Keeping The Dark Lord (on his toes)

Chapter - 8 The lord of snakes ( year 2 1992 )

~Harry~

Nothing more really happened in Harry’s first year, though he knew the exact moment that Voldemort decided to use the Philosopher’s Stone because his scar bled a little. Yet the Horcrux was still there and Harry wondered if the damage to Voldemort’s soul was too much for even the Philosopher’s stone to properly heal. He debated hard on whether or not to tell his godfather about it but in the end, he knew he had to.

The man wasn’t happy at all when Harry informed him that he’d brought back the Dark Lord, but he accepted it (after a long lecture about being more careful and taking better care of himself, or else…and Harry was sure he heard the threat of Veritaserum and pumpkin juice muttered under the man’s breath). Severus even made contact with Voldemort by stating that an anonymous messenger had informed him of the Dark Lord’s return. Voldemort didn’t question it, though he spelled the Death Eaters’ marks to look like they were still dormant when Severus informed him that Dumbledore would know of his return the moment it was noted that the marks had darkened once more.

For some reason, the man still seemed to be out for Harry’s blood, even without the insanity and whatever Dumbledore had done, and Death wasn’t helping much by constantly snickering and pulling a disappearing act the moment Harry called him to find out why.

Harry didn’t even know how the being managed to snicker in its skeletal form but after finding out that the skeletal form was very real (after he tried to figure out whether Death was merely wearing a costume to mess with people), he concluded that he was better off not knowing.

Sticking his hand through the being’s chest and having it go straight through was something he never wanted to experience again…not that Death would allow him to forget about it anytime soon…or ever...as he’d practically shrieked as Death allowed organs to form around his hand while his brain tried to comprehend what it was seeing. The sight and sensation had been burned into his mind and it had Death cackling for weeks on end.

Harry glanced at the familiar diary in his hands. He’d nicked it during his visit to the Malfoy’s and replaced the original with a replica. Now there was no chance for someone to let the basilisk loose and he was glad that he wouldn’t have to kill her this time around.

Instead, he had other plans for her, but first, he had to get through the year with the pompous Gilderoy Lockhart as their DADA teacher. He was half tempted to feed the man to the basilisk, but he didn’t want to give her indigestion, so for now, he focused on making a plan that would allow him to avoid the man once school started again.

Also, to avoid the entire bookstore fiasco, Harry gathered his supplies early, as he already knew what books and stationery would be required for his second year. Unfortunately, he found out that his careful planning was no match for a very determined house-elf, and on the 31st of August, he woke to a very upset Mina standing next to his bed and wringing her ears.

His trunk and clothes, which had been readied the day before, had disappeared during the night and one of the older house-elves had seen a young house-elf popping away with Harry’s belongings. The house-elves had apparently been searching for the culprit throughout the night, but he’d moved around so much that the trail got scrambled.

Something clicked in Harry and a wide smile formed on his face, much to the confusion of his house-elves. He’d almost forgotten about the mess that Dobby had made at the beginning of his second year. “Dobby, come here please.”

A shocked house-elf popped into his home a second later, and for the first time, Harry noted how scared he seemed to be. That just wouldn’t do at all. He thought for a moment before an idea hit him, ‘Hey Death, would it be possible to give this Dobby the memories of the Dobby from my past?’