The Dark Lord

That night after they were back in England and safe in bed, Inus woke to Severus's screams. As Inus held onto Severus, he could see in Severus's mind that he was being summoned by their lord. "Go to him," cried Inus.

"I can take the pain," cried Severus. "He'll want our obedience or our deaths."

"He must have a body." Inus rubbed Severus's back, but his fingers couldn't ease Severus's tension. Inus rubbed circles on his back as he spoke. "Because he can't call you without a body. You once told me we both belong to Lord Voldemort; something Dumbledore will never understand. We go, but we tell Dumbledore first."

"He called me. You stay here where you are safe."

Inus felt the slits in the back of his head that were once Lord Voldemort's eye holes. "I'll never be safe."

"I'll use a lightening spell and carry you to the tower." After they dressed, Severus used a featherweight spell on Inus and carried him to the foyer in front of Dumbledore's office and set him down. He handed Inus his cane. "It shall look improper if I carry you to your chair."

"I can't get to a standing position from the floor." Inus sat holding his cane in his lap.

"Put your cane in your right hand. Hold onto me." Severus bent down and put an arm around Inus's waist and put the other hand on his shoulder then helped him up. "You can't see the Dark Lord using a wheelchair or a walker."

"I'll use my cane and lean against you," said Inus.

Severus, finally, knocked on the door to Dumbledore's office. "The Dark Lord has summoned me."

Dumbledore said, "He calls. You go. We can't show him our cards."

"He could kill Inus for his disobedience," said Severus.

Dumbledore put a hand on Inus's shoulder. "I can't ask you to go to your death."

"My runes say I am to correct Quinirus Quirrell's mistakes," said Inus. "I shall go before my lord."

"Your death serves no purpose," said Dumbledore.

"My life has." Inus smiled a bit too brightly attempting to hide his fear. His stomach ached and fear and panic shook his body. "My p-p-portrait shall take my soul when I d-d-die. That t-t-tour - game - was about facing your fear. However, going before the D-D-Dark Lord is no g-g-game." His stutter was all too real.

Dumbledore hugged Inus. "No, this isn't. Good luck."

Severus stood tall. We need to go to Hogsmeade to apparate. "You need to keep your guard up in our lord's presence. My mind won't be able to caress yours."

Using the featherweight spell again, Severus carried Inus with Inus holding his cane. When they were in Hogsmeade, Inus felt his pulling on his stomach that came with apparating then they were on the front lawn of the Malfoy Manor. Severus helped Inus to his cane because he would need to walk the last part. They couldn't afford to look weak.

Inus walked alone using only his cane for support. The pain from his bad leg felt unbearable but he continued on. A house elf invited them inside. "My master awaits you."

They were seated in the parlour. Less than a minute later, Lucius entered and sat on his favourite green armchair.

"Lucius, is this some sort of joke?" said Severus.

"I summoned you," said Lucius. "Do you like my new body? Lucius understands his lord needs more than a spot on the back of the head. He's honoured to give his body to my service."

After using his cane to get up from the sofa, Inus walked two steps and bowed before his master. His weight shifted wrong and he fell off his cane and was on the floor unable to get up. Using his hands and good leg, he lifted his face up to meet his lord's eyes. "My lord, I was weak."

"Severus, do you not bow before your lord?" Lord Voldemort said with Lucius's voice.

Inus stayed prostrate in front of Lord Voldemort.

"Quinirus, rise," said Voldemort. "Kiss my ring."

"I can't," said Inus. "I was injured in the Triwizard Tournament."

Lord Voldemort touched his wand (Lucius's wand). Inus crawled not under his own power and kissed Lord Voldemort's black stoned ring, which he recognized as being Salazar Slytherin's. Voldemort was a collector of heirlooms, but that ring he claimed been in his family since its original owner. After kissing the ring, Inus found that control of his body had returned to him. "I am yours," said Inus.

Voldemort pointed his wand at Severus. From his place at Lord Voldemort's feet, Inus couldn't see if Voldemort had forced Severus to bow, but Dumbledore had said not to show their hand and fighting imperious would be showing their hand.

"Severus, you told me of the prophecy and, Quinirus, you gave me Potter."

"I failed you. I lost the stone," said Inus.

"You prevented the prophecy from being fulfilled. Anyone can give me a rock. Still you should be punished for refusing to give your body completely to my service." Voldemort lowered his wand to point to the prostrate man. "Curio."

Inus's body convulsed in pain as he screamed in agony. Then the pain ended. The supernatural pain had flooded every pain receptor in his body. The pain in his leg felt like a mere bruise in comparison. Finally, aware of himself, Inus restored his mental shielding.

"I've read Moody's transcript. You believed yourself to be Potter at one time. You didn't believe yourself to be Potter when I visited your office when I was wearing Potter's body and you don't believe it now." Lucius's face sneered. "Interesting. What changed? Give me your arm."

"My lord, may I speak?" asked Inus. From his position on the floor, he couldn't help but look subservient. "Lucius, you are in there. You hear every word."

The look in Lucius's eyes seemed to change. He appeared to look like a businessman considering his options then that might have been wishful thinking from Inus. However, Lucius was still alive and could be reached.

Inus continued, "Do not believe his promises. He will use you and leave you like yesterday's rubbish."

"Silence," shouted Voldemort.

The wand lifted and pain raced through Inus's body once more then it was over. Inus closed his eyes and cried. With his bad leg, he couldn't rise, even if he desired. All he desired now was for the killing curse to come quickly.

"Severus, you're dismissed. You may take that rubbish out of my presence."

Severus picked up Inus this time without a featherweight spell. He carried the smaller man out of the Malfoy Manor over his shoulder. Outside the house, Severus helped Inus with his cane. "Talking to Lucius was foolish," exclaimed Severus.

Inus smiled bitterly. "Yes, but he didn't mark me. We need to find the magic that lets him live without a body. We then have to prevent him from using it again and Dumbledore once told Harry that Voldemort was half-alive, so he knows something of this magic."

"And Dumbledore will tell us of his secrets." Severus laughed, but it was a hollow mocking sound. "Place your arms around me and I'll hold your cane."

Inus held onto Severus and that pulling out and into existence happened, again. Inus didn't know if he wanted to get his license. What if he splinched off his bad leg? Many wizards used portkeys and floos. And there was muggle transportation. He didn't need to relearn apparation.

Severus let him walk back to Hogwarts in early morning light. Inus was getting faster using his cane, but he could hear in Severus's thoughts that he took all his willpower not to pick up Inus and be done with it. The sounds of morning birds singing made the walk feel more normal.

That Dark Mark last year wasn't just some teenagers terrifying everyone. Lucius wasn't a virgin, so having sex at the World Cup didn't make Inus safe. He could still be ridden by Voldemort, again. Without his own body, Lord Voldemort only had as much power as people like Quirrell and Lucius gave him. Didn't Lucius understand that Lord Voldemort was a leach, stealing Lucius's power for his own means?

After they spoke to Dumbledore a second time, Severus helped Inus into their bed. "He must have talked during that time he was on the back of your head."

"He berated me. Uncle Vernon and Dudley insulted Harry all the time. I don't need to remember someone else insulting me." Every muscle in Inus's body hurt and some he didn't know about before also hurt. He cuddled against Severus's thin body and shivered.

"Anything that could be holding him to earth." Severus put a hand on Inus's back and another on his bum. "Think beyond him calling you rubbish and weak. We all have unpleasant memories."

"He said a few times that he couldn't die because he left pieces of himself behind, but we all leave pieces of ourselves behind." Inus closed his eyes against the pain. "Could he have meant that literally? I'm pretty well versed in Dark Magic and I never heard of such a thing."

"Lucius has a library. That is off-limits right now." Severus's mind wandered a bit. "The Black library. Your godfather's library. Black isn't into Dark Magic. He wouldn't even know what he has." Severus's mind was saying Black is into barking and peeing on hydrants.

"We don't even know if these pieces exist or what the correct terminology for them is. I'm not going to flip pages in books that want to bite me to find out how Voldemort preserved Tom Riddle's pieces." An eyeball here and toenail there, the whole idea made Inus want to spew. "We need a clue - something to narrow the search."

"Dumbledore must know something." Severus moved the hand on Inus's bum to his head and started running his hand through Inus's hair. "I'll talk to him for the third time. You sleep."

"Sleep is good," Inus agreed.

Severus kissed his cheek and Severus's weight left the bed they shared. If Lord Voldemort left pieces of himself around literally, instead of figuratively, would he be recollecting pieces of himself (a spleen here, a kidney there) to make a new Tom Riddle Jr? And how many magically preserved pieces would he need to regrow the whole? In all the dark arts books Inus read over the years and he read a lot, he never heard of anyone leaving pieces of themselves behind to prevent themselves from dying.

Inus supposed the Elixir of Life would given far more than whatever zombie-like body he could regrow from the darkest magicks. Or did these pieces only kept him grounded and couldn't be used to regrow Lord Voldemort? Inus couldn't see Lord Voldemort lobbing off a kidney or a toe, so they had to be small pieces like hair or toenails. Hair, toenails and skin fakes were used in potions like Polyjuice Potion. Whatever Lord Voldemort was using to ground himself, big or small, the idea was beyond creepy.