The Contract

Chapter 77

Ten days had gone by since Harry Potter had been kidnapped. He was on the front page of the Daily Prophet every single one of those days. Keeping everyone reminded - and updated - on their precious little hero. The public were still trying to help to find him, but having absolutely no luck whatsoever.

The Aurors were still searching, but without the hope they'd held in the early days. It didn't look good. Anyone with a brain would know just what awaited them if they were found with the Potter boy. Not only was he their hero, but he was also the last Potter from the Most Ancient and Most Noble house of Potter. If they had any sense, the boy would be dead and they'd get the hell out of dodge.

No, not someone, Lockhart, they knew who was responsible. Quite a few people were in denial naturally. Insisting it was someone using Lockhart's likeness. Besmirching his reputation. Others weren't quite so easily duped, especially when it came to their precious saviour. Believing with one hundred percent certainty that it was Lockhart and posters were up everywhere. He was quite frankly, the most wanted wizard in the magical and Muggle world at this moment. They had him spread across the TV screens in the Muggle world in case he had gone there with the boy.

Voldemort sat pensively in his chair in the Headmaster's office, the Lestrange's and Black were sleeping. Black was leaning against Rodolphus, they had become rather close as of late which was rather amusing to see. Not that he'd spent a significant amount of him dwelling on it.

He had tried to find Harry through the Horcrux, it was a piece of his soul yet all he could catch was glimpses of feelings. He had not informed the Lestrange's of this, no, he couldn't bring himself to. The utter pain and misery that encompassed Harry was...unfathomable.

He was deeply concerned, and not just for the Horcrux but Harry himself. Which was absolutely ridiculous. He was Lord Voldemort; he never really felt this kind of concern about anyone. Yet he knew life would be so utterly boring without the boy, the world less bright. He wouldn't have someone speaking to him so frankly...to rouse Corvus' protective instincts, to make Rodolphus and Rabastan as passionate as they had been before Azkaban. He had used people's feelings against them in the past, he understood their concept and how it affected them. He was beginning to realize he'd been a right bastard...and he realized it would lead to destruction, again if he attempted it. They were predictable until they were unpredictable. Such as Severus, his feelings for the girl had outweighed his own self-preservation...Rabastan's feelings for Harry outweighed his loyalty to his lord. Having experienced this himself, he begun to realize he knew better than to attempt it again.

The unwilling would never again grace his ranks.

Even Severus had been helping in the search when he wasn't in classes. They'd tried a scouring charm, with Harry's magic, using Sirius' Patronus globe which yielded no results. They began to suspect that whoever had taken Harry, was under the Fidelius Charm. It was surely the only magic that could outwit the darkest of arts known to their world.

Voldemort, who was used to going with little to no sleep, found himself uncommonly exhausted in a way he'd never experienced. He was exhausted emotionally as well as physically. He wasn't sure what else to do, and that was a novel - and annoying - experience to him. When he put his mind to something, he accomplished it, even if it was something 'impossible' to magical standards.

So, his inability to find Harry was not only disheartening but made him very, very angry. So, he had been spending a lot of time smashing up pottery in the secret room to vent off some frustration. Just as he had allowed Harry to do so, Merlin, it felt barely a week ago that they'd done this, but it wasn't.

Voldemort glanced at the time, and nodded, it was time for another day of it. He rang the bell, which summoned a House-elf to serve. "Bring breakfast for five, same as usual," was all he told the House-elf. The usual consisted of anything that wasn't greasy. Despite being away from the hotel, the boys and Corvus were adhering to their food regimes.