Warning: Torture scene described in here, not too graphic but still, you don't like, you don't read. Don't flame me for it, you have been warned.

Chapter Sixteen: End of Summer and a Surprising Offer

Snape smiled viciously at his friend and rose from the chair, smoothing his robes as he did so. He inclined his head as he replied, "Of course Lucius, just let me go back to Hogwarts for a second, I have some lovely experimental potions I was longing to try out. Rats just don't give the right reactions sometimes you know."

Lucius smirked and then held the door open. "After you, Severus, and don't forget your work clothes." Snape smirked back and then left the room. Raiden tried to get up but his body was a bit weak yet and he fell back.

"Don't try moving just yet young Master, let your body tell you when it's ready," Lucius said softly yet firmly.

Raiden blinked at him in puzzlement.

"Why did you call me that?" he asked.

Lucius frowned. "You are our Master's apprentice, that makes you above us in the Death Eater hierarchy. Therefore, it is a sign of respect."

Raiden frowned. "Mr Malfoy, I may be Voldemort's apprentice but I am still only twelve, nearly thirteen. I'm not yet old enough to feel comfortable with you calling me Master, so please don't."

Lucius shrugged. "As you wish, Mr Potter. I think you'll find though, that when our Master returns, he will insist that we call you by that title, whether you're comfortable with it or not."

Raiden shrugged. "We'll see. One more question sir, why are you switching between calling me Mr Potter and calling me Harry?"

Now Lucius looked uncomfortable. "You are Draco's friend, and therefore I should call you by your first name, Harry. However, you are also the last heir of a pureblood family and I didn't know which form of address you preferred me to use. Therefore I switched between the two, depending on the situation."

Raiden nodded. "OK. I assume that Professor Snape is a friend of the family?"

Lucius nodded. "Yes, he's Draco's godfather as a matter of fact."

Raiden nodded again, and then said, "Call me Harry when not in public. In public, use whatever you feel comfortable with. Oh and please, do not call me Lord Raiden or anything that might give away my true loyalties until our master returns. I'm his spy, his snake in the grass as it were. Dumbledore doesn't suspect me, he's not happy I'm in Slytherin but he doesn't think I'm dark, just a bit misguided. I want him to continue thinking that for now."

Lucius chuckled. "A very Slytherin plan Harry. I approve fully. Very well, I agree to those terms. Are you sure I can't tempt you into coming with us?"

Raiden thought for a moment. "Is the Manor warded against underage magic detection?" he queried, as he remembered something Draco had mentioned in passing about being able to practice magic at home in the summer.

Lucius smirked again. "Yes it is, Harry. What are you thinking?"

Raiden smirked. "Bring my relatives here, I'm certain you have dungeons here somewhere, and we can have fun. My master did say he wanted me to read up on the Dark Arts and if possible begin practicing them sometime soon. What better way to begin my education?"

"What better way indeed. And highly appropriate that Severus and I should be your instructors in our Lord's absence. We'll start off easy, even the most basic Dark Arts can have the most delightfully nasty effects."

Raiden smirked and Lucius stepped outside the door, closing it behind him. Turning round he saw Snape standing in front of him with his Death Eater robes on. The two top Death Eaters shared a malicious smile, before Lucius indicated that Severus should remove the robes.

"It would seem that Harry has a very devious mind Sev," he stated. "He wants us to bring the muggles back here, put them in the dungeon and then have our fun."

Snape snorted. "Why may I ask are we doing it that way?" he drawled.

His friend smirked. "Because I convinced him to join us. We, my friend, are going to give our Dark Apprentice his first lessons in the Dark Arts."

Now Snape smiled fully. "Oh this is going to be fun," he said. "I suppose we don't show up in our uniforms until our subjects are acquired?"

Lucius nodded. "You suppose right Severus. Let's go acquire our teaching aids shall we?"

The two wizards smirked before Apparating to Privet Drive. The Dursleys were acquired without too much trouble, Portkeys being made that led to the Malfoy Manor dungeons. All three were in separate cells but within sight and hearing of each other. The two Death Eaters smirked as they landed back in the entrance hall of the manor and then went to collect their student.

Raiden had got up and moved round as soon as Lucius had left. Draco and Narcissa had come in to help him until he was steady on his feet, which didn't take long. They were discussing the finer points of Quidditch and its effect on grades when there was a knock on the door.

Narcissa opened it to find Lucius and Severus on the other side. She took one look at their robes and masks and nodded. Raiden looked up and saw his two teachers standing just outside the door. He stood and walked towards them.

"Are they ready?" he questioned, his voice quiet, yet cold, as he was experiencing conflicting emotions. He was excited to be finally learning the Dark Arts but was also a bit scared to be practicing on human targets. The fact that his targets were his relatives didn't bother him overly much, they were abusive and cruel, and he was only repaying them in kind. He just didn't want to stuff up in front of his master's two most trusted followers.

"Harry where are you going?" Draco asked.

Raiden turned slightly. "Your father and Professor Snape have acquired my relatives for me. They're going to allow me to have revenge for their treatment of me, and then they're going to go further than I can at present."

Draco's eyes narrowed. "They're going to teach you the Dark Arts aren't they?" he said shrewdly.

Raiden nodded. "Yes."

Before he could speak further, Lucius interrupted him. "We're not going to teach him any more than we taught you, Draco. Think of it as us helping him catch up on what he should know. You'll get him back in an hour or so."

Draco nodded, and then yawned. "Fine. We're going to be up early tomorrow morning though. Quidditch training with Blaise and Daphne."

Lucius looked at the time. "Heavens yes, we should be going. Ready, Harry?"

Raiden nodded and followed his two instructors down to the dungeons. What he saw made his eyes widen. The Dursleys had obviously been dragged out of bed, and Raiden fought not to gag at the sight of Vernon Dursley in boxers.

He stood slightly behind Severus as Lucius walked forward, waking the muggles up with hard kicks to their stomachs. They woke, groaning, only to snarl at the blond haired wizard standing above them.

"Why are we here freak!" Vernon snarled.

Lucius smiled coldly. "You and your family are here, muggle, because I told you that I would exact revenge for what you did to Harry Potter. Now, he happens to be a very important person in our world, and my friend and I don't approve of what you did."

Severus stepped forward. He lowered his voice to the silky, menacing drawl that caused first and second years to wet themselves, and the seniors to tremble, and said, "There are two types of wizards in our world muggle, the muggle-lovers, who wouldn't harm you too badly even though they wouldn't like what you've done to Mr Potter, and the other sort, which I and my friend belong to, who absolutely despise muggles, and only have the bare minimum of tolerance for the lot of you. Mr Potter is in my House at school, and as such, I feel a certain level of protectiveness towards him. My friend is his best friend's father. Now, our sort of wizards love to torture your kind and you're going to experience a world of pain before we're finished with you."

The Dursleys shook with fear, dimwitted they may be but they understood the clear danger they were in. Lucius and Severus shared a glance, then stepped back to reveal Raiden. A discreet flick of Snape's wand before he was revealed had Raiden dressed fairly imposingly even though he still had some growing to do before he reached his full adult height.

Raiden was now dressed in black trousers, and a dark green silk shirt with silver lining at the cuffs and collar which was tucked loosely into the waistband. The trouser legs were tucked into black boots that reached halfway up his calves. A black cloak completed the image. Vernon snarled as he recognized his nephew in the young man standing above him.

"So you lived did you freak," he snarled. Raiden raised an eyebrow before casting his first curse of the night.

"Tormentia," he hissed, sounding very much like Voldemort in that moment, given that the Dark Lord sounded snake like when he cursed people as well. It wasn't parseltonue, just a very sibilant hissing quality to the words.

Vernon writhed for a few moments before Raiden ended the curse. "Don't call me that again Dursley." He waited, locking his eyes with those of his uncle's as the man nodded shakily. Satisfied, Raiden stepped back, before looking towards Lucius and Severus for further instruction.

"What now?" he asked. The two men smirked; it was time for the lesson to begin.

Lucius and Snape stood on either side of him, their wands pointing at Vernon. Snape was the one who began the lesson.

"Now, Mr Potter, aim your wand at the target and say adflicto ossis. Aim for a leg for now, there's no need to aim anywhere that might be lethal."

Raiden nodded, aimed his wand at Vernon's left leg and said "adflicto ossis" fairly forcefully. He felt a flare of magic within him and then it died. He looked at his wand in disgust, and then up at Snape and Malfoy. They were looking at him intently but with no sign of pity or disgust.

"Try again, Harry, Draco couldn't do it the first time either. The difference between the Dark Arts and regular spells are that you have to want to cause pain. You have to want your subject to suffer the effects of the spell you're using. This is especially important when you get up to the higher Dark Arts, and the Unforgivables. Now, try again."

Raiden nodded and aimed his wand at Vernon's leg again. This time he thought fiercely about how it hurt when Vernon broke his own leg when he was little. Breathing deeply he said "Adflicto ossis."

A jet of sickly yellow light came out of his wand and impacted with Vernon's leg. There was a sound of breaking bone and Vernon howled in pain. Raiden smirked and said, "Doesn't feel so good when it happens to you does it." Vernon snarled at him, almost foaming at the mouth. Disgusted, Raiden cast the spell again and broke Vernon's other leg. He was about to ask for another spell when an idea hit him.

"Professor, do you know what Lockhart did to me during that Quidditch game last year?" he asked.

Lucius looked puzzled but Snape looked positively delighted. "I do Harry, however, it would require a bit of work to cast properly. It's a variation on a summoning charm, which you don't learn till fourth year. Why?"

Raiden shrugged. "I know how painful it was and I wanted my dear uncle to experience its pleasure."

Snape shrugged as well. "If you're serious about leaving these, people, alive then you can always return when you're of age and show them what it feels like."

Raiden almost pouted. "Damn. OK, what other spells can you show me?"

The lesson continued, with both Lucius and Severus showing Raiden the basics of the Dark Arts, until Raiden covered a yawn with his hand. This did not go unnoticed by the two men who promptly stopped the lesson.

"You're tired, Harry, go to bed. You've got the basics down as well as Draco has, and you need to sleep. We'll continue here, Severus still has his potions to try out after all."

Harry looked at Lucius in bewilderment. For all that he didn't show his feelings; he did miss having a family of his own. The closest thing he had to a father at the moment was Voldemort, and he was still a ghost or, whatever else he was. He turned to go and then stopped and turned back.

"I'll go in a minute, I just wanted to say something first. You remember my idea about my lovely cousin," he sneered. Both older wizards nodded. Raiden walked closer and then looked at the Dursleys. "I don't want them hearing about my idea beforehand," he said. Snape and Malfoy exchanged glances and then Snape performed a silencing charm.

When Raiden walked out the door, he left three very fearful prisoners, and two gobsmacked Death Eaters who were positively giddy at the thought of what Raiden would be like as an adult. They looked towards the Dursleys with evil grins as they prepared to do what Raiden wanted.

Dudley was first. Snape pulled a purple potion out of his robe pocket and smiled maliciously. "Open up Mr Dursley. It might taste nicer than the normal potions I make. I wouldn't know, I haven't tried it yet."

Dudley tried everything to keep his mouth closed but didn't succeed, as Lucius pinched his nostrils shut with a flick of his wand. Needing air, the fat boy opened his mouth and as soon as he did, in went the potion.

Snape and Malfoy stood back and watched with detached interest. "Hmm, turning a nice shade of orange. His skeletal structure seems to be rearranging itself. Not what I expected of course."

"What did you expect?" Lucius asked.

Snape shook his head. "It was supposed to be a variation on Skele-grow. Apparently I got it wrong."

"No you didn't. It's not your fault that the potion doesn't work right with muggles."

Snape sighed and reluctantly cast a spell to vanish the potion's effect. Dudley gulped and moaned as his system returned to normal. The Potions Master then stepped back and motioned to his friend.

"Your turn, Lucius," he said with a smirk. Lucius smiled at him and moved forward, aiming his wand at the frightened boy in front of him. Part of him recoiled at hurting a child, and then he remembered that this child was one of Raiden's tormentors. That gave him the needed rationalization and he aimed his wand at a certain part of Dudley's anatomy.

"Evanesca intestinus castro" he whispered. He hoped it worked; he hadn't done this particular spell before. He'd castrated victims of course, but this spell wouldn't just castrate Dudley, it would instead vanish the internal reproductive organs, leaving Dudley's balls pretty much useless.

Dudley screamed in pain as he felt his equipment suddenly vanish. He looked down, expecting to see blood. There wasn't any of course. He looked up at Lucius and tried to snarl at him.

"What did you do?" he said. Lucius smirked at him.

"What your cousin wanted," he said. As Dudley looked at him, Lucius smirked before gesturing to Snape. "We're not finished yet though," he added, pleased when Dudley's eyes widened in fear.

"No we most certainly are not," Severus said menacingly. He raised his wand, and cast the spell that Raiden had asked him to cast. Although Dudley would now never be able to have children he would still have been able to have sex. Until the spell hit him of course.

Dudley writhed and shrieked as the spell worked on him. This one was particularly nasty, it ensured that not only could Dudley never have children, he would not be able to become aroused at all, no matter how hard he tried. Muggle aphrodisiacs wouldn't help either.

When the spell had finished, there was one more spell that was cast on him, a spell that ensured that he would be able to tell no one about what had happened to him or his parents at all.

Dismissing the youngest Dursley, except to cast a silencing charm on him, the two wizards proceeded to Petunia. This time, Raiden hadn't really wanted anything special done, and had just asked them to do something appropriately nasty to her.

"Maybe we should set Narcissa on her?" Lucius murmured.

Snape snorted at the mental image. "Maybe but she's probably mothering Raiden to death right now. You do realize you're probably going to end up adopting him, or at least having legal guardianship of him don't you?"

Lucius smirked. "What about you Sev? He holds you in just as much esteem as he does me, probably more so really."

Snape shook his head. "No Luc, I'm unsuited to raise a child. I don't mind being Head of House, but full time parenting? No thanks."

Lucius shook his head. "Oh well, your loss. It can be quite rewarding you know." Snape nodded slowly before reiterating his earlier comment. The two wizards then turned to Petunia and lowered the silencing charm around them that had prevented her from hearing their conversation.

"Petunia Dursley," Snape started, disgust and disdain dripping liberally from every syllable. "How you are in any way related to Lily Evans Potter is beyond me. She was a lovely woman, and you are a jealous, spiteful old hag."

Lucius took over. "How anyone can mistreat a child they're supposed to care for is beyond me. Especially a family member. Harry Potter is your nephew for Merlin's sake and you allowed him to be abused! More than that, you actively helped!"

Petunia glared at him but said nothing. Lucius shook his head. "Sev, I'm at a loss as to what to do here. Our student had no specific wishes here so we can be as creative as we wish."

Snape smiled, and it wasn't a nice smile. "How about ruining her reputation? She loves gossip and other such things, how about making her and her husband the source of some, shall we say unsavory rumours?"

Lucius thought for a moment and then chuckled softly. "Especially if some of those rumours prove to be true." The two wizards smiled in anticipation and then Severus turned to the frightened woman on the floor.

"Legilimens" he whispered. He rifled through her mind quickly and found the perfect way to hurt her without resorting to physical harm. Pulling out he turned to his companion and smirked.

"This should be right up your alley, Luc. She's obsessed with appearances."

Lucius smirked. "Ah yes, now I know the perfect way to harm her. She likes her home's appearance doesn't she?" Receiving a nod from his friend he smirked again.

"Just cast a spell on her so that no matter how much she cleans her home and tidies up her garden, to outsiders it will appear as though she and her family live in some back alley slum."

The two wizards grinned evilly and then they turned, raising their wands. In unison, they cast the spell, which enveloped Petunia and sank into her skin. Leaving her with the same restrictions as her son, that being that she couldn't talk to anyone about what had happened. Then they turned to Vernon, both of them wishing that they could kill him. Unfortunately they couldn't, Raiden had been specific, no killing allowed.

That didn't mean a bit of gratuitious torture and violence was out though. Smiling evilly they advanced on their prey…

By the time they were finished, Vernon Dursley was in a very sorry state. His eyes were running with tears that he hadn't been able to hold back, and his body bore signs of various torture curses, advanced Dark Arts that neither Raiden nor Draco were magically powerful enough yet to cast. His bones, including the leg that Raiden had broken at the start, had been healed and broken multiple times. Snape had taken Raiden's question and done a Lockhart on two of Vernon's ribs, before healing them with a very painful spell.

Lucius hadn't been outdone, and had shown his creative flair that made him so feared. Vernon was subjected to illusionary horrors, experienced spontaneous organ rejection, making sure the organs were ones that he didn't need anyway. Snape had asked if he really needed his stomach, given that with the amount of fat on him he could probably survive for years without it. Lucius had replied in the affirmative, although it had given him a brilliantly nasty idea.

Two spells later and both Vernon and Dudley would not gain any nourishment from 9 out of every 10 meals that they ate. Worse, to prevent them from pigging out on meals that they would get nourishment from, the order was thoroughly randomized. Any meal that they weren't supposed to gain anything from, would taste like dust. Only the meal that they would gain sustenance from would taste like food.

Once the two Death Eaters had exhausted their creativity, they stood back. Looking at each other they pointed their wands at their targets and cast one last spell. This was a Cruciatus curse, designed so that if they ever thought badly of magic, wizards, or of Harry himself, they would experience an agony that would not drive them insane, but would stay with them. The pain itself would last only a few minutes, but the aftereffects would linger, the worse the thought, the longer the aftereffects.

The Dursleys were then stupefied and returned to Privet Drive, landing back home in their beds, with their memories of the evening intact, but not able to talk of it to anyone, muggle or wizard.

The next day, Raiden awoke with a yawn, stretching out and enjoying the luxurious bed he was in. A knock at the door drew his attention and he called out, "Come in."

Draco entered, dressed in his pyjamas and a robe. He sighed upon seeing Raiden still in bed. "Come on lazy, let's get breakfast and then we can practice Quidditch."

"What about homework?" Raiden asked.

Draco rolled his eyes. "Merlin, don't let my father hear that. He'll start nagging me to do mine as well and then we'll never get to play."

"I'm assuming your good grades these past two years are due to Harry then, am I right?" a voice said from behind them. The two boys looked over to the door to find Lucius lounging against the door frame with an amused smirk on his face.

"My grades are fine, Father," Draco muttered.

Raiden chuckled. "Have you heard of my little grade deception regarding my relatives?" he asked no one in particular. Draco had heard it but Lucius hadn't so Raiden related the story. Lucius laughed, admiring Raiden's cunning and manipulative nature.

"Why don't you leave Harry to get dressed and then show him down to the dining room, Draco" he said before turning to Harry. "Oh and Harry, once you're finished with breakfast, if you wouldn't mind coming to the study, Narcissa and I have something to discuss with you."

Raiden nodded before snickering at Draco's disgusted groan. Lucius merely looked at Draco and then remarked mildly, "It won't take long Draco, and you can practice Quidditch afterwards. Of course, I do expect you to do some homework today."

Turning back to Raiden he added, "I can't really tell you what to do of course, Harry, but since you seem to be the studious one of the two of you I don't expect you'll mind helping him."

Raiden shook his head and murmured a "Not at all sir," before throwing back the covers on the bed. Draco and Lucius left to give him some privacy. In about five minutes Raiden emerged to find Draco waiting for him. As they walked down to the dining room Draco muttered, "My father was looking very happy about something, Harry, something related to you. He might be planning to adopt you, or at least gain guardianship of you, so you don't have to go back to those muggles."

Raiden stopped, which forced Draco to stop as well. "Would that bother you, if he did that?" he asked.

Draco shrugged. "Of course not, but I haven't had to share my parents with anyone before. It might take some adjusting that's all."

"That's assuming you're correct in your idea, Draco. You might not be. Of course, while you'd have to adjust to having a brother of sorts, I'd have a harder time."

"Oh? Why?" was the response.

Raiden shrugged. "I don't know what to expect when it comes to family. I don't know how to act, what's expected, what isn't, that sort of stuff."

Draco laughed. "Harry, it's not that difficult. Besides, we'll get that sorted if it comes to that. It might not."

Raiden laughed and followed Draco into the dining room where they found Lucius and Narcissa waiting for them. Snape had left after the lesson the previous night and was back at Hogwarts.

After breakfast, which was delicious, Lucius and Narcissa escorted Raiden to the study, where they all sat down in a small circle. Raiden kept his eyes fixed on Lucius mainly, although he kept a wary eye on Narcissa as well, given that the witch tended to try and smooth his hair down at every opportunity.

"You wanted to discuss something with me sir?" Raiden asked politely.

Lucius nodded. "Yes we did, Harry. Tell me, do you want to go back to your relatives after this summer?"

Raiden shook his head immediately. "No sir. I think they'd do their best to kill me if I did."

The two Malfoys narrowed their eyes at his pronouncement and shared a glance. Raiden noticed the byplay and narrowed his own eyes.

"Harry, if we could manage it, how would you like us becoming your guardians until you're of age?" Narcissa asked. Raiden chuckled internally. It would seem that Draco was spot on with his deduction of his parents' ideas. He sat back, considering the idea.

"Um, not to be rude or anything, but, we hardly know each other. Not that I'm not grateful, I am, but I don't know how to act as part of a family."

Lucius chuckled and Narcissa leaned forward, pulled Raiden towards her and wrapped him in a hug, noticing that he stiffened at her touch. She let go again and sat back, staring at him with a tinge of sadness in her eyes.

"Well, that's true, Harry, but how about this. Over this next year, we get to know each other, and at the end of the year, you give us your answer. I'll work to get the guardianship papers drawn up, secretly mind you, if Dumbledore found out he'd do everything in his power to stop it, and if you agree, at the end of the year we can sign them," Lucius said with a slight smile.

"Would I keep my name or take the Malfoy name?" Raiden asked.

Lucius and Narcissa exchanged another glance before Narcissa answered. "You would keep your name, Harry, but be under our authority until you turn seventeen, the same as Draco. You would live with us, but still retain any vaults and other things that belonged to your parents. We wouldn't take that away from you."

Raiden thought a bit more about it. Finally he decided to venture a question he'd been hesitant about asking Draco. "What about discipline?"

"Wise question. Never accept an offer from anyone if you're not sure you understand what you're getting into. The answer to the question is simple. You and Draco would be treated exactly the same. We're not into corporal punishment, Harry. If you misbehaved you'd find yourself grounded, or have privileges taken away, that sort of thing. OK?"

Raiden nodded, relieved. He hadn't wanted to ask if Lucius was going to be like Voldemort. Not that he didn't respect and even love his master, he did, but still, his punishments tended to be painful.

"What about my mentor?" he asked.

Lucius smiled. "If you mean Lord Voldemort, contact him and ask about the situation. I'd be surprised if he objected."

Raiden gave the man an odd look before closing his eyes. A few minutes later he opened them. "He is quite happy about this sir, and wants me to tell you to make sure that I'm properly trained. He also wants to say that I am still his apprentice so when he returns, my first loyalty has to be to him." Looking apologetic he added "Sorry."

"Don't be, Harry; I was expecting something like that. I understand completely. It doesn't change our offer though."

Raiden nodded. "Thank you for the offer and I will enjoy getting to know the two of you. Now, who wants to tell Draco to start thinking of me as his brother?"

The three shared a grin before Raiden left the room, and made his way back to the dining room where Draco was waiting for him. The two boys grinned at each other and made their way out to the Quidditch pitch in the back garden.

The rest of the holidays passed in a blur of Quidditch and homework. Lucius and Narcissa gradually stepped into more of a guardianship role with Raiden and he was surprised to find himself responding fairly well to it. The one time he forgot where he was and snarled at Lucius the same way he'd snarl at Vernon, he found himself being marched up to his room and shut in for an hour, after which he was told that he was grounded for the rest of the day. Draco commiserated with him, even as he said that he admired Raiden for having the balls to growl at Lucius that way in the first place. Raiden had shrugged and later apologised to Lucius who accepted the apology and then dropped the matter completely.

A few weeks later Raiden and Draco were seated comfortably in a compartment of the Hogwarts Express, off for their third year at school, both wondering how they were going to handle things if Raiden decided to accept the Malfoy's offer.

Author Note

Please excuse any mistakes when it comes to the Latin for the spells, I found a translator on the Internet but it doesn't do phrases, only words and Latin is obviously not my native language. Hope you liked the Dursley torture, and that it wasn't too graphic for you all.

Until next time, may the Force be with you all.

Padawan Lynne