Title: Masquerade

See first chapter for disclaimer and summary.

Author: ShaeLynn Teelle

Polite constructive criticism is welcome; FLAMES WILL BE FED TO THE DRAGON IN MY BED.

Chapter 5

- 13 years old-

The small black cloaked figure stumbled slightly as it crossed the dirty alley in a lull of the early summer shoppers. It didn't look to the left or the right, head down and hood pulled well over its face. It hurried past the hag's cart unharrassed and paused at a dully painted door to catch its breath. Then, it opened the door and slipped through, ignoring the pair of blonds that were just beginning to head in the same direction.

Several minutes later the door was opened again and the blonds entered, the younger appearing nearly a carbon-copy of the older, well-dressed man. The shop proprietor was standing off to one side speaking quietly to the cloaked figure, but stopped suddenly when the blonds entered and straightened. He stepped quickly over to address the other man.

"Malfoy, what do I owe this pleasure? I hope you have not come here about the same matter as last time," William stated calmly, loud enough for the cloaked figure to hear him.

"While I had hoped you would have changed your mind on the matter, no, that is not why I have come," Lucius Malfoy nearly sneered. "Instead, I have come to buy a stone. I trust you have heard of the recent escape from Azkaban. My son is within close proximity to Potter while at Hogwarts. I wish a stone to hold protection spells while he is there."

"I see. Give me one moment to get you one from the back." William left the room through the door behind the counter and the blonds were left alone with the small cloaked figure that was digging through one of the bins.

The younger of the two kept his peace, content to ignore the other person's presence just as that person was ignoring them. Lucius, on the other hand, was not so content. His eyes followed the figure's rather grubby hands as they searched through the bin, fingering nearly every stone in there. The elder man sneered, his cold gray eyes hard and forbidding.

"I never took Daniels to be a fool, allowing dirty street scum to paw through his merchandise. How revolting."

The figure's head turned, just enough that the blonds could see a grayed profile in the dim light with one eye glittering at them in the darkness. The hunched form began to straighten before it hissed and hunched back slightly, the eye they could see closing briefly. Then, it opened again and the temperature in the small shop seemed to drop.

"Scum? You are allowed to enter, what difference is there between us?"

Lucius hissed and hefted his cane into his hand. Draco backed away from them both, his eyes wide. The elder blond took one step towards the figure, his arm swinging the cane back slightly, preparing for a blow, when the figure's hand reached out and clenched. Draco stared in shock as his father was forced against the wall, dropping his cane and clutching at his neck.

"Noir, please, he is a Malfoy," William's voice was quiet where he stood in the doorway watching the scene.

"Then he should show some manners," the figure hissed angrily.

"You and I both know that wealth breeds arrogance in those that know nothing else. Go into the back and we will talk without interruptions," William's tone was mildly placating, but he made no move towards the figure.

The black cloaked form hissed again before his hand unclenched and he turned away from the blonds dismissively. He nodded to William as he passed through the back doorway without a glance at the Malfoys.

"That is not a man you wish to irritate, Malfoy. You may find yourself in far over your head if you insist on doing so. Take the stone and go. Noir will not be pleased to find you lingering when he leaves."

\/ \/ \/ \/ \/

Weeks later the same black cloaked figure followed the same path he had so many times before. This time hissing with nearly every step. Though it was immensely satisfying for the first few moments when it happened, he knew that his uncontrolled magic wasn't worth the end results. Especially not when he'd had to wait until there were no 'friends' or other well-meaning watchers around.

He didn't notice the gray eyes that followed him as he neared the shop, nor the single blond that moved closer. All but the most basic of his senses were too embedded in the pain that coursed through his body. He managed to enter the shop before his legs buckled and he fell to the floor. William entered the shop from the backroom and was at Harry's side almost so fast that Harry thought he had apparated there. The shopkeeper helped him to his feet, mindful of the potential injuries that William knew could be almost anything.

"Noir, what happened?"

Harry could only shake his head, unable to explain yet. "Do you have anything else for protection? They're not enough. They're never enough. I need something more. I need… I need…" Harry's words mumbled into silence as William helped him into the backroom.

Before they disappeared into the room, the younger blond from the time before heard a bit more from his eavesdropping at the cracked front door.

"There might be something. Against what? Against what exactly?"

"Pain. Pain, I can't… I can't…" Harry was shaking his head over and over, the trembling echoing throughout his form.

"We'll find something, Noir. I promise. We'll find something."

-13 years old – Christmas

"So how exactly do these doors work?"

William spun around at the familiar voice. "Noir! This is a surprise. I thought you would be confined to the castle for various reasons."

"There are always alternate ways of getting around or out of the castle. I was quite surprised when I saw one of your doors behind the Honeyduke's shop. How does that work?" Harry's face was creased with a grin and his posture was more relaxed than William had ever seen it.

"I hadn't thought you'd been in here enough for a door to find you, but I suppose with the state of your usual presence, the magic would hold more quickly."

"What magic?" Though the question was asked suspiciously, Harry's relaxed state never altered.

"There are stones and gems embedded into the door, much like how you added the stones into your wand not that long ago. There were various spells added that allowed the doors to be moved from place to place as was needed. A variation of a recognition spell was also used. In effect, it allowed the door to recognize someone that had entered the store often. The stones would then move the door to somewhere nearby that person. The amount of contact with the door varies greatly and it seems to interact with emotions as well.

"It has always reacted to a need from an individual, but very rarely does it do so without a need. If you saw it that close to Hogwarts, it recognized you from within the hundreds of others that come through the town. You have managed to surprise me from the moment you entered my shop, Noir. Come into the back if you have time. I think it is time to show you the other discipline of study that I know."

Harry smiled at the other man and followed William into the back for a surprising conversation. Several hours later as he exited the shop, Harry stroked his hand across the pattern of the door fondly, silently thanking the stones and their acceptance of him. The pattern seemed to almost glow for a second as Harry watched. He turned and swirled his invisibility cloak around himself before walking away, the door vanishing into the wall as he did so.

- 13 years old – Year End

Angry green eyes stared out one of the many outer hallway windows. One would think that it was stormy, dark out on the grounds. That would have at least matched Harry's mood as opposed to the bright sunlight and warm breeze. His thoughts were turning over what had happened that his hopes were again crushed.

If Snape had never shown up at the Shrieking Shack, if he hadn't interfered at all, Pettigrew would have been caught and at the Ministry awaiting trial. Instead, there had been enough distraction and the presence of one that would have KNOWN what he'd done, that he couldn't ensure things went correctly. He had already determined what was happening and even Remus and Sirius wouldn't have realized how Pettrigrew got to the Ministry if it had not been for Snape.

But he couldn't place all blame on the man. Harry knew that he had only wished to save his sorry arse again, as usual. But must he have shown up then?

Afterwards was even worse. He'd finally asked Dumbledore for sanctuary anywhere but at the Dursleys. The old man had refused and worse, blocked part of his magic. Harry couldn't figure out what he did and the old man had attempted an Obliviate on him, but Miina's Christmas gift had saved him from the spell.

The runes and stones that were embedded within the cloak pin were double charmed for protecting his mind from any spells that could hold influence on it. Harry's fists clenched tightly in rage as he glared at the sunny landscape in front of him. And Harry took to heart that those in power could not be trusted.

There was no way he was going to let Dumbledore get away with his toying for much longer. Harry vowed to himself in that moment that he would do whatever was necessary to stop the old man, even if it meant joining Voldemort's side.

Thoughts stopping abruptly at that moment, he pondered the idea. Could he really go so far as to help the very man that murdered his parents? But it had been Dumbledore's fault that things had happened the way they did after that. Voldemort may have begun the chain of events, but it had been Dumbledore that had ensured the cycle was perpetuated and the old man had already shown his hand, unaware as he was of it.

Harry grinned suddenly as he came to a decision. Joining Voldemort would change things, yes, but perhaps he could persuade the dark side to shift their focus a bit. His hand lifted and a tiny crack began spreading up through the glass in front of him, slowly, bit by bit, until the crack became a lightning bolt. It was time to begin planning.

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