Keeping The Dark Lord (on his toes)

Chapter - 31. Die Trying ( 31 July 1995 )

~Voldemort~

Voldemort watched as Narcissa and Lucius gave orders for the final touches to be put into place for the party. He knew that many people probably assumed that the party was to celebrate their victory over the light and that it was meant to both celebrate his return and to mock the fact that no one had seen Harry Potter in quite a while.

Many probably assumed that Voldemort had killed him, which made his creature growl at the thought and he made a note to mention that Harry Potter was still under his protection. It would work if he explained that the younger man had asked his help to get away from Dumbledore and he could easily reveal that they were both a part of the Peverell family and that the family had certain magicks in place to stop the heirs from killing each other. He could even use it to explain why he’d been unable to kill Harry Potter when he was a baby and also why he was able to come back. The Peverells were known necromancers after all.

He didn’t like explaining himself and his actions, but it would ensure that Dimitri would be safe once he revealed himself as Harry Potter, and anyone that still had a problem with it would simply have to die, no matter who they were.

After about two hours the guests finally started arriving and he wasn’t surprised to see a few Ministry officials that had managed to infiltrate the party as well. He knew they’d catch on sooner or later and if he’d still been insane he would’ve made examples of them. Not anymore though.

He walked directly toward two of them and he felt them stiffen as they sensed his familiar power even as they visibly stopped themselves from drawing their wands. He gave them a nod in greeting before motioning towards one of the rooms to the side of the ballroom.

They looked at each other before warily following him and Voldemort took note of Rabastan and Rodolphus following them to stand guard at the door. He turned towards them and made a show of crossing his arms instead of keeping his hands at the sides. It made them relax their stance a little as Amelia Bones stepped forward, “What have you done with Harry Potter?”

Voldemort almost wanted to roll his eyes at the lack of manners and the direct attack, but he restrained himself, “I have not done anything to him. He contacted me of his own volition once he found out what Dumbledore was doing and we made a truce. He cannot kill me any more than I can kill him.”

He didn’t expect his words to have much of an impact. They probably wanted their child soldier back. But the effect that his words caused was the exact opposite as he watched the witch and wizard’s shoulders sag slightly in relief.

Kingsley Shacklebolt stepped forward slightly, “You took him away from…?”

The man seemed to struggle to find the words and it took a few seconds for Voldemort to realize that they were referring to the muggles whose location Dimitri still didn’t want to reveal to him. He tilted his head slightly, “No, he managed to save himself, but…you don’t happen to know the location of…?”

His question was cut off as the doors opened and Dimitri entered the room with Nagini draped around him. There was a suspicious bulge around her middle and Voldemort rolled his eyes fondly as she gave him a pleased snakey grin. Dimitri was really spoiling her a little too much.

Dimitri froze as he noticed the other two people in the room, though Voldemort was surprised when he gave them a genuine yet sad smile as he held out his hand in greeting, “Sorry for barging in like this, I’m Dimitri Peverell.”

He shook their hands and listened to their introductions then turned to Voldemort with a soft smile, “Nagini seemed like she was looking for you…”