"No fucking way," His rude outburst was ignored as Voldemort walked to the middle of the room, just before the bed. The snake followed behind him, tongue darting out to scent the new room.

"Nagini, this is Harry. He has been staying with us and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. He wished to meet you," Harry sent a look of horror to the Dark Lord. This was not what he wanted at all. Nagini began to slither towards him, and Harry quickly brought his feet up onto the bed and began backing up towards the headboard. The snake's head peered over the edge of the bed, and she just stared at Harry with a tilted head and slitted yellow eyes. Her tongue darted out again, and she hissed.

"He smells funny, Master,"

"Yeah, well at least I have opposable thumbs," He grumbled quietly, hoping she didn't understand English.

"...I wish to eat him," Harry clenched his whole body. Voldemort's face took on a contemplative look as if he was seriously considering it.

"I promise I won't ever flood the bathroom again, just don't let her eat me," He begged, remembering his nightmare and how closely this scene resembled it.

"Admissible. Nagini," The snake blinked. "Harry is not food," Voldemort looked up from his pet, taking in Harry's position. "He is… like you. Precious," Harry's fearful expression transformed into a grimace.

"Don't say it like that!" Any response he was going to get was interrupted by Nagini pulling the rest of herself up onto the bed and sliding towards Harry. He tried to back away but found he was already fully against the headboard.

"You will pet me," He was frozen still as she steadily approached. Her nose came close to his foot, and she rounded him. He felt her body shift against his shins. Harry held his breath as Nagini climbed onto him, resting her head in the gap between his chest and bent knees. She ceased moving and just laid there.

Harry's eyes flickered from her to Voldemort, and he had never seen the man look so happy.

"Pet me," Was hissed again, and Harry allowed himself to breathe. He slowly raised his left hand as his right was too close to her mouth, and hesitated before gently stroking the scales that ran along her back. It was so smooth. She hissed, pleased.

"This is the weirdest thing I have ever done,"

"You were throwing a fork into the ceiling a week ago. Petting a snake is hardly strange,"

"I once set a python free in the zoo with accidental magic," Harry had no idea why he said this, it just flew out of his mouth. Voldemort stared at him.

"Nagini, you will be staying here with Harry when I am away. You are to get along," He turned away from the Horcruxes on the bed, and started to leave the room. "Oh. And Harry," He turned to look at the teen who was now looking mortified at the thought of being alone with the snake. "She has permission to kill you if you attack her,"

Then he left as if he hadn't just given Harry the biggest scare in his life. He wasn't planning on attacking a twelve-foot snake anyways, but it was still terrifying.

"Keep petting me," Harry frowned and looked down at the snake. She was quite bossy. He complied, not wanting to upset her.

"You could say please, you know,"

"No."

The Dark Lord had thought long and hard during those five days away from the teen. About him, and also the war that was raging on. A good amount of people supported him and his movement, now that they realized that muggle-borns were being killed. A large number were secondary supporters due to their children's week-long lock-down within the castle grounds.

He had chosen two parents for their infiltration. Both the Quibbler's editor Xenophilius Lovegood, a man who showed great initiative, wished for nothing more than to be reunited with his daughter. He would do anything. The second parent was Iris Hitbirk, a woman who branched off the pureblooded Selwyn family. She had been a bastard child, a far more favorable woman than her cousin Dolores Umbridge.

Iris had a muggle father who died young, and she was raised by her mother. Now a mother of two young girls herself, she understood the love one could have for another human. She would die for them. Her daughters were a first-year Hufflepuff and second-year Slytherin. Very different, yet similar. Iris feared for her eldest, who had expressed concern over being in Slytherin because of the prejudice and anti-favoritism from their Headmaster.

Iris had begun to dislike Dumbledore when her daughter came home for the holidays expressing not wanting to go back. People hated her. Perhaps it was time for a change.

There had been three days of intense training. Scripts of what to say, and how to say them. Topics to steer clear of, and a back story as to how they escaped Voldemort's grasps. False memories were planted, and those would be the first to surface, should Dumbledore attempt to peer into their minds. Their goal was simple: to infiltrate, and find a way to lower the shield safely from the inside. There were also three backup plans should they be found out.

Each adult had taken an unbreakable vow with Voldemort, promising to try their best with this task. Should they willingly sabotage any part of the plan, or try to side with the resistance, they will lose their magic, then die slowly as their core bleeds dry. The Dark Lord would tolerate no betrayal. Should the two still fail the objective, they were given leniency. The unbreakable vow would not hurt them as long as they were actively trying. Voldemort felt secure in this plan.

There were many ways it could go wrong, but the chances were low. Snape had been kept in the dark regarding this matter, as Voldemort was sure he would run to Dumbledore with the information, as part of his unbreakable vow that he assumed the man had. Instead, he had Snape making potions upon potions, keeping the man busy. The potions were anything that could be deemed useful, truth serums, polyjuice, blood replenishers for the Deatheaters or civilians who had the unfortunate run-in with resistance members in Hogsmeade.

A small battle had transpired, and there were casualties. Both Deatheaters and shop owners. The small town had been closed, owners only just returning to begin preparations for opening. Deatheaters had accompanied them, bodyguards more than enforcers. In unfortunate circumstances, the group had been ambushed. Spell flew without regard.

The witch Madam Puddifoot, of Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop, had been struck down in the midst and succumbed to her injuries. A misaimed Expulso blew away her left arm completely, and further damaged the entirety of her left side. The spell was meant to be aimed to the left of her in hopes of causing the bricked wall to incapacitate more of the group.

A Deatheater took a nasty curse to the face, and his sinus cavities filled with water, he had drowned as his lungs filled. Another of his men had been caught with a Jelly-Brain jinx, then in his stupor been hit with the killing curse. Many had been injured, and another store owner had been brought to the hospital under the knee-reversing hex which had been miscast and broke the man's knees to force the wrong way instead of a simple transfiguration.

Whether it was cast like that purposely had yet to be found out. This attack was led by Sturgis Podmore, and held numerous wizards who had recently been named as either missing or killed. Now they were named as traitors, and to be captured or killed if necessary. Some of the people included were: Hestia Jones, Rolland Bucket, Brier Bells, Morgan Heron, Millie Heron, and the owner of Hogs Head Inn, Aberforth Dumbledore. There were more unknown wizards, civilians who had been roped into the resistance.

A second wave had forced the group to retreat, and immediately a small army of Deatheater's had been dispatched to the town in their wake. Anyone not wearing a mask was immediately taken into custody. Stunners and other spells to incapacitate were used before any offensive spells unless provoked. The group that had caused the unrest had almost all gotten away, save Brier Bells.

She had been trapped in an alleyway and had become increasingly hostile. She threw any harmful spells she could, she was killed by Yaxley. No doubt she would be used as a martyr. Out of all of this, the only good thing was that no students had been caught in the crossfire. All wizards apprehended or re-located had been of age, no recognizable Hogwarts goers.

There had been wizard folk living in the town, and they were taken to the ministry for their safety. They would be allowed to return to their homes once it was deemed safe. Several homes were offered as a sanctuary, Malfoy Manor being one of them. It was a great way to keep an eye on the people, and also show them how courteous they could be. The majority of the wizards had been older folk who just wanted to live the rest of their lives in peace. Voldemort made sure that everyone knew who orchestrated the attack.

Hogsmeade became a ghost town, guarded and flocked by Deatheaters. Somewhere able to get into good graces with civilians by returning to their homes and collecting family heirlooms and other important items for the people. Family photo albums, pets, jewelry, and Bellatrix had gone out of her way to collect an urn filled with ashes for a widow who had no one left after the passing of her husband.

Yaxley had listened to concerns about looting and promised to return to the town with hopes of securing buildings, locking windows and doors, and closing the Floor Network from invaders. It was a win for Voldemort's side, a very unfortunate turn of events that was meant to be in favor of Dumbledore's resistance.

They were also given a hint to a secret passage somewhere in the Inn, as wizards had been seen inside, yet were able to escape unscathed as if they had never been there. The Inn was heavily armed with Deatheaters, and the place was being flipped upside down for the entrance.

During his meeting with the leaders of his squads on the fifth day, Harry had decided to intentionally flood the bathroom. Voldemort had many charms in place to alert him of such things, should the boy be planning an escape. It had crossed his mind that Harry may try to kill himself after learning about what he was, so it had been a scare when the magic alerted him of the almost overflow.

The second time he had disapparated without a moment's notice. After the third time, he knew he would find no peace until Harry was content. It had crossed his mind that intervals of long periods without social interaction could cause distress for normal people, he had expected Harry to last longer than five days, however. Isolation was never a problem for the Dark Lord, but Harry was a social creature.

He had hummed and hawed about how to approach this, he knew he would have to open the house to Harry at some point, therefore introducing him to Nagini. There was the possibility of endangering her, but he felt she had the means to protect herself. Harry wouldn't have his magic and would be struck down before he could lift a weapon to her. Not that it would do much damage with the protection spells on her scales.

He decided after all that it would be admissible to allow her entrance to the room, perhaps a spell that would allow her to come and go as she pleased. A well-working ward and charm would allow leaving through the wall as if a doorway. Much like the platform to the Hogwarts Express. The world would be no closer to finding the boy's true fate, and he would have times of peace with both creatures. Nagini got lonely too.

After the introduction of the two living Horcruxes, he had left to go back to his very important meeting. Seeing his two Horcruxes together fueled a strange hop to his step. He felt more comforted than he did nervous at the prospect of leaving them together alone. After his meeting today, he would work on the magic needed to give Nagini free reign. At some point, he would allow the brat out of his room, but he'd need to ward the rest of the manor accordingly.

There were rooms he would not be allowed into, there were windows to charm. The house-elves would still be instructed to stay invisible to the boy, should he try to use them as a means to escape. After hearing about Lucius and his elf, he didn't doubt that Harry had a knack for befriending the creatures. His elves wouldn't disobey him, but Harry had a silver tongue. Fitting for a parselmouth, very odd for a Gryffindor.

Both a snake and lion in one.

The boy was a confusing being. He was defiant, strong-willed, and quick-witted. So much of him reminded Voldemort of himself, yet the boy retained his humanity. He retained the ability to consistently care for and risk his own life for others. It was a trait he needed to train out of the boy. And he would, in time he would show Harry how much more harm it did than good.

"My Lord?" Voldemort looked up, he had been lost in his thoughts. Bellatrix was gazing up at him, taking in his position at his throne. His literal throne. She held a look of admiration, and also curiosity. It wasn't often the Dark Lord was lost in thought, especially not during a meeting.

"Continue." He ordered casually with a wave of his hand.

"The preparations for the infiltration have been completed, and tomorrow morning the two selected wizards will trek through the Forbidden Forest. They have been given a path that will safely lead them to the south part of the barrier. There they will attempt to make contact with flares, and begin the rest of the mission soon after." She reported.

"Are we sure it's a good idea to send them through the forest?" Dolohov chimed in. Bellatrix sneered in his direction.

"The Dark Lord wouldn't sabotage his own plans by sending them there without good reason." Voldemort looked over to Yaxley, who nodded in response to the gaze.

"The forbidden forest has been dealt with," All eyes turned to the newly appointed head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. "The centaurs have agreed to give us leniency during a certain time frame. We have started up a new treaty with them. The ministry had been taking away their land slowly, forcing them further and further into the forest. We agreed to take off the restrictions completely in regards to a new alliance."

It was an easy choice for the Dark Lord. He would have use of the forest for specific purposes, and in turn, have an alliance. Albeit a tense and unfriendly one. The centaurs were very territorial, and Voldemort did not blame them for choosing to stay classified as magical creatures and not accepting the Being status as many others. He would be kind to them and allow them their land.

They had never chosen a true side, and thus the Dark Lord had no qualms about keeping peace with them. The giants were much the same, they however were more bloodthirsty and agreed to fight.

Werewolves had been difficult to tame, as there were so many who had no pack and much like Lupin were against the very idea of giving in to the dark beast inside themselves. Fenrir had luck with other alpha males, with the promise of a society that would be more accepting than isolating.

It was in Voldemort's interest to integrate the werewolves back into society, there would be restrictions and rules, as to keep the whole of society safe. As regular check-ins, curfews as the days get closer to full moons, and distribution of the Wolfsbane Potion would be required. There would be laws put into place, discouraging mistreatment of them and vampires alike for their ailments.

A certain percentage of workplaces would need to fill a quota of how many of these beings they needed to hire. They hadn't as many vampires here in Britain as in Europe, but he would make it clear that they were welcomed just the same.

"The Muggle and Muggle-Born Registration, how does it fair?" Bellatrix's mood soured at the mention of the commission, the one that had not given them free rein to round up the mudbloods. Voldemort did not trust muggles. The International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy had been a much-needed law, yet it would not keep them safe. There would need to be further action. They would be discovered, and they would be ready.

The Dark Lord remembered the fear the muggle war had caused, the absolute destruction. World War II had been a huge factor in his ideals, if the muggles could not even accept other humans due to religion or skin color, then they without a doubt could not accept beings with higher abilities. The Salem witch trials had been a very good example.

Instead, magical Britain would undergo a huge transformation, where the influence of muggles would be back-trained, and forced out. Muggle-born wizards would be removed from their homes if they were the only magic-bearing figure. In cases with half-bloods, the family would be required to move to the designated magical communities, or suffer the dire consequences.

The muggle parent would have the choice of registering with the new Ministry or being obliviated. They would retain no recollection of wizards or wizardkind. It would be their own choice. This would make witches and wizards think twice about procreating with muggles, and hopefully curve the influence on the younger minds.

He would separate children from families, and he would feel no guilt or remorse about it. The children would be raised with their people, and with the traditions, they were entitled to, whether the parents liked it or not.

The Muggle and Muggle-Born Registration would be an active way to keep tabs on the muggles in the community, and also hopefully give them a way to monitor when wizards were born into non-wizard communities. It was a difficult piece of magic, working much like the system created for Hogwarts when letters needed to be sent out. It would require a team full time, all of who would be tasked with keeping track.

There would be a separate team in the division who would be trained on how to approach the families. The ones who would be cased with explanations and the actual removal of the child. Children born into fully muggle families would be taken within the first year of their life, stopping them from possible prejudice and fear that would be caused after they began showing signs of accidental magic.

It would be easier to manipulate a muggles mind with less than a year of memories as well. There was no place safer for a young witch or wizard than with their own in these times.

"The Unspeakables have had a small breakthrough on isolating a magical core in a certain dimension of space. They have expressed concern about the inability to create a larger scope, but have been persisting." Dolohov recounted, beside him Lucius added on.

"The Department has been set up. There is an official office space and training has begun. The Goblins have helped with writing up paperwork and given us many contacts to choose from. We now have rough drafts for both the contract for the rights of the children, and for the adoption when or if they need to be placed into another's home." Voldemort nodded.

There wasn't too much they could do without the means to find the children with magic cores, least go by ear. But the preparation was much needed. He'd already had a list of willing families who would take in wards. Many were witches who had no children of their own, some were magical families like the Malfoys. They had been the first to add their names. Narcissa convinced her husband, and he relented.

Voldemort suspected she was unable to bear more children, and this was her way of expanding the family. Bellatrix greatly disliked this idea. She refused to even look at her sister after their name had been put down, she had not signed her or her husband's name. Other Deatheater's had signed up, but none of the notable status.

When asked, Yaxley had refused on the term that he was much too old, and had nothing to offer children. Not only that, but his work was dangerous and he'd much rather place the children in a home where the adopted parent wouldn't die so early.

"Excellent. Dolohov, keep me closely informed on the progress with the Unspeakables." He received a bow. "Lucius, I wish to see all the contracts before they are made official. Have them ready for the next meeting."

"Of course My Lord."

"Bellatrix, my most loyal. You have done so well with the rebels, I do hope you continue to please me with good news about the coup." He received a wicked smile and a low bow.

"Anything for you My Lord."

"Then you are all dismissed." It was time for him to go home. He had much else that he needed to do, but without new news from the current situation, he hadn't need to rush anything.