A/N:
Hello again! This is the second chapter posted today so this is going a lot quicker than we thought it would.
Thank you to everyone who reviewed last chapter and please don't forget to review for this one as well. We were asked about pairings by one reviewer and we have no idea for the moment so if you have ones you would like to see, please do say. We would also like to hear any ideas you have for future chapters or if we can fix any mistakes.
We would also like to note that the Hogwarts acceptance letter and list of equipment do NOT belong to us and are straight from J.K Rowling's Harry Potter series. The recognisable characters belong to her as well.
15/08/23
xXxDoubleKxXx and DavidoDaVinci
Chapter 1 : Riddle Manor
"Crucio!"
A scream of pain echoed around the chamber.
"Good, Harry. That was the best you've done all day!"
Harry turned to face the speaker. Bellatrix Lestrange was watching him, smirking as he tortured Crabbe, who had failed on a mission to take out an Order Member. Bella was a tall, thin woman with black hair even messier than Harry's and looked indefinitely crazy, wearing a plain black dress. She had been teaching Harry for quite a while, hex after hex and jinx after jinx. He had been taught potions as well, as well as muggle fighting techniques, which went to little use since Harry had learnt non verbal spells as well as ways to do them wandless. Today, Harry was practising the cruciatus curse as a punishment.
He turned his gaze towards his father who was watching the Death Eater writhe in pain with a satisfied gleam in his crimson eyes. Of course, Lord Voldemort wasn't his biological father, but Harry preferred to think of him in that way as he was the one who had raised him.
Voldemort had worked very hard to do so, it had been quite difficult and there had been several complications. Firstly, there was the matter of doing magic and the… legalities surrounding the unforgivable curses. He had put a great amount of thought into the matter and had eventually decided on putting up protective wards around Riddle Manor and buying an untraceable wand for Harry. It was not the ideal wand but it was better than being discovered by the Ministry of Magic or the Order of the Phoenix.
Of course, there was the matter of his parents. Lily and James Potter were two very able sorcerers, and the mysterious disappearance of their child would not go unnoticed. He had therefore hidden Harry in every possible way, and he was very nearly certain that they were by now convinced that he, Lord Voldemort, was responsible for the death of their son, as he was for so many others. Then there was the matter of Harry himself.
He needed Harry to believe that, rather than being stolen by the darkest wizard of the age, he had been abandoned by his magical parents and Lord Voldemort had raised him as his son.
Harry's appearance had changed gradually after the potion he had been given to magically bind him as his son. His dark hair was perhaps messier than before and he needed glasses. However, his features, and especially his emerald green eyes, had not changed one bit.
"Again, Harry, Again!" Bellatrix cackled.
Harry turned back to the figure on the ground with a smirk. He was going to enjoy this.
...
"Father?"
"Yes Harry?"
Voldemort brought his thoughts back to the chamber.
"There's an… owl…"
He turned his gaze into the room at large. Bella, Harry, Crabbe and everyone else were looking at the window where a small barn owl was trying (and failing) to fly through the closed downstairs window.
With a lazy flick of his hand, Voldemort opened the window. The owl flew in, and abruptly fell to the floor. Almost everyone laughed, all except for four. Bella because she had been rudely interrupted by the owl, Crabbe was still terrified, Harry was intrigued as to who it was for, and Voldemort because he never laughed when he was with his Death Eaters.
Harry bent down, and picked up the parchment.
It was written in slanting cursive writing.
Mr H Potter
The East Wing
Riddle Manor
Peterborough
England
"Dumbledore," breathed Voldemort.
He turned to the room at large and waved his hand dismissively. The Death Eaters got the message and left the room silently followed by Crabbe who was limping slightly from the torture session.
Bella stayed behind.
"My lord," she said. It was common knowledge amongst Death Eaters that Lord Voldemort was generally more irritable when a certain Albus Dumbledore was a topic of conversation.
"I was wondering…" she continued carefully, "...If I may… stay behind?"
Asking Voldemort if he would make an exception was always a delicate business, that would perhaps be fatal for anyone who was not in his inner circle, and even then…
The Dark Lord surveyed her carefully, taking in every detail. The long, messy black hair, the plain black dress, the heavy lidded eyes. She could feel his gaze and dropped her gaze immediately. It would be foolish to hold a staring contest with those blood-red eyes; she would be killed.
A very long minute passed. No one spoke. She was very aware of him entering her mind, that he was perhaps deciding her fate.
Another long minute went by.
"Very well," He drawled.
Bella let out the breath she didn't know she had been holding in.
He turned his attention back to his son who had been watching the exchange with an amused expression.
"May I, Father?" He questioned.
Voldemort gave him a curt nod.
Harry grinned in response and ripped open the letter.
HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY
Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore
(Order Of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc, Chf. Warlock,
Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. Of Wizards)
Dear Mr Potter,
We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find
Enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.
Term Begins 1 September. We await your owl by no later
Than 31 July
Yours Sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall
Deputy Headmistress
Harry finished reading, and took out the list of equipment,
HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY
Uniform
First-year students will require:
Three sets of plain work robes (black)
One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear
One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)
One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)
Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry name tags
Set Books
All students should have a copy of each of the following:
The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk
A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot
Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling
A Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch
One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore
Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander
The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble
Other Equipment
1 wand
1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)
1 set glass or crystal phials
1 telescope
1 set brass scales
Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad
PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST-YEARS ARE NOT
ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS
"Well, that was a mouthful," Harry said sarcastically.
Voldemort rolled his eyes. "Looks like we'll be going shopping tomorrow. Bella, I would like you to come."
Bellatrix bowed low. "Yes, my Lord," she muttered.
"Father, may I go write to Draco?"
"Yes, but first, I need to talk to you about your… shall we say… cover? It is imperative that no-one knows you are Lord Voldemort's son. Bellatrix, you are dismissed. Meet us here at eleven tomorrow morning."
Bellatrix nodded and bowed once more before leaving the chamber
"So, Dad, who am I going to act as?" Harry asked enthusiastically. "Draco's cousin? A random visitor from France? Who?"
"No," said Voldemort. "It is incredibly easy to trace the pureblood families and you could never do a french accent."
Harry blushed. Despite all the training his father had given him, it was the one thing he truly struggled at: accents.
"Since they unfortunately already know you are Harry Potter, you shall keep that name and your story will be you grew up in a muggle orphanage."
His voice faltered. Harry knew it was because Tom Riddle himself had grown up that way; Harry had been hearing this story for as long as he could remember.
"Anything else I need to know?" Harry asked as if he had not noticed.
"I-yes. The man in charge of the orphanage is a wizard and recognised you when you were dumped there. If anyone asks how you can do magic, say he taught you some." replied Voldemort, his eyes filled with a deep sadness
Harry walked towards his father and pulled him into a hug.
"I'm sorry, Dad." Harry's words were muffled with his face buried into Lord Voldemort's robes.
"It's okay, Harry. Now, I think it's high time you wrote that letter to Draco Malfoy."
Harry unattached himself from the Dark Lord, looked up into the crimson eyes he knew so well and smirked before running from the room in the direction of his quarters.
...
Harry arrived in his study in a matter of seconds. He had learnt his way around Riddle Manor as soon as he could walk. He sat down at his desk and picked up a piece of parchment and a quill.
Twenty minutes later, a snowy owl flew out of his window, a letter tied tightly to its right leg. A dark haired boy with emerald green eyes was left standing by that same window, a satisfied smile on his face. Then suddenly, a thought struck him. Hmm… maybe…
He picked up another piece of parchment, sat down and again began to write.