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His beady eyes are boring into mine, our gazes fighting for control as one tried to make the other look away in defeat. I scoffed as the snake-like so-called "Dark Lord" lowered his eyes and petted Nagini. As the loyal snake slithered around Voldemort's scaly hands, I smirked with an air of superiority as he finally spoke up.
"Honestly, what do you want? I don't have all day," hissed Voldemort in exasperation. An incredulous look found its way onto my scarred face and I narrowed my eyes. He was acting as if he were greater than me and that did not click well with me. With one snap of my fingers, his precious pet Nagini would be burning up with ardent flames and he would be writhing on the ground as his precious Horcrux was destroyed right in front of his very eyes. My sadistic mind decided against it as although it would be enthralling, it would destroy the weak foundation of a partnership that we had.
I deadpanned at him and yawned, irked that he did not fully understand my request, no, order. Not-so-gently, I repeated my demands to him, like he was a waiter who had not correctly gotten my order. "I want three quarters of your men and you shall not oppose me in all that I do. After all, I am the better wizard," I added the last part haughtily and with a smirk as I watched a look of unadulterated anger spread across his face.
For a moment, I spot a look of realisation appear on his pale face in my peripheral vision as I crane my neck to observe a carefully-made vase. Its black patterns and blood-red flowers entice me for a while, before I turn back and stare at Voldemort, staring at him with an expectant look.
"Very well, I shall accede to your ridiculous demands," he announced before getting up from his seat flamboyantly. I allowed myself a small albeit noticeable gasp and thought that my attitude had somehow miraculously permeated his Legilimency. Although he was obnoxious, underestimated others and was plain stupid, I did not think he would agree so readily. In hindsight, I should have known there was going to be a catch. There is always a catch.
"On one condition. We make an Unbreakable Vow," he proposed. I silently breath a sigh of relief. As long as I make sure there are no loopholes and everything is mostly in my benefits, I can carry out my plan smoothly. As I literally follow Voldemort in his footsteps, the clicking of leather shoes stalks me. A cacophony of whispers hits my ears and I strain to listen. I can make out the words "surround" and "message". I surreptitiously summon my wand to the opening of my pocket with a focussed thought, ready to retaliate in case any of Voldemort's goons tried anything funny. After what seems to be an eternity of trudging down a carpeted hallway, we finally arrive at a locked room.
The coal-black door of the room has a skull engraved into the middle and has definitely seen better days. Paint is peeling off the walls and the door equally but some efforts have been made to repair the door and restore it to its former glory. Immediately, I can sense some special wards protecting the door that I bet would be impenetrable if its caster was not present. Voldemort unlocks the heavily enforced door with a swift wave of his bony right hand. A metal gear that I had not realised was there, spun ferociously and opened the door with a deafening screech.
The opened door exposed an even blacker room, but with some threatening bloodstains on the walls. Two velvet-cushioned seats were neatly placed facing each other and Voldemort took a seat, staring at me expectantly, silently beckoning me to sit. Once the last Death Eater had entered the room and my claustrophobia and uncertainty started kicking in, the door swung itself back closed and a soft click indicated that the door was locked.
"Shall we, now?" he drawled. In a flash, my body shuddered strongly and I went cross-eyed. My world went blurry and I felt slightly sleepy. I had an urge to pull out my wand but I was suddenly inclined to speak my thoughts. I had just been struck by about ten strong Confundo's, and the effects were immediately showing.
"Potaaaaato cowwwwws seeerve cobweb heeeadaches as the sluuumbering apparitions cooome to waaaaake up," I slurred, as if I had chugged five whole bottles of Firewhiskey. A look of success and euphoria momentarily etched itself into Voldemort's now blurry face. I let a look of unadulterated rage appear on my normally emotionless face.
"Well then, Lucius, cast the Vow," he ordered and the senior Malfoy scurried up and brandished his wand. I felt my arm being grabbed swiftly and a flurry of emotions swirled in my head. A nagging voice at the back of my head instructed me to get out of that room immediately, but it was instantly replaced by the philosophical question of why there had to be so many different types of levitation charms.
"Do you swear, to forever and always address Tom Marvolo Riddle, otherwise known as Lord Voldemort, as your lord and forever acknowledge that he is better than you? Do you swear to always willingly obey every command that the Dark Lord gives you? Do you swear never to oppose him in anything that he does?" Lucius chanted in a loud, baritone voice. With every word, the urge to punch him grew.
I inwardly urged myself not to say "yes" over and over again, like a never-ending chant, that if I had repeated enough times, would work. After about the fifth "no" in my mind, my mouth let out a resounding "Yes". My rational inner conscience cringed painfully and I felt like slapping myself. However, the endorsement had been given and red lines wrapped around Voldemort's and my hands, indicating that the Vow had been properly executed. Voldemort swatted his hands in front of him and two Death Eaters grabbed me and threw me out of the room.
Still under the strong Confundus Charm, I started muttering the "Confundo'ed Harry Potter Alphabet Song" and tried to Disapparate away. Luckily, my magical presence alone was able to bypass the wards and I very miraculously Apparated to my hideout. I felt a tingling sensation around the space of my left pinky finger and glanced down to heal it, only to notice the absence of said finger. I had, for the first time in my life, Splinched myself.
Remembering Ron's mishap back in seventh-year, I pulled out some Essence of Dittany from a fancy wooden cupboard. After applying it nonchalantly, I lay in a four-poster bed covered in dirty unwashed bed sheets, further staining my resting area with blood. Motionless, I let exhaustion take over my body as my eyelids grew too heavy and I fell into a deep sleep.
When I woke up to a vehement burning sensation in my forehead, it felt like I had only been asleep for ten minutes, for I was still groggy and lethargic. I reached over to grasp my forehead in pain but what happened next made me wince even more. Suddenly, I felt like I was been sucked into a vortex and was being crushed. After a few agonising seconds, I scanned my surroundings, only to be greeted by the sight of Voldemort and about twenty Death Eaters sitting at a long table. Voldemort motioned to the empty seat next to his and I try to shake my grogginess away. (A/N: In the first two lines of this paragraph, Voldemort summons Harry. Even though Harry does not have the Dark Mark yet, he is obliged to follow Voldemort's orders. The Vow also brings him to Voldemort immediately as if he did not do so, he would be dead. Just clearing that up)
"I've been waiting for this moment for Merlin knows how long. Today, we brand Harry Potter with our holy mark of power," explained Voldemort. I opened my mouth to spit some vituperative diatribe about his ancestry when the threat of the Unbreakable Vow loomed over me, brusquely shutting me up.
"Yes, my lord," I added the last part through gritted teeth. Adjusting to the new circumstances, especially with the introduction of that blasted Vow, would prove to be quite the challenge. As a couple of the Death Eaters wheel in a metal table, I swiftly lay my left forearm on the cold metal surface. Voldemort removes his wand from his robes with a melodramatic flourish and points it at my forearm. He whispers an incantation that goes out of my ears as quickly as it zoomed in.
The screams that came next, however, imprinted themselves quite painfully into my mind. As my mouth stretched wide to let out the agonising shrieks of pain, I wonder how exactly I had gotten myself into that predicament, yet I knew it was somewhere deep in the recesses of my mind. As my eyelids grew heavy and the pain numbed my arm, I lost consciousness and fell into a deep abyss, clouded by darkness and with certainly inappropriate curses speeding through my mind.
A/N: Why are you still here? Go read Pengiwen or something. However, I appreciate your reading of my chapter. :)
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A Mysterious Provocative Partner
Mystery / Thriller"My lord, may I ask, who is this... lovely lady with a lovelier mask?" inquired Harry with a slight sense of exasperation. He wished that the black Death Eater mask would not be parted from the woman's face. If his intuition had been correct, he wou...
