Did I barricade myself in my room with my door close, writing this chapter- yes I did. I have my extended family around and they are driving me insane. Anyways, hi, I did not mean to abandon this story or even writing like this considering it's been 4 months since I last updated this story. Life happened, and for anyone curious, here's the brief run down:
4 college classes, a job severely short staffed, 2 food insecurities, flare ups, mental health took a dive, and I got myself into a bike accident that had me in the ER the next day. Don't worry everything is fine- just cuts and bruises everywhere. Luckily, no broken bones, no permanent damage or internal bleeding. I just don't recommend ever missing a curb because that kind of stuff is very nerve-wracking and it hurts. And on top of all that, I had massive writer's block, so you can imagine why this chapter was not up.
With the semester winding down and once these next two very brutal weeks are done, I will be on winter break and I'll start getting out chapters more frequently, so hopefully I'll see you all in a couple of weeks with a new chapter.
I did not get the position, and my knee injury did heal up fine!
Chapter 39: Under the Dark Lord's Wing
The wards surrounding the manor welcomed them with hisses of welcome, master and heir, in parseltongue, letting them pass through. Slytherin Manor was a lot bigger than Malfoy Manor was, though it was inherently smaller than Hogwarts was. Long, dark shadows managed to create intricate lines into the nooks and crevices of the outermost walls. Vines managed to wrap itself around the manor, growing as tall as the highest windows were. Through the distance, Harrison could see the forest that surrounded the manor, with trees that stood tall and blocked any sight of what lay in them.
"Welcome to Slytherin Manor… Although, I assumed you already gathered that," The Dark Lord murmured. "One of the many establishments that Salazar left for his descendants."
Harrison didn't bother saying anything as they continued onto the path, with trees occasionally casting long shadows on the gravel ground, as they made their way to the manor and opened the front door which led to the foyer of the manor.
The Dark Lord dropped his glamour once they stepped forth into the manor, waving his hand around his face. He looked like he was in his mid to late twenties, with dark brown hair and his red crimson eyes. He pretty much looked like the locket, if not just a little bit older than the locket.
Harrison didn't bother showing any emotion once the Dark Lord turned into his younger self, mainly because it wasn't much of a surprise. Although, he was surprised that the Dark Lord decided to go back to his younger self, instead of remaining snake-like, that he knew during his reign of power and now.
"I'm sure you have lots of questions," The Dark Lord said.
"Not really," Harrison murmured, shrugging, "I'm just surprised you would resort back to your old appearance… I thought you would want to remain like you once were. What changed? This doesn't seem like something you would do without much good reasoning."
Tom Riddle smirked, "I thought it would be clear, Harry… I had a conversation with those two objects you gave me, with details that don't concern you in any way."
"I wasn't even going to ask you," Harrison said. "They're yours, anyways. I was just keeping them safe since I knew they contained a piece of you."
"Yes you did," he murmured, "For that I am very grateful. I didn't want them to end up in the wrong hands and get destroyed…"
"May I ask what they are, and why they are so precious to you, my lord?"
"Perhaps I'll tell you when you are older… For now, you don't need to worry about what they are," Tom told him after much thought. "Let's move onto another matter to discuss, about the rules of this manor and what I expect from you...
"No one is allowed here, so you don't have to worry about it. Occasionally, I would call on my inner circle here, but that won't be happening much, if at all throughout the rest of the summer. Most of my trusted Death Eaters are in Azkaban, and I have to see where my followers' loyalty lies after so many years. I do have to warn you, I don't trust my Death Eaters enough for them not to attack you if they see you. You're free to do what you wish to them, but don't kill them."
"Am I allowed to use the other unforgivable curses or is that off limits too?" Harrison questioned, innocence lacing his tone. "I can promise you that I won't kill your followers. Crucioing them, on the other hand…"
"I just ask that you don't kill them," The Dark Lord pointed out. "They still serve some usefulness."
"Fair enough," Harrison replied, "I won't kill them."
"Good," The Dark Lord said, "You're free to roam around the manor. I just ask that you don't go venturing into any rooms that are locked. They are not for you to go in, and I better not see you in them, child... Now, as my ward and as your guardian, I expect nothing but your best from you. Otherwise, there will be consequences… And also considering the fact that I am taking you under my wing, and you will learn more about magic more than anyone else, many of my Death Eaters would kill to have that kind of opportunity that you have. Do not disappoint me, Harry."
"I promise you I won't, my lord. I promise that I won't ever disappoint you," Harrison replied. "I'm grateful for what you have given me."
"I know you are, Harry," Tom murmured, "You already gave me your undying loyalty, and you have done what many people thought was impossible, but it's also a warning. You will be treated better than most my Death Eaters, but you will be held to higher standards than the rest of them. My Death Eaters will soon come to respect you in due time…"
Harrison said nothing as Tom continued on, "I believe it's time that you should get acquainted with the manor. Considering that this is a place where you will be primarily staying, it wouldn't do you any good, walking around the manor blindly- of course, you could always call on a house-elf to guide you the way."
"Thank you, my lord… I really appreciate it," Harrison murmured.
They walked down endless corridors filled with the matching decor of all dark colors that consisted of either dark green, black, and a few touches of silver here and there. It wasn't like the intricate design that Malfoy Manor had or how it displayed their wealth. Slytherin Manor was different and kept it to a rather simple design, but also making it known that this was a manor that one of the founders designed for his descendants. The Dark Lord pointed out the dark- colored doors with intricate little snakes engraved on the silver handles, and where they led to.
Harrison kept a mental note of all of this as they continued walking through the manor as the Dark Lord pointed out the doors that he was not permitted to enter under any circumstances unless by some miracle the Dark Lord deemed it so. He pointed out the library on the second floor that contained a vast amount of bookshelves that contained several books based on various subjects, old bindings of parchments, Salazar's own personal work he had done, books written in parseltongue and so forth.
"You'll have your chance to read the books in due time," He heard Tom say up above. "You have that glint in your eyes that you can't wait to get your hands on them…" He let out a small chuckle at his response that Harrison didn't bother saying anything.
They continued on with the tour with not much of anything exciting. Most of the manor was already a given with the rooms and what there was. There were several rooms and areas that he was forbidden to enter under any circumstances (unless the Dark Lord was accompanying him or something). It went for the same thing with the Dark Lord's study, and his private library that he had. The east wing contained several empty guestrooms that his inner circle members would sometimes crash for a couple of nights, especially coming back from a raid. The west wing was designed to where no one, but the Dark Lord and now, Harrison was because that's where their quarters were.
"Do you have any questions?" Tom asked, once they stopped by a black with a very shiny door handle, that Tom explained was going to be Harrison's quarters.
Harrison shook his head.
"Very well… I'll leave you to it," Tom said. "You will find books placed on your bed- three of them to be exact about the foundations of magic, the easy spells and more on the advanced ones. I expect that you will read up to chapter five by tomorrow morning and be ready to discuss with me about what you learn. We will practice afterwards…"
"Yes, my lord," he murmured, his voice barely audible.
"Before I forget- you can bring your friends over, go out and write to them as much as you want. I just ask that you tell me beforehand especially when they're going over… I'm not going to stop you from doing any of that, you're only a child."
Harrison nodded.
"Dinner is at six… Don't be late," Tom said, about to leave. "And Harry, you can drop the 'my lord' stuff when you're around me… I just ask that you don't recite my name in front of any Death Eaters, and if you choose to do- only do it in the language that we both can speak."
With that Tom Riddle walked away, and disappeared around the corner, leaving Harrison alone in the room. It was a rather simple room made for an heir with a queen sized mattress with dark green bedding, dark curtains, three doors that Harrison assumed that one led to a walk-through closet, a private bathroom and one of the doors leading out to the corridor. There was a black desk in a corner with a shelf where he could see different bottles of colored ink and drawers, where he assumed where the parchment and the quills were at. He paid no mind to any part of the room, besides the bedside table where it contained three tomes- all three of them thick with yellowed pages, and contained a bit of weight to them.
He placed them onto the bed, creating a nice dip on the bed as the mattress sank down from the weight of the three tomes, and of course himself. He flipped through several pages, briefly skimming through the chapters when he realized that this was a lot of rather basic information about magic. It was stuff that he already knew from prior to attending Hogwarts and the material they sort of covered. It almost felt like it was back to the beginning with stuff that he knew more than anything. He already knew how to cast the unforgivable curses with meaning, and other dark curses and jinxes that the other Death Eaters told him that they loved throwing around when they had their freedom- and were on raids.
Harrison knew there was probably a good reasoning behind it- one that made complete sense.
There was probably a good reason behind this one. One that would make complete sense. It was probably the Dark Lord trying to see where he was at on knowledge and with skills before they even began starting with more of the advanced spells and skills that the average wizard still had trouble doing.
He dropped the two tomes that contained the rather basic information that he knew, and instead focused on the one about the advanced spells and more on the darker side than anything. He started from chapter one and quickly lost track of time once he started reading through. It was rather more interesting and based on stuff he didn't already know beforehand. He was roughly about halfway through the tome before a house-elf appeared in his room with a loud pop and told him in a rather rushed, and squeaky voice that the Dark Lord was waiting for him in the dining room.
He waved the house-elf away, snapped the book closed with a thud and headed down towards the dining room where the Dark Lord was waiting for him. When he got there, he knew that there were a pair of red eyes following his every move as he kept his head down and pulled out a chair for himself in front of a golden plate and goblet, both with the Slytherin crest on it. Hot, steaming food appeared before him with seasoned broccoli, a bread roll, a rather juicy steak along with a goblet that had what he assumed was probably butterbeer in it.
"I thought I told you earlier, don't be late?" Tom remarked, raising an eyebrow. "I know for a fact that I told you not to be late, and yet you learned around and I had to send a house-elf to come collect you. Pray tell me what you were doing that you lost track of time?"
Harrison kept his head down and his voice even, "I'm sorry... It was my fault for setting an alarm but I was just reading the books that you wanted to read. I got so engrossed with one of them that I lost track of time."
"Very well... I assumed that's what you were doing," Tom said after a few minutes, not bothering to take his red eyes off of him, "I know I said I'll treat you better than the average Death Eater, but Harry, do not test my patience. Do not be late again. I expect you to be prompt or a few minutes early. Nothing more, nothing less."
"I understand," Harrison said in a small tone. "It won't happen again."
"It better be."
There was a small pause for a couple of minutes between the two as they continued to eat their dinner. Harrison was in the middle of a piece of broccoli in his mouth when Tom finally spoke again,
"I am rather curious about your thoughts and what you've learned from all three of the books. Considering the fact that you lost track of time- I presume you've already read past through chapter five on all of them?"
"I have," Harrison merely shrugged in response before admitting, "Honestly they were incredibly basic that I honestly skimmed through two of them as it was based on stuff I already knew prior."
"I already figured you probably knew about it. I figured that you already knew the material that was covered, but I had to be sure you knew the basics before we would be able to move into more advanced magic and learn more than any other average wizard out there," Tom explained.
"I figured that."
"Good," Tom said. "Then you should probably answer these questions: how do all three of them go together? Where do the classifications of light, neutral, and dark matter come from when it comes to spell usage?"
Harrison had to think for a little bit before he explained his answer, "It depends. Most of the classifications were done under three categories: light, neutral, and dark. The light being considered the most pure out of the form, neutral being a mix, and dark relying more on the emotions and the intentions out of all of it. Although, it is very interesting to point out that there was an increased classification with the dark that surrounds blood, and sacrifices. It happened right during the time when Dumbledore defeated Grindelwald, and the Dark was no more until you came along.
"There are certain spells that can follow under this. The levitating spell, the most basic out of the basic spells, is considered although. Sure, you can levitate a feather, but you can also levitate a boulder onto someone's head and instantly kill them, if not severely injured. The Diffindo spell is used to cut something up like a piece of cloth or a curtain, and yet- couldn't it be used to cut someone up and make them bleed to death on their injuries. The Patronus charm, a charm that not many wizards are able to do because it requires pure concentration on the happiest memory you have, is considered dark- and yet, it's probably the only spell that can actually repel a dementor away. It's a simple matter of what your intentions are with the spell than anything."
"Very good, Harry," Tom praised. "It seems that you understand the concept a lot better than the other average wizard, which is a good thing. I was merely curious to see where your knowledge lied. Tomorrow, we will begin focusing more on the magic side and to see where you were at… Fret not. You will learn things that no one else has." The last sentence was slipped into parseltongue.
...
After dinner and the discussion around the three books, Harrison floo'd back to Malfoy Manor for a couple of minutes. He figured if he was going to spend most of the summer studying underneath the Dark Lord- might as well, and plus, he didn't want Ella to worry where he was at. She was right now the only thing she had left in her life that she could see.
He found Lucius, Sirius and Snape in the drawing room with several bottles of fire-whiskey out, with Sirius nursing a rather large glass of fire-whiskey in his hand with his right arm. He watched them for a few moments before ultimately deciding not to interrupt them, considering that there was a chance they would probably not remember what he said, when they woke up in the morning.
Harrison ignored their boisterous laughter and Sirius's loud voice echoing down into the corridor, and headed up the empty stairs. He was about halfway up before he heard footsteps running through the corridor, down the stairs and jumped right into him, and wrapping their small arms around his neck for support, all while exclaiming,
"Harry!"
Harrison took a step back as he lost his footing from the sudden weight and force, and felt his foot nearly teeter over as it meant nothing, but air. He quickly grabbed onto the wall and the railing for support before he nearly fell backwards and nearly took him and Ella over.
"Ella, let go," He chided.
"I don't want to," She protested, squeezing his neck even tighter. He felt her mass of curls around his face and neck as she put more of her pressure into him.
This wasn't good, he thought to himself. If Ella didn't get off of him soon, then they would be in trouble. It was already taking most of his grip to hold on and not fall backwards, take a tumble down the stairs and collapse by the time they got to the floor. He would most likely take Ella with him, and both of them would be injured and potentially be sporting several bruises for a little bit- if not deal with other things.
"Ella," He warned.
"Fine."
Ella eventually let out and nearly fell into him as she nearly lost her balance on the stairs, but managed to catch herself just in time. Harrison sighed in relief and talked to her when they weren't in danger of falling off the stairs and hurting themselves.
"You shouldn't have done that," He chided, looking down at her so he met her eyes. ""I could have lost my footing and we both would have been tumbling down the stairs and onto the floor. We both would be hurt as a result of it…"
"I know… I'm sorry," Ella murmured. She looked down at her feet, with her eyes staring downwards, not meeting his gaze, and a small frown painted her features. She looked incredibly heartbroken. "I really missed you. You were gone for hours with the Dark Lord and I assumed it was something incredibly important but then I realized that he would have potentially called Uncle Lucius…. I was worried."
"I know… It still doesn't give you a right to throw yourself into me on the stairs."
"Like I said, I'm sorry," Ella said, looking incredibly agitated. "You disappeared on me for hours with the Dark Lord. I know there was a meeting and when I saw everyone else leave and Lucius, Snape and Sirius start pulling out the liquor and you weren't there. I thought something bad happened to you! The Dark Lord does things, you should know that, Harry…. I thought you did."
Harrison merely sighed, "Look why don't we talk when we get to my room? Wait a few minutes and then explain the situation to me, why you're getting angry with me."
"Okay," was all she said.
It only took a couple of minutes before they finally got into the room. Harrison guided Ella over to the bed where she sat down on it. Her silver eyes looked at him.
"What's going on? You never act like this, unless something is bothering you," He said. "I know it's not how the Malfoys treat you… I mean it could be the mind healer thing, but there's something else that you aren't telling me. I know you miss your parents a lot, and I know it's hard for you…"
"I just don't want you to leave me. I don't want you to lose sight of who you are and what you're supposed to be doing… I spent months in that awful place, missing your presence and it felt like an eternity-"
"Ella," Harrison sighed. "I won't leave you. I had this planned for a while. It's an opportunity to learn stuff that no average wizard would know. Besides, I would tell you if we were going to do something like that beforehand so you know as well. Things like that take a lot of time to plan and we aren't there yet. It's a fortress heavily guarded by dementors and aurors most likely. We also need the followers to do that… I'll tell you if we reach that point, but not right now.
"Besides, what I am doing is I have an opportunity to study under the Dark Lord. He's taking me under his wing and honestly, it might be the first. I don't think your mama ever had the opportunity to have that even though she was his best lieutenant back in the war, up until she was captured-"
"I know the rest, but it's good for you to take that then," Ella said. "Although I will miss you and I'm sorry for jumping to conclusions and giving you an attitude."
"Do you feel better now?"
Ella nodded.
"Good… Now, I'm going to go pack."
Harrison pulled out his wand and said a packing spell incantation. Books, clothes, and any personal belongings tucked neatly inside the trunk. It only took a couple of minutes, but his stuff was all packed and Ella hopped down from the bed and closed the lid for him with a small clink, before he made it pocket-sized and put it into his pocket.
"Do you need anything else before I go?" Harrison asked.
"You will come back to visit, right?"
Harrison let out a small chuckle, "Of course, I will. I'm not going to spend all my time there and besides- I'm pretty sure Draco and you would probably hunt me down if I dare do that. I'm certain he'll drag me out so I can entertain him or something along those lines."
Ella let out a small laugh at that, "I could probably see him doing that. And besides, I can beg Uncle Lucius to let me come over, too…. Does he know that you will be going away?"
"I was going to tell him, but in his current state- I doubt he'll remember. If they ask, you can let them know, but I doubt it. They know I have business to attend to and most of the time, I'm off doing the Dark Lord's work so what's the point. It's not like they lay claim over me, anyways."
"Oh, I never thought of it like that," Ella murmured. "Although, if they ask I will tell them your whereabouts in case they worry… Sounds like a fair deal?"
"Whatever you want to do, Ella…" Harrison said.
Ella smiled, "I'll tell them to let know, at least Aunt Cissa wise. At least they are not worried about your presence. I hope you learn a lot, have fun and don't break your word about not visiting me all summer long."
Harrison let out a small laugh at that.
"Before you go, could I have a hug before you leave?"
Harrison smiled and took her into his arms. He held her for a few minutes, feeling her breathe in and out and let her stay there, until she eventually removed her arms.
"Better?"
"Much."
…
Morning came much too soon. The sun was just peaking through the tree-line and over some of the hills, with the sky still painted a colorful shade of pink, orange and light blue, by the time Harrison headed down to the dueling room on the second floor.
He opened the doors to reveal a rather large and spacious room set up to where most of the practice dummies were on the side, towards the wall. Most of them were large, wooden dummies that were just there to practice any sorts of spells on them. He noticed that the Dark Lord was already standing there, in the middle of the room with his bright red eyes staring at him. His expression blank and his yew wand already in his hand.
Harrison approached the Dark Lord cautiously until he was just standing only about two meters away from one another. He pulled out his wand, just in case.
"You're probably wondering why we're in this room, Harry… It's rather simple as I think it would be best if you dueled me. You are allowed to use any sort of spell besides the three unforgivable curses, and do whatever you can until you either make me lose my wand or make me bleed, whichever one comes first. I'm only saying that because not everyone is able to do any of that considering I'm a skill duelist… Do you understand, Harry?"
"I do," Harrison murmured.
"Good, then let us proceed… I presume you know how to duel?"
Harrison nodded.
"Good, let us begin."
Tom and Harrison both bowed to one another with their heads lowered, in a sign of respect before they both backed away- giving their opponent the space.
It didn't take very long before the Dark Lord was already sending a couple of nonverbal spells towards him. They were the color of bright blue, and Harrison quickly put up a shield in front of him, watching as the two spells bounced off the shield and ricocheted to the wall. Harrison didn't waste any time before he sent a couple of stinging hexes and an impediment hex, one designated to hopefully slow down the Dark Lord.
The Dark Lord blocked those with ease, by raising a shield and the couple of hexes that Harrison sent over, once it hit the shield. He soon counteracted by doing a couple of spells in parseltongue that Harrison never heard of, nor did he want to find out what those spells would do.
He quickly dodged out of the way and let the spells hit the wall, sending a couple of stone bricks falling onto the ground as a result.
"Expelliarmus," Harrison whispered, hoping that it would have been easier to try to disarm the Dark Lord rather than do anything else.
It seemed like the Dark Lord foresaw this and quickly put up a shield. The disarming spell headed towards a wall where nothing happened.
They spent several minutes, both of them sending spells towards one another and blocking it each time- either through a shield, or dodging it. Several curses and hexes were sent towards the wall and dummies- destroying the dummies into little tiny, wooden pieces and different-colored spells flying all across the room. They were both stagnant, with neither of them gaining the upper-hand in the duel. However, that could only go on for so long before one of them would start losing momentum.
It seemed that Tom foresaw this and started rapidly sending dark spells towards Harrison, which forced him to throw up a shield, and prayed for the best. Soon, his shield he put up started to falter and grew weaker with every passing second as he felt the pressure and the need to be able to breathe and catch his breath.
Until his shield disappeared, leaving Harrison unprotected and a dark green spell hit his wand arm.
It took everything within him not to drop his wand onto the floor as sharp shooting pain radiated up his arm. It felt like there was something really hot like an iron burning onto his skin, followed by the pain of being stabbed with several daggers. It was some sort of curse, or something as it seemed that the pain was only increasing with every second.
He felt the urge to scream or show a sign of pain. Instead, he bit his tongue and tasted the familiar taste of copper and iron as blood pooled into his mouth.
Harrison narrowed his eyes, and sent a couple of wandless and nonverbal magic towards the Dark Lord.
The Dark Lord smiled before he disappeared into a thick cloud of black smoke. Harrison scanned the room quickly, hoping to be able to catch sight of the Dark Lord, but it was too late. By the time Harrison realized, he felt a spell hit him in the back, causing him to collapse and lose consciousness.
It took Harrison a couple of minutes to come too. He noticed that he was lying on a cold, hard floor where he presumed was still in the dueling room. The pain in his wand arm was slowly decreasing by a threshold, and he blinked until his version wasn't blurry. He tried to sit up, but it seemed like all of his energy was drained out of him and all he could do was manage to look up as footsteps approached him, and stopped right in front of him.
A pale hand reached out and tilted his head upwards to see the face of the Dark Lord staring in front of him with his dark brown hair and red eyes, and a small smile on his lips.
"Not bad, Harry," Tom praised. "You showed a lot of potential, and lasted longer than the average wizard. It's truly impressive that you already mastered both wandless and nonverbal magic at the age of eleven. You did well by that. Barely any of my Death Eaters can manage wandless, and it's slim to none by being able to do both with proficiency.
"I think I understand where you are. You still have a lot to learn to be able to have a chance to be able to have a chance in beating me, the Dark Lord. Perhaps in due time, you will learn… For now, get some rest as I'm sure you will need it and read the books on your bedside table in two days' time."