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Harry Potter and the Breeding Darkness	By : Danyealle Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Voldemort Views: 297907 -:- Recommendations : 58 -:- Currently Reading : 185
Disclaimer: I am not J. K. Rowling. I do not own Harry Potter. This is a work of fanfiction and no profit is being made. It is a for-fun endeavor and no infringement is intended.

Chapter List
- 21
- 22
- 23
This chapter is written by: Aya Macchiato

Beta done by tannne and Danyealle-sama

Again, I remind everyone that the amazing Aya Macchiato has given me permission to continue this story for her. This is another of the chapters that she already had done. All I've done with this one is some basic beta work, nothing more, it's as she wrote it!

Link to the first story...

http://hp.adult-fanfiction.org/story.php?no=600095391

-Danyealle

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Chapter 21

The next day held some significance for the two of them because they spent most of the day down in the lab adding the finishing touches to the fake Peverell ring. Tom had spent weeks completing the complex layering of spells to create the illusion that it was a horcrux.

He had used pensieve memories in order to recreate a duplicate of the ring itself, and to simulate the unique magical signature he remembered the ring having before he had added his own soul to it. It had been an arduous process but it was finally done.

They conjured a very small wooden box and placed the ring inside it. Harry then slipped it into his pocket with the intention of always keeping it with him so that he would be ready the instant any opportunity presented itself for him to switch it with the real ring.

Monday morning at Hogwarts arrived and Harry quickly tucked into his breakfast. When the post owls began to arrive, an unfamiliar barn owl swooped down in front of Hermione clutching a thick, rolled-up magazine looking thing. Hermione squealed slightly with excitement and quickly removed the owl's burden before giving it a piece of bacon.

The 'magazine' turned out to be that month's copy of the 'Journal of Magical Genealogical Study'. It was one of the wizarding journals that, Professor Phoebus Penrose had published her paper, 'The Annihilation of the Muggleborn Myth',in. Hermione, apparently, had owl-ordered for a copy of the journal and had been waiting eagerly for it ever since.

Hermione quickly forgot all about her breakfast as she instantly began to flip through the journal in search of the article. Harry was amused, if not a bit stunned, that Hermione continued to read it, even through History of Magic. History was a throwaway class, and everyone knew that – except for Hermione. She always paid attention in that class. So to see her actually blowing it off was a sign of just how interested she was in what she was reading.

The rest of the day went normally up until dinner. As Harry, Ron, Hermione, Neville, Ginny, and two of Ginny's dorm mates were entering the Great Hall, they were met with the sight of an unfamiliar presence at the head table with the rest of the Professors. There seemed to be an obvious air of displeasure among the Professors, as quite a few were holding very tight expressions, or openly frowning at the intruder

"Wonder who that is," Ginny said, glancing up at the Head Table as the group sat down at the Gryffindor table.

Harry glanced up, taking on an air of curious confusion. The intruder was a short, squat woman wearing far too much pink. It was easy to guess who she was. When Lucius had described her as a 'toad', Harry hadn't realized that the man had meant it literally, for she truly did resemble a bullfrog.

Harry shrugged. "Dunno," he said as he focused on the plates of food in front of him and sorting out just what he wanted to eat.

About a half hour into the meal, when the Great Hall was at its fullest, a tinkling sound of silverware tapping against a glass goblet could be heard echoing loudly through the great hall. The sound was magically amplified so there was no chance of anyone missing it. The din of noise quieted almost instantly and all eyes went up to the Head Table where Dumbledore was standing up.

"I have an announcement to make," Dumbledore called out once everyone had quieted down. "Hogwarts will be playing host to a guest for the coming weeks. Dolores Umbridge, the Senior Undersecretary of Minister Cornelius Fudge will be joining us in her new capacity as Educational High Inquisitor. She will be sitting in on many of your classes. Please do make her feel welcome during her stay with us."

Dumbledore began to sit back down and the entire hall just stared at him with confusion as well as a bit of shock. Clearly, no one quite knew what to make of this recent development.

Just as Dumbledore was about to reclaim his seat, a high-pitched voice sounded from the seat beside him, at the pink toad woman stood up.

"Hem-Hem... Thank you, headmaster, for those kind words of welcome. The Ministry of Magic has always considered the education of young witches and wizards to be of a vital importance. Although each headmaster has brought something new to this... historic school, progress for the sake of progress must be discouraged. Let us preserve what must be preserved, perfect what can be perfected and prune practices that ought to be... prohibited.”

"The Ministry of Magic has, in recent months, become increasingly aware of the falling standards of education here at Hogwarts. I have been appointed by the Minister himself to make sure that the unsatisfactory teachers are removed from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and replaced with Professors capable of providing you with the high standard of education expected from such a highly acclaimed magical institution. You all deserve the best education that you can get, and I am here to guarantee that happens."

With that, she gave a sadistically sugary smile and sat back down.

The hall was dead silent for a minute before a rush of hushed conversation surged forth. The professors were even more openly frowning now and a few looked very nervous while the students didn't seem quite to know what to make of everything.

"What do you think this means?" Ginny asked the Gryffindors all seated near her.

Hermione was frowning the most. "It means that the Ministry is trying to interfere at Hogwarts."

"Is that really so bad, though?" Harry asked, quietly.

Hermione looked at him with an air of surprise. "Of course it is! Why wouldn't it be?"

"Well, it was because of the Minister that we got Professor Rowle in, wasn't it? And he's doing a fantastic job."

"What?" Ron exclaimed, looking surprised.

"Didn't you know?" Harry asked. "Dumbledore couldn't find anyone willing to fill the post of Defense teacher. Fudge stepped in and selected Professor Rowle to take the job."

Even Hermione looked surprised. "I didn't know that."

"I mean... maybe it seems a bit harsh but you've got to admit that there are a few staff members who really do need to be sacked." Harry said.

"Harry!" Hermione exclaimed.

"What? Oh, come on, Hermione... Professor Binns? You seriously think that he is the best we could possibly have for a History Professor? He's dead, for Merlin's sake. And, thanks to him, hardly anyone has gone all the way through to NEWT level History in literally decades. History is an important subject and yet no one gives a damn about it because Binns is such a rotten teacher."

Hermione looked considerably torn between reprimanding Harry for disrespecting a teacher and grudgingly agreeing with him.

"It's because the magical world is so eager to forget the past that all these ignorant beliefs about muggleborns exist today. If people were better capable of remembering our own history, people would know exactly where magic originated and how witches and wizards came to exist. But they don't remember so all these lies spout up then it fuels the bigots who are looking for a group to hate and blame for their problems."

Hermione frowned and looked thoughtful for a minute. "Well... if we were able to get a really good History teacher, that would probably be really nice..."

"Yeah, and what about Trelawney?" Ron added in. "I certainly wouldn't mind if she got the boot."

Hermione didn't even bother acting scandalized at that and Harry smirked.

"So you see, this could be a good thing." Harry said.

Hermione sighed and shrugged. "I suppose..."

The following week seemed to progressing horrifyingly slow and Harry was definitely glad for his alternating days at the abbey to save his sanity from the utter frustration of his days at Hogwarts.

Dolores Umbridge was truly nasty woman. Her sugary, high-pitched voice combined with her barely disguised disdain for anything and everything she didn't entirely approve of was quickly grating on Harry's nerves. What was really driving him mad, however, was the way the rest of his classmates were reacting to the stupid cow.

The Slytherins were mostly treating her with indifference or were sucking up to her with glorious success. The Gryffindors were not that smart, however. It seemed that they lived to get on the woman's bad side. It had become apparent very quickly on Tuesday that High Inquisitor Umbridge had been granted the power to give and take house points as well as assign detentions with Filch even though she wasn't an actual teacher.

The Gryffindors, almost as a whole, as well as a number of other students, mostly Hufflepuffs, saw her presence in the school as an unwarranted attack from the Ministry into matters that weren't their business in the first place. And it was an attack that they needed to defend themselves against.

And so, despite the potential good that could come out of her presence, the majority of the students that Harry was surrounded by on a daily basis could do nothing but bitch and moan about the woman, constantly. The most annoying part was that everyone seemed to expect Harry to do something. They were always looking at him, expectantly, whenever she did something they found exceptionally outrageous. Like they were just waiting for him to blow up at the woman, defending the honor of Hogwarts and Dumbledore. But maintaining his cover wasn't reason enough for him to intentionally get on the woman's bad side. He was no idiot. So he stayed quiet.

Harry was getting entirely sick of his classmates expectations and their behavior. He wished that they'd all find a new subject to go on and on about because their constant whining about Umbridge was wearing on his last nerve. His housemates were being a bunch of hot-headed, morons who couldn't look two inches past their own noses to see the benefits this would have for them in the long run. Instead, choosing to cause themselves a huge headache by constantly butting heads with a woman who had authority over them and more than enough desire to use that authority to make all of their lives miserable.

Thursday night, after having to endure an hour of non-stop bitching and griping by Ron, Seamus, Dean, the twins, Lee Jordon, and two sixth years Harry only vaguely knew, Harry lost the last grip of his patience and left the common room, barely containing the sharp annoyed words he wanted to throw at the group of stupid Gryffindors.

It was 8:30 pm, so there was still some time before Harry had to begin his prefect duties. He ducked into an alcove and pulled out the Marauder's Map. His eyes scanned the map as he tried to think of some secluded hole that he could escape to for a while to get away from his housemates. Suddenly, his eyes were drawn to the name Draco Malfoy standing alone along one of the ramparts that stretched along the portion of the castle that stretched between Ravenclaw and Gryffindor towers.

His curiosity piqued, Harry made his way there. A few minutes later, he found himself pushing open a heavy wooden door and bracing himself against the frigid chill of the night air. He pulled his cloak tighter against himself and began walking along, keeping close to the battlements to block the wind as much as possible.

"Potter?" Draco's familiar voice sounded with an obvious air of surprise. Harry looked down and grinned at what he saw. Malfoy was sitting down with his back leaning against the battlements and a muggle cigarette hanging loosely from between his lips.

"Hullo Draco," Harry said, speeding up his pace a bit and coming to stand next to Draco. "Mind if I sit?"

Draco blinked in surprise but quickly recovered and nodded his head. "Sure."

Harry quickly sat down and instantly noticed that Draco had cast some area charms to block the wind and warm the area up some. He sighed in relief as the bitter cold disappeared to be replaced by reasonably warm, still, air.

"What are you doing here?" Draco asked after a moment.

Harry shrugged. "Had to escape the Gryffindors. Their endless bitching was getting on my last nerve and I was afraid if I stuck around much longer I would explode then blow my cover."

Draco raised a single brow in mild surprise before he grinned and snickered lightly. "I would think you'd be used to them by now. You have had to live with nothing but Gryffindors for the last four years at school. Hell, you used to be one of them."

"Used to be being the key word. And being accustomed to being around them doesn't mean they don't drive me up the wall. Plus, I spent the last summer surrounded by the Dark Lord and a bunch of Death Eaters. It's a fairly significant contrast and, personally, I prefer the Death Eaters."

Draco chuckled and shook his head slightly. They were quite for another minute as Draco pulled in a long drag from his cigarette.

"So you smoke?" Harry asked.

"Yes." Draco hesitated for a moment before smirking. "You want one?" Draco asked, digging the pack out of his robe's inner vest pocket.

"Yeah, sure." Harry said, accepting one of the thin cigarettes. He placed it between his lips and lit the tip with his wand. He took in a long slow drag before blowing the smoke out slowly and heaving a long sigh of relief.

Draco watched the entire process with obvious surprise. "This is clearly not your first cigarette," he observed.

Harry laughed lightly and took another drag. "About half way through July I started bumming smokes off the Dark Lord whenever he lit up."

Draco choked and looked at Harry with utter incredulity. "Are you joking?"

Harry laughed. "Nope. Not at all."

"The Dark Lord smokes... and he let you bum cigarettes off him?" Draco echoed, incredulously.

Harry grinned and nodded his head, amused with Draco's reaction. "Is that so hard to believe?"

"Yes." Draco replied instantly, earning him another laugh from Harry.

Draco continued to stare at Harry, looking at him as if he were desperately trying to work something out in his head. Harry chose to just ignore it and wait for Draco to gather his thoughts. Instead, he continued to sit there and relax while he finished off the cigarette.

"These are really good cigarettes," Harry remarked after a moment.

"Er... yes, they are. They're magically improved. I get them from a wizard supplier. Charmed so as not to cause all those nasty side effects like lung disease the muggles deal with but still provide the same sort of buzz. Father insisted that if I was going to do it at all, that I at least get these."

Harry nodded his head in approval and looked down at the cigarette between his thumb and forefinger with renewed respect.

"You really lived with him all summer?" Draco asked suddenly.

"The Dark Lord? Yes, Draco. I was pretty sure we'd already established that." Harry replied.

"Well... what I mean is... how much exposure did you get to him exactly? I mean, I suppose I thought you just lived in some room at his manor and never really came out or interacted with the Death Eaters. But you make it sound like you interacted with them a lot. Father and Severus were both shocked to learn that you'd lived there all summer. I get that you were in that snake form of yours but..." Draco's voice trailed off with a tinge of frustration.

"I was under a glamour for most of it, actually." Harry replied with a bored tone.

"A glamour?"

"Yeah. I went around most all of the summer pretending to be just another Death Eater. I attended all of the training meetings that the others attended. The Dark Lord also gave me personal lessons before that."

"You really did get personal lessons?" Draco exclaimed with obvious awe and jealousy breaking through his normally stoic mask.

"Yup. It was really brilliant."

"Does Severus or anyone else know who you were? I mean, when you were glamoured?"

"Thor and Barty both know but Snape doesn't."

"Why them and not Severus?"

Harry shrugged. "Severus always hated me. I mean, we get on a lot better now than we used to but I'm still far from being his favorite person. I got pretty friendly with both Barty and Thor this summer so I felt comfortable telling them. Barty was there for the Dark Lord's resurrection, actually."

"Wow... and Barty was actually Professor Moody last year, right?"

"Yup."

"So... okay, you spent time with Professor Rowle and Barty Crouch but how much time did you actually spend with... with Him? With the Dark Lord?"

"Uhm... well... a lot, actually." Harry said slowly as he wondered how much he should say.

"A lot? Seriously? Did he... did he ever curse you?"

Harry frowned. "Well... in our training sessions, sure. Loads of times. But I assume you're asking if he ever punished me with a Crucio or something, right?"

"Right."

"Then no. He's never crucio'd me for punishment." Harry answered with a one-shouldered shrug.

"Never?"

"Never."

"That's hard for me to believe." Draco said, looking skeptical.

Harry shrugged again. "It's true. He and I actually get on pretty well."

"Now that is really hard for me to believe." Draco said giving Harry a flat, disbelieving look.

Harry laughed. "You'd be surprised just how much he and I have in common. Plus, I think he likes having someone besides Nagini to speak to in parseltongue."

"Nagini?"

"His snake."

"Oh..."

The two slid back into silence and Draco pulled out another couple cigarettes and offered one to Harry who took it appreciatively.

"So are you going back to his manor next summer?" Draco asked.

"He's not using the manor anymore."

"Huh?"

"The manor that we were using when you came over the summer? Dumbledore found it. He couldn't get through the wards but it would only be a matter of time so we left it. The Dark Lord is using an old castle now, and, yes, I will be going back next summer. I intend to go back for the Yule holidays as well but Dumbledore might try to stick his nose in my business and try to dictate where I can go. I'll have to wait and determine the best course of action to take once I know what he tries to do."

"You're going to spend Yule with the Dark Lord?" Draco asked, looking stunned.

"We are related. You're supposed to spend the holidays with family, right?"

Draco blinked. "I'd almost forgotten about that... Merlin, that's weird..." Draco shook his head to clear it and took another drag. "So you mentioned a castle? It sounds like you've been there."

"Yup. I have." Harry paused for a moment before mentally shrugging. "I actually own it."

"You own it?"

"Yeah. It belonged to the Potters and I inherited it."

"You own a castle?"

Harry smirked. "You know, the Potters have almost as much money as the Malfoys do. Problem is that it has stagnated in the last couple decades because there hasn't been anyone actively managing the investments. It's just been sitting around collecting interest. Some of the businesses my family owned significant stock in have gone under while some others have flourished."

Draco scoffed in shock. "If you've got so much money, why have you dressed like a bloody pauper all these years?"

Harry chuckled weakly. "I mostly didn't know about it, the money I mean. I saw my trust vault for the first time when I was eleven and thought that was it. I had no idea that there was a family vault too and definitely didn't have any idea that I owned any properties. I think Dumbledore probably took steps to try and guarantee that I wouldn't go asking questions then learning more about my family heritage than he deemed appropriate. I'm sure the last thing he wanted was me learning that the wizard I was actually named after , my great-grandfather Harrison Potter, was a Slytherin. Or that I'm actually related to you. He didn't want me to realize that I actually had familial ties with living, breathing wizards out there. Especially since every familial tie I've got is with a Dark wizard." Harry ended with a bitter chuckle.

"I thought all Potters were Gryffindors?" Draco exclaimed.

"Nope. Harrison Potter was a Slytherin. His brother Daniel Potter was a Ravenclaw. Their father, Heathcliff Potter, was also a Slytherin while his sister was a Hufflepuff. The Potters were historically all over the place. Every house in Hogwarts has had a number of Potters in it. My dad and grandfather were both Gryffindors and were both outspoken Light wizards but, before them, the Potters were mostly moderates."

"I... didn't know that." Draco replied a bit dumbstruck.

"I'm sure Dumbledore has eagerly helped to spread the idea of the Potters as a historically Light family since he wants to propagate the idea that the Boy-Who-Lived is loyal to only him." Harry sneered and rolled his eyes.

Draco snorted and Harry couldn't help but shoot the blond a highly amused look at the Malfoy heir making such an undignified noise.

"Well, he's clearly misinformed if he thinks you're loyal to only him." Draco drawled.

Harry sniggered and took another drag.

After a minute of quiet chuckling, the pair slipped into easy silence again.

"You're a good teacher, you know that?" Draco said, seemingly out of nowhere.

"Huh?"

"The Dark Arts classes. You're really good at teaching."

"Oh. Thanks. I learned from the best."

Draco gave a curt nod.

"The Slytherins are really starting to respect you."

Harry nodded slowly and grinned lightly. "Good."

"It's weird. The younger ones, the ones who don't know what's really going on yet? Whenever one of them tries to talk bad about you in the common room, one of the older years always comes over and shuts them up."

"There are going to end up starting rumors if they keep that up." Harry said, frowning slightly.

"We're Slytherins, Potter, not bloody Gryffindors. They know better than to let rumors like that get outside the house."

Harry nodded slowly and finished off his cigarette.

"You come here often to smoke?" Harry asked, shifting the subject.

"Often enough. Usually before my prefect rounds."

"Mind if I join you more often?"

Draco looked at Harry for a minute before nodding his head. "Fine."

Harry grinned.

"But you need to get your own damn cigarettes. The Dark Lord may let you bum off him all the time, but I won't."

Harry laughed and shrugged. "Well, I can certainly afford it. But I don't really know where to get them. You said something about a magical supplier... so do you owl order yours or something?"

"Yeah, I'll get you information of where I get them from."

"Thanks," Harry said chuckling. He heaved a reluctant sigh and finally pushed himself up to his feet. "Well, it's been fun, Draco. Definitely better company than I was dealing with before."

"I would certainly hope so," Draco drawled, tipping his nose into the air snootily and earning him another chuckled from Harry.

"Thanks for the smokes." Harry took a step forward and left the barrier of Draco's warming charm and shivered. He pulled his robes tightly around him, bid Draco goodbye, and walked briskly back down towards the door that led back into the castle..

The next day, Harry helped Hermione with the final steps to her family tapestry potion. It was officially finished, however, they were still missing one key ingredient before they could complete the needed ritual and actually make the family tree tapestry. What they needed was the tapestry itself. Rather, the large piece of fabric that would hold the family tree on it.

The tapestry had to be made on a magical loom and constructed of specially charmed threads. It was expensive and had to be custom ordered. When Hermione had gotten the first quote back on how much it would cost, she had been devastated because she didn't think she could possibly ask her parents to send her that much money for it. Harry had then insisted that he was more than willing to pay for it.

When Hermione refused, Harry pointed out that her birthday had been in mid September, and he hadn't gotten her a gift this year. The tapestry was now officially to be considered her late birthday gift and that he would be terribly hurt if she turned down his present.

She had scowled at him and told him he was playing dirty but Harry had just smiled sweetly back and filled out the order form with the information for billing his vault.

This had all taken place about two weeks prior. The tapestry fabric had an estimated completion date and arrival of mid-November.

They spent their free afternoon period putting the potion into a fairly large container and sealing the lid. They cast a set of specified stasis charms on it to preserve the potion until it was time to actually apply it to the tapestry and then left for dinner.

The weekend before Halloween was a Hogsmeade weekend. Back in the last week of August, when the Order had picked Harry up at the Leaky Cauldron and Tom, as 'Nicodemus', had said that he would come to visit for the Hogsmeade trip before Halloween, Harry hadn't honestly thought he meant it. He assumed it was just sort of 'for show' for the Order members. Surely Tom didn't actually intend to come to Hogsmeade when it was filled to the brim with Hogwarts students and staff...?

Apparently he did.

But, then again, Tom had come to Hogwarts itself in August to accompany Harry for his proficiency tests, and had a nice little chat with Dumbledore while at it so Harry realized that he shouldn't really be that surprised.

Harry exited the doors of the castle and headed towards the path that would lead down to Hogsmeade, following behind Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Luna, and Neville, who Hermione had insisted on inviting despite Ron's response of 'What? You want to invite Neville? Why?' which had only earned him a glare from Hermione.

Harry felt an odd sense of trepidation. His 'friends' already knew that Nicodemus was supposed to meet him in Hogsmeade and they were all expecting to be introduced to his boyfriend. It was... weird. Obviously, none of them would realize who it was they were actually meeting but it still seemed exceedingly odd to be introducing the group of Gryffindors, and one Ravenclaw, to the Dark Lord in the guise of a teenager.

It seemed almost surreal. A strange collision between two of his normally very separate worlds. He wasn't even totally sure how to act around Tom at the same time as his school 'friends'. And, what if he slipped up and called him 'Tom' instead of 'Nick'? This seemed an especially valid concern considering that Ginny was going to be there.

Tom himself didn't have access to the memories that his soul from the diary had experienced with Ginny but Ginny very much still remembered the 9 months of her life that had been consumed by Tom's diary.

Harry wondered sometimes how much the diary Tom had told Ginny about himself. If he was ever honest with her or if it was all just a deception because he needed her. Harry wondered if Ginny would recognize Tom if she saw him without his Nicodemus glamour. He wasn't sure if Ginny had even seen Tom. Harry had seen the non-corporeal manifestation of Tom's horcrux but the only reason it had been able to start forming a body was because it was tapping Ginny's magic. Harry didn't know if Ginny had been conscious or aware for any of it.

Harry also didn't know if Tom had ever taken Ginny into one of the diary's memories like he had with Harry and the memory of him 'catching Hagrid' with his acromantula. It was entirely possible that they had only ever conversed through writing back and forth in the book. He really didn't know. He often wished he could just ask her but knew that was risky. It was undoubtedly still a tender subject for Ginny and he would have to come up with some reason why he was suddenly asking her about it when it had been over three years since the incident and he'd never once brought it up before.

Harry shook his head of those thoughts as the group passed Filch at the gates and began to head down the path towards the village. Hermione and Ginny were discussing Arithmancy. Ginny was having some trouble with something and Hermione was always more than eager to discuss her favorite class. And since she was a year ahead of him and Ginny, Hermione had a bit of advantage on the subject. Rom seemed to be sulking as he was walking beside Luna, who was staring, dreamily, off into the distance.

Harry skipped a bit quicker a few steps to catch up with the others and tried to start a mindless conversation with Ron to appease the ginger's bad mood. Discussions turned to some of the twin's latest antics. They'd made a lot of progress in their prank products and had recently started hiring test subjects from amongst their housemates. Anyone desperate for some extra cash in anticipation of the Hogsmeade weekend could earn themselves a couple galleons by subjecting themselves, willingly, to some of the twin's prank products for testing.

Harry had been quite amused knowing that it were his winnings from the Tri-Wizard Tournament that were paying for the self-inflicted suffering of his housemates. After seeing Colin Creevey racing to the loo and staying there for nearly an hour after ingesting some of the Twin's product 'puking pasties' he had decided that giving up his winnings had been totally worth it.

The group finally reached Hogsmeade and headed for the Three Broomsticks where Harry was supposed to meet 'Nick'. The group stepped inside the crowded pub and Harry quickly scanned the tables. His eyes were drawn to the familiar magical energy that he would recognize anywhere, no matter how strictly concealed Tom had it at the moment.

His lips turned up at the sight of his lover, despite the nerves he'd been feeling earlier. Since Harry was keyed into Tom's glamour ring, when he looked upon the elder wizard, he only saw his true appearance rather than the illusion that his friends and everyone else in the bar saw. Harry's feet quickly took him over towards Tom, who had claimed a corner booth in preparation for Harry and his friend's arrival.

As Harry drew closer, Tom slid out and stood up, sporting a relaxed happy expression. Before Harry even knew what he was doing, he'd slipped into Tom's embrace and the two were kissing. He certainly hadn't planned it, and he'd seen Tom the prior evening, so it wasn't as if he were starved for affection but it simply felt natural to kiss the man upon greeting.

Harry pulled away when he felt the desire to escalate their activities beginning to stir in the pit of his belly. He had to let out a slow breath to recenter himself, and Tom chuckled as he looked down at Harry with a mixture of amusement and desire in his sparkling eyes. Harry looked up and rolled his eyes at Tom's amusement.

"I missed you," Tom said and Harry smiled while ducking his head shyly for effect.

"Missed you too." He pushed himself forward again and pressed a quick kiss to Tom's lips before stepping back then turning to look at his friends.

Ron was looking away, seemingly rather embarrassed and uncomfortable with what he'd just witnessed. Hermione's eyes were rather wide but she was smiling. Ginny was grinning widely and giggling. Luna had her head cocked slightly to one side and smiled serenely at him while Neville was blushing... a lot.

"Uh, sorry. Erm, guys, this is Nicodemus Tomaras, or just Nick. Nick, this is Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Luna, and Neville." Harry said as he motioned to each of his friends.

"It's a pleasure to finally get to meet Harry's friends in person," Tom said, giving them his most charming Cheshire cat smile. He even went so far as to take each of the girl's hands, one-by-one, bowing over them, and placing a kiss on their knuckles.

As he did this to Hermione, Ron got a bit red-faced and began to scowl at him. The girls all seemed to enjoy it, however. Ginny, and even Hermione, had giggled at the gesture, while Luna had just given him a bright, brilliant smile.

The group quickly slid into the booth and Harry's friends began their interrogation. Harry had found himself feeling rather mortified, or just simply irritated beyond reason, at some of the questions they had asked 'Nick'. Most were relatively harmless but some were rather personal.

Of course, the vast majority of the answers they got in return were lies but Tom was good at lying. He weaved his fake persona perfectly and quickly had all of Harry's friends charmed, save Ron, who had never really stopped scowling at him after he had kissed Hermione's hand.

Harry found it rather amusing but also realized that he was rather desperately hopeful that he wouldn't be present when Ron finally came to realize that Hermione was still engaged in a long-distant relationship with Viktor Krum. Hermione, who had continued writing letters back and forth with the Bulgarian seeker all year, had done a commendable job so far of keeping Ron utterly in the dark. But Harry knew that, at some point, it was going to blow up in her face.

He noticed that Tom seemed to be meeting Ginny's eyes a bit more than was normal and felt slight tendrils of magic subtly moving between them. Harry frowned in confusion for a moment as he wondered what was going on. Ginny seemed entirely oblivious to whatever it was. Harry realized that part of the magic was a subtle compulsion spell to meet Tom's eyes and from there it was easy to guess what bit of magic Tom was doing. He was reading Ginny's memories.

Harry realized that Tom, no doubt, was just as curious as to what sorts of interactions his diary horcrux had had with this girl. It really only made sense that Tom would make use of this opportunity to try and learn more about what had happened between them. Harry made a mental note to ask Tom what he'd found out later. Harry had considered using Legilimency on Ginny himself but he'd lent her a book on Occlumency too and had been hesitant to try it since then. Tom, however, was a master of his craft and Harry had no doubts that if anyone could slip by unnoticed it was him.

After the group had downed two rounds of butter beer, and had a plate of biscuits, Ginny gave Hermione a loaded look to which Hermione silently nodded. Harry caught the interaction out of the corner of his eye and wondered what they were up to. A moment later, it became clear as Hermione began to make excuses and dragged a reluctant Ron away while Ginny did the same with a confused looking Neville and subtly reminding Luna that she had wanted to visit Schrivenshaft's.

They were giving Harry and Nick some 'alone' time. Harry grinned and chuckled at the 'thoughtful effort' his friends were making. They all left, except for Luna, who lingered behind for a moment. As soon as Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Neville were gone, Luna turned back and looked at Tom with her head cocked slightly to the side again. Then she turned to Harry. "Harry, were you aware that your friend is using a full-body glamour?" Luna asked in a simple conversational tone.

Harry sputtered slightly and blinked at Luna. Tom's eyes widened and he simply stared at the strange blond girl who, up until that moment, he had found mildly amusing, and little more.

"Wha... excuse me?" Harry asked.

"Your friend," Luna said and pointed at Tom. "He's using a glamour."

Harry's jaw floundered slightly for a moment before he recovered. He suddenly looked serious and pulled Luna down into the booth across from him. He pulled out his wand and discreetly cast a privacy ward around them.

"I actually am aware of that, Luna," Harry said cautiously. "But I have to admit, I'm exceedingly curious as to how you could tell. Even Dumbledore couldn't see through Nick's glamour."

"Oh, that's not very surprising. There are a lot of things that the headmaster doesn't see, as I'm sure you've noticed."

Again, Harry found himself speechless. Tom was also rather bewildered by this strange girl but chose to wait and observe her more before making final judgment. At the moment, it was obvious that she could tell he had a glamour but it was not yet clear if she could see through it.

"Luna..." Harry began once he'd collected himself again. "I... it's really important that no one realize that Nick is using a glamour. Can you promise me that you won't tell anyone? Not even Ginny."

"That's fine Harry. I didn't intend to tell anyone. It's rather unlikely that anyone would believe me anyway," she replied with a simple smile in that unsettlingly honest way of hers.

"Er, okay. Good, I suppose." Harry replied and, honestly, it was probably true. Most people instantly dismissed everything that came out of Luna's mouth. Suddenly Harry had another thought occur to him. "Luna?"

"Yes, Harry?"

"Are there a lot of other things that you can see, besides glamours, that other people don't see?" Harry asked.

Luna tilted her head to the side again, looking thoughtful and humming quietly to herself. "Yes, I suppose there is. I can see the Wrackspurts, for example. And Nargles. No one else will even believe they're there."

"Wait, you can see Wrackspurts?" Tom interjected, suddenly sounding both stunned and excited. Harry's head jerked to the side and he looked at Tom with stunned confusion.

Luna's eyes lit up with excited joy. "Yes, I can," she exclaimed while nodding her head enthusiastically. Clearly thrilled to have finally found another person who knew what Wrackspurts actually were.

Tom openly gaped at her a little for a moment before he spoke again. "Do you have Alder Elf blood in your line?"

She smiled dreamily and nodded her head. "I do."

"Do you have The Memories?" Tom asked eagerly.

Her face shifted to an apologetic smile and she shook her head. "Only a very little bit. After I come of age, I will gain more."

Harry looked back and forth between the two of them with annoyed confusion plastered on his face. "What are you two talking about?"

"Do either of your parents have The Memories?" Tom persisted, still focused intently on Luna and seeming to ignore Harry at the moment.

Again, Luna's expression softened with apology and a tinge of sadness. "No. My mother had them but she died several years ago."

Tom's eager face fell and he leaned back in his seat with an obvious air of disappointment.

"Are you going to answer me now?" Harry asked, giving Tom a pointed look, that seemed to come off as more of an annoyed pout.

Tom chuckled which caused Harry's expression to shift into a scowl.

"She has the blood of the High Elves in her," Tom said and Harry continued to scowl while raising a single eyebrow as if to say 'I'd already figured that much out for myself, thanks'. "The elves had hereditary memory," Tom went on to explain. "They passed some of their knowledge down to each successive generation, and even those that were descendents from a marriage with muggles or other wizards and witches, still retained the ability, albeit to a somewhat lesser extent than their pureblooded elf cousins."

Harry's expression shifted to a more serious and thoughtful one. "What sort of knowledge is passed down exactly?"

Tom's gaze shifted towards Luna and she smiled back. "Quite a lot, really." Luna began in an easy, conversational tone. "The Memories contain most of the elven history. Their customs and rituals. Their magics and their understanding of the world as well as the creatures in it. Although the amount of knowledge retained grows smaller with each generation. Because of this, much of it has been recorded in my family's books so that we don't lose all of it."

Tom's eyes suddenly lit back up with renewed interest and hope. "Really? You have the elven histories recorded in books? Can I read them?"

Luna gave Tom a surprisingly piercing look, her eyes suddenly losing their dreamy quality. She stared at him long and hard for several minutes. Tom did not fidget under her strange gaze because Tom did not fidget. Harry had to admit he was impressed with how Tom was able to sit there being scrutinized by her for so long without reacting in some way.

Finally, Luna spoke again. "Years ago my mother told me that someday I would meet a wizard who would want to see our books."

Harry blinked. "Was your mother a Seer or something?"

"She Saw things that others could not see just as I See things sometimes." Luna replied cryptically.

"Will you let me see them? Your books?" Tom persisted, clearly determined to get his hands on these books. Harry suddenly worried for Luna's health if she were to refuse him.

"Only if you tell me who you really are." Luna replied.

"What makes you think I'm not who I say I am?" Tom replied smoothly.

"You mean other than the fact that you're using a full body glamour?" Luna asked, rhetorically.

Tom smirked. "Touche."

"I know you are not who you claim to be because of what my mother told me when I was a girl." Luna said.

"And what, exactly, did your mother tell you?" Tom asked.

"That someday one of the Lords of magic would need our knowledge and that it would be my task to give it to him."

Tom's aristocratic eyebrows rose into his forehead and Harry's eyes went wide.

"Is that so?" Tom asked, slowly, taking on a calculating look.

"I must admit, I'm only slightly surprised to find you with Harry and most of that surprise is merely with the nature of your relationship."

Harry frowned in confusion. "Wait, what? Only slightly surprised?"

"It's not terribly surprising that you would be with the Dark Lord considering how very Dark your aura became over the course of the last year. So, for that, I'm not surprised at all." Luna said simply and shrugged, giving Harry an easy, dreamy smile.

Harry gaped at her like a dying fish.

"You clearly seem to already know who I am. Why do you insist that I tell you?" Tom asked then.

"I don't know, I simply believe."

Tom looked blankly at her for a moment before responding. "Well, your belief is correct." His posture straightened and he took on an air of self-importance. "I am the Dark Lord Voldemort."

"And you love Harry?" Luna asked, clearly unfazed by the confirmation of Tom's real identity.

Tom seemed a bit taken aback by being so bluntly asked such a personal question but recovered quickly. He turned his head and looked at Harry, his gaze softening almost instantly with affection that could not truly be faked. "Yes, I do."

Luna smiled widely. "You can read my books."

Tom looked back at her with surprise in his eyes. He had obviously expected more of a struggle than that.

"Only I can remove them from the vault my mother left for me," Luna continued to say. "I can go to Gringotts over the winter holidays and fetch them. I'll give them to Harry and he can give them to you. You may make copies but I would appreciate it if you would give the originals back."

"That would be... most appreciated." Tom replied, still somewhat taken aback by the odd girl and her unpredictable behavior.

Luna smiled widely again and her expression took on that dreamy quality again. "It was very interesting meeting you, Mr. Voldemort. I'll let you and Harry get back to your date now," she said as she began to slide out of the booth.

Harry almost choked at Luna calling Tom, 'Mr. Voldemort' and even Tom seemed a bit stunned by it. Neither one of them commented on the 'date' remark either.

"Er, yeah..." Harry stumbled over his words for a moment. "You... you'll keep all of this to yourself, of course, yeah?"

"Oh, of course." Luna said with a happy nod of her head.

"Um... good."

"Have fun." Luna said cheerfully before turning and leaving the crowded pub.

Harry and Tom stared after her, both equally stunned.

"Is she always like that?" Tom asked.

Harry chuckled weakly. "Yup." He turned back to face Tom, sitting beside him in the booth. "So what's the deal with these books?"

* This chapter contains direct dialogue from the book Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
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Harry Potter and the Breeding Darkness