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"This way."

He headed out to the balcony with a wave at Voldemort. The entire balcony wrapped around the condo from the kitchen to Harry's bedroom. He walked outside and inhaled the night air. Voldemort settled next to him.

"Wow."

It was a beautiful view, overlooking the London city with the River Thames mere feet away, and the lights of London's cityscape in the near distance. Voldemort grinned, eyes wide and almost childlike as he took it in.

"This is spectacular."

Harry leaned forward on his elbows, shoulders bumping Voldemort's,

"I like it."

Voldemort asked,

"You just moved in?"

Harry shook his head with a laugh.

"Actually, I've been here four years."

Voldemort turned to him, confusion on his face,

"But...the walls are bare, there's barely any furniture. Why?"

Harry stared out over the darkness. This part of himself he could share, but it hurt, still, so Goddamn much,

"I haven't ever really had a family or anyone close."

Voldemort tensed next to him. Harry shook his head, sliding his hand over Voldemort's arm,

"My parents died I was barely a year old and I grew up with my relatives, who weren't exactly loving."

Voldemort made a low sound. Harry didn't look at him.

"Yeah…. they just kept me around for the money they received. If it weren't for that they would have kicked me to the curb and I probably wouldn't even be alive. They despised me, downright detested me. They didn't give a damn about me. They only talked to me when they had a list of chores for me to do. When I wasn't working for them, they ignored me. I bore all their hate, all their ignorance, all their coldness and indifference for sixteen years. I knew they weren't going to pay for my college so I moved out."

"That sounds…"

Harry smiled.

"Yes."

He fisted his hands.

"I got myself through college, through university but I always wondered about my parents since no one ever talked about them and I was told that they had been killed in a car accident. I had never even seen them"

He looked at Voldemort and Voldemort asked him,

"Did you ever look for anything about them?"

Harry nodded his head.

"I did a lot of research but couldn't find anything. That struck me as odd because there should have been a news report…. something. I just about abandoned my search but something in me just wasn't ready to give up. So, I dug deeper. Being a lawyer can get you through some locked doors. It turned out that they had been murdered."

"Oh, Damn."

Right? Voldemort didn't even know the full story, but even he knew it was going to be bad. Harry's hands shook, so he laced his fingers.

"My dad worked for the Scotland Yard. He had been working undercover in the Cosa Nostra. Someone sold him out. And those Italians beat my parents. They broke nearly every bone in their bodies."

Harry cleared his throat. His eyes blurring with tears,

"They were…."

Harry spun away. The pain of that discovery would never go away. Those photographs he'd seen would never leave him. Harry said hoarsely

"They'd been chopped up…The police only recognized them by their IDs"

Voldemort touched him, grasped his shoulder, squeezing.

"I was in that house…. I was there and I can't even remember it…The report said that they had found me in the bedroom, wailing and crying…...They must have screamed…"

"What the hell?" Voldemort hugged him from behind.

"Tell me those bastards got locked up or died."

Oh, Harry had dealt with them. He had tracked them down and turned their bodies to a crisp inside their car. Wasn't the first time he'd taken lives, but that had been the last. He'd loved it too much.

"They got what they deserved."

He tipped his chin up.

"I don't know. That just shook me up inside. I was never able to form connections with anyone after that."

He took a breath and Voldemort asked,

"Why?"

Harry shrugged,

"I don't know. Maybe because if I don't have anyone then I won't have to face the risk to lose them."

"I'm sorry."

Voldemort's words made Harry blink and he turned around to gaze at the other man.

"Why?"

"For what you went through."

Harry nodded,

"It's just life. You know I've never really felt alive, never really felt connected but when I look into your eyes, I feel like…I feel like I should take the risk."

Under Harry's touch, Voldemort's body went taut. He tensed as well, waiting to see what Voldemort could do. Voldemort finally spoke softly.

"I fell for a man once. But he was an employee of my grandfather's and I just never had the nerve to ask him out. Turned out he was straight and got married to a woman, Narcissa."

Harry cocked his head to the side. Narcissa sounded way too familiar and too close for his peace of mind. If Voldemort's Narcissa was the same woman as his partner in the club, Harry definitely needed to get as far from Voldemort as he could,

"When I got control of the gang. I was practically drunk on the power, Mr. Potter. There's something very satisfying about being on top. I still feel that way sometimes but this turf war is really getting out of control and I feel like everything's slipping right through my fingertips."

"I'm sorry."

Harry pursed his lips and gripped Voldemort's fingers.

"I'm so sorry."

"That's why I can't do this."

Voldemort stared down at their joined hands.

"It's dangerous and I don't..."

Harry tightened his grip on Voldemort's fingers.

"It's okay. Don't worry about me."

"That's the thing."

Voldemort jerked away and faced Harry with a serious expression in his eyes.

"I can't not worry about you. Someone shot at me with you standing inches away, Harry. You don't belong in this with me. I need to walk away."

He rubbed the top of his head in a frustrated gesture as he looked around.

"Damn, I woke up in bed with Bella and Rodolphus this morning and I—"

What. The. Hell? Harry grabbed him by the throat and pushed him into the wall.

"You did what?"

Check out my other fanfic named "Ensnared". It's actually a Harry Potter Version of "The Beauty and the Beast" Let me know what you guys think. Just follow the link below or visit my profile. Looking forward your feedback

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If you have the time, then check out my other Harry Potter fanfic labelled "Desperation" Just visit my profile or click on the link below,