Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

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Friend or Foe

Chapter 13: Aftermath

It wasn't until Harry followed the other Death Eaters out of the unknown graveyard that what he had done finally hit him full force. He was trembling uncontrollably. Pain radiated from the Dark Mark and, added with the pain of killing someone, nearly suffocated Harry. He was close to collapse when he finally walked past the apparition ward.

He knew he could not make it back to Hogwarts. He did not have enough energy to apparate, let alone deal with…

He glanced at the Death Eater that stood next to Lucius Malfoy. A pair of enraged grey eyes stared back dangerously behind the white mask.

He shook his head to clear away the dizziness and slipped his hand into his robe pocket. Upon touching the smooth surface of the stone hidden in it, he whispered the incantation with the little strength left in him.

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Nicolas Flamel was resting near the fireplace when Harry Potter materialized in the middle of his living room.

"Harry?" he kneeled down next the boy. "What happened?"

A look at the boy told Nicolas something was wrong. Harry was leaning against the wall, shaking violently. His face was pale, sweat rolling down from his forehead. His eyes were shut and… he was clutching his left forearm tightly.

Yes, something was seriously wrong indeed…

He helped to boy to the couch. Waving his wand, he summoned several vials of potions from his lab.

"What have you done, child?" he whispered softly as sat down next to Harry, raising a vial of pain relieving potion to the boy's lips.

The boy was clearly drained. He just sat there, eyes closed, while Nicolas poured the potions down his throat.

"Harry?"

Harry slowly opened his eyes.

"Nicolas…"

"How do you feel?" asked Nicolas.

"Better… physically, at least," Harry added after hesitation. He lowered his head, staring at a spot on his covered left arm, where Nicolas knew was burnt a Dark Mark. "I… I went-" He shook his head and looked up at Nicolas uncertainly.

"I know," said Nicolas, knowing what Harry was trying to tell him.

Harry nodded. He lowered his gaze. "I'm sorry," he said softly.

Nicolas stared at Harry wordlessly, not really knowing what to make of Harry's action.

"What were you thinking?" he said at last. "Do you know how dangerous it is?"

Harry cringed. "I'm sorry," he repeated. "But…" He shook his head. "I… I though you'd understand," he muttered.

Nicolas' heart cringed at his young charge's word. Yes, he did consider Harry his charge. He was responsible for Harry's trip in time and was probably the one who could understand the boy's situation most. But he was worried, and could not avoid accusing the child for putting himself in danger.

What Harry had done was unexpected. He had never thought Harry would go so far as to join Tom. But maybe he shouldn't be surprised. This child was remarkable. His determination and his capability to love never ceased to amaze him. And it was these qualities that had convinced Albus that Harry would, one day, defeat Voldemort and put a stop to the ever-lasting war.

Albus believed Tom should be killed, though Nicolas chose to believe otherwise. He had tried, before the raise of Voldemort, to pull Tom back, but their different stances in the war had made it impossible. Now Harry had chosen to join Tom's side. The boy had chosen to redeem Voldemort, and there was only one way to do so. Nicolas glanced at the lightning shaped scar of Harry's forehead. He could more or less figure out the boy's plan. It was a plan only Harry could carry out.

But Harry was still a child. A child with so many burdens on his shoulders. A child whose heart had just been tortured mercilessly.

"I do understand, my child," he said, putting a hand on Harry's shoulder gently. "But I'm worried. It's not an easy way."

"I know," said Harry. He shut his eyes; Nicolas knew he was remembering whatever happened earlier that night. When Harry spoke again, he voice was trembling. "I… I don't even know if it's the right way. It… it felt so wrong."

Nicolas pulled the shaking boy towards him, holding him when the wall blocking his emotions finally broke down. Harry buried his face in his robe, clinging to him for comfort.

"I killed her, Nicolas…" he croaked. "I killed a person…"

Nicolas held him close, patting his back gently.

"Look what you've done to your only friend, Tom," he muttered softly, staring out into the endless night.

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Potter was in pain, he could feel it through their… connection. He had tried to strengthen his Occlumency shield, but nothing seemed to be able to block the emotions coming through from Potter's side of the link.

Voldemort paced around his quarters in anger. The strong emotions he was experiencing from Potter were something he had not felt for a long time. The guilt for killing someone. The fear of rejection by others. The doubt and helplessness. The emotions were so strong that it was as if Voldemort was feeling them himself.

Something within him started to stir, responding to those emotions. Voldemort did not know what that strange feeling was, but it made him feel insecure and he did not like that feeling at all.

But something else was causing him to be so restless, and it was caused by the same source: Harry Potter. What was it that he had felt when Potter called him "My Lord"? Why had he felt so uncomfortable to Potter's submissive behavior? Wasn't it great to have Dumbledore's golden boy kneeling before him? That brat had come to him in an attempt to search for the vulnerable boy that had ceased to exist long ago. But that didn't matter, did it?

Voldemort tensed as another wave of Potter's agony flew through him. Potter was by no means a worthy Death Eater, if the massive guilt he was now feeling from the boy was any indicator. He would let the boy live for now, he could be a useful tool against the light side after all, and he could kill him at any moment if Potter dared to betray him. Besides, it was satisfactory to see the boy suffer… or was it?

Voldemort gritted his teeth and pushed away his doubt in an instant. The emotions of Potter were clouding his mind, but he would not let it affect him, which was most probably the boy's plan. Let Potter cling to his hope if he wanted. Potter had given him a great advantage by turning, and that was what mattered most. Sooner than he had planned, he could alert the wizarding public of his return, and no one, not even Dumbledore, would be able to stop him this time.

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On the other side of the dark quarters, a pair of slit-like eyes followed the Dark Lord's movement as he paced around the room.

Her master was clearly disturbed, and she knew better than to bother him at a time like this. She had been with her master in the meeting just now, as she always was, and what she saw was a pleasant surprise.

She had seen him once last year, but she had not been sure since her other master had looked so different, and his current master had expressed his dislike of him quite clearly. She had thought if her master hated the boy, than it was impossible for the boy to be her other master, until tonight when she saw him again.

She was sure now that he was indeed her Master Alex. What she didn't understand is why her master seemed to have hated him for years, and even hurt him last year. She didn't know what had happened in the meeting just now when Master Alex suddenly appeared, but something must have passed through between her master and Master Alex unnoticed and it was disturbing her master greatly.

Master Alex had asked her to take care of her current master nearly fifty years ago and she had done her best not to fail Master Alex. She had been there with her master for a long time and had witnessed many things that her master had done. She knew those were things that Master Alex would not be approve of, but she had no power to interfere with her master's business, and had learned to accept it soon after her master had renounced the name 'Tom'.

Did Master Alex think she had failed him? She was uncertain. But she was pleased that Master Alex had chosen to join her master. She could not bear to see her two masters fighting against each other, as she had come to love both of them so much. And soon, she would have a chance to meet her Master Alex again.

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"Umbridge will soon find out I've left," said Harry, pushing himself from the couch. "I have to go back."

Nicolas frowned, concerned at the child's state, both physical and mental. Harry had just barely managed to calm down several minutes ago.

"I'll manage," said Harry, seeing Nicolas' hesitation, though his weak voice contradicted his own statement.

Nicolas sighed. He didn't want to leave Harry alone at a moment like this, but Harry was right, he had to go back before Dolores Umbridge got suspicious. The last thing they needed now was the involvement of the Ministry; things were complicated as they were.

He summoned a vial of Dreamless Sleep potion and handed it to Harry, who recognized it immediately.

Harry smiled at him weakly. "Thanks. I certainly need this tonight."

"You need a good rest," said Nicolas

Harry looked down at his feet and muttered something not audible to Nicolas.

"What is it, child?"

"I don't think I deserve it," Harry repeated quietly.

Nicolas sighed. "Harry…"

"What if it's really not the right way?" Harry continued, looking up. "What if I'm merely just helping the dark side and causing more death?"

Nicolas squeezed the boy's shoulder gently and looked into the pair of emerald eyes that were now filled with guilt and doubt.

"Believe in your choice, child. It is not an easy road, but you have to have faith in yourself, and Tom," he said. "I know there is still hope for Tom and I will be with you no matter how it ends, my child."

Harry stared at him in silence, different emotions passed through his eyes. Then the boy smiled and gave him a hug.

"Thank you, Nicolas."

Nicolas smiled. "Remember you can always come to me if you need help," he said.

Harry nodded. He walked towards the front door and was about to leave when he stopped again. He turned around.

"You won't tell Dumbledore, will you?" he asked uncertainly.

Nicolas sighed. "Albus cares about you, Harry," he said. "You shouldn't treat him this way."

Harry looked away. "He keeps everything from me."

"Albus wants to protect you." Knowing what Harry was thinking, Nicolas added, "You may not understand it at the moment, but he does care for you a lot, more than the order and even more than the war. He doesn't want you to be involved in the war so soon, he wants you to be happy, Harry."

Harry remained silent. Nicolas shook his head at the stubbornness of the boy.

"Albus will not be pleased with this news," he said, referring to Harry's earlier question. "I suppose it would be best if we leave him out of this at the moment," he said slowly, choosing his words carefully. Noticing Harry's sigh of relief, he continued, "But you should tell him at some point, Harry. He deserves to know what has happened."

Harry grunted in response, causing Nicolas to chuckle.

"Do you want me to accompany you out?" he asked.

Harry shook his head. "I'll be fine," he said. "Thanks for helping me, Nicolas. I wouldn't know what to do otherwise."

Nicolas smiled. "Don't forget you can always ask for help here."

Harry gave him a wave, before disappearing out the door.

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Since using the Portkey stone would bring him back to the place where he had been originally - in this case that would be the unknown place where the Death Eater meeting had been held - Harry had to apparate back to Hogwarts instead of using the stone. He walked until he was outside Nicolas' apparation wards. He closed his eyes in concentration, focusing on his destination. Then, with a sudden spin, he disapparated.

Once he got back on his feet, Harry looked around and sighed in relief. So far, he had only tried apparating such a long distance twice. He had not had much chance to practice, since there were anti-apparation wards all around Hogwarts. The only place for practice Harry could find was the place he was currently in. The long secret passage linking Honey Dukes' to the hump-backed witch statue. It was the only place long enough for him to practice, and close enough to Hogwarts.

He crept along the narrow tunnel and successfully made it back to Hogwarts. He pulled his shrunken invisibility cloak from his robe pocket, then put it on quickly after returning it to its normal size. Checking around to make sure no one was nearby, Harry began his journey back to the Gryffindor tower.

The thought of facing Ron and Hermione made his heart sink. What would they think of him if they found out what he had done? In order to help one of his friends, he had betrayed all his other friends. Harry knew he could never face his friends again without feeling guilty, but he would not doubt his choice again. What he had done was unfair for his other friends, but Tom was… special. Unlike his other friends, Tom had no other friends except Harry, so it was up to Harry to help him. More importantly, Harry cared for Tom unlike the way he cared for Ron and Hermione. It might have been due to the bond they shared, or the fact that Tom had been much younger than him when he first met him, Harry had always felt it was his responsibility to protect Tom, the same way he would have cared for a little brother.

The thought of young Tom Riddle led to the thought of Voldemort, causing Harry to let out a weary sigh. He still had a very long way to go. If every meeting was anything like this one, Harry didn't know how long his sanity could last, or how long it would take for guilt to break him.

Harry sneaked behind a patrolling Umbridge and turned into the corridor leading to the Fat Lady portrait. He let out a sigh of relief. Umbridge didn't seem to have noticed Harry had not been in the dormitory for almost two hours.

He stopped before Fat Lady portrait. Making sure Umbridge was well out of sight, he pulled down his invisibility cloak. He muttered the password, then climbed through the entrance swiftly, ignoring the Fat Lady's protest for waking her up behind him.

The common room was deserted. It was no wonder since it was already past two o'clock in the morning. Two figures stood up and turned as one when Harry came in.

Harry felt a lump form in his throat. "Ron, Hermione."

"Where have you been, Harry?" said Hermione, reaching his side.

"We were about to find Dumbledore," said Ron. "You never came back this late before."

Harry lowered his head, understanding his friends' worries. "I'm sorry."

Ron and Hermione exchanged glances.

"Harry… what happened?" said Hermione tentatively. "Are you alright?"

Harry remained silent. He couldn't bring himself to tell them he was fine, which he certainly was not.

Ron was about to say something, but stopped himself. He gritted his teeth and looked away.

Harry frowned. "Ron?"

Ron glanced at him, than at Hermione, who spoke up, "We want to know what has happened to you, Harry. I know we've promised to leave you alone, but-"

"But we are worried!" Ron interrupted angrily, finally losing his self-restraint. "You come back late each night, and we both have no idea where you've gone. We're your friends, Harry! I can't stand all the secrets you've been keeping from us anymore. You asked us to let you deal with it yourself, but how can we just stay here, not knowing what dangerous situation you've put yourself into this time? We always worked as a team in the past, remember?"

Harry looked from Ron to Hermione, suddenly realizing how hard it must have been for his friends. A sense of guilt rushed over him again at the thought. Though it was impossible for Ron and Hermione to get involved, Harry knew they both deserved some answers.

"I will tell you," he said finally. "I'll tell you what happened in the summer... the part I can tell, at least. But not now, I'm exhausted," he said. "Tomorrow after the last class, I'll meet you here."

Harry was certainly not in the condition to start that conversation. He already had enough for a single day. All he wanted now was to escape from the world of consciousness, if only for a little while.

Ron and Hermione eyed each other, than both nodded.

"We just want to help, mate," Ron said quietly after him when Harry was half-way up the stairs.

Harry turned around. "I know, Ron," he said. "And you don't know how glad I am. I… I'm sorry."

With that, Harry ascended to the dormitory. He walked straight to his bed, not bothering to change, then drank his potion for a dreamless sleep.

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Harry felt much better the next morning, though his left arm was still in pain and he was still suffering from guilt. He was walking down to the great hall for breakfast when he was cornered by Draco Malfoy.

Malfoy practically grabbed him by collar and dragged him into an empty classroom nearby. Harry was pushed against the wall, with Malfoy's wand pointing at his throat.

Seeing Malfoy's enraged face, Harry was starting to regret telling Ron and Hermione not to wait for him when they left for breakfast that morning. Malfoy would be cautious enough not to approach him with two Gryffindors around. Though, Harry doubted he could delay this meeting any longer, so he had not resisted. At least Malfoy had come to him, not Dumbledore. As much as Malfoy had claimed he did not trust the old man, Harry knew he would not hesitate to report had any other students appeared in the Death Eater meeting.

"How could you?" hissed Malfoy. "You joined him!"

"Look, Malfoy, I can expla-"

"Explain what? That this is what you've been planning all along? You created that absurd story about time travel in order to find out where you can find the Dark Lord from me, so that you can join him!" Malfoy tightened his grip on his wand.

"It's not like that-"

"Not like what? You've been planning you join him, haven't you?" Malfoy pressed.

Harry winced. "Yes, but-"

"I have trusted you! And you betrayed me!" Malfoy bellowed.

Harry shut his eyes briefly at the word 'betrayed'.

"I did not betray you, Malfoy," he said softly. "I have betrayed many others last night, but not you. If I have, you would be dead by now."

Malfoy's face darkened. Harry's statement seemed to have angered him even more.

"All the memories you saw are real," said Harry hastily, seeing Malfoy was closed to start throwing curses at him. "Voldmort-"

A sharp pain shot through Harry's left arm, causing Harry to hiss in pain, which was echoed by Malfoy.

"Don't speak his name, Potter!" hissed Malfoy, glaring at him, more in annoyance than anger this time.

"Sorry," Harry grunted automatically.

Malfoy had told him that Volde… the Dark Lord had placed a curse on all his Death Eaters that caused pain whenever someone said 'Voldemort'. Tom had renounced his birth name and adopted another name 'Alex' had created with him. Soon most people started to fear the name 'Voldemort' and had called him 'You-Know-Who' instead. Now Tom didn't even allow his own Death Eater to call him anything other than 'The Dark Lord'.

Harry had often forgotten that though, and had caused Malfoy much pain in the past. The previous scene of Malfoy hissing in pain and Harry apologizing had occurred so many times that it had somehow become a little joke between them.

Malfoy's anger seemed to have subsided a little. Harry knew Malfoy was remembering the time when Harry taught him Legilimency, the time when they got to know each other and to trust each other.

The blonde narrowed his eyes. "Explain," he commanded.

Harry took a deep breath. "My scar connected me to Vold- the Dark Lord. He can feel all my emotions. If Tom is there somewhere, then-"

It was enough for Malfoy to understand; he blinked in realization. "You're crazy! There's no different than suicide!"

"You are spying on the Dark Lord, Malfoy, and you are telling me I am suicidal," said Harry with a hint of amusement.

Malfoy snorted. "Why should I believe you, though?" he asked after a pause.

Harry sighed in relief. He knew Malfoy already believed him, but being a Slytherin and a Malfoy, he still needed proof.

"Other than the fact that I am the one who pursued you to become a spy and taught you Legilimency, I don't have any other proof," said Harry. "You can use Veritaserum on me if you want, but I think you've known me long enough to know I am telling the truth."

"You will allow me to use Veritaserum on you?" asked Mafoy, surprised.

Harry shrugged. "You already know the full truth anyway, there's not much to hide."

Malfoy stared at him for a long moment, then finally lowered his wand.

He laughed dryly. "It seems your Gryffindorish behavior is rubbing off on me."

Harry grinned for the first time since he had come back from the meeting. He was glad that he still had Draco Malfoy as an ally, and as a friend.

"I still think it's a crazy plan though," said Malfoy. "You should know by now how… hard it is, being a Death Eater."

Harry nodded. "I know, but-"

"This is the only way and you will not give up until the end, right, Harry?" said Malfoy, smirking. "Maybe the Dark Lord will surrender to your stubbornness eventually."

Harry rolled his eyes. Had Malfoy just supported him on his crazy plan?

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Later that day, Harry, Ron and Hermione were found in the Gryffindor common room.

Harry dropped himself on the armchair nearby, letting out a long breath. How to begin?

Ron and Hermione eyed each other, then seated themselves near Harry.

Harry waved his wand to create a ward around them automatically. The ward would not only allow them to talk as loudly as they wanted without anyone else hearing them, but also prevent eavesdropping of any kind. That was a common spell among Harry's fellow Slytherins in the past. Privacy was valued among Slytherins, but not often respected, and Harry had gotten used to casting this spell whenever he needed to have a private conversation with Tom.

"What's that?" asked Ron.

"That is an advance ward, so no one can overhear our conversation," explained Hermione. "But where did you learn this, Harry? We won't learn it at least until next year."

"Someone taught me," said Harry, waving his hand dismissively. Then he turned serious. "I'm going to tell you what happened this summer... at least some part of it. But you must promise me not to tell anyone about this, not even Dumbledore."

Ron agreed immediately. Hermione hesitated, then nodded.

Harry took a deep breath. "Tell me, what do you know about time travel?"

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A/N: School has started again, so I can't tell for sure when will be the next update, sorry.

Now that Harry has joined Voldemort, the plot is going to be (even) darker from now on…

Joelpup62: Harry's not a spy; he's indeed working for Voldemort. Who can he spy for, anyway? He doesn't trust Dumbledore.

Yzliose: Here you are, Voldemort's POV. You'll see more from his view point from this chapter, now that Harry has finally met him again.

silvermist91: Snape was not there, Voldemort dismissed him before Harry came out. So Snape doesn't know… yet.

Amayaris: All I'll say is that Harry did cast an unforgivable and he sure is going to use more dark magic in the future. Will he be consumed by them? The usual answer: Wait and see! ;P

And big thanks to Irihi Safaia and all reviewers!