This chapter was just so rough, because it just didn't want to be put together. Eventually, I managed to shape it into this, and hopefully it's good enough, considering I am running on six hours of not very good sleep.

This story is on Ao3 under Fireiseverywhere

Chapter 36: Rekindling the Darkness

The small village that Harrison stayed at with the Dark Lord who was currently possessing Nagini, seemed more like a rural village than anything. It didn't seem that it didn't get too many visitors or really anyone, considering many of the local wizards and witches seemed to look at him with more curiosity than anything. They showed him some spells, and fed him some local dishes like byrek (a pastry-layered pie that had a combination of pumpkin, meat and cheese in it), sarme (cabbage rolls that were filled with rice and and meat), Qumështor (bake-custard), along with several other dishes. The local wizards and witches made sure to warn him about the forest, and how there was a dark spirit in there. They didn't bother venturing in too far and only stayed on the well-marked paths to perform rituals, or to practice spells and charms.

It really wasn't too bad, and the days until the next train came rather quickly. Soon, Harrison found himself sitting in an empty compartment as the smoke from the village disappeared, and the hills and trees became more apparent. He sat on the seat, with a piece of parchment in front of him and the Dark Lord was curled up right next to him, looking at the piece of parchment.

*You know, you're going all about that wrong,* The Dark Lord commented as he took a look at the piece of parchment that had all the written steps of preparation to bring back the Dark Lord. *The hardest part of the entire thing, in bringing me back, was getting the philosopher's stone.*

*What do you mean?* Harrison questioned. *I thought the easiest way was to do this complicated potion?*

*You could simply just drop the philosopher's stone into a thing of mercurial water and would still do the same thing.*

*How do you even know that?* Harrison questioned, frowning as he scribbled out the first step and wrote- drop stone into mercurial water. *Are we even sure it would work, in the first place?*

*Have you taken a look at the research that the Flamels wrote and published?*

*I haven't.*

*You probably should… the Flamels researched and wrote a lot of things. It's how the philosopher's stone got out there in the first place.*

*Oh,* Harrison spoke rather quietly. *What made you go after the stone in the first place? Wasn't there other means that you could have chosen, or was it one of the easiest aspects?*

The Dark Lord was rather silent for a few before he explained, *I already assume what the stone does. When Quirrell found me, similar to where you found me, he joined my ranks. It was then where he told me he was a professor at Hogwarts, and told me that an important object was going to be hidden there. It wasn't hard after that.*

*Considering the fact that all your followers have abandoned you. It would make sense that you would go after something very simple, in an act of desperation, to get your body back,* he hissed back.

He folded up the piece of parchment and tucked it inside a book he was currently reading. The Dark Lord didn't say anything else, but merely watched him with curiosity as Harrison barely paid no attention.

…

Roughly four days later, Harrison finally appeared in front of Grimmauld Place, at least through the Muggle Area. He went up the creaky stairs until he got to the apartments that were numbered eleven and thirteen. He only had to wait a couple of seconds before the door marked with a number twelve appeared right in front of him.

He didn't bother knocking as he walked right in, passed the umbrella stand, and upstairs towards the drawing room. There was a high possibility that Sirius was in there, and knowing him, was looking over some important pieces of parchment or just doing whatever Sirius knew best that Harrison was unconcerned of.

He skipped a couple of stairs occasionally, until he got to the second floor where the drawing room was. He knocked once, before he opened the door.

*I thought he was still Potter's lapdog," the Dark Lord hissed quietly. *He was always going against his family…. Although, why did you bring me here? It's not a trap, is it?" The warning in the tone matched as the pressure around his throat, until his vision nearly went black. It was a reminder that the snake around his neck wouldn't hesitate to block his airway, and kill him right there and then.

*It's not,* Harrison choked out, when he felt like he couldn't get enough air through his lungs. *A lot of things happened. He's on our side now… Can you… let me go?* His voice turned into a horse whisper as he let out a gasp for air.

That seemed to satisfy the Dark Lord as he loosened the pressure around Harrison's neck. He let out a gasp of air, as Sirius looked at him in concern and surprise.

"Are you okay?" Sirius asked, immediately standing up from his neck and headed toward where Harrison stood: right in the middle of the doorway.

"I'm fine," he said. "Nothing to worry about."

"Are you sure? It sounded like you were choked by something?" Sirius questioned further.

*Nagini, can you reveal yourself?* Harrison hissed.

Sirius looked flabbergasted as soon as he said that,

"You can talk to snakes?" Sirius questioned. "I thought I was imagining things, but how… When?"

"All my life- it's really nothing," Harrison brushed it off. "You don't need to make a big deal out of it."

"But…" Sirius protested. "The only people who can directly speak to snakes were descendants from Slytherin, himself. The Dark Lord was the only one of that… How is it you're able to? Last time I checked, the Potters weren't direct descendants and couldn't speak it."

"Just drop it," Harrison responded, sounding rather annoyed. "I don't want the fifty questions, just because you just found out that I can speak to snakes… It's really not that important right now."

"You're right," Sirius admitted after a couple of seconds. "I was just surprised since it's not everyday that you find out that someone you know can talk to snakes… So what's the importance of the snake?"

"The snake has the Dark Lord…. He's currently possessing her," Harrison admitted.

"So that means… We have to give the Dark Lord his body back."

Harrison nodded.

"Huh… I wondered where you disappeared off too. I was expecting to get a letter saying you'd like to stay with me for the summer holidays… I even asked the Malfoys if you were with them, and they said, you weren't… I really hoped that Dumbledore didn't try to get you to stay at the castle or find someone he finds trustworthy, since you are technically an orphan."

"Dumbledore doesn't question too much- if at all," Harrison told him. "Professor Snape would tell him that I would be staying with the Malfoys if he was curious."

Snape really helped him out a lot, during the course of the year. From making sure that he had a backup plan, in case he couldn't get to the stone on time, before Saeviour did. He also questioned Harrison when he didn't put his name on the list to stay at Hogwarts during the course of the various breaks during the school year. Snape merely asked who he was staying with, and that was that. He didn't ask that every break, just some of it- to make sure that he had somewhere to stay, or if Dumbledore went asking.

Sirius didn't bother saying anything for a bit, before he simply said, "I'll let the Malfoys know about the Dark Lord, and we'll need them to help. We will also need a potions' master to brew the elixir of life."

"Change of plans. We don't need a potion's master. I'll be able to complete it by myself if I need to… Just contact the Malfoys and tell them what the plan would be."

"What do you mean change of plans? I thought we had this solidified for months? it was why we were searching for the entire potion recipe- i've spent months-"

"And we were wrong," Harrison interjected. "We could drop the philosopher's stone into a thing of mercurial water, and it would still do the same thing."

"How do you know that? Are we sure it'd work all just the same?"

"The Dark Lord, remember? Trust me, I asked the same thing…"

Sirius let out a loud sigh, "You know what, I'm not going to question. If he'd said it would work, then who am I to question him?"

"Now that we are on the same page, then if you don't mind me, I have something to do," He said, turning to leave.

He didn't get very far, merely one foot out in the middle of the corridor before Sirius decided to say something.

"Wait!" Sirius called out.

Harrison looked back, over his shoulder to see Sirius approaching him. He had a rather apologetic look on his face.

"You know… I thought you were mad at me. I haven't heard from you in months and I thought maybe I went too far. Considering, the last time we really talked to each other was during the Malfoy's dinner when they invited us and that was a disaster. I acted like a fool and decided to ask fifty questions about a subject I didn't know she was still sensitive too…. I was merely curious and wanted to know what it was like for you.

"I just thought, maybe there was a chance we could salvage the relationship we once had. Maybe if I knew what you went through in Azkaban, I could maybe try to be a guardian and support you in any way," Sirius admitted.

"Whatever relationship we had was broken a long time ago… It has been broken ever since you abandoned me in that god-forsaken place. We can attempt to rebuild that relationship, but you messed up big time. If you wanted to know what I went through- you could have asked, but you didn't. You asked Ella, a recently free person from there, where she only knows what life behind bars was."

"I realize that…" Sirius trailed off. "I just thought…"

"You thought nothing. You involved Ella when you shouldn't have. You may be a snake in your heart, but you still have that little bit of lion still in you. Acting rather foolish and not thinking for one second before doing something. Although, it's strange that you want to try to apologize to me, when I'm not the person that needs to be apologized too. Ella is the one that needs the apology since she was your victim when you were being impulsive," Harrison continued, his voice sounding rather cold. "Have you even bothered to apologize to her?"

"I have," he murmured rather quietly that Harrison barely caught it. As he said this, his onyx eyes looked towards the floor. "I just thought you might want to hear that, considering how close you are with her."

"Anything else?" Harrison questioned, his tone sounding very harsh.

"No."

…

Harrison sat criss-crossed on the bed, Nagini uncurled from the bed and laid on the bed right in front of him. They were having a conversation- though one, he wasn't really quite expecting one just yet. He wasn't really surprised if the snake understood a little bit of English thanks to the Dark Lord.

*Who is Ella?* The Dark Lord hissed, looking at Harrison.

*You caught that, didn't you?* Harrison sighed. *I shouldn't be surprised… Anyways, Ella or well, Elladora, is Bellatrix and Rodolphus's daughter, their only child. When you were vanquished from that fateful night, they hid for a couple of years, and had her. Unfortunately, a few years passed and they heard nothing or knew about your whereabouts, so they went out. Out of an act of desperation, they tortured the Longbottoms to find your whereabouts and got caught…*

*Those two were always so loyal, so I'm not surprised that they would do something. Although, they should have stayed with their child and waited, if they knew what was best. They should have stayed and waited, and made sure that their daughter was taken care of. Their daughter didn't deserve being ripped away from her parents in something that should have been preventable.*

*In a way, she wasn't. She was another child that was sentenced to Azkaban… I shared a cell with her during my time.*

*Another child? How the light truly has fallen if they are sending children to Azkaban. No child should be there, and yet they don't hesitate to send them. It's almost ironic that the light that has deemed me to be the Dark Lord, and yet, they are doing something dark. Azkaban is no place for a child,* The Dark Lord hissed, his voice sounding a little bit angry.

*And yet, they still do. Maybe they did something right. Maybe in a way, I did deserve that and everything I got. I wouldn't be the person I am today, if I didn't get pushed in the right direction,* Harrison told him.

*Harry, you didn't deserve anything that the light did to you. Your circumstances brought you to me, and my side alone despite the shortcomings and growing up in Azkaban. Yes, you were a child of Azkaban bred in the darkness and the pits of hell, but you were also the victim. You never should have been sent to Azkaban, nor treated like a monster because of what you did. That alone, is something that the light cannot be forgiven- nor matter what excuses they try to give. You are simply an eleven-year old child that had war thrusted onto your shoulders before you were even born. A war that should have been fought by adults.*

*May I ask a favor, my lord?* Harrison asked.

*What is it?*

*I want to help you break out the rest of the Death Eaters out of Azkaban," Harrison admitted. *I know where they are at. It'll be a quick in and out, and they wouldn't until after.*

*I don't know,* the Dark Lord said, after thinking about it for a little while. *On one hand, I don't think you should be on raids, considering the fact that you're not even twelve yet, and still a child. You don't need to be on the front lines, but you also know the entire layout of the place and know exactly where they are. For now, let us lie low for a couple of months and we'll figure it out when we get the rest of my followers out.*

…

A few days have passed, and soon- they were ready to bring back the Dark Lord. Preparing the Elixir of life was rather easy, as the philosopher's stone turned into the golden-liquid that signified the elixir of life once it was dropped into a thing of mercurial water. The other step was trying to find the right day and work around schedules. Eventually, they figured it out and now was the part they were all waiting for.

Harrison sat down on the stone floor, with the snake right in front of him. It only stared at him with an unblinking expression, and barely paid no attention as everyone got set up, around them. Lucius was tasked to bring the Dark Lord his robes, while Narcissa had vials of potions prepped just in case something happened during and after. Sirius was there and his task was to deal with the potion, and find the Dark Lord's wand (which wasn't that hard since it was still in the ruins at Godric's Hollow). Harrison had the hardest part in all of this and that was to host the Dark lord in his body and drink the elixir of life, as the Dark Lord would draw primordial energy from it to form his body.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Sirius asked, once he set down the cauldron filled with the elixir of life, and a golden goblet that Harrison would drink from. "We can figure something else, if you don't want to do this."

"I'll be fine," Harrison told him. "We have already figured this out already. I was the one who was going to do this. I can't back out now-"

"You have a choice in this, you know," Sirius reminded. "It doesn't always fall on you."

"It does," Harrison reminded him. "It always has. I don't see you doing anything to bring him back. You were busy fiddling with your thumbs, and pretty much believed that the Dark Lord was gone. I have so much going on that I can't fail- not now, not ever."

That seemed to hold whatever rebuttal may have been on Sirius's tongue, as everyone looked down towards the floor, in shame. He refrained from smirking, and instead looked at the snake and whispered.

*You ready?* He asked.

Nagini didn't say anything.

It was only a couple of seconds before the wisp-like form of the Dark Lord rose into the air before he dived right into Harrison. It felt like his percept of reality shifted as he had someone else inside of it. He knew it wasn't on purpose, that it felt like two people were trying to gain control of conscience. It seemed that his vision was more light, allowing all the come through in- but it didn't seem right. He looked down on the cauldron and reached across from it- a movement it seemed that it wasn't his own, even though it was.

He scooped up the golden liquid back into the goblet, and started drinking. It was rather cold as the liquid brushed his lips for a brief second. The potion went down his throat, and tasted like it was really heavy on the metallic side, than anything. For a few seconds, he thought it tasted more on the iron side than anything.

Something happened inside of him. It was almost like a strong twinge, or like a foreign presence found something. He ignored it, knowing that it was the Dark Lord drawing energy from the source. He ignored it, as he continued to drink from the cauldron. More and more of the potion went down his throat, each one tasting very metallic until that was all he could taste, no matter what he did.

It took a while before something happened. At first, it didn't seem that it was working until he noticed something in front of him. It almost looked like a person- not quite. An in and out fading image of the Dark Lord, that was trying to blink itself into existence. It almost reminded him of what the locket looked like when he first called it with the way it seemed that the body wasn't fully corporal, but enough so. He kept drinking and drinking the metallic-flavored potion, before the body looked to be more visible and more steady looking. It was this when the Dark Lord decided to snap himself back into his own body.

It seemed right after that moment, all of his energy left him. He slumped over, his head hanging low as he tried to grasp a hold on things. HIs thoughts were quick brief seconds, and nothing solid ever came out of it. It seemed that a heavy weight appeared right into his soul, crushing him from the inside out. Everything inside him screamed and protested, as he tried to move from the position, and something so simple like moving a finger, was challenging. He didn't really have to call out to his magic, as he knew it was also weak, and barely had enough for anything.

He didn't even notice when Lucius rushed over to give black robes and the wand to the Dark Lord, or when Narcissa ran to Harrison, with vials of potions in her arms. He felt someone cradle him into their arms and tilted their head back to administer a couple of protons. He drank the potions that she gave him without much fight, but it still really did nothing. At least, he didn't feel like he was going to pass out at any given moment. He was still on the verge of exhaustion.

"My lord," everyone breathed, as they kneeled towards the floor and right in front of the Dark Lord. Harrison probably would have joined them, if he was still on the verge of exhaustion, and Narcissa practically holding him up.

"Ten long years I have waited for one of my followers to bring me back. I thought you might find me, Lucius, but you didn't bother. You avoided persecution and renounced me, yet practice the old ways? Yet, you played a vital role in bringing me back just like Black did, and an eleven year old boy, who followed the whispers that I was barely alive. He came to me out of an act of loyalty and the need of revenge, for the people who have wronged him, and who am I to deny him that?"

"My lord, I promise you that I didn't renounce the old-ways. I helped Harrison whenever he needed," Lucius protested.

"You relied on an eleven-year-old boy, who told you what you should do, for the loyalty of our cause…Though, I realize, it probably wasn't out of loyalty. No, you only did it because you saw how much you benefited from it," Voldemort continued.

"That's not true," Lucius protested more. "I helped him. I took him under his wing, when I saw how much he became friends with my son."

"Lucius, let me ask you this," Voldemort said, "Over ten years ago, I gave you an object that is near to me and told you to keep it safe… Where is it?"

There was a pause as Lucius thought about the question, and where he put it. Harrison knew exactly what the Dark Lord was talking about and knew where the said object was. It took a little bit, before he responded,

"I don't know, my lord. I kept it safe- I'm sure it's in the manor somewhere."

"Crucio," Voldemort said, pointing his wand at him.

Lucius let out a bloodcurdling scream that echoed throughout the entire room, and through the rest of the manor. His face twisted in agony, as he thrashed around on the floor- probably desperate to escape the spell. His limbs contorted and twisted in an unnatural way as the spell continued, raking in the way of convulsions. It was more than a minute before the Dark Lord canceled the spell and Lucius laid on the floor, twitching and writhing in pain. Throughout all of this, Draco and Ell barged in the room, with concern written all over their faces. Narcissa was quick enough, after making sure that Harrison could sit up on his own, rush to get her son, and her niece. She kept a strong hold on Draco who struggled in her grip, but she wasn't quick enough to grasp her nimble fingers around Ella's wrist, as Ella ran ahead, right next to Harrison.

She sat next to him and mouthed, are you okay? To him, which he nodded. She seemed to understand what was happening and instead pulled herself closer to him, and gripped onto his robes tightly.

"I'll give you two days to figure it out," Voldemort told him, before returning his attention to someone else.

Harrison met the Dark Lord's crimson eyes.

He didn't say anything as the Dark Lord approached him. He kneeled down right in front of Harrison and only told him, in the tongue that they both understood,

*Get some rest. We'll have a conversation when you get your strength back.*

Harrison nodded, weakly.

Voldemort looked over to where Ella sat, and said, "You must be Ella. You look just like your mother."

Ella nodded.

Voldemort didn't bother looking back as he headed out of the room. It almost seemed that pretty much everyone collectively took a deep breath once the Dark Lord was gone. Narcissa let Draco go, and they approached Lucius who was still twitching from the effects of the Cruciatus curse on him. They helped pick him up, and helped soothe the tightened muscles. Ella made no effort to go over there, and help her uncle as she remained there- looking at him.

"Are you sure?" Ella asked. "You look really exhausted… Perhaps it was a good thing, they didn't allow me or Draco to step foot in here."

Harrison let out a small smile at that, "I'm just really tired… But I did it. I told you, I would."

"I know you did," Ella smiled at him. "You always keep your word… Come, let's get you to bed and hope you get better soon."