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In Servitude of the Dark : My Obiesance	By : xXxLuckyxXx Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Voldemort Views: 39418 -:- Recommendations : 5 -:- Currently Reading : 12
Disclaimer: This story is based off of J.K. Rowling’s amazing Harry Potter series. All characters, locations, themes from the world of HP belong to her. This is not for money or profit. I am just having fun playing in her magical world.

Chapter List
- 10
- 11
- 12
A/N: Also, during the reorganization efforts, some of you may have missed out on how Ron became the DIS-honored Champion. Basically, it was his punishment from Severus and Sirius. It was approved by the Headmasters of the other two schools as a form of punishment because Ron has no real standing.

To make up for the confusion/inconvenience, here is an extra long chapter (12+ pages in 11 font) and there's Voldemort in it too!!!

Enjoy!

(¯`·._.·(¯`·._.·(¯`·._.· In Servitude to the Dark ·._.·´¯)·._.·´¯)·._.·´¯)

My Obeisance

Chapter 11 : Me, Myself, and I – November 16, 1994

Riddle Manor

"Welcome to Riddle Manor."

Harry's attention was drawn to the high, raspy voice and couldn't help but stare. It was the same pitiful gnomish figure he'd seen when he accidentally entered one of Marvolo's visions. Still, seeing it for the second time didn't really prepare Harry for the disgusted awe felt seeing it in real life.

The voice came from this sickly looking creature, so small that if it stood up, it would only come up to Harry's chest. As it was, it was sitting in this metal contraption that reminded Harry of a wheel-less scooter. Despite its seemingly vulnerable state, Harry knew better than to underestimate this golem creature, because even without his scar, he could feel the pressure of dark power pressing against his skin like a physical entity. It made Harry's skin tingle delightfully, like a dozen pepper-ups, and it was all he could do to keep from just sinking mindlessly into it.

Thankfully, almost all of its attention was on Marvolo-the two souls face to face for the first time, studying each other critically.

"Ssso you are the firssst and lassst pieces of me…" Voldemort was the first to break the silence, his voice thin and reedy and had a hissy undertone to it. "Fassscinating…but why have you only come to me now so many years, and bringing company as well…?"

"You, of course, know Severus Snape…" Marvolo began.

At this the little golem's red eyes narrowed. "Yesss, the traitor… Ssso many have betrayed me..."

Marvolo did not acknowledge this. "And Harry Potter."

This got a more dramatic reaction out of the golem. Magic spiked in the air, lashing out angrily, and Harry flinched. He resisted the urge to hide himself behind Severus though, and instead stuck his chin out stubbornly.

"The Traitor I can understand, but why, my horcrux, did you bring the Brat here!" Voldemort demanded, and then his eyes glistened like a predator. Off to the side, the snake swayed in agitation, and Harry squirmed underneath the gaze of those intense red orbs-orbs that were nothing like the warmth of Marvolo's. These were like the muddy rust of dried blood, and the sheer hatred and rage in them made Harry feel completely vulnerable even with his wand grasped firmly in his hand. "Unlesss you mean for the boy…"

"No!" Marvolo said firmly. "You are consumed by hatred and revenge. This boy will serve us better alive than dead."

"He was the one to cast me from my body!" Voldemort snarled, trembling with fury. Harry's scar pinched uncomfortably, sensing the echoes of Voldemort's temper too.

"Because we acted impetuously and without thought," Marvolo argued back. "I have heard the rest of the prophesy, something we should have done before we attacked that night."

Voldemort's attention was momentarily distracted by the Prophesy. "Then speak it, and I will decide on the boy's use."

Marvolo dutifully recited the words.

The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches, born as the seventh month dies,

The Lord of Dark will mark him, The Lord of Light will raise him.

A final Choice made, a final Change endured…then he will win the Eternal Struggle…

Both paths are wrought, but only one is walked.

The one of both Light and Dark approaches, born as the seventh month dies…

Voldemort had him repeated it once more. "And you believe the boy has chosen the Dark path."

Harry couldn't help but be impressed. Alone and in only a few minutes, he had come to the same conclusion they had. Voldemort might be reduced to this pathetic golem form and insane to boot, but no one could say the man wasn't brilliant.

Marvolo nodded.

"And you don't think he'll betray me?" Voldemort hissed, looking disgusted at his other self. "I never thought myself so gullible before."

"It is obvious that in removing me from your soul," Marvolo growled back. "That you have also removed all your wisdom as well."

"Insolence….You are but a mere horcrux…the useless parts…"

"The BEST parts of you!" Marvolo declared. "We've shred ourselves to the point of near nonexistence. Look at what you've become. Too little of your soul left to even properly fill a golem's body. Pathetic…" he spat.

"I will be restored greater and more terrifying than ever before," Voldemort returned. "The Resurrection of Democles…"

"Requires the blood of an enemy, taken against his will," Marvolo overrode him, obviously knowing what Voldemort was talking about. "But Harry Potter is no longer our enemy. You know the most potent sacrifice is one that is willingly given."

Voldemort snorted. "You would have me believe that Dumbledore's Golden Boy is willing to submit to the ritual that would resurrect the murderer of his parents?"

"See for yourself."

Both Harry and Severus looked startled by Marvolo's offer.

"I believe I shall," Voldemort replied and turned his red eyes towards a nervous Harry. "Kneel, Boy, and look into my eyes."

Instead of instantly complying, Harry looked to Marvolo for a clue of what he should do.

"Harry Potter is mine," Marvolo interjected. "He will submit to you after our merge is complete."

Voldemort snarled at this, but grudgingly nodded. "Step forward then, Brat."

Getting confirmation from Marvolo, Harry tried to steady his nerves and stepped forward, forcing his green eyes to focus on those fathomless red ones, and lowered all of his occlumancy shields.

Harry had prepared himself for the stabbing pain of having his mind invaded by the Dark Lord, certain that the man would not care about being gentle or about Harry's comfort. And it was slightly uncomfortable, having all your memories sifted through at lightening speed, but it was not even a fraction of what he had feared. In fact, having the Dark Lord, while much more powerful, back inside his mind felt oddly familiar and comfortable…Like Marvolo's soul had returned home.

Finally, after who knows how long, Voldemort pulled out and threw his head back, cackling so hard Harry feared he might fall out of his magical seat. "Oh the irony!" Voldemort continued to crow. "That Old Fool doesn't even realize he's already lost!"

Marvolo smirked back, looking all too smug. It wasn't a reaction Harry saw on his friend very often. "I had come to the same conclusions myself."

"The boy's magic is strong, I will concede to that," Voldemort admitted, now studying Harry like he was some kind of fascinating potion's ingredient.

One spidery hand reached up, and Harry forced himself not to pull away, but it didn't touch him. It only hovered inches over his skin as if tracing his magical aura.

"Yes…quite exquisite…" he hissed. For a moment, Voldemort' red eyes fluttered close as he tasted, and Harry felt the hairs on his skin rise up.

Without thinking, he allowed his chakra centers to open a little to get a better feel of Voldemort's power, but he wasn't prepared for the sudden influx of rich, dark, forbidden magic that suddenly rushed in. Sweat broke over his forehead, his heart hammered in his chest, and Harry gave an involuntary moan of pleasure. If he could see himself, he would've seen how his hair and clothes whipped around him in a frenzy and how his eyes feverishly glowed as bright as the Avada Kedavera. But all he knew was the power coursing through his body.

It was the most amazing thing Harry had ever felt. Marvolo felt like this too, but nothing to this degree. It was so invigorating, a hundred times better than winning his first Quidditch game, better than even the rush of magic when he first grasped his wand. It was incredible, and Harry just wanted to loose himself into it and never come back out.

Off to the side, the large serpent writhed in pleasure amongst its coils.

And then the flow of magic was suddenly cut off. Harry almost toppled over, having given himself over so completely to the magic. Blinking dazedly, he was surprised to find Marvolo had come between him and Voldemort, and then someone…Severus, Harry realized, had grabbed him under his arms and dragged him backwards.

Harry whimpered in protest, not wanting leave that intoxicating magic. But then, his head was finally beginning to clear. He shot Severus an embarrassed glance, to which he only got a disapproving look in return.

Voldemort, too, was not pleased for having Harry ripped away from him and snarled viciously. While both Severus and Harry flinched at the angry energy that whipped out at them, Marvolo stood firm against the storm, seemingly not at all affected. In fact, it almost looked like he was thriving in this whirlwind of magic.

"If you are quite through," Marvolo said contemptuously. "We have business to discuss."

It was obvious Voldemort wasn't happy about this, but conceded to the necessity.

Severus and Harry took the two empty wing backed chairs, and Marvolo wrapped himself around Harry's back. While this was nothing strange between them, Harry got the feeling that Marvolo was sending a rather possessive message to Voldemort. Harry didn't mind at all. In fact, this entire meeting had unnerved him, and having Marvolo wrapped around him again was a source of comfort that Harry wasn't ashamed to take advantage of.

And then the large snake began slithering towards them. Everyone paused to see what she was going to do. It paid Severus no mind, bypassing him with no interest, but headed right at Harry and Marvolo instead.

§Hello, my Lovely,§ Marvolo hissed welcomingly, and to Harry, he said §this is Nagini, my familiar.§

Harry swallowed thickly. §Nagini,§ he repeated. With Marvolo at his back, he felt brave enough to extend a hand for her to taste, which she did.

§It is good you are here,§ Nagini finally replied, as if imparting some great wisdom on them. §We are better when we are together.§

Harry looked curious at that cryptic statement until he realized that Nagini was also a horcrux. He could sense Marvolo's familiar aura in her too. Without invitation, she slithered up the chair, settled her thick, and admittedly heavy, coils around Harry's body. Between Marvolo and Nagini, Harry squirmed, feeling rather crowded on this arm chair with the three of them in it, but he didn't dare complain.

Seeing Nagini's approval, Voldemort and Marvolo moved on to business. Mostly, Harry and Severus were content with letting the two souls battle it out, negotiating terms, and arguing over plans. Sirius' attack was brought up, and it was finally agreed that Voldemort stop trying to kill him. Since Severus basically lost the Headmaster's trust by protecting Harry last year, they were going to groom Sirius to replace him as a spy.

Originally, Voldemort had wanted to replace Sirius with his loyal Death Eater so that he could manipulate the outcome of the tournament. The plan was to turn the Cup into a portkey and kidnap Harry, where he would be forcefully bled as part of the Resurrection Ritual. Naturally, that wasn't necessary anymore.

It also came to light that Voldemort hadn't entered Harry's name into the Goblet of Fire. In fact, it was actually counterproductive to Voldemort's original plans for Harry to enter the tournament because now everyone's eye was constantly on him, making the boy more difficult to kidnap. Which begged the question, if not the Dark Lord, than why Dumbledore? And for what purpose?

It was a troubling thought.

Finally, they got to discussing the actual Resurrection Ritual. Merging the main soul piece with two horcruxes would make the soul more complete and more sane than it had been in a long time, but they still needed to actually construct the body with blood, flesh, and bones. It was already a given that Harry's blood be used.

The original ritual called for bones of the father and flesh of the servant.

"But it would be more advantageous if we had a living and complete skeleton," Severus put in. While his area of expertise was not ritual magic, he was quite knowledgeable in potions and magic of the human body.

"How partial to your muggle relatives are you, boy?" Voldemort suddenly demanded.

Harry jerked in surprise for actually being asked a question. "My relatives?"

"Don't make me repeat myself."

Harry's face immediately darkened. "I hate them. Absolutely despise them. I wouldn't give a second thought if they all suddenly dropped dead tomorrow, except perhaps to celebrate."

Hearing this, Voldemort gave a rather wicked grin. "Either the Aunt or the Cousin will do then," he said.

For a moment Harry had no idea what he was talking about until he quickly reviewed the past several minutes. "You mean my Aunt Petunia or Dudley's bones?" his face twisted in disgust. "Why would you want to use them to build your body?"

Voldemort didn't deem in necessary to answer Harry's question, but Marvolo did. "Since we are using your blood, Harry, the body we construct would likely accept the bones of your relatives better than any others since it is in the bone marrow that blood is produced."

Harry was thankful for his basic understanding of the human body and nodded in understanding.

"We shall…acquire your relatives a week before your Winter Break then," Voldemort decided. "You may participate if you wish."

Harry nodded firmly. "I do. I owe them 10 years of misery."

"If I may interject," Severus said. "A whole family, especially Harry Potter's family, suddenly gone missing would arouse attention that we do not need. Perhaps it will be better if we only acquire the Cousin for now and make it seem like he ran away in some fit of teenage rebellion."

"The adults will also be useful to expose Harry's abuse," Marvolo added thoughtfully. "And this will go a long way to discrediting Dumbledore."

Voldemort nodded. "Very well. The pain of losing a child will be sufficient enough until I can personally dole out their punishments."

Harry blinked at this, surprised that Voldemort even cared about punishing his relatives. It was something he expected from Marvolo, but not the behavior of an insane Dark Lord. But he suppose both Marvolo and Voldemort were fundamentally against muggles abusing wizarding children because of their past.

"The Flesh component," Marvolo continued, bringing them back on track. "Ideally, it would be best if we could procure the ashes of our original body," he said. "I do not relish the idea of taking anybody else's image."

This was something both souls agreed upon. "I doubt the Old Fool has completely vanished all our ashes from the site of our supposed demise. All we need is a pinch."

Marvolo nodded thoughtfully. "Yes, Light Wizards tend to forget that even ashes are useful to us." Then he turned to Harry. "Dumbledore likely placed all sorts of wards on Godric's Hallow, but it would not be suspicious if you demanded to see your childhood home."

Harry nodded, wondering why he'd never thought to go visit his parent's grave or go back to see the cottage that he was born in. All of a sudden, there seemed to be too many tasks to accomplish and in so little time. On top of kidnapping his cousin, visiting Godric's Hallow, and the resurrection itself, Harry still had to prepare for the irritating First Task.

Harry continued to listen as the three Masters discussed the minute details of the Ritual. Words and phrases, some of them not even in English or Latin, were thrown around that went far over Harry's head. Lulled by the gentle warmth of the fireplace and Marvolo's fingers running through his hair, Harry struggled to stay awake. But he had had a rather full day, and it was likely going on 3 in the morning by now, so gradually Harry drifted off to sleep, head cradled against Nagini's coils.

Harry didn't know how, but when he woke up again, he found himself back in his own bed in the Gryffindor Tower. Realizing what had happened, Harry looked at Marvolo, mortified. "I can't believe I just fell asleep like that!" he cried out. "And in front of Lord Voldemort too! Why didn't anyone wake me up?"

Marvolo merely chuckled. "You simply looked too peaceful to be disturbed, my little one," he answered, ruffling Harry's hair playfully.

Harry ducked his head, still embarrassed. "And Lord Voldemort was okay with that?" he asked incredulously.

"I believe he was more amused more than anything. Besides, to him you are nothing more than a means to an end," Marvolo confessed, and looked at Harry seriously. "Was there any part of our plans that troubled you?"

Harry briefly pulled up last night's memory. There were several moments when he felt like a mere possession, used as some kind of bargaining chip between Marvolo and Voldemort, but he understood the necessity of it. Voldemort, himself, was everything he thought a Dark Lord should be and more. He was terrifying, ruthless, and impressive…oh so very impressive! Harry's skin tingled at just the thought of all that magic...

As for the plan itself…

"Oddly enough, no," Harry answered easily. "Not even about the part where we're going to kidnap and sacrifice dear Dudders."

"Are you certain, Little One?" Marvolo asked, clearly concerned.

Harry smiled back gently. "How does Dumbledore put it? It's all for the Greater Good, right?"

Marvolo smirked. "Yes, but this will be our Greater Good."

O o 0 O 0 o O o 0 O 0 o O o 0 O 0 o O

November 21, 1994

Ten days before the first task, Rita Skeeter's article came out. When Hedwig dropped a copy of the Daily Prophet before him, he was rather nervous about opening it. Andromeda had owled him last night, warning him that she managed to keep the Daily Prophet from publishing the more inflammatory remarks, but she couldn't prevent them from printing anything that Ron quoted.

So with a healthy sense of trepidation, Harry opened up his copy, just as many others in the school who had subscriptions. Right on the front page, above the fold, was a picture of the three 'real' champions. Harry had to admit, standing between Fleur and Krum, he did look out of place, but certainly not weak or frail. In fact, due to his placement in the center, with the two taller students flanking him, it almost reminded Harry of Draco and his cronies.

On the sidebar, there was a small headline explaining the rumors of the supposedly 'fourth' champion with an accompanying tiny picture of Ron, who was shooting dark looks at the very much larger front page picture of the 3 main champions.

Then Harry began scanning the page, his eyes locking onto wherever he spotted his name mentioned. It began innocuously enough, giving a rather dry background of each champion and what their wands were made of. But as Harry continued down the article, it quickly turned from an informative piece to Skeeter's typical gossip column.

"…Still cries at night over the tragic deaths of his parents, says best friend Ronald Weasley…" Harry shook his head in disbelief as he continued scanning. "…entered the competition to show the world what the Boy-Who-Lived can do…shares wand cores with You-Know-Who…" That last part, Harry was sure Ollivander would never mention to the press, and there was only one person there besides Dumbledore who knew that little tidbit.

"Ron!" Harry bellowed. "What is this garbage!" he shouted.

Ron glared back. "Hey, look. She took everything out of context, alright?" he cried out defensively.

"I could believe that if it doesn't say…" Harry pointed to one particular quote. "…Would not have survived his first year of Hogwarts if I hadn't helped him through the Third Floor Corridor, claims his best friend." Then his finger slid further down the article. "Or how about this… 'I practically saved him from getting his brains scrambled by Lockheart…What the hell, Ron!"

"Well, at least you came off as some martyred hero!" Ron said mulishly. He gestured to the small sidebar dedicated to him. "This makes me sound like some childish brat who's sick of standing in your shadow and is jealous of your fame! They even called me a sidekick."

Harry stared incredulously at the other boy. "You know what? It's useless talking to you. You're delusional and you have no idea what is going on. Just do me a favor and stop talking about me to the press, or I'll have Andromeda slap a gag order on you."

Ron watched Harry storm off with a shrug. "What's his problem," he muttered darkly, before returning to his breakfast. Maybe a little food in his belly will cheer him up. It always did.

For the rest of the day, it seemed like a storm cloud was hovering over Harry's head. It was made worse by Malfoy, who found every occasion to call him a cry baby, making obscene 'boo-hoo' noises. At the end of the day, he was so tense that he even snapped at poor Dennis Collin for just passing on a message from Hagrid.

"I'm sorry, Collin, that was uncalled for," Harry sighed, when Collin stared up at him wide blue eyes. "It's just been a crazy day on top of my crazy life. So, you said Hagrid has something for me?"

"Oh, yes!" Collin stuffed a wrinkled piece of parchment into Harry's hands. "He says to read it alone," Collin whispered secretly.

Harry couldn't help but grin. Colin had to be even smaller than he was as a first year. "Thanks."

Collin bobbed his head and ran off.

Harry then turned to the parchment in his hands. It was written in Hagrid's heavy scrawl.

Got sumthing ta show you.

Come to my hut after dinner tonite.

And bess bring your cloke.

-Hagrid

Harry raised an eyebrow at the cryptic message before incendio-ing it. Unlike last year, Harry made it a point this year to visit the half giant more often, having tea and listening to tales about Buckbeak. This made him wonder why Hagrid just couldn't wait for their normal weekly tea time to talk to him. It wasn't like the half giant to act all secretive…although there was that time with Norbert... Shrugging at himself, he'd find out soon enough anyway.

At the Gryffindor table, Harry was glad to see that his fellow house-mates weren't much affected by Rita's article. In fact, judging by how everyone was seated, the Gryffindors didn't appreciate Ron blabbing out his friend's personal information. For them, anything that happened under the cover of darkness in their dorms was sacrosanct.

After all, if Ron could talk to the press about Harry's nightmares, he could also talk about how many times Seamus jerked off at night, or how Neville had to sleep with a small night light on when the Dementors were at school, or how Dean liked to shave his legs because he was on a muggle swim team over the summer, something his fellow wizards would not understand. Dorm-life made for very few secrets between dorm-mates and it was generally understood that you absolutely did not go to the press with their shared secrets.

Even Gryffindors understood that much.

Ron, predictably was not handling his isolation very well. Even Dean and Seamus, who had worn the S.P.E.W. badges last month, were keeping their distance from him.

Finally, dinner was over, with blissfully little talk about the article. Throughout the meal, Hagrid kept trying to get his attention, rather obviously in Harry's opinion, looking like he was going to burst any moment. When Hagrid left the table, Harry waited about half an hour before he also excused himself to don his invisibility cloak. It wasn't nearly curfew yet, but Hagrid's note did say for him to sneak to his hut, so Harry did.

When Harry arrived, Hagrid quickly ushered him inside like he was afraid someone would see him there. This was decidedly odd behavior for the jubilant man, and Harry's curiosity was certainly peaked.

"Glad ya can make it, 'arry," he said. "Any er…trouble gettin' here?"

Harry shook his head and took a seat. "No. What's so urgent that it can't wait for our tea time?"

Hagrid shook his head. "Not yet. Still waitin' fer…" Suddenly a knock sounded at the door, and judging by the relieved look on Hagrid's face, he had been expecting it.

"Hey, Hagrid." Ron stepped into the hut, looking quite unhappy. "I'm here for detention…what is he doing here?" Ron had spotted Harry sitting at Hagrid's table.

"Oh don' be like tha'," Hagrid scolded and gestured to the other empty chair at the table. "Have a seat. Now, wha's been goin' on between you two, eh?"

Harry and Ron refused to look at each other or answer the man's question.

Hagrid sighed sadly. "Tis sad ter see two bess friends fight like this," he said. "But thas not why I asked you two ta come 'ere."

Harry's interest returned. "Why did you want us here," he asked.

"How are ye gettin' along on the First Task?" Hagrid returned, seemingly out of no where.

"Well, it's not like we can really prepare for it, right?" Harry said, shrugging. "I've just been practicing spells and stuff." Ron simply nodded, though Harry knew for a fact he hadn't put much effort in preparations.

"Just as I thought," Hagrid replied and then leaned forward. "I'm gonna give you two a little hint about the First task then, and not because you two are the youngest either, though I still think it ain't fair that you two haff ta compete against the 7th years." Hagrid shook his head. "No, tis because I saw Headmaster Karkaroff and Madam Maxime snoopin' around when I was helpin' organize the Task."

Both Harry and Ron raised their eyebrows. "Why those cheating…!" Ron began protesting.

Hagrid merely shrugged. "Tis the way of these things," he said. "And why I be tellin' yer that the first task has to do with Aragog and his nest."

"Aragog?" Harry repeated, stunned. "Aragog, the acromantula?"

Hagrid nodded and glanced at Ron worriedly. "Er…you alright there?" he asked. "Yer lookin' rather pale."

Harry turned to look and had to agree that Ron looked one breath away from fainting.

"Sp…spider?" he croaked. "Humungous, monstrous spiders!"

Harry grinned. "I bet Severus knew it was going to be acromantulas all along, and that's why he suggested you to participate in the First Task as part of your punishment. Everyone knows you're terrified of them."

Ron shot Harry a nasty glare before turning back to Hagrid. "Well, we're not supposed to fight them, are we?" he asked, still looking quite shocky.

Hagrid 'pffted' and laughed. "Fight them? Nay. Yer not supposed to fight 'em. Yer only supposed ta get past them. See, they're guardin' the clue to the next task."

Harry had to admit, he was quite relieved to hear that. An acromantula's exoskeleton, while not as resistant to damage as dragons, were still rather tough and their webbings are as strong as steel. Not to mention the young ones could actually spray their venom at their prey.

Harry knew of several ways to kill an acromantula, but they were too dark, and he doubted that would go very well with the judges or the audience. "Well, thanks Hagrid," Harry said earnestly. "I think I've got a few ideas, but I better hit the library before curfew."

Ron watched his former friend smile as easily as if he wasn't going to face spider-monsters the very next day, before disappearing under his cloak. "Umm, yeah. So, thanks Hagrid. I think I'm gonna go do some research too."

"Prob'ly a good idea," Hagrid agreed. "Good luck to ya."

Ron gave a wobbly smile before racing back to Hogwarts, and to the kitchens, where he knew Hermione was still serving her detention. Hermione would know what to do, she always did. He was still repeating that mantra in his mind when he tickled the pear and the portrait opened up, wafting the wonderful kitchen smells towards him.

Inside, the elves were cleaning up the kitchen, after having served dinner to the students. Ron spotted Hermione, mostly alone, putting some utensils away in the cupboards. "Thank Merlin I found you!" Ron practically shouted, causing several elves to glare at him.

Hermione nearly dropped a bowl in surprise. "What are you doing here, Ron?"

"You've got to help me. It's awful!"

Seeing how panicked and stricken the other boy was, Hermione quickly guided him to a stool for fear that he might collapse on her or something. "Okay, start over. What has gotten you into such a state?"

Ron took a deep breath. "Hagrid called me and Harry to meet him in secret to tell us about the first task."

Hermione gasped. "He can't do that! Harry said you're not supposed to get help from teachers." Then her eyes narrowed, suspiciously. "Wait a minute. You can't ask for my help either!"

"But 'Moine…" Ron whined, dragging out the vowels. "You've got to help me. They've got acromantulas. You remember them, right, from 2nd year? Aragog?" His eyes were wide and flickered with real fear.

"Of course I don't! I was petrified at the time, you prat," Hermione returned irritably. "They told you this tournament's supposed to be real dangerous, but you said you could handle it." She crossed her arms. "How did Harry handle the news?"

Ron shrugged. "Dunno, but he's not scared of spiders either," he answered.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Alright, I'll make you a deal."

Ron nodded desperately. "Anything. I'll do anything."

Hermione snorted. "My detention's almost over," she began. "If you come with me to apologize to Harry about how you've been treating him, then I will help you."

"What!" Ron squawked indignantly. "You want me to apologize to that show-off, Malfoy-wanna-be?"

"Ron!" Hermione stomped her foot. "Harry's nothing like Malfoy!"

"Did he put a confundus spell on you?" Ron asked, looking at her suspiciously.

Hermione glared. "No, he did not! It's just I've been working here with the elves for the last three weeks, and you know what I found out?"

Ron shook his head.

"They're absolutely terrified of me!" Hermione practically wailed, making it sound like this was the worst thing in the world. "Here I am, thinking I'm fighting for their rights, but in reality I'm just messing up their lives. Harry was right. I knew nothing about them, and suddenly decided that I knew better than everyone else who've lived their whole lives in the wizarding world, but in reality I know practically nothing at all!"

Ron took a step back from his hysterical friend. "That's not true. You know tons of stuff," he protested. "You're like the smartest witch in the school."

Hermione waved her hand dismissively. "Sure, book stuff," she agreed. "But not wizarding stuff, not stuff you grew up with." She shook her head, despondently. "We've been really selfish and petty, Ron. Harry needed our support, and was just using his fame for my own reasons." Hermione glanced a little sadly at all the house-elves who've kept a good distance from her, for fear of being given clothes.

Ron sputtered. "You can't be serious! It sounds like you're taking his side!"

"I'm not taking sides!" Hermione growled. "You're impossible. I should just leave…"

"Okay, okay," Ron said quickly. "If you help me, I'll go with you to talk to Harry tomorrow."

Hermione gave Ron a skeptical look, but finally nodded. "Okay, I'm basically done here anyway. Come on, we've got a lot to cover since Professor Lupin didn't cover Acromantulas last year."

A/N: Hope you guys liked my first glimpse of Voldemort!

Now, this is the reason why I changed the First Task from dragons. I think even as illogical as the wizarding world is, the organizers of the tournament have more common sense then to pit under-age students against full grown dragons, and not just any dragons either. These are nesting dragons, in full mother-bear mode, protecting their eggs, which makes them extra vicious. At this point, even Krum and Delacour have only completed their 6th year education. That's not even mentioning Harry is only 14. When Harry's name was drawn from the cup, nothing prevented the organizers from changing the First Task to something more age appropriate except for their own stupidity. A month should be enough time for them to think of another Task to replace the dragons.

As for me choosing acromantulas, I figure if they can live freely in the Forbidden Forest, where any student can wander in, than they are suitably age appropriate challenges for the first task. I hope you agree.

Sorry for the rant, but you guys all know how I hate unrealistic plotlines and plotholes.
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In Servitude of the Dark : My Obiesance