Chapter 3: Lord Voldemort

It's always a pleasure to return to Hogwarts, it's always a pleasure to walk into the Headmaster's office – the portraits stop their chattering and gossiping when he walks through the door, and no portrait of Dumbledore hangs in that office. Yes, it's always a pleasure to walk into the room where he was twice refused the position that he wanted, and where Dumbledore had taunted him, boasted of the number of times he'd been offered the post of Minister, three times at the last count, actually, and to remember that it's Lord Voldemort who has won, because the Heir of Slytherin has returned in triumph to the school that Salazar Slytherin was driven out of, and it's Dumbledore who has vanished into the darkness, into the abyss, into the nothingness of death. And then he'd thought, generously, I owe Dumbledore something, because the Muggle-loving old fool was the one who taught me that real power comes out of the tip of a wand.

He'd been frightened when the tall man with the auburn beard had made his wardrobe burst into flames, but his fear had been nothing compared with his determination to possess such power for himself, and the school the man had mentioned, Hogwarts, that was the way to get such power. And that was the way to keep power, too, to make sure that the young wizards and witches are brought up believing what he wants them to believe, that a Muggle is nothing more than a talking animal.

Not that holding on to power is ever easy, the position of Minister for Magic for Greater Britain isn't an easy job, and currently the Quidditch World Cup is taking up a lot of his time - it will be the first time that Britain has hosted the World Cup in over thirty years, and Lucius is still working on some of the more recalcitrant foreign Ministries, the ones who think that the Dark Order takes too harsh a line towards Muggles and Mudbloods, or don't like the way he treats the handful of rebels in Ireland who resist his rule – and there's never enough money, although Severus wrings every Galleon out of the goblins that he can. But at least the Muggles won't be a problem, he'd told the Muggle Prime Minister to clear the site where the Cup will be held, because he couldn't guarantee the safety of any Muggle who blundered into the area, any more than he could guarantee the safety of a Muggle who wandered into the dragon reservations, or the giants' territory.

No, the Muggles won't be a problem, but there's still the problem of his final Horcrux - he's got the diary, the ring with the Peverell coat of arms engraved on the stone, Slytherin's locket, Hufflepuff's cup, and Gryffindor's sword, but he's never been able to find a relic of the fourth Founder. There is, however, an object at Hogwarts that may be worthy of housing a precious fragment of his soul - the Mirror of Erised, it's a powerful magical artefact, and when he looks into the Mirror, he sees ... himself. So, yes, when the opportunity arises, when there's a significant death – perhaps the execution of the leader of the Irish rebels – he'll take the final step to guard himself from mortal death. That still leaves the other question, the question of immortal life, because Flamel destroyed the Philosopher's Stone when Dumbledore died – and all his papers, too – and after more than sixteen years of research that fool Rookwood still hasn't been able to make him another ... but he'd pushed the thought away for the moment, because Karkarov is bowing and scraping, Karkarov has come to tell him that all is ready for the branding with the Mark. And he brands the sons of his Death Eaters as soon as they finish their magical education, because the Dark Mark is no mere tattoo – it's a magically active brand, his choke chain, and no one who bears his Mark can raise hand or wand directly against him.

So now he's seated on his throne in the Great Hall, watching the assembled initiates - if it went by alphabetical order, young Crabbe and young Goyle would be first, because sometimes he needs things done the Muggle way. Crabbe and Goyle are half-wits, but useful; it's a strange thing, but a wizard who can resist crucio will so often crack when Crabbe and Goyle have broken his nose and his jaw and his ribs with their boots and their fists ...

But the order of precedence depends on the standing of the boys' fathers in the Dark Order, it depends on how high their fathers stand in his favour, so Draco Malfoy and Harry Snape will be first.

He looks into Draco Malfoy's eyes, and he thinks, the boy is keen to earn honour and glory in my service but he's not made of the same stuff as his father, we'll see tonight if he has the nerve and the ability to cast the Unforgiveables – and a servant who can't kill my enemies is of no use to me.

And now it's young Harry's turn, a delicious joke, really – he'd indulged Severus in his obsession with the Mudblood mother, she'd been his reward for bringing the news of the prophecy – and Severus has raised the half-blood son of one of Dumbledore's wizards to be a faithful Death Eater. The boy and his parents are kneeling before him - it's the first time that the boy has been allowed the honour of kissing his lord's robes – he stretches out his wand, and then to his astonishment the red-haired witch reaches out her hand and pushes his wand away from her son's arm.

He's furious, this is open defiance – and doesn't she know what happens to those who anger him? And he's furious with Severus, too, can't he keep his wife under control? Severus will get a beating for this, too, to remind him that not even Lord Voldemort's favourites are above punishment, but it won't be the pain, it will be the humiliation of a public thrashing that will really hurt that proud creature.

He raises his wand and watches the woman writhing on the floor, but he doesn't want to permanently damage his gift to Severus and thirty seconds of crucio will be enough to teach her never to defy her husband's master. He lifts the spell, leans forward, his eyes fixed on her, and he asks, softly, "You don't want me to do that again, do you?"

But the stubborn witch isn't giving him the answer he wants, he asks again, "I asked you whether you want me to do that again? Answer me!"

He raises his wand to give her another little dose of pain, Severus is kneeling beside his wife but he says nothing and he keeps his head bowed - he thinks, Severus is furious, but he knows better than to challenge his master - but now the boy is on his feet and his wand is in his hand, and he can't overlook this. He's not afraid - he can't die - but he can't allow a servant to draw his wand in the presence of Lord Voldemort without orders, and for this offence the punishment is death. But the damned woman is throwing herself in the way, he should have put her under a Body-Bind, she's begging and babbling, "Not Harry, please no, take me, kill me instead ..."

He tells her to stand aside but she doesn't move, he's given her a chance - let her make her foolish sacrifice if she must; he casts the Avada Kedavra, there's a flash of green light and the woman falls to the floor - and now his wand is pointed at the boy, straight between the eyes, he's got a clear shot now, there's another flash of green light ... but something goes terribly wrong, the curse rebounds on him, the force of his own spell rips him from his body - and the pain is agonising, pain beyond pain, as he becomes less than spirit, less than the meanest ghost ...

Note: I don't know whether Harry will be evil or good in this AU, although I like to think that if Harry can survive ten years of neglect and hostility in the Dursley house, he can survive sixteen years of anti-Muggle propaganda. But I do know that even in this reality, Voldemort is toast.