Yah-hoo everyone! I'm back with another chapter for you!

Haha, I'm sorry about leaving the previous chapter on such a horrible cliff-hanger, but I make it up to you in this one! Plenty of fluff to go around here! Also, some more Hermione, since I'm sure we all agree she's awesome and deserves more of the spotlight ;)

Hope you all enjoy!


Voldemort found himself reaching his office in record time, throwing the door open and slamming it shut behind him. Small bursts of uncontrolled magic caused several small glass vials on the bookshelf to burst into small glittering fragments, which somehow made him even angrier.

Just why did he suddenly feel the need to confess to Harry? He hadn't even been aware of such feelings till the moment he voiced them out loud, thus having no option of taking his words back again. Unless he chose to Obliviate Harry, but that was out of the question. Never would he become so desperate as to wipe the boy's memory, that much he owed the brat.

A pile of papers on his desk went flying when he swiped at them with a furious motion, feeling some satisfaction in the chaos he was causing. Of all the times to tell Harry how he felt, why did he have to do it on the day when both his friend was there and Harry was going away to Hogwarts for the rest of the day? Maybe the physical distance between them would be beneficial, enable them to carefully think through their responses the other's question, but somehow he felt that not having Harry close by would just further frustrate him. Just when had he become so dependant on always seeing that mop of black hair, passing by him in the hallways or casually talking to him at mealtimes?

Before Voldemort had the chance to further rip his office to shreds, bit by bit, the door flew open and Harry burst in, slamming the door in just the same way that Voldemort had done, just moments earlier.

"Don't you just run off on me, Mr All-Powerful-Dark-Lord!" the boy almost hissed at him, his green eyes flashing with anger. "If you want me to trust you, to understand you and to be a friend to you, then you'll have to tell me what is going on in that big, conceited head of yours!"

His anger made Harry not even consider the fact that he was talking to the most powerful wizard alive, and that the man could easily throw him out if Harry even marginally inconvenienced him. Voldemort, however, didn't seem to care. Instead, he watched Harry with some sort of mixture between confusion and surprise.

"What do you mean? I'm pretty sure I said all that could be said back there, more than I had ever intended to say." The last sentence was laced with cynical regret, and Harry, who had prepared himself for some more shouting, stopped himself. Life among the Malfoys had taught him the importance of listening and analysing the situation, to carefully assess what the person opposite was saying and then find a useful retort based on their behaviour and choice of words.

Sighing slightly, Harry gathered his prized Gryffindor courage and walked up to Voldemort. Looking up at him, he said softly. "You don't have to be afraid of feelings, Voldemort. It's a part of being human and if you want a future with me, then you will have to learn how to cope with them. That involved talking about it with me."

Stepping back a little, he continued before Voldemort had a chance to interrupt. "I can't say I wasn't taken aback when you told me you l-love me" he stumbled a little on the word, and Voldemort found himself smiling, despite himself, at the small blush that appeared on that young face. "however, you can't just run away from me after something like that. If what you are feeling is truly love, then I want us to be able to discuss it. I might be too young yet to really know how my own feelings compare to yours, but I do know that bottling it all up is not going to help either of us. So, basically, what I'm saying is that we should both be honest with each other."

The slightly feeble end to his speech made Harry feel rather like a fool and he was very tempted to turn and walk out the door as quickly as he could, but his own words made him stand his ground. It was now or never. If he walked out that door now, he had a feeling he would loose whatever opportunity he had to finally talk things over with Voldemort.

Without saying anything, Voldemort stared at Harry with something akin to intense scrutiny, but then he seemed to give in, because he sighed lightly and nodded.

"I assume you're right. Though it has been several decades since I last truly felt emotions like these, I will try to be honest with you about it."

Nodding in relief, knowing that this was probably as good as it was going to get, Harry smiled up at the man before him. "I'm glad we've finally reached that conclusion! Now, mind to elaborate on what you said earlier? About me not, what was it, considering that you love me?"

His tone was teasing, meaning to treat it in a light-hearted manner, but this seemed to be the wrong approach. Instead of returning the smile Harry sent him, Voldemort's eyes narrowed and he turned away.

"If you're going to be making fun of me, Mr Potter, I assure you that I will not tolerate your presence." The warm affection that had been in his voice earlier was replaced by an icy rejection.

Harry, however, didn't loose heart. Realizing he had made a mistake, he put a hand on Voldemort's arm and said silently. "It was not meant as a slight towards you, Voldemort. My intention was to lighten the mood a little, but it was a bit awkwardly carried out. I apologize if I hurt your feelings."

The steady, calm voice, along with the apology, seemed to work. Voldemort's shoulders relaxed a bit and he nodded. "No, I'm sorry. I should've realized that you wouldn't deliberately try to turn my own words against me in this situation."

Turning once more to face him, Voldemort continued. "What I said earlier is true. Though I can't be certain that what I'm feeling is love, given that it has been so many years since I've ever felt anything at all and unlikely that I've ever loved anyone, I certainly care about you more than I've ever cared about anyone before. I often catch myself feeling possessive, jealous and overprotective, but also calm and relaxed whenever you're near."

Seeming to realize just how cheesy his words were, Voldemort cleared his throat a little and refused to look Harry in the eyes. The raven-haired boy only smiled.

"Though I at first felt very annoyed at what I thought was needless protectiveness from your side, I have recently realized that I don't particularly mind. I've never had anyone care about me so much that they'd be willing to throw caution to the wind, just to make sure that I was safe. Though it might make me sound rather stupid, I actually like being given the extra thought and protection that you give me."

After a brief silence, Harry added. "Though I'm still too young to really know what my feelings are, I know that I really care about you and that the last few weeks with you here at the Manor have been some of the best weeks in my short life. If you're willing to give me some time to figure out just what the extent of my caring for you is, I will give you a well considered reply to your confession."

At first it looked like Voldemort was going to question this, but then he nodded, albeit somewhat reluctantly. "I guess that's only reasonable. I will give you some time to figure out your feelings, but I do hope you will reach a conclusion before you turn seventeen."

Harry just laughed and gave Voldemort a quick hug. "I will try." He winked and headed towards the door. "I'll be back later today, okay? I want to just have a quick talk with my godfather before I leave. I have a feeling he would be rather upset if he woke up to find that I wasn't to be found anywhere in the Manor."

Seeing the sensibility in this statement, Voldemort nodded again and with a hand waved for Harry to be gone. The light-hearted laughter of the boy seemed to linger a few seconds after he had left, and Voldemort found himself, despite the circumstances, to be quite positive regarding the future. After all, Harry had confessed to caring about him, as well as appreciating the attention he gave the boy. That must account for something, right? Then, with a groan, he quickly discarded this train of thought. He was the bloody Dark Lord, for Merlin's sake, not some lovesick schoolgirl.


Stopping before the door leading to the bedroom allocated to his godfather, Harry was left somewhat indecisive. Should he knock or just enter? Should he leave Sirius to rest and contemplate or should he just be brief and to the point, confronting the man with what the situation was and that he would just have to deal with it?

Deciding that being mindful of the man's rather frazzled nerves was probably the way to go, Harry knocked and entered when a cheerful 'come in' sounded from the other side.

Sirius looked almost unrecognizable from the last time Harry had seen him. Gone were the dirty strands of hair that clung to his hard, emaciated face, and rather than the layers of rags he had worn, he as now dressed in a simple, but fitted dark cloak. His shoulder-length black hair was brushed back to reveal a face that would be absolutely dashing once the man gained some weight back.

"Harry! I was just going to go look for you!" he beamed at Harry, who found his happiness to be contagious, because he grinned back.

"Yeah, I wanted to see how you were doing, before I'm going back to Hogwarts today." Seeing the surprised and angry look that had quickly appeared on his godfather's face, he quickly added "It's just for a few hours. Potions is the only subject which, at the moment, Voldemort has decided Snape would do a better job than him teaching me, but Snape can't leave Hogwarts as often as tutoring me would require. Thus, I'm going back to the castle a few times a week to follow the classes there, and then I'll head straight back."

"If you say so, Harry." However, the guarded look and worried tone of the man's voice did nothing to convince Harry that Sirius was actually convinced by his explanation. However, he seemed to want to put this rather awkward topic behind him, because he, with a sudden movement, grabbed Harry's arm and half-dragged him over to a large couch near the fireplace, dropping down into it and pulling Harry along after him.

"Now, tell me why you came over. I'm sure there was more to this than just you wanting to see my handsome face, right?" The joking familiarity which Sirius used so naturally when talking to him, made Harry happier than he had felt in a long time. As if there was no past of his godfather being stowed away in a grisly prison.

"Yeah… I wanted to see if you wanted an explanation or a reasoning behind why I have decided to live here and to, once I'm of age, probably marry Voldemort. I know that it might seem inconceivable to you, but I want to at least try to explain. You're the only family I've got and I don't want to lose you again." His voice faded slightly at the end, but Sirius heard him and put a comforting arm around his shoulders.

"Hey, kiddo." He said and looked Harry in the eyes with a completely honest look. "Marrying a bloody Dark Lord is probably not the future I would've hoped or envisioned for you, but I'm not going to stand in your way if that is what you truly want. You are family, Harry, and family do stupid shit to each other, but then they make up and move on again. They stand up for each other, no matter how mental their actions might seem. So, while I won't go and be all chummy with old Maniacal-Evil-Overlord, I will try my best to not get in the way of your happiness."

"However," he added, his eyes glinting with a mischievous tint, "if he ever hurts you or breaks your heart, I will not hesitate to make his life a living hell. One does not mess with my cub." With that, Sirius affectionately ruffled Harry's hair so that it looked even more dishevelled than usual.

Swatting his hand away with a laugh, Harry grasped the opportunity to reach out and tickle Sirius, who howled with surprised laughter. As he was pulling away from Harry's fingers, he lost his balance and fell down unto the floor, from where he grabbed Harry's leg and pulled him down with him. Thus ensued a fight involving pillows, tackling each other, Sirius at one point flipping Harry over his shoulder and running around in circles, while Harry, roaring with both laughter and frustration, tried to get down.

When they both sank down again in front of the fireplace, exhausted from their play, they both felt like the last twelve years had been wiped away and that a new time had started, a time where, no matter what happened, they would be there for each other. Though a small and rather dysfunctional family, they were a family once more.

Hugging Sirius goodbye was not the awkward scene Harry had depicted. Rather, it was comforting and safe, and Harry ran off in search of Hermione knowing that from now on, Sirius Black would be on his side, no matter what happened.


After Hermione had left Harry alone with Voldemort, she slowly made her way back to her room, absorbed in thoughts. The conversation she had just had with the person she had up till now believed to be a crazed, homicidal maniac, had been enlightening and, even more surprising, she had found herself agreeing to what the man said. It made her realize just how many lies Dumbledore had spun around her, trapping her like a fly in the net of a particularly malevolent spider. Hermione Granger did not like to be wrong about anything and it vexed her that she had let herself view the matter of Voldemort only from one side without taking the opposing side into consideration.

Voldemort had been honest and upfront about his views, seeming not to be hiding anything, but preferring to lay it out and explain himself if need be. This was such a drastically different mode of operation than that of Dumbledore, who chose to use his followers and friends as pawns in a secret plan only he knew the full extent of. Now that she had become aware of what was actually going on, it sickened her.

Deciding that she would pass the time until they were returning to Hogwarts, by thinking everything over, she sat down at the windowsill and absentmindedly looked out over the vast forest surrounding the Manor. Somehow this scenery surprised her. She had expected the Malfoys to be more of the urban kind, preferring to be in the middle of everything that went on, both on the political and social circles. On the other hand, she reasoned, location didn't matter as much in the Wizarding world, as guests usually chose to apparate or floo to whoever they were visiting. Also, the woods seemed rather impenetrable, probably providing an added level of security. Really, these pureblood families were sometimes more paranoid than was absolutely necessary.

A knock on the door snapped her out of her musings, and she hurried over, thinking it to be Harry who had come back. However, when she opened the door, she was surprised to see the perfectly groomed face of Draco Malfoy.

"I'm sure you're wondering what I'm doing here, Granger." He said before she had a chance to voice her confusion. She only nodded in reply, stepping aside a little so as to give him space to enter.

Walking to the middle of the room before turning to her again, Draco continued. "After getting to know Harry, I have decided that my attitude towards you have been rather unfair. I apologize for letting my prejudiced opinions take precedent over what should've been apparent to me, that you are just as good, probably better than, any witch of your age. What I want is to offer you my sincere apologies for behaving like a stupid child, and I hope that we might start over again on a better note than we did the first time."

This whole speech was spoken in a rather stiff manner, as if Draco had been repeating it over and over to himself and it had now been reduced to just so many memorized lines. However, Hermione had a feeling that the intent behind the apology was sincere, so she smiled and nodded.

"I won't pretend like the words you said against me didn't hurt, or that your elitist views didn't frustrate me beyond comprehension sometimes, but I believe you when you say you want to put all this behind you."

She walked over to him and extended a hand towards him. Meeting his eyes plainly, she smiled. Draco looked surprised, but then he slowly returned the smile and shook her hand.

"I'm Draco Malfoy. Lovely to meet you."

"And I'm Hermione Granger, a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

The two of them then proceeded to stare a little awkwardly at each other, Hermione finding the temptation to shuffle her feet and glance around the room to be rather intense. To her relief, Draco was the first to break the silence.

"Despite spending most of last year trying to live up to what I thought was expected behaviour and treating you like shit, I hardly know anything about you. What do you say, does an equal exchange of information sound fair to you?"

Hermione laughed, but nodded. 'What a delightful change from the Draco Malfoy of last year! Now he is civil and intelligent, truly a favourable change from the stuck-up brat he was trying to be.' she thought, while directing them both over to the couch.

With an absentminded motion, she swiped a lock of brown hair away from her face, before pinning Draco with the stare she usually got when searching for information.

"So, what was it that caused you to have this sudden epiphany about muggleborn wizards and witches?"

To his credit, Draco didn't answer immediately, but seemed to ponder the question a little before replying. To Hermione, this signified that he respected her question and wanted to give her a solid and well thought-out reply. Finally, he spoke up.

"I'm afraid the honour goes entirely to our friend Harry for changing my mind. Before I got to know him, I followed what I thought was the 'pureblood code of honour', which in my narrow understanding included passionately looking down upon everyone not as fortunate as me. However, I'm also firmly on the Dark side, and when Lord Voldemort explained to me just what his goals and ideals were, I realized that I had got it all wrong. Then Harry came to the Manor and I realized how stupid I had been for estranging such a wonderful person from me. He showed me that blood, when it comes down to it, truly doesn't matter. What matters is the person themselves, their characteristics and personality. So, since Harry sees you as a precious friend, I want to get to know you too. Also, you are the most gifted person in our year and being friends with you would certainly prove advantageous to me."

Draco had assumed his past haughty look and voice at the end of his speech, but a small smile gave him away and Hermione burst into laughter.

"Is that so?" she replied, after schooling her features again. "Well, I'm quite certain that befriending you would also be highly socially beneficial to me, so I guess it works out in both our favours."

They looked at each other for a few seconds, both trying their hardest not to smile, but then they gave up and started laughing heartily.

When Snape opened the door twenty minutes later, he found, to his immense surprise, the two of them in eager conversation, Hermione explaining the muggle habit of going skiing in the winter.


"So, Harry, are you ready for this? You know that Dumbledore will do whatever he can to make contact with you or worse…"

The worried faces of Voldemort and Sirius were looking down at him and Harry nodded. "Yeah, I know, but I will make sure to not stray far from the dungeons and to always have either Draco or Hermione with me when I do have to go to another part of the castle."

It had taken Voldemort and Sirius quite some time to agree not to hex each other into the nearest wall, but one thing they had agreed on and that was ensuring the welfare of Harry. Sirius was rather more mother-hen-like than Voldemort would ever be, but the concern still shone through in the way he would reply in short, snappish sentences whenever someone asked him anything.

Draco and Hermione, along with Snape, were standing a few feet away patiently waiting for Harry to join them.

"Look, I'll take care of myself, okay?" he said and hugged them both quickly. "I'll be back in a few hours. It's not like I'm staying there for several weeks or anything!"

With that, he withdrew and, with one last glance at them, turned and walked over to his friends.

"Are you quite ready, Mr Potter?" Snape said icily, a tone which Harry ignored and instead shot the dour man a sparkling smile.

"So, ready to face the music, Harry?" Hermione asked, her warm brown eyes showing the same level of concern as Sirius had just expressed, but he could also sense that she believed whole-heartedly that he would do just fine.

"Yep. Now, let's go, shall we?"

Snape pressed his lips together, probably to avoid saying something to Harry in front of both the Dark Lord and the boy's godfather that he would regret. Then he procured an old, battered book and held it out.

"Touch it and don't let go. It's a portkey. The headmaster has kindly" a sneer expressed just how 'kind' Snape found this gesture "made an exception in the Hogwarts wards for us, so that we will be able to portkey directly into the castle."

The three of them hastily put their hands on the book, nothing happened for a second, but then Harry felt a sickening jerk, like a hook had been fastened to right behind his navel, and the sight of Malfoy Manor disappeared from view.


GASP! Hogwarts next! Wonder what will happen there!

Also, the story is coming to a close, I'm thinking that this story will have around 20-22 chapters in total, so the rest of the story is going to be about sorting out the Dumbledore situation, as well as Harry and Voldemort's relationship. (I promise I will give you a happy ending. I can't deal with sad stuff... I once read a fanfic where both Voldemort and Harry died at the end, and I was left devasted for days. So, not gonna happen in this one!)