A/N: Happy Sunday! Sorry It has taken me forever to update this diddy. I've just been totally busy with finishing The Wicked Week, starting it's sequel The Yearning Year, and starting my 50,000 word Romance piece, The Courtship Conundrum (I know a hell of a lot of alliteration going on with my recent titles. lol) that this one fell through the cracks.

Please don't hate me. I know it's been over a month. But the other plot bunnies really wanted to run and play. And I know this is a shorty compared to the last chapter... I sorry. :o(

Anyway...

Good news is: Voldemort is in this chapter!

Bad news is: Voldemort is in this chapter!

Surprising news is: Voldemort is in this chapter!

I know quite a few people were wondering when old Snake face was gonna pop up. Well now you know. It's happening right now. lol.

Many thanks to everyone who has Alerted and Fav'd this dark little diddy. You are all amazing!

Uber thanks go to: Alys, 1woof1,autumngold,carrie fischer , animewiccan725 , Kathleen Yuki ,Melikalilly, and Nightshade's sydneylover150 for reviewing last chapter.

I hope you like it!

~Belladonna~

Into the Darkness I Go

Chapter Four: Back to Black

It had been several years since Harry had set foot in the Riddle Ancestral home. But since he hadn't made it past the lower levels where Sev had been imprisoned, a level full of dark, dank rooms, he couldn't have fathomed what the main parts of the building looked like. A peculiar feeling seeped into his bones when he crossed the threshold of the large manor house and entered the foyer. The décor was light and airy with walls that were painted a soft, subtle cream- like whipped butter. On the delicately painted walls hung gold sconces and a gorgeous crystal and amethyst chandelier glowed brightly above him.

Not the atmosphere that one would expect from the Dark Lord. It was a rather startling juxtaposition: evil and butter-cream.

Harry felt the tingling sensation in the back of his skull grow in intensity as he looked around the expansive room. The feeling reminded him of that day five years ago when Severus had been taken from him, the day that he had come into this very house to reclaim the man who had saved him, the day he had declared war on Dumbledore. Harry knew without a shadow of a doubt that his life was about to change, that something would be revealed to him, that something was….

He rolled his leather-clad shoulders, alleviate the growing tension they held, trying to suppress the nagging feeling that whispered darkly in the back corners of his thoughts, and refocused his mind to his impending encounter. He knew that he could very well have contested Voldemort's request that the meeting take place at Riddle Manor, but instead of causing un-needed tension, he had acquiesced to the demand with grace. Harry reveled in the knowledge that soon this conflict would end with him as the victor, so why not give Snakey a little sense of security by hosting the meeting in his own territory.

Only last year Harry had dealt the skeleton-faced demon a crushing setback by decimating two-thirds of his forces in one swift decisive blow. The fight had been bloody and vicious, just the way Harry liked it. He had killed so many personally, loving the feel of spines crunching and snapping under his hands, heads severing and rolling at his feet, the bloodlust consuming him. He had savored, feasted on the perfume of the death and destruction around him as he eradicated Voldemort's minions and beloved Death Eaters. It had been a glorious night of vengeance, a night of pure blackness. So for that reason alone, Harry thought he could be gracious. After all, he was planning to kill the man. Painfully.

By his side was Remus, Zabini, and his Severus, looking as delectable as ever. Harry's gaze devoured the sight of Severus standing regally in the large hall in black dragon's hide pants, a tailored black silk shirt that was left open to tease his eyes with a sliver of sallow coloured flesh, all of that gorgeous body gift-wrapped in a midnight black frock coat with shiny sliver buttons. Harry felt the insatiable need, the compulsion to lick and suck and touch his husband, to strip him bare and pound him into the crème and gold marble floor of the foyer, heedless of the danger of the situation.

His voracious hunger hadn't dimmed, even though they had just had a vigorous romp not but thirty minutes ago. He loved the ache that being filled left behind. Severus had made him beg and scream with a pleasure so intense he thought he would melt. He would- could never get enough of the man. It was more than the sex, more than Sev saving him all those years ago, it was something more primal. Sev was the glue that held him together. He was the thing that kept his sanity in check-he force that grounded him. The bond, both magical and physical, they shared was everything. If anything were to happen to him-

"Harry Potter, I'm so very glad that you have made it to our little parley this evening," wafted a sickly slick voice, pulling Harry's focus from his husband's delectable frame. The man stood in all his glory at the crest of the long crème and gold marble staircase flanked by his right-hand Bellatrix Lestrange, followed by Crabb, and Goyle.

"Of course Tom. I wouldn't miss it," Harry replied coolly, masking his discomfort and unease. "Care to do this sitting or standing," he quipped, his voice dripping with mirth.

Voldemort's eyes narrowed. Harry could tell that Snakey didn't like his tone or the fact that he called him Tom. It gave him a perverse pleasure to toy with the man and being flippant was just one of the many ways he had found over the years to ruffle the self-proclaimed Dark Lord's feathers. But he wasn't going to play with Tom much today.

"Sitting, I think," Voldemort slithered in reply as he smoothly descended. Once at the base of the stairs, Voldemort paused, then turned. "Severus, a pleasure to see you again after so long. You look positively sinful this evening, just oozing sex. I rather like it. Then again, you always were a dark beauty in my eyes. You know how I found your looks exceedingly appealing." Voldemort brushed his lips against Sev's ear. " Oh and my, were you ever so scrumptious in the sack. You made the prettiest moans, head back, face flushed with pleasure. Oh yes, I do miss you in my bed," the Dark Lord breathily declared as his trailed a lone finger down Sev's chest.

Before Severus could respond to the blatant invasion into his personal space, the lights in the room flickered violently. Voldemort let out a deep, seductive laugh as he calmly ran an elegant hand through his silky locks. "Oh Harry, do control yourself. I can reminisce and admire your husband without you going into a conniption over it. This way if you please and do try to not pull the house down around us," he quipped as he made his way towards a large set of double doors.

Harry bristled at the man's words. He didn't like to entertain the thought that this man, this thing had ever laid a hand on what with his. His to touch, his to love, his to fuck, his to care for. He knew he had fallen into that trap of well-chosen words, a demeanor so very reminiscent of the Lucius Malfoy of old, but Severus was his one weakness and his greatest strength.

The flashes that ran through his mind, Voldemort looming over his husband, filling him, making him moan and writhe with ecstasy, made his blood boil. A light brief touch ghosted his arm as Harry dutifully followed the group as they made their way to a large sitting room. He knew it was Sev's small way to reassure and steady him, for which he was very grateful. He had a feeling tensions would run extra high this evening and he didn't want to loose his cool.

Voldemort had taken his place in a high-back leather chair near the fire, Harry noticed as he weaved his way around a cherry wood side table. There was a second directly across from his, which Harry assumed, was for him to sit in. "Please be seated," Riddle graciously requested.

"Now what did you want to discuss with me Tom," spat Harry once seated.

"Straight to the point, I like that in a man. Don't you?" Voldemort tartly asked as he raked his eyes over Severus once more. The thing conjured a glass of amber coloured liquor and took a sip, deliberately taking his time.

"That's not why we're here Tom. This isn't a social call. Get to the point."

Voldemort smiled sweetly. "I suppose so, but first I would like to clear the room. Just you and me Harry. One on One." The Dark Lord took another sip from his cut-crystal glass. "Will you consent?"

Harry thought about it. It was dangerous to leave himself open to attack and he didn't want to be far from Severus, but he knew the man was playing a game and he wouldn't make the next move until Harry gave into the request. Harry felt an arm on his shoulder.

"It's fine Severus," Harry spoke mentally. "You'll be on the other side of the door. I can take care of myself. You know I can."

"Of course you can. I just do not relish the idea of you being in a room alone with him. Do be careful," Severus replied.

"Of course love."

"That is fine with me Tom. Just us."

"Excellent."

Within moments the room was cleared leaving the two men alone in the warm room to face off.

While internally he was a bundle of nerves, on the outside he appeared cool and collected. Severus did not like this turn of events, not one bit. His Harry was inside, alone with the Dark Lord, while he was left unable to stand at his side. Severus knew his husband was the most powerful wizard in the world, but that didn't mean that nothing could hurt him. He knew for a fact that Harry could and had been hurt in the past. All powerful didn't mean all knowing, all seeing.

With that thought barely formed in his mind, Severus felt the air around him shift. Something was wrong. Instantly he reached for his wand, bracing for an attack. He was about to cry out, to warn the others when a barely audible voice whispered, "Accio Snape's Wand."

Severus' looked on in anger as his wand flew out of his hand and into a dark corner. Looking around wildly for his back up, he was horrified to realize that his companions were all incapacitated. Remus was lying limp on the floor, blood dripping down his face and Zabini was caught in a tight body-bind. There was nowhere to run, nowhere to ride. He was out in the open, defenseless.

"HA-" Severus began to yell, but was silenced quickly, then Catenius bound him in shackles.

It was trap. It had been a trap from the start, not for Harry, but for himself. He had been the target. He knew it was the truth when the voice's owner was revealed to him.

He wanted to kick himself for not considering this, for not weighing all the options. He should have known better. He should have known that bastard would go after him! The son of a bitch had wanted to make him pay for having something the other man had wanted for years.

Severus, bound and helpless, watched as his capture sauntered over.

"Hello Professor, " taunted Ron.

Severus felt a sharp blow to the head.

Then darkness.

"In answer to your question from earlier, I wish to discussss your surrender Harry," Voldemort said casually.

Harry stared at him blankly.

"Pardon me, but did you say surrender, Tom?"

A grim smile pulled at Voldemort's full, red mouth. "Oh yes. Your surrender to me or to Dumbledore."

"I will not surrender Tom, neither to you or him. It is you that will bow to me."

Voldemort laughed. "That's very interesting Harry, but you can't fight us both forever. You can't always be on your guard now can you? It would only take one slip, one mistake and you and yours would be at our mercy."

Our. The word stuck out to him. Ours. Something was off. This whole evening was off. Voldemort's comments about Severus, the feeling he got by being here, all wrong. Whatever Tom had planned, he didn't like it.

"Yes" haughtily replied Harry to cover his unease, "but the same goes for you as well. One slip and either Dumbledore or I will crush you completely."

Peels of laughter once more floated across the room like a discordant tune. "That's where you are wrong Harry, that's where you're wrong," Voldemort taunted as he shook his head. "For you see, Dumbledore and I have come to an arrangement. We shall not fight against each other until you are returned to him. Or so he thinks. I just plan to kill you out right."

Harry's eyes flashed with fear and annoyance. Dumbledore, he should have known the slimy bastard would have worked out a deal with him to get Harry back, to snatch him up and Obliviate him. Turn him into his puppet once more. He would never be that again. Never.

Harry's eye turned into dark pools as his power began to silently build.

"You can try Tom, but I don't think you'll get the result you are after. I'm not the scared little boy you met in the graveyard all those years ago. You should know that by now," Harry sneered, "I did wipe the floor with you last year."

"Yes, I have to say that you did do that and quite well." A smirk pulled at the man's lips.

Simultaneously, both wizards sent wandless spells at each other. Voldemort's easily bounced off the younger man's shielding, whileHarry's caused The Dark Lord to fall to the ground screaming.

"Did you think I could be defeated by the likes of you," Harry sneered. "I should spend hours torturing you. You most certainly deserve it. Yes that sounds lovely. Hours of cutting you into tiny pieces. I think I'd like to start off with ripping out one eye with my hand. From there I think I'll play it by ear. There are a few new spells I've by saving just for you Tom."

Voldemort coughed up blood, then laughed manically as soon as Harry ended the spell.

"You fool. I've already beaten you," he cackled wildly. "I've taken what you care for most. It's gone and you'll never get it back. Well…maybe you will. In delightful bite-sized chunks. You may be powerful, but I doubt even you will be able to put our dear Severus back together after they get through with him."

Harry's blood froze in is veins.

Severus.

Severus! Severus, answer me please! SEV!

There was nothing but silence.

Harry began to panic.

They had my husband. I should have felt it when they took him because of the bond. They must have done something to it, a binding spell to….

It didn't matter the how. It didn't matter why. They had Sev.

They were going to kill his husband.

Harry's world stopped.

Colours stopped.

The world was black.

The pit of hate and madness he had cultivated all these years opened from within him. It swirled around him, over him, through him, giving him strength. Without Sev there was nothing for Harry to hold on to. Nothing to ground him. Without his husband, he no longer cared for the world. He could only feel the power of destruction and vengeance. He had become a vessel for power. Vessels didn't care who they hurt.

Harry reached out his hand and the world shifted.

Voldemort screamed and thrashed around on the ground as his insides began to melt, to liquefy. Harry slowly walked over and knelt by the screaming figure. He snapped his finger and Riddle's screams were silenced, the damaged reversed.

With eyes once emerald, now onyx glowing with unnatural light, Harry stared into the face of his foe. "You're a fool Tom. Always underestimating me. Always thinking me weak. Now you know. I'm more than you, more than Dumbledore. More than anyone. The only thing saving you before was Sev. My Sev who you've stolen. My Sev who you plan to hurt, to maim, to kill."

Harry crouched down lower, practically putting them nose-to-nose. "I'm going to rip your mind apart. I'll find where they took him. Then I'm going to kill you. "

Harry placed his hands on the sides on Voldemort's head and unlocked the older man's mind like it was nothing.

There was so much inside of him. So much information. So much…

Then Harry spotted it…the thing. The wrong in Riddle. He reached out with his magic and touched it. The piece flared, it made the madness recede slightly. It made him forget about vengeance and blood for a moment. Harry focused on the wrong in Riddle's head and plucked it out. He turned it over and over in his own mind until the answer came. With a thought Harry snuffed out the wrong and pulled away from Riddle's mind and body.

"What? What happened," inquired the man on the floor.

Harry's hatred for this man evaporated. He couldn't hate him. He was like him. He was Harry. They were the same. All these years, all these years this man had been the focus of his hatred. This was the man that killed his parents. This was the man who caused him to live with The Dursleys. This was the man who had tried to kill him every year he had been at Hogwarts. The one who had carved those words into his husband's back.

It had all been lies.

Harry extended his hand, helping Riddle off the floor and into the chair he had previously occupied. He no longer looked like the snake-like creature he had been since his resurrection in Harry's fourth year. He had returned to a more human facade. He was tall, muscular, with piercing amber eyes that were full of confusion, and wavy dark-chocolate brown hair. He looked more a kin to the Riddle from the diary, only older, around fifty, a very fit fifty, even though his true age was closer to eighty.

It was disconcerting to say the least. He was so used to the red eyes and the nose-less face. It was hard to believe that this was the man's true form hidden under such an extensive and extreme body-magic. That it had been there for years. Someone had put it on him. Wanted him to look like the stuff of nightmares. A thing, a creature, not the handsome man before him.

"Tom, where is Severus," Harry demanded.

"The tall one with the red hair, he had him," Tom choked out as he shook off the effects of the decades old Imperious.

Harry took a shallow breath. Ron.

The darkness surged and boiled once more. Harry told the darkness to wait, just a moment longer. Just a moment.

"Tom. I want you to go to this location. You'll be safe there." Harry handed him a small piece of parchment.

Before Harry could leave he felt a cool hand on his shoulder stopping him.

"Why are you doing this? I've killed so many people. He made me kill all those people and worse. I killed your parents Harry. Why are you helping me? Why did you save me?"

Harry shook his head. Now was not the time. He had to find Sev.

"Because we're the same," Harry sighed. "Just go there. I won't hurt you. I swear it. Go there. You'll be safe. We'll talk after I return. I have to get Sev."

Harry disappeared letting the darkness consume him.

To Be Continued…