Aaah, I'm feeling productive, you guys! A new chapter and it's not even the weekend yet! (At least here it isn't...) :D

Thank you for all your wonderful replies, it made me really happy to read every single one. I'm really bad at replying to them, but know that I truly do read them all. It really brightens my day to get a positive review, and it makes me more determined to update this story so that you guys can read on. Also, the story is picking up pace and I'm just along for the ride! I have only a vague idea of what I'm going to be writing for each chapter. I usually just go along with whatever idea pops into my head, so this chapter was really, really enjoyable to write.

Hope you guys like it as well!


It took Harry a few seconds to reorient himself and find out where he was. Around them towered large, dark bookshelves and, upon further inspection, he found himself standing in what appeared to be a living room, lit by a merry fire in the fireplace. One look at the titles of the books on the shelves told Harry that they had apparated straight into Snape's own living quarters. This was ascertained by the Potions master himself just moments later.

"Come on now, I have no wish for my private sanctuary to be intruded on by rambunctious children like yourselves."

With that, he sternly guided them towards the door. "You will accompany me, as your Potions class is scheduled to start in ten minutes. No need to worry about equipment, this time it will be provided for you." He added when he noticed Harry about to comment.

Hermione seemed quite pleased with this, but Harry silently regretted the fact that he wouldn't be able to pop by the Gryffindor tower with some poor excuse for searching for some equipment there. Despite knowing the dangers he could be facing if he went back to the common room alone, Harry missed the place terribly and hoped that Hermione would be willing to bend the instructions she had received from Voldemort, regarding following him around at all times, just enough to accompany him up there.

This train of thought must have showed on his face, because he looked up and met Draco's narrowed eyes. The blond pressed his lips together and shook his head almost imperceptibly, but Harry saw the gesture well enough. With a small smile that seemed to say 'oh well, a guy can hope, right?' and a shrug of his shoulders, Harry proceeded to pay close attention to the corridors they were walking through.

The dungeons were a part of the castle that Harry hadn't explored much, mostly because he associated them with Slytherins and Potions, two of his previously least favourite things. Now he decided to be a little more adventurous and he made up his mind to fix all aspects of the shady passages to memory. After all, if this was the part of the castle he would be limited to seeing, then at least he would do his best to know every inch of it.

Sooner than Harry had hoped they arrived at their destination. However, several students had already arrived and were standing around outside the classroom door, waiting for Snape to usher them in as he usually did. A red-headed figure immediately attracted Harry's attention and he inwardly groaned, while also feeling a pang of hurt and betrayal.

"Now, look here. Isn't it the traitor himself? I thought you had decided to leave us all behind to suck up to You-Know-Who?" Ron's face had taken on a rather nasty shade of purple and his anger was evident.

Before Harry could retort, however, Snape's silky voice cut in. "Detention, Mr Weasley. Tonight with Mr Filch. I hope you are well versed in muggle cleaning techniques, as I hear Filch would greatly enjoy someone to clean up the rather disastrous state of the toilets on the second floor."

Ron looked like he was torn between wanting to further insult Harry, express his indignity over the punishment and silence, but he ultimately settled for just shooting Harry the darkest glare he could muster, before following Seamus and Dean, both of whom looked slightly uncomfortable, into the classroom.

Hermione huffed angrily, patted Harry on the shoulder and whispered for him to come along. Deciding that the Gryffindor side of the room was no longer the safe spot it used to be, Harry and Hermione both sat down on the Slytherin side, Harry with Draco, and Hermione, after Draco had loudly declared that she was to be regarded as his close friend, with Daphne. The Slytherin girl looked a little confused, but as soon as the lesson started and Hermione started working, she seemed content and enthusiastically started discussing the potion with the brown haired girl.

Snape, who despite his attitude, actually cared a great deal what happened to the Potter brat, watched the students in front of him carefully. He scornfully noticed how little Weasley tried to hide his petty jealousy and anger, the boy kept staring at Potter with a look that, if looks could kill, would've turned Harry into a scorched black mark on the floor. However, as long as Potter was inside the classroom, the redhead's hands were tied. Nevertheless, this open hostility proved to him that Harry was not safe at Hogwarts, as whatever Weasley decided to do would be completely disregarded by Dumbledore. Snape could only hope that Granger and Draco were vigilant enough to keep Potter in check. Though, knowing the annoying brat, that could be harder than first imagined.

'One should think that the high likelihood of incurring the Dark Lord's anger if he disregarded his direct orders would make Potter behave, but knowing that brat, he has no regard for his personal safety at all, preferring rather to dive head first into whatever idiotic scheme he is plotting at the moment.'

Giving a mental sigh, Snape decided that he would just have to take it upon himself to keep an eye out for the boy. After all, however much he looked like his father, Harry was Lily's son as well and Snape would not let her precious child be hurt. Also, the Dark Lord would surely skin him alive if Harry as much as scratched himself under his watch. Honestly, for a Dark Lord, the man could rival the most over-zealous mother when it came to keeping the boy safe.

For Harry, the class was over way too soon. For the first time, he had actually really enjoyed the stirring of the potion, the chopping of ingredients and the constant, careful eyeing of the bubbling, purple mass. Draco had proved to be a better partner than Ron had ever been, as the blond, unlike the youngest Weasley boy, was actually interested in getting good grades in the subject.

Collecting his books to give back to Snape, Harry shot a glance at Ron, who met his eyes squarely. From having been his closest friend for a year, Harry knew that look perfectly. It was the look Ron usually reserved for Draco, the look of utter loathing and disgust. Making his mind up, Harry dropped the textbooks unto Snape's desk and, before the Potions Master could stop him, had hurried after the retreating backs of Ron, Seamus and Dean.

He caught up with them just before they reached the stairs going up into the main halls of the castle. They had stopped when they heard the sound of his footsteps and were facing him, Seamus and Dean with slightly confused and nervous expressions, Ron with a disdainful frown on his face.

"What do you want, Potter? Finally getting tired of playing You-Know-Who's whore?"

The insult hit Harry hard, but he was determined to talk this over. He knew that actually gaining Ron over to his side would be nigh on impossible, but he could at least try to alleviate the open hostility the boy felt towards him.

"Please, Ron, I just want to talk, okay? There's no reason to be throwing insults at me when you won't let me explain what is actually going on."

Ron only snorted. "Oh, I'm sure you're the innocent victim in this, Harry. You always were, weren't you? I bet you never even once revelled a little at your fame, the way people would recognize you in the streets, the vast amount of gold in your Gringotts vault. No, Precious Potter would never stoop so low, the only thing you think about is justice and fairness in the world, isn't it?"

Harry was getting impatient now and felt small tendrils of anger flowing through him. "Look" he said, a little more cross than he intended "I don't want to argue with you, but you're being too thick-headed to see what is plain in front of you. Can't you see that Dumbledore is just playing you as a fool, a bloody pawn on his chessboard? It's not Voldemort you should be worrying about, but rather that balmy old man up in his ivory tower!"

Despite his best intentions, the anger Harry felt had now taken over and he shouted the last sentence, seemingly taking Ron aback, as the redhead's eyes widened in surprise and he took a small step backwards. However, the moment of shock passed quickly, and now Ron's face was distorted in rage.

"What makes you think you have any right to insult the headmaster like that? Are you really that far gone, that you would even consider You-Know-Who to be the misunderstood hero in this tale? You're the thick-headed one if you think that Dumbledore has done anything at all to harm our world, when all he's ever done is try to vanquish the Dark side."

Harry suddenly felt threatened, insecure, as Ron slowly walked towards him, wand pointed straight at Harry's chest. Seamus now seemed to think this a bit too much, because he put a hand on Ron's shoulder.

"Hey man, let's get out of here, okay? There's no reason to waste your effort on Potter, let's just go back to the common room."

To his surprise however, Ron spun around and shot a mild hex at Seamus, causing him to fly a few meters and hit the opposite wall. Dean shot Ron a horrified look.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" he screamed, but Ron ignored him, choosing rather to turn back towards Harry.

"Dumbledore told me this might happen" he said slowly, as if he was contemplating something or convincing himself "you're too far gone now, Harry. You leave me no choice."

Harry didn't realize what the redhead was planning until his wand was pointing straight at his chest again and a strange, crazed haze seemed to pass over Ron's blue eyes. However, before the boy had time to shoot the curse, Harry was thrown to the side by a strong arm, being caught by Hermione's arms before he hit the floor. Snape was standing over him and, with a simple 'Expelliarmus', had disarmed the now rather shocked Weasley boy.

"Are you okay? He didn't hurt you, did he?" Hermione whispered anxiously and Harry only shook his head, not really trusting his voice at the moment.

With a glance at Harry, as if checking to see if he was okay, Snape turned back to Ron, a small, rather sadistic smile on his lips. "Stupefy." His voice was cold and silky, but with a level of animosity behind it that caused the hair on his back to stand on end.

With another small flick of his wand, ropes appeared out of thin air and bound Ron tightly. "It seem like young Mr Weasley may have overstepped the line this time. He simply leaves me no choice." Despite his words, Snape looked anything other than regretful. Harry was surprised at the satisfied look on his Potions professor's face.

"What do you intend to do with him, professor?" Hermione asked. Harry noticed that her voice was shaking a little.

Levitating Ron behind him, much like you would a sack of flour, Snape walked over to the two of them. "I'm bringing him back to Malfoy Manor. The Dark Lord explicitly demanded that I bring back anyone who threatened to put Potter's safety at risk while at Hogwarts and from what I could judge, Mr Weasley here seems to have done just that."

Usually, this would have shocked and terrified Harry, but now he only nodded tiredly. He knew Voldemort well enough by now to know that the man wouldn't kill Ron unless he truly did something to harm either Voldemort or Harry, but he also knew that the Dark Lord could be rather cruel to those who threatened what he perceived as his. Surprisingly, this thought didn't bother him nearly as much as it should have and Harry briefly wondered whether this was an effect of the bonding between him and Voldemort.

Hermione stood up and helped Harry up as well. She hadn't said anything about bringing Ron back to the Manor, but Harry could see that she was worried. The sound of running footsteps broke the silence and Draco came into view, his eyes immediately going to the form of the stunned and bound Ron and then to Harry, who was supporting himself against Hermione's arm.

"Harry, are you okay?" he asked worriedly, hurrying over to the two of them. Harry only nodded.

"He's fine, Draco. Professor Snape stopped Ron before he could do anything." Hermione assured the blond, though he still looked rather unconvinced.

"Potter, come along. We are going back to the Manor now. The sooner the Dark Lord is notified of these events, the better. I'm sure he has noticed some of your emotions just now, through the bonding of your cores. If I were you, I would not waste any time in reassuring him, as having him draw the wrong conclusions could have a rather devastating effect on the rest of the student population."

Harry nodded, quickly hugged Draco and Hermione, and then followed after Snape down the same corridor they had used just a few hours earlier.

"We should hurry before the headmaster gets a word about this." Snape explained, not looking at Harry, but directing his stare straight forward as if on the lookout for possible hindrances. "Mr Weasley was accompanied by Mr Finnigan and Mr Thomas, I suppose?" Receiving a short nod, he sighed. "Well, since none of them were present when I arrived, I assume they snuck off. The more reason to hurry then, as they are likely to have run straight to the headmaster's office to report."

Admitting that this was a reasonable logic, Harry did his best to keep up with the Potions Master's long strides and they reached the portrait covering the man's office quickly after. Hastily giving the password, 'leĆ­rion', to the smiling fairy on a swing within the portrait, Snape ushered Harry in before closing the door, checking the corridor first to see that no one had followed them or were heading in that direction.

Snape had levitated Ron behind him, but now discarded the boy next to the fireplace, as if he were a loathsome burden the man was relieved to be rid of.

"Now, we need to get back to the Manor before Dumbledore closes the wards again. If he does that, the only way you will be able to return, is to get outside the gates and then apparate from there. However, you may count on Dumbledore to get in your way before you can get that far."

While talking, Snape was going through a pile of papers on his desk, some of which he stuffed in the pockets of his robes. Then he grabbed the still stunned Ron from the floor, placed a firm hand on Harry's shoulder and turned on the spot. For a brief second, Harry was certain that Dumbledore had beat them to it, but then the sight of Snape's living room disappeared and was replaced with the now familiar sight of the main living room in Malfoy Manor.

Voldemort was sitting in the nearest armchair and he looked up with eagerly at the sound of their arrival. However, his face darkened at the sight of Ron, who Snape had let go of the second his feet hit the carpet.

"Severus, what is the meaning of this?" His voice was calm and collected, but there was an undertone to it that made it clear that Snape better have a good explanation or there would be serious consequences.

"Milord, the Weasley brat tried to attack Potter. Dumbledore seems to have completely turned him against his former friends and he now believes himself to be some kind of righteous defender of the Light side. I stunned him before he had a chance to do any damage, but I brought him here as it is my belief that he will be the cause of much unnecessary trouble if he were to roam free."

Voldemort's red eyes darted to Harry. "Is this true? Did the boy attack you?"

Deciding that in this case, the truth would be his best option, Harry nodded, but despite what Ron might have done, he had no wish for the redhead to be killed. "It is true, but I know Ron. He is easily manipulated and the headmaster has been encouraging his jealousy of me. He is constantly compared to his older brothers and strives for attention, which is why he is likely to be envious of what he perceives to be undivided attention poured upon me. I'm not trying to say that what he did was excusable, but I think that there is still a possibility of him being turned over to our side with enough persuasion."

However, from the look on both Snape and Voldemort's face, Harry knew trying to defend Ron was a lost cause. Voldemort angrily shook his head and rose from his chair.

"No, Harry. In this case, I won't be placated. This boy tried to harm you. For me, that is reason good enough to dispose of him. He is a threat and too much of a pawn of Dumbledore's to be trusted."

While still looking Harry in the eyes, Voldemort motioned for Snape to leave them. The man bowed courteously, shot Ron one last look of disgust, before leaving the room, his robes billowing behind him.

When the door closed again, Voldemort's face softened just a fraction and he walked up to Harry, placing his hands on the boy's shoulders.

"Harry, I deeply care about what happens to you and though I'm not the homicidal maniac that Dumbledore has tried to paint me as, I have no qualms about killing when I deem it necessary."

"But-" Harry tried to intervene, but Voldemort shook his head.

"No buts. I will follow your wishes on pretty much everything else, but when it comes to your safety, I will take no chances."

Biting his lip in frustration, Harry looked over to the redhead lying on the carpet. His blue eyes were the only thing that moved and the horror in them were not to be mistaken.

"Look, is there really no other way? Do you really have to kill him? Can't you, I don't know, lock him up in a dungeon or something?"

Voldemort seemed to find this thought amusing, because he raised one eyebrow questioningly. "In the dungeons? Tell me Harry, though I do admit that would negate any threat that he currently poses, why should I go through the trouble of keeping him alive when I could just as easily kill him and have the whole problem sorted out?"

Deciding that he would just have to take a wild leap of faith, Harry straightened his back and looked the man in front of him in the eyes with as much steely determination as he could muster. "Because I don't want him dead and if you kill him, I will hold it against you. Trust me, I can keep a grudge for longer than you would imagine."

To his surprise, Voldemort tipped his head back and laughed heartily. This was the first time the man had let down his defences to this extent and Harry couldn't help but admire the deep, throaty sound, secretly wishing that Voldemort would laugh more often.

Composing himself, Voldemort stepped away from Harry and walked over to Ron, crouching down in front of him so that their eyes were on the same level.

"Did you hear that, Weasley? Harry is still defending you, even though it would make his life infinitely better if you just disappeared without a trace. To think that you would throw away his friendship for the petty lies of Albus Dumbledore goes beyond my imagination, but for Harry's sake, I can make an exception. You see," he continued, standing up and casually looking at his fingernails, "I would normally kill little vermin like you without a second thought, but because Harry has decided to play the part of the knight in shining armour for you, I will humour him."

With a snap of his fingers, a house-elf appeared in front of him. The creature bowed so deep that its long, crooked nose scraped the floor, before it rose to a half-standing crouch.

"Master called Flipsy? What can Flipsy do for Master?"

"Take the red-haired boy down to the dungeons and lock him up in the safest cell there. Make sure that he is kept alive, but don't strain yourselves trying to make it comfortable for him."

"Flipsy will do so straight away, Master!" The house-elf bowed once more before it took a hold of a handful of Ron's hair and apparated away with a loud 'crack'.

Turning towards Harry, Voldemort threw his arms open as if to say 'are you happy now?', before sitting down in the armchair closest to him. It took Harry a few seconds to realize what the man had just done, but then he grinned and ran forward, hugging the man tightly.

"Thank you." He whispered in Voldemort's ear, burying his face in the man's shoulder.

"Don't think about it, Harry. I wanted to show you that I'm serious about wanting to make you happy and if not killing that boy would accomplish that, it was simply not hard for me to decide what to do with him."

Withdrawing a little so that he could look into those piercing red eyes, Harry continued. "It really does mean a lot to me. Ron might not be the best friend out there, but he was the first friend I had and we shared some very happy moments together last year. Though I realize those days are over now, I still don't want to see him killed because of circumstances he has been dragged into and has no control over."

"The Weasley boy knew perfectly well what he was doing, Harry. Don't fool yourself into thinking Dumbledore somehow brainwashed him. What the headmaster does best is to take advantage of thoughts and emotions already there and use them to his advantage. Instead of wasting your compassion on him, focus rather on the friends that truly care about you, like Draco and that Granger girl."

Realizing that discussing this was futile, Harry only nodded. "I guess you're right. What happens now, though? Dumbledore is bound to retaliate in some way for kidnapping Ron."

Voldemort nodded. "Yes, I believe he will. However, we will just have to wait and see. Until then, you will stay here at the Manor. I don't trust that old man and today proved to me that Hogwarts is not safe enough for you anymore. There is bound to be others who can be used just like Weasley. I'm not going to take any chances, so you will have to stay here for the time being."

Surprisingly, Harry didn't feel too upset about this. Though he loved the old castle, the events of the day had dampened his joy of returning, and somehow, the thought of spending his days in the company of the Dark Lord didn't sound too unappealing. Yes, he decided, he could definitely enjoy spending his days getting to know this still mysterious man. After all, he had given Voldemort a promise, and to fulfil that promise, he would need to know more about the man.

That night, when Harry crept under the covers of his bed, Medusa snuggled up close to his pillow, he decided that he would use the coming weeks to truly get to know Voldemort. Then, when he had enough information to make an informed decision, he would give the Dark Lord his answer. Time would show what that answer might lead to.


Tadaaa! Even more fluff between Voldie and Harry. Argh, I can't help myself sometime! I just find them too adorable together :3

Also, I gave you some more Hermione, because from what I can gather from your reviews, we all agree that she's just too awesome to be left out on the sideline. From now on, the story might jump forward in time a little, but I'll try to write it so that all details are covered. Don't want to just skip ahead straight into the juicy stuff without actually explaining how things ended up there!

So, hope you liked the chapter and look forward to the next one! I have only one week left before term starts, so I can give no promises as to the frequency of updates after that.