Family Relations1

by P.A.R

Sequel to 'Family Life'. What if Harry wasn't the one who could destroy Voldemort, but was the key to the person who could? Voldemort makes a new offer to Harry and Arabella. Final chapter.

61. Chapter 61

A/N: A brief comment. Or actually, a little insight into the story for you.

Did no one notice, in all Voldemort was saying, one blatant, glaring error? I won't tell you what it was right off, because it is mentioned in this chapter and has to do with timelines.

This is actually an error I missed while writing this story, and when I went back and re-read it, picked up on it. The good thing is, it worked very well into the plot, so I just left it.

Serendipity. What more can I say?
Except, as always,

Enjoy.

Disclaimer: Go back and read the one before the one before the one before the one before the one before the one before the one before the one before the one before the one before the one before the one before the one before the one before the one before the one before the one before the one before the one before the one before the one before the one before the one before the one before the one before the one before the one before the one before this one.

CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR: POINT OF VIEW

(PART FOUR)

Harry stared at the man before him for a long time. But finally he shook his head. "You expect me to believe any of that?" He ask. "You killed my parents. I know you did."

"Everyone knew that Sirius Black killed Peter Pettigrew as well, Harry." Voldemort answered back calmly. "And you still to this day can't convince them of anything different. But you know your godfather didn't kill him. And I know he didn't kill him. But who would believe the tale Sirius would tell? It's ludicrous, is it not? Claiming Peter turned himself into a rat and escaped and has been hiding all these years as a young boy's pet. What an insane notion."

Harry paused, thinking about what the man was saying for a moment.

"You see, our situations aren't really that different, your godfather and me. We're both being accused of a crime we didn't commit, with no real way to prove ourselves innocent."

"You haven't exactly been doing much to prove yourself innocent all these years." Harry pointed out. "You've been killing people for years. You've tried to kill me several times. That hardly lends much credibility to your story."

"You're packing a lot of misinformation into that statement, Harry." Voldemort replied. "First of all, you say I've been trying to kill you for years. Did I try to kill you up until you went to Hogwarts? Did I even try to contact you?"

"You didn't know where to find me." Harry protested.

Voldemort gave him a small, condescending laugh. "Really?" He said. "You think a small Fidelius charm would really keep me from finding you if I wanted to? You underestimate me."

"Then what about when I got to school? My first year here you tried to kill me."

"Really? And did I ever once say I was going to kill you, Harry. All I was trying to do was talk to you. You were coming into your powers then. And you were showing great promise of becoming a very powerful wizard. All I wanted to do was talk to you. To be given the opportunity to explain things to you." Voldemort stated. But his expression quickly turned into a frown. "But the Ministry had already gotten to you just as they had to your father. I could see history replaying itself all too clearly before my eyes. You believed me to be a monster. An insane murderer, just as the Ministry painted me."

"You possessed Professor Quirrell..."

Voldemort shook his head. "Who possessed who, Harry? Do you honestly think that in that state I was strong enough to control Quirrell? Quirrell did what he wanted with little regard to me. I was simply 'along for the ride', as it were. Quirrell was my one and only chance to talk to you."

"Fine." Harry snapped back. "Then explain the chamber under the school. You were trying to kill me."

Voldemort sighed again as he studied the ceiling. "This is a large part of my problems, you see, Harry. Things happen...bad things, and I am automatically blamed because someone finds a loose connection between me and what has happened."

"It was your diary!" Harry stated emphatically.

Voldemort turned back to him. "Not really. As you well know, the diary was little more than a 'trap', if you will. But not one set by me. Lucius Malfoy found that blasted diary and made what he saw as good use of it. In the day it was created, that diary was nothing more than a prank. An advanced one, to be sure, but a prank none the less. One I never got to employ. Over the next few years I lost track of the thing. Apparently Lucius Molfoy was the one who found it. And again, my diary, a connection to me, and despite the fact that I had no part in how it got into anyone's hands, because it was mine, I got the blame. Because it was mine, but someone else made poor use of it. Blame Voldemort. He's likely behind it anyway.

And what about your third year? Where was I, Harry? Trying yet again to kill you? No. Your godfather had escaped Azkaban. I was well aware of that fact. And I was working like mad behind the scenes trying to keep the Ministry off his trail. I wanted him to reach you, Harry, but I could have no part on it. If I did, you might not believe him. You would have seen him as just another one of my followers. And I needed you to hear Sirius' story. His situation and mine were so similar, if you believed him, you just might believe me when the time came for you to hear the truth from my side of things."

"You killed Cedric. You were going to kill me. Deny that."

"Of course I deny it, Harry. I didn't kill the boy. Peter did. And as for killing you, I was going to do no such thing. I needed a body. And I needed one fast. The Deatheaters were getting out of control. Without a body, I stood no chance of getting control of them again."

"I didn't imagine that duel." Harry said in a flat, emotionless voice.

Voldemort stared down at the boy, judging his words carefully. "No. You didn't. But at that point, Harry, I didn't think I would ever be able to reach you anymore. A decision I have lived to regret. Thankfully, you did manage to escape, and I had enough presence of mind left to not go after you. I wanted to. I thought my only hope was...to stop you. But then I thought that perhaps...just perhaps...if you were given a little more time, I could try again to reason with you. Make you see the truth."

"Your truth." Harry replied. "Nothing you've done has backed up anything you've said. For years you've been killing and attacking people for no reason."

"I've been, Harry?" Voldemort ask. "A good trick for a man without a body."

"Your Deatheaters were..."

"And you think I have control over everything my Deatheaters do?" Voldemort cut him off. "I have news for you then, as well as proof." Voldemort lifted the hem of the robe he wore, exposing the twisted mass of flesh that was the remains of the leg. "As I told the old wizard, I had planned for months to appropriate your godfather's body. If that was my goal, why would I allow injury this severe to be done to the body? You think this isn't a serious complication that could have been easily avoided? Your godfather was to be a lure. Nothing more. But a few...overzealous Deatheaters took it upon themselves to inflict a bit of punishment. And they were dealt with for it."

"You gave the order for him to be killed. Snape said so. You were there."

"A regrettable decision, to be sure. But the man was injured, and I didn't see him as honestly surviving. Had you seen him at the time, you'd have likely considered the action yourself. But again, the actions taken against him were not on my orders and those responsible were dealt with."

"You didn't seem to mind too much."

Voldemort sighed quietly to himself. "Sometimes, Harry, a leader has to make some very hard decisions. Among them are those that keep him in a certain light before his followers. Sometimes I am as much at the mercy of the Deatheaters as they are at mine. It is one of the main reasons the Elite were formed. They are absolutely loyal to me. They do only as I tell them and I trust them completely. Not just anyone is chosen to join them. You have to have showed your loyalty to make such an appointment. Because they are the ones I depend on so completely. The Deatheaters are sometimes little more than rabble rousers. Too often these days they are more a dangerous mob. You saw them at the Quidditch World Cup? You think I would have sanctioned that? Some stupid display that accomplished nothing!?"

"Then why not just put an end to it? Why not stop the killing and find some other way to deal with the Ministry?"

Voldemort crossed his arms over his chest as he stared down at the teenager, shaking his head past a bemused smile. "Great magic, you really are very naive sometimes, aren't you? You know the old saying, Harry, you accomplish nothing by coming down to your enemies level? It's a wonderful theory, but sometimes it just isn't true. Sometimes you really do have to fight fire with fire. After years of trying to reason with people, talk to them, resolve things diplomatically, I simply realized I wasn't getting anywhere while the Ministry was slandering me from one end of the wizarding community to the other. And so I decided maybe it was time to make all their hard work work for me."

"Work for you?" Harry gave him a puzzled stare.

"Your parents were gone, Harry. You were, for the most part, out of my reach and in the hands of the Ministry. And me? I had been labeled a monster so without conscience I would stoop to killing a helpless child.

I was alone again. I had a few followers, but not enough to stand up against the Ministry. Letting things continue as they were my followers and I wouldn't have last a few more months before the Ministry probably would have hunted the last of us down and destroyed us. I couldn't let that happen. They simply couldn't be allowed to win this war. I realized I had to do something. Something very drastic if we were to survive.

Well, the Ministry had been working for years to convince everyone I was a soul-less murdering lunatic. I decided why not just go with it?"

Harry's puzzled frown grew deeper. "I don't understand."

"'Voldemort', Harry, was not my creation. He was the creation of the Ministry of Magic. A great, powerful, evil, feared wizard that even they themselves were cautious of. A man so feared in the wizarding world no one would even dare say his name.

That was the man I became, Harry. I had no choice. One of the things I learned from my enemy, from the Ministry, was sometimes the best thing you could do was to just let the circumstances work for you. They had been doing it with me for years. They manipulated me, led me into traps, and used my name to explain away every disgusting act they themselves were responsible for. So I simply decided if I was going to be blamed for the crimes, I might as well take the notoriety for them as well.

So I became Lord Voldemort. And people did come to fear me. Although I never even performed half of the acts attributed to me, people believed whatever the Ministry told them, just as they always had. And I did nothing to dissuade their beliefs. I was getting what I needed out of a reputation I never earned. People feared me. My own followers began to believe what they heard from the Ministry, even thought they knew most of the reports being attributed to my doing were false, they still believed them because I did nothing to change that.

It's not exactly the persona I would have chosen for myself, mind you. I would have far preferred that people listened to me when I had first tried to tell them what the true evil in their community was. But they weren't interested in that. They wouldn't listen to Tom Riddle spouting off about what atrocities the Ministry was doing. But they would listen to the Ministry tell them what a powerful and feared wizard Lord Voldemort was.

Again, not exactly the persona I would have chosen for myself, but it got things done I could never have done on my own. But that's all Voldemort is really, Harry. He's just a part I play. Under it all, I am no different from anyone else. Just a man who is trying to fight for something he believes in."

As they continued through the maze of tunnels Harry fell into an uneasy silence. Everything the man had said sounded reasonable. Even believable. But how could it be true that the Ministry was behind his parents deaths?

But hadn't Dumbledore even voiced misgivings about the activities of the Ministry as of late. As well as others who felt they were acting more in their own interests than in those of the whole community?

But his thoughts were cut short when Voldemort brought them to an abrupt halt. Harry looked up in surprise to find himself facing a doorway which was showing itself as a free and clear passage to the outside. Beyond the door the forest beckoned as sunlight filtered through the trees. Looking about him Harry was equally amazed to find they were suddenly standing in a large courtyard area. But he had no recollection of how they had gotten there.

"Where are we?" Harry ask, still looking about the courtyard.

"Where we are isn't as important as where we're going." Voldemort replied. "Which is out of this place."

Harry immediately stopped the man as he started for the doorway, grabbing his arm and pulling him back. "But what about the others?!" He asked. "We can't leave them here!"

Voldemort turned back to the teenager. "They've likely already found their own way out, Harry. The wizard could have kept us in this castle indefinitely. But he's giving us the key to the way out. Perhaps he's tired of whatever little games he's been playing and now we're free to go. I suggest we don't look this gift horse in the mouth too long and hard, all right?"

But Harry held back still. "If the others are outside already, where are they?" He ask. "They wouldn't leave without us."

"Perhaps their exit isn't the same as ours." Voldemort suggested. "We won't know until we get out of here and check, will we?"

"And someone suggested that once we leave the castle we may never be able to get back in." Harry recalled. "That maybe, since it wasn't here to start with, maybe it'll disappear when we leave."

"When we all leave, Harry." Voldemort offered. "Maybe we have to all be on the outside."

"And maybe this is just another way he's trying to separate us."

"There's only one way to find out."

"I'm not leaving." Harry stated resolutely. "Not until I see the others on the outside."

Voldemort stared down at the boy with an equally set expression. "You're being difficult." He stated. "Now stop arguing and let's go."

Harry watched the man start once again towards the doorway. "Why are you so eager to leave?" He asked.

Voldemort stopped and turned back to him. "Why?" He ask in a tone of disbelief. "Why? Are you serious? We have been led around by our noses in this place, we are making no progress at all, and it obviously isn't where this wizard is. Why stay? Unless pointless pass-times are your hobby."

Harry was about to respond when Voldemort suddenly grabbed him and pulled him to the ground. A streak of light cut over their heads and erupted in a shower of sparks next to them.

Before he could think of how to react, Harry found himself grabbed and dragged to the side behind a small outcropping of wall.

"Another good reason not to linger." Voldemort suggested. "We're sitting targets." Looking about he pointed to the doorway. "If we run, we can still make it to the doorway."

"Are you crazy?!" Harry nearly shouted. "Talk about being a target. The only difference will be we'll be moving ones."

"Better that than just sitting here."

Harry looked around the courtyard. "We can make it easier back to the opening at the head of the courtyard." He observed. "It's shorter and there's more cover."

"Don't be insane! That will take us right back into the castle. The last place we want to go."

Harry stared up at the man. What he was planning wasn't the brightest idea he likely ever had, but it was the only way to answer a question that had suddenly worked its way into his mind.

Voldemort started to argue the point further when Harry suddenly bolted from their cover out into the courtyard. He headed straight for the doorway leading back into the castle. Behind him he could hear Voldemort calling for him to stop, which he only did when a flash of spells exploded across his path, effectively cutting him off from the doorway. Behind him the area stayed clear. Harry dove behind another outcropping, turning back to where they were to see an very angry Voldemort staring across the way at him.

Giving a quick look to where the spells were coming from, Voldemort headed out across the open area at a dead run. As soon as he stepped out from the cover of the wall, the spells were fired. But as Harry watched, not one of them seemed to come even close to their target. In fact, they seemed to stay deliberately away from him, firing over his head or well behind him.

For his part, Voldemort kept as low to the ground as he could while still running, with his arms up to shield himself from any debris.

Harry gave the man a less than worried look as he dove for cover next to him.

Voldemort gave the boy next to him an exasperated look. "Now will you agree that the doorway out is the only way to go?" He stated in a hiss.

Harry set a solid stare on the man. "No." He said, meeting the man's astonished gape.

"Do you want to die?!" He asked, the temper in his voice rising.

Harry shook his head. "We're not going to die." He stated confidently. "Because you won't let them kill us."

Without another seconds hesitation, Harry stepped out from behind the cover of the wall and into the open. As soon as he appeared the spells started to fire again. And again, although close, they only cut across his path as he stepped towards the doorway leading back into the castle.

After several more steps, the spells stopped abruptly. Pausing, Harry finally turned, not at all surprised to find the older wizard standing almost right behind him.

"Well done, young Mr. Potter." He said in a now calm and reasonable voice. "But I must ask, how did you know?"

"That they wouldn't kill us?" Harry replied, "Or that you aren't Voldemort?"

The man gave him a slow smile. "I'm a reasonable man." He answered. "Let's start with the first question. How did you know they wouldn't harm you?"

Harry stared up at him. With the sun's position behind the man, Harry was actually grateful for the clouds so he could still see the man's face, which, without one ounce of warmth in the smile, warned him to still be on guard.

"Because you wanted us to leave more than anything else." He answered. "And all the people firing spells at us seemed to want the same thing. For us to leave. They weren't trying to hit us, just stop us from going back into the castle."

"Very good." The man answered. "But un-necessary, really."

"Un-necessary?" Harry ask with a slightly confused expression.

Around them the courtyard suddenly vanished and Harry found himself standing once again in a corridor inside the castle. "Yes." The man replied. "Because, as you can see, we never really left it."

Harry took a step back from the man as he looked about, making a mental map of his surrounding using the guise of simply looking around. "Are we exactly where we started?" He ask.

The man waved a finger back and forth in front of him. "Uh-uh." He stated. "First you answer the second question. How did you know?"

Harry stifled a small laugh. "That was the easy part." He answered.

The man raised an eyebrow in inquiry.

"You made mistakes from the first." Harry pointed out. "You said you met my dad when you were in school, indicating you were there at the same time. But Voldemort was well past my dad's class in school. He would have graduated years before my father even got there. But I thought I might have just gotten the wrong impression, or you just mis-stated something. And I had almost let it go until I found us suddenly standing in the courtyard."

"And the problem there was...?"

"I didn't remember getting there. The same thing happened when we ended up in the corridor together. I suddenly looked up and we were just there. It wasn't like we walked through a ward. It was more like we were...taken out of one scene and placed in another. But you weren't the least bit surprised this time.

Plus, there was Roland's reaction to you. Granted, he and Voldemort have never gotten along so far, but his reaction to you wasn't dislike, it was fear. And Roland never backed down to Voldemort. If he was afraid this time, it was because he was facing someone he had every right to be afraid of. Like someone who had had him put in a cage to die.

Then you were far too eager to get us to leave the castle. And when I wouldn't agree, suddenly spells were being fired at us, all trying to direct us to go out the doorway. But the biggest mistake you made was running across the courtyard."

The man looked indignant. "I made it." He stated sullenly.

Harry nodded. "It was 'how' you made it that gave you away." He replied with a small smile. "You ran like a scared rabbit. Voldemort may be many things, but he's no 'coward'." he added, recalling the man's earlier words, "He wouldn't have 'run' across that courtyard. He would have 'fought' his way across it."

"All very well thought out, Mr. Potter. I'm impressed."

"Now answer a question for me." Harry replied. "Where is Voldemort? And the others?"

The man smiled down at him, and again, there wasn't a single ounce of warmth in that smile. "That's two questions, Mr. Potter. Which should I answer? Or shall I choose?" He added quickly, before Harry could reply. "I think I'll take the second one. They're still here in the castle, as are you. But you can all leave, now, and return safely to your home. All you have to do is ask." He offered, the smile never once leaving his face.

Harry stood before the man, unsure of what to do when a small voice hissed in his ear. "Harry. Run." Was all it offered.

But he also knew good advice when he heard it.

Wand still in hand, Harry brought it up suddenly, and shielding his own eyes, brought it to life with a quick spell, illuminating the corridor with a flash of light.

Having already planned an escape route, Harry headed for the opening he remembered and ran for all he was worth down the passageway.

But a single word brought him to an abrupt halt.

"Ward!" The little snake warned.

Harry skidded to a halt. Turning to the side, he noticed Roland now laying partially over one shoulder. A niggling suspicion came quickly to mind at the sight of the little snake, but Harry figured it would have to wait until later to get sorted out.

"Where have you been?" He ask.

"Staying out of sight, like any smart snake would do." Roland replied.

"So where do we go?"

"Back."

Harry turned sharply back to the small snake, suspicions once again coming to mind. "If we go back, we're walking right back to him, Roland."

"And if you walk through that ward, it's the same thing. The only difference is if you retrace your steps yourself, he won't be expecting it. He'll be waiting for the ward to do it for him."

Harry considered the logic, then finally nodded. "All right. But you're coming with me." He added. "If this is a trap, you'll be right there with me."

"Our options are seriously limited, Harry." Roland pointed out. "This is the one that offers the best route of survival. When you fail just 'show up' back in the corridor, as it were, he'll wonder what went wrong and he'll apparate to where we are now. By then, hopefully, we'll be where he is now, and ready to take off down that corridor, where there are fewer wards and we actually stand a chance of getting somewhere away from here."

Harry considered the explanation, as confusing as it was, but finally nodded in agreement. "You'd best be telling the truth this time." He stated as he turned and began slowly and quietly retracing his steps back down the corridor.

As long as he had run, Harry figured it took about five minutes to make his way back to the head of the corridor.

From the sound of things, the wizard was not a patient man. Still in his disguise as Voldemort, he paced back and forth in front of the corridor's opening, muttering to himself all the while.

"Why hasn't the ward worked yet?" He stated irritably. "The boy should be here by now. There's no other way out. He couldn't have apparated. He didn't just disappear. That stupid snake wouldn't have told him anything. Where is he?!"

Finally the man's frustration seemed to come to a head as he stopped in front of the corridor, causing Harry to pull back from where he stood pressed against the wall, ready to take off again if the man took a single step towards the opening. But instead of moving anywhere, the man stood still as stone as he stared in front of him.

"Becca!" He bellowed, the sound of the call echoing through the corridors, carrying with it the man's aggravation.

Instantly Harry saw the small form of the woman materialize in front of the man. Standing with her head bowed like a subservient vassal, the woman spoke in a low, frightened voice.

"Master?"

"Where is the boy, Becca?" He demanded, anger driving every word. "Why hasn't your ward brought him to me?"

The woman didn't so much as look up. "The ward will only bring the boy to you if he steps through it, master. If it has not, then he didn't..."

"I did not ask for explanations on how wards work." He yelled. "I want only to know where the boy is!"

"But master, I was only..."

The sound of the strike echoed through the halls like the crack of a whip as the man's hand hit the woman across the side of her face.

Harry jumped at the sound. This was Becca's generous, benevolent master? But he simply added that thought to his growing list of things he had to sort out as he abruptly came up with a new plan of action.

"Harry! No!" Roland shouted.

But Harry was already moving. Heading towards the opening of the corridor, he thankfully had surprise on his side as he hit the man head-on, knocking him off balance and into the opposite wall. Without once stopping to consider his actions, he grabbed the woman's hand as he turned and headed off down the corridor in the opposite direction. Most of the side corridor's, he reasoned, were probably warded like the other one. Any one of them would simply take him straight back to where the wizard was. But at least the way they had come he knew to be clear, providing it was the same corridor.

Harry kept running until he felt a solid pull on his hand. Turning back to the woman behind him he expected to have to start an argument about their need to keep moving.

But to his surprise the woman wasn't even looking at him. Instead she was paying far more attention to the wall next to them, quickly running her hand over it. To his added amazement, under her hand the wall simply dissolved, leaving behind an opening they could easily get through.

Without hesitation, the woman stepped through it, pulling Harry with her, then, without a word, sealed the opening the same way before collapsing against it with a sigh of relief.

"How did you do that?" Harry ask. "You don't even have a wand."

The woman ignored his question. "That was very foolish, Harry." She stated instead. "You've done nothing more than make him angrier than he already is."

"I'm not the one he struck."

The woman waved the comment off. "That does not matter. It is simply to let me know I have done something wrong. But had he hit you...he might have actually injured you. This would not have been good."

Harry stared at the woman for a moment. She did not, in fact, show a single bit of evidence of being hit. But he knew what he heard and the blow had not missed its target.

"Well, I appreciate the thought." He replied. "But why would you serve someone who abuses you?"

The woman gave him a questioning stare. "Abuse?"

"He hit you." Harry clarified.

"I did something wrong." Becca answered. "My master's right is to correct me."

"You don't have to hit someone to make a point." Harry responded pointedly. "He could have just told you what you did that was wrong. Or what he thought was wrong."

"He was angry."

"That doesn't make it right. And it wasn't even anything you did wrong. It wasn't your fault I didn't go through the ward."

The woman sighed in exasperation as she got to her feet. "This conversation has no point." She stated plainly.

"Harry!" Roland advised in a quiet hiss. "Crazy people. Not good reasoning skills. Do you see where I'm going with this?"

"She's not crazy, Roland. She's scared...and maybe a little confused about some things."

Roland pulled himself up on Harry's shoulder and turned to face him as he coiled his body under him. "OK. Look, you seem to be having a little trouble getting this. So let me spell it out for you. Harry, she's as crazy as he is. Case closed."

During the conversation, the woman was taking a keen interest in Roland. Slowly she reached a hand out towards him, which he noticed at the last minute. Pulling quickly away he ticked his tail back and forth in front of her. "Ach, ach, ach. No touching the snake. We don't like it." He informed her. "And we tend to bite people who disregard the warning."

"You don't bite." Harry stated.

Roland quickly turned to him. "Not helping, Harry, OK."

But the woman's look clearly stated her interest hadn't diminished in the least. "You're a snake!" She stated with enthusiasm.

"And you're a biology 101 graduate! Congratulations!" Roland replied with the same enthusiasm. But he quickly lowered his voice as he turned back to Harry. "Can we possibly get the heck out of here while she's getting her diploma please?"

"I like snakes." She stated suddenly.

Roland turned back to her. "Like?" He snapped. "Lady, all you like about us is the way we fit into cages."

The woman looked duly insulted. "Cages?" She questioned. "Why would someone want to put you in a cage?"

Roland looked a bit stunted at the question. "I was right." He murmured. "She's nuts."

But Harry quickly took over the conversation again. "Becca, don't you know what was done to the snakes here?"

The woman gave him a genuinely confused expression. "Done?"

Harry nodded. "All the snakes we've seen, except for Roland here, were put in cages and left to die, Becca."

The woman's eyes grew wide in disbelief. "Why would anyone do such a thing?!"

"Your master did it. Because he was afraid the snakes were spies for Voldemort."

The woman's wide-eyed stare disappeared immediately. "That is a lie. My master would do no such thing. He had me bring him the snakes because he said they would be useful allies against our enemies."

Roland shook his head. "What a load of..."

"She seemed very sincere, Roland." Harry quickly but quietly cut him off. "Like she honestly didn't know what we were talking about."

The little snake sighed in exasperation. "OK. Fine. You want to believe her. That's great. Good for you, Harry. I, on the other hand, have never been accused of ever being that gullible."

Harry gave the snake a pointed stare before turning back to the woman. "Becca, do you know where the others are? Can you bring them here?"

Becca's expression took on an almost excited look. "If I do, will you then let me send you back to your home?"

Harry slowly shook his head. "I'm sorry, Becca. We can't leave yet."

Becca returned his stare. "Then I'm afraid I can't do as you ask. Not unless you agree to leave."

Without so much as a gesture, Becca suddenly vanished from in front of him, leaving Harry standing alone.

"Now what?" He lamented. Looking about he realized they were standing in another hallway.

"Suggestion?" Roland offered. "Start walking."

"But which direction?"

"How about the opposite one from where we came?" Roland ask, pointing with his tail down the hallway.

Harry took the advice and began down the corridor. "Just stay alert for wards." He said. "I don't want to turn a corner and find ourselves back facing that...that Voldemort."

Roland cringed. "Oh...please don't call him that. Even the foul one deserves more honor than that."

"Well, I don't have anything else to call him."

"Try Heudros."

Harry looked over at the little snake. "Heudros? Why Heudros?"

"It's only polite. That's his name."

Q&A

Canoncop:

No, I've never wondered it.
JK Rowling makes it clear that defeating Voldemort will ultimately be Harry's job.
Sorry, try again.

Never wondered what, Dear?

Skahducky:

What a story! What about Lily saying to take her instead of Harry (in Harry's dementor flashbacks from the third book)? Also, what about Voldemort getting hit by the rebounded curse and becoming a spirit (or whatever he was in book one)?
Harry might believe Voldemort, but I doubt anybody else will.
Anyway, this is a great chapter. Please update soon!

Thank you, Dear! It's nice to hear once in a while.

Well, we sort of covered that. But, since from this chapter you know who Voldemort actually was, you can't have expected him to cover everything. And, based on the fact that he did miss several things, it followed that he was also going to make some errors in his story, which Harry was all to happy to point out for him.

Actually, quite a few people looked at this version of things and said, 'Yeah. Ok, that's plausible.' And it was sort of fun to rewrite the story from Voldemort's point of view and try and make him seem as much a victim as everyone else. And as seen in this chapter, Harry wasn't nearly as gullible as Roland later accuses him of being.

It was a good thing, however, that the wizard never got a chance to try his version of the story out on Orion, who likely would have started tearing it apart from word one. I mean, if a fifteen year old teenager could find problems with it, surely an Unspeakable wouldn't.

MasterLupin:

Oh... disregard my last post. I see... this chapter changes thingd. But for to clarify when I say make it someone he couldn't kill. That wasn't in a physical sence of the word, but rather an emotional one. Sirius is his godfather and the closest thing that he has to a father, he wouldn't be able to kill Voldemort while he is in Sirius even if he was to die at his hands if he didn't. However reading this chapter, just re-afferms that Harry wouldn't be able to kill Voldermort while in Sirius body, or even his own.

Per your instructions, I am disregarding the last post.

Good point. No, Harry wouldn't be able to kill Voldemort presently without endangering Sirius also. However, Harry's current goal in life is not to kill Voldemort. Right now he's just happy if he ever sees home, sweet, home again.

Now, whether or not Harry could kill Voldemort if he were in a different body I think is open to discussion, since I firmly believe that the end of the books will be Harry killing Voldemort by sacrificing himself in some blaze of glory ending.

As for killing someone emotionally, interesting statement. But in canon I think Voldemort has pretty much done that to Harry already. And not a bright move it was. I mean, who would you rather face? An angry, hormonal teenager, bent on revenge with nothing left to lose, or a sweet naive boy who thinks truth and justice will win out in the end?

Boy, did Voldemort screw up.

CelticHeiressFiona:

Ha. Voldemort's right. "Scaly little opportunist." Now he's just annoying. And he's definitely hiding something. The way he was acting is way to fishy. And this new turn of events intrigues me. Voldie didn't kill Harry's parents. Hmm. You've got a very good point going on. The only way anyone could have found out who exactly killed the Potters was to be told. The only people we knew that were definitely there were Lily, James, Harry, and Voldemort.This chapter was great! I'm really interested to where this is going.

I'm proud of you, Dear. You seem to be the only one picking up on anything suspicious about Roland's actions. And how deep the little snake is in this has yet to be seen.

As I stated before, writing the story from Voldemort's point of view was a tremendous amount of fun. Difficult..., but fun. And it was interesting to show just how easily things could have been twisted about to make him the guilty party.

Tess:

This is really good. I never thought I'd end up feeling sorry for Voldemort. Is the wizard someone we know? What about the other times Voldemort and Harry have fought? Please update soon. It's taking you over a year to write this, and so far I've read it in two days. Keep going!

Well, at least I got one person admitting it. And that was in part my goal. To make people feel sorry for the man.

No. The wizard has never been introduced in any story I am aware of. Well..., until tonight, anyway.

(Author gets whiny.) Come on now! I couldn't cover everything! And truthfully, anything after Book V is inadmissible since I stopped reading there. Just got to danged depressing for me.

OK, let re-evaluate this a minute. No, it hasn't taken me a year to write it. The story is already written. Took me about a year and a half. It's taken me over a year to post it, and we still aren't done yet. And actually, my goal is to get this story arc done before Rowling releases the last book. Which is possible. Not likely, but possible. The third part of this story line, Family Ties, is considerably shorter, coming in at just a little over fifteen chapters currently. But as that it is still in production, things can change.

You read a sixty chapter story in two days? You have any idea how many words this thing is (over 200,000 if you're interested.)? Good heavens, someone had a free weekend! Color me impressed.

All reviews are as of 03/25.2007.

And remember;

Three out of four doctor's recommend another doctor.