubts Master Snape."
"Your father will decide. I'll tell him tonight."
They didn't get any of her hugs when they followed Tom out onto the porch. He handed them a slip of paper with the secret. They had after all sworn to keep his secrets.
The Dark Lord's Lair can be located at
#15 Bougainvillea Court Alley,
Olde Town, Rhodes, Greece
He apparated them into the courtyard of the Greek Mansion, where they found Hermione and the real Snape in the middle of a friendly duel. They both stepped back and stared at the newcomers.
"I didn't realize we were having guests today," Snape drawled.
"Fred! George! What are you doing here?" squealed Hermione and raced over to give the both of them a hug. "Tom?" she looked questioningly at him.
He sighed. "They made another map, over Grimmauld Place this time. They made me!"
Snape gave the twins a start when he pounded them on their backs. "Well done, boys! It's not every day one manages to pull one over the Dark Lord."
"He's truly the Dark Lord?"
Snape nodded. "Yes, but then so am I and as of yesterday, so is Hermione here."
Their confusion was palpable.
"Why don't we head to the study. I need a drink after this bloody meeting and gaining myself two non-Death Eater sworn supporters."
Hermione looked at the boys with a surprised look on her face. "How did you guys manage that?"
"We thought he was Harry," one of them grumbled.
"How were we supposed to know Harry isn't really Harry anymore," the other grumbled in addition.
"Well boys, welcome to the Dark Side," Hermione laughed delightedly.
"We had a feeling we'd end up there, but never thought we'd meet the two of you already comfortable there when we got there," one twin mumbled as he followed.
"You were the epitome of Light, along with Harry," the other added just as as baffled.
"I'm sure your new Master will explain what happened," she smirked.
They left the next morning to set their affairs in order at the store. They'd have to find someone to mind the store and make some of the merchandise as they moved to Hogwarts with Snape as his Apprentices.
x-x-x
"Tom, what are we going to do about Harry Potter?" Hermione asked her bonded over breakfast one morning, a week before the start of the new school year. "I mean, I can't imagine you going back to Hogwarts as a student and Severus would be in trouble if Harry goes missing."
"You have a point," nodded Tom, looking at her from over the top of the morning newspaper. He folded it up and placed it on the table while he seemed to consider the question. "You are right, I can't see myself returning as a student either."
"Why don't you go back as a Professor instead?" Severus cut in.
"Dumbledore would never hire me, you know that, Sev. I've tried before."
"You misunderstand me. We already have a teaching post at the school; mine. You know I detest teaching. I only took the job to keep a close eye on the old man and the Order over the years. So, you could take my place. The coot's wards would still tell him his precious Golden Boy is present and you get to do something I know you'd enjoy."
Tom seemed to warm up to the idea. "Yes, I would enjoy teaching, even if it was Potions and not the Dark Arts or Defence. I also have my two Potions Apprentices to help me out." He looked at Hermione. "I could also continue your Dark Arts education."
She nodded. "Sounds like a good idea. Still though, what do we do about Harry Potter."
Tom smirked evilly. "I know just the thing…"
To Be Continued...