Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

Yayy! I got a good reception overall for my last chapter! Thank you so much to my reviewers! As usual, I really appreciate the effort you put in writing my reviews! :)

There will again be some OOC in here on both Harry and Voldemort's part as they are struggling with their new status of "soul mates" and everything it implies.

To answer my guests:

Ichigokitty: Here it is! :)

Boblove321: Perceptive, perceptive. It looks like an excuse, but maybe it has some truth in it? Who knows?

autumngold: Thank you for asking about Severus' feeling concerning Harry's decision to leave the Rebels. I hadn't plan to include it in the fic, but I will now. It won't be before a while though, because Severus isn't the type to open up rapidly to anyone. Thanks for the nice comments as well :)

FanFictionLover: Thank you and I completely agree with most of what you say. I don't like effeminate Harrys, though. The kitten thing was a teasing on Voldemort's part because he knew that Harry hated being treated like that, not because he particularly looked like one.

Incidentally, I will say at this point that there won't be a cat!Harry episode in this fic. It's an idea I've seen in "the Black Bunny" and the "Kitty Love" trilogy, and, as much as I quite liked it in there, I don't want to use it in this story. Sorry!

And on with the show!

Chapter 24: 1st of September 1997: Part Two: The Dark Lord's Fortress

The first thing I noticed of the place was that it was done in a completely different style than Malfoy Manor, but that it wasn't any less imposing. Here, instead of pure lines and shining marble, the interior was made nearly entirely out of wood, thick carpets covered the floors and rich paintings of landscapes (as opposed to the innumerable portraits of Malfoys) adorned the walls.

The Dark Lord slid his hand off my shoulders and stepped toward the door. He turned back to face me and made an all-encompassing gesture with his hands.

"The entrance parlour. Nothing particularly striking here. Come, I'll give you a quick tour."

I followed suit out the room, watching a bit uncertainly the man who may, or may not be my soul mate. It sounded like such a foreign idea.

How twisted does that make me if the one person who is supposed to fit me perfectly is a megalomaniacal tyrant reigning over Magical Britain?

Despite my harsh thoughts, I wasn't completely opposed to the concept, although I was a bit wary of the 'preordained' component of it. Hadn't he said before that he didn't believe in anything like that?

I think that, if I were him, I'd be pretty disappointed that my soul mate is a teenager, even if I'm somewhat mature for my age. The one thing he seems to really enjoy at the moment is his research, and I haven't even passed my OWLs...

My thoughts were drifting as I was listening with one ear to the explanation the Dark Lord was giving about a particular room, or a particular object. Apparently, this place used to be the illustrious dwelling of Salazar Slytherin himself, and Voldemort looked quite proud of having been able to claim this heritage for himself. Perhaps it was a difficult task to accomplish for a Half-blood. The funny thing was, although I kept that thought to myself, that his guided tour reminded me of the one Cedric had given me at the Magical Library. One only had to replace all the Hufflepuffs for Slytherins and the gist of it was the same. Well, except that the Dark Lord's version was a lot bloodier and darker.

While he was talking animatedly about his ancestors, I observed the man closely.

I'm quite surprised that he took the whole soul mate thing so well. It doesn't make sense, really. He should be mad, at least, that his choice was robed from him. But instead he nearly looked...vulnerable earlier? Maybe he trusted me and showed me a side of himself he's never shown to anybody else before?

That sounded incredibly cheesy. It went completely against my idea of him. Even if he'd worn a mask all his life and was just showing me the real softie beneath the hard shell...wasn't his whole...transformation a bit too quick?

"And this corridors leads to the dungeons. Where your rooms are, naturally," said the Dark Lord with such a perfect poker face that I nearly believed him. He really is a good actor.

I lifted an eyebrow at him. Let's test him a bit.

"Are you really going to make your soul mate rot all alone in a humid dungeon? Wow, that wasn't on the soul mate prospectus when I read it. I should think I deserved at least a suite... befitting my new status, don't I?" I said in a slightly petulant voice.

I saw him frown at my attitude before he smoothed it away. I was sure he would shut me down directly. I increased the pressure on him as I added in a teasing tone:

"Maybe I should just go and settle myself in your rooms, how would you find that? Then we could share a bed all the time. It will be as if we were married!" I added in a delighted voice. "It's practically already done anyway, what with being soul mates and all...And then we could tell everyone the good news!"

I saw his right eye twitch violently. Perhaps it was just a trick of the light, but I think he became a slight shade of green as well. Why wasn't he telling me to shut up?

"No. We won't tell anyone else," he said in barely controlled frustration.

"Why not? How else I am suppose to have the wedding of my dreams if we don't?" I tried to ask innocently, grasping his arm. His magic felt hectic and wild under my hand.

"Potter, we won't get married! Get that idea out of your head! It would make us both vulnerable if other people knew of our connection. They could try to kill you to get to me." He was still trying to reason with me. I was impressed by his self-control, but I didn't understand why he would indulge me so much.

"But who would want to kill you? I'm sure everybody will be delighted to see you settle down at last! Everyone are going to be so jealous of me when they hear I'm the lucky guy!"

Voldemort closed his eyes and slowly exhaled. He seemed one second away from tearing my hands off his arm and hexing me to his darkest corner of his dungeon. I couldn't understand why he hadn't. The situation was just too absurd and I snorted at my own behaviour.

He stiffened and looked at me abruptly.

"You were acting." He sounded relieved. I could understand why.

-What gave it away?" I asked, teasingly.

-That type of behaviour, it's not you; it's an old recurring nightmare of mine, ever since I came to power."

I felt my eyes widen in surprise at the confession.

"In the earlier years after the War," he continued, "I thought a few times of settling down and having some heirs, but whenever I wanted to suggest it to one of my lovers, I'd give them a bit more of liberty with me before to try to evaluate if I could at least tolerate them in a long-term basis, and, immediately, they'd start clinging on me like you just did, and bothering me all the time when I was doing my research or wanted to think. And I don't know why, but at some point, they'd start talking to me with those whiny high-pitched voices and making their demands and it just made me want to kill them so badly..."

His hands clenched around thin air for a second before he sighed and dropped them back at his side.

"Needless to say, I dropped quickly this ridiculous notion of weddings, or of heirs, for that matter. If my reaction to whiny adults is so extreme, I don't think I'd fare better with children, heirs or not. Also, children tend to have horrible responses to the Cruciatus, sadly. Where would be the fun of bringing them up if I couldn't even discipline them correctly?" He shot me a smirk, as if daring me to be angry with him for that comment. I was too busy hesitating over been incredulous or scandalised to react properly, unfortunately. When I had gathered my thoughts enough to respond, I found that shouting at him would be counter-productive; he was just trying to provoke me, as always. And even if it was true, at least the man had the sense to not subject kids to his presence more than necessary.

"Is that why you didn't want Draco to come visit me here? Does he remind you of them?" I asked jokingly.

He shrugged slightly and sighed.

"Partly. I've never been fond of spoilt children either." He paused, turning to me. "Would you mind explaining to me what this whole horror show was about, since I can see that you have found your composure again?"

I winced, looking a bit around before answering him. We had come outside at one point or another of the tour and we were currently in the gardens. I spotted a bench and went to sit on it, sighing and putting my elbows on my knees and my head in my hands.

I felt him sit at my side and turned my head around to face him.

"I don't really know what to think of this whole soul mate thing. It does explain the strange connection between us, but you creep me out when you start acting all tender around me."

He snorted a laugh.

"Yeah, I know, I know, I'm a bit like you, apparently...I don't even want to imagine how you would sound like with a whiny voice." I saw him open his mouth and said quickly: "Please don't! I think I'll be traumatised for the rest of my life if I ever hear that coming from you."

He glared at me.

"I wasn't about to either. I can guarantee you that."

I frowned, thinking of my previous doubts.

"Why did you act soft and all, then?"

He turned to look straight in front of him. He had a self-deprecating smirk and sighed a bit.

"I suppose I thought it was the appropriate way to behave when you just revealed to someone else that your life depended on them.

-Ah, so, manipulating me out of eventual suicidal thoughts? Or out of betraying you, maybe?" I could actually believe that better, coming from him.

He turned back to me, lifting an eyebrow at me.

"You are more intelligent than I originally pegged you for."

I snorted.

"High praise indeed.

-Don't get used to it, brat." He pushed me on the shoulder good-naturedly. I found my balance again quickly and retorted:

"Careful there, grandpa, you could hurt yourself. How's retirement treating you by the way? Did you have fun at Gobblestones night yesterday with the other residents?"

He shot me a glare and I grinned at him cheekily. I sobered up quickly.

"Are you disappointed?" I asked.

-In what?

-In being saddled with a teenager for a soul mate? I don't know, I imagined soul mates to be more...alike than we are.

-Do you think I'd go along well with someone who was as ambitious and ruthless as I am? We'd be competing and trying to usurp the other's power all the time. I could never trust someone like that even for the most basics things..."

I thought of his answer for a while, pondering the truth I could feel in it. So, soul mates weren't people with similar personalities, but more like complementary? Well, I had enough insecurity to balance his enormous ego. And I was reckless while he was paranoid. And he was old while I was young. And I was a bit short while he was quite tall. Ok, I'll stop now; it's becoming stupid.

My pointless thoughts were cut short by a low popping sound. A creature was suddenly standing in front of us. It looked all wrinkled and puny. Its head was enormous compared to his body, which was draped with a weird toga with the Slytherin coat of arms on it (I had listened enough to the Dark Lord's tour to recognise at least that). Its eyes were slit like it was a reptile, but the skin wasn't scaly. A forked tongue slithered out of its mouth, tasting the air before it retreated back inside. It was carrying a tray with beverages on it. It bowed respectfully, but didn't talk and set it down on a low table that had just appeared in front of Voldemort and me. It popped away without a sound. I jumped up at the sudden exit; it caught me unaware, as I had been too entranced in my perplexed staring to follow the proceedings.

"It's just a House-Elf."

I turned abruptly back to the Dark Lord, incredulous.

"I know what a House-Elf looks like, and it isn't that.

-That's how mine look." I felt my eyebrows lift on my forehead.

"What did you do to them?" Draco had told me the Dark Lord had cursed them to make them more obedient, but it apparently went further than that. It was a bit disgusting, really.

"I made them proud members of the Slytherin household. This ritual has been in the family for generations. It was merely lost before I came here and claimed the lands.

-What does it do?

-Hum, well, for one thing, it lowers their capacity to interpret my orders and go behind my back. By default, they don't do anything else that what I directly order them to do. It was a bit frustrating at the beginning to learn how to be completely explicit, but I got used to it quickly enough. It was worth it. House-Elves have the most horrible habit of doing passive insubordination when they disagree with their masters. Lucius has an Elf, for instance, who keeps misinterpreting his orders on purpose. At some point, he told it that he wanted a copy of the Financial Wizard every morning at his breakfast and the Elf put it in his plate on top of his food. When Lucius specified exactly where he wanted the newspaper to be placed, the Elf found a way to put all sort of disgusting things on top of it or in it. I don't want that sort of trouble with my Elves. It's much simpler if they just don't have opinions and can't betray me, even to the best of their abilities."

While it is understandable that he doesn't tolerate insubordination of the slightest degree from his servants, it shows that he clearly has a complete disregard to sentient life, or, at least, of creatures classified as non-humanoid. I added that to my list of things that I didn't like in him. That list would be quite useful since I tended to forget myself when he was there.

"Why do they look like that?" I asked, a bit disgusted by their appearance despite myself. It wasn't as if it was their fault that they were cursed.

-You mean, their reptile-like appearance? It's part of the spell bounding them to the Slytherin descent. They also can only speak Parseltongue. That way, they can't transmit confidential information to anybody else than me."

I put on a neutral face. I had discovered that I was a Parselmouth when I was about 10 when Sirius and I went to a Muggle zoo and I accidently set a snake on unsuspecting (but extremely rude) Muggles. Sirius and I had then agreed that it would be better to keep the secret to us. You never knew when that ability could become useful.

"Are you the only Parseltmouth in the world, then?" I asked.

"No, I know there are at least a few of them in Greece. They are remote descendants from a preeminent Magical Healer in Ancient Greece who did ground breaking research on snake poisons and their antidotes. There should also be a few more scattered around the globe, but in Britain, I think I'm the only one..." He paused for a moment, rubbing his chin distractedly.

"There's always a chance that my brute of an uncle raped some women before he died and managed to produce some bastards...In which case, I could have unknown Parselmouth cousins or second cousins running about. But if they exist, they haven't manifested themselves so far."

If it's that rare then, how come am I a Parselmouth as well? Could it an effect of the soul mate connection? Should I tell him? Hum...no, better keep an ace up my sleeve just in case. I don't trust him completely yet.

"You sound a bit dismissive of them...

-Well, the fact that I am a Parselmouth and the leader of the British Wizarding Nation has been plastered over the news for years. If they wanted to reconnect, they'd have done it by now. There is also a chance that they aren't magical. There were lots of Squibs and near-Squibs in the recent generations of Gaunts. If that's the case, we'll spot their descendants and bring them over to the Wizarding World the minute they start manifesting magic. I'll judge on what do to with the situation if it ever presents itself."

I nodded. It sounded reasonable. Although...the idea of him having cousins around without knowing for sure felt a bit strange. Cousins of the Dark Lord! Imagine that! If I thought I could possible have cousins somewhere in Britain, I'd at least try to get in contact with them...well, normally I would, but my situation now was a bit complicated. I took a sip of my cup of tea from the table in front of me and inhaled the fresh air, looking around at the flowers and exotic plants surrounding us. I could recognise a few new ones from my tutoring with Remus. I felt oddly at peace sitting here next to the Dark Lord. I glanced at him and saw that he had closed his eyes and angled his face up, absorbing the late afternoon sun. I felt my lips pull up in a small content smile. Voldemort looked so human suddenly. Even more than when he was acting all vulnerable earlier.

I bended forward and put my elbows on my legs, looking down at my cup of tea. It had been an eventful day. I glanced again to my left at the Dark Lord. However, overall, it had also been a good day. And it wasn't even dinnertime yet! I laughed a bit under my breath. I saw from the corner of my eyes the other man looking at me as if he was evaluating something.

He got up to his feet suddenly, waiting for me to do the same and when I went to stand next to him, he put his arm around my shoulders again. His magic felt content and warm and swirled lazily around me. He walked us back inside and he stopped in front of a door.

"You can freshen up before dinner if you want. I have some work to do. That will be your room for the moment. It's not the dungeons, but I tried my very best to make it as cold and inhospitable as them, don't worry."

I snorted a laugh and went back to my act of earlier.

"But I thought I was going to sleep in your room..." I teased him with a disappointed voice.

He shuddered exaggeratedly before smirking at me. He took a step forward and put his arms on the door behind on both sides of my head. He brought his face closer to my ear and I felt my breath hitch at his closeness.

"If you ever spend the night in my room, I'm afraid you won't be sleeping much..." He whispered in my ear before pulling back again and continuing in a louder voice. "I'll give you some time to adjust in this room and then we'll see. We wouldn't want to overwhelm you too much; you have such poor control after all." He grinned a snarky smirk.

He turned around and strode away from me down the hall in the direction of his rooms. His gait was strong and confidant, his shoulders and back straight, his legs making powerful strides and his robes billowing gracefully behind him.

Despite my relaxed state, I couldn't help but feel a twinge of unease and suspicion plaguing me about the whole soul mate situation. I frowned my brow. It felt as if they only came back when the Dark Lord left. Was his presence affecting me somehow?

I shook my head to get rid of the thoughts and went in my room.

I'd keep my doubts to myself for the moment. But I'd be careful with my heart. Just treat it as fun opportunity, and nothing else. Then you have nothing to loose. I thought to myself.

...

I guess I was wrong about that.

So, they are getting more comfortable with each other and learning their boundaries.

In the next chapter, Harry will research the whole soul mate question and we will discover at last if the Rebels were right about the status of Muggles under the Dark Lord's regime.

Thank you so much in advance for reviewing! You guys are awesome! :)