Pieces of Me, Scattered to the Wind

A Shard of Glass, Sharp and Deadly

Voldemort had felt the pit of disappointment in his stomach drop as soon as the words left the young Malfoy's mouth. Harry Potter was no longer lost to him. In fact he now knew who he was with and where he was. This only fed the desperate and clawing hunger inside him.

In front of him, Rabastan started choking and spluttering and Voldemort shot him a look. Rabastan's reaction was quite accurate but it was extremely undignified. His follower tried to get his choking under control, straightened up, let out a small cough, and whispered a 'pardon me'. Voldemort had to resist the urge to roll his eyes.

However as he processed Draco Malfoy's words his body wound up with eagerness and he sat straight in his throne, his muscles tensed as if he were ready to spring into action at any moment.

"What are you saying Heir Malfoy?" He questioned in his soft, intimidating voice. Draco walked up to the throne with a large, dark, leather bound book in his hands.

"I just got back from visiting my aunt Cassie and retrieving the book you asked for." Draco paused and held out the book. Voldemort took it, eagerly running his fingers over the spine and the fine engraved title in gold thread. He appreciated such fine work and good literature. However the matter of Harry Potter was far more pressing and so he vanished the book to his chambers. He then nodded at the Malfoy heir to continue speaking.

"And while I was there, I saw Potter. Actually, I more than saw him. I spoke with him." Voldemort opened his mouth to speak but a snort exited Rabastan's mouth.

"You talked to him? Without trying to hex each other's faces off?" His follower had interjected in an incredulous tone. Draco sent Rabastan a dark and irritated look and Voldemort sent his follower a nice dose of a silent and reprimanding cruciatus for daring to interrupt such a vital conversation.

"Yes." Draco hissed out in a clearly annoyed tone. Under different circumstances Voldemort would have been amused, it was a fair question given the notorious rivalry between the pair. However, as of now he was hungering for more information.

"And?" His tone was urgent and impatient, hanging on to every word that Draco said.

"And he's different now. He's not so....Gryffindory. Definitely more unhinged"

"How did he seem?" the Malfoy Heir's eyebrows drew together.

"Ummm. Healthy I guess?" confusion colored the boy's words.

"Good." Voldemort murmured. Harry was his and his alone so if he had looked anything but healthy he would have been severely upset. His horcrux was vital to him. He cleared his throat and spoke in a louder tone, his voice still silky.

"I know that Black Castle is inaccessible to those who are not keyed into the wards. I will also not pretend to not know that I have been blocked from those wards by your ancestors. I also know that those wards were created hundreds of years ago and are the result of multiple blood and magical sacrifices and I would hate to try and tear through that." He paused and looked at Draco with a sharp and discerning eye. The boy answered with a reluctant nod.

"Then I want you to bring him to me." He commanded. Draco spluttered as if he were trying to rid himself of a mouthful of water.

"My lord!" He exclaimed in shock. "Forgive me but that's impossible! He's a completely different person now! He's ten times stronger than me and he won't hesitate to hex the life out of me if I try and nab him." Draco paused and took a breath and looked around the room reluctantly.

"What is it?" The Dark Lord bit out, his ire building. He was not in the mood for all of the young heir's pausing and hesitation. He was about three seconds from cruciating the boy but he also did not want to have to deal with the reaction Lady Malfoy would have if he did.