Title: Finding Solace

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by J.K Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Warner Bros, Bloomsbury. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

Summary: Slytherin!Harry, disenchanted with the Light by the end of first year, joins the Dark as soon as he has the chance. It is finally time for the secrets he has kept from everyone, even his housemates, to come into the open. The Second Blood War is starting, and Harry is in the thick of things. AU Sixth Year fic. HP/TMR

Warnings: Slash, swearing, mentions of child abuse (only what's in the actual books), some graphic (magical) torture

Chapter 1

"You know" Harry said, as he walked into the darkened hall, letting the door's swing back and forward on their hinges. "I was having a really fantastic weekend.

"I had done all my homework during the week, I went flying and perfected my Wronski, Snape ignored me completely, and I was going to sneak out to go to visit my godfather"

At this Harry glared at the figure sitting in the throne-like chair at the other end of the hall, moving into the middle of the circle that parted in front of him.

"Hear that Voldemort." Harry frowned at the Dark Lord. "I was going to visit my godfather. We would've had a great evening, and I'd definitely be drunk by now. But it was not to be.

"I found out maybe two hours ago, from Snape of all people, that every single one of my housemates were outside of Hogwarts this evening. And they were all out of the castle because they were here being initiated."

Harry stopped behind the row of kneeling soon-to-be Death Eaters, who were clearly all confused about his appearance but too terrified to question it.

"You ruined my weekend Voldemort and I don't appreciate it."

Voldemort lounged back in his throne, toying with his wand, but when he spoke his voice was full of malice. "I don't care what you appreciate, Harry. I personally don't appreciate you interrupting my ceremony, which is much more important than you visiting your godfather. If you want to talk to Black so bad, wait until afterwards." Voldemort's thin lips had twisted into a sneer, and his red eyes had narrowed, but Harry could feel through his scar that Voldemort wasn't actually that annoyed with him. He took a minute to appreciate his lords acting skills before replying.

"Oh please. The Inner Circle are used to me rocking up whenever I want, and the recruits don't matter. It's not like they would dare tell anyone." Harry wouldn't have dared act like this in front of the normal Death Eaters. The Dark Lord would definitely have crucio'd him. But with only the Inner Circle present, Harry could act as he wanted without fear of repercussion.

Harry stepped up onto Goyle's prone form, taking two steps across his back and then down onto the ground.

"Honestly I'm fairly sick of their superior attitude around the common room, strutting around like they own it and insulting me for being 'Light'. I just wanted to show them the… ah… error of their ways." Harry bared his teeth in a vicious grin, as he walked up onto the dais Voldemort's throne sat on and stood before him. "You wouldn't deny me that now would you, Voldemort."

Harry plopped down in Voldemort's lap, his back resting against one low arm rest, while his legs swung over the other.

Voldemort snorted softly. "Brat." He whispered into Harry's hair softly enough that no one else in the room could hear, then sat up from his lounging position, his arms winding around Harry's waist to ensure that he didn't fall off. "I think you may just be confusing them more."

Harry had sworn to Voldemort in his second year that he would never join Dumbledore. He had sent a letter swearing his service inside the empty diary he had found in the Chamber of Secrets sitting next to Ginervra Weasley's dead body. The Dark Lord had asked for an oath, and Harry had willingly given it. Harry had known, even then, that he really had no value to Voldemort as a follower, or servant. He was a propaganda piece more than anything else. His political value as the Boy-Who-Lived was the only thing he could bring to Voldemort's side.

Rather than swearing his mostly useless wand to the Dark Lord's cause he had sworn to use his considerable fame to support the Dark when they managed to kill Dumbledore and therefore any opposition the Light may pose. Harry knew that his endorsement would ensure a peaceful reception from the general public, allowing the Dark to take control of Wizarding Britain with little resistance.

Harry had had no interaction with the Dark Lord in his third year, but during that summer he had been taken to meet the man, and they had both discovered that he was a horcrux. Voldemort's horcrux.

Since then Harry's worth had risen dramatically in the Dark Lord's eyes, and he had been granted far more liberties than any other Death Eater, as truly, he wasn't one.

"Why are you here, Potter?" Voldemort asked him. Harry had never bothered to come to an initiation before, so he figured Voldemort was justifiably curious.

"I have some things to report." He ventured.

"You could have sent me a letter. What else?"

Harry smiled darkly. "I really didn't want to give up this opportunity."

"What opportunity?"

"The opportunity to watch my housemates scream in agony as the Dark Mark is branded into their skin." Harry replied in parseltongue.

Voldemort gave the high cruel laugh he was known for, tightening his arms around Harry's waist for a moment before pushing him to stand up again. "You are so good to me, Potter. Go stand with your godfather, and you can join the meeting afterwards."

Harry kissed Voldemort's cheek and then walked over to stand next to Sirius, who, despite being cloaked like the rest of the Death Eaters had left his mask off.

Sirius was the most impressive achievement of the Black family in recent history. Sirius had approached his mother and father at age seven asking the best way for him to serve the Dark Lord. He and his brother had been raised with stories about the Dark Lord and the fantastic man he was being told to them every night. Both Orion and Walburga had attended school with Tom Riddle, and had supported his rise to infamy. His parents had told little Sirius that the best way to serve was to be faithful to the Dark and to become a Death Eater when he was older. Sirius had, initially, been happy with that answer, but, a year later, had approached his parents and revealed a far better idea. He had proposed a scheme that would not only benefit the Dark Lord, but would benefit the Black family if the Dark were to lose the war that they all knew was coming.

Sirius had known at that age, being brash, loud and prone to pranks, that being a Gryffindor was a very viable option for him, but he had had no desire to disappoint his parents. So Sirius had asked if he would be able to use his sorting to infiltrate the Light from the inside by befriending James Potter, who he knew would be in his year. The Potter family had always had close ties to Dumbledore, and that meant that James would be a prime candidate for a prominent position in the Light.

His parents had considered his plan for a very long time, but had eventually agreed to it. They knew it would be risky, and would run for decades, but if it worked, it would be a master piece. A manipulation worthy of the Blacks. Sirius' parents had helped him plan it out, and had brought in his brother to help further develop it, presenting the plan, and working out what Regulus' actions at Hogwarts would be to ensure that it seemed to everyone outside the family that Sirius had truly turned away from the Black family.

Sirius had faithfully served the Dark for his whole life, and had been the one to recommend to the Dark Lord that his brother be killed when his loyalty seemed in question.

Harry slipped into the circle of Death Eater's next to his godfather, gripping his hand through his cloak for a moment in greeting, then turned his attention back to his housemates and the Dark Lord.

"My faithful. We have before us nine new recruits. Nine new recruits ready to pledge their lives to my service." Voldemort's voice carried the hissing that he and Harry could bring forth as parseltongues. "Do we believe them ready? They are young after all."

Harry smirked as, as one, his housemates crawled forward to the edge of the dais, pressing their foreheads into the ground when they reached it. Draco Malfoy was the only one to keep his head off the ground, although he kept his eyes steadfastly downturned. He had clearly been designated to speak for the group.

"My lord. We are here to pledge our service to you, in any way we can. Although we are young, we are still able and willing to serve. We have been trained for this for our whole lives, my lord. We beg that you accept us."

Harry saw that Voldemort allowed a small, smug smirk to cross his face for a moment, only because none of the recruits would dare look at his face.

"Come forward then, young Malfoy. Come forward to take my mark."

Malfoy crawled forward to kiss Voldemort's feet, then kneeled, pulling up his left sleeve as he did so. He tried to hold his arm still, but couldn't repress the tiny tremble caused by fear and nerves.

Voldemort drew his bone white wand from his sleeve and pressed it deep into Malfoy's skin, then hissed "Morsmodre." Harry stood on his toes as the dark ink bled into Malfoy's skin, standing out beautifully in contrast. He was clearly trying to hold his screams in, but broke after only a moment. Harry's godfather had told him that getting the Dark Mark hurt even more than the Cruciatus, so for Malfoy to hold out for even a moment was impressive.

Each of his housemates followed Malfoy's lead, crawling to the Dark Lord, kissing his feet, then receiving the Dark Mark. They all screamed loudly, the sounds of their distress echoing in the large hall, bouncing off the walls, and Harry relished every one.

His housemates had never accepted him. To them he was the Boy-Who-Lived, as he intended it. He had been ordered by the Dark Lord to not draw any attention, not from his housemates, not from his professors and especially not from Dumbledore. This had meant that Harry had needed to keep his marks hovering below average in all subjects, keep his head down during school as so not to receive any detentions or lose points, and above all, stay out of the way of any Slytherin.

It had hurt him inside every time one of his housemates sneered at him, or tossed an insult his way, or messed with his stuff, but he had lived with it, knowing that there would be a day his lord would allow him to leave the shadows and show his house exactly why he was sorted into the snake pit.

Voldemort had finally ordered him to do that this year, which was the only reason he had dared to turn up at this initiation, but that didn't mean that he couldn't relish in the torture of his tormentors of the last five years.

As the last of them, Bulstrode, collapsed at the Dark Lord's feet, Harry was practically high on the rush flooding not only from him, but from the Dark Lord, but made sure not to let any of that show on his face.

Harry bowed with the rest of the Inner Circle as the Dark Lord stood, and walked pat them, calling back to them. "Come. All of you."

Harry strode forward with his godfather toward the conference room that he knew the Dark Lord had just entered. He snickered under his breath as he heard someone, Avery he thought, kick one of his housemates, hissing at them to follow and not make a fool of themselves.

Harry walked up to the head of the table, slipping into the seat next to Voldemort as he always had. He knew, as did the Death Eater's did, that this was not an indication of rank, but merely because of his status as something precious to the Dark Lord. His housemates, however, didn't know this, so Harry just leant back casually in his chair, drawing his wand and toying with it as Voldemort had been when he had entered the hall.

"How are you, my lord?" Harry asked in parseltongue.

"Well, my horcrux. And you?" Voldemort replied in the same language.

"Very well." Harry purred. "Very, very well. I finally have carte blanche to do whatever I want to my housemates. Why wouldn't I be happy?"

Voldemort chuckled, his handsome features darkening with malicious delight with Harry's words. "You will have to keep my updated, my horcrux. I am very interested in what your twisted mind will be able to come up with."

"I've had five years, Voldemort. It is going to be glorious." Harry looked over to his housemates, and saw their terrified expressions at his and Voldemort's hissed conversation. "Look at them. Already ready to piss themselves. By the end of the year I'm going to have them almost as scared as me as they are of you."

Voldemort reached his hand up and stroked it down Harry's face, tracing over his nose and resting it on his lips. Harry shuddered at the pleasurable sensations that ran through his body at the Dark Lord's actions, a by product of the part of his soul Harry held entwined with his own. "Let me aid you in that, my precious."

Voldemort drew his hand away from Harry, turning to face his Death Eaters as he did so.

"My faithful. Tonight we plan to take Hogwarts."

Harry sat up straighter in his chair at Voldemort's words, as did the rest of the Inner Circle. The new recruits just stood stiffly against the wall in a line, to petrified with fear to react to anything.

"How, my lord? Is wittle Potter finally going to do something." Bellatrix Lestrange cooed. She had been released from Azkaban the year before, and had taken an instant dislike to Harry for his closeness to the Dark Lord.

Harry glared at the woman, but let it slide. She could out duel him and he knew it. Although he was talented and was better at duelling than anyone else at Hogwarts, he had no hope of defeating any of the Inner Circle. They all had years of training on him, and in some cases, like Bellatrix, a tinge of insanity that made them unpredictable.

"He will be, Bella. I have had my reasons to keep him in the shadows before this." Bellatrix cowered under Voldemort's glare.

"Draco. Come forward." Draco Malfoy walked forward on stiff legs and bowed, looking terrified at being singled out.

"I have a task for you and your housemates this year. You are all responsible for creating a way to get into Hogwarts. My Inner Circle and I will create a plan for you, as you are not yet trusted enough to do that, and you will carry it out. Is that clear?"

Malfoy dropped to his knee's and bowed his head. "Yes, my lord. It shall be done." The other Slytherins echoed his words.

"Good." Voldemort whispered. "Stand." Malfoy scrambled to his feet. "You shall report to Harry. He will monitor your progress and give you any new orders from me. Treat his word as mine within Hogwarts walls."

Even if Malfoy had tried he wouldn't have been able to hide his disgust at that order from the Dark Lord, brilliant Legilimens that he was, but he didn't try, and let a sneer show plainly on his face.

"Do you have a problem with that, little Malfoy?" Voldemort questioned, his voice taking on the dangerous tone every Death Eater soon learned to fear. Malfoy had not yet become aware of the signs of Voldemort's displeasure, and so spoke his thoughts.

"Potter, my lord?" he sneer deepened, as he turned his head to face Harry. "Surely there is someone else. Someone more… capable. Less… pathetic."

Voldemort reached out his hand and drew Harry into his lap, gripping his hips tightly. Harry just let himself be moved around like a doll, knowing that the Dark Lord was planning something, and it was easiest to just go along with it.

"Harry will be seeing me fairly often, little Malfoy. He will be able to carry messages back and forth with ease." Voldemort reached one hand up to stroke through Harry's hair, and he pressed into it, shutting his eyes with pleasure. He heard Malfoy gasp then chuckle darkly at his actions.

Harry opened his eyes again, and saw, out of the corner of his eye, Lucius Malfoy shaking his head at his son, before he was held still by Rodolphus Lestrange.

"I see now, my lord. I must commend you on taking the Light's saviour as a fuck-toy. It is impressive, to say the least."

Harry was sure Malfoy would have continued, but Harry turned in his chair to straddle Voldemort, and, under the pretence of licking and sucking up his neck, whispered in his ear. "May I teach him a lesson." He kissed Voldemort behind his ear and begged. "Please, my lord."

Voldemort grabbed his hair and pulled his head away from his neck harshly, then spoke, his words in complete contradicition with his actions. "You may, my precious. You may."

Harry stood smoothly from his position in his lords lap, and drew his wand and turned to face Draco.

"The Dark Lord wants us to duel, Draco. Who are we to deny him?"

Malfoy drew his wand arrogantly. He held the best marks in their year, while Harry's were certainly closer to the bottom than the top. His win seemed, in his mind at least, assured. Unfortunately he didn't know that Harry could beat him with a hand immobilised, and Harry had no intention of telling him. He was glad that Rodolphus had managed to get Lucius under control as that meant that he had no way of warning his son of the danger he was in.

Harry and Malfoy stood fifteen paces apart, directly between the table the Inner Circle sat at, and the line of Slytherin sixth years. Harry saw that they had all moved on from their fear, and now just looked on with anticipation of the blood they were sure Malfoy would make him spill.

Harry was looking forward to disappointing them.

He and Malfoy bowed, then stood, with their wands outstretched, waiting for the other to make the first move.

Malfoy moved first, sending a petrification hex, and expelliarmus in quick succession. Harry dodged them easily. Clearly Malfoy was going for the humiliation factor, aiming to defeat Harry with fourth year spells.

Harry just smiled at Malfoy and sent a blood boiling curse, bone breaking hex and cutting charm non-verbally. Malfoy managed to get a shield charm up in time, but it failed after the hex hit it, allowing the cutting charm to pass through and cut into his shoulder. It hadn't been that strong, but it was enough to draw blood.

Malfoy hissed at the pain, but then proceeded to ignore it, aware now that Harry had been hiding some of his abilities while at Hogwarts. He sent a stunner at Harry's feet then a flaying curse at his head, which was intented to peel his skin back from his bones. Harry realised that Malfoy planned to draw out the duel, to make Harry reveal the extent of his abilities, but he didn't want to do that this early in the year, so jumped over the stunner and cast a shield in front of the flaying curse, sending it back at Malfoy. Harry then cast his patronus, then a petrification hex and expelliarmus directly behind it. The silvery light from Prongs prevented Malfoy from seeing his other spells, and Harry caught his wand out of the air as it flew towards him. If Malfoy planned on humiliating him, then Harry didn't see why he should do the same.

He cast a mobilicorpus on Malfoy's rigid body and floated him over to the Dark Lord, setting him at his feet, and to add further insult to injury, placed his wand back in his hand. "A gift, my lord, for you."

Voldemort smirked, waving his hand at Malfoy and casting a finite incantatem to release him from Harry's spells.

"Don't question my orders again, little Malfoy. Next time I'll get Harry to just crucio you."

"Yes, my lord." Malfoy scrambled to get to his feet, but Harry kicked his knees out from below him, to keep him kneeling.

"Apologise." He hissed, allowing his 's' to be drawn out.

"I'm sorry, my lord. It won't happen again." Malfoy babbled, clearly scared out of his mind.

"I'm sure it won't. Go and take your friends to wait by the door. Arrange yourself in a circle."

Malfoy backed away on his knees, then once he was about five feet away, stood up and rushed over to the other Slytherins and pulled them to the door, hushing them as they tried to question him.

Harry turned his attention back to the Dark Lord, and bowed. "Is there anything else you need from me, my lord?"

Voldemort's reached out to grab his chin and draw his head forward until it was about a centimetre from the Dark Lords. "I want you back here in a week. I will have the plan for your housemates then."

"Yes, my lord." Harry breathed.

Voldemort closed the gap between their lips in a demanding kiss, which Harry submitted to immediately, not putting up any pretence of a fight. He parted his lips when Voldemort's tongue pressed against it, allowing it to dominate his mouth, and moaned softly.

Voldemort pulled back with a smug smile on his lips, and pushed his chest lightly to get him to back away.

"I will see you in a week, my little horcrux. Be well."

"Yes, my lord Voldemort." Harry replied, dazedly. He then pulled himself together before turning his back on the Dark Lord and facing the Slytherins with a confident tilt to his chin.

He strode over to them and held out a ribbon, then glared at them when they didn't take it.

"It's a portkey to Hogwarts. Hold it." He ordered.

They all complied grudgingly, most likely because they were still in the presence of the Dark Lord.

He spoke the activation code, "Chamber", and they spun away, back to Hogwarts.