Hello again! :)

Thanks so much Anniiieh for your lovely comment! :) I really do appreciate you enjoying my stories so much! Gives me a lot of motivation!

Hope you all like the second chapter! :)

He had constructed a new plan, not bothering anymore to mess with the contract. Knowing that Aurelius was most likely going to try to break through his mental shields again, he had prepared a little mind trap for him- a thought he had planted in his mind on purpose, something that would give Aurelius the illusion of him hiding a secret. Constructing a mind trap was incredibly difficult, even for an experienced Occlumens like him, and he had passed out from exhaustion for several hours after he was done. He still felt a little weak when Peter announced in a hesitant tone that Aurelius was here to see him, but he managed to hide his true feelings behind his ugly, snake like mask.

"Mylord", Aurelius looked as put together as always, carrying a huge folder with the files for the contract, "let's begin, shall we?"

He felt more than annoyed at being bossed around in his own house, but he needed his mind trap to work, so he simply made his way over to the huge table inside the conference room, "we will start with point 20, parts one to four", he declared, sitting down, "point one entails that…", they kept going back and forth about the contract for a while, and fifteen minutes in, he felt Aurelius' careful presence, trying to enter his mind. He kept his whole focus on the contract, pretending not to notice that the teenager had slowly entered his mind, and he stifled a grin when he felt Aurelius discovering his trap. Any less talented Legilimens would not even be able to enter his mind without becoming unconscious, but Aurelius was talented- but this time, it was not a talent that worked to his advantage.

"Are we in agreement about the addendum for part three?", he asked him casually, knowing very well Aurelius was not paying any attention right now.

"Yes, we are", the teenager replied after a short pause, "now, I think that should be enough for today- my father will…take over again next time."

"What a shame", he lied, "too much homework, I am assuming?", his red eyes sparkled with scorn, and Aurelius' expression became even more cold, "this truce is my father's work- and it is only right if he gets to finish what he has started."

Voldemort did not care to inquire more, he was simply glad to be able to deal with Slytherin again and not his arrogant bastard son, even though he found the change quite unexpected. Still, it was a good change- and they were getting very close to signing the whole damn thing now, and then…

"Good day, Mylord", Aurelius was already at the door, eyeing him mockingly, "I certainly hope this was the last time I was forced to make your acquaintance."

Smug little bastard.

He promised himself right at that moment that Aurelius would be the first one dying if- when- he attacked. He'd actually do the world a favor by eliminating this disgustingly confident boy who acted like he was an adult most of the time.

"Don't let me hold you up", he hissed at the boy, proud of himself for not casting a Crucio, and Aurelius shot him another ironic little smile, and then he was gone.

And he could only hope his mind trap had worked.

"Would you like to be my partner, Scipius?"

Sirius looked up, coming face to face with Romilda Vane, one of his classmates from Gryffindor. He did not like her much, finding her conceited and bossy at times, and for whatever reason, she seemed to want to make friends with him- being the only one who had an interest in being his friend, actually.

Well, too bad he had no interest in being her friend.

"I am working by myself", he told her curtly, sticking his nose back inside his book, hoping Romilda would get the message.

"This is a team project."

"I am my own team."

Romilda snorted, "why are you so arrogant? It's not like you have so many friends to choose from for this project", it sounded spiteful, and Sirius could feel the familiar anger slowly rising to the surface. He knew Romilda could not stand being rejected and was just lashing out, but his anger did not care about logic.

He's nothing but a loser- is this even worth it?

Romilda's thoughts appeared on top of her head as clear as day, and he forced himself to take a deep breath. He knew no one else could see it, and he knew he should not get angry at personal thoughts like that, but again, his anger did not care much for logic.

"Screw you. Now get the hell away from me", he knew he was going to explode soon, especially when another thought appeared on top of her head.

So rude! He's always so rude!

"Go. Away.", he hissed at her, his tone cold, and Romilda took a step backwards, distress written all over her face now, "it was just a question, Scipius", she eventually said, her voice surprisingly firm.

"And I answered it, didn't I?", he was glaring at her now, well aware that all of their classmates were watching the little scene in the classroom, Professor Binns being asleep in his chair again and not paying any attention to his class.

"Yeah, but you did not tell me why you don't want to work with me", damn, that bitch was persistent, and he knew it would be easy, so easy to just…

No. I'll get expelled if I do that.

"I don't like you, that's why. Now leave me alone."

"Why?"

Is she trying to get a rise out of me, too?

Sirius narrowed his eyes, searching for clues. He could sense the emotions in the room- apart from Professor Binns of course since he was technically dead- and most of the students were excited but nervous, and he also sensed some glee among them, especially among two other boys from Gryffindor who were staring at Romilda expectantly. He concentrated hard, and while he was not able to see the thoughts of the boy on the left, he was able to get through the one on the right.

That money will soon be mine- he's about to bite her head off. Gonna buy me some chocolate frogs!

A bet. They were betting on him losing his temper, and Romilda was clearly in on it.

Sirius felt bile rising up in his throat, suddenly wishing he'd never come here. He hated all of them, all of these goddamn little assholes, and if he could, he'd beat the shit out of Romilda now and these two other dimwits as well.

Luckily for him, Binns decided to end his nap just as this moment, and everyone rushed back to their seats. The Professor started to drone on about the project, not caring the slightest that Sirius wanted to work by himself- he never had patience for their quarrels and issues, he just wanted to teach. Sirius knew he had gotten away this time, but he also knew it would only be a matter of time before his classmates tried something like this again.

"How did it go?"

Aurelius frowned, scratching his forehead, "we made some good progress, the truce is getting close to being signed, actually."

Salazar started to smile, "that's amazing, Aurelius! I am so proud of you, once this truce is signed there will finally be peace, a true, lasting peace."

Aurelius sat in the armchair closest to the fireplace, it had gotten cold, even though it was only middle of September, "yes…maybe there actually will be", he sounded hesitant, and his father who had just entered the room, holding a glass with bourbon, raised an eyebrow, "change of mind?"

He had to laugh, "change of mind indeed- I was able to pass through one of his weaker barriers when he was concentrating really hard, and…I found something."

"Something related to the negotiations?"

Aurelius nodded, "it looks like he really wants the truce- needs it even because Dumbledore is blackmailing him."

Salazar leaned forward, "blackmail him with what?"

"I am not sure- he kicked me out of his mind before I could dig deeper, but I am certain he never wanted me to know about the blackmailing in the first place. He seemed almost…afraid of Dumbledore", Aurelius told them, thoughtfully looking into the fire, "and I could see he does not want to fight anymore- there was a small emotion about Harry Potter, but it wasn't hatred, it was more…it felt more like exhaustion."

"Having enemies is exhausting", Godric supplied, emptying his bourbon, "and he has quite a few of them."

"Exactly. I hate to say this but…I am starting to have an ounce of hope now that this truce really could work."

"He is still going to attack Dumbledore, especially if he's holding something over him", Gryffindor replied, "even though I have no idea what he could blackmail Voldemort with- he's a criminal, we all know that, so what can be worse than murders and robberies?"

"That's what I need to find out", Aurelius mumbled, still staring into the fire, "and since he won't tell me, maybe Dumbledore will."

"Dumbledore's mental shields are as secure as can be- you won't even be able to pass through the first barrier without him knocking you unconscious", Salazar responded, a warning in his voice, "you are having a higher chance getting the information you need from Voldemort."

"You mean…I should negotiate again with him? Won't that be suspicious?"

"I will still go- you can come with me, pretending you are interested in the contract work for your law studies."

Aurelius sighed, "I doubt he's going to buy that- but I guess it's worth a try. I don't have another idea right now, and we are running out of time."

"It would be helpful to know what Dumbledore holds over him before we sign", Godric agreed, "but it is definitely good to know that he wants the truce- I was certain he is following his own agenda with those negotiations."

"You could just admit I was right", Salazar was smiling from ear to ear now, "I told you Voldemort wants the truce- he's changed."

Godric had to cough, "well, I would not go that far, but he seems to have realized that there is no way he can have an ongoing conflict with us and Dumbledore at the same time. It would weaken his Order."

"Is his Order even strong enough to attack Dumbledore?", Aurelius asked now, and Godric frowned, silently deliberating on that question for a while, "I'd say they are both pretty equal right now- Voldemort has a lot of the magical creatures on his side which Dumbledore despises, and Dumbledore's army is bigger in concrete numbers. He made a mistake with attacking the centaurs, since that will only lead more of the animals from the Forbidden Forest towards Voldemort and his Death Eaters."

"Why does he despise them so much anyways?"

"They are not pure enough for him- it's his white magic fanatics shining through", Godric rolled his eyes, "asides from unicorns and house elves, he cannot stand any magical creatures, werewolves, vampires, dementors and centaurs being on top of that list."

"But…he hired Remus Lupin again as a Defense teacher and he is a werewolf- and Dumbledore knows that", Salazar interjected, and Godric nodded, "yes, he did- and I've always suspected there's more to that. After what happened with Lupin during the last schoolyear and him attacking Harry and his friends, he should have gotten fired. It's not that I don't think he's a great teacher, he is, but it's simply too dangerous to have a werewolf at a school who does not know how to brew the Wolfsbane Potion."

"I thought Snape was doing that for him?"

Godric snorted, "sure- whenever he feels like it. Snape loathes Lupin, we all know that, so how reliable can that offer really be?"

"Maybe we should provide Lupin with some Wolfsbane Potion", Salazar suggested, "just in case Snape does not do his part of the deal."

"I've been thinking about that, too", Godric admitted, "I am going to meet with him soon anyways, and then I'll ask him about the potion and how much he might need."

"Sounds good."

They fell into a comfortable silence for a while, each of them following their own thoughts. Things were looking promising with the truce almost ready to be signed, and when Salazar and Aurelius went to meet Voldemort again a few days later, they were looking forward to finish their negotiations very soon.

Voldemort was waiting in his conference room, his snake-like face turning into an ugly sneer when he spotted Aurelius, "back so soon?", it was pure mockery.

"I decided to attend again since learning about the contract will help me later on with my law studies- and my father is an exceptional teacher", Aurelius lied without batting an eye, sitting down next to his father at the huge table.

"Well, I would not want to stay in the way of your law career", he hissed at the boy, knowing very well why he'd really come back: To snoop around in his mind some more. It told him his mind trap had worked, which was great news- and all he had to do now was plant more fake information into Aurelius' mind. If he had known the boy would be back today, he'd prepared another mind trap, but hopefully, he'd get another opportunity for that when they were going to meet again.

They started negotiating, and it annoyed the shit out of him that Aurelius had the audacity to make some suggestions as well, and it annoyed him even more that Slytherin listened to his suggestions. He could sense Aurelius trying to pass his mental shields not only once, but twice- but since he had no mind trap prepared, he simply blocked him off.

"I think it's only going to take another meeting or two to finish this", Slytherin sounded pleased, and he had to stop himself from rolling his eyes in disgust. He had never understood the Slytherin's obsession with peace- he seemed to be one of those people who could not stand having any conflicts in their lives and just needed harmony and happiness all the fucking time.

What a useless way to live life.

They agreed to meet again the next day, and when Slytherin and his bastard showed up for the next meeting, he realized that they seemed to have changed their tactics- now Aurelius was more focusing on the contract while Slytherin tried to enter his mind. Slytherin was a lot more careful and he'd almost slipped right by him without noticing- damn, the guy was good- and he assumed he had seen his mind trap, but he could not tell for sure.

Not until he saw the flicker of shock and disgust on Slytherin's face seconds later.

Gotcha.

They kept discussing, going back and forth, and eventually, Slytherin told his bastard to go ahead and leave, that he'd handle the rest.

What's that about?

He had not anticipated Slytherin to wanting to be alone with him, and his confusion only grew when Slytherin shot him a sad smile as soon as Aurelius had left, looking just as confused as he felt.

"I have to apologize to you", his voice was soft, soft and kind, "I…I had no idea what…what he's done to you."

He froze.

He seriously wants to talk about this now?

He could feel cold sweat forming on his back, he had not expected Slytherin to want to talk about what he'd seen, and he had no plan prepared for that since he had thought the Founder would simply tell his family and they would have another reason to despise Dumbledore and another reason to trust him with the truce.

"He took advantage of you", Slytherin's voice was still very soft, "and…you were a child."

"What…are you talking about?", he faked confusion, and he seemed to have done a pretty good job with that because Slytherin swallowed, looking almost…guilty, "I…we wanted to make sure that…this truce will last, and…I went past your barriers…and I saw something. A…memory."

A memory of him getting beaten and touched by Dumbledore at the orphanage when he had visited him. He'd been about six years old. The memory was fake, Dumbledore had not abused him at that damn orphanage. Dumbledore had not.

Someone else had.

"How dare you!", he hissed at Slytherin, forcing himself to fall back into his role, "name me one reason why I should not cast a Crucio on you, Slytherin!"

The Founder winced, "I…I am truly sorry. I had no idea…I never knew Dumbledore was that depraved. I am so sorry he hurt you. You know it was not your fault, right?"

Sure.

"I do not wish to discuss this with you, Slytherin!", he spat out, his voice murderous. It was the truth, he hated everything about this, Slytherin's sad smile, the way he looked at him so…pitiful, so…compassionate, and he knew very well he deserved none of that.

"I understand", Slytherin's voice was still so very soft, "and I understand now why you hate Dumbledore so much- but starting a war is not the answer, Tom. Violence is never the answer."

It's Tom now? Whatthefuck?

"And what is the answer in your opinion, Slytherin?", he sneered, "you don't know how I feel, how many nightmares I am havi…", he bit his tongue, not knowing why he had been dumb enough to blurt that out, but it seemed to stir something inside Slytherin, and if he had not known it better, he'd say he looked close to crying now. Crying for him.

This is getting too much.

"You need to talk to someone about how you are feeling, Tom", Slytherin went on after a short pause, "this is eating you up, I can see that. Dumbledore deserves to get punished for what he did to you, in a fair trial, with…"

"No", the thought alone of taking Dumbledore to court over his false accusations made him want to vomit, "no."

I sound like an idiot.

"I know that sounds scary", Slytherin said, ignoring his outburst, "but it will give you closure, Tom."

Stop calling me Tom, goddamnit!

"You…you need to leave."

The Founder instantly got up, "of course. I…I did not mean to…make you feel uncomfortable. I…I hope this truce can be a…a new beginning, for both of us."

There is no us. There's just me.

"If you tell anyone about this, Slytherin, I will kill you!", he hissed at the Founder, getting up as well, "send your son for the last negotiations- we are done."

For a second, it seemed like Slytherin wanted to argue, but then he just closed his mouth, nodded, and left the conference room.

He waited until the door had closed behind the Founder, and then he collapsed back into his chair. This was not what he had wanted- but at least Slytherin believed him now and he'd make sure his lover and bastard would as well. Only one more thing to do- making Aurelius see the fake memory as well, which he planned to do at their next and hopefully last meeting. He had no doubt that Slytherin would blurt out everything he'd seen to his family anyways, but it was better to play safe. He was so close now, and he could not afford making even the tiniest mistake.

You know it was not your fault, right?

Damn, he needed a drink.

"Any news? Good news?", Dumbledore sounded impatient because frankly, he was impatient.

"They are…set to sign the truce at the next meeting", his spy stuttered, "and…uhm…the son was there with Slytherin at the last meeting."

"Both of them? Together?", Dumbledore did not like that, he did not like that at all, "didn't I tell you to get rid of that boy?"

"I…tried, it's not that easy, and since he's not going to school here anymore…"

Dumbledore grumbled something, knowing very well that it was his own doing- he had never wanted the Founder's son here, knowing what privileges he had at Hogwarts, but his spy did not need to know that, "it should not matter where or where not he goes to school- I just cannot have him attend any more of their meetings!"

"But…they are going to sign the truce nex…"

"I believe that when I see it!", Dumbledore hissed at him so forcefully that the man shrank back, "now, we need to get started on Gryffindor- you know what you have to do?"

"Yes…Sir."

"Good. I am expecting results very soon from you- I do not like the fact that Gryffindor is getting so friendly with Harry Potter and his friends. Potter belongs to me."

His spy seemingly wanted to say something, but then he bit his lips and nodded dutifully.

"Spoil their next meeting- I am sure you can think of something."

"I…uhm…yes, Sir."

"Good. Get out now and get rid of Aurelius- and do it quick!"

His spy nodded, slowly getting up, "yes, Sir", he left the headmaster's office, leaving Dumbledore in the room by himself, his wrinkled face an expression of frustration.

"He told you, didn't he?"

Aurelius sighed, closing the door to the conference room behind himself, "yes, he did. He's feeling awful about…what he saw."

"He should not have snooped around then!", he hissed at him, and Aurelius sighed again, "you can certainly understand our…hesitance to trust you, Mylord", it still sounded mocking the way he said Mylord, but not as scornful as it usually did- and did that mean the bastard was pitying him now as well?

Godfuckingdamnit!

He had to change the subject, and he better changed it soon, "the contract", he said between clenched teeth, "there are still some parts to discuss."

"Absolutely", Aurelius easily agreed, walking over to the table and sitting down, "we should be able to finish it up today."

Oh, we will- there won't be any more meetings of hell. This needs to be over.

He had drunken himself to a stupor for the last few days straight- it had all been too much. He hated to feel, he hated to be reminded of the fact that he was human, and the conversation with Slytherin had been nothing but a reminder.

He managed to focus on the contract, too deep in thought this time to notice Aurelius slipping past his barriers- not that it mattered, all Aurelius was able to see was the same memory he had shown his father, spiced up with some extra shame and guilt he'd thrown into the mix to make it look even more convincing, and to present himself even more like a pathetic victim. It was the price he had to pay to finally getting this damn truce signed. And then Aurelius said the magical words, the ones that made it all worth it, "it's ready to be signed now."

He had never signed his name faster, and then Aurelius added his signature, even though the contract would not be valid without both the signatures from Gryffindor and Slytherin. Aurelius would take the whole thing home, and he'd know once the Founders had signed it- he was certain he'd feel it somehow.

He exchanged some more stiff pleasantries with Aurelius, relieved to know he'd never have to deal with the Ice Prince again, and then he yelled for a house elf to bring him a glass of his oldest whiskey- he was in the mood to celebrate.

Hours later, already feeling pretty darn drunk, Pettigrew announced that the signed contract had been dropped off- he had not felt shit after all- and his eyes started to glint with satisfaction when he saw the neat signatures of both Founders on it.

"That, you fools, was a mistake", he told no one particular, raising his glass with whiskey in a mocking salute, "all these months of negotiating…what a waste", he chuckled to himself, taking another sip, "that's time you should have invested in strengthening your little army…they are going to be the first ones finding out how big of a mistake you made."

And he could not fucking wait- he'd attack Gryffindor's excuse of an army first, and then he'd go after Dumbledore, and then he would finally be where he belonged: At the top.

well well well...we shall see how that will turn out ;)

I'd love some feedback from you!

see ya soon!

Antonie :)