Harry Potter and His Shadows (ADOPTED STORY ON HIATUS)

chapter 9

He sat still as his death eaters departed, left only with silence and a very content, full, snake. Eventually, Nagini too, left and he was alone. He worried. Would Harry hate him? Would he leave, or regret his decision? He leaned back in his chair (throne) and closed his eyes, focusing wholly on the horcrux link. He felt pain, sadness, anger and confusion, but no regret. Sighing, he stood and followed the pull of the bond to his private chambers. There sat Harry by the fireplace, staring into the flames which illuminated a small frown in his features. He strode forward silently before taking his seat in a wing-backed padded armchair. Harry didn't even look up. "Tell me, what's on your mind?" When Harry remained silent he too looked towards the flames in quiet contemplation. "Is there anything I can do to help?" Both he and Harry felt shocked by the question. He was a dark lord, he did not offer help. He taunted their torment and used it against them. Finally, Harry looked up, and stood, walking towards Voldemort, stopping just in front of the chair. "I don't regret my decisions. I don't blame you for his death." Harry fell silent again, and Voldemort wondered at the strange relief he felt upon hearing those words. "Cherié said something to me. It's made me think." Silence again. He raised an eyebrow at the boys strange behaviour. "And what did your dark angel say, if I may ask?" Harry smiled slightly at the words, and through the link Voldemort could feel pride and happiness. From Cherié?

" I tried to tell myself that I had no choice with Sirius, that you'd only kill him, but Cherié assured me that you wouldn't. Not if I asked." He was silent for only a second, and before he could respond, Harry continued. "You speak to me like an equal, you listen to what I say and are genuinely interested. You take my opinions into account and are honest in return." Again he paused, and again he continued before the Dark Lord could say anything. "Most of that I could put towards your repaired soul, regained sanity. Except you don't treat anyone else like that. And it doesn't explain why you keep touching me, bringing me close, try to protect me and comfort me. No one... No one has ever treated me like that. I don't understand why you, the man that has wanted me dead my entire life, are the one that does." Finally, Harry fell back into the deep silence, waiting for an answer Voldemort wasn't sure he had. Leaning back, he thought deeply before responding. He felt as though this was some kind of test, one he was desperate to pass. " A lot of it could come down to my regained sanity. My capacity for empathy has definitely returned. Perhaps my treatment towards you is simply due to the bond between us. You are my horcrux." He paused, and smiled slightly when his prediction was confirmed. Disappointment flooded the bond before being cut off quickly by what he now recognised to be Cherié. "However, the bond doesn't force me to be interested in what you think. The bond does not make me worry for your feelings. The bond does not make me want to hold you. Perhaps I quite simply have grown to care for you over this short time. If anyone would be my equal, it would be you." The last line had him pause. So reminiscent of the prophecy.

Is this what it had meant the whole time? Is this what the ridiculous thing had been predicting? Had he overlooked the most important sentence of it all? Neither can live while the other survives. They had simply been surviving this whole time. The continued silence worried him, and he peered up at Harry. He looked back down at Voldemort for a second, before surging forward, curled up on the man's lap, arms around his neck. He froze, before returning the embrace, thrumming with smug contentment. He always got what he wanted. "So what now?" Harry broke the silence. Voldemort shook his head slightly. "Now? We do what we like. We stop Dumbledore. We move on. Together." Both smiled at that, glad they finally felt the strength they had been so desperately searching for their entire lives. Eachother. No one could stop them now.

Dumbledore leaned back in his chair, sucking the lemon drop. Everything was going so well. Young Harry was following his destiny, honouring his parents. Yes, the boy was the perfect light soldier, and at this rate would soon understand what he had to do, to sacrifice, to defeat Voldemort. He truly regretted the weight on the boys shoulders, he truly did. He also regretted sending the boy back to his Muggle home, but the child had to be with family. It was of no matter. Soon, the boy would be taken to to Grimmauld place, to safety, before returning to Hogwarts. The only issue was Sirius. The man had left the safehouse in a fit of rage after arguing with Walburga's portrait. The order followed him, but the man had simply disappeared without a trace. That was hours ago, and the Order were beginning to worry. Remus refused to return to the wolf camps whilst Sirius was gone, and Harry surely would not want to stay if his previous godfather were missing. They needed to find Sirius and fast, before they collected Harry. The boy could wait, though Arabella claimed she had seen little of him, that surely meant he was staying safe inside. Yes, everything would be just fine. Now, how to get Harry to destroy Horcruxes without telling him. It was a burden the boy didn't yet have to bear. Harry would be told when the time came. For now, Sirius, and finding the horcruxes. Everything was going according to plan.