a/n Rating M. This chapter contains the last jump in time and from next chapter the real plot starts. This all was just an introduction to the main characters. I will reveal the skipped details in the later chapters. The story will be long, definitely over 100k, maybe more. All made up spells are simple translations from Latin, or simply made up.

And like I always do with my recent stories, I finally picked the soundtrack. I think music tells a lot when it comes to stories. For this story, it's again from Two Steps From Hell, but with a different track. It's called "Strength of a thousand men. Instrumental". If you like the story I suggest you listen to the short track. Even if you don't like the story, great, powerful music is always nice to hear.

Beta: Julie. fjad

Harry Potter belongs J. . Not mine.

Chapter Five

Loyalty

—

Gripping his phoenix-core wand tighter in his right hand he attacked.

"Vis Impetum!"

Force attack. One of his top five favourite Dark Arts curses—it could kill if given more power than needed, and that's why he loved it so much. He was testing his control over his magic each time he cast this curse, and it gave him such a trill when he didn't know if it would kill his opponent or if he would be able to control it enough to just knock down. Painfully.

Blue light shot out of the wand, flying towards his opponent, who would be blown away towards the wall behind him as soon as his curse would touch him. Watching his opponent smash against the wall the next second, damaged but alive, Harrison let his wand hang loosely in his hand, his green eyes urgently searching for the one who mattered.

Shiny green eyes were locked on the red ones that were watching him from the crowd. In them, he could see pride and satisfaction.

Only this mattered.

With a satisfied sigh, Harrison smiled, bowing slightly towards the cheering crowd, the applause not dying down.

He was the Champion of Durmstrang for the third year in a row. And he was only thirteen.

xxx

Gripping his phoenix-core wand tighter in his right hand, he quietly looked around.

"I did not sign up for this," a voice near him whispered in urgency, "this is total madness. I want out!" The whisperings were getting louder and Harrison smacked a hand over the blonde's face.

"Shut up!" He whispered back at the blonde, looking into terrified grey eyes. "Don't be a wuss, Malfoy!" Just as Harrison hissed back, a red light shot near his right shoulder. Quickly asserting their opponent, he decided it was most likely Avery. The Death Eater mask was covering the face, and Harrison knew it was Avery only because he could sense his magic.

"Vis Impetum!" The blue light shot from his wand, racing towards Avery.

Avery ducked, and was hit with a Stupefy from Draco, who had finally found his backbone.

"I hate my father for making me join you in this crazy hunt," Draco said, looking at him with his clear grey eyes. "You may enjoy the thrill, because you're you," Malfoy paused and looked around to make sure there was no other hunter, and continued in a tone Harrison was very familiar with," but I don't enjoy running around in the forbidden forest with Death Eaters chasing us only to cast every Curse but the Killing! How fucked up is that?"

He didn't know how it was possible to not enjoy the thrill of the chase. To know that Bellatrix, Barty, Lucius, Rodolphus, Rabastan and Avery were out there with only one goal— to get to you.

All curses were allowed, except for the Killing Curse, and that was the best part. It was his second chase and he just loved it. While last year he was all by himself— and captured by Barty after one hour— he now had the pleasure of listening to Draco Malfoy's whining while trying to defeat all opponents. Lucius almost begged the Dark Lord to allow Draco to participate, wishing such training for his child as well.

Draco only wanted to survive while Harrison wanted to attack.

The biggest motivation to succeed was his father, who'd he face in case all Death Eaters lost to him.

"Omarilo!"

Draco jumped to the side with a scream when Harrison suddenly cast the curse towards the approaching figure. The counter-curse was followed by a laugh. "My itty bitty baby makes me so proud!"

He had just cast a curse he had tried on muggles on Bella. He knew it was her and he was sure she'd easily deal with it, but instead of being hurt by that fact, Bella was proud and happy.

He liked Bella a lot. Which brought him to his next idea. Smiling, he lowered his wand to the dismay of Draco and surprise to Bellatrix.

Who needed a wand anyway.
Concentrating hard on his magic, Harrison let it flow towards Bella, encasing her before slamming hard against a tree.

Draco was gaping at him, grey eyes wide in fright. "Did you just blast your mom into a tree? What's wrong with you?"

"She'll be fine, Draco." Harrison checked her pulse and put on a protective barrier around her in case some freaky creature or plant got close to her. "It's just a game, stop stressing." Grey eyes looked large in moonlight, filled with awe and fear. "Relax, Malfoy."

Shaking his head, Harrison listened to Draco mutter about maniacs and insane people while moving towards the left edge of the Forbidden Forest.

Draco suddenly fell onto the ground, and with a wildly beating heart, he turned to see his father stand there, between two large trees, his black cloak shimmering in the moonlight. Harrison looked over his father and hoped he'd look like that when he got older.

"Vertu!"

Harrison threw a shield up, hoping it would hold back the attack. His shield held most of the impact, but the magic of his father got to him anyway, cutting away air.

Harrison gasped for air to find none, and no voice to cast any spells.

"You need to use a counter curse when a Vertu is thrown your way. No shields for that particular curse. Remember it, Harrison." His father let go of the curse, allowing Harrison to finally breathe.

He'd need something powerful, something that would surprise his father, Harrison thought while circling with his father on a meadow inside the Forbidden forest.

"Fortis Dolor!" An almost white light left his wand and exploded against a shimmering shield his father had conjured.

The Dark Lord laughed, drawing his wand again. "Strong pain? I didn't imagine you'd try that one against me."

"It wouldn't kill so what's the problem?" Harrison also raised his wand. "You throw Crucios at me!"

"That's different, Harrison. It's a part of being a responsible parent." His father really believed that, it seemed. Before he could contemplate further on his father's educational methods, the Dark Lord shot a curse at him.

"Imperio!"

Everything suddenly felt so light and wonderful, and Harrison smiled a goofy smile.

Through a happy gaze he watched the Dark Lord come closer to him, to stand face to face.

"Say 'father is always right'.'"

He opened his mouth to happily say the words only to find out he couldn't. The hell was his father always right! He had been wrong about his control over magic—ever since Occlumency lessons with father, his control became better and better with each year. And all the other occasions where he definitely did not agree with his father were just too many to count. When he was a child he idolized everything his father did, and only when he turned fourteen did he finally understand that father wasn't as flawless as he used to think. Still, he was the only one he truly loved and would do anything for.

"Harrison, say 'Father is always right.'" The voice was getting more demanding and the pressure of the curse intensified. It was so hard to fight his father's wonderfully tantalizing magic, and Harrison almost gave up several times but he didn't because some weird power inside him was growing rapidly. Then Harrison felt the moment his father really pressed, and the warmth inside him almost exploded in response.

His mouth opened again.

"You are definitely not always right." He was looking in his father's red eyes which were shining with extreme emotions. Harrison had never seen his father look like that at him. He had never seen such joy and admiration in those scarlet eyes that frightened everybody except him.

A hand was now caressing his cheek, and Harrison wanted to weep from joy. This is how he wanted father to look at him, always like this and not like when he and Bella had been tortured. He learned his lesson to not disappoint his father.
His father was a bastard but he was his father, and Harrison loved him with all his heart.

That was why he was studying all his time in Durmstrang, why he was training so much, why he did everything he did—to impress his father.

"You are the first person ever to throw off my Imperius, my son." Harrison looked up at awe, meeting shining red eyes. "I am proud of you."

That was the reason he lived.

xxx

"The boy is first in every subject taught at Durmstrang and now a Duelling Champion for the fourth year in a row. Harrison is extraordinary." Albus looked at every order member seated at the table. When he looked at him, Albus held his gaze longer than the others'.

Of course he knew how brilliant the boy was since he used to be one of his teachers before Harrison had to go to Durmstrang. The Dark Lord refused to send his son to Hogwarts and instead placed the boy in a school that had a Death Eater for a Headmaster. Severus knew there had been several skirmishes between the Dark Lord and Harrison over the topic that Harrison did what he wanted from day one at Durmstrang. He also knew that now that the boy was a teenager, things would only complicate. When the Dark Lord's control over Harrison was not present, the boy did what he wanted, and he had to admit Harrison had a wild imagination and tendencies.

He had seen enough teenagers to last a millennium, and Harrison had now entered a phase where his most beloved activity was enraging his father, arguing and not stopping even when Inner Circle Death Eaters were present, sometimes mixing Parseltongue with English. They all knew the Dark Lord's one weakness, his son, and no matter what Harrison did, he would never be punished with death. A few Crucios, definitely, but they were short and rare. It was definitely disturbing that Harrison had the same weakness, his father above all else, himself included.

Severus knew how much the boy loved the Dark Lord and he had to say the Dark Lord cared about his child very much.

Severus crossed his hands as he stood unmoving in the dark corner.

"Why are you so sure that the boy would join the light when he is already a murderer?!" Black shouted at Albus. "He was raised by Voldemort and Bellatrix. He is a total psycho with powerful magic and obviously loves Dark Arts!"

"You are aware that Bellatrix and that brat weren't prosecuted for the usage of Cruciatus as they claimed that it was in self defence with attempted child rape." Black still couldn't calm down and just shut up. "Self defence with Cruciatus from Muggles!" The mutt drank too much, Severus though while he calmly observed Black taking gulps of Firewhiskey.

Yes, when Bellatrix told him about the comments made by muggles, Severus had to agree it was a well deserved Crucio. The other "accidents" couldn't be placed upon Bella because somehow there were no traces of Bella and Harrison on the crime scenes. Underage magic wasn't punishable by law so that meant the blown up Aurors were an accident.
Bella and Harrison had been extremely lucky to come out of this clean and alive.

It amused him to no end, seeing that dirty mutt he hated with all his soul, not being able to cope with what Harrison had done. Severus had seen the memory and the image of shell-shocked stupid expression on Black's face which was adorned with insides of his colleagues was so wonderful that he shortly considered using as a memory for Patronus.

Several years went by after the revelation that Lily Potter was Harrison's mother but he still refused to believe it somewhere deep in his heart. The boy didn't have many of her features, looking more and more like the Dark Lord. The eyes were similar but the colour was different. Lily's were like grass, and Harrison's the exact shade of Avada Kedavra. The boy was nice to people he liked and maybe that was part of Lily, because the Dark Lord was nice to Harrison only. And not always.

"Voldemort has a very big influence over the ministry even without showing himself. Many Death Eaters hold very important posts in the Ministry and therefore his son and his most loyal Death Eater were not even fully questioned." Albus stated solemnly, taking a sip of Molly's special tea.

"That's what I'm trying to say, are you all deaf?!" Black had no self control at all. Deranged mutt. "The boy cannot be redeemed, but he can be killed!"

The chaos that erupted after Black's insane outburst gave Severus a chance to leave unnoticed.

After finding out about Harrison's birth mother, Severus had no doubt anymore on which side he
belonged to.

No more remorse.

If he had to choose over the lives of all present in the room and Harrison's life, he new with absolute clarity whom he'd choose. The boy was a prodigy in many aspects of magic, and Severus knew how well Harrison could duel, having the pleasure of duelling the Dark Lord's son twice. The boy had lost, but how he fought, with passion and raw power always mesmerized Severus. He was sure that in a few years Harrison would easily beat him in a duel with no problems.

And he found that he didn't mind it at all. He wanted to help the boy even before knowing who his real mother was, wanted to see the boy survive in the mad world they lived in, and most of all, he wanted Harrison very much alive.

And the mutt very much dead.

xxx

The halls were fully lit, allowing full view of the magnificent manor.

I missed you, home.

His steps were quiet and precise, his dark green cloak billowing because of his fast pace, head held
high.

It was the winter holidays and Harrison couldn't be more grateful for it. Whoever said living in the far north of Europe was fun was severely mistaken. While he knew he couldn't have gone to Hogwarts because of Dumbledore, it still irked him every time he had to return to his cold, damp school. There were many secrets to find, but the school was boring.

Karkaroff was an idiot, just like the rest of the staff, and Harrison held back a nasty sneer that wanted to appear on his otherwise completely neutral expression. No one had a backbone in Durmstrang when it came to Harrison. No one was a real opponent and no one dared to defy him. It annoyed him, making him miss father even more.

Four and a half years in Durmstrang was nothing compared to Bella's and father's tutoring.

He told Bella when she came to visit him in Durmstrang that he'd deal with their current issue, and that she didn't need to worry. He forbade her to involve herself with his plan, as he was the only one father wouldn't kill. Shaking all emotions away, Harrison straightened his high collar, before entering the main hall. He immediately saw his father, seated at the head of the table, and then his cold gaze landed on her.

The reason for Bella's heartache, and his own sleepless nights.

Near his father sat a woman with wavy brown hair and blue eyes. Her dull-blue eyes weren't leaving his father's face, and all Harrison wanted was to take his phoenix wand—twin to his father's wand— and blast her stupid brains out. However, he had to behave.

For now.

His entrance was noted by everyone seated around the large table, but Harrison didn't give them any attention. His green eyes were looking at the red eyes of his father, and nothing else mattered.

"Harrison." He had missed his father's voice so much. Father didn't bother visiting him in Durmstrang except for special occasions, spending his time somewhere ...with her? "Glad you could make it in time."

Like he had any choice.

"Father," Harrison bowed slightly, before walking steadily to the empty chair to his father's right.

Sitting himself, Harrison glanced around the table nodding in polite greeting to Barty, Lucius, Narcissa and Severus. He genuinely smiled at Bella, who looked like she had problems sitting calmly, her gaze wandering between him, father and the new bitch. No worries, mummy.

"I'm Cassiopeia Dolton, pleasure, Harrison."

The bitch has spoken for the first time, and Harrison raised his eyebrows at her. She spoke before the Dark Lord, and Harrison was astonished to notice that father didn't react to that.

So Bella had reasons to be worried…

Harrison helped himself to the salad and fish, ignoring the waiting adults. Slowly, he reached for the sauce, clinging the spoon against the metal bowl.

"Harrison."

"Father," he answered with a small smile. "Too lonely while I'm away chewing the granite of science in Durmstrang?" He knew he was pushing his father, but he was no ten year old anymore.

For three months his father had been with the bitch, and according to Bella, Dolt even lived in the manor, but not in the same room as his father. He didn't want to know how she knew that.

"It's not up to you to decide what I do with my life."

Harrison looked his father in the eyes, not minding the now nervous Death Eaters and surprised bitch's face, staring at them.

"I think you may find yourself wrong," he hissed, enjoying the Parseltongue ability more than ever. Only he and father.

"Ms. Dolton," Harrison smiled at the bitch, composed and calm. "My pleasure."

It was how they rolled now— who would piss the other more. So far the Dark Lord was leading the score but he wasn't that far behind.

But this wasn't even about their score. He came home during winter holidays with three intentions.

Spend time with father, read books from father's library and kill the bitch.

Lord Voldemort was his. Period.

Harrison smiled at his father and looked at his father's new mistress.

He returned home with an idea to just remove her, but now he was going to make her and father understand just who he really was.

The Dark Heir.

xxx

Two nights.

His son's patience lasted only two days and Voldemort had to admit he was flattered.

He did help speeding it up a bit by allowing the moronic witch to try and talk to Harrison. The boy remained polite and calm, but in his mind, he was anything but calm. Harrison was enraged.

Voldemort was waiting in the shadowed corner, sitting in a comfortable armchair, hidden with the most powerful Dark Arts wards so that his magic couldn't be sensed and he stayed invisible.

Putting his chin on his arm, Voldemort leaned closer when the door to the room slowly opened.

"Muffatio!" , "Stupefy!". His son walked into the room, throwing two spells—one to silence the room and ward from being heard outside and the other to immobilize Cassiopeia Dolton. It really interested him what Harrison would do next. It wasn't often he could see his son like that—not knowing he was watching, Harrison behaved quite differently. And he wanted to see how far his child would go to remove any competition for his attention. He knew Harrison very well. Voldemort slept with Cassiopeia a few times not really bothering with the witch, but baiting her on, waiting for his son to react.

He raised the stakes so to say, in their wicked family game.

With fascination, he watched his fourteen year old child add more wards, now from the Dark Arts branch, and then Harrison slowly walked to the bed where Dolton was lying, stupefied.

"Wakey, wakey!" Harrison slapped the immobile woman in the face, before repeating the action not so gently for a few more times.

"Ennervate!" Voldemort watched the twin of his wand in Harrison's hand glow with the spell, and then Cassiopeia was awake. Even from here he could see her terrified eyes.

Harrison was a vision to behold—dressed in his high collar cloak, power radiating from his figure and most importantly the eyes—they were shining with such rage, giving the eerie feeling just by looking into them.

"You stupid child, the Dark Lord will— "

"Shut it, Dolt. I'm not interested in your blabbering. You will listen to me." Harrison pointed his wand at the witch when she opened her mouth again.

"Vertu!"

Ah, it was wonderful to know your child appreciated your knowledge and gladly used it.

He didn't need any woman by his side, and the reason why he dragged Dolton into this was simple—Harrison. While his sometimes moronic child thought he had not visited him in Durmstrang, he was wrong. Voldemort had been to Durmstrang each week, observing Harrison without letting the boy know. His child was no child anymore, and with age, Harrison reminded the Dark Lord more and more of himself, just with less control over his emotions and actions. And now, Voldemort wanted to know just how much his child loved him and how far the loyalty went. It was perverse, but he was as he was, and Harrison wasn't much better anyway.

Like father, like son.

"Ah, ah, bitch, breathe. I am not done with you yet." Voldemort looked at a smiling Harrison. Such language. Looked like Durmstrang had its negative effects after all.

"You see, when your stupid cunt for a head thought you could barge into my life, my home and take away my father, you forgot about something." Harrison's magic was now pressing Cassiopeia into the wall, not allowing her feet to touch the floor, her nightgown hanging from her struggling figure.

"You forgot about me, you dolt." Harrison walked closer to the horrified witch, and Voldemort finally saw what his son had in hand.

The Slytherin dagger he himself had given the boy as a present.

With one swift movement, Harrison pushed it into the woman's stomach. "You see, my father may think what he wants to think, but the truth of the matter is that," the boy leaned closer to the bleeding witch and swiftly removed the dagger, only to bury it in the woman's breast, near the heart. "Father is mine."

Voldemort watched with fascination as his child removed the dagged again, allowing red blood to soak the nightgown of the dying witch, dripping slowly onto the carpet, forming a pool of red liquid.

"Welcome to the family, bitch." Harrison mock bowed and then the dagger was inside the woman's head, the handle sticking between two dull, dead eyes.

Harrison laughed then, almost doing a happy dance, only to stop dead in tracks when he finally noticed him.

Voldemort removed all wards from his person, and was now looking at his murderer son.

"Well, well, well." He got up from his chair and moved closer to the boy who had a very guarded expression on his face that resembled his own so much.

"What can I say, my son?" His child was awaiting Cruciatus and was very surprised when none came.

Harrison surpassed all his expectations today, actually killing the stupid witch.

Harrison was a murderer with or without magic, and he was as ruthless as Voldemort was.

His son was his most loyal follower, forever, and Voldemort was truly satisfied now. Fully his and no matter what Dumbledore may try in the future, Harrison would never betray him.

"Outstanding."

He had never told his son that he loved him, knowing that was what his child wanted to hear the most. He would never say it, but it didn't mean anything. The caring part of him that he had never thought existed belonged Harrison and only him. And his boy just proved to him by killing the witch—who was supposed to be under his protection—just how much his attention meant for him. Harrison went all in, thinking about the horrible punishment as a small necessity, not knowing that there would be no punishment at all.

He knew that Harrison finally understood it only now, green eyes widening in shock and such happiness that Voldemort felt a bit uncomfortable with all the sudden emotions.

"For you, father."

xxx

Looking out of the window, he watched the moon high up in the otherwise dark skies, its shine giving the room enough illumination for him to see his cup with hot cacao and his wand, that innocently lay on the table before him.

Old, long fingers traced that wand. "Killing is never easy, and I hope you can help me when I need you in two weeks." Albus Dumbledore addressed the Elder wand , twirled it in his hand.

"I will remove the boy from Tom, I have to. There is no other way." He whispered in sadness at what he had to do. "I have waited too long as it is." The wand in his hand heated up, giving jolts of power, and Albus smiled at it.

"Thank you, my friend." Albus Dumbledore leaned back in his chair, eyes sad but determined. No one said sacrifices for the greater good would be easy.

There was no redemption for Tom with his Horcruxes but Harrison still was a child. He had to save the boy.

There was only one way to do so.

Tom had to be removed from the picture. Even if temporarily, the Dark Lord had to die.

And then Harrison would see the light.

xxx

a/n Please review!