Writing this chapter was kinda like pulling teeth. It didn't help that I have had quite a busy week. My apologies if the quality of my writing is lower than usual. I proofread this, but I might have missed some mistakes in my tiredness.

Hope you enjoy it!

Chapter 13: Face thyself

Harry was enjoying a late breakfast with his friends, the weekend after the First task. The week has passed quickly, without any disturbances worth mentioning. Yes, he had gotten a scolding from Severus for keeping his knowledge of the dragons for himself, but it had been greatly tempered by his relieve.

The article and interview with the champions about the First Task had been published with great care, and had received a lot of outrage because of the deadly challenge that had been set. Harry knew that the Second Task would determine the course of the Tournament; another threat to the champions' lives would not be well received and might meant an early end of the whole thing.

On another note, they had finally managed to get though to the Heads of Houses and Hagrid's tenure as professor COMC was at an end. It saddened Harry, Ron and Hermione to take their friend's dream away, but Hagrid had no idea of what was appropriate to show in class. Instead of teaching he had been demoted to assistant of professor Grubbly-Plank, and when they had gone to see him about it, he assured them it was fine. He liked it better than actually having to teach, make lesson plans, etc.

They all looked up to the swarm of owls bringing the morning post out of habit. No one really expected any correspondence, so it was a great surprise when a stunning eagle owl landed before Harry. He carried a small box and a scroll and urged Harry none to gently to accept it. Freed from his burden, the eagle owl took off again.

Harry opened the scroll first and promptly blushed tomato-red. The scroll contained a letter of Declaration from the Heir of the most Noble House of Malfoy. Declaration was the first stage of pureblood courting. It meant announcing ones intentions to the chosen partner and world and was paired with the first of a lot string of unique gifts.

Giving the letter to Hermione, who was practically bouncing in curiosity, he carefully undid the strings of the box and put them away. They were too beautiful (emerald acromantula silk) to throw away. In the box on a velvet cushion rested a silver armlet in the shape of a snake. It was only three windings long and barely half an inch wide. Right behind the head were two wings.

"You are very lucky to have such an courteous and admiring suitor. He has obviously put a lot of work in crafting this superb piece himself, non?"

Fleur was inspecting the armlet with a knowledgeable eye. She was attracted to pretty things by nature, resulting in a wide knowledge of jewellery. Viktor, belonging to a very influential and old pureblood family, put his own two Knuts in.

"It is extremely suited as a first gift; combining his identity with yours is not an easy task and I suspect he has had little time. Unless he has been preparing through the years, waiting for his father's approval. The Draconian snake is an obscure species, yet he has made a very good reproduction. It stands for incredible luck, success, power and nobility."

Hermione looked between the two, the letter still in her hand. They had gone over the most important points of wizarding traditions, but courting had been left alone as most didn't start with such things until they were at least sixteen, the marriage age.

"I don't understand. I mean this is obviously a declaration of Draco's intent to court Harry, but what do gifts have to do with it?"

Viktor took over as designated teacher at this point.

"Marrying in the wizarding world, especially when two prominent Houses are involved, requires many formalities to be performed. First one declares one's intent to the chosen party and effectively to the world. It is paired with a gift, which should combine the essence of the two to show how well they know their intended. The Declaration is followed by Acceptance. The chosen partner will allow the initiator to further their suit by publically displaying the gift.

Acceptance signals the beginning of the actual courting period, which can take up to five years. The initiator has to prove he is worthy of their chosen with chaperoned dates and more gifts. The compatibility of their magic will be determined and the negotiations of the marriage contract are conducted. If they decide they will make a good couple, they become betrothed for however long it takes to organize the wedding ceremony."

"So if Harry accepts Draco's gift they will basically be dating, except more formal and probably permanent?"

Viktor nodded and all eyes turned to Harry who was lost in thought. By now most of the Great Hall seemed to have gotten wind of what was going on and whispers were running wild. Jerking his head up, Harry looked straight at Draco Malfoy and without breaking that eye contact, slowly put the armlet high on his left biceps.

For the moment he would keep it over his shirt, no need to undress in the middle of the Great Hall, but as soon as he would have a private moment the armlet would rest against his bare skin. If the suit lasted, it would never be removed, becoming an eternal prove of loyalty.

Unwilling to stand the whispers and looks any longer, he stood up and, followed by his friends, walked out of the Great Hall.

The Dark Lord was drowning in paperwork when his house-elf announced the arrival of Lord Black. Ever since meeting with his elite, Voldemort had been working hard to implant the changes he wanted to bring to the Dark Sect. He had been weeding through his ranks to determine who were worthy, as in sane and reasonable, of being in part of the Dark Side. It had been quite shocking just how much crazy and bloodthirsty people he had accepted since his fall into insanity (and many of them were utterly incompetent to boot).

Additionally he had changed the name Death Eaters to his original choice, the Knights of Walpurgis. Back then it had stood for uncovering ancient magics, banned by ignorance, and that was what it would stand for once again.

Voldemort pushed aside the scroll he had been peering at to give his full attention to his guest, who had just arrived. Lord Black carried himself with the inbred arrogance characteristic of that House. The Blacks had once upon a time be akin to royalty as head of the Sacred Twenty-seven. They used to have it all: money, power, beauty and intelligence. Black members had shone in their chosen areas, giving cause for excessive pride.

The man before him was no longer a shadow of himself: he had recovered well from Azkaban. The glint of insanity in his eyes was no worse than the average Black he had known back in the day, something that accounted for a healthy mind.

As Voldemort seized Sirius up, so did Sirius. He took in the restored looks, the bags from overworking and the veritable mountain of paperwork. It was clear that being a Dark Lord required a lot of energy and time. Inside though he was sweating bullets; Severus had prepared him for this conversation well, but he was still in the company of the most dangerous man in England, on his own!

"While a pleasure to see you, I must admit that it's also a surprise. I had assumed you to be a Dumbledore supporter."

Sirius snorted; he had come to see Dumbledore's failings in the past few years. Dumbledore had performed the Fidelius for Lily and James, yet hadn't intervened once when he was locked up without a trial. Nor had he ever pushed for one, despite having the crucial evidence of his innocence. He had put his pup, his little Prongslet, with people who despised his very being, because they were family. Dumbledore was the epitome of a road to hell paved with good intentions. His time was long over and he needed to realize that.

"People tend to assume many things, I too have made that mistake. I assumed I could outrun destiny by breaking with my family, yet here I am, Lord of that same family. Severus has explained what you stand for now and I agree with it. Still I wanted to meet you in person before officially making a choice."

"A wise decision, we might make a slytherin out of you yet. Any questions in particular?"

"You've made clear what you want in regards to muggleborns and half-bloods, but not what you want to do with so-called Dark Creatures and Beings. My best friend is a Werewolf and I will never again support a group that sees him as less than a human."

"Sentient Creatures and Beings will get the same rights and standing as Wizards and Witches. They are an integral part of our community and indeed outrank us in numbers. I've heard of your friend, Remus Lupin, no? He is the prime example that magical Creatures and Beings are as intelligent and capable as we are."

Sirius relaxed; the Dark Lord was being honest, he could feel it. Being an empath certainly had its perks, though it had been a curse during puberty when it had manifested itself uncontrollably and in Azkaban.

"You've satisfied me. I will become a member of the Dark Side, an elite even, if you allow the same to Remus."

"Mr Lupin would be a great asset in my inner circle, as will you be. I presume you wish to wait for him to receive your mark?"

Sirius nodded and the two shook arms. A shallow bow and he walked to the door. There he paused, half in the doorway, with a mischievous grin on his face.

"One last question. If your Elite entered a three-way bond with each other, how many children are they expected to have?"

Leaving the speechless Dark Lord in his study, Sirius made his way to the floo point. Stunning Dark Lords was such a fun activity! He should do it more often. Now, time to call Moony, they had to start their plans for wooing a slytherin.

Thanks to his empathic ability Sirius had been aware of Severus' feelings since the very beginning of them. At first he had been disgusted, or so he thought, and the bullying had worsened. It had led to the Shrieking Shack incident, which Sirius regretted something fierce to this day. It had been his mind healer who had helped him to come to terms with those emotions and his own. He had realised at last that he returned Severus' affection in full and wanted a chance at winning his hand. He also loved Remus, who made a steady and mild counterbalance for their hot tempers.

When he had arrived back in England for his trial, he had tested the waters so to speak. To his everlasting gratitude Severus had remained steady in his unwanted and unrequited love for BOTH Sirius and Remus. Sirius had been even happier when Remus confessed that the wolf had chosen both Severus and Sirius as mates. Life couldn't be more perfect. After a hellish childhood and thirteen years in literal Hell, fortune finally favoured him. The same could be said for Severus and Remus, who both had had horrible childhoods and lives in entirely different ways.

They, Remus and Sirius, had been making plans to woo Severus first, so he could become use to the idea of returned affection, and court him once they were sure he would be open to it. They had started with the First Task; engaging him in conversation, keeping him in the middle and showing interest in general. Severus had stunned them, in a good way, by asking them for dinner after that horrible afternoon.

It had been a pleasant evening spent together. They had talked a bit about the goals of the Dark Lord, namely the creation of magical elementary schools and the restructuring of Hogwarts. Both had put their own two Knuts in and had received an offer to help. While Severus and Barty were more than equipped to think out the curriculums and the details surrounding it, they were also drowning in work.

Just because Barty was posing as a professor, didn't mean that he didn't take the job seriously. He was going at a rapid tempo in the fifth and seven year in an effort to correct the lapses in his students' knowledge so they would be ready for their Owls and Newts. The other classes had it slightly easier, but not by much. While Remus had focused primarily on Creatures and Beings, he focused on duelling. The students were required to learn a wide array of spells, as well as being physically fit to last at least thirty minutes in the duel rings.

At the end of the year professor Moody would probably have a deadly accident and hopefully Hogwarts would be in the Dark Lord's influence, so Barty could stay on. If not then a suitable candidate would be found to take over the post.

Dear Voldemort,

My apologies for the use of your name, but Dear Dark Lord sounded way too silly for me to actually use it. I'm aware of all your ideas for the foreseeable future, thanks to Severus, and I would like to make my own opinion on it clear, as your former enemy and a muggle-raised half-blood. Luna Lovegood encouraged me to write this letter with the cryptic comment of blood is thicker than water.

You might already know this, but I'm a Parseltongue. When I got to know about your Horcruxes, I thought that was the explanation and also believed it was gone after that night. It isn't apparently so I asked for a more extended version of my family tree than the one you already saw. Believe it or not, but a daughter of the most Ancient and most Noble House of Slytherin married into the Potter Line.

I'm somewhat grateful that Draco, my suitor since this morning, has less titles, because we will need at least two sons already and this is in the optimistic view that you don't make me your Heir and Severus and Sirius each get a son. Dammit I hate chauvinistic patriarchal societies. (Sorry if this was too much information. I need someone to rant to.)

Anyway, as long as you stay sane, rational and capable of making well-informed decisions, I will support you. I do ask that you keep the younger generation out of it until their seventeenth birthday, but this is probably a given with the protectiveness of the wizarding world when it comes to children. Still not used to it I'm afraid. After all I was an exception until Severus adopted me.

Cordially,

Harry James Potter,

Heir to the Ancient and most Noble House of Potter and the Ancient and most Noble House of Prince

(Why are my titles almost as long as Dumbledore's?)