Harry Potter and the Silent Dead: Book 2

Between a rock and a hard place

Lucius strode through the halls of the manor, pressing down the childish elation he felt. With the information he'd gathered, his lord would be most pleased, and Lucius would once again be one of his favoured. He remembered now why he had joined the Darth Eaters in the first place. His status and power once they won the war would unrivalled. He would pave a marvellous future for the Malfoy name. He came to the library, where the Dark Lord would often be found, usually with Harry. The boy's attention was currently being monopolised by his son and co. He gave a sharp knock, composing himself before entering at his lords call, and walked over to stand before the wizard.

It wasn't difficult to tell that Lucius was rather proud of himself. Whilst he war the typical pureblood mask, cold and uninterested, the man's chest was puffed out. Voldemort would have laughed were it not for his own excitement at what news his servant had brought. "My Lord, I have spoken to Aberforth Dumbledore, and have returned with some rather interesting information." He gestured for the blond to sit, and restrained himself from leaning forward in his eagerness. There was silence for a moment, each waiting for the other to speak, but Malfoy clearly could not contain himself. "I have discovered why Aberforth and Albus have not spoken in so long, and as suspected it is due to the 'missing' sister. Tom wondered why Lucius said it that way, but didn't wait long to discover. "The sister, Ariana, is dead. At the headmasters own hands." He was shocked, and it took a moment to compose himself, before a grin spread across his face. "So, Albus isn't as perfect and light as he has lead everyone to believe. Oh this could be just what we needed, even better. What exactly where the circumstances. Tell me it was no accident!" He gleefully hoped Albus had murdered the girl, warping everyone's perspective of him. "I'm afraid it was an accident my lord, a stray spell during a duel. In fact, Aberforth cannot be sure it came from Albus himself, but certainly still blames him." He sighed, sitting back in the chair with a displeased expression. He'd thought this was good news. "It was a start, but certainly now what I'd hoped for." The blond pureblood was smirking slightly, and Tom frowned. This wasn't good. "There is more my lord. You see, the child's death is unfortunate, but the duel itself will be Dumbledore's downfall." Confused, he raised an eyebrow and waited for Lucius to elaborate. "It was a duel with his lover...... Gellert Grindelwald."

The secret life of Albus Dumbledore

The words stared back at him, mocking, and he finally dropped the paper, head in hands. Minerva stood by him, but he ignored her as he wondered how Skeeter had possibly discovered this. There were certain, old, documents at the ministry that vaguely mention his friendship with Gellert, but no one had known how.........close, they had truly been. "So it's true Albus?" He couldn't look Minerva in the eyes, and simply nodded. Rita mentioned only briefly and anonymous source close to him, and it left little clues. Only two people had known, himself and Gellert. "This was the a secret Minerva, I've nothing to be ashamed of." It was a lie, and they both knew it, but it was enough to send McGonagall off. "Nothing to be ashamed of? Not a secret? No one knew Albus, no one knew that you were in love with a dark lord!" He slammed a fist on his desk, silencing the woman. "He wasn't.... I wasn't... When we were, together, he was very different. We took sperate paths." She only scoffed, resuming her pacing across the office as he stared down at the picture of a younger Albus and Gellert. "Not seperate enough clearly. Now all of the students know, the parents. What am I supposed to say to them?" He jolted at that, looking at her with wide, panicked eyes. "You tell them nothing! Do you hear me, you say nothing." She trembled slightly, before taking a seat across from him, worry in her eyes. "Your silence won't save you Albus." There was silence for a moment, even Fawkes refusing to make a sound. "Is it true? What happened to her?" A single tear fell from Albus' blue eye, the usual twinkle gone. It was all the answer she needed.

Harry was nervous. So nervous in fact, that he hadn't said a word the entire week. This wasn't unusual to his friends, who rarely heard from him anyway, but Voldemort certainly noticed. "So, you haven't spoken to your friends yet?" Harrison knew that Marvolo likely didn't understand why he was so concerned, but appreciated that the man continued to stand by him anyway. He shook his head, frowning as he shifted nervously. Terry had been sending him looks constantly, and even Lisa was clearly beginning to get impatient. He wasn't sure why he was so worried. Lisa and Terry had taken it well, and they weren't as dark as the Slytherins. He knew it wasn't logical, and he also knew the longer he put it off, the scarier it would become.

It was Lucius, in the end who fixed the situation. Harry awoke the next morning to find his friends gathered in a sitting room looking curious. Lucius walked over, guiding Harry over to a sofa before sitting next to him and turning to address the children. "Your friend has something to tell him. I expect you to listen, without judgement. Remember, you are Slytherins, purebloods. That means something." Done, he nodded at Harry and fell silent, waiting for him to finally tell them what he was. He gave a long heavy sigh before conjuring flames. "Terry and Lisa already know this, and now it's time you all know the truth." The children exchanged confused glances, clearly wondering where this was leading. "I think you all know I'm a bit.... different from other people. I don't talk, I often keep to myself. It's time you know why." Another long sigh, his head falling into his hands. For the next few minutes, he slowly explained that he was a necromancer. How he found out, what his powers were etc. Throughout the explanation he refused to look up, only doing so once Lucius took over. Apparently Voldemort was ready for others to know of his return. It was difficult to tell how they were feeling, each holding a perfectly blank expression.

Eventually the discussion came to an end, he waited fearfully for their response. "So....." Blaise spoke up, but quickly fell silent again, looking confused. It was Daphne that finally broke the silence, moving over to sit by Harry. "I can't say I'm surprised. There was something about you, I suppose we just know what. I knew you were dark, but you haven't changed. You're still Harry. Thinking back to Daphne's reaction when he'd saved her in Knockturn Alley, he shouldn't have been surprised, and smiled at his friend warmly, before looking over to the others. Theo didn't look at all surprised, it was only Blaise, Draco and Pansy left. Pansy surprised him, swiftly jumping up and shrugging. "It's a lot, but it's not like we can judge. All our parents are Death Eaters after all." Draco looked rather sheepish at that, and Blaise protested. "My mum isn't a Death Eater!" Draco scoffed at that, a wicked smirk on his face. "No, she's just an assassin who's killed all her husband's."

The group laughed, gently teasing each other as Harry relaxed, and Lucius left them to themselves, glad it had been taken so well. Marvolo watched for a moment, smiling as Harry finally began to relax with his friends, and turned away. Things were going well, and a lot would be changing soon. A new world would come to life, with Voldemort ruling it! And perhaps with Harry at his side.

Christmas was over too soon, having been celebrated with a large feast. Narcissa had gone over the top once again, but it was wonderful. It was more intimate this time, their friends having to go home, so the Malfoys, Harry and Marvolo sat together to eat and exchange gifts. Most we're the usual gifts, books and strange charms. To Marvolo,  he gave a small project he'd been working on for a few days now. It was a delicate glass sphere, filled with dark smoke flowing through a strange luminescent liquid. When a Lumos was held to it it projected an image of Harry, wherever he was at that moment. He laughed at seeing himself watching his own image in a strange visual loop before Voldemort pocketed the globe and thanked him. Harry himself had received an enchanted quill, although he'd refused to tell him how it was different.

He looked down at the quill as he took a seat besides Terry and Lisa, still wondering what it could do, when Lisa elbowed him. It hurt, and he looked up at her annoyed, until she pointed ahead at the headmaster. Of course, everyone knew about what had happened, the story in the papers, and it clearly had the intended affect. Dumbledore wasn't looking at anyone, simply sitting at the teachers table as everyone waited. It was Professor McGonagall who stood to make the announcements. "Welcome back everybody. I hope you've had a pleasant break, and are looking forward to returning to Hogwarts. There have been some changes made. Now that the situation with the Acromantula's had been taken care of, the night curfew has returned to its original time. We also are fortunate to have Head Auror Shacklebolt to teach DADA for the rest of the year, and I hope you all represent the standards of this school appropriately." With that she took a seat, and the students burst into chatter as they left for their dorms. Dumbledore hadn't addressed the paper and Harry couldn't help but grin. Tom was right, the headmaster was backed against a wall, and Harry had his freedom back. He could only wonder what Voldemort was planning now.