A/N:
All right, class. Here's your assignment. You have a choice. Either prove Ghengis Kahn was just a misunderstood person crying out for help, or make Voldemort a likable character. Your choice.
(Hand goes up in the back.)
Yes?
How many days do we get on the Ghengis Kahn part?
And that, folks, is just what I felt like I was faced with from this point on.
And as always,
Enjoy.
Disclaimer: All characters of the Harry Potter series (hereafter known as 'legal property') are the sole ownership of J.K. Rowling (hereafter known as 'owner of said legal property'). No infringement on any copyright of owner of said legal property of the legal property is knowing intended. Published by author (hereafter known as 'other') for entertainment purposes only. No monetary or personal gain was knowingly made by other with the publication of this story, which was based on ideas and characters created by owner of said legal property as they pertain to legal property. No plagiarism of legal property or of any ideas of the owner of said legal property was knowingly intended by other. This statement is fully transferable and is legally held binding for all chapters of the story Family Relations as they are presented under different chapter headings and titles for individual chapters.
: All characters of the Harry Potter series (hereafter known as 'legal property') are the sole ownership of J.K. Rowling (hereafter known as 'owner of said legal property'). No infringement on any copyright of owner of said legal property of the legal property is knowing intended. Published by author (hereafter known as 'other') for entertainment purposes only. No monetary or personal gain was knowingly made by other with the publication of this story, which was based on ideas and characters created by owner of said legal property as they pertain to legal property. No plagiarism of legal property or of any ideas of the owner of said legal property was knowingly intended by other. This statement is fully transferable and is legally held binding for all chapters of the story as they are presented under different chapter headings and titles for individual chapters.CHAPTER TEN: VOLDEMORT
If Harry had thought the group that he met in Dumbledore's office the day before had been odd, it fell as a pale comparison to who was there early the next morning when he and Arabella arrived.
Dumbledore sat behind his desk as always. If front of him to his right were Snape and Analisa, sitting (or standing, in Snape's case), much as they were the day before.
On the other side of the room, next to the two chairs where Harry had sat with his godmother at the previous meeting, stood Orion Black, his face the emotionless mask it usually was.
But what caught Harry's attention the most, from nearly the moment he stepped into the room, was the man seated directly in front of Dumbledore's desk.
Casually leaned back in the chair with his hands steepled in front of him, was Sirius.
Or at least, that was who it looked like. But the minute the man turned to him, Harry could tell the figure in the chair was not his godfather. The body, the face, the hair, even the smile, were all Sirius'.
But those eyes.
Even the look that had been in Sirius' eyes the day Harry had seen the first picture of his godfather in the muggle newspaper wasn't as cold as the one he met now. There was no light behind those eyes. There was no joy there. No laughter. No warmth. Just a cold, dark, hatred that burned right to your soul and froze it within you.
"Why, hello, Harry." An all too familiar voice called to him as Sirius turned in his chair and gave him a wink. "Come and give your godfather a hug."
Harry's body almost involuntarily pressed itself closer to Arabella's side as he fought to remind his senses that the man sitting in the chair, grinning mischievously at him, was not his godfather.
"What's the matter, Harry?" the figure asked, looking disappointed at Harry's response to his greeting. "Haven't you missed me?"
"Where's Sirius?" Harry asked pointedly, trying to stop the fear growing inside of him. "What's happened to him?"
The figure shook it's head as it turned back to face the Headmaster. "Honestly, such devotion." The man stated without any real enthusiasm for the idea. "He's safe enough." The familiar voice continued in a slow drawl. "For now."
"Where?" Harry repeated.
The figure relaxed its stance even more in the chair, managing, if anything, to look quite bored. "Currently he's in this body as well. But it is a horrible strain on a body, you understand. Housing two souls."
"I can't imagine there are two souls in there." Arabella spoke up in a low, heated voice.
Sirius turned his eyes slowly to her. "Ahhhh, my ever charming fiancee. Such kind, loving words of devotion, Arabella."
Arabella quickly directed Harry behind Sirius' seat, keeping her hands resting protectively on his shoulders as Sirius leaned back to watch them walk behind him, the ever present smile never fading. As she walked past him, Sirius wiggled his eyebrows at her.
Arabella sneered down at him.
"Come on, Arabella." Sirius stated in a voice that to Harry was growing every bit as cold as the look behind his eyes. "What's wrong with a little attention from the man you love?"
"You are not the man I love." Arabella stated slowly as she sat Harry in his chair and took the one to the left of him, putting herself between Harry and Sirius. "And any attention from you is most unwelcome."
Harry listened to the conversation for a moment. In all his time with the two of them, even in the beginning when things hadn't been exactly smooth between them, he had never known Arabella to sound so cold to Sirius. Slowly his eyes drifted to the other occupants in the room. Across from him, Analisa sat as ridged in her chair as Harry thought a person could. Her gaze was fixed solidly on Dumbledore, while in her lap Diamond was keeping an uneasy eye on Sirius.
Behind her, Snape was watching the conversation between Arabella and Sirius. When he noted Harry's gaze on him, he quickly shifted his eyes to the man behind Harry, then just as quickly turned his stare to Dumbledore as well.
Harry fought the urge to turn around and see what expression was on his uncle's face that could have made Snape look away so fast. Snape, after all, had been a Deatheater, and Orion an Auror for the Unspeakables. Harry suddenly wondered if the two had ever met under those circumstances.
"You are the one who called for this meeting, Voldemort." Dumbledore spoke up in his usual calm voice, cutting off any further words between Arabella or the man in front of him.
Harry watched the expression on his godfather's face change as he turned to Dumbledore. He couldn't quite place the look on the face as the man turned an almost painfully pleasant stare to Dumbledore. But if he had to, that was what he would have said. It was the look of someone trying desperately hard to look pleasant.
"Indeed." Sirius' voice answered. But the mannerism behind it was anything but Sirius'. The voice, Harry thought, was still as cold as he had ever heard it. "Recently my people have been bringing me reports that have been most disturbing. They have been hearing word of another wizard who is trying to challenge my power."
"I hardly find that a bad thing." Orion spoke up for the first time.
Voldemort didn't even bother turning to him, but his expression hardened slightly as he continued to stare at Dumbledore.
"You should, Mr. Black." Voldemort answered quietly. "Because my Deatheaters have told me some very interesting tales about this wizard."
"What tales?" Dumbledore asked, cutting Orion off quickly.
Harry watched as Voldemort's eyes still never left the old man in front of him. To Harry it seemed as though the only person in the room Voldemort was truly on guard against...was Dumbledore.
"They say that this wizard has been killing people. Not so as it would be noticed, but killing them none the less. Murders that are being attributed by the ministry, I understand, to me."
"So what do you care if there is one more dark wizard out there killing muggles?" Orion spoke up quickly, making sure Dumbledore didn't stop him again.
It suddenly dawned on Harry that Orion was likely at the meeting as an agent of his department. There to gather what information he could get.
"Because this wizard isn't killing muggles, Mr. Black." Voldemort replied, his dark eyes vigilantly fixed still on Dumbledore. "He's killing our people. Wizards and witches. In fact, from what my Deatheaters tell me, we seem to be his only targets. Pure bloods as well as half-bloods. They say he has, in fact, killed no muggles that they are aware of."
"Why would this wizard want to kill other witches and wizards?" Dumbledore asked.
Voldemort narrowed his eyes slightly at the old man. "Because he fears their power. The Deatheaters say that in the area he currently occupies, there are exactly two types of wizards and witches. Those that serve him, and those that are dead."
"So far he sounds exactly like you, Voldemort." Orion put in. "Why should we involve ourselves with this wizard when we have enough trouble as it is out of you?"
"Because, Mr. Black, I at least have my limits. This wizard seems not to."
"Meaning?"
"I direct my attention to those who oppose me or meddle in my affairs. Yourself, for instance, comes to mind. This wizard, however, seems to be a good deal less...selective."
"In what way?" Orion questioned.
"Stepping in front of him seems to target you for death as far as he is concerned. Or to the side of him. Or behind him. He's just not as...discriminating as I am."
"How do we know any of what you say is even true?"
"Send your own people there, Mr. Black. Send your own spies." Voldemort answered in an almost bored tone. "See how many of them come back. But then," he added, "you already have, haven't you? I'm sure this isn't as new to you as you make it sound, is it?"
Harry stole a brief glance at his uncle. From the look on his face it did indeed seemed as though the information was not really news to Orion.
"Still," Voldemort continued, "anyone not of his own group that he senses is magical in any way, he kills out of hand. A some of my best spies have died trying to get information on him."
Orion's interest suddenly seemed to peak on the spur of the moment. "Spies?" His voice raised slightly. "You've been sending spies after this man?"
"Several."
Orion seemed to have quickly recovered himself. "Recently?"
"A few weeks ago."
"And?"
"Only one has come back. My best."
"And that was?"
Voldemort sat with his stare were it always was. "Katlin Griss."
Harry could have sworn he heard a sigh of relief behind him, but he didn't dare turn around again. But out of the corner of his eye he watched Voldemort, who sat as though also listening to the reaction, but seemed to quickly dismiss any interest in it.
"She told me much of what you've heard here. The rest are what we have pieced together from rumors. All in all, I would say this wizard is extremely dangerous, if not deranged in some way. And we wouldn't be here at all if Mr. Black hadn't gotten his nose into my business, as he seems to have a propensity for doing."
"I like to think of it as my job." Orion replied in a level voice.
"And a very dangerous one it is, Mr. Black." Voldemort stated.
Orion shrugged. "It pays well."
Voldemort turned to the man for the first time, the intense look of irritation on his face mirrored in his voice. "You interfered, Mr. Black. I had things well under-control, as would they have gone much easier for the boy had you minded your own bloody business!"
"Not when my family is involved." Orion replied as stoically as ever.
"Gentlemen." Dumbledore broke in in a quiet, but firm voice. "We are all here in this room for a common purpose. Possibly a common goal. One that will not be reached if we fight among ourselves."
"Then if we could get back to the matter at hand." Voldemort suggested shortly, giving a loud huff as he settled back to face Dumbledore. "The man is deranged and needs to be stopped."
"Then why involve us at all?" Orion asked, a small touch of still notable sarcasm in his voice. "If you have things so very well in hand?"
Harry was sure he saw his godfather's body tense slightly at the comment.
"Because," Voldemort stated in a slow, drawn out tone, "this wizard is no fool. He keeps himself hidden while others do most of his work for him."
"Hidden?" Arabella asked. "Hidden how?"
Voldemort turned to her, but there wasn't the slightest trace of menace in his expression now. "He is under a Fedelis charm. The only way to find him is through his secretkeeper."
"Do we even know who that is?" Arabella asked. "Or if they would help us?"
"I know who the secretkeeper is." Voldemort replied. "But whether or not he will help us has yet to be addressed."
"Then why are we here?" She pressed on. "Shouldn't you be out looking for this person? Enlisting their aid instead of ours?"
"I have been trying to enlist their aid." Voldemort replied, his attention once more fixed on Dumbledore. "It is exactly what I was trying to do when the elder Mr. Black so conveniently started 'doing his job'."
Arabella slowly turned his words over in her mind. And bit by bit an idea started forming in her mind. An answer to her own unasked question. A confusing rush of anticipation and dread whirled inside her, washing over her like a plug into ice cold water.
"Who?" Was all she managed to get out.
Voldemort turned his attention back to her, his mouth lifting in a controlled, unmirthful smile. "Your godson."
"Harry?" The name came out in a breathless whisper.
Harry quickly leaned around his godmother to stare at the man across from her.
"Me?" He stated. "How could it be me? I'm no one's secretkeeper. I would know."
But Voldemort only gave him a small, knowing smile. "A brilliantly contrived plan, wouldn't you say?" Voldemort asked him. "A secretkeeper who doesn't even know he is one. How can you ask someone to tell you something even they aren't aware of?"
"How do you even know any of this?" Harry asked heatedly. "If even I don't know it, how do you?"
"It's called 'work', boy." Voldemort snapped back suddenly. "And I've put a great deal of it into this. And trust me, finding out your role in this was no easy task, nor was the pay- off particularly satisfying."
Arabella turned a particularly nasty look on the man sitting next to her. "You've contrived this." She stated heatedly. "All of it. This is just...just some plan of yours."
Voldemort looked honestly shocked at the accusation. "To do what, woman? To get to the boy? Believe me, I could have thought of something a lot less convoluted than this to accomplish that."
"Not if you want to keep us off guard. To have us looking the other way while you killed my godson."
"Oh honestly." Voldemort sighed, finally turning back to Dumbledore. "Can you at least talk some sense into this woman?"
"All these weeks," Arabella quickly went on, not giving Dumbledore a chance to say anything. "all these weeks I have lived in this nightmare, not knowing what you were up to. Why you were doing this. And you are wanting me to believe all of it was simply so you could talk to my godson?"
Harry was sure at any moment Arabella was going to fly out of her chair at the man next to her.
"Why didn't you pull your head out of your..." Arabella abruptly clamped her lips tightly together, keeping herself from saying anything more. Several deep breathes later, wherein no one else in the room seemed to breath, Arabella calmed herself down enough to continue. "Why," she said in a low, level voice, "didn't you just ask?"
"You're telling me you would have listened?" Voldemort ask in a deceptively calm voice.
Arabella stared back at the man, saying nothing, though Harry was sure it took a considerable amount of self control on her part to do so.
"I think," Dumbledore broke the silent stand-off, "that perhaps we would do well to leave this matter for now and meet here again in the morning. After Mr. Black and myself have made some inquiries into Voldemort's claims. Then we can further discuss what actions to take."
Arabella was on her feet first, quickly directing Harry in front of her. But she paused long enough to turn one last time to Voldemort. "Try not to trip down any stairs on your way out." She told him with a false sweetness in her voice.
Harry didn't like the smile on the man's face one bit as he turned back to Arabella. "I don't believe there are any stairs between here and my room."
Arabella stopped abruptly and turned back to him as she and Harry reached the door.
"What?" Her anger immediately flared up again as she turned to Dumbledore. "You can't mean to allow him to stay here?"
"For various reasons, Arabella, we have no choice in the matter." Dumbledore replied.
"He's staying here? With my godson just down the hallway?"
Dumbledore put his hand up to stop any further protests. "Arabella, Orion has reworked the charms and the wards to insure that no harm can come to Harry while he is within the castle. He is perfectly safe here, I assure you."
Arabella paused, but finally leaned back towards the man in the chair behind her. "I'm locking our door just the same." She informed him in a cold and cutting tone.
Voldemort seemed completely unperturbed by the comment as Arabella directed Harry out of the room.
"So am I." He replied quietly.
Q&A
Family Relations
MasterLupin:
well now i look forward to this point turning chapter. It should give me enough insite to predict what will happen in the future of this story. Or at leat try to predict it. Anyway I bet Voldermort wants Harry and he will make a proposition to Harry at the meeting that if he comes with him willingly then he will release his control on Sirius. Harry will acept without thinking.
Welllllllll..., not quite, Dear. I mean, the gates are down, the lights are flashing, and all the cars have stopped, but the train just hasn't got there yet.
Of course, Voldemort is going to try to enlist Harry's aid. He has to. How he goes about that is in the next few chapters. And naturally, Sirius will be a bargaining card. But that was not the only reason Voldemort chose Sirius. There were, in fact, several. But those will also come out later.
Nice guess though, Dear. Do feel free to try again.
Hug-me:
I am glad you enjoyed the twist, Dear. I try to keep my readers on their toes.
Siriusly Bored
Klemex:
I am going to assume those were lines you liked, Dear. And if so, you certainly picked out some of the better ones. I'm glad if you liked the story.
Reviews are as of 09/25/2005.
And remember;
Did anyone else notice that during the reporting of damage by Hurricane Katrina, the news agencies made it seem that the only place that was hit by the hurricane was New Orleans, while the rest they made sound like someone in Alabama possibly reported a tree blown down?