Shattered Surrender
by sick-atxxheart
Chapter Nine

A/N: I have decided to answer a few important reviewer questions here, before we continue on with the next chapter. Thank you for all your reviews!

Is this slash? No, this will not be slash. I am actually unsure about what pairings, if any, will be present in this story. This also will not be a Harry/Bella story.

Did Sirius just decide one day to become a Death Eater? I still don't see the motive, did he believe in their cause? Sirius did in fact believe in the cause of the Death Eaters, due predominately to his upbringing in the House of Black. Although he is not prejudiced against people such as Muggleborns or Half-Bloods, he does believe in the desire for power. He is, of course, OOC.

No crazy Deatheaters running everywhere? Great question! For now, the Death Eaters are not staying in Headquarters, except for Snape and Bella currently of course. They will come in later, though, and I plan to make them serve their purposes, but in a perhaps... stupid... way. Gotta love crazy Death Eaters :)

I had believed that you would develop Harry past an angered personality. While a want for revenge is completely justified, I do not believe it would make sense. It was just an option- and your opinion makes sense. Harry will undoubtedly be angry, but it will of course depend on how he reacts to his mentors and everything else that determines it.

Thank you all for your reviews.

--

Sirius hadn't wanted to leave the room Harry was in, at first. He had been determined, in fact, to stay with the godchild he had missed over so many years; however, a threatening look from the Dark Lord had changed his mind. Sighing, Sirius shuffled out of the room, slightly angry; years and years in Azkaban had made him forget how demanding evil overlords really could be.

Severus had left also, much to the Potion Master's disappointment. He had secretly hoped that the Dark Lord would trust him enough to allow him to stay; but deep in his heart, he had known that hope was futile. The Dark Lord was not a trusting man, despite what anyone might foolishly say.

Instead, Severus followed the familiar path down to the dungeons of the headquarters. He had never quite understood it, but dungeons had a surprisingly comforting feel for him; they made him feel almost safe. As strange as that sounded, the bitterly cold air and the stoic stone walls seemed to offer a sense of normality that Severus liked to strive for. During times like these, having something simple, something easy, really did matter to him.

Taking a deep breath, Severus began getting out the ingredients to make a potion that always calmed him. The Draught of the Living Death was no easy potion to brew, that much was for certain; however, the Dark Lord never had any shortage of desire for it, and thus Severus found it to be a calming, if not mildly ridiculous, task.

Setting up his cauldron and brewing tools exactly the way he liked them, Severus began to slowly add ingredients, one by one, directly from the recipe that was in his memory. Severus had many times thanked Merlin that he had such a fantastic memory; it was an extremely helpful tool, and had gotten him out of difficult situations many times. Knowing exactly how to make a Potion that could be life-changing or even life-saving was certainly a plus, when it came to battle and death and torture.

Oh, what a life I lead, Severus thought briefly to himself as he continued brewing, almost mindlessly by this point. Making potions had never been a problem for him; in fact, it was what he did in his spare time. He found himself lucky to have a job for the Dark Lord that mainly excluded torture and killing.

Of course, he still did experience his fair share of things like that. Severus vividly remembered the day of his initiation, no matter how many times he had tried to forget; the memory never really went away.

The night had been cold and black, and sixteen-year-old Severus had been sure of his decision but scared out of his mind. He was finally, finally going to make something of his life- and that fact excited Severus, but still scared him. He was leaving behind everything he knew. Everything.

He had already betrayed Lily- so after all, what was left to lose?

That simple fact had been what made Severus' decision. He had lost Lily, and she wouldn't be waiting for him should he ever return. So, as a result, the only option that seemed to make sense was to go away, and not return. Severus did just that, and regretted it ever since.

That was why Severus couldn't quite believe that here, now, today, he was so amicably helping save the life of Lily's son. He had trained himself to hate her; he had told himself over and over again that she wasn't worth it, that nothing she had done or said should matter to him. For the longest time, he had been completely convinced of that- and life had been so easy… so easy.

But nothing ever really went way, did it? And that was why Severus found himself sitting over a cauldron of the Draught of Living Death, crying silent tears. For himself. For Lily. For Harry.

--

Voldemort had barely moved a muscle since he had opened his eyes to find Harry crying. Harry, on the other hand, had shifted in his bed countless times; it really was quite annoying to listen to, Voldemort
mused. He wished the boy would just wake up already; he had always resented waiting.

He hadn't had much time before now to contemplate how exactly he was going to react to the child when he woke up. Being kind was a must, obviously; Voldemort had no doubt that young Harry had been taught about the 'evil wizard' even as a child. How could he not have? He was famous in the Wizarding World, for defeating the great You-Know-Who.

He had laughed when he had first heard that. The pain he had experienced at the hands of Harry Potter surely wasn't anything to laugh at; however, Voldemort had definitely recovered from it more quickly than anyone had expected. He was now even strongerthan he was before, but regardless Voldemort couldn't bring himself to hate the child. Even though Harry was the cause of Voldemort's first downfall, the Dark Lord surprisingly still had some amount of sympathy in his heart. He had tried to kill the boy, and had succeeded in killing his parents; that fact in itself had finally inspired some remorse.

Voldemort sighed, and ran his hand over his now-bald head. Harry Potter's eyes were startlingly green, and they were slightly disconcerting if you looked at them long enough. It didn't help that the boy was staring at him, now; he was obviously awake, and wondering what had happened.

Voldemort couldn't help but wonder if the child felt an immediate connection to him. He had never liked children, ever; hell, he hadn't even liked himselfwhen he was a child. But he did in fact feel different about the child now that the ritual had been properly performed; Voldemort finally realized that the accurate word for this situation would be protective. He felt protective of Harry Potter, and it was extremely strange. Would Harry feel a similar connection?

Voldemort stared at the child for a long minute, seeing if the boy would speak first. When his hopes were not fulfilled, he sighed once again and resigned himself to saying something.

"Hello, child," the Dark Lord said, feeling extremely awkward and silly. He had no idea how to act around children! He had already many times doubted the wisdom of being one of the boy's mentors- after all, he really wasn't the best "father figure" someone could wish for; but Voldemort knew there would be bigger rewards in the end if he suffered through a few awkward moments.

Harry didn't respond for what seemed to be ages. Voldemort continued staring, trying to keep his face relaxed in what he hoped was a kind expression; he had never been good at this type of thing.

When Harry finally did speak, it wasn't exactly what Voldemort had hoped for. It was, apparently, the exact same reaction Severus had gotten when he woke up the boy previously.

The green eyes turned to look at him questioningly, but almost trustingly; the little hands curled up into fists. The fear radiating off Harry was quite obvious, and the older man tried very hard to stay calm.

"Bella?"

--

Severus sighed yet again. He hated waking people up from their sleep; and it seemed that lately, he was getting more and more experience with it. However, the Dark Lord had requested it, and Severus didn't particularly have a death wish. He did, however, feel sorry for Bella; the woman had been through enough hell in the past few years to merit deserving a few hours of sleep.

He followed a similar routine when waking the woman up; he tapped her firmly on the shoulder and then sprang back, putting up a small shield in case she should immediately strike out. This time, however, she was more subtle; instead, she just opened her eyes, reaching for her wand, before recognizing him and relaxing.

"What is it this time, Severus?" Her voice was exhausted, and Severus winced. He didn't particularly like Bella, but then again, Azkaban was quite a cruel place; one he personally thought no one deserved.

"Harry asked for you again."

The words were enough to strike an immediate reaction from Bella, who jumped out of bed with surprising strength and speed. Bellatrix's wand was quickly stored in her robe, and she nodded swiftly to Severus, who took that as his cue to lead her to the child.

He did so, every so often glancing back to witness the look of both pure elation and worry on Bellatrix's face. It never ceased to surprise him that she could even feel maternal; but he was pleased for her all the same. He had no doubt that she and Harry now had a type of connection based on their stay in prison; Severus' best guess would have been that Harry would draw comfort from her presence.

The Potions Master knocked lightly on the door to Harry's room, before slowly opening it. Voldemort was sitting in the chair a few feet away from the child's bed, looking both relaxed and agitated at the same time; it was a startling combination. The Dark Lord looked slightly uncomfortable, and as soon as he saw his followers enter the room, he quickly rose to his feet.

The reaction in Harry's face was immediate. He was still extremely weak, and therefore unable to jump up and run to Bella; however, his green eyes lit up with happiness. Bella had a similar look gracing her features, and after looking to Voldemort for approval, she ran to the boy and hugged him gently.

Severus turned, almost unwilling to witness the reunion that was sure to involve tears. Voldemort similarly turned and motioned to Severus to exit. He followed the man out of the room, not before looking back once.

Voldemort led him to his personal chambers, and Severus immediately knew better than to ask questions. When they arrived, Voldemort took his seat in the large throne-like chair, while Severus stood awkwardly in front of him.

Voldemort looked undoubtedly distraught, and Severus purposefully kept his face down, his eyes low. When the man wanted him to do something, he would give the orders.

He had to wait quite a few minutes before the Dark Lord broke the silence. When he did, Severus couldn't help but be surprised.

"Did I make the right decision, Severus?" His voice was anxious, and questioning all the same. The Potions Master didn't have to look far to discover what the man was talking about.

"I believe the right choice is unimportant, my Lord," Severus said quietly. "What matters is that Harry Potter will now grow up the way you want him to."

The silence that followed left Severus wondering if he had said the right thing, but Voldemort eventually sighed again. "Yes, I know that, Severus, thank you. But what I really want to know is- will the boy be… happy here?"

Severus this time was completely shocked. He had never known the Dark Lord to even care about the happiness of another, let alone strive to achieve it; this certainly was an unexpected turn, and one that he couldn't help but guess the cause for.

Feeling particularly bold, Severus lowered his face again and asked quietly, "Excuse my impertinence, my Lord, but could you be feeling guilty?"

It was now Voldemort's turn to look shocked, and Severus tensed himself and waited for the punishment that would surely come. However, after a few minutes of yet another silence without any repercussions for his words, Severus chanced a glance up.

Voldemort was staring off into the distant corner of the room, looking both thoughtful and pained. Severus stayed quiet but studied the man, who looked almost sad. It was a strange look coming from the one Severus had come to expect only pain and agony from.

Eventually, Voldemort spoke once again. "Perhaps I am, Severus. Perhaps I was… unwise to take the lives of the Potters."

--

Bella couldn't hold her tears in. She had immediately climbed up on the bed as soon as she had seen the boy, awake; he was now leaning against her shoulder, his face showing a look of utter happiness and relaxation.

"We escaped, Bella!" He whispered slowly, his eyes shining with unshed tears of happiness. She stroked his hair gently, nodding slightly and shifting to a more comfortable position.

"Yes, we did, Harry," she responded, smiling at him. She couldn't quite grasp how happy she felt to be back with the child she had grown so fond of. "It's going to be okay, I promise."

Silence reigned for a few minutes, both just happy to be back where they felt comfortable; however, Harry eventually broke the quiet.

"I feel different, Bella," he said slowly. "Why do I feel different?" His face was confused, and he subconsciously ran one hand across his chest.

Bella sighed. It was in this situation that she felt completely lost; she wasn't exactly sure how to explain to a mere child that he now had the weight of the world resting on his shoulders. Not only that, but Harry had to learn of his new mentors, the people he was inevitably now bound to. It was a burden for someone so young, and Bella couldn't help but secretly resent that it was left up to her to explain such a huge change in the child's life.

"Do you remember anything?" Bella began by asking, trying to determine whether or not Harry remembered the pain and the fever he had experienced before the ritual was performed. When Harry nodded slightly, wincing, she took that to mean yes.

"Well, the man who was sitting here with you? The one with the pale face?" She asked, looking for a sign of recognition. When Harry nodded once again, looking afraid, Bella continued. She stroked his hair as she talked, and squeezed his hand, hoping to relay a message of comfort to him.

"A ritual was performed," Bella began. "One that bound you to two people- the man who was here with you before, and another man who you knew as a child."

Bellatrix knew she wasn't doing an extremely good job explaining what was going on; but she was trying to tell him in terms he would understand. She hoped it was working.

Harry's eyes had lit up, however, when she had said another man who you knew as a child. "Who?" he whispered, looking at her trustingly.

"His name is Sirius Black," Bella responded, watching him carefully. Would he remember the man? He had been so young…

It was immediately obvious, however, that Harry did indeed remember the man. His green eyes were even brighter, and the smile on his face was undoubtedly real as he exclaimed, "Paddy!"

Bella couldn't help but laugh at that, and the sound was refreshing to her ears. When had she last laughed? She knew that Sirius' nickname in school from his friends had been "Padfoot," and she had no doubt that James and Lily had called him that in Harry's presence.

Bellatrix was also slightly relieved that Harry would have at least someone in this deal, besides herself of course, who would care for him unconditionally. She had never been on extremely good terms with her cousin, except when they were children, but she knew that he was extremely loyal and that he had loved Harry.

It took the small child a few minutes to return to what they had been talking about previously. "Why am I… b-bound to them?" He asked, struggling to remember the word the woman had used.

Bella sighed once again. "You are a Protector, Harry," she said bluntly, but still kindly. "You have a destiny- one that means you are meant to save the world."

"Like a superhero?" Harry exclaimed, and Bella grinned and ruffled his hair. She barely knew what a superhero was, but she assumed it was something Muggle- someone who saved the day. Beyond that, she thought it was immensely amazing how resilient little children were; even after his horrid, scarring experience in Azkaban, Harry was still as innocent and kind as he had been before.

Bella was immensely grateful that Harry had given her a way out of the difficult explanation of what "saving the world" exactly meant.

"Yes, Harry. Exactly like a superhero." That was all she said before smiling at him and continuing to explain about his new mentors, essentially his new family. She couldn't help but feel an uncomfortable little nudge in the back of her head, however- she was leaving something out, but she didn't know exactly how to say it.

After all, how were you supposed to tell an eight-year-old that saving the world didn't always mean fun and games?

--

What did you think of this chapter? Thank you all for your opinions about who Harry should befriend and when Dumbledore should find out about these new developments!

And another poll: What should Harry's main personality be? For example, strong and tough but needing love; weak but ambitious; strong but arrogant; etc.

Thanks! Please review!