The next day, Voldemort had made up his mind. He wanted a second opinion on his new puzzle, Harry Potter. He raised his wand, giving it a flick, and muttered an incantation under his breath.

A moment later, Luna came wandering into the room.

Since she'd refused one of his marks, she wore a large neon green bangle with constellations on it, her design not his, which glowed and send little jolts of electricity to the wearer. Not enough to hurt, but just enough to get her attention.

She smiled at him in her vague, yet somehow endearing, manner. "Yes, Tom?"

He twitched at the use of his name, but said, "Send Lucius, Draco, and Severus to me at once."

She nodded and started to leave, but then stopped. "Oh, I almost forgot. I was hunting for a Spiral-clawed Clumporks—they're related to Crumple-horned Snorlacks, you know—and I found this. I thought it might help you calm down. It's a Blibberberry. It absorbs negative emotions," she said, digging through the pockets of her robe and then setting something on his desk before giving him another vague smile and leaving the room.

Voldemort looked suspiciously at the small, brown, rather shriveled looking spheres on his desk that smelled like last month's laundry with distaste. He didn't even want to touch the things. With a prod of his wand, he vanished the thing, and cast a quick scourgify on his desk for good measure. He really needed to make it clear to her that he didn't want, nor appreciated, her… things. He didn't even know what to call them.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door, diverting his attention away from Blibberberries. "Come in," he called, settling back into his chair.

Three figures came in and stood before him. Lucius Malfoy, Draco, and Severus.

The Dark Lord eyed them thoughtfully.

Lucius and Draco looked so much alike, with the identical silvery pale hair and pointed faces. Draco was softer, though, not having the stomach for torture. He was also a little git, but he was useful. He had a natural ability for potions, an ability being nurtured by Severus, and he was always there to taunt if he was bored. But really, the two Malfoys took such good care of their hair it was almost an obsession. He was fairly certain that Lucius would do anything for him… short of shaving his head bald.

Severus stood to the side, arms hanging loose at his side, looking better than he had in years. His nose was still hooked and his hair slightly greasy from potions fumes, but he looked younger and less worn now that the stress of being a double agent was gone.

Voldemort spoke suddenly, startling them. "Draco?"

The boy almost jumped. "Yes, my lord?"

"How well did you know Harry Potter during your school days?"

Silver eyes widened at the question and then the familiar sneer that appeared on his face every time the Boy-Who-Lived was mentioned twisted his features. "Potter? Why do you want to know about him?" Draco asked.

Voldemort raised a single eyebrow, and Draco remembered who exactly he was talking to.

He gulped. "Ah, yes. Potter. I'd say that I knew him fairly well. We were… rivals, I suppose. Hated each other."

"And would you say that Harry was a particularly studious type?"

Draco stared at him in something akin to astonishment. "Studious? Potter? That's one of the last things I'd call him. Brash, pig-headed, attention seeking, noble, and undisciplined might be more accurate. Maybe arrogant, stupidly heroic-"

Voldemort cut him off before his rant, which seemed to happen any time Harry's name was mentioned, continued. "I understand."

Draco fell silent, looking nervous.

He turned to Severus. "And your opinion of the boy?"

"I think," the potions master drawled, "that for the most part, Draco is correct. Yet…" A slight frown crossed his face. "Towards the end, a few months before Potter disappeared, he seemed to change."

"How so?" Voldemort inquired curiously.

"When no one was looking, or he thought no one was looking, he got this almost exhausted look on his face, and he was quieter, spending more and more time with that muggle-born friend of his, Miss Granger."

That made sense, so far. He leaned forward in his chair. "You three might have heard rumors that someone came in with information of where Harry Potter was?"

They nodded silently.

"Well, the rumors, for once, are true. He's alive and well and living in London, working in a bookstore of all places. I went to go visit him."

There were three identical gasps, and Voldemort hid a grin. They were so easy to shock.

He continued. "In a disguise of course. He had no idea that it was me. If fact, he was rather friendly. But, he seems... different than I remember him. I would like you three to come along and meet him, study him, and then give me your opinion. Of course, you three will have to be disguised as well. Are you three agreeable to this?" Asking their permission was just for politeness sake. They were going to do it, and they all knew it.

Lucius nodded, giving a deep bow. "Of course, my lord."

"Wonderful," Voldemort said, rising smoothly out of his chair and then standing in front of them. "You will, of course, need new names as well. Harry knows me as Thomas Deldir."

He saw Severus's face twist in amusement at the anagram.

"Something similar to your names so that you don't forget or not answer to it. Lucius… I think Luke Maston rather suits you." He flicked his wand over the pale-haired man in three deft movements of his wand.

Silver-blonde hair shrunk, retreating into his skull in a way that was rather nauseating to look at until it was a crop, and the color darkened to a golden blonde. His features became less pointed and his skin less pale. Finally, he shrunk a few inches. When Voldemort was done, there stood a muscular blonde man with brown eyes in his twenties before him.

He nodded approvingly and gestured for Severus to mask himself. He actually trusted Severus to do it; the man was at least competent.

A moment later, instead of a hooked nosed man in billowing black robes, there was a young man in his mid twenties with neatly combed black hair, light blue eyes, and wearing a black turtle necked sweater and jeans.

Voldemort was amused to notice that he now had a perfectly straight, and rather small, nose. "You will be… Hmm… Sean Price."

He turned to Draco, not even trying to hide the devilry in his smile.

Draco shrunk down before him, knowing something cringe worthy was about to happen and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

"I have something special in mind for you, Draco."

Draco attempted a smile and failed miserably. "S-special, my lord?"

"Oh, very."

Both Lucius and Severus took a step away for safety's sake.

"Instead of being Draco Malfoy…" His lips curved into a slightly sadistic smile, and he swished his wand. "How about being Daphne Maston?"

Before him stood a petite blonde, with golden ringlets, that was most definitely female.

"What? What do you mean Daphne?" Draco asked, his voice coming out high-pitched. His eyes widened when he heard his voice, and he rushed over to the mirror, only to shriek.

Lucius and Severus made a half-hearted attempt to cover their snickers.

Draco stomped back over to him, looking as threatening as a twelve year old girl wearing a dress with copious amounts of ruffles could. "No. I will not parade around in this form. It's utterly-"

"You can and will. I've already told Harry that I have a friend who has a little sister with a birthday coming up. You can be her. Now, do you have any problems with that?"

Baby blue eyes glared at him furiously, and he had the feeling that if he was anyone but the Dark Lord, he would be rolling on the floor screaming in agony. "No, none at all." It sounded like he was biting his tongue in half to force himself to say the words.

Voldemort snickered inwardly. Being the most powerful wizard in the world with a reputation for cruelty was extremely useful.

"Could… Could you at least make it less frilly? Please?" Draco pleaded, pointing to the dress. "It's making me feel like I'm wearing one of Dolores Umbridge's tea cozies. All it needs is kittens on it." He shuddered.

The thing he was wearing was indeed hideous, the color of bubblegum with enough ruffles to make an entire other dress. "Fine," he conceded, mostly because his eyes were burning from looking at the monstrosity. The pink thing morphed into neat navy blue jumper.

"Thank you, my lord," Draco breathed gratefully.

After quickly, but carefully, transforming himself back into Thomas Deldir, he nodded to them. "Are you all ready?"

"Yes," they chorused.

"Good. Now, hold onto me," he ordered, managing not to cringe as they stood in a circle, Lucius holding his left hand cautiously, and Severus his right. Both of their other hands were on Draco's, or rather Daphne's, shoulders.

Then, with a twisting motion, they disapparated. It was always more unpleasant when there was more than one person. Instead of one person trying to fit into an eight-centimeter tube, now there were four people sharing the space. It was disagreeable to say the least.

They apparated in the same little alley bordered by red brick buildings. Voldemort straightened up and smoothed back his hair. "Follow me, and for Merlin's sake, don't let him know who you are. If you do… I will be very displeased."

They knew exactly what he meant. When he was displeased, bored, or generally just in a foul mood, there tended to be blood, screaming, and emotional scarring involved.

This time, when he walked into the shop, Harry was once again sitting behind the desk, his nose buried in another book, and legs curled up under him.

Voldemort didn't speak at once, but studied the scene before him. Harry looked almost… cute. He shook his head, shuddering. What a revolting thought. Maybe he was coming down with something.

He cleared his throat, and just like before, Harry jumped and emerald eyes flashed up towards him.

Harry's face split into a welcoming grin. "Thomas! What, back so soon?"

Voldemort nodded. "Mmhmm. I rather liked the company and thought I'd come back," he said with a grin, and then added, "And I thought I'd bring some friends with me. This is Luke Maston and his younger sister, Daphne. I told you about them. And this is Sean Price. He's interested in old and rare books."

Harry shook their hands, smiling at them. "Well, it's nice to meet you all. I'm Harry. Harry Evans."

Severus almost imperceptibly stiffened at the surname.

Harry turned to Snape. "If you're looking for old books, we have some on the back book shelf in the left corner. There are some first editions and some rare ones if you're interested."

Severus inclined his head. "Thank you. I think I will take a look," he said, moving off in the direction indicated, but Voldemort knew that he'd be watching Harry's every move.

Harry glanced down at Draco, sparing a friendly smile at who he perceived to be an adorable girl, and then looked back at Voldemort. "I'll be right back. I'd like to show Daphne the fantasy section."

He turned to Lucius. "You don't mind, do you?"

"Not at all. I'm sure she'd love to see them," Lucius said graciously, most likely having no idea what he meant by "fantasy."

Harry looked down at Draco. "Want to see them? Thomas said that you were interested in books about magic and princesses and things like that."

Draco opened his mouth, most likely to say something rude, but he caught Voldemort's eye and said instead, "Yes. I'd like to see them very much," in such a sweet voice that his teeth hurt.

Harry led him off down an aisle of books, and Voldemort shifted so that he could see them.

Harry brought down a book off of the shelf and offered it to Draco. "What do you think about this one?"

The blonde looked at it with scorn. "How old do you think I am?"

"Umm… Around ten?"

"I'm… twelve, thank you very much," Draco rejoined haughtily.

"Right, so sorry about that." Voldemort could tell that Harry was trying not to laugh. "Well then, how about this one?"

"Really? The cover is pink. It's been my experience that no good books are ever pink." Now Draco was just being difficult on purpose, and seemed to be enjoying it.

"Er… All right then. This one?" He merely got a scornful look. "Okay, okay! Try this one. It's a bit dark, but you might like it."

Draco peered at it. "It might be adequate."

Harry shook his head disbelievingly. "You are one of the oddest girl's I've ever met."

For that, he got the book thrown at him, quite literally, and a blonde glaring at him. "Excuse me? Odd? I don't think you have any right to call me that, P-" He froze suddenly.

Voldemort knew the word that had been forming on his lips. Potter.

Harry looked at Draco curiously. "What were you going to call me?"

Draco flushed and looked down, mumbling, "Nothing."

"No, come on. What was it?"

"I get in trouble if I say it."

"Come on…"

"Peabrain," Draco said, eyes cast down and managing to look exactly like a naughty, yet incredibly cute, child.

Voldemort really had to give it to him. Draco's acting skills had certainly improved.

To Draco's surprise, Harry laughed, eyes crinkling at the corners. "Well, I certainly won't tell. But, really, I would prefer it if you called me Harry. And it wasn't an insult to call you odd. I mean in a unique way. It's a good thing. After all, who wants to be completely normal? Sounds boring to me. Now," he bent down and picked up the thrown book off of the ground. "Please don't throw the books," he chastised gently, "they need to be taken care of and treated with respect. I'm going to go talk to Thomas and your brother. Call me if you need anything, alright?"

Draco nodded dumbly, probably going into a slightly catatonic state, unused to Harry Potter being nice to him, and didn't even protest as Harry patted his head.

Voldemort watched all of this with a curious interest. Harry was very good with children, even children who were really wizard school mates who hated his guts.

Lucius even seemed to be flabbergasted that Draco wasn't pitching more of a fit.

Harry walked back over to them and flashed a smile at Lucius. "She's adorable, and quite a power to be reckoned with, yeah?"

"A power to be reckoned with? I suppose you could say that. D-Daphne is certainly a little pest sometimes, but we're family after all," Lucius said with an elegant shrug of his shoulders.

Voldemort rejoined the conversation, somehow unreasonably annoyed that Harry's attention wasn't directed towards him. "So, I came here yesterday, but there was another woman working here."

"You mean Melissa?" Harry asked.

"Did someone call my name?" a familiar, and not at all welcomed, voice asked.

Voldemort span around, only to come face to face with the brown-haired woman from before.

Her face hardened slightly as she saw him. "Oh, it's you," she said in a tone of voice that one might use for saying, "Oh, look a slug."

"Yes, it's me," Voldemort replied.

They glared at each other, and the look in her eyes was most definitely a challenge.

Voldemort smirked. They seemed to be fighting over Harry. Well, then. Game on.

Another chapter has arrived! And I brought in some of our favorite characters, Snape, Lucius, and Draco! Ah... I really loved writing this chapter, especially what the dark lord did to Draco. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy the chapter. Oh, one more thing. If you go to the reviews on this story and go to Izara Sprightly of Redmont's review for chapter three, she wrote an omake. Rather funny. You guys should check it out.

Ja ne,

Rumer Hasit

peppymint: Umm... Yes, I suppose Harry could know that Thomas was the dark lord, but how exactly does he know? I mean, is he just naturally paranoid (I could totally see that) and is suspicious of everyone? But how would he figure out that Thomas is Voldemort? Oh, and thanks for reviewing.

Reader-Anonymous: What? No need to thank me for replying to your review. I mean, the way I think about it is like this... You took the time to review and tell me what you think, so it's the least I can do to reply to that. Besides, I like to, you know? And I think Harry especially needs luck... He was no idea what he's in for.

Gemini Peverell: Ah, yes civilization is nice, I suppose, although I like being way out in the country, too. But... I can't live without my internet! I think I went into internet withdrawal. And I'm glad you liked the chapter.

itachisgurl93: Judging from that review, you really enjoyed the last chapter. Nice to know, and I'm glad you did. And... you spent 2.5 months without internet? You poor, poor deprived girl. That shouldn't happen to any teenager. But, at least you got to see your grandparents.

krysania: The story intrigued you greatly? I don't think anyone has said that in a review before, but good. If it intrigued you, that means that you'll keep reading... hopefully. Anyway, thank you for reviewing, and I hope you liked this chapter.

olciak123: You want some more? YOU WANT SOME MORE? Well, here you go.

LittleCatZ: It's great to know that the story amuses you, and that you'll stick around, but more importantly... You have a fake beard? That's awesome. I should try and grow one just so that I can do that beard-stroking thing that makes the older men in the movies look so wise... *cough cough* But, getting back on topic. I'm glad you like how I'm portraying Voldemort and the rest of it. I seriously loved your review. It made me crack up.

Mystia Katsuragi: You enjoyed it? Wonderful. But, may I ask, what is kataomoi? Sorry my update was so slow, though. But, I do hope that you enjoyed this chapter.

CeilingFan: Sigh... I know. I bet Voldemort didn't even think of all of the paperwork and dealing with people that he would have to do when the whole conquering thing was over and done with. I loved who you compared him with as well... But, on another note, thankfully, he has Luna to help with along. Thank you so much for your review, and I hope you keep reading.

Barranca: Yep. Voldemort - Oops - I mean, Thomas, left quite an impression. And, yes, Harry probably felt the tingle and marked it off as chemistry instead of, say, magic? Like the sort of magic that comes from your nemesis being nearby... Yeah, that probably wouldn't cross his mind.

Fireotaku18: Cruel? Well, this isn't the first time that someone's been accused me of being that. It was cruel and unusual to Leave Harry out, wasn't it? But, hopefully this chapter made up for it.

Isabelle Eir: I just couldn't resist seeing how possessive I could make Voldemort in the last chapter. And I wanted a female protagonist (I think that's the right word) who would stand up to him and who he couldn't kill. I mean, Harry might be a little suspicious if Thomas suddenly shows up, Melissa doesn't like him, and she suddenly vanishes or something. Yeah, just a bit suspicious.

FiresBurningTouch: Hmmm... You know what? I'm happy to know you like the story, but I'm ashamed to say that I didn't really think too much about why Luna joined up with him. I just thought that they would be good together. But, I promise to think deeply on the subject.

Izara Sprightly of Redmont: Yes! Glad you liked Ms. Muggle, I mean, Melissa. But, I do agree with you, Luna is the best. Aaaand... I absolutely loved your omake. I absolutely loved it. I just kept laughing... and laughing, and then I reread it and started laughing all over again. So, thank you for that. And I hope you like this chapter.

mountain ash: My muggle girl is just a muggle girl, normal, pretty, etc, who happens to work with Harry and has a crush on Harry. As for Harry's feelings towards her... I'm afraid you'll have to keep reading to find out. That's right. I'm evil that way. I doubt she'll be too important to the plot, but she'll be reappearing, and as for her second sight... She might have had some wizarding relatives way back. Oh, one more thing. Thank you for the constructive criticism. Really.

Q3APo: Yes, you see the beginning of a love story that will rock the ages... or at least scar some minds. And as for Harry's order friends... all will be explained... as long as you keep reading.

lilyoftheval5: An interesting take? Well, thank you. Thank you very much. I apologize for the long wait for this chapter, but I hope you enjoyed it.

SoulMore -t.y.u.i.t.y.u.i: You're a FAN! Really? Well, I highly appreciate that. It's nice to know that you like my story. Hopefully, it made you laugh, and hopefully this chapter brought you enjoyment as well.

Melikalilly: You do? Well, thank you. I'm glad you do. Thank you for reviewing this chapter.