Pieces of Me, Scattered to the Wind

Born of Fire, Blood, and Broken Glass

Voldemort wasn't ashamed to say that he was the best.

In everything.

He was unparalleled in his intelligence, natural leadership, magical prowess, and he also took pride in his newly recovered handsome looks.

He was unchallenged in every area. During the height of the war even Dumbledore hadn't been able to overpower him. That had all changed when he had been bested by a fucking baby. Voldemort could have expected to meet a good challenge when facing James and Lily Potter- after all they were some of the brightest people to come from Hogwarts. However, he never doubted that he would defeat them, even their combined strength would fall short of his. That was until Lily Potter faced him down with ancient blood magic and his reign came crashing down around him.

His defeat came at the hands of a desperate mother and a toddler.

Harry Potter.

He had spent years as a faint fragment of his old self- wandering throughout Europe anguishing over his defeat and cursing Harry Potter with all his might. Over the past year, he had been hit with a new kind of fascination after the duel in the graveyard. Seeing Harry with his own two eyes, being able to touch that scar on his head, the duel that ended with them held at an equal standoff. It was something that left him breathless.

With anger.

And as things like this usually did with Voldemort, his slight wondering about Harry Potter quickly grew into a deep obsession. However, he wasn't even the slightest bit ashamed of that. After all, Harry Potter was- for lack of a better word- his equal.

Voldemort did not remember what it was like to have an equal.

While he was in the orphanage, Voldemort was the oldest, the strangest, and the strongest. Every other child there was afraid of him. When he arrived at Hogwarts, he was the smartest, the most powerful, and later he was the Heir of Slytherin. The Dark Lord. He was above the others, he had one confidant and friend but even he was one of his Elite. His followers. While the idea of having an equal was originally utterly infuriating and slightly nauseating, now it felt different.

It was heady.

Did Harry feel this way? Did Harry know how powerful he was? How only he had ever been able to stand unshaken in the face of Voldemort's wrath and power? Had Harry felt how intoxicating it was when their powers met, when their magic clashed and merged?

It was a power unlike one Voldemort had ever known. And it was one he needed to feel again.

It had been a complete surprise to him when he felt crippling pain, anguish, and sadness radiating down their bond and through his body. Voldemort was not a stranger to pain- he had been racked with it for 14 years- but the sadness and complete despair that flooded down the bond was new. It was debilitating, it brought tears to his eyes (something that had never happened before. Voldemort didn't even know he could cry) and he had been bent over in horrible pain.

Voldemort felt the explosion of emotions, the violence, the bloodlust that sent Voldemort's blood rushing south, and lastly the utter silence that filled the bond. His first reaction was to smirk at the trouble and utter chaos that his Horcrux must be wrecking on the world and he felt the urge to join in. However, that amusement was quickly stamped out by rage and fury. Had someone hurt his Horcrux? Harry Potter was his and his alone.

His to hunt down.

His to torment.

His.

He needed to find Harry. To bring his Horcrux under his wing of protection. Harry was his equal and he needed Harry by his side. Their power together was the strongest power to grace the magical world. It would also soothe his worries about his Horcruxes and his need to keep a close watch on all of them. Only under his protection and by his side could Harry's safety be assured.

It had taken Voldemort an entire day to be able to push past everything Harry was sending down the bond and he was left tired, but his resolve was stronger than ever. He had cleaned himself up- the pain had left him dripping in sweat- and he dressed in a robe of darkest black. He summoned his followers to wait for him in the Great Hall of Malfoy Manor. They had a new mission, no more little fear and terror missions.

He needed Harry.

Lucretia Black was enjoying her time in the Greenhouse- tending to her precious plants and flowers was the most peaceful pastime. Cassie read and studied ancient tomes of dark magic to relax, but Lucretia created life- or death depending on which plant Lucretia was playing with.

However, when her House Elf apparated into the Greenhouse shouting that the guest was awake, Lucretia put her hopes of rest to the side. It was definitely not going to happen today. She made her way into the manor, casting a scourgify over herself as she walked, and climbed the stairs to the guest room where Harry Potter was located.

The door to his room was wide open and Cassie stood in the room, so Lucretia assumed it was safe to enter. She came to a quick stop when she noticed that Cassie was not simply standing there, she was frozen. Her head quickly turned to gaze upon Harry who lay quite relaxed in his bed.

"Hello Lucretia, was it? Do you plan on playing nicely or do I have to put you in time out as well?" His green eyes glinted, and a smug smirk was painted across his lips. Lucretia took a deep breath, she needed to tread carefully. Harry was screaming with dark magic and the glint in his eyes suggested that he wouldn't be forgiving should she cross him.

"Hello Harry, you needn't worry about me. I'll play as nicely as I can." Harry's smirk grew to a smile. Her answer must have entertained him

"You're a Black, Lucretia. I'm sure even at your nicest there is a hint of the dark." Now Lucretia returned his dark smile with one of her own. "However, you seem nicer than your friend. I'm sure you understand that I don't like when people throw curses at me." Ah, so that was Cassie's crime. It wasn't surprising, Cassie was a curse first ask questions later kind of lady and since she must have noticed Harry's darkness as Lucretia did, she would have tried to subdue him to ensure her own safety.

"My cousin may be a little curse happy however I am sure she meant no offense," Harry's chuckle echoed throughout the room. "I do believe that there are some things we need to discuss Mr. Potter. Such as your arrival here? The condition you arrived in? The overwhelming darkness that is pouring out of you?" Harry nodded.

"Yes, I think we should talk. I'd like to clean up first. If you can promise your cousin's good behavior, I'll release her, and we can all talk in 20 minutes after I clean up and change."

"I'll make sure she stays civil." Lucretia would tie Cassie down if she had to. There would be no dueling in the manor today. Lucretia had just renovated the manor and the new decorations and new upholstery looked too lovely to be ruined in the utter havoc a duel would cause. Harry's eyebrows quirked in what seemed to be slight disbelief, but he waved his hand and released Cassie anyways.

"Listen to me you little-" Lucretia's wand waved, and Cassie's voice quieted. She placed a firm hand on her cousin's wrist and pressed her fingers in as hard as she could.

"When you finish cleaning up, please come downstairs to the sitting room. We can lunch and talk there." With that she began dragging Cassie out of the room. Harry stood from his bed and inclined his head towards her before shutting the guest room door. Lucretia undid the silencing spell as she and Cassie made their way down the hall to the stairs.

"Lucy I can't believe that-" Lucretia pinched her cousin. Hard.

"Cassie, today was supposed to be my day of relaxation. That was ruined. I just finished renovating the manor and I refuse to see all my hard work and the time I spent renovating be ruined as well. So would you just please shut up." With that Lucretia gracefully made her way down the stairs, and she was hit with the thought that perhaps wine would be very necessary at lunch today.