I don't own Harry Potter.
Yayyy! 800 reviews! Wow! You guys are awesome! I never thought my story would be so popular so quickly! Thank you so much for your support! :D
To my guest reviewers:
Boblove321: The Dark Lord won't need any other incentives to claim what is 'rightfully his' now. And I nearly wrote a comment about how you shouldn't drink juice while reading it. I am glad you survived it :P
autumngold: Neville doesn't know what Harry is negotiating. He thinks that Harry is only going to help them get out of the Camp and find them a place to live. He doesn't know that Harry was in such close contact with the Dark Lord. As for the latter getting bored, well, Harry will have to keep it interesting then, right? ;)
FanFiction Lover: Here, hear, have some more slash in this chapter. Hopefully you won't need Chibi!FFL to revive you this time though ;)
ariana: Yes, Crouch was trying to seduce Harry, but he didn't know that Harry was already with the Dark Lord or he would probably have stayed away. He's not suicidal, after all. ^^'
BlackSnowKitten: Thank you for your nice comments! Your review was a real boost for my self-esteem as a writer :D
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On with the show!
Warning: Graphic slash, beginning of the chapter, broken from the rest for those who want to skip it.
Chapter 33: 5th of November 1997: An Unusual Deal
The next morning, my muscles were deliciously sore when I woke up. I felt a thrill of fear pass through me when I didn't feel his arm around me unlike usual.
I guessed that it was late in the morning and that he had already left for another busy day dealing with the repercussions of the bomb. Apparently, the Muggles hadn't believed him as easily as he had hoped and they suspected that something was amiss. The Dark Lord, on his side, thought that some of them could have fomented the coup with the Rebels, so the tension was running high at the Ministry at the moment.
I sighed silently.
What did I expect after such a bliss-filled night? That he would stay for a morning cuddle? The Dark Lord might care for me a bit, but he certainly doesn't love me...
It was already surprising that he let me sleep next to him all the time. I would have pegged him for someone who threw his lovers out of his bed once they were done. I wondered if I would also be thrown out, now that he had 'claimed me as his', now that the thrill of the conquest would fade away and be replaced by routine and monotony.
Was I enough to satisfy the Dark Lord's desires? Somehow, I doubted it. But I wasn't going to let myself be discarded so easily. Maybe if I was a bit more pro-active, now that I was a bit more at ease with the process...
I hadn't been paying attention to my surroundings, or I would have noticed that his magic was still swirling around us. As it was, I jerked in surprise when I felt an arm pull me suddenly against a warm chest and a face bury itself in the crook of my neck. I gasped, feeling arousal build up in my chest at the contact with the warm naked body behind me. I licked my lips before turning my head around to look at him. He was watching me closely, perhaps trying to find out how I was feeling.
I sent him a small smile because he was still there and obviously wanted me, if the hardness I could feel pressed against my butt was anything to go by.
"Good morning," I said to him, my voice roughened by sleep.
His eyes softened and his lips quirked up in a smirk.
"I know ways to make this an even better morning..." he said while rotating his hips in a skilled move.
"I can think of a few of them too," I replied, smirking at him before putting my new strategy in action and deciding to act first for once.
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I turned around to face him and climbed up on my knees quickly. He lied down on his back, looking at me as if intrigued to see what I would do. I straddled him and lunged for his mouth in a passionate kiss. His hands came up to rest on my hips, slowly caressing the skin there in small circles.
I kissed him for a while, relishing in the sensation of our tongues dancing together and our bodies rubbing against each other.
After a short while, though, I broke the kiss and started to head south, kissing and nipping at his throat, stopping to circle my tongue around a nipple while playing with the other before I continued down, licking and kissing my way down his sides and climbing back up toward the middle of his stomach when I reached his hipbone. I playfully dipped my tongue in his belly button as I let my fingers run up and down on his thighs.
By then, I could feel his hardness poke at my throat and his breath sounded a bit shaky.
He hadn't reacted like that when I had tentatively explored his body for the first times, perhaps because then, he was guiding me through it, easing me in the experience and controlling it completely. Now, it was completely my own initiative and I could see that my boldness aroused him. I decided to spice things up by trying something new. I had been working on directing my magic through my hands like he had done before, but now I tried to make it seep through my tongue as I moved downwards to the turgid flesh.
He nearly shouted in surprise when I took him in my mouth in one movement, my magic swirling around in my mouth and stroking him relentlessly as I bobbed up and down on his shaft.
The muscles of his legs contracted and he arched up from the mattress, panting. I felt empowered by his reactions. He had never reacted to what I did so obviously than he had now, and I somehow doubted that he had ever reacted like that with some previous lovers either. It didn't go with the usually cold and unfeeling façade he showed the world around him.
I hummed in approval around him when I heard his breath come out more harshly and felt his fists tighten in my hair after what felt like a few minutes of ministrations. From the feedback I got from the link, I knew he was close and I felt nearly dizzy with my arousal and the sensations travelling through the bond. I sneaked a hand down to take care of my problem and I heard him growl "Don't you dare touch it" before he pulled me away from my work and up to his lips, kissing me and biting my lips ferociously.
"Climb up" he ordered me in a husky and rough voice before I sensed some spells preparing and stretching me. I straddled him quickly; eager to try out a new position, and one that allowed me an illusion of control over him. He gripped my hips tightly and lowered me on him slowly. I pushed his hands away and glared at him a bit before slamming my hips down and impaling myself quickly.
The burning feeling I got was worth it because I got to see the Dark Lord's surprised and breathless facial expression before he controlled it and smirked up at me. I didn't know why he was smirking, but I wanted to wipe that smug smile off his face so I started moving, rotating my hips in an imitation of the movement he had followed the day before.
He grabbed my hips tightly and responded to my movement by shoving his hips up rhythmically.
The slight pain that I felt from my hasty decision faded away after he hit that right spot in me. Sweet pressure boiled up in me and travelled through our bond. My eyes shut close reflectively and I was lost in a sea of sensations. The colours were swirling under my eyelids and I wondered how our magic would look like at the moment. I opened my eyes and looked around us with difficulty, fighting the distraction that each of our harsh thrusts brought.
It was beautiful. His midnight blue magic twined and stroked at my emerald-green. I had never been able to see my magic so vividly before. it was mixed with his seamlessly and wrapped loosely around our bodies, isolating us for the rest of the world temporarily.
I felt a hand grabbed my chin and pull my attention back to him. He pulled me down to him in an aggressive kiss that left me breathless. I focused back on my movements and on feeling him moving inside of me. I renewed my efforts to keep up with him.
I thought fleetingly that I preferred when he was in control. He must have caught that thought because he returned to his smug smile of earlier. His magic rose with his amusement and I felt momentarily cowed by just how powerful the man below me was. I responded to the implicit challenge, rising and lowering myself at a breathless pace while he was thrust more vigorously than ever.
It felt as if we were competing against another, trying to outdo the other in a duel of flesh, sweat and pleasure.
It didn't take long before we reached completion, the climax of one provoked by the other's own.
I slumped on him, still sheathed, my head resting against his collarbone. His hands came up to caress the skin of my back, as usual, while we were catching our breath.
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o0o0o
"Hum...Good morning, indeed. You're going to feel that for days, you know?" he informed me.
"Ah, that's why you were smirking at me earlier... 'twas worth it" I replied, sending him his smirk back before rotating my hips forward slightly. His breathing hitched slightly and I felt him twitch inside of me. He grabbed my hips to still them.
"Cheeky brat. Had I known you'd be so insolent, I would have thought twice before bedding you."
I snorted at him.
"Ha! Yeah, right! You get off on it; you know it. You wouldn't have chosen me if you wanted someone meek and obedient.
-Hmm," hummed the Dark Lord neutrally. "Perhaps you are right. It's not without its advantages. That magically infused tongue of yours was a brilliant invention, I'll admit as much."
I pulled myself up, smiling at him widely at the concession.
"Thanks. It was a flash of genius from my part, I know," I told him, teasingly imitating how he tended to describe himself, the narcissist.
He barked a laugh. He definitely was in a good mood this morning.
"Ha! You are quite the cheeky brat. That's going to be your nickname from this day forth, I hope you like it because you will hear it often," he informed me.
I grinned at him.
"It's better than 'My little Horcrux' anyway...What, you thought I didn't hear you say it yesterday? Come on, you used to whisper it in Parseltongue all the time," I told him when I saw his eye widen at my admission.
"Ah, yes, this delightful little ability of yours you hid from me for so long. I feel like I should be offended by that, by the way, but I'm too delighted that you show yet another sign that you belong to me," he told me with a sly smirk.
I snorted at him again. Possessive bastard. I let it pass for the moment. I suddenly had an idea.
"You know, you have those nicknames for me, but I don't have any for you. Maybe I should find you a new one. Voldie is funny, but I get the feeling you'd want to pull my head off if I say it in front of your followers..."
He lifted an eyebrow at me.
"I'm not sure I approve of this whole nickname thing. I am the Dark Lord; I'm not nicknameable, I'm afraid, not even for you."
I scoffed at him playfully, dismissing what he said.
"However should I call you anyway? It's been months and I still call you 'you' and 'Voldemort' and, come on, I'm not going to call my mommy-soul and my lover 'Flight from Death'.
-Did you really say 'mommy-soul'? That sounds horribly cheesy and incestuous in this context. And, for your information, Voldemort means 'Deathly Flight'. There's a notable difference. I'm not afraid of death; I'm deathly.
-I'm still not calling you that. How about your real name? Can I call you Tom?" I said, curious. His face immediately twisted in a sneer of disgust.
"Absolutely not. I hate that name. It would make me want to vomit every time you said it."
I felt my eyebrows lift at his categorical refusal and extreme reaction. He looked at me and sighed.
"You may call me Marvolo," He conceded, as if it pained him.
"Your middle name? Okay..." I tilted my head a bit to the side and looked at him. "It kind of suits you, really."
He sighed again.
"The things I do for you..." he said in an exasperated tone.
I snorted. We fell in a comfortable silence for a moment, drifting in our own thoughts. I had the impression that I wanted to ask him something, but couldn't remember what. Suddenly, it clicked. I lifted my head off his chest again while I asked him.
"Ah! Yes! What did you think of my plan in the end? Do you accept the deal?"
-The deal was that you would work with us to reveal the rebel camp's location for a guarantee that we won't hurt those who don't resist and for unrestricted access to your vaults, right?" he summed up efficiently.
I nodded at him from where I was sitting on his stomach. It felt a bit weird to do a negotiation in our bed, without clothes on, but somehow, I thought this worked better than in a formal setting. It felt more honest and candid this way.
"Do you want to participate in the raid we will do on the camp, or will you only go there and play witness after the wards are down?" he asked me.
I thought about it for a while. If I did take part, I'd have to fight against the people with whom I grew up. On the other hand, if I did, I could monitor the Death Eaters better and minimise casualties by incapacitating some of the Rebels without killing them. It would also make Neville and the others more at ease with surrendering...maybe.
"Yeah, I think I'll participate, if that's fine with you.
-It will be violent," he warned, as if I hadn't known that already.
"I can handle it. They have gone too far with the bomb. They deserve it...I don't want them massacred uselessly, though. Those who will surrender should go to jail for their crimes," I stated firmly, as if that would help convince him.
"Many say that Azkaban is a worse sentence than death," the Dark Lord pointed out.
"Maybe. And I would prefer if they were just in a normal prison without Dementors, but I know that magical prisoners are difficult to control and that they need the creatures to keep them down and without the ability to plan an escape."
The Dark Lord hummed in agreement with my explanation, the back of his hand idly caressing my hip and the outside on my leg, his eyes sweeping over my body while he thought. I swallowed. Merlin, even after yesterday, and this morning, I couldn't get over it. Having the Dark Lord's attention, seeing him look at me like that, it was both overwhelming (although I was getting better at that) and arousing. I felt my cock twitch in interest.
I shook my head to force myself to focus back on the conversation.
"So, the deal?" I asked him.
He quirked up one side of his mouth in a small smirk.
"It's the first time I conclude a deal with a naked young man sitting on my stomach. I must say that I prefer this to the usual office setting. Perhaps we should make a habit of negotiating only after we are sexually satisfied. It would make us both more relaxed and less prone to fits of temper, after all."
There he went again with his research and analysis applied on daily matters. I shook my head at him. Unbelievable. He was right about something, however. I did think there would be more arguing when I thought of the deal I wanted to suggest. This negotiation felt comfortable and safe.
He spoke up again.
"I accept, as long as you promise not to withhold any knowledge during the planning that could be important for the raid, no matter how much you think it might get you in a negotiation setting. I'm not going to barter with you for ever scrap of information," he said in a firm tone.
I nodded solemnly.
"I agree, it wouldn't be fair and it would quickly become annoying," I said, extending my hand to him to seal the deal.
He took his hand off my hip and shook mine firmly. I felt our magic rise and settle in witness to our agreement. I sent a small smile at the Dark Lord.
"So, how about a shower?" he asked with a perverted grin on his face.
I felt my eyebrows lift on my forehead and climbed off the bed to stand at its side.
"In there? How would that work?" I asked, surprised.
"Ah, my little Horcrux, I still have so much to teach you..." He said, getting up and passing a hand through my hair. I closed my eyes at the feeling and stifled a moan when I felt him embrace me and his hands wander lower.
He chuckled at my reaction.
"Okay...Marvolo," I said, opening one eye to check how he'd react to me using his name. I think I would always think of his as 'the Dark Lord', but I did need some form of address for him, after all this time. His eyes turned contemplative before he sent me a small smile and pulled me towards his bathroom.
Something told me I'd never see a shower in the same way every again.
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o0o0o
That evening, in an abandoned warehouse in Liverpool.
"No! If you think we're ever doing anything for you again, you are out of your mind! You're just as bad as the Dark Lord!" was the reply the old Auror got to his question.
"Sacrifices were necessary to win the conflict and you are both equally responsible for what happened at the Ministry. You made the bomb, after all," he answered calmly.
"You told us you weren't going to target civilians! We've read the news! Seventy deaths; 8 Light Purebloods, 19 Half Bloods and 43 Muggleborns! Was that what you intended to do? Kill everyone who isn't dark and then blow the whole country up?" shouted the other twin.
He shook his head in exasperation.
"Boys, you know this wasn't what I intended the bomb to do. It was an unfortunate accident. I was targeting Voldemort and his elite who were all nicely gathered at the Ministry. I couldn't have known that the damn Dark Lord would put up some nasty wards that would make it rebound. Dark wards, probably," he replied in a pacifying tone. He might still be able to use them if he could reason with them.
"But even if it had worked, there were still lots of civilians at the ceremony! They weren't just Dark people there, but the whole higher tier of Ministry workers too! Our dad could have been there! He was invited! You could have killed him, you bastard!"
He thought for a few seconds before turning around to hide a smirk at his perfect answer.
"You mean that you two would have killed him. Don't try to exonerate yourself from any responsibility in this matter. You knew I lied about not targeting civilians but you still did the bomb. You must have also had an idea of how I would use it, considering that your father conveniently missed the annual Samhain ceremony for the first time since its instalment," he argued, slowly shaking his head and tut-tutting in mock disappointment.
"Boys, boys. What would your mother say if she learnt that you were the one behind the Ministry attack? I think she would be very disappointed in you...I wonder if poor Charlie would be happy of how far you've taken your wish for revenge?"
One of the redheads lunged at him, only to be held back by his twin.
"You! You lied to us! We will not work with you ever again!" shouted one of them.
"It's too late for you to stop now, I'm afraid. You have no one to turn to. Do not think for a moment that anybody else would sympathise with you. The minute you confide in them, you will be arrested or killed. And if the Dark Lord lets you live, how would you avenge your precious brother's death in prison?" he mocked them.
"Face it, boys, you are tied to me now. And if you try to betray me, I will have some of my trusted ally bring in some proof of your involvement in the bomb incident...Your family's fate was already put in a precarious balance after your brother's allegiance to Dumbledore was revealed. I don't think that they would survive the blow, should it be known that you were partly responsible for the attack on the Ministry..." He left them a few seconds to think of his words, before attacking again.
"So, what is it going to be, then?" he growled, his lips curling as he took in their reaction.
They both looked at him, betrayal shining in their identical eyes. They turned to look at each other and, after a few seconds, nodded together before turning back to him, resigned.
Perfect. I got them where I want them. I wonder if my precious new ally could give me more of this interesting technology. After all, even if it did backfire, the damage was impressive.. I'd have to lure the demon out of his den and his precious wards to put him down for good, though. I wonder which bait I could use...
As he left his new puppets to whisk up a plan, he never noticed the sly smirks gracing the twins' faces.
Retaliation would come in due time for all those who dared to try manipulate their devious minds.
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o0o0o
Severus was striding through the corridors of Hogwarts, impatiently returning from a staff meeting. It was absurd that even him, the Headmaster of the school, was not able to Apparate within the wards. He wondered idly how much money he'd have to pay to buy himself a Phoenix, like Dumbledore had had.
The truth was that he probably would be able to Apparate if he just accepted the mantle of Headmaster whole-heartedly. Part of him, however, refused to consider that he deserved such an honour.
He was the only Death Eater, at the end of the war, who had experience teaching at the school. That was the only reason why he had been nominated. Not because he was kind and compassionate enough to deal with the students (he snorted to himself at such a delusionary thought), but because of the tattoo on his forearm that he had loathed more than anything in his life...apart from the word 'Mudblood', probably... he thought before strengthening his Occlumency shields to keep those painful memories at bay.
It had been years since Her death, and she had come back to haunt him in the form of the Potter brat. The flamboyant red hair no longer framed the hauntingly beautiful eyes, but they were still the exact same shade of green. A colour he had never seen in anyone else before and thought he never would again. But they were there in her son's face, reminding him of his lost love, of his bad choices every time he saw him.
Try as he might to hate Potter's son, all he could see when he looked at him was Lily's presence in his features. Harry (for he had at some point started to think of him as such) even had the same glint of enthusiasm sometimes when he got a difficult brewing technique right, just like she had. Every time it happened, it sparked a twin reaction of pain and affection in him. It reminded him of the oath he had sworn to Dumbledore grudgingly, to protect the Potter brat despite all odds.
He hadn't planned for feeling naturally protective of Lily's son, as if Harry was his own, nearly.
He hadn't planned for the brat to voluntarily show up and place his head on a platter for the Dark Lord.
He hadn't planned for his only remaining Master to be interested in something else than killing Lily's son.
He shuddered slightly, alone in the drafty corridors, when he thought of the conversation he had with Lucius recently. His old friend had taken him aside after one of their reunions and brought him back to his Manor. He had sat him and served him his strongest brandy, before telling him of what he had learnt of the...'arrangement', as Harry had put it, between his pupil and his Master. He had been suitably horrified. It could not end well. Surely, the boy was delusional if he thought he could get out of that twisted obsessional 'arrangement' intact. Severus could only hope that the Dark Lord would loose interest in Harry quickly, before the brat could try to leave, and fail. And realise that he was trapped.
Somehow, when he thought of the possessive glint that sometimes entered his Master's eyes when Severus would go to report Harry's progress to him, he doubted that the Dark Lord would get bored as quickly as usual. And that worried him. When he had sworn to protect the brat, it wasn't what he had in mind, by Morgana!
Lily, he implored mentally, give me the strength to persevere in my task. Forgive me for my past mistakes and help me, for your son's sake if not for mine.
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A muffled voice reached his distracted mind. He spotted the closed door of an empty classroom. The sounds were coming from there. A cold smirk appeared on his face when he thought of catching students out after curfew. He had missed the simple pleasures of terrorising students since his tenure as the Headmaster. He no longer had the time to roam the corridors at night and relish in the panicked screams his sudden appearance would cause.
He would indulge his penchant tonight, if only to get rid of this morose state he felt he was in.
"Let me go! I have to do this!" said the shrilly voice of a girl. He approached the door silently, casting an Eavesdropping charm on it to evaluate the situation and Disillusioning himself. He had no intention to take them in flagrante delicto and get an eyeful of prepubescent children who had no business taking part in such activities. He hadn't when he was at Hogwarts, so he didn't see why others should.
"No, you'll get killed if you do that, don't!" replied the deeper voice of a male student.
It didn't sound like the usual tryst. Severus didn't like how it sounded like the boy was restraining the girl fighting against his grip. He would intervene if it degenerated.
"I have to. Don't you realise it was my entire fault if those people died? Your father could have been killed!
-I am not going to let you denounce yourself to Snape if that's what you are saying. You weren't there at the Ministry that day. You were here the whole time. You never killed anybody," said the boy in a firm voice.
Severus was now more than intrigued. The Ministry? Could they talking about the bomb? Was the culprit in the room next to him?
"You don't understand! I might not have been there that day, but it's still my fault! I gave him the idea! I was talking, and talking, and I let it slip just how easy it was to make an explosion with just a few ingredients and I saw it, I saw it in his eyes. It was like a fire had started in his eyes. He looked crazy! He would never have had this idea if it weren't for me. Don't you see it now?" pleaded the girls' voice.
So they were talking about the bomb, then. This was vital information on the rebels. He should probably barge in the room and take over the interrogation. As it was, this could be a spy for the rebels, in his territory, nonetheless! It was unacceptable!
The girl had started sobbing now. Her cries were muffled by something, probably by the boy's chest, or his shoulder. How moving.
"It's not your fault if someone interprets your words in a bad way. You had nothing to do with the attack on the Ministry. Mad-Eye is mad, after all, he would probably have had the idea without you saying anything. It's not your fault," said the boy reassuringly.
In a sense, the boy had a point. The use of Muggle technology might have happened sooner or later, even without the output of the girl in the room. However, if she was in contact with Moody, then she probably was with the Rebels and, as such, partially responsible for the actions of the side she decided to support.
"Come on, Hermione, there's nothing you can do about it now. It's in the past. Let's go back to our rooms and sleep on it," cajoled the boy.
Something clicked in Severus's mind. On the other side of this door was Hermione MacMillan, Muggleborn and Gryffindor overachiever extraordinaire: A brilliant student that might be able to have a bright future despite her lowly birth in a regime that oppressed those of her kind. His neck bent forward and his forehead came to rest against the cool stone of the corridor, a few steps beside the door of the classroom.
Severus could understand why a Muggleborn would oppose the current government. She would probably have as well. She would have risen against the crowds, Her fiery red hair shining in sun, Her fist brandished against the injustice; fighting for what was right, instead of accepting resignedly the imposed order. Her emerald eyes would have flashed in indignation. She would have been the standard bearer of the Rebellion, had She still been alive.
Severus' eyes closed as he pictured Her, full of life and righteous fury; a small warmth lit up in his chest as he allowed himself to think about how She would have looked, about how he still desired and loved Her, after all these years. In a moment of absurd fragility, he pictured himself fighting the injustice at Her side; their hands joined as they faced the impossible task of reforming the regime. But they would never give up, because they had each other to lean on for the rest of their life...
By the time he got himself back to his miserably lonely reality, the classroom was long deserted and he felt impossibly worse than he had for years.
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So, the deal is concluded and Harry will participate to the eventual raid on the Rebels, the twins are trying to get out of Moody's influence and we discover that Hermione was the one crying a few chapters ago. Will Severus denounce her to the Dark Lord?
Thank you in advance for reviewing!