Marvolo apparently didn't feel the need to catch his breath after apparating into the manor, walking with fast, long strides through the hall, dragging a screaming Fudge behind him using magic while Harry quickly ran after the man after getting his own body under control. He really hated everything that had to do with magical travelling… He wanted to ask where they were going or what they were going to do, but Marvolo didn't seem in the mood to talk, and Harry had to shut the mental link as the rage flowing through battered on his brain.
Marvolo suddenly halted and Fudge slumped down on the floor, but as he tried to get up and scramble away, he was hit by a body-bind spell. "And that is why you should never enrage me." Marvolo hissed to the man. "Tabby!"
Marvolo's favourite house-elf appeared, her green eyes glowing brightly.
"Can I do something for Master Voldemort?" she asked in a squeaky, high-pitched voice.
"Take this man and bring him to the second dungeon. Make sure he can't escape. Also, take the green package from the drawers of my desk and place it in the middle of the room."
"Yes Master." she peeped with excitement, and took hold of Fudge before whisking him away.
They took the second set of stairs in the house, which lead directly to the library, but to Harry's surprise, there was already someone there.
"Oh, thank god." the girl cried out. "I received a notice of what happened minutes ago!"
"What are you doing here." Harry snapped, while Marvolo plainly ignored the Muggle who had invaded the library. "And how did you get here anyways?"
"You again?" Sarah rudely said, and showed him a small knut on a chain, her face showing the most irritating superior look. "Portable key. Evan told me what happened at Lucius' Yule Ball a minute ago and I thought I'd come check if everything was alright."
"Portkey." Harry snapped. "And you can't just break into people's houses. And who the fuck do you think you are that you can address your betters without proper respect?"
~Harry, we have no time for this.~ Marvolo hissed, startling Sarah, who watched him with wide eyes.
Harry smirked at her, and spoke slowly, deliberately drawing out the hisses: ~I know love, sorry, but she just gets on my nerves.~
With that, he turned his back on her, seeing that Marvolo had found whatever it had been he'd been looking for, judging by the two thick tomes in his hand. His eyebrow twitched when she spoke up again, this time in a sweet voice that got on his nerves even more. "I'm really glad that you are alright." she said to Marvolo, and Harry noticed that his lover was itching to curse her but withheld himself. It was incredibly irritating to know that it was such a bad idea to curse Sarah, as she was one of their first Muggle contacts, and had become a vital part in the Muggle-Wizard cooperation process.
"Excuse me." Marvolo hissed. "But we have rather important things to do."
"Can I help?" she asked, oblivious to the hostility in the man's tone, or maybe merely unwilling to hear it.
To Harry's surprise, Marvolo suddenly smirked. "Actually… I think you might be able to…"
~What are you doing?~ Harry angrily asked.
~Making sure she will see me for who I am. This is getting ridiculous. Getting lusted after by a Muggle is degrading and plainly shameful. She will regret it.~
"Finally." Harry muttered.
"Can all wizards do that?" Sarah asked with excitement. "Speak that language? Can non-magical people learn it too?"
Harry exhaled slowly through his nose, trying to gather the necessary amount of willpower necessary to not kill her right then and there. "No, not all wizards can, and yes, everyone can learn it, like one can learn any language, although for us it was a gift we were born with. Now can you be quiet?"
"I didn't ask you anyway, boy. Gosh, what did I ever do to you anyways?"
Trying to steal my love away, maybe? He thought, but while he wanted to scream it in her face, he knew it would be much more satisfactory for him if she would find out through whatever it was that Marvolo had planned.
Said man was already on his way, and Harry had to run again to catch up, not caring about Sarah, who had a hard time running on her high heels.
Harry extinguished all the candle flames with a wave of his wand until they were only surrounded by darkness, so the changes to Marvolo's body, who would probably be more sensitive to everything than he already was, wouldn't be such a shock for his lover when he would regain his consciousness should he lose it during the process. True to the girl's word, Sarah didn't speak or move, not even complaining about the sudden darkness. That did not mean that Harry appreciated her presence any more than he had minutes ago. It felt to him that she was defiling a sacred moment between him and his fiancé. Harry heard a groan in the dark as Fudge moved in his shackles.
"Sarah, go to him and release him." Marvolo commanded in a harsh voice, kneeling down on the stone floor. Harry heard the rustling of fabric and knew that the man was undressing. A feel of jealousy coiled in his stomach, even though he knew there was currently nothing sexual about the act. He supposed it must be strange to Marvolo to have other people here than the victim… and even the last wasn't necessary, as a Horcrux could also be created some time after the kill. The clanking of metal sounded through the room as the shackles fell on the stone floor, and Fudge's hazy, fearful muttering reached his ears. "Now bring him here." the man whispered with sadism.
"What… what exactly will you-" Sarah asked, clearly getting more uncomfortable by the second.
"Didn't you agree to keep silent and obey?" the Dark Lord threw back. Harry heard the man was tense, probably not looking forward to whatever was to come. The girl nervously rubbed her arms.
"Alright, sorry." she whispered, tugging a sobbing Fudge closer. A flare of jealousy shot though Harry's stomach again as she approached Marvolo's unclad body. Fudge fell to his knees, unable to produce any intelligent sounds.
Using a fingertip, Marvolo lifted Fudge's chin until scared eyes met his own. "You know why you are here?" he hissed.
"I…I…" the man didn't get any further, starting to hyperventilate, and Marvolo pushed his head away with a sneer.
"The almighty Minister of Magic. The only reason you were chosen was because you are easy to manipulate. You turned the position into a joke and still failed to recognise your betters. You aren't even worthy of ever breathing the same air as most of the people you had to lead. Crucio!" Fudge's shrill scream pierced the room, his hands and arms flailing uselessly through the air until it stopped. Marvolo briefly glanced at a pale, shocked Sarah, who refused to meet his gaze. Turning back at Fudge, he spoke: "I would have even let you get away with it and live your pathetic life if you hadn't dared to insult me in such an insolent way. Now, Harry, take the book on top and go to page 623."
The teen did as asked, illuminating the pages with the tip of his wand, careful not to raise it higher and cast light on his lover. When he got to the page, he studied the large symbol on it, which was made up from a lot of straight lines.
~This is a rune cluster. I never used it before during this ritual as I obviously can't draw on the back of my own head, but it will help me to focus even through the pain and keep myself stable during the process. I brought charcoal, as I don't want Fudge's filthy blood on my skin.~
Harry nodded, not quite sure whether Marvolo could see or not in the darkness. ~What exactly will happen?~ he hissed.
~I will kill him first, and then make the Horcrux. You cannot help me with that, so make sure to stay away from me. However, keep your wand trained at me at any time.~ Harry opened his mouth to protest, but was cut off. ~No Harry. I will not take a risk. If anything goes wrong… if I go wrong… kill me. I have drawn up instructions on what is to happen to the Dark and my followers until I will be able to resurrect again, and also how I can be resurrected, even though Pettigrew also knows quite something about that.~
~You won't go wrong.~ Harry fiercely said. ~I trust you.~
~I wish I could say the same.~ Marvolo somberly answered. ~But by what happened last time I did this, my experience is that you shouldn't. But we'll see. I have no human body anymore, so it is hard to predict what will happen.~
Harry didn't care that the Muggle was still looking, standing a few paces away from them. He carefully embraced his lover, hoping it wouldn't be for the last time in a long, long while. That it wouldn't be the last time those eyes looked at him with softness. He pressed his cheek against Marvolo's bony shoulder and inhaled deeply to calm himself. "Shall we start then?" he tensely asked.
"Yes. It is no use procrastinating."
After releasing the man, Harry studied the pattern in the book carefully, hoping he wouldn't mess it up. He took the piece of charcoal Marvolo had offered him and placed it on the skin, having a fleeting thought about how strange it was to draw on the one he'd tried to capture on paper so often.
XxX
He felt oddly calm as the symbols were being completed, the charcoal pressing softly against his skull. Perhaps he shouldn't be, taking into account everything that was at stake, but the ritual was something he had done many times before, and even the thought of the pain that was to come didn't make his emotions waver. It had become something routine. He quickly listed everything in his mind, not having to spare more than a thought on every detail. How unlike the first time, when he had triple-checked every little thing. He did flip open the second book though, briefly checking the spells necessary, even though he already knew them by heart.
He mentally pictured the symbol that was being drawn on his head. An Uruz rune, encircled by several water and wind runes, which in turn had another ring of earth runes around them. The cluster would keep his thoughts and emotions stabilised. He relaxed as he felt Harry's hand was steady, drawing the runes with care, not that he had expected anything else. He felt lips at the base of his neck moments after the completion of the symbol. Harry retreated, taking Sarash's arm to drag the girl with him to the side of the room.
He took a few deep breaths and fingered the wand, which he'd laid next to him when Harry had started. He picked it up again and pointed it in between Fudge's eyes, not feeling like wasting more words on the man.
"Avada Kedavra." He said it without much emotion. Killing had become a thoughtless something for him, and the malice and force behind it was something he's only needed at the beginning. He didn't even need to want to kill anymore to do so, which was very convenient in a large battle without clear opponent. Aimless Killing curses were usually unheard of, as they were deemed impossible, like so many magic he was able to do was officially impossible.
He watched the process of death with intent, all traces of magic instantly gone, blown away with the soul. All life, and the coloured energy that clung to a person's body when alive, had vanished in an instant, leaving nothing behind but a faint purple glow, the only energy that was present in everything, but was usually hidden behind other layers. Fudge was no longer a person, but was merely an empty shell of tissue that had the possibility of holding life.
He stuck his hands out to the body, knowing that it would be cold already, unlike what would have happened with a natural death. The vacuum that was left behind as everything left was ice-cold, not yet replaced by natural energy. He felt it creep up his hand, slowly, steadily freezing him to the bone to the point where it hurt, and he wondered if this was a taste of what death felt like.
Quickly, he retracted his hand and glanced up to the other people in the room, noticing with contempt that the Muggle had slid down the wall, her hands in front of her mouth and her eyes wide. Well good, her illusion of him being a nice wizard was obviously shattered completely. Inwardly, he smirked. If she couldn't even stomach this…
He shivered slightly, bracing himself for the hard part. He placed the Hallow sign in between him and Fudge and created a protective circle with his wand. He cleared his mind and slowly sank into his own thoughts, trying to look beyond his own mind and look into his core, his soul, until he found where it had been torn. He felt vague, small tears from earlier kills, but they were not usable for this process any longer, having been too long ago. Finally he found it, and he pointed his wand at his chest, mentally concentrating on the half-loose piece of soul.
"laceratione complevit anima." he started, his breathing hitching slightly. "lacerandum amplius." He grimaced in pain as he felt it tear further, ripping itself apart from the main soul. "Valeo!" he panted. "effundam te in exterioris mundi!" He screamed, not able to do anything else as it tore itself off completely. He felt the soul try to escape his body, rejected by the main soul now, trying to find something else to attach itself to. White flashed before his eyes as he felt his body twist and shift as it tried to cope with suddenly losing a part of the soul that it was supposed to host. He felt that it was trying to adapt itself to having a lesser soul, and he threw himself on the ground, howling as his body seemed to collapse in on itself, bones twisting, skin pulling itself tighter. The symbol on his head burned, not allowing him to lose himself.
A silvery strand came from his chest, breaking free, almost instantly being attracted to the new vessel he had set up and drenched with his magic right before the Yule Ball to make it compatible to his soul. Not that it had been very necessary. With the charms already placed on it and the part of the Philosopher's stone in it, it was the perfect magical item. He shook his head to clear his fuzzy thoughts, once more pointing his wand. "Cludo." he rasped out, momentarily thrown off by the sound of his own voice, having forgotten that his vocal chords had also changed, pulled tighter, like the rest of his body. A pain shot through his chest as his heart tried to cope with the changes, pumping blood harder and faster through his body than before. He gagged and clawed at his throat as he felt his trachea close a bit too. Through his tears, he saw Harry run closer, despite all the warnings he had given the teen, but much to his relief, mentally he didn't feel all that different, although the reason for that might be his current painful state.
Then, it abruptly stopped, and he gasped for air like a newborn babe, sagging down on the stone, knowing that it would take some time to figure out how to move everything correctly.
"Ha… Harry." he said, the first thing he noticed being that his tongue felt odd, but also familiar, as if it had changed more often like this, however this was. "Harry." he said again, trying to focus on the face. Everything looked so much clearer than before… he could see every separate hair that framed the boy's face like a dark halo as if it was etched against the background. He saw brilliant green eyes narrow against the dark and realised that Harry could barely see anything here. He looked away, and saw the whole world move, saw the air float around him and the disturbances in it when something else pushed it away.
"Fascinating." he whispered. "Truly enthralling."
"Marvolo?" Harry hesitantly asked, and Marvolo could hear not one, but several separate tones underneath the main voice, conveying the emotions of the speaker. Hesitance… fright… hope…
"It's me Harry." he answered. "It worked. Isn't it brilliant?" he added, exuberant. He had done it. Really, properly done it this time. He was immortal. Seven times immortal and more powerful than ever. Slowly, he brightened the room a bit so the others would be able to see him, and also curious as to how his eyes would react to light.
"What have you done?" a shrill voice instantly exclaimed, and they both turned to look at a shaken Sarah, who had pressed herself at the wall. "What are you?" she sobbed. "You lied! You want nothing but power! And look where it has brought you, you've become the devil himself!"
He raised his hand, surprised at the ease with which his magic flowed out of his fingertips and wrapped itself around the girl like a dark web. He didn't even need a spell anymore. He was his magic, and it did as he pleased. "A devil? Why, don't I look like myself anymore?" he darkly said. She didn't answer, merely averting her eyes, and he wondered why. She had only ever seen him in his usual form, and had had no problem with it before. Had he really changed even more in such a radical way?
He quizzically looked at Harry, and noticed that even his lover seemed uncomfortable under his gaze. "What changed?" He simply asked, but the only thing Harry did was point his own wand at the stone wall.
"Mutare in metallum." Harry murmured, and the stone smoothed over, becoming a polished, silver-coloured surface. What he saw shocked him. Gone were his human eyes, the stubs of his ears and other small details that still defined him as human. The white of his eyes had bled completely to red, with slitted pupils that stared intently back at him. As he licked his lips, which had now completely the same colour as the rest of his features, he noticed why it had felt so strange and familiar at the same time. It was black and thin now, with a forked tip, like he had used more often by changing it with his Metamorphmagus abilities. Intrigued, he took in the other changes, from the disappearance of any facial hair he'd had left to his ribs and hipbones, which stuck out even more now.
There was also a strange, subtle modification to the way he felt things physically, and it was only when he inspected his hands that he realised why. While before, his skin had been sensitive, feeling everything like a snake would when just having had his skin shed, he now saw several patches of scales that looked like they were in the middle of the forming process. They were as white as the rest of his skin, but slightly harder, although not yet the same as they would be when fully formed. He entertained the thought of what would happen if he split his soul even more, but immediately rejected the idea. The next magical number with an equal power of seven would be twenty-one, and by the time he'd gone that far he didn't think there was anything he would bear a resemblance to.
He wiped up some blood he saw slowly sliding down his arms where the skin had broken before before forming itself anew, and studied it with interest. "A devil… I have never met a bleeding devil before." he mused, and stepped closer, smirking when she recoiled, trying to find a means of escape. He heard Harry utter a protesting sound and became conscious of that he was still naked. He let magic pour from his every pore, changing the air molecules around him into light, black fabric that concealed most of him from view.
"Marvolo?" Harry tensely asked, and he whipped his head to the left to look at the teen, unaware of how serpent-like the gesture made him look. "I… Well… How do you feel? Regarding… emotions?"
He blinked in wonder, knowing that he should have expected that question. "You mean regarding you?" He softly asked, and Harry nodded nervously.
"Oh Harry." he laughed softly, taking the few steps to reach the other and enveloping the teen with his arms. "It seems everything really did go well." he whispered, and felt wetness from tears seep through his robes as Harry clung to him forcefully.
"Wait… what?" they heard.
"Oh shut up, Muggle." Harry snarled, turning around and wiping his eyes dry "In case it wasn't abundantly clear before, he's mine and if you dare to look at him with those false doe-like eyes again I will personally make sure you'll never be able to have children again!"
"Viscious…" Marvolo mumbled.
"As if I'd want… that." she shrieked back.
~What will we do about her.~ Harry asked, annoyed. ~I know killing isn't an option but…~
"Sarah. I think it would be a very good idea if you went home and pretended we never met. Also, don't try going to my enemies, they have even less use for you than I currently do. Inform your Muggle friends of that you're going to take a long vacation, and make sure that you stress that you leaving has absolutely nothing to do with me or magic in general. I will know if you do, and I will eliminate every single person you tell."
"You really are a freak." she spat out.
"Crucio."
When he ended the spell, she couldn't do anything but try to breath, and Marvolo used the opportunity to call Tabby again, instructing the elf to take Sarah away and bring back the Portkey the girl wore. He hoped for her that they would never cross paths again.
Yesterday evening had been surprising, really. Ron had thought that his mother would fuss over him a lot more, but she had been strangely avoiding the topic of the three of them leaving Hogwarts. She'd vaguely commented on Fred and George now running a successful shop, but it had seemed as if her thoughts were elsewhere. Their father had looked tired as well, but even so, he had asked his sons all about their products, especially the ones that combined Muggle technology with magic.
Despite his mother's strange behavior, Christmas eve had been fun, apart from the moment where his mother had burst out in tears when realizing Percy wouldn't come and had not even bothered to reply to her invitation. Charlie was still out of the country too, but at least he'd had the decency to send an owl. Bill had been there though, as well as Ginny, and overall it had been a nice, cosy evening. The house had been decorated as elaborately as last year, and the Twins had demonstrated a new type of fireworks, that multiplied itself until someone shouted the correct spell. While it was harmless, it did make an awful lot of noise, and was perfect for distracting large groups.
The only indication that his mother recognized the fireworks from death eater appearances was a shocked look during the first few seconds it had been in the air.
Ron really didn't know what to think about it though. They had always been an extremely close family, an now there were just so many gaps. Charlie wasn't there, Percy wasn't, and there were a lot of things left unspoken between his parents and the Twins and he. Ginny and Bill seemed to be the only ones who were still tight with the parents, but they all knew Bill would soon settle down as well and maybe start a family of his own.
He sighed and cracked his back before heading downstairs, until Pig suddenly collapsed with Ron's head.
"Bloody owl!" he shouted, plucking the chirping creature out of the air. "What is it now?" Pig proudly dropped a small envelope on the floor, shitted on table and crashed against the window in a drunken attempt to get out. "Worse than bloody Errol." Ron muttered, pissed. He tried to spell the table clean, and just decided to read the letter somewhere else after seeing only a change in colour instead of size of the spot. Perhaps one of the Twins would think it was pink bubble-gum or something and clean it up…
He opened the envelope and unfolded the letter, freezing when noticing the elegant signature.
Mr Weasley.
I hereby inform you that your duties will be needed this Friday evening. You and your brothers, who have received an alike notice, are expected at my manor at seven sharp. Note that after this you will no longer be able to show yourself to any who consider themselves opposed to me.
Lord Voldemort.
The simple, formal letter sent chills to his spine. He didn't know what might have happened and decided he should check either the Prophet or the Quibbler. The latter was probably the best idea, as it still held the most relevant information, even though the Prophet also changed their attitude since the Dark Lord revealed himself officially.
He hastily returned to the shop, but before his brothers could scold him for taking such a long break, he asked: "Did something happen last night?"
Fred and George traded knowing looks. "You've gotten a letter too then? We just got an owl as well."
"Here?"
"Yes. Caused some chaos, but we managed. The Quibbler was delivered not long ago too, and the front page didn't look very promising. We haven't had time to look at it yet, so if you could read it and give a general summary, that'd be great." Fred said, before a customer came up to him with a flood of questions. Ron hurried to the living area at the back of the shop again, spotting the Quibbler at the table. His heart sank when seeing the Dark Mark displayed on front with a ring of holly around it.
He quickly flipped the pages to the main article and sat down. While reading, he understood why his presence was required. If the order had openly given the 'attack' signal, the Dark Lord had to gather his own forces too. He was amazed by that the man was confident that he could do so within a few days, but Voldemort had of course a lot of experience in warfare. He just hoped that they could still help in the shop too, and that not all of his time would be spent on Death Eater duties.
On the other hand, he was kind of excited for it too. He'd finally be able to prove his worth in battle.
Your reporter is back!
by Rita Skeeter
After being kidnapped out of the blue and months of imprisonment and mental torture, my kidnapper finally decided to release me. The reason? She saw the light and decided that darkness is preferred these times. Yes, you heard it right dear readers. During all those months of absence I was taken by one of Dumbledore's followers, and only released again when said follower turned Dark.
Of course, I will not bore you with stories about me! I merely inform you hereby that Rita Skeeter is back and ready to get to the bottom of everything again. What are Potter's real motives for joining the Dark Side? What is You-Know-Who up to and is Dumbledore really as righteous as is common belief?
You will be hearing from me.
A scowling Rita looked at Hermione as the girl read the article with an approving smile.
"Brilliant."
"These are lies. Horrifying lies."
Hermione rolled the article up and airily said: "Something you've never had problems with before, Rita. And there are more truths in this than you might know."
"You manipulating little…"
"Ah-ah. You don't want to get back in the glass jar again, do you? I can easily force you into your Animagus form again. The Dark Lord was so kind as to lift the underage restrictions on me."
"I've noticed." Skeeter sullenly muttered.
"Besides, I was under the impression that you hated Dumbledore. I know quite a lot of people who have massive blackmail on him and no time on their hands to concretely do anything with it."
Skeeter frowned, looking unwillingly interested. "And I take it you want me to do that? What's in it for me?"
"You will get the fame for taking Dumbledore down, will probably get filthy rich because of book sales and on top of that you get to keep your little secret."
Skeeter licked her lips, pretending to think about it. "I think we've struck ourselves a deal, Ms Granger."
"Oh please." The girl smirked. "Call me Hermione."
laceratione complevit anima, lacerandum amplius. Valeo! Effundam te in exterioris mundi: Torn soul, tear further. Begone! pout yourself into the outside world.
Cludo: Finish/conclude/end.
Mutare in metallum: Change into metal
Read and Review!
xx GeMerope
