Disclaimer: The characters and settings, including any sentences taken directly or partly from the books or movies, of Harry Potter are the property of J. K. Rowling, Scholastic Books, Bloomsbury Publishing, AOL Time Link and Warner Brothers. I do not make money from publishing my story.
"Enter", a voice sounded from the other side of the door. A part of him had hoped that the Dark Lord would not be in his quarters and unable to answer his knocking. Another part of Harry wanted to get things over with as soon as possible. Who knew what plans were being put in motion this close to the start of the school year. If he waited any longer, the students might already be in danger.
It was the 28th of August by the time Harry had decided to confront the Dark Lord about the Horcrux he had acquired. While Harry had decided that he was not yet ready to side with either the Dark or the Light, he did find it his duty to protect the rest of the Hogwarts' students as much as he was capable. This meant striking a deal with the Devil, figuratively speaking Harry hoped, for their protection. The exact thing that lead him to the particular door through which he was supposed to go.
Harry slowly entered the room and closed the door behind him. He needed several moments to adjust to the difference in light. While it was midday and in the hallway the sun had been shining brightly, inside the room the curtains had been closed keeping the room dark and eerie.
"Good afternoon Harry", the Dark Lord said as his voice took Harry's attention. "I believe you wanted to speak to me."
"Good afternoon", Harry said, expertly not adding any name or title since he was unsure how to address the man, "you as well, Nagini." He added the last in Parseltongue as soon as he spotted her lying in one of the arm chairs.
Harry had taken to carrying the locket around his neck and with a little help from Severus had been able to keep anyone from being the wiser. Now though, Harry cancelled the spells and lifted the piece of jewelry from under his shirt and from around his neck.
"This is yours", Harry stated, "I'm willing to give it to you in exchange for a promise. You are not to endanger the lives of Hogwarts' student body. It will not include the teachers, they have made their choices."
To day that the Dark Lord was surprised would be an understatement. He had expected to fight tooth and nail for his locket, but instead the boy handed it to him in exchange for a simple promise. He wasn't planning on attacking Hogwarts anytime soon anyway. The man was about ready to take it when he remembered the discussion with his familiar.
"Keep it", the Dark Lord said, "for now. I will give you my word that I have no intention of harming any of Hogwarts' students except maybe for the few that have allied themselves with Dumbledore's Order. But I think you will agree with me that they too have already made their choices." Momentarily caught off guard by Voldemort's decision he could only nod in response. "I would however appreciate it, if you allowed me to enhance the protection of the locket with some spells of my own."
"Thank you" again Harry had found himself unable to find a proper salutation", Thank you, sir."
"I would prefer, My Lord", Voldemort said of handedly, "Not all who call me that are truly loyal, though. Not to me." Apparently the Dark Lord had noticed Harry's discomfort in addressing him, while at the same time making a statement.
"Severus for example; in his mind, he agrees with my ideals. He agrees with my intentions once we overthrow the Ministry. He always has. Though in his heart he was loyal to your mother, a muggleborn with parents who loved her, even though she was a witch. Your mother was everything that I am fighting. I know Severus begged Dumbledore to protect her, I know Severus was once loyal to Dumbledore."
For a moment Harry was beginning to believe that their new safe haven, would be safe no longer. However, if Voldemort was presenting his knowledge of Severus being a spy. The Dark Lord would already have had ample time to act on the betrayal, which clearly he had not.
"Times are changing, though. Severus' loyalty is no longer to your mother. No, it has passed onto you, Harry. His heart and mind no longer battle fiercely. There is no need, because for now your loyalty lies with neither the Dark nor the Light. Though I intend to change that soon. I will make you believe in my plans and ideals. Together we can achieve greatness."
Feeling threatened by the speech, Harry was about to finish the conversation and walk away, when he suddenly had the urge to ask a question that haunted his for some time now. "What is it then?", Harry said, "What is your intention for the Wizarding World? What is there to gain from this war?"
The Dark Lord had expected Harry to flee the room, as soon as his speech had ended. The boy was still used to his side being the Dark side, the evil side. Therefore Voldemort had not expected Harry to ask for an explanation, instead of handing out an accusation.
"Magic as we know it is dying, Harry", the Dark Lord began, "Nowadays, dark equals evil and light equals good. Our traditions, our so called dark magic is forbidden. A large part of our heritage is kept from us. The olden ways have been forgotten by most"
"What do you mean?", Harry said erratically.
"Magic requires balance, dark and light magic is equal. We should not ignore half of Magic, just to gain acceptance from the Muggles. For that is their intention. They want us to mingle with them. To mate with them. Dumbledore cannot see that they will never accept us. It is human nature to fear what it cannot comprehend. Their fear will be our destruction. It will be the destruction of Magic."
Harry was listening, captivated by the powerful words spoken by the Dark Lord like a true politician. For a moment Harry was able to see Tom Riddle, the charming Slytherin shine through. But like any politician's words Harry felt like they were empty words.
"We have both felt their hatred. We were lucky Harry. We were the lucky ones, capable of defending ourselves. Our own Magic protected us", the Dark Lord was actively trying to convince Harry now. "Has anyone told you how many wizards and witches are born to Muggles each year? Has anyone told you how many of them become old enough to receive their Hogwarts letter? How many do you think die at the hands of their caregivers?"
Harry didn't reply. It was impossible, for he didn't know. No one hadtold him. Harry had just assumed that all parents would love their child despite their differences, like Hermione's parents. Then he remembered Petunia, she had indeed developed anger and hatred for Magic. He could imagine her neglecting any child of her born with Magic. When the Dark Lord started talking again, he was shaken from his thoughts.
"I intend to restore Magic to her former glory, even if that means killing people in order to get there. I will separate the Magical from the Muggle world entirely, separating families if I must. I will overthrow the Ministry and reinstate the Wizarding traditions of old. I will have those with Magic flourish again", the Dark Lord stated.
"Teach me", Harry said out of the blue, sending a tingling feeling through his skin. The look on the Dark Lord's face showed that he did not know what Harry was asking. "Teach me the 'old ways'", Harry repeated.
-
It was late in the evening when Minister Cornelius Fudge was finishing up for the day. After the confirmed appearance of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named inside the Ministry itself for that matter, he had been constantly busy with reassuring people and explaining why he hadn't believed Dumbledore before. On top of that his trusted Ministry connection inside Hogwarts had been traumatized and had requested a few months. But besides that Dolores Umbridge had also requested the Wizegamot discuss stricter legislation concerning both humanoid and non-humanoid magical creatures.
This all resulted in him working almost twelve hours a day ever since the incident in the Ministry. He had sent his secretary home, earlier and was now cleaning his desk for the day. He heard the elevator close to his office 'ping'. Unaware of anyone else getting a few extra hours of work in, Fudge concluded someone must have arrived.
He had only a moment's notice before several people clad in dark robes rushed into his office. His wand, to which he had been able to grab in the few seconds of preparation he got, was quickly taken by one of them. The same person who with two simple spells, had the Minister bound in a chair unable to move.
"Minister, please excuse us for our prompt arrival", a silky voice said, "Your secretary was unable to fit us into your tight schedule, but no matter. As you were working late, we decided to drop in just before you left. You do not mind, do you Cornelius?"
"Who are you? What do you want?", Fudge shouted, while struggling with his bonds.
"Excuse us Minister", the same man said again, while revealing his face to be Lucius Malfoy's. Lucius took a step towards Fudge and aimed his wand at the shivering Minister. "We are here on business. Your term as Minister is over and we are here to assure its end."
With those words all color in the Minister's face faded, he winced in fear that could be seen in his eyes. The person who had bound Fudge, re-aimed his wand, before casting the curse that filled the room with green light. Seconds later all hooded figures turned tail and left, leaving only the lifeless body of the former Minister behind.