Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.
Ahhh, my great reviewers, how I love you! Thank you once again for your amazing support! :D
To my guest reviewers:
Guest: Hasn't Harry already given up the Rebels? I think you'll like his decision in this chapter ;)
autumngold: I never planned on killing Lucius (at least not yet). I like him too much! :P I think you are right in your hypothesis regarding the public perception of the Rebels. As if they didn't already have enough bad press. :P
ariana: I'm flattered! There won't be as much catching up this time, so hopefully you will be able to go to sleep at a reasonable time ^^
FanFiction Lover: My Voldemort never does anything without a purpose. Keep that in mind, and you'll be fine. Also, I just want to add that...there won't be a clock interrupting this time ;)
Warning: Slash. Mature content is broken from the rest of the text in case anyone wants to skip it. (you never know)
Chapter 32: 4th of November: Owls and Meetings
I was sitting in the deserted library, alone once again. I hadn't seen the Dark Lord properly for the past four days. He only came back to sleep, and most of the time, it was much too late and he was too tired to talk.
I only knew he came at all because I had become so used to having his magic wrapped around me in my sleep that I couldn't rest properly if he wasn't there. Every night, at some indecently late hour, I'd feel his presence and immediately calm down when he joined me in the bed. I would hear him chuckle a few times to my reactions, before he'd settle down close to me, wrapping an arm around me from behind and pulling me to his chest. I would then inevitably sigh in relief and he would chuckle again, the smug bastard.
Chuckle away, I thought obstinately, you know you like it and need it just as much as I do.
Apart from his nocturnal presence, however, I hadn't seen hide or hair the man. Sometimes, like now, I could feel that he was somewhere in his Fortress, probably working with some of his ministers and assistants on one important matter or the other.
I wouldn't go and bother him. He'd come and visit me when he had the time. I wasn't a little spoiled brat depending on him to have something to do just because I missed his presence from time to time. My OWLs were coming up in only two weeks, after all. I could live a few days without the man's attention.
I felt the wards of the Fortress shift to admit an owl. Ever since I arrived here, I had passed a considerable amount of time examining the wards the Rebels had wanted me to break. I had soon realised that the 'expedition' they had planned to launch against the Dark Lord that was supposed to allow me to battle and kill him wouldn't have worked. It would have crumbled right there, before it even started.
The wards were the closest thing to impenetrable I had ever seen. By now, I knew them quite well and I still thought I'd be unable to make even a dent in them, mostly because everything was protected by Blood Wards of the Slytherin family.
The Slytherin family, as in, old, rich, powerful, influential and paranoid, not totally unlike the current Lord who inhabited this Fortress. Salazar had thought of everything. He had decades to perfect the wards, and his illustrious descendants had completed whatever he didn't have time to finalise.
Because of my soul link with the Dark Lord and because I had been staying there for quite some time, the wards now recognised me, to a certain extent. They welcomed me back with a warm tingle in the rare times I had left their security and I could feel them shift when people were entering and leaving. The Dark Lord probably had a lot more of feedback from them than me, but the amount of information I was granted was puzzling enough.
For instance, I knew that there were four people with the Dark Lord now, approximately in the north wing. I had never even been there because it was where he received his ministers and ex-Death Eaters. His research was usually done in the warded laboratories underground. I hadn't been there either, but it didn't bother me. This place was huge and I didn't need to know its every nook and cranny.
.
I was brought out of my thoughts by the owl that landed right on the desk in front of me, its leg extended in my direction.
The only correspondence I had received ever since I had arrived here were the weekly letters Draco and I sent each other, and the occasional note or precisions delivered for Remus or Severus. By now, I knew their owls.
Lucius came to see me in person if he wanted to talk to me. I thought he might come visit in the past few days to talk about his recent discovery of my relationship with the Dark Lord, but he hadn't. They were all busy dealing with the aftermath of the bomb, after all.
I sent all the detection spells I could think of at the owl, even if I knew that it wouldn't have passed the wards if it were carrying anything potentially dangerous. They all came back negative.
I peered at the envelope, recognising Neville's handwriting. I felt a shock of surprise and apprehension surge through me. Why was he contacting me now? After almost a month?
I detached the letter carefully and opened it, cautious of any substances that might have covered its inside. I wouldn't put it past the Rebels to try to trick me like that. They had taught me how to do it, after all.
Inside, only one word was written.
"Vulture"
That was the identification code for the best series of encrypting magic Neville had ever created. It required three passwords, one magic signature and a drop of blood. Remus had looked at him as if he was crazy when Neville proudly showed his creation to us. Remus said that nobody would ever go for it. Magical signature and blood were the minimum required to attest of your identity in a Ministry trial, after all. One didn't ask that of someone to whom they sent a letter: the possibilities of fraud once they had the samples were endless. To reassure Neville, I had promised at the time that I would do the authentication procedure if I ever received a letter like that from him. And it seemed that the vow I had made nearly five years ago was now tested.
With this message, Neville said: "if you want me to trust you with my safety, you have to trust me with yours."
Fair enough, I thought decisively. I offered him safety and I'm not one to back away before a test.
I waved my wand above the paper and send a bit of his magic in it. The paper glowed red before returning to normal. Magical signature accepted. I took out the knife I always carried with me and made a drop of my blood fall on the parchment. It flashed of an acid green colour. I waved my wand above and spoke the three passwords the Neville had set with me by a sunny afternoon of a June all those years ago. The ink seeped through the parchment and formed a message.
It read:
Harry,
I'm might just take you up on that offer. Life was unbearable enough when you left and Moody proclaimed me as the new Saviour, but now it's even worse. I could barely escape long enough to visit my parents once and they watched me even more closely afterwards.
To be honest though, I wouldn't have taken you up on it if it hadn't been from what happened at the Ministry a few days ago. I knew that they had big plans that involved some sort of Muggle weapons, but I didn't know their target and I didn't understand what it would do. I should have researched it more, asked more questions. Now all those people are dead and it's partly my fault by passive association. I can't bear the guilt and horror of being with the Rebels anymore. I know that the world out there isn't pretty and I'm terrified of leaving this place, but I know in my heart that it's the right thing to do.
All this useless training, all this anger around me, all this pressure placed on my shoulders...it has barely even been three months and already it's unbearable! I don't know how you survived it for so long...I guess the key word here is 'survived', right? I hope you are learning to live wherever you are now.
If you decide to help me, I don't want to know any details, in case I leak the info out next time I'm Legilimensed by Moody in one of our 'lessons'. I had enough trouble already with keeping him out of the memories of your owl and of my visit to my parents.
I tried to do indirect enquiries around the Rebels after the Ministry attack. A lot of the wives and husbands of the Council members don't agree with the decision taken. I don't know if they'd leave without their 'significant other', however. They are bonded couples, as you know, so they wouldn't take well to the separation.
Old man Doge looks like he has thrown in the towel. He doesn't leave his house except for meals anymore. He refuses to speak with anyone on the Council but let me in after I did a few comments on how I hated the new attack strategy. I think Doge would like to escape with me if that's possible.
The Vance family has never really gotten back up on their feet after Emmeline's death and they want to leave as well. Sturgis doesn't want to hear anything negative about the Council, but his wife confessed to me that she wants to divorce him (they are married with the Muggle authority only anyway) and leave with her children.
The Edgecombes would like to leave as well. I'm sure you remember that they were never the most convinced Rebels in the village...
I have no idea what you have planned and what you can really do, but all of these people want to leave. I can't go away and abandon them. Can you help us all? I promise that we are all very tired of the war and would just settle in some peaceful corner of the world without making much problem...
I don't know how you want to arrange this...Patronus message when you're ready for action? I really don't know, Harry. Hopefully, you'll be better organised than I am.
What shall I do? Can you help us all?
Magic blesses you, Harry, if you can.
Awaiting nervously your reply,
Neville.
o0o0o
I let the parchment roll back on itself as I thought. This would complicate everything. I had thought of asking Remus if he could welcome Neville in the home he shared with Tonks, but if they were so many leaving the Camp, there was no way I could slide it past the Dark Lord without him noticing. I would have to negotiate with him.
A sigh climbed up to my lips. This was potentially important. So many of them deserting the Rebel cause was news that was worth a lot. To me, at least. The Dark Lord probably would not trust them. He would think it was a trap. I knew Neville, however, and the other boy would never lie on something this important. But what did I have to bargain with for their freedom?
My feet had carried me slowly in the direction of the Dark Lord as I thought. I could think of nothing in my possession worth the exchange for a dozen Rebels.
I stopped in front of a mahogany door. Voices were filtering from the small gap at the bottom. Why didn't he put up a Silencing charm, at least? Does he trust me that much not to spy?
"...most ridiculous thing I've heard coming from your mouth since years, Crouch, and Salazar knows I've heard some nonsensical ideas from you throughout my years as a Minister." I recognised Lucius' voice quite easily. He sounded exhausted and exasperated.
"I don't see you suggest any better, oh great Minister! Do I have to remind you that it is MY department who was the first to respond when the crisis broke, while you just shook your mirror shouting at Severus to get our Lord...You know, you sound so reluctant to act that I get the impression that you are scared of the big bad rebels."
I had never heard that voice, but I knew that Crouch was the Head of the DMLE. I supposed that this was him.
"Again with that nonsense! I'd be in that dump massacring all of them for what they did to my son if I could, but the fact remains, Crouch, that we haven't managed to find the location. If that little detail has escaped your attention, you are even less perceptive than I pegged you for..."
I frowned, pondering what I heard while Crouch and Lucius continued to quarrel. If the unknown location was all that prevented them from going and killing everyone, it was up to me to negotiate the safety of the children and the uninvolved witches and wizards inside the village with the information. After all, I was sure that the Dark Lord would find it soon enough with the help of some obscure rituals.
"You can enter, Harry," I heard the Dark Lord's voice say through the door.
The man had probably sensed my magic's proximity. I didn't feel guilty about listening. He would have put up a ward if he didn't want me to hear or come closer. I pushed the door open and strode in confidently. I wouldn't look like the boy caught with his hand in the cookie jar.
The room was circular, as was the central table. There was blood red thick carpet on the ground and everything was decorated with darker wood than the rest of the Fortress. Tall, comfortable-looking armchairs were placed around the table. I recognised Lucius, sitting in one of them. He looked slightly ashamed that I heard his bickering with Crouch.
The latter, I assumed, had straw-coloured hair and freckles that contrasted sharply with the paleness of his skin. He looked quite well muscled and still at the top of his form. He had to be to manage the DMLE. Nobody would respect a bureaucrat there. While I was thinking this, Crouch was eyeing me up and down strangely. He was probably trying to seize me up as a potential adversary. That was what I had been doing anyway.
I decided to stop looking at the man and turned my attention on the two other men I recognised, although I had never met them, as Rabastan and Rodolphus Lestrange, two other high-ups in the Death Eater hierarchy. Bellatrix was not there. Thankfully. The two brothers didn't look like they suffered from her affliction. They looked very calm and composed and both sported a look between surprise and amusement at my arrival.
I dismissed them and turned to the Dark Lord, at last. The man looked tired. Well, most wouldn't be able to see it, but I could see the exhaustion through the glamour and in the slightly paler tint his magic had taken.
I frowned at my observation. The man's lips twitched in amusement at my concerned glance and walked closer to me, sliding a warm hand at the small of my back and directing me to an empty chair. I sat willingly enough and faced them all with a blank face.
"If I told you that I have received a letter from Neville Longbottom who informs me that he and at least a dozen other Rebels wanted to leave the camp, what would you say?" I asked the Dark Lord.
He looked at me attentively.
"What sort of Rebels?" he asked with a lifted eyebrow.
"The inactive, unproductive ones, mostly. Apart from Neville and one of Sturgis' daughter. She was quite the proficient dueller when I left. Marietta Edgebombe wasn't so bad either, even if she was a bit shy around me...
-Why would we want to welcome among us those who have mocked and endangered our society for so long? Especially since most are without qualifications," he reasoned.
I wanted to protest that Neville was at least as talented a Herbologist as any Master, but somehow I didn't think that the Dark Lord cared much about Herbology. I decided against mentioning it. I took another approach that would probably interest him more.
"You would if I gave you the location of the Rebel Camp in exchange for the safety of those who can't fight and those who want out," I challenged.
My statement was received with thunderous exclamations of surprise. They had all more or less shouted in denial at me, apparently. Except for the Dark Lord, that is, of course. He had remained silent, the only indication that he had heard what I said at all was a small smug smirk stretching his lips and a glint of challenge sparkling in his eyes. I decided to address what I understood of what the others had said, instead of trying to decipher his facial expression.
"Yes, precautions were taken so that nobody could propagate the information. However, I'm pretty sure that I have found a way around it," I revealed to them.
Lucius leaned forward, glee and vindication flashing through his eyes. I knew he was thinking of Draco's torture. He adopted a careful mask before speaking, however.
"You would condemn the whole movement to death, everybody you grew up with, in exchange for a dozen of children and elderly spared?" he asked measuredly.
"I also want full access to my vaults and as well as complete, unmonitored control over them," I added on the spur of the moment. I had wanted to get it at some point anyway, so why not include it in this negotiation?
They paused, examining the deal. I knew they didn't care about my vaults; they just wanted to see if they could get a better bargain.
"That's nonnegotiable." I added firmly.
I saw a hungry glint enter in Crouch's eye when I said that. When I turned my gaze to him, he smiled warmly at me and nodded encouragingly. I turned back to the Dark Lord, who was looking at Crouch in barely concealed anger.
What has happened? He didn't look angry a minute ago...
As if he felt my eyes on him, the Dark Lord turned to me, observing me very closely. I frowned at him.
What is wrong with him? I thought, puzzled and a bit worried.
He must have found what he was looking for in my questioning glance because he straightened up and asked me:
"What is your plan to take the protections down?"
"The wards are designed so that people would not only gradually forget about the location, but also be unable to talk about what they still remembered. You can only see the Camp if you know with absolute certainty it's there. Since I had some control over the wards when I was part of them and had strong Occlumency shields, the Memory charms were partly obstructed. I can still remember its location, but probably not enough to lead you there only by myself. I'll need the help of those who has left the Rebel Camp in the last years to pinpoint the entry gate to the wards. Neville and the others can help from the other side. It's going to take some massive power to pull them down, I can tell you that," I explained briefly.
"Do we have to act soon before your memory deteriorate even further?" asked Lucius in the voice of someone who was itching to go gather everyone and leave right now.
"No, the Memory charm already had its effect on me the second I left without the intent of coming back.
-When do you suggest we attack, then?" asked Crouch. He sounded strangely eager to put me in command. I looked at him a bit questioningly and he just licked his lips quickly as if he had a tick. I shook my head slightly to get myself back on the subject.
"We really need some time to plan everything. I'll draw you some sketches of the wards and of the Camp and we have to work our way through that before anything else. We also need Draco to be there...
-We can pull him out of Hogwarts for a weekend," suggested Lucius.
-No, I don't think it would be a good idea. I know the Rebels have spies within Hogwarts. We can't take the risk to alert them that something isn't right. The minute they smell something fishy, they'll evacuate the Camp immediately and my knowledge won't do any good anymore. Everything is perpetually ready for a hasty departure there. We have to trap them within their wards to make sure that they don't escape. That's why we need to plan efficiently. Currently, all of you are also busy with dealing with the repercussions of the bomb, right?" I asked them in a decisive voice.
Voldemort's generals nodded at me sharply. I straightened up automatically and adopted a more official posture at their militaristic response.
"You'll be busy enough without dividing your attention on it. I personally have my OWLs exams scheduled in two weeks. I suggest that we give ourselves that time to settle our current problems and, in two weeks time, agree to reconvene and start planning the assault. Perhaps the coming Yule would be the best timing for our plan. What do you think of it?" I asked around.
I noticed that they were all looking at the Dark Lord who was now standing somewhat behind me. I suddenly realised that I had taken over his meeting and addressed his Death Eaters as if they were mine to direct. I looked at Voldemort over my shoulder. I really couldn't decipher his expression. He was really watching me closely, though.
"I will think about it. You are all dismissed," he said in a curt voice before striding out of the conference room. Hum, that doesn't look good. Maybe he'll think I undermined his authority in there.
The four others got up to the feet swiftly and headed out as quickly as they could, nodding at me on their way out. Crouch, who was the last to leave, turned to me before he exited. He placed a hand on my shoulder in comfort and rubbed his thumb over my shirt there reassuringly. I sent him a small smile. I didn't think that Voldemort had such nice men in his Death Eaters. It would be good to get to know him better when we would do the planning. Maybe he could become another good friend like Lucius and Draco turned out to be.
Before he could say anything, however, the Dark Lord barked at him to get out of the room. Crouch jolted back quickly and left, but not before he sent me one last intense look. He was a bit confusing in his behaviour, really.
When the room was empty, I headed to the door. But, before I could reach it, the Dark Lord strode back in, slamming the door shut and putting up silencing spells in one brisk move. I swallowed. I was in a world of trouble.
He came up to me, something flashing in his ruby-red eyes. He was eyeing me closely. I had no idea what he was searching for.
"I didn't mean to take over like I did, I swear..." I started to explain before I was cut short by a lifted hand. Is he going to hit me with that hand or what? I thought incredulously.
"Those are my highest-ranked generals. If they don't know yet who is in charge here, there would be a serious problem.
-Still," I continued, sincere in my desire to apologise. "I shouldn't have taken control like that. The commands just came out of my mouth like that, I swear...
-You show good abilities as a leader, Harry. I would have indeed appreciated if you deferred more to my authority in front of my Death Eaters, but I know you didn't do it on purpose."
I felt my eyebrows lift in surprise. That's it?
"You didn't think I was undermining your authority?" I asked him cautiously.
"On the contrary, I think it showed that I was comfortable enough in my power to let you take control in front of them."
I grinned at him, happy that he hadn't taken it badly. Crisis averted.
"I wasn't comfortable with how familiar you were acting with Crouch, however," he said in a chilling voice.
"What? What are you talking about?" I asked him, frowning.
He prowled closer to me, looking at me intently before he stopped an inch from me.
"Oh, I think you know. You can't be that naive..." He made a tense pause. "Did it arouse you to flirt with him in front of me? Did you think it would make me jealous?"
I drew back in shock. I stuttered, before I regained countenance and shouted:
"W-What? I wasn't flirting! That's preposterous! Why would I do that?"
He lifted his head and looked down at me, his eyes still narrowly observing me.
"Why indeed. Young men are so fickle in their attention. Should I count myself lucky I had yours for a month or two? Or are you simply unsatisfied with our current activities and seek your pleasure elsewhere?" he said in growing anger.
I blinked and gaped at him, unable to process what he was saying.
"N-no! He was just being nice, for Magic's sake! I had never even met him before! And I wouldn't do it anyway, you know that! We're together already; I don't have any reasons to do...We're...together, right? I mean...exclusively together, right?" I asked him hesitantly. Had I misread our relationship? After all, we hadn't really discussed it after I learnt of his lie. There was no reason for us to have any type of special relation now that I wasn't his soulmate officially anymore...
"Why? Would you justify your actions as retaliation for hypothetical lovers I'd have on the side? Was that was this flirting was about?" he said, confusing me even more before I started to feel indignant and defensive.
"That was nothing! By the gods, how paranoid can you be? I'm not the one gone all day! I'm not the one refusing to shag properly! And then, you have the nerve to ask me if I'm planning to cheat on you just because one of YOUR Death Eaters just happens to treat me a slight little bit nicely. I can't believe how you insulting you are!" I shouted. I was on verge of stamping my foot, when the Dark Lord interrupted my rant by suddenly lifting me up and slamming me on the table. My head hit the hard wood with a thud and I let out a shout.
"Ow! What the heck! What are you...doing?!" I screamed at him, fighting against the weight that settled on me.
He paused on top of me, restraining my wrists on the table. He looked deep in my eyes before hissing in Parseltongue:
§ You are mine, Harry. My Horcrux, my lover; mine to please and mine to deceive; mine to hurt and mine to heal. Nobody else gets to touch what is mine. Do you understand? §
I felt shivers of arousal travel through my body, despite myself. I wanted to spit on his face and tell him that I wasn't an object; that I was a human being who had the freedom of choice and who could and would decide of my life and of with whom I had sex.
However, the only thing that came out of my mouth was a whispered §Yessss...§ as I felt the Dark Lord's hand cup my newly awakened arousal. My unwitting confirmation seemed to appease him.
§Tonight, I'll mark you as mine, § He hissed in my ear softly, caressing my cheek.
I exhaled a breath and stopped struggling, closing my eyes. I was relieved that he had calmed down and eager for my wait to be over, but I couldn't let his violent behaviour pass without comment. I wasn't an object; I wasn't a slave. He couldn't dictate things like that. Shouting at him never helped, however, I knew that much by now even if I tended to forget it in the heat of the moment.
"Even if we do have sex tonight, I still won't be yours completely. I may be your Horcrux, but I'm also a person. I won't cheat on you, I'm not like that, but I hope you won't, or haven't either. Those sorts of things have to be mutual to work. And, by the way, your possessiveness might be arousing right now, but I'm not a tool to control, get it? I thought we established that a few days ago. You have to trust me enough to believe me when I say I'd be faithful. " I tried to make my point as firmly as I could while being still pinned to the table and looking up at him.
He sighed, as if annoyed, before climbing off me and looking at me, evaluative.
"I don't trust anybody," he stated.
"You can try with me, right? It's not as if I could leave you anyway. I wouldn't be able to sleep properly for the rest of my life," I tried to joke, pushing myself up and going to stand next to him.
He snorted at the reminder of my nightly behaviour and threw an arm around my shoulders, pulling me to follow him out of the room.
"Where are we going?" I asked him.
"To my chambers. My evening schedule was suddenly cleared up now that I've sent my followers away and I just remembered that I have something very important to take care of," he said evasively.
I lifted one eyebrow at him in question.
"And what is this thing you suddenly remembered you had to do?" I asked him.
He stopped walking and bent his head closer to mine, his lips stretching in a dark smirk.
"You didn't fool me one second with your 'I'm a human' speech. I know you crave for me to possess you completely and utterly. And in a few minutes, my little Horcrux, I'm going to make you beg and scream beneath me. I'm going to make you forget your own name and whisper mine in abandon. And then, you will understand once and for all that you are mine. Get it?" he said, echoing my tirade of earlier.
I shivered again under his intense gaze. I always knew that this powerful man, with his delicious magic ensnaring me and his low velvety voice seeping through my skin and tickling my nerves, would be the death of me one day. It would only be in a different way than I originally thought.
I swallowed, nodding slightly when I saw him lift an eyebrow at my lack of answer. There was no turning back now. I felt a thrill pass through me.
.
o0o0o
Somehow, we were suddenly in his bedroom. Had he Apparated inside of his Fortress or had the corridors passed by without me noticing? I didn't know and didn't care.
I felt my back collided with the mattress of the bed and the Dark Lord's mouth latched on my neck, his body plastered over mine, the weight pressing me down. I threw my head back in the pillow, my breath coming out in gasps, my hands playing with the bottom of his shirt, trying to tug it out of his pants. The dress robes he wore were frustratingly in the way.
I huffed out in annoyance and heard the Dark Lord chuckle against my throat before whispering a spell. A gust of wind passed over me and suddenly I felt that my clothes had disappeared. I shivered, opening my eyes to look in the Dark Lord's eyes. Lust was burning in his gaze. I felt myself flush in arousal, even if it was far from the first time he saw me naked. Somehow, knowing what was coming, I couldn't help but feel slightly nervous under his gaze. My nerves vanished as I noticed that his clothes had evaporated as well and that he was lying next to me, propped up on his side, miles of smooth skin and lithe muscles bared for my perusal. He reached up to kiss me hungrily, his hands roving over my body, his tongue swirling around mine, his magic duelling and entwining with mine. I pulled him on top of me, wrapping my legs around his waist before closing my eyes and melting against him and losing myself in the sensations...
.
Hands wandered and stroked in silky caresses before I felt him direct his attention lower. A slick finger teased and prodded before sliding in me. The sensation was peculiar, but I had experimented on myself enough by now to be familiar with it. The finger circled around, stretching the muscles while I attempted to control my breathing and to force myself to relax.
The Dark Lord's magic wrapped me in delicious heat and made me lose my focus long enough to make my head swim in a daze. I felt him crash his lips against mine and eagerly responded while he pumped his fingers in me. I wrenched my mouth away from his to moan audibly when I felt him touch the peculiar bundle of nerves inside of me. I arched back minutely at the sensation and, when I opened my eyes again, I saw him watching me closely. It used to bother me but by now, I just felt it flattering that he was so focused on observing my reactions whenever we were in bed.
Lost in my pleased haze, I distractedly saw him cover his arousal of the slick liquid but I distinctively felt when his fingers abruptly exited me, leaving me with a peculiar feeling of emptiness and when the head of his hardened member came to touch the sensitive skin. He slid in slowly and I felt my muscles stretch to accommodate him. The sensation of being filled to the brim was quite weird, again, but pleasurable nonetheless. I felt his warm hand come to rest on my shoulder, making me look up to him. His ruby-red eyes had never seemed so vivid as now. They were practically gleaming at me and I felt his magic swirl and tide against mine as he rolled his hips forward at last. I gasped and let my head fall back on the pillow, wrapping my legs tighter around his waist.
He found the right angle and upped the rhythm until we was pounding mercilessly on my prostate. My eyes rolled towards the back of my head, my hands caressed the skin of his chest and his shoulders, grasping him reflectively every time he touched that particular spot inside of me.
After a while, my legs felt a bit strange where they were, wrapped loosely around him. I lifted them up, bringing them closer to my chest. I saw the Dark Lord smirk at me before he grasped them and pushed them back as far as they could reach. As I was quite flexible with all the training I had done in my life, I saw the him lift an eyebrow when they just kept bending until he had a smug smile and returned to his pounding with renewed vigour. The new angle brought a renewed onslaught of intensity that made me gasp and pant.
I tried to meet up his trusts as best as I could, but the heady sensation of the physical pleasure combined with his warring magic against mine was getting to me. It surprised me that he hadn't kept his Occlumency shields as strong as usual. Because of that, I could also feel his presence in my head better than ever through our connection and it was feeding some his pleasure back to me as well. The sweet pressure was building up steadily. I contracted the muscles of my butt reflectively at the thought. I heard him draw in a quick gasp at the feeling. I did it again, shivering at the reaction it created for both of us.
I felt more connected to the Dark Lord than ever before, joined, not just physically, but also mentally, magically, spiritually, even. He was everywhere around me, on me, in me.
I distractedly felt him reach between us to grab my neglected arousal. That was enough to send me over the edge and bring him soaring with me as I contracted the muscles in my butt as tightly as I could.
.
When I opened my eyes again, he was looking at my expression raptly and had a small smug smile on his face. I might or might not have shouted something when I came as he had predicted. Damn talented man. After catching our breath for a little while, he pulled out and cleaned us magically before lying down at my side.
o0o0o
I snuggled at his side, knowing from our previous activities that it amused him more than bothered him and I placed my head on his shoulder.
My eyes opened as I pondered what we had just done and my change of status in the order of things. I officially wasn't a virgin anymore. I had lost my virginity to the Dark Lord. Somehow the second realisation hit me harder than the first.
I lifted my head to look at his face. He still looked quite young, in his mid-thirties perhaps. His hair was a very dark brown, nearly as black as mine was. I imagined that even if his hair had some grey in it, he would still manage to make it look very dignified. He didn't have lines on his face at the moment. He looked relaxed and sated. I smiled smugly at thinking that I had contributed to that. He lifted an eyebrow in answer. He wanted to know what I was thinking about, again. Too many years as a Legilimens surrounded by untrained servants made him like that, I supposed.
"You were right," was the answer that came out of my mouth first.
"Of course I was. I always am," he replied narcissistically. "You are going to have to be a bit more specific than that, I'm afraid."
I shook my head at him. Such an inflated ego he had. And I wasn't going to help deflate it this time.
"I think you ruined sex with other men for me," I stated.
His lips stretched in a self-satisfied smile. Damn smug bastard.
"Hmm. I'd rather think so. Nobody could be better than a Dark Lord, realistically," he reasoned.
I rolled my eyes internally at his behaviour. Typical.
"Should I go see the two or three others lurking around somewhere on this planet to have the complete 'Dark Lord experience', then?" I teased him.
He glared at me.
"Brat, shut up and sleep," he commanded.
"Yes, my Lord." I replied in mock obedience, nodding sharply at him like his Death Eaters had done to me earlier.
The look in his face was priceless. Smugness and Self-Satisfaction with capital letters.
"Dream on, Voldie." I shot him to deflate his ego a bit before settling against him again and closing my eyes. I felt a twitch of annoyance course through the bond, but I didn't pay too much attention to it.
I felt like I had won the Muggle lottery. A lazy smile stretched my face as I fell asleep contentedly.
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Longest chapter to date! There's a lot of stuff in here, including: Neville, quitting the Rebels? Harry, taking direct action against them? An eventual planned attack on the Rebel Camp? Harry's leadership skills? Crouch? And, lastly, the evolving relationship between Harry and Voldemort.
Tell me what you thought of it! Thank you in advance! :)