'You and your friends certainly like to come and go a lot,' Hogwarts commented early Saturday morning before anyone was up.

Harry had been up for a couple of hours, working on reports for Riddle, but he set that aside to focus on the castle. "So you've finally decided to speak to me, hm?"

'I have been observing you,' Hogwarts offered. 'You are an unusual young man, with an inexplicable past and too many non-human gifts. You allow Albus to believe you to be his willing pawn, yet play the part of his opponent's queen. The Hat tells me you have lived this life before, while Fawkes says you are a favourite of Death.'

"So, basically, you've been researching me?" Harry wondered, more amused than anything else. "And what's your conclusion? Other than, you know, telling me about myself?"

'You intend to eradicate the muggles,' Hogwarts offered.

"I would very much like to eradicate them," Harry corrected, "but then there'd be no one around for Death, and I have no intention of feeling his wrath for failing to end the apocalypse. No, we're going to move the entire magical population to the moon – that's what my friends and I have been working on while we're away from school – and leaving the mundanes to sort themselves out without us posing an apparent threat to them."

Hogwarts let out a derisive laugh. 'You think the magical population will agree to this move? Steeped in tradition as they are?'

"We'll have a fight on our hands," Harry agreed. "But between eradication and survival, I believe they will choose survival, even if it does mean moving to the moon."

'And what of the magical buildings with sentience? Will you leave us here to rot among the muggles?'

Harry closed his eyes. "I don't know," he admitted. "If there was a way to bring you with us–"

'You utilise portkeys,' Hogwarts interrupted. 'For all my sentience, I am still an inanimate object.'

Harry frowned in thought. Turn Hogwarts into a portkey? "The power that requires would be enormous," he offered.

'You and Tom Riddle are two of the strongest wizards in existence,' Hogwarts returned drily. 'You managed to add to my wards twice within a twelve hour period, and Tom once added a curse to me without my permission. This is but a tiny feat to two such as yourselves. If you can talk Albus into helping, it would be even more simple.'

"Talk Dumbledore into helping?" Harry murmured thoughtfully. "You believe he would agree?"

'Albus wishes only for everyone to live together in peace. Your murderous intentions towards the muggles is the only difference the two of you share. You both have faced the loss of a loved one at the hands of a muggle. You have both faced tragedy and worked hand-in-hand with the darkness. You both own a Hallow, and seek the rest of the triad.' Hogwarts sighed. 'This solution you have found, this "moving to the moon", is one I think he will embrace.'

Harry sighed and shook his head. "Perhaps. You understand, bringing Dumbledore into this is not a decision I can make lightly, nor on my own."

'I don't expect you to decide this very moment to include Albus in your plans, I only wish to warn you that, if you don't, he will work against you to the fullest of his ability. You and Tom are strong in your own right, but there is a reason Tom never cared to cross wands with Albus.'

Harry crooked an ironic smile. "I know." Outside his curtains, he could hear Michael and Kevin waking, so he offered, "I'll speak to Tom today or tomorrow. And, Hogwarts, thank you."

The warm feeling of being hugged by a mother washed over Harry and his breath caught. 'For all your years and the suffering and cruelty you have endured and caused by your own hand, Harry Potter, you are still my child, as is every student who walks these halls.'

Harry inclined his head in understanding and the castle withdrew. After taking a moment to compose himself, Harry shuffled his reports together and slipped them into the case under his pillow he kept them in, then got up to start the day. He and Tom had plans to debate which Death Eaters could be brought up to the moon today, and now they also needed to discuss all the castle had said. Of course, there was also the homework he still had to complete for next week. "It's going to be a busy day."

"Do we get to curse them if we don't like their options?" Xerosis wondered as he joined Voldemort, Barty and Lucius around the table that had been added to the meeting room.

Voldemort put on an intrigued look while Barty moaned and Lucius tried to look stoic. "Now why didn't I think of that sooner?"

"You're getting too old," Xerosis informed him, smiling at the two Death Eaters and ignoring the glare Voldemort shot him in response. "Let's hear this list, then."

"And then you'll tell us what, exactly, it's for?" Barty asked hopefully.

Xerosis chuckled. "If you're lucky, maybe. Come on. List, list!" He bounced a bit in his chair.

"Potter, act your age," Voldemort ordered, rubbing at his eyes.

Xerosis grinned and waved Lucius and Barty on, both of whom looked torn between horror and outright laughter.

Lucius cleared his throat. "Barty and I agreed to break up the list into two categories, since it was easier to categorise them that way. The first category is those Death Eaters who should be okay around children. Barty?"

Barty nodded and looked down at the parchment he held. "We believe Rupal Avery, Andrew Crabbe, Marcus and Aric Flint, Lach Goyle, Rabastan and Rodolphus Lestrange, Telemakus Nott, Peter Pettigrew, Beau Rosier, Thorfinn Rowle, Lola Selwynn, Severus Snape, Sigwald Bulstrode and Kasual Parkinson would be okay around children."

"And Barty and myself," Lucius hurried to add.

"Oh, yeah..." Barty frowned at his list. "Why aren't we on here, anyway?"

"Because we already knew you two wouldn't be a problem?" Xerosis wondered, amused.

"Get on with it," Voldemort ordered, sounding irritated.

"Right. Next list is those we think would be okay around Harry Potter and mudbloods," Barty offered, motioning to Lucius.

"Rupal Avery, Leonard Gibbon, Kay Jenkins, Spencer Jugson, Rabastan Lestrange, Telemakus Nott, Augustus Rookwood, Peter Pettigrew, Thorfinn Rowle, Lola Selwynn, Severus Snape, Shemar Travers and Sigwald Bulstrode."

"Only Rabastan?" Xerosis wondered.

"Rodolphus was particularly vocal about his hatred of mudbloods and yourself, my Lord," Lucius replied. "I am uncertain if that's truly his belief, or if it was because getting him away from my sister-in-law is a chore and a half."

Xerosis chuckled at that. "Let me see those lists, then." Once he had them, he laid them next to each other and circled the names that appeared on each list. "That give us eight," he commented to Voldemort. "Ten, counting Lucius and Barty." He frowned. "I'm uncertain about Snape, however. I know he'd be willing to accept working with kids, even mudbloods or myself, but I'm not sure I'd trust him to keep his mouth shut around Dumbledore."

"There's also his teaching to consider," Voldemort agreed. "Cross him off. That gives us nine?"

"Mm-hm." Xerosis turned one of the parchments over and scrawled out a quick list of the nine names, including Barty and Lucius'.

Voldemort glanced back at the two Death Eaters across from him. "Are Sigwald, Lola, Thorfinn and Telemakus in the manor right now?"

"Yes, my Lord, they all are," Lucius offered.

"Go get these seven and bring them back up here," Voldemort ordered, stealing Xerosis' list and pushing it back to the Death Eaters. "Xerosis?"

The apparent vampire sighed and stood. "They're on the table?" he enquired.

"Exactly."

Xerosis nodded and shadowed over to Voldemort's room for the box of portkeys the other Dark Lord had made yesterday. While he was doing that, Lucius and Barty hurried to collect the other Death Eaters and Voldemort vanished the table and chairs before moving back to his chair at the head of the room.

Xerosis walked over to join Voldemort, idly pulling out one of the portkeys and swinging it on the cord Voldemort had attached it to. "I should have thought of this," he commented. "I keep half expecting Neville to tell me he lost his portkey."

"I'm sure your mudblood – Harriet?"

"Hermione," Xerosis corrected, rolling his eyes.

"Yes, that one. I'm sure she'd take him without him having to admit to having lost it."

Xerosis sighed. "I'd rather he told me so I can find it, rather than hoping one of the other Gryffindors doesn't accidentally pick it up and activate it."

"Feel free to mention that to Longbottom, then. Don't complain about his inadequacies to me."

"I'm beginning to understand why Neville can't bring himself to ask you for anything," Xerosis commented with a snort. "Honestly."

"Just because you enjoy the company of brats doesn't mean I have to," Voldemort pointed out. "You're lucky I haven't killed one of them yet in a fit of irritation."

Xerosis rolled his eyes and turned towards the entrance to the room, where he could sense some of their followers. "Come in, then. Hovering just outside the door will get you nothing but a Crucio."

All but Lucius, Barty and Rabastan scurried in, wearing wary looks. Xerosis just smirked at them, but Voldemort scowled and demanded, "Where are Lucius and Barty?"

"Barty was off to collect Rabastan, he told me," Rupal Avery offered carefully.

"Lucius was required to deal with Greyback. Again," Telemakus Nott reported.

Voldemort glanced towards Xerosis, who rolled his eyes but obediently got up and shadowed to where he could sense the werewolf alpha. He found Lucius facing off against Fenrir, who had Millicent's little sister, Jessica, in one hand.

Before Lucius or Fenrir realised he was there, Xerosis had Fenrir slammed up against a wall, false vampire teeth bared in a snarl. Behind him, he heard Jessica let out a frightened sound before being hushed by Lucius. "Lucius, take Miss Bulstrode to be watched by your wife," the Dark Lord ordered, not taking his eyes from Fenrir, who was watching him with caution.

"Fenrir," Xerosis purred once Lucius and Jessica were out of range, "what part of 'don't touch any of the Death Eater's children' didn't you understand?"

"It's a half-blood," Fenrir informed him.

"There are halfbloods among our number," Xerosis reminded him, smiling a bit cruelly. "So I'll ask you again, what part didn't you understand?"

Fenrir bared his teeth in response.

"Werewolves are so tedious," Xerosis decided, slamming Fenrir's head back against the wall. "Don't tempt me, Fenrir, or I will happily leave your pack without their alpha."

Fenrir laughed. "You would lose your peace with us."

"Oh, I'm hardly upset by that. My Lord Voldemort might yell a bit, but I'd lose no sleep for your lack, let me assure you."

Fenrir looked a little worried at that.

Xerosis' eyes widened comically. "Oh! Oh, wait! I wonder what would happen to a werewolf on the moon," he said, laughing as Fenrir's eyes widened in surprise. "Ooh, I should test it. Yes, yes I should." A twist of his wand saw Fenrir bound and gagged – and struggling quite futilely. :Tom, darling, I'm conducting a minor experiment with our resident bad boy werewolf and the moon. I'll be back shortly: he sent, then grabbed Fenrir and portkeyed them both to the base. There was a moment of confusion, as portkeying that distance always landed Xerosis on his behind, but then he was dragging Fenrir inside to one of the empty rooms. There, he cast a quick series of wards to keep the werewolf there, then portkeyed back to Voldemort's room and shadowed to the meeting room.

:So? Anything interesting?: Voldemort wondered as Xerosis reclaimed his chair.

:Not yet. I tossed him into an empty room. We can keep our eyes on him and see what happens.:

Voldemort jerked his head in an approximation of a nod, then turned his eyes to where the line of Death Eaters were watching, Lucius and Barty standing behind them with their wands out, just in case. "Lord Xerosis and I have agreed that those of you in this room can be told one of the greatest secrets of our organization." He motioned towards Xerosis, who smirked and dropped his glamour.

There was a moment of stunned silence, then everyone was talking at once. They sounded mostly disbelieving, but no one had a violent reaction, so Harry and Voldemort sat back and let them sort themselves out.

They were just beginning to quiet down when Lola Selwynn realised Barty and Lucius hadn't seemed surprised. She turned to them and asked, "And how long have you two known?"

Lucius shrugged. "My Lord Xerosis revealed himself to me after the first attack on the muggle lab."

Barty shifted. "I have always known Harry was on our side," he admitted. "I found out he was Lord Xerosis during the attack on Azkaban. So... since the beginning, pretty much." His gaze flickered towards Harry, who smirked at him in response.

Once the Death Eaters had turned back to Harry and Voldemort, the teen commented, "Good, you've passed the first test." He shot them a smile and received a few cautious smiles in return. "Lord Voldemort, some of my fellow students and I have been working on a solution to the mundane problem. We believe you nine can assist us in the preparations, but you'll have to be willing to work side-by-side with children, including some mudbloods."

There was some shifting, but no one outright refused to help. The two Dark Lords traded looks and Voldemort gave the faintest of nods. Harry got up to hand out the portkey bracelets while Voldemort explained, "You are each being given a permanent portkey to the site of our project. Do not lose it or I will kill you." He scowled when Harry chuckled. "We will fully explain everything there."

Once Harry had handed them all out, he said, "The password is 'Muggle Solution'."

Obediently, all the Death Eaters murmured the password and vanished, Voldemort with them. Harry took a moment to replace the extra portkeys in Riddle's room before portkeying up himself.

"–building a community here on the surface of the moon," Voldemort was explaining when Harry arrived. "The muggles will not be able to reach us here, so there will be no fear of something exploding under our homes. There will also be no need to try being discrete in using magic, as there will be no muggles to see you."

Lucius cleared his throat and carefully asked, "My Lords, what about our homes? Will we be required to build our own manors from scratch?"

"I might have a solution to that," Harry offered before turning to Voldemort and explaining, :Hogwarts mentioned the possibility of portkeying buildings to the moon, such as herself. It would enable us to bring the schools here, rather than having to build and ward new ones.:

:That is...ingenious: Voldemort admitted. :But the amount of power such a feat would require...:

:I know. Hogwarts thinks we could manage it, but she suggested bringing Dumbledore in–:

:I don't need any help from that–!:

:LISTEN TO ME!: Harry snapped, glaring. Voldemort glowered back, but fell silent. :If we don't talk to him before moving the school, he will attempt to move it back. This will all go much smoother if we have his cooperation.: He sighed. :I don't like it any more than you do, but people trust him, and if he says this is a good idea, they will agree, no matter who the idea originally came from.:

Voldemort scowled and tried very hard to look more like an angry Dark Lord than a pouting child – Harry thought he was failing, but wisely didn't mention that – and said, :The old man is your job.: Then he turned to the Death Eaters, who were watching the two with wary eyes. "We'll work on moving manors up here, intact, but it won't be any time soon. For now, your jobs are to furnish the completed buildings and assist the brats running around."

"Each student has their own task," Harry added drily. "Most of them are working with the greenhouses, some will be migrating magical and non-magical animals. A couple have taken to painting things. Please keep in mind that they're only fourth and fifth years, but if they ask you to teach them a spell or want to assist you with something, that's up to you." He shrugged. "Lord Voldemort is working on creating more buildings and I'm transporting materials from the planet to up here. If you need something and you're uncertain if you can get it yourself without raising uncomfortable questions, let myself or Lord Voldemort know and we can procure it for you."

"What are your little minions doing at the moment?" Voldemort enquired.

"Mmm... Homework. You want me to get them?"

"If you would."

Harry tossed out a brief salute, then portkeyed back down to the school and hunted down his friends in the library. "Hey, want to go on a trip?" he asked them, grinning.

"You mean we can go up, now?" Li asked hopefully even as everyone started shoving their books and parchments back into their bags. Harry had told them at breakfast that they wouldn't be able to go up to the moon until later, so they might as well work on homework while he was gone doing 'Dark Lord things'.

"Yup." Harry took a moment to ensure no one but his friends could hear him, then offered, "We brought up the group of Death Eaters who will be working with you. Voldemort and I agreed you should probably meet now, since we've got the time. Also, I warn you, Voldemort's in a right foul mood at the moment."

"What did you do?" Luna wondered and the others all shot her disbelieving looks.

Harry smirked. "I made a point he didn't like. Come on, let's go vanish like the naughty students we are."

"You're the naughtiest," Lillian informed him and Harry laughed.

Once up on the moon, the meet-and-greet went pretty well. Both Millicent and her father were happy to see one another and Barty and Luna had almost immediately snuck off to be suspicious on their own. Harry was just considering chasing after them when Hermione called, "Harry?"

He smiled at her. "Hermione?"

Hermione rolled her eyes, then suggested, "Since there are nine Death Eaters and nine of us students, why don't we all pair up? That way you always know there's an adult nearby, and it ensures that no one should be alone, right?"

Harry glanced up at Voldemort, who looked impressed. "Yes?" Harry asked, smiling faintly.

"Potter, shut up," Voldemort ordered, failing to sound angry.

Harry turned back to Hermione. "Sounds good, Hermione. Hey, everyone come back over here!" he added, louder. Then, when Luna and Barty didn't reappear right away, "Luna, I know you can hear me!"

Somewhat disturbingly, both Luna and Barty were giggling when they hurried back into sight.

Hermione's idea was explained and the tedious process of pairing people up began. Millicent and her father were easy, as were Barty and Luna – as much as Harry and Voldemort feared putting them together, at least that way they weren't spreading their crazy around too much. Harry insisted that Peter Pettigrew and Neville be together, since they were both rather mild and shouldn't freak each other out too much. Thorfinn Rowle had taught Morag when she was younger, so those two ended up together, and Lillian's father had been good friends with Lucius before his wife's death, so those two partnered up. Tracey had been childhood friends with Theodore Nott, so they all decided she was best off with Telemakus Nott, Theodore's father.

Voldemort suggested Rabastan for Terry, since the younger Lestrange brother was probably the least likely to call the teen a mudblood to his face. Contrary to that, they paired Hermione with Rupal Avery, since both of them liked to argue facts. That left Lola Selwynn to be paired with Li, which neither witch seemed to mind overmuch.

The new pairs wandered off to discuss what they'd be working on, leaving the two Dark Lords to walk into the base and toss themselves onto the couches on the first floor, Voldemort changing to Riddle as he relaxed.

They remained quiet for a good twenty minutes before Riddle commented, "How are you going to handle Dumbledore, then?"

Harry sighed. "Not sure yet. Have another meeting with him, I suppose, but I don't want to send another request so soon."

Riddle grunted and reached up to rub at his eyes. "This can wait until after the winter holidays," he decided. "I'd almost prefer to test turning a building into a portkey before we try it on Hogwarts."

Harry nodded. "That sounds doable. At least if we wait, we won't have to worry about getting the students home until summer."

Riddle snorted. "Oh, good point. We'll be effectively kidnapping all their spawn, you do realise this, right?"

Harry grinned. "Yeah, I know. Think the lot will be more willing to follow if it's the only way to get their kids?"

"And here I was, thinking spending so much time around children was making you go soft," Riddle quipped, smirking when Harry scowled at him. "Potter, you haven't gone on any raids since mid-August."

"Yeah, well, it was harder to duck Andy than it was to duck Siri, and school–"

"Potter, you have a time-turner."

Harry sighed and shook his head. "Yeah, I know. But I was mostly using it to try and save people from the bombings or planning with you. And then this moon stuff..." He waved his hand helplessly in the air. "I've been busy."

Riddle raised an eyebrow at him. "You don't want to chance snapping in Hogwarts, not when we're so close," he pointed out.

Harry winced, because he knew his partner had a point – he'd told him about his episode last year, after all. "I know. I'll try getting something in over the holida–"

"Tuesday," Riddle interrupted. "We're planning a raid at noon. If you're not there, I'll come to the school and kidnap you, understood?"

Harry blinked in surprise, then smiled. "Yeah, I got it. Tuesday at noon."

Riddle huffed and scowled at the stairs to the upper floors. "We should probably get some work of our own–"

A knock came at the front door and both Dark Lords glanced over as it creaked open, admitting Luna's head. "Query!" she called out once she spotted them.

"How much stronger is the Cruciatus?" Riddle replied, pulling out his wand and aiming. "Let's find out..."

Harry laughed and leaned forward to pluck Riddle's wand from his fingers. "Now, now, Tom. There's no need to test your spells out on children."

"I'll test it on you, instead, then," Riddle snapped, grabbing for his wand. When Harry held it out of his reach, he demanded, "Potter, give it back or I really will storm Hogwarts on Tuesday."

Harry chuckled and turned his attention back to Luna, who had been joined by a wide-eyed Barty. "Go on, Luna," he suggested, keeping the yew wand away from its owner.

"Mm. Barty and I were just talking–"

"You mean plotting," Harry interrupted just before Riddle snatched the teen's wand from his holster. "Oiy! That's mine, you git!"

Luna sighed, then raised her voice to say, "There's no sense to this city!"

Harry and Riddle paused the fight over their wands to consider the girl in the doorway. Barty had vanished and Harry was pretty certain he heard the man snickering outside.

Luna smiled a bright, slightly mad smile and commented, "We should probably draw up some plans, right?"

"Truce?" Harry suggested to Riddle.

"Truce," Riddle agreed and they both handed back their wands. "You might as well come in, Lovegood."

"And tell Barty to pull himself together and get in here as well," Harry added as he conjured a large piece of parchment and some quills on the table.

Luna ducked back outside to gather Barty, then they both joined the Dark Lords around the coffee table to draw up some rough plans for their magical city.

In the end, they decided to base the city off of a Sierpinski triangle. They'd considered a circle or various polygons, but Riddle and Harry had agreed that the city growing outward from a single point would be too much trouble to create and maintain. Growing outwards also meant deciding a centre – Riddle insisted it be his base, but wasn't sure he wanted to deal with protecting it on all sides, especially when Harry gleefully reminded him that he wasn't immortal – and moving that centre building to a different position than at the pole, where a city growing outwards would eventually grow into range of the Earth.

Harry's great collection of maths knowledge came in handy in helping them find a shape they could all agree on; a triangle allowed them to create a city that could grow outward from the base without, necessarily, growing around it. The base would be at one tip, with other landmarks – such as Hogwarts – being at other tips. It would give the city definition, as well, forcing it to grow in a certain fashion.

Once they decided the shape, Harry and Riddle got into an epic argument about how to shape the rest of the city. Harry thought they would do well to mix the shops and the houses while Riddle insisted different districts would be better for all involved. Once Riddle won, he continued on to insist they split up the housing district by blood purity, which started another fight. After Harry won that argument, they fought over where the Ministry buildings would be kept and whether there would even be Ministry buildings.

Needless to say, it was quite the interesting learning experience for Luna and Barty, neither of whom knew exactly how the Dark Lords figured things out. Luna had a better idea than Barty, since Harry had mentioned his epic arguments with Riddle in the past, but she'd never actually witnessed exactly how violent they could get. (Luckily for all involved, neither Harry nor Riddle got quite violent enough to kill the other, though it was a near thing once or twice. They also retained the presence of mind to not hit their audience when curses went flying.) Wisely, the other pairs stayed away from the base during the various fights, though Harry had sensed one or two of them just outside a few times.

After a few hours of arguments, Harry and Riddle finally settled on a plan. There were four districts to the city: Slytherin District at the south pole, which included Riddle's base and grounds, the greenhouses and the Ministry buildings, which would act as a barrier between it and the rest of the city; Gryffindor District was the shopping district in the centre of the city, which would include all the shops anyone could ever want as well as a hospital and minor auror building in the centre; Hufflepuff District, the housing district, to the west, which included another hospital and small auror building in the centre; and Ravenclaw District to the east, which would include all twelve of the major magical schools of their world. Because of the wards on the various schools that wouldn't allow apparation or portkeys and limited floo travel, Harry and Riddle planned a train system of sorts that would travel between each of the schools and a central hub that had apparation and floo enabled. They also decided to build a large Azkaban-like prison on the opposite side of the moon where they could keep the long term prisoners and let the dementors roam.

With those basics decided, Harry portkeyed down to Earth and collected a couple brooms for himself and Riddle. Supplied with easy travel, the two Dark Lords left their minions to explain the city plan to the other pairs while they flew up above and used magic to trace out city and district limits, as well as figure out where the centre of each district was for its hospital – Slytherin, Hufflepuff and Gryffindor – or its train station – Ravenclaw.

Once they'd finished mapping out the city and the buildings that had already been made had been moved around – an adventure in teaching Death Eaters and students advanced magic that neither Dark Lord cared to repeat – everyone agreed to call it a day and returned to Earth to enjoy dinner before falling into bed.

The following weeks continued much smoother, with the Death Eaters helping Riddle to add buildings to the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff Districts while Harry continued work on the greenhouses and the students either painted or assisted Neville and Luna in their appointed tasks. On Earth, the Death Eaters continued conducting raids which Xerosis often accompanied under the threat of Voldemort storming Hogwarts, and Harry attempted to keep his friends from failing out of school.

A week or so after they figured out the city shape, Hermione mentioned that there should be a public library for everyone to use and Riddle informed her that she could bloody well build it herself if she really thought they needed one. Enlisting the help of Li, Terry and all three of their Death Eater partners, she added floors to the rail station in the Ravenclaw District for her library, which Riddle mockingly referred to as 'Granger's Haven'. Harry took a liking to the name and added a sign on the side of the building dubbing it 'Hermione's Haven', much to Hermione's unending mortification, and refused to take it down.

Harry also discovered during the month and a half leading up to the holidays exactly what happened to a werewolf on the moon: When the sun was visible, the werewolf was in wolf form, though they seemed to retain their human mind, surprisingly. When the sun wasn't visible, they were completely human, inside and out. Also, so far as he could tell, it had more to do with the sunlight touching the land they were standing on, rather than actually being able to see the sun, as Fenrir retained wolf form whether he was outside on the moon's surface, inside the base, or down a deep crater where the sunlight couldn't reach. Harry gleefully declared it a partial cure to lycanthropy and Riddle agreed with him just to avoid having curses thrown around.

An over-powered notice-me-not charm kept the mundanes from noticing the new clouds on the moon, but both Harry and Riddle agreed that it wouldn't last long. They had a couple of plans to deal with the non-magical humans, but most of them required the magical humans to have moved already, so they kept siphoning magic into the charm and hoped it would hold.

The day before the students would go home for the winter holidays, they threw a party in the base. Riddle attended only because Harry had grabbed him from behind and activated his portkey before Riddle realised what the teen was up to. As a result, Riddle spent pretty much the entire party scowling at everyone from a dark corner, clutching the firewhiskey Harry had gifted him with like a lifeline.

"Are you sure bringing him was...wise, my Lord?" Lucius asked Harry at one point, eyeing the scowling Riddle with trepidation.

Harry snorted. "He needs this as much as any of us, even if he won't admit it. Moreover, he deserves it as much of any of us, so, yes, I'm sure bringing him was a good idea."

"So you'll take the blame when he decides to start hexing people?" Luna wondered from where she was wrapped around Barty's elbow. Barty didn't much seem to mind, but, then again, he and Luna had become strangely close during their time on the moon.

"If he starts hexing anyone, it'll probably be me," Harry pointed out drily. "That should give you all sufficient time to escape."

"Oh, good. I didn't want to chance becoming his next target," Luna decided.

"More likely you'll get caught in the crossfire," Barty pointed out. "Harry tends to bounce around like a demented monkey on a pogo stick when my Lord goes for his wand."

"Just how much firewhiskey have you had?" Harry wondered with a laugh. While Barty wasn't as respectful to Harry as the other Death Eaters were, he wasn't usually that loose with his tongue. (Not that Harry was going to hold it against him, he was quite fond of Barty, after all, and it was his own fault for allowing the familiarity.)

Barty offered him an absent smile, then dragged Luna back towards the snacks table.

"So, you're absolutely certain we're not allowed back up here during the holiday?" Lillian asked hopefully.

"The holiday is meant to be spent with your family, Lil," Harry reminded her for what felt like the seventh time in the past four days. "The moon will still be here when we get back to school in two weeks."

"But you'll be up here–" Lillian tried.

"No, I won't." Harry rubbed at his eyes under his glasses. "Lil, no one is going to be up here during the holidays; except maybe whatever animals Luna's populated this rock with." He shot her an irritated look. "To clarify, by 'no one', I mean both myself and my Lord Voldemort, not except us."

"I've found understanding is increased when torture curses enter the equation," Riddle offered from his corner.

"Keep your non-existent nose out, you git," Harry called back.

Everyone pointedly took a few steps back from Harry, but Riddle just snorted at Harry's insult and focussed his attention on his firewhiskey.

After that, Lillian shuffled off to pester Tracey and everyone sort of gathered in their own little groups to chat about their holiday plans or further plans for the moon.

Not having anyone else to talk to, Harry summoned himself a bottle of firewhiskey and joined Riddle in his corner. "Are you having even the slightest bit of fun?" he wondered.

"Mmm..." Riddle shrugged. "I'm having fun thinking up creative hexes to use on people, does that count?"

Harry snorted. "Sure."

They were both quiet for a while, just watching their minions, then Riddle asked, "So are you planning to come up here during the holiday?"

"Probably not," Harry allowed, shrugging. "I mean, Andy's been hinting that she might visit for the holidays and avoiding her and her questions about my 'friendship' with Xerosis is hard enough in a castle the size of Hogwarts. I shudder to think how alert I'll have to be at Siri's."

"You shouldn't have told her, then," Riddle informed him. "Idiot."

Harry rolled his eyes. "I didn't have a lot of choices, you know. I needed to have some explanation for being in contact with Narcissa."

"You should have just told her you were on speaking terms with Narcissa and left Xerosis out of it."

"Then I would have had to explain why I was on speaking terms with Narcissa." Harry sighed. "Not a lot of options there."

"You could have just let her die."

Harry shot his fellow Dark Lord a disgusted look. "Is there any human in you?"

"I certainly hope not." Riddle flashed him a smirk. "You have more than enough heart for the both of us, anyway."

Harry rolled his eyes. "You're a git," he decided, pushing away from the wall. "I'm going back with the other humans, okay? You know, the sane people?"

"Lovegood is over there."

"Yeah, okay, the mostly sane, then."

Riddle snorted in amusement and waved him off.

It was another couple hours before people started leaving for bed. Since the students had curfew – and not everyone could sneak around the castle undetected like Harry – they left first en masse, with the Death Eaters slowly portkeying away one or two at a time after. Finally, it was just Harry and Riddle left. Harry cleaned up the mess while Riddle dozed in a chair he'd called over to his corner. Harry had brought him up without his portkey, so Riddle had to wait until Harry was ready to leave, or catch a ride down with one of his Death Eaters.

Once Harry was done, he walked over to his partner and gently touched his shoulder. "Tom, I'm ready to go."

Riddle blinked open his eyes and let out a long yawn before holding out a hand to be helped to his feet, which Harry did. "Could you have taken any longer?" Riddle muttered as Harry sent the chair back where it belonged.

"Was that a request?" Harry quipped before activating his portkey.

They landed in a heap on the floor of Riddle's bedroom, as always. Riddle didn't seem too inclined to move and after shoving ineffectually at his deadweight a few times, Harry sighed and asked, "Are you intending to fulfil that prophesy by squishing me to death?"

Riddle snorted. "You're an idiot."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Come on, Tom, get off. I still need to get back to school."

Riddle didn't respond other than to make faint snoring noises.

"You're a git," Harry informed him.

"You've mentioned that," Riddle muttered sleepily. "Why don't you just stay here for tonight? You're always going back to Hogwarts..."

"That's because I'm supposed to be at Hogwarts," Harry reminded him, pushing at his shoulder again. "Tom, Anthony will flip his lid if I'm not back when he goes to sleep, again. I don't want a detention waiting for me on the first day back."

Riddle shifted until his head was just above Harry's. The teen's breath caught for just a minute, then Riddle leaned down and pressed their lips together.

Harry had a moment where he considered resisting, but then he found his fingers curling in Riddle's hair and he sort of melted into Riddle's kiss, worries about detentions slipping away.

Then Riddle was pulling back, awareness returning to his eyes. They stared at each other for a moment before Riddle was scrambling off him and slamming the toilet door behind him.

Harry sighed and knocked his head back against the floor. "Dammit." That had been unexpected and, knowing Riddle, would not end well. Harry climbed to his feet, mentally cursing his teenaged body's interest, and called, "I'm going back to Hogwarts."

There was no sound from the bathroom.

Harry sighed again and shadowed to his dorm, sneaking in while Anthony's back was turned and slipping behind the curtains of his bed.

"Curfew was six minutes ago," Anthony commented through the drapes.

"Anthony, you're the only prefect I know who actually gives a damn if someone's in the tower or not at curfew," Terry offered drily from his own bed, where he was reading a book. "Just because we're not in the common doesn't mean we're not in the tower, anyway. Harry was probably helping a lower year with something, nice genius that he is."

"Thanks for that, Terry," Harry called drily as he dropped back onto his pillow. "Your words warm my cold black heart."

From the doorway, Anthony huffed before stalking from the room.

"What took you so long?" Terry wondered.

"I had to clean up. No reason to leave a mess about the place," Harry offered.

Terry hummed in response before falling quiet to return to his book.

Harry pulled off his glasses and rubbed at his eyes, comforted by the darkness of his bed. Dammit. I should have pushed him away. Why didn't I push him away? He's not going to react well to that kiss. He sighed. We have two weeks. Maybe he'll forget about it.

Yeah right.

The holiday was a nice break from his dual lives. He got to spend some time with Sirius – which was always an adventure – Tonks and Andromeda, which made for quite the exciting combination of pranks going off every twenty minutes or so and Harry ducking inquiring looks with a laugh. At any rate, he was kept on his toes and completely forgot about his duties in the meantime.

Returning to Hogwarts on the third was a bit of a shock to his system, especially with his friends immediately asking if they could return to the moon while on the train.

"You can go during your usual times tomorrow," Harry informed them with an amused smile. "There's no reason for everyone to be out of bed as soon as we get back, especially not with classes tomorrow."

Everyone grumbled a bit, but the Slytherins and Morag obediently returned to their usual compartment while the Gryffindors and other Ravenclaws went back to their games or books. That left Harry to stare out the window at the passing scenery, wondering how Riddle was doing.

"What happened?" Luna asked in Danish from his feet.

Harry blinked. "When did you..." He snorted. It was just like Luna to have learned a language that none of the other students knew just so she could ask Harry embarrassing questions without the others' knowledge. "What makes you think anything happened?"

Luna glanced up at him. "You're pulling my hair."

"Ah." Harry removed his hands from the blonde locks, not even aware he'd been playing with her hair. "Sorry about that."

Luna hummed a bit as she marked her place in her Astronomy text and twisted so she could look up at him without putting a kink in her neck. "What happened?"

"If you're going to whisper in a language the rest of us don't understand, have the courtesy to do it elsewhere, would you?" Terry asked with a mildly irritated look. "Or share with the rest of the class."

"We're not talking about anything," Harry informed them in English, shooting Luna a sharp look. He had no interest in talking about his and Riddle's mixed up partnership.

Luna, of course, was never one to deny her curiosity, and she was just evil enough to know how to get Harry to talk, too, so she informed him, in Danish, "If you don't talk to me, I'll tell them something's up and then everyone will be pestering you."

Harry scowled at her, but motioned for her to precede him out of the compartment. "We'll be back. Luna seems to think she's my therapist or something," he added, earning a couple of chuckles as the door slid closed behind him.

Since not everyone went home for the holidays, they didn't have too much trouble finding an empty compartment to thoroughly ward. Luna, taking his comment about her being a therapist far too seriously, took a seat and insisted Harry stretch out over the bench with his head in her lap.

"This is not how mundane therapy sessions work," Harry informed her. "They prefer to separate themselves from their patients."

"It's a good thing I'm not mundane, then, isn't it?" Luna wondered with an absent smile as she ran her fingers through Harry's hair.

Harry snorted. "I certainly hope you're not, else I'd have eaten you by now." Luna giggled quietly. "Very well then, Healer Lovegood, what shall we talk about this time?"

Luna giggled again, then said, "Why don't you tell me?"

"Well, Siri–"

"Harry," Luna said quietly, bright eyes unusually serious. "After the party. You were fidgety on the train home, too."

"And you didn't call me out then?" Harry wondered.

"I had hoped it would solve itself over the holiday," Luna admitted. "Tom did something, didn't he?"

Harry grimaced, disquieted by her ability to read him. "He kissed me," he allowed.

Luna reached up a hand to cover her smile, which only widened when Harry shot her a disgusted look. "You share a soul, it was bound to happen."

"There wasn't any kissing involved in my last life!"

"Wasn't there?" Luna wondered. "You married Ginny, right? After she'd been touched by him."

"Stop pulling this shit out of thin air, Luna," Harry snapped, pulling away and pacing back and forth in front of her, steady on his feet in spite of the moving train. "I loved Ginny for herself, not for some remnant of the bastard I'd murdered!"

Luna cocked her head to one side. "And this Ginny? You said you spent part of the summer around her, right?"

Harry frowned. "She's a child, and her crush on me is for completely the wrong reasons."

Luna shrugged. "And if she wasn't nursing a childish crush on you? If she could look past your hatred of mundanes?"

Harry snorted. "She would never be able to look past the atrocities I've committed. I've known that since before I started Hogwarts."

"You never thought Hermione or Neville capable of forgiving you," Luna pointed out gently, smiling when he froze in place, blinking stupidly. "You gave them – gave me – a chance and we accepted you. What's to say Ginny wouldn't have come around in time? What's to say she won't in the future?"

"I don't–"

"You and Tom share the same soul. It's only natural that you'd end up together."

"We're not–!"

"Why not?" Luna cut in wonderingly. "You worry about each other, look out for each other. Other than me, he's your only confidant, and you're his only confidant. You share the same aspirations and he was willing to share his power with you, even when he believed you to be only a child."

"That's..." Harry shook his head, eyes held tightly closed against her words. "It's not the same! We're–!"

"You care about him," Luna offered quietly.

"Of course I do! He's my friend! But he..."

Luna smiled, understanding. "He's not good with emotions, but that doesn't mean he doesn't possess them. He kissed you."

"He was drunk and... and tired and–!"

"His defences were down and he kissed you."

Harry turned away from her and rested his forehead against the window, relieved by the seeping cold. "It doesn't matter," he murmured. "Luna, it doesn't matter who kissed whom. We're both Dark Lords–"

"So you don't deserve love?" Luna snapped, irritated. Somehow, she'd known Harry would fight this. Honestly, men.

Harry's lips curled with a bitter smile. "Everyone deserves love, even Dark Lords," he commented gently, "but that doesn't mean we can accept it. Love isn't to be taken lightly; it is both a great strength and a great weakness." He looked at her over his shoulder. "You and I, we see the strength, but Tom sees only weakness, and nothing anyone says will ever change that for him."

"So you'll remain alone for the rest of your life? You'll throw away–"

"Luna..." Harry sighed and pushed away from the window, turning to her with his bitter smile. "I've already enjoyed a life surrounded by love and family. If giving that up means I can watch my people survive and flourish, then that is what I will do. I never expected to get a second chance, and I certainly never expected to have friends despite my choices. This..." He waved his arm around in a circle. "This is enough for me. I am content."

"Why won't you let yourself be happy, then?" Luna pleaded, trying one last time to make him see sense. Harry had long proven to be a particularly stubborn individual, but she couldn't help but try; she wanted her best friend to be happy.

Harry shrugged. "I won't force on him what he doesn't want, and Tom would never accept anything more than the partnership we have now. Friendship barely has any meaning to him, love isn't even a tangible concept." He glanced back out the window. "Let's go back to the others. The snack cart should be coming through soon and I'm a bit hungry."

Just before Harry could open the door and break the wards on the compartment, Luna asked, "What will you do now?"

"I will continue to move forward," Harry replied, smiling. "I will save my people and fulfil my debt to Death." He glanced back at her. "Coming?"

"I suppose so," Luna decided, shaking her head and getting to her feet.

"You look like someone killed your puppy," Harry commented drily from behind Voldemort. The red-eyed Dark Lord was watching over the growing city from the top floor of his base with narrowed eyes and an expression like he'd smelled something vile.

"I don't have a puppy, Potter," Voldemort snarled, looking back at him with a gaze full of murderous intent.

"Your snake, then," Harry corrected, waving out the window. "They're not sure what they've done wrong, you know. When I got here, they were debating who they'd send up to ask you. I think Wormtail was losing, actually. Something about him being expendable?"

"I take it you came swooping in like some sort of avenging hero and saved him from his fate?"

Harry snorted and gave his fellow Dark Lord an unimpressed look. "Somehow, that particular line sounds better when Severus is the one delivering it to me." He smiled nastily. "Are you out of practise, Tom? Too busy making plans for the good of the magical community to be a proper Dark Lord?"

Voldemort let out a furious roar and swung around, tossing out a silent Killing Curse.

Harry cackled and ducked the curses Voldemort sent his way, occasionally sending his own violent spells back.

Down below, the Death Eaters and fifth year Slytherins and Ravenclaws watched on with wide eyes as the violent spells lit the tinted windows in flashes of sickly green, purple and red.

"Do you think either of them will come out of that alive?" Li wondered.

"They fight like that all the time," Barty offered, though even he looked a little worried.

"Using those spells?" Morag wondered as the light of the Killing Curse lit the windows again.

"Harry is obnoxiously good at dodging," Terry commented, having partnered with his roommate enough times in Defence to know that hitting the teen was next to impossible, even when he'd been frozen in place – Terry still had no idea how Harry had managed that one, honestly.

"Lord Xerosis does seem to see these exercises as a game," Lucius admitted stiffly. "But one person can only dodge so many curses."

Almost as if making his point, Harry crashed through the window, surrounded by the light of the Killing Curse. He looked for a moment like he might actually be dead, but then he flipped just above the ground to get his feet under him and landed on his feet, grinning madly. A cut on his forehead healed as the group watched and he flicked the blood out of his eyes even as he called up, "Oiy, you missed, Baldy!"

Voldemort came to the window and glowered down at the teen. "I did no such thing, Potter! You just need to learn to stay dead!"

"I'll get right on that. You done being an idiot?"

Voldemort let out an irritated sound that the audience could only just make out. "Get up here and fix this window," he ordered, then stepped back out of sight.

The group of Death Eaters and students turned to Harry with wide eyes, which he ignored in favour of fixing a couple rips in his school robes. When he looked up and finally noticed them, he offered, "You can go back to whatever you were doing before. He's feeling decidedly less homicidal now." Then he started back towards the building, whistling a cheerful little tune.

"Harry?" Li asked, taking a nervous step forward. When the other Ravenclaw glanced back at her with a curious expression, she asked, "That was a Killing Curse–"

Harry waved a negligent hand at her. "Yeah, they tickle a bit," he offered before turning and continuing back towards the building.

When Li opened her mouth to ask for more, Barty quietly commented, "I think he says these things just for his own, twisted amusement. I've discovered that it's easier to just nod and ignore him."

"But it's the Killing Curse," Terry insisted.

"And he is insane in ways none of us could ever fully understand."

"I don't want to understand his brand of insanity," Tracey decided, turning away from the base. "Come on, Mr Nott. We've got couches to transfigure."

Telemakus offered a faint wave to his fellow Death Eaters before following his partner towards the Hufflepuff District.

The others slowly trickled away, agreeing that Tracey had a good idea.

Up on the top floor of the base, Harry finished fixing the window and wondered, "Are you feeling better, now?"

Riddle stiffened over by the bookcase he was fixing. "I don't know what you mean, Potter."

Harry nodded and turned his attention to the desk that had been designated his. "What building did you want to test the portkey on? Malfoy Manor?"

Riddle relaxed minutely. "Too many Death Eaters reside there. Sigwald has offered up his manor instead."

"Is he okay with telling his wife and youngest about this?" Harry wondered, idly repairing a quill. "Or does he plan to relocate them until we open the city for everyone?"

"I believe he's willing to move them up here," Riddle replied. "It might be nice to test the actual living conditions, anyway. It's not like any of us have actually tried staying up here over night."

Harry sighed. "I know." He glanced over his shoulder at Riddle, who was frowning over a torn book. "We could try a test run, I suppose. One or both of us could spend a night up here and see if anything goes awry. I doubt there would be any problems, but..."

"Better safe than sorry," Riddle agreed, nodding. "Would you be able to get away for a full night and day?"

"I can pretend I've fallen sick and leave a golem in my bed," Harry replied, waving that off. "The others can back that up for me, no problem. Are you okay with leaving Lucius in charge for a full twenty-four hours?"

Riddle grimaced. "I'd have to be, wouldn't I?"

"Mm-hm."

He shook his head. "With Fenrir out of the way and Rodolphus keeping a close eye on Bella, it's not vital that I'm on the planet regularly. If something comes up that they can't solve on their own..." His lips curled with a cruel little smile.

Harry laughed. "Then we'll spend this coming weekend up here together, right? Test and make sure it's safe for humans to be up here for multiple days in a row..." He trailed off, having noticed Riddle getting tense again. "Tom?"

Riddle let out an irritated breath. "What, Potter?" he snapped, shooting Harry a dark look.

Harry raised an eyebrow in response.

Riddle looked away and shoved the ripped book he'd been about to fix back onto the bookcase. "It would be nice to get some real work done on that prison we were talking about building. It's light on the other side right now, so it would be a good time to do it, and we won't have to worry about needing to go back to the surface partway through."

Harry shook his head. "Sure. We can drag Lucius, Barty and Luna over once it's done to set the wards."

"Excellent." Riddle glanced back over at Harry, who was leaning against his desk, looking out the window. "Potter, if you're not going to help me with this bookshelf, go make yourself useful elsewhere."

Harry let out an amused snort, but obediently walked from the room.

Riddle let out a heavy sigh and rested his forehead against the bookcase. "Idiot," he muttered to himself before returning to fixing his bookcase.

Riddle and Harry had spent their first full day on the moon in strained silence. They'd ridden on brooms to the opposite side of the moon, then worked on creating the foundations for the giant prison they'd drawn up sketches for back when they first decided the shape of the city. Through it all, they maintained their silence, Riddle because he was still twitchy about them being left together on the moon after the kiss before the holidays, Harry because he didn't much care to get cursed for saying the wrong thing.

When their bodies told them they needed to go to sleep, they each picked a cell on one of the lower floors and curled up in the sleeping bags they'd brought. Upon waking, they finished the building, then headed back to the far side of the moon to work on the city some more.

That evening, while Harry was working on making them some dinner and Riddle was working on some paperwork, Harry finally broke the silence between them to say, "There seem to be no strange after effects, so we can probably move the Bulstrode Manor up here this coming week."

Riddle shuffled his papers. "Of course. When do you want to put the wards up on the prison?"

Harry shrugged. "Next weekend, maybe? It's going to be draining, and having school the next day while doing the Hogwarts wards sucked." He made a face. "I'd much rather have a day to rest."

"Agreed," Riddle replied, grimacing at his own memories of dealing with Death Eaters while suffering from a minor case of magical exhaustion. "So we'll transport the Bulstrode Manor up here sometime this week, then do the wards this weekend." He snorted. "How is Longbottom doing with the greenhouses?"

"We've got fifteen full to capacity," Harry reported. "He wants to have all thirty full before we transport any of the schools up here, but he'll settle for twenty if that's what we decide."

Riddle sighed and tapped his papers with the end of his quill. "It's taken two months to get to fifteen?"

"Give or take a week, yeah."

"We can wait another two months," Riddle decided. "I'd like to have a number of the manors up here before bringing Hogwarts up, anyway." He sighed again. "Not to mention, I'd like to have some houses for parents to move into, so there's no reason for them to be stuck on the surface any longer than necessary." He glanced up at Harry, who was smiling ever so faintly. "When do you plan on approaching Dumbledore?"

Harry grimaced. "Well, if this week is pretty much full up with busy-work..." He rubbed at his chin, leaving behind a streak of sauce. "I'll send him an owl next weekend and let him set up a date and time. That seemed to work out pretty well last time, all things considered."

"We can plan this coming week around a meeting, if you'd prefer," Riddle drily pointed out. "Unless there's a reason you're avoiding him."

Harry stuck his tongue out at Riddle in response.

Riddle rolled his eyes. "I hardly blame you, but I'd like to deal with the old man as soon as possible."

"Be my guest," Harry retorted, wiping at the sauce on his jaw, which he'd caught with his tongue. "If you're so desperate, he's all yours. Me? I intend to wait another week." He sighed. "Now that Neville's got a system down, he's moving a bit quicker with the plants. I'd like to have a more specific time period for when we're going to move Hogwarts up here. I'd like to ensure moving the Bulstrode Manor up here doesn't go awry, while we're at it." He shot a smirking Riddle an irritated look. "Is that reason enough to wait a week?"

Riddle snorted. "It's your task. Is dinner ready yet?"

Harry rolled his eyes and turned back to the food. "Another five minutes. Would you put the plates out?"

Riddle gave a heavy sigh, but banished his papers and got up to set the table. "I have this dreadful sense that I'm playing house. When can we bring a house elf up here again?"

"Whenever you want. That's your choice, not mine. Unlike some people–" he shot Riddle a significant look, "–I am fully capable of taking care of myself without the intervention of a servant."

"Potter, if you weren't making me food, I would curse you."

Harry laughed and turned off the stove. "Yeah, yeah. It's done."

"Finally."

"I could just dump this into your lap, you know."

"I know this spell that will let me transfer it onto my plate–"

Harry laughed as he served the food, glad that the awkwardness between them had finally vanished.

"Mr Potter," Snape's silky voice said from behind Harry, Terry, Li and Morag after breakfast.

Harry glanced back at the spy with a curious expression. "Professor Snape."

"Where were you this weekend?" the professor asked, eyes narrowed.

"I was sick in be–"

"You most certainly were not," Snape snapped.

The other three Ravenclaws tensed, but Harry just smiled, amused. "Of course I was. Madam Pomfrey came in to check on me and everything."

"That was a golem," Snape informed him, eyes practically glowing with victory. "There's only one reason a golem would have been occupying your bed that I know of, Potter. Where were you?"

Harry narrowed his eyes. "I wonder..."

"Harry..." Li whispered.

Harry held up a hand to silence her. "Would you like to come see, Professor?" he wondered in English before switching to Chinese and ordering Terry and Li, "Run ahead and warn him I am bringing a guest."

Terry and Li grabbed Morag and dragged her with them, leaving Harry to Snape's non-existent mercies.

Snape disliked being out of the loop, so he demanded, "And what did you just tell your friends to do, Potter? Escape while they still could?"

"Something like that," Harry agreed, turning back towards the stairs. "Coming, Professor?" he tossed over his shoulder before walking away.

Snape followed him in silence all the way up to the empty classroom they had taken over. He stopped outside the room, looking around at the heavy shadows suspiciously. "An empty classroom, Potter?"

Harry smirked and darted forward, activating his portkey as soon as he was in contact with the professor's arm. He rolled away once they'd landed on the moon, pulling himself to his feet even as Riddle commented, "I knew you would cause problems for us, Severus."

Snape took a moment to look around at the room the portkey had dumped them in. Behind Riddle were the three Ravenclaw students that had been with Harry. "My Lord," he breathed, fumbling into a bow.

"I say we kill him," Riddle commented. "I'm quite tired of dancing around this topic, Potter."

"You want to kill him when I'm about to work out a deal with Dumbledore?" Harry replied, raising an eyebrow. "That's utterly stupid." He glanced down at Snape, who was staring at him in shock. "What do you think, Severus, should we just kill you and be done with your threat?"

Snape's face twisted with a snarl. "Potter–!"

"Crucio!" Riddle hissed, sending the professor sprawling with a pained whimper.

Harry sighed and, shaking his head, ushered his wide-eyed friends out. "Honestly, Tom, can't you control your temper?" he asked somewhat rhetorically once the door had closed behind the students.

Riddle let out an irritated sound, but ended his curse.

Harry knelt and gave his shuddering professor an evil little smile. "That's Lord Potter, Severus," he chastised. At Snape's disbelieving look, Harry silently cast his Xerosis glamour, offering, "Or would you prefer Lord Xerosis?"

Snape's eyes widened in horror. "Wha–?"

Xerosis chuckled and glanced up at Riddle. "We might be able to use him, I suppose," he decided.

"How?"

Xerosis got to his feet and motioned for Snape to stand. "Come along, Severus. I'll let you in on our plans, but–" He turned and shot a warning look at the professor, who took a startled step back, "–if you turn traitor on us, I will make an example of you, in the Great Hall if I must. Don't underestimate me just because I'm fifteen." Then he turned back around and led the way out of the base and onto the moon's surface. "Welcome, Severus Snape, to the moon."

Snape looked around, awed. The area was lit with muggle-like lamps spaced out along a walkway that connected the large building he'd come from with other buildings, including a long row of dark-paned greenhouses. Framing the walkways were stretches of dark grass and a few patches of struggling flowers. A young tree was just starting to grow outside the nearest greenhouse. Peter Pettigrew, Rabastan Lestrange and Terry Boot were conversing by an unmarked building a little ways away, all three trying to subtly shoot him and the two Dark Lords with him curious glances.

"What do you think?" Xerosis enquired, pride in his voice.

Snape blinked and glanced down at the young Dark Lord. "Why–?"

"To escape the mundanes," Xerosis explained as Riddle let out a disgusted sound and returned to the base. Xerosis just rolled his eyes. "We're going to move all the magical people up here."

Snape jerked faintly, surprised. "Here, on the moon?"

"Mm-hm. With the right precautions, we'll be completely safe from them. We've been working on this for most of the school year." Xerosis glanced back at his professor. "What do you think? Should I kill you now, or can you hold your silence? Dumbledore will know about this soon enough."

Snape swallowed at the darkness in the pale eyes. Even dressed in Hogwarts robes, even knowing who Lord Xerosis really was, Snape couldn't help but fear him. He'd seen what the teen Dark Lord could do, and for all that he hardly feared Harry Potter, he truly feared Xerosis' wrath. He bowed his head and whispered, "I will hold my tongue, my Lord."

Xerosis' image faded away, leaving Harry standing in his place with a friendly smile on his face. "Excellent! Let's get you back to Hogwarts, then. There's no reason for you to miss any classes."

Snape meekly followed him back into the base. He would have to re-evaluate his life over a bottle of firewhiskey later.