Author: HatefulRodeo

Story: Harbinger

Notes: Dear Dark Lord's POV this chapter; which is purely transitional and contains some relevant information to the plot. THANKS TO ALL WHO FAV'D, FOLLOWED AND REVIEWED! Enjoy Lovelies!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. I will make no money from the posting of this fic.

Previously:

A knock on his door drew him out of his own mind, looking up he called for Minerva to enter; "Ah Minerva what can I do for you this morning?" The aged witch glanced around the office, raising an eyebrow at the Prophet laying on the floor by the door and then tilting her head in study as she looked at Fawkes.

Dumbledore cleared his throat, calling her attention back quickly; he couldn't allow Minerva to notice something was amiss with Fawkes or feel the strong current of the blood wards holding the thrice damned bird here. "Good morning Albus. I wanted to come and see if everything was alright; it is Yule after all and breakfast is about to begin."

"Forgive me my dear Minerva I was merely caught in my thoughts. Such things happen when you get to my age. But now that you have woken me from my mental wanderings let us go to breakfast and enjoy the Christmas festivities." A curt nod was Minerva's response, rising the aged Headmaster left for breakfast and hopefully a respite from his raging thoughts.

~~~~~~*********Chapter 26*********~~~~~~

The Dark Lord was amused, greatly amused, as he read through the morning edition of the Prophet three days after Yule. It seemed Dumbledore was still falling. Even the Prophet, the most notorious gossip mongering rag, wouldn't give him more than a dozen lines and the small article was nowhere near the front page.

It seemed the old coot was trying to rally the public back to his side, siting the attack on his headquarters and his Order members as the reason why the Dark could not gain any more ground. Dumbledore went on to claim that the Death Eaters were monsters and without the Order no one could stop them; a bit insulting to the Auror Corp. if you asked the red eyed man.

The Headmaster also made excuses on why he was suspected of fraud and theft in regards to the vaults of Lord Potter-Black. They were weak and if anyone believed them they needed to have their IQ tested because only a simpleton would buy it. Well let the old man try and dance his way out of the noose; the Ministry would be arresting Dumbledore soon enough.

The last lines were a plea to the public to stand up and fight, to join the Headmaster in the good fight against the Dark's tyranny. It was heartwarming and utter rubbish! Tyranny? Well that was a bit strong wasn't it? Voldemort preferred dictatorship but that wasn't the point. The point was Dumbledore was running on fumes and his pathetic attempt to curry support was sad and depressing.

Still Voldemort wished him luck on his recruiting endeavor but he knew the aged man would not succeed. Most magical people just wanted the conflict over and done with and now that Harry Potter was on his side more and more people were considering that maybe the Dark Lord wasn't too bad. Maybe, just maybe, You-Know-Who wasn't the murder obsessed madman Dumbledore portrayed him to be.

Well who was he to correct the public's view of him; if they wanted to see him in a better light then he would let them. It did not change who he was or what he would do to take control of a failing wizarding world. The only thing it changed was the ease in which he would claim his prize.

But it still made him chuckle to see the once tame sheep turning on their white haired shepherd. The Prophet did publish the article where Dumbledore was trying win back favor and support but Rita Skeeter had also published her opinion in an article too.

The article was of course favorable to the changes being made by his people in the Wizengamot and also at Hogwarts. That Rita mentioned Dumbledore opposed most of these changes was a bonus and another shot to the old coot's credibility and standing with their world.

The Ministry, Hogwarts and now even the press was in his pocket; the last arena to conquer was the people themselves. This was the reason no raids were being ordered on innocent villages or civilians at the moment. Now that he had the public's attention he would finesse them onto his side and manipulate them to see it how he saw it.

But was it really manipulation if it was what was best for their world not just a select group but every magical being? He was a half-blood as was Harry so blood while something to be proud of in terms of heritage it meant very little to him personally; some of his most loyal; Lucius, Draco, Rodulphus and Rabastan did not have an issue with blood purity.

They respected power and intellect above all else. However, some of his followers were fanatical about blood purity; Bellatrix was among the worst of them. Bellatrix Lestrange nee Black was a powerful witch but unfortunately she was mad and by this fact she would have no place in his new regime.

He would not cast her out. He valued her loyalty and service too much to just discard her but he would make her get the help she so desperately needed to be stable, well stable enough that she wouldn't murder and torture at the drop of a hat. Now he would just have to convince Bella to undertake the treatment.

Contrary to popular belief Voldemort cared for his followers. They had been through a lot together and that meant much to him. But while he cared for them he was not blind to his followers' faults and when they assumed their victory things would have to be addressed regarding some of their baser tendencies.

No more muggle torture and killing, no more blackmail and extortion; those days were done and over. If they could not abide by these rules they would be held accountable just like anyone else would.

He did not want to arrest his allies but he would not play favorites like Dumbledore did; if their new world was to work everyone would be accountable for their actions regardless of wealth, blood or standing. It was a departure from the way the Death Eaters used to operate but it was for the best.

With this new outlook and modus operandi they would hopefully win over some of their opposition, allowing the Light to see that the Dark was honorable and truly wanted to make their world better. In the past they may have went about it the wrong way but now Voldemort was committed to doing it the right way, the way they used to operate when they were still the Knights of Walpurgis.

Ah the Knights of Walpurgis; those days were so long ago indeed. He and his first set of followers used to have rallies, debates and possess faith in the system. Until they saw that the system was corrupt and broken, they saw that their world was changing in ways that would harm them in the future.

Finally, they saw their traditions being cast aside to appease a few mudbloods and that was the straw that broke the camel's back as they say. After a few years of struggle and no result the Knights had changed tactics and began to attack their enemies and opposition, striking fear into the hearts of the public.

It may not have been the best way but they were young frustrated and just wanted to change their world for the better. Now Voldemort could see that the way they went about it was not the best and hurt them more than helped them. He was remedying that now and would revert back to the way the Knights functioned way back when.

For instance he would question Bill and Arthur Weasely as well as Skacklebolt with Veritaserum; no torture whatsoever. When he had every question answered he would either allow them to take the same oath as the twins, if they did not want to take the oath they would either kept imprisoned or killed; he would let them have the choice.

He anticipated that the three would take the oath and be on their way but you could never tell with some. People could still surprise even him so it paid to never assume you knew who would do what. Dumbledore did and it came back to bite him in his old arse. The old bastard thought he knew Harry, had the young teen under his thumb and that arrogance allowed Harry to slip away and into the Dark's hands.

He really should write the old bat a thank you card for driving Harry to him; the crimson eyed man could see Dumbledore's face when he opened the card. It would be priceless; a deep chuckle erupted from his thin lips as he imagined Dumbledore's animated reaction. No doubt the man would accidently blow something up maybe even his entire office.

Ah one could hope but thinking on Dumbledore made him think about what to do with the old man. He could kill him outright and be done with it or he could allow the courts to do their work. As much as he would like to finish the old coot it would be sweeter to watch Dumbledore humiliated when the evidence of his theft and fraud came to light.

Yes, he would step back and allow Dumbledore to be laid low and watch as everyone saw what the old man was truly like. Oh the little sheep had a shock coming for them! Finally everyone would see what he always knew; Albus Dumbledore was a manipulative wretched man who used others for his own gains.

The day of exposure was coming soon and he wanted to be in the courtroom when it happened. It would not be hard to do, a simple Parseltongue glamour would suffice to keep him hidden and undetected and he wanted to be there to support his surrogate son.

Draco; Harry's new fiancée, that would take some getting used to, would be there as well to offer a shoulder for his green eyed charge to lean on. While Lucius would be sitting on the Wizengamot; the elder blonde would take great joy in voting for Dumbledore's imprisonment. Harry could not vote this time as he was an injured party in the old coot's schemes so it was considered improper.

Harry was strong and getting stronger but seeing Dumbledore and hearing what the man had done would hurt his charge more than the green eyed male would ever admit. The snakelike man wanted to be there to support his ward as well as revel in the old man's destruction.

Things were coming along nicely; Harry was happy and engaged, Lucius and Severus would soon be married and he would be running the wizarding world. Soon everything he had worked for in his life would be within his reach and he would grab it and hold on with all his strength.

A knock on his door drew him out of his thoughts, calling for Severus to enter he straightened in his chair. The tall raven entered giving him a deep bow when he made it to the front of the desk, waving off the unnecessary bow the crimson eyed man spoke; "Is it time?"

"It is my Lord. Harry is waiting for us at the entrance to the dungeons." The Dark Lord nodded and stood, making his way quickly toward the entrance to the cells. They would question their three guests today and hopefully they would get more information to use against Dumbledore. They may not be using violence anymore but they could always undercut the old coot in other ways.

The Knights of Walpurgis were the forebearers of the Death Eaters; Abraxas Malfoy was one of the original Knights before they became known as the Death Eaters. In this fic the Knights would have been much like a political party in the US.

Next chapter we will question our three prisoners and Dumbledore's arrest and trial is coming! After that only one more chapter to go and this little ditty will be complete; FINALLY! This fic took on a life of its own and I hope you are all enjoying it as much as I am writing it (usually).

All Mistakes Are My Own!