Disclaimer: I own nothing in the Harry Potter universe.

"dialogue"
"mental dialogue"
"parsel"
"mental parsel"

AN: Thanks as usual for all the feedback, faves and follows! You guys are the best! I caught a cold and didn't have the energy to edit this as heavily as I normally do so apologies if there are more typos than usual. I'll probably go back through and clean it up in a day or so. Enjoy!

Harry stared at the man across from him blankly, "We're doing what?"

"We are going to duel Potter."

Tom couldn't be serious. His mind was flooded with a multitude of reason this was a bad idea and yet he couldn't seem to make his mouth form them. Sure, he had been pretty good at defense in school, but he had never even graduated. Being on the run wasn't exactly a prime training opportunity either. Then there was all the time researching and learning about the wizarding world instead of learning new spells. Tom was...Well Tom was the genius student who became a Dark Lord. Not only did he have the knowledge, he had tons of experience too. Harry was under no delusion that he might even pose a tangible threat to the man. Surely he wasn't that bored?

He settled for an almost desperate, "Why?"

Unimpressed number three again. Harry mentally sighed, it seemed that Tom was going to enlighten him on why they were going to be flinging spells at each other and was going to do it in that 'you are an idiot not to realize this voice'.

"Potter, what exactly is it that you plan to tell the wizarding world after you have defeated the dark lord?"

Harry tried to see where this was going. He failed, "That I could never have done it without you?" It sounded more like a question despite being his idea in the first place.

Tom just kept giving him that look, "What would it say about me if you go and 'defeat' the most feared dark lord of the century with only the basic spells you learned in school? I refuse to be vanquished by something so paltry as a stupefy."

Well Harry got now that Tom actually meant to train him, but that brought up another confusing point, "Are you trying to prevent Voldemort from looking weak or are you trying to prevent your new alias from looking like a terrible teacher? You're not exactly being clear here." As an afterthought he added, "Also what about our oath to not intentionally harm the other?"

Tom, who's eye was starting to twitch, ignored the first statement entirely, "Dueling will not trigger the oath brat. I know you are aware that intent in magic is crucially important. We will not be fighting with the intent to harm the other so even if you are wounded," He gave a very unnerving smirk, "I assure you I will be just fine."

Harry was right, he did not feel assured in the slightest. He did not like the gleam that had entered the other's eye at that last bit. He had the feeling that Tom was not going to miss this opportunity to pay Harry back for all the headaches he'd caused the man lately. Where was Nagini when he needed a distraction so he could flee?

Tom stood and walked around his desk towards the door. He looked back pointedly when Harry hadn't made a move to stand. Harry gathered the tattered remains of his Gryffindor courage and reluctantly rose from his seat to follow the man. They traveled down the hall to a room Harry had never entered before. When he stepped inside and looked around, he had to admit he was somewhat confused.

"This is a large empty room."

He could hear the annoyance in Tom's voice, "What were you expecting? That we would fling magic around the library? We aren't training you for professional dueling circuits. We have agreed to have the final battle, as it were, on Hogwarts grounds. That is a large open space outdoors. I'm sure you see the similarity to this setup."

Harry watched him lazily conjure a dummy a couple of meters away, "First we are going to improve on your spell repertoire and accuracy." Tom pointed his wand at the dummy and without speaking a spell lashed out and hit it. Harry didn't know what spell it was, but as he watched the stuffing rain down around the area he decided he was okay with that fact. "Afterwards we will see about simulating scenarios with multiple opponents and bystanders."

Tom turned back to Harry and raised his wand, "For today though, you will duel me so that I might assess your current skill level."

Harry reached into his sleeve and fingered the two wands there. He hesitated only a moment longer before he pulled out his holly wand and squared off to face Tom. He cobbled together his resolve and decided he might as well make the most of this. It wasn't everyday the Dark Lord offered to teach you magic.

There was no fanfare or turning and pacing, Tom simply threw a spell his way and they began.

Tom smugly looked on as Potter lay on the floor trying to recover from their most recent match. The brat had not even attempted to move from that spot for the last ten minutes and he appeared to have no intention of trying anytime soon.

Tom thought over what he had learned about Potter over the course of their matches. He had a rather solid grasp on defense and Tom had been surprised the extent of his spell knowledge in the subject. Potter had not returned for his seventh year and yet he would easily pass the practical portion of the NEWTS. He still had a long way to go before Tom was satisfied, but at least it was a strong foundation to build on. His offense was lacking, which was not a surprise, but he had a good reaction time. Probably the strongest point in his favor was his creativity. He didn't fight like most wizards by simply standing and pointing his wand while relying heavily on shields. He especially used charms to interesting effect and favored distractions. Tom could admit that Potter had potential, but they had a lot of work ahead of them before Tom would allow the boy to showcase his skills in a public setting.

"You could look a bit less amused you know." The boy groaned a bit and pushed himself into a sitting position. "Oww. Did you really have to start conjuring random objects and flinging them at me in that last one? Or maybe you could have just used softer materials? I feel like a giant bruise."

Tom merely raised an eyebrow, "Incentive to not get hit. Now get up, we need to go to the library. I have a number of books I expect you to read."

The boy gave him a dirty look and he wasn't sure if it was the idea of standing or books that had earned it. Regardless, they were both happening so Potter would just have to get over it. He simply waited as Potter slowly maneuvered his way to standing and they left the room.

As he hobbled along Potter asked, "How often are we going to have these little training sessions of yours?"

Tom took a moment to consider, "I expect that I will be rather busy soon. Lucius is set to make contact with your Weasley twins later this week and I will have to make sure there is enough death eater activity that he can appear useful. I need to make arrangements for my own men so that the only ones captured before the end are the ones that would prove a hindrance to our agenda." He fixed Potter with a pointed look, "You cannot treat all my death eaters as you did Lucius."

Potter waved his hand dismissively, "I know, I know. I just have a personal grudge against the man. As long as your little minions don't start something it will be fine." He grimaced, "Actually on that note, don't bring Pettigrew anywhere near me if you want him to remain in one piece. I won't even pretend that I won't try to skewer the rat, roast him over an open flame, then feed his corpse to stray dogs if given half a chance."

Tom raised an eyebrow over that mental image, "Duly noted. To answer your initial question we will probably train one day a week. You will have to read and practice on your own time. Just remember that I will know if you neglect your work Potter and will make you regret it."

They entered the library and he left Potter to his own devices while he went to collect the books he had in mind. He came back a few minutes later to see Potter staring at the cover of a book like it was some kind of alien artifact. What had Potter managed to unearth in such a short time?

"What are you gawking at Potter?"

The boy looked up at him like he had never seen him before and he had didn't know the person who was in front of him. Then Potter looked back at the book and turned once more to him. The brat was for once completely speechless. Getting annoyed, Tom walked up and took the book from unresisting hands. He looked at the cover and froze. 101 Needlepoint Stitches. He had never bought a book on needlepoint much less ever set eyes on this one before. Of course Potter managed to find this.

Unfortunately Potter recovered from his shock, "I had no idea you had such hobbies Tom. I never would have pegged you as the arts and crafts type. The things you learn about people..."

Tom refrained from rolling his eyes, just barely, "I was not even aware this book existed Potter. While I have my methods of relaxing, needlepoint is most certainly not one of them." He dumped the pile of books he had collected in Potter's arms, "Read those and practice the spells in them for next time."

Potter absently skimmed over the book titles and then gave a longer look around the library itself, "Where did you get all these books anyway? I know they weren't here when your father's family lived here so you had to have gathered them yourself." Potter thumbed the spine of an obviously older tome, "Many of these books must be rare too. It's quite the collection for just one person to acquire."

Tom narrowed his eyes at the implication of Potter's knowledge regarding his origins. However, he was picking up nothing outside of genuine curiosity from the boy. He moved to a chair and waited for Potter to follow suit before he answered, "Many I picked up during my travels after leaving Hogwarts. Others were gifts from classmates and admirers trying to get into my good graces." He smirked, "Many pure blood families are so accustomed to having extensive family libraries at their disposal that they have a skewed sense of the value of some of their books and they were more than happy hand them over if I expressed even a remote interest."

Potter gave a short laugh, "So essentially the perks of being a Dark Lord? I never really appreciated just how much of an advantage it would have been to grow up in an old wizarding household until I started to really go through the Black library. I think that was when it struck me just how comparatively limited the magic taught at Hogwarts is."

Potter leaned back in his chair and stared vacantly upwards, "There are books on all kinds of topics I had never even considered before. I was especially interested in what I read on group castings and I couldn't figure out why I had never heard of them being done. Weather magics, large area wards, group rituals and so many others. I eventually found out that while the practice of group casting isn't expressly outlawed, many of the disciplines required were themselves banned or restricted so there just aren't enough people with the knowledge to perform such feats."

Those death colored green eyes found Tom's, "When did being a wizard stop being about the magic? Why did we decide to take the very thing that makes us who we are and cripple it? Muggles write about magic and it's full of unlimited possibilities. Mystery, wonder, a connection with the earth and the sense that just around a corner anything can happen. In reality we use it like a tool. Just a convenience to make the day to day life a little bit easier. The potential is still there, but we obstinately ignore it so that those who play the political game can maintain a sense of control. We've stripped the magic from the magical world and people don't even notice."

Not for the first time Tom was struck by the thrum of melancholy he felt behind Potter's word. A sense of loss and age and something other running as an undercurrent beneath everything that Potter spoke. Potter had never said as much, but Tom could tell the boy must have touched something. Some part of that deeper magic that the ministry had worked so hard to eradicate. Tom himself had come across it during his delving deeper into the Dark Arts than any he knew of. That raw, wild, dangerous form of magic. It always left a mark on the user. Changing them in subtle ways to reflect the powers they wielded. Tom's still red eyes were only one physical manifestation of his exposure, but the change ran far deeper than that. It was why he would never truly blend in with the sheep of the wizarding world. Why Potter had always stood out amongst his peers. Surviving the killing cursed had marked him more thoroughly than just a scar on his forehead. Others might not recognize it consciously, but they still felt the difference. No, the two of them would always stand out as something more.

"Control is the key word there Potter. How does a government maintain control when its citizens have access to such unpredictable and potent power? Most witches and wizards would never be capable of wielding such raw magic, but those that are become something else. The fools at the ministry fear what such individuals are capable of and they are aware there is little they can do to stop them once they have achieved their goals. So they try to make the population forget that it is even possible. The practice has gone of for so long they probably don't even realize how much they have limited themselves in the process."

Old familiar feelings of frustration and resentment resurfaced as he was reminded of all the times in his youth when he had run into yet another wall the ministry had erected. His pursuit of knowledge and magic blocked after he had only scratched the surface of what was achievable. Of his many grievances against Dumbledore that was what he found the most unforgivable. That a man so achieved and skilled would willingly remove knowledge from Hogwarts and aid in furthering ministry dictated restrictions was appalling. The sheep of the ministry might not fully understand what they were doing to magic, but Dumbledore most definitely did.

A comfortable silence took hold as the pair sat lost in their own thoughts. Eventually Potter shifted a bit and slowly started speaking as if thinking aloud, "It would be nice if we could reestablish apprenticeships for higher learning after Hogwarts. I know they are still sometimes done for certain masteries, but with the standardized test for the main branches it is an increasingly rare practice. If I remember correctly their main purpose was to help guide students through the more dangerous beginnings of dealing with specialized magics. A magical contract that connects a master and apprentice to serve as grounding and support as the student adjusts to the use of the more raw magic. That way they are less likely to be overwhelmed and consumed by their own uncontrolled power. Perhaps we should bring back guilds..."

Tom blinked. He was glad Potter wasn't actually looking his way because he was sure his surprise had shown itself on his face if only briefly. The idea was so obvious he took a moment to chastise himself for not even considering it before now. "Such a program would certainly prove useful when we start to propose the lifting of certain regulations and restrictions in the Wizengamot. They will not have a solid argument against such a motion if there is a system in place to monitor the use of more volatile magics. Guilds and apprenticeships would be an excellent way to achieve such a thing and will appeal greatly to the older members of the council who value tradition so heavily. We will need to update the apprenticeship contracts so as not to drive away the muggleborn population, but that is a trivial matter."

Tom summoned his notes, quill and ink and immediately set to outlining plans. Potter meanwhile had started on one of the books he had been given. Without pausing in his work, he remembered the other topic he had meant to bring up with the boy, "Severus is scheduled to arrive in a couple of hours. I would like you to be there for the discussion." From the corner of his eye he caught Potter's nod of acknowledgement and then he lost himself once more to his work. Only occasionally breaking the silence to pose a question of the other's opinion before once again allowing the sounds of the scratching of a quill and turning of pages to permeate the air.

When Severus arrived in his Lord's manor, he was immediately set upon by the house elf and ushered into the home. His Lord, he had never believed he would think of the man in such terms again, but after his discussion with the Potter brat he had returned to his quarters and come to the conclusion, with the help of many drinks, that he had little other choice. As much as it pained him, he conceded that Potter had a point. Their world had been on a downward spiral for many years and the situation was growing truly desperate. He could even admit to himself that the Dark Lord was only a symptom of the corruption and his insanity, while it hadn't helped matters, had only been one more item in the long list of their society's failings.

They stopped in front of the library and the elf pushed the doors open, then scurried off leaving him to enter on his own. Severus swept inside and froze once he caught sight of his Lord. Or more specifically his Lord and the Potter brat. They were sitting in two chairs of a reading area completely absorbed in whatever they were individually doing. What struck him however, was just how at ease they were in each other's presence. In his many years as a spy he had become an expert in body language and there wasn't a hint of tension between the two. The Dark Lord had spoken of a cease fire, but neither he nor Potter had indicated that they had any intention of closely working together. Obviously something had transpired in the weeks since his last meeting with the Dark Lord. He cleared his throat and found himself the immediate focus of both parties.

"Ah Severus, please have a seat. I am sure you will excuse the more informal setting." Some things never changed. The Dark Lord still retained a way of phrasing things so that there is little option in the matter. At least he was more polite about it with his sanity intact. He restrained his sneer and reminded himself that this man was possibly more dangerous despite his more human visage. He took a seat and waited.

The Dark Lord continued, "First we must address the matter of your loyalty Severus. I have given you some weeks to consider your position in this war. I believe I have been quite generous given your previous duplicity, but the tides are changing and the time where you can play both sides has come to an end. You must choose and commit now. We have no room for those with questionable allegiances."

Severus let the moment stretch while he once more considered his choice though his decision had long since been made. He noted how Potter had not made a move to interrupt and only sat quietly watching the proceedings. He was once more unnerved by how uncharacteristic the boy's actions appeared to him. He wished he would not have to say this in front of the brat, but he had little choice. He needed to be sure on this matter. After all even with Dumbledore dead, his oath was still binding. Turning his attention away from the boy he finally replied, "I have given the matter careful thought my Lord. I will fully align myself with your cause provided no harm comes to the dunderhead sitting next to you."

He saw Potter's eyes widen in shock and the Dark Lord gained a calculating gleam. He sneered at the brat so that he would not get any ideas and waited for the Dark Lord's response.

The Dark Lord slowly leaned forward staring at him intently, "Tell me Severus, what were the conditions for the old man to accept you under his protection? He may have been an idealistic fool, but I do not believe that he would be so blind as to welcome one of mine in the midst of war without any assurances. What was it that you gave him?"

"An unbreakable vow to protect the boy."

"What?" Potter looked so confused that had it been any other topic, he would have relished in the brat's ineptitude. Unfortunately he knew all too well that now that the brat was aware he would pursue this topic until he had an answer. Like a dog and a bone. Idiot boy.

The Dark Lord looked speculatively at the brat for a moment, "I suppose you must not have known given Severus' animosity towards yourself, but he and you mother where childhood friends and on into Hogwarts. In fact when your family was eventually targeted he went so far to request that I spare her life despite her blood status. I suspect that her death is what ultimately drove him to Dumbledore." He fixed his gaze back on Severus, "Is that not so Severus?"

Reigning in any irritation at his past being so exposed to the boy he nodded, "It is my Lord." He waited for the expected outburst from Potter. While it did eventually come, it was not at all what he expected. Nor was it directed towards him.

Potter's confusion slowly morphed into a dawning revelation as if something was finally making sense. He whirled to face the Dark Lord and pointed at him exclaiming, "That's why you told her to step aside! That has never made sense to me. I couldn't figure out why you would tell a muggleborn that there was no need for her to die and try to get her to move. Not my father, the pureblood, but my mother."

Both men turned to the boy in surprise. Severus was trying to process that the Dark Lord had at least tried to honor his request. Before he was able to wrap his mind around the idea the boy started to laugh. It was edged in hysteria and neither himself nor the Dark Lord knew what to make to it. Perhaps Potter had finally reached the edge of his questionable sanity.

Once the momentary shock seemed to have worn off, he saw a look of irritation flash across his Lord's face and the man quickly shot a stinging hex at the boy, "Potter calm down. What has gotten you so worked up to regress you to this mess?"

Potter quieted, but the somewhat hysteric edge was still there lining his voice, "You don't get it do you? You're the one who is overly fond of powerful numbers Tom. Three times. You asked her to step aside three times. You gave her a choice and enforced it with the number three. That choice enabled her to willingly sacrifice herself for my life. That's how I survived. How many mothers have died for their children and not achieved a similar effect? They didn't willingly forgo the option to just walk away handed to them by a magically powerful being and amplified by a magical number." The laughter bubbling under the surface he pointed to Severus, "In a way, he's the reason I'm still alive." Then he devolved into giggles.

Severus was assaulted by emotions he had buried long ago. He was dimly aware of Potter's continued hysterics and the Dark Lord's frozen expression, but everything seemed to fade away in light of what he had just learned. The Dark Lord had tried to honor his request and while Lily had still died, he at least had a hand in the survival of her son. A part of her still lived because of his desperate actions. He felt a weight lift from him at that revelation. He looked at the odd scene of an irritated, but not irrationally enraged Dark Lord trying to calm down the golden brat himself and for the first time in decades felt the smallest glimmer of hope.

It took a few minutes and many stinging hexes from His Darkness, but Harry eventually managed to calm down. He could not believe that Snape was the reason he survived that night. Snape! The greasy git of the dungeons who despised all things Potter and stalked the hallways like an overgrown bat while reshaping the boggarts of impressionable youth. Considering his weird bipolar luck he really shouldn't be surprised at such a revelation, but he would never have predicted something like this.

He must have let a few more giggles slip. Tom was eyeing him with distrust and fiddling with his wand pointedly. He took a couple slow, deliberate breaths and felt himself finally calm completely. He nodded to Tom to indicate he had a grip on himself and situated himself so he could watch both men as they conversed.

Tom gave him one more searching look and must have decided that Harry was in fact settled. He looked back at Snape, "To get back to matters of your allegiance Severus, as I have already discussed with you, Potter and myself are currently operating under a cease fire. We have discovered during this time that our goals largely align and should nothing change drastically to upset this balance I do not foresee us coming into conflict even after our objectives have been met. As such the matter of your oath should not be an issue."

Unreadable as ever, the potions master merely nodded, "That is acceptable." Harry would suspect that Snape's facial muscles had atrophied from lack of use if it wasn't for all the sneering, scowling and eyebrow raising he had seen the man do over the years. It must be the black eyes. Those eyes could not be natural. Having black eyes was one thing, but Snape's were like looking into an endless void. Maybe it was an effect of the heavy occlumency he knew the man constantly employed. Although Tom was also a skilled occlumens and his eyes did not have the same effect. Where Snape's glares felt like you would drown in the abyss, Tom's felt like they would burn your very soul. Maybe he was just reading too much into things.

He refocused and realized he must have missed part of the conversation. They were discussing the summer schedule for Hogwarts. For some reason Tom was insistent on having the 'final battle' at Hogwarts. Something about symbolism. Harry didn't really care where they fought, but the man really enjoyed his dramatic flare, no matter how much he denied it, so Harry had agreed to Hogwarts. They both agreed that it would be a good idea to avoid any foolhardy students -Tom said Gryffindors, Harry said children- getting in the way and getting themselves hurt or killed. The population being what it was, they really couldn't afford careless casualties. This essentially boiled down to the battle taking place during summer vacation. They still needed enough witnesses to be credible and they needed Harry to make a notable appearance and show of vanquishing Voldemort. Which brought to mind an idea.

Interrupting whatever they were saying, "Could we bring Professor McGonagall into this without her alerting the rest of the order?"

Both men paused and looked at him. Snape sneered, "What are you going on about now Potter?"

Looking at Tom, "Well you said that the biggest issue will be to ensure enough people are there and that I need to announce my presence so there isn't any doubt as to who defeated Voldemort. You also made it apparent that you refuse to be defeated by somebody who does not appear skilled or powerful. We both know I'm not a match for you in a duel and it will take much more than a few months for me to catch up. So what if we stage a few things?"

He turned back to Snape, "One thing that everyone who goes through Hogwarts knows is that you can't apparate in or out of the school. If Tom where to show up with his forces on the grounds of the school and openly declare to face me, he would bring everyone's attention to one point of focus. He could also set a time limit that he was willing to wait before unleashing his forces. This will allow the Order and maybe some aurors to gather in the interim without it looking overly suspicious."

"Then we have McGonagall make an exception in the wards, and I know this can be done for all that Dumbledore liked to keep up appearances, to allow me to apparate in. Without doing anything else we've set the stage with the impression that I must be powerful if I can force my way through thousand year old worlds. It's such ingrained knowledge that you can't apparate into Hogwarts that I doubt anyone would think to question that I might have managed some other way. Then we can have a flashy battle and hopefully avoid the whole gratuitous slaughter thing."

Either they were both stunned speechless at the brilliance of his plan or they were questioning his sanity. Again. Tom's expression was always hard to tell between the two and Snape looked like Snape always looked. You'd think he could be a bit more expressive just to avoid confusion. Instead it's always that unreadable look with those too black eyes. Or yelling.

Finally Tom reacted, "That might actually work. Severus do you think we could convince dear old Mini to help her favorite little lion?"

Oh. So Snape did have facial expressions. Apparently all it took was the big scary Dark Lord to crack a small joke. Harry wondered what Snape would do if he saw Tom genuinely laugh.

Apparently not even Snape could let that comment go unremarked upon, "Dear old Mini my Lord?"

Tom gave a smug smirk, "Ah yes. After all we where in Hogwarts together for a couple of years."

Harry could only stare. It was so easy to forget just how old the other man was. His appearance just did not match up. Even if you shaved over a decade off due to being disembodied spirit and maybe another one or two lost to madness. Harry was drawn out of his thoughts by a slight cough from Snape.

"Of course. I suspect that if she was presented with proof and a reasonable explanation that it would not be difficult to persuade her. She has been growing increasingly discontent with the methods employed by Moody. Her disapproval is most apparent when Moody makes mention of his plans to capture Potter."

Harry couldn't help the grin at hearing that, he always had liked his old Head of House, "Well it looks like I need to take a trip to Hogwarts then." He was just going to assume that look was because of the brilliance of his plan. No other explanation for it really.