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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
- 6
- 7
- 8
I recently got a rather offensive review on FF.NET complaining that I am dragging out Harry and Ron's friendship for too long. If more people think that, I would like to point out that Chapter 6 was all about Ron and Harry's NONfriendship. Just because there is no big explosion yet, doesn't mean they are still friends. But if this reveiwer left it at that, I would understand, but this reviewer continued to insult me by saying, "You really need to think about where this is going..." followed by a threat of, "...be a forgotten author." This person claims its not a flame, but that felt very much like a personal attack on ME rather than my writing style, and of course left no way for me to PRIVATELY respond back.

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

Chapter 7 : Of Sirius Prophesies – August 31, 1994

The Great Hall looked its usual splendid self, decorated for the start-of-term feast. Golden plates and goblets gleamed by the light of hundreds and hundreds of candles, floating over the tables in midair. The four long House tables were packed with chattering students; at the top of the Hall, the staff sat along one side of a fifth table, facing their pupils.

Right there, between Professors Flickwick and Sprout, sat Sirius Black, who was waving at Harry so hard, his arm was liable to fall off. Harry beamed back and returned the wave happily. Severus Snape was at the very end of the staff table, closest to the Slytherins. He too spotted Harry, giving him a dignified nod.

By the end of the sorting, Slytherin got 11 students, Ravenclaw 10, Hufflepuff 12, and Gryffindor 10. For the next half hour, only the sounds of cold, hungry teens eating could be heard. It was then that Hermione learned that house-elves actually worked at Hogwarts.

"There are house-elves here?" she said, staring, horror-struck, at Nearly Headless Nick. "Here at Hogwarts?"

"Certainly," said Nearly Headless Nick, looking surprised at her reaction. "The largest number in any dwelling in Britain, I believe. Over a hundred."

"But I've never seen one!" said Hermione.

Harry stared at Hermione, who had been dubbed as the smartest witch of their age. Did she actually think Mr. Filch, a squib, could single handedly run a magical castle like Hogwarts? Apparently, Nearly Headless Nick thought the same.

"Well, they hardly ever leave the kitchen by day, do they?" said Nearly Headless Nick. "They come out at night to do a bit of cleaning… see to the fires and so on… I mean, you're not supposed to see them. That's the mark of a good house-elf, isn't it?"

Hermione stared at him. "But they get paid?" she said. "They get holidays, don't they? And - and sick leave, and pensions, and everything?"

Recognizing Hermione in one of her rants, Harry tuned her out to ask Neville what he did during his Summer if he didn't get to go the World Cup. When the puddings too had been demolished, and the last crumbs had faded off the plates, leaving them sparkling clean, the Headmaster finally put to rest the rumors of the Tournament that had been buzzing up and down the Hogwarts Express.

"I have great pleasure in announcing that this year we are to have the honor of hosting a very exciting event over the coming months, an event that has not been held for over a century." Here Dumbledore paused, allowing the suspense to fully take its hold on the Great Hall. Harry rolled his eyes at the Headmaster's penchant for dramatics…it was almost as bad as Lockheart! "It is my very great pleasure to inform you that the Triwizard Tournament will be taking place at Hogwarts this year."

This was predictably met with shock from those who recognized the Tournament and confusion from those who didn't.

"There have been several attempts over the centuries to reinstate the tournament," Dumbledore continued, "none of which has been very successful. However, our own departments of International Magical Cooperation and Magical Games and Sports have decided the time is ripe for another attempt. We have worked hard over the summer to ensure that this time, no champion will find himself or herself in mortal danger."

Privately, Harry snorted at this. In the last 3 years of his Hogwarts' education, his life had been in peril every single year. The mention of a 1000 galleons and glory, however, went far in assuaging the little concern the students had over their safety. Especially loud was the Gryffindor table.

Their classes did not change much from last year, except for Hermione's. It seemed she dropped a couple classes to make her schedule more humanly possible. DADA class was historically either very good or very bad, depending on the teacher, and Sirius was understandably nervous in his first few classes, wanting his students to like him.

After Sirius went through the obligatory roll call, it was soon evident that he was taking Harry's suggestions to heart. "Right then," he said, when the last person had declared themselves present. "I've had a letter from Professor Lupin about this class. Seems you've had a pretty thorough grounding in tackling Dark creatures - you've covered boggarts, red caps, vampires, hinkypunks, grindylows, Kappas, and werewolves, is that right?"

There was a general murmur of assent. None of them yet knew what to expect from this teacher.

"But you're behind on dealing with curses, or so I've been told" Professor Black added, giving Harry a wink. "So I'm here to bring you up to speed on all the nasty little things wizards can do to each other…in other words: Curses."

This brought on a wave of excited whispering.

"Now, according to the Ministry of Magic," Sirius continued. "I'm supposed to teach you countercurses and leave it at that. I'm not supposed to show you what illegal Dark curses look like until you're in the sixth year…"

As Harry listened to his godfather speak, he was suddenly doubting the wisdom of letting mildly insane ex-auror/ex-convict teach their DADA class.

"…old enough to deal with it till then. But I say, the sooner you know what you're up against, the better. A wizard who's about to put an illegal curse on you isn't going to tell you what he's about to do. He's not going to do it nice and polite to your face. Isn't that right, Harry?"

Harry gave his godfather a weak grin, which was enough approval for him to go on.

It was both surprising and not surprising that Sirius Black jumped right into the Unforgiveable Curses. It was obvious to all that, unlike their previous teachers, Sirius Black actually knew what he was talking about. And while the subject matter left much to be desired, the students were also hanging onto to his every word. All in all, as long as Sirius didn't go casting AK's in front of a bunch of first years, Harry thought the class was a success.

A whole week into term and Ron was still mad at Harry, not that Harry really cared anymore. Hermione was consumed by some personal project of her own and would quickly disappear to the library every chance she got. With the rift between them, Harry was hanging out with Neville and a hodgepodge of Ravens and Puffs. He found he enjoyed the mixed group, and when he wasn't with them, Harry made use of the Room of Requirements. Most times, he would just duel and spar against dummies, but sometimes when Severus had time, Harry would get to fight him instead.

"Before you begin," Marvolo spoke up before Harry and Severus changed into their sparring clothes. "I have an assignment for you, Severus."

Harry perked up in interest, but Severus froze.

"Fear not, Severus, this should not be at all dangerous," Marvolo said, seeing the wary look.

"I am at your service," Severus replied.

Marvolo nodded in satisfaction. "I have been receiving…disturbing emotional spikes from my other self," he began to explain. Harry nodded. Some nights, he could sense Marvolo's sleep was disturbed, but nothing like it was the very first night. "It is time to move forward with our plans."

"You're going to merge with Him now!" Harry cried out in alarm. For some reason, he always thought he had more time.

Marvolo looked at Harry sympathetically. "No, my little one. Not yet," he answered and Harry sagged in relief. "However, before we can even contemplate the possibility of merging, I need to know the rest of the Prophesy that you had delivered to me 13 years ago."

Severus' eyes widened. "You wish me to go to the Hall of Prophesies?" he asked.

"Of course not," Marvolo replied. "You know very well only Harry or myself can touch that orb, and besides it is too early in the game to let the Old Man become suspicious of us."

"What Hall of Prophesies?" Harry asked curiously. "And what orbs?"

Severus no longer flinched whenever Harry interrupted, realizing that Marvolo would never reprimand the child. Indeed, it seemed like the apparition had all the patience in the world when dealing with this particular Gryffindor.

"The Hall is a great room within the Department of Mysteries," Marvolo explained. "Every prophesy that has ever been written or spoken is magically recorded inside an orb. Wards are placed around the orbs so that only the subjects of the prophesy may access it, in other words, you or me."

Harry nodded in understanding. "So where else can we get a copy of the Prophesy?" he asked. "I'm pretty certain if I asked the Headmaster, he won't tell me."

"We will go to the source," Marvolo answered, turning back to Severus. "Seers tend to forget their own Prophesies, and Dumbledore may have tampered with it, but I would like you to try extracting that memory from her anyway, since this is the most expedient method."

Severus nodded thoughtfully, already starting to plan. "Perhaps a combination of legimency and veritaserum," he mumbled to himself. "When do you require this information?"

"Well before Samhain," Marvolo said. "If the memory of the Prophesy is indeed permanently removed from her mind, then we will need to resort to rituals."

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

October 1st, 1994

It took a whole month, but after having learned all about the theories and ethics behind the Unforgiveables, Professor Black announced that he would be putting the Imperius Curse on each of them in turn, to demonstrate its power and to see whether they could resist its effects.

Unsurprisingly, this was met with great protests.

"If you'd rather learn the hard way - when someone's putting it on you so they can control you completely - fine by me. You're excused. Off you go."

Malfoy was the first to get up, followed by a few of his other Slytherins. As a show of solidarity, none of the Gryffindors moved, even though it was clear some of them really did want to leave class too.

"Azkaban must have addled your brains," Malfoy sneered.

"It certainly didn't help your poor Aunty Bella," Sirius countered, giving the blond boy a creepy smile. "Be my guest." He gestured towards the door.

"And no points will be taken off?"

"Nope," Sirius replied innocently-too innocently.

Malfoy gave the professor a suspicious look before heading towards the door, trailing Crabbe, Goyle, Parkinson, and Nott behind him.

Judging by the rather sinisterly anticipatory look on Sirius face, Harry just knew something was going to happen. And he was right. The moment Malfoy walked through the open doorway, his robes were suddenly transfigured into a frilly pink dress with bows and all. Crabbe and Goyle's clothes were also transfigured, making them look like the portrait of Barnabus the ballerina troll. Nott and Parkinson ended up in muggle clown costumes. And the best part was, none of them even knew it!

The class, now consisting mostly Gryffindors, roared with laughter, some even falling out of their seats. Then with a swish of the wand, Sirius closed the door behind them. "Maurader prank number 67, patent pending," he said with a sweeping bow, and gave a laughing Harry a wink before turning to the rest of the class. "Now, who's up first?" he asked, rubbing his hands together gleefully.

The laughter instantly died, and everyone shifted nervously.

Sirius called each student up one by one and put the Imperius Curse upon them. Harry watched as his classmates did the most extraordinary things under its influence. Dean Thomas hopped three times around the room, singing the national anthem. Greengrass imitated a squirrel. Neville performed a series of quite astonishing gymnastics he would certainly not have been capable of in his normal state. But not one of them seemed to be able to fight it off.

"Harry," Sirius waved at him, "you're next, Pup."

Harry gulped and moved forward into the middle of the classroom. While Marvolo had taught him many dark curses, and Severus even threw a few at Harry, Harry had never been put under any of the Unforgiveables, if you discount the AK when he was a baby.

"Don't worry, won't make you do anything embarrassing," Sirius said reassuringly, before he pointed his wand at Harry. "Imperio!"

It was the most wonderful feeling. Harry felt a floating sensation as every thought and worry in his head was wiped gently away, leaving nothing but a vague, untraceable happiness. He stood there feeling immensely relaxed, only dimly aware of everyone watching him. And then he heard godfather's voice, echoing in his mind… "Jump onto the desk… jump onto the desk, Harry…Go on…"

Harry bent his knees obediently, preparing to spring.

"Come on, Pup. Jump onto the desk…"

Why, though? Harry wondered. Seemed like a stupid thing to do.

"Jump onto the desk…"

Okay, now Harry was getting annoyed, and decided not to jump just for the principle of it.

"Jump! NOW!"

The next thing Harry felt was considerable pain. He had both jumped and tried to prevent himself from jumping at the same time. He ended up falling forward and hitting his head against the desk. "Ow…" Harry groaned.

Sirius rushed to Harry's side grinning madly. "Now, that's more like it!" he crowed. "10 points…no 20, 30, no, no, no 60 points to Gryffindor!" he finally shouted proudly while waving his wand to heal the twin bruises Harry got. "Look at that… Harry's fought! He fought it, and he damn near beat it! We'll try that again, Pup, and the rest of you, pay attention, Prongs had a tough time beating it, but I knew you could do it!"

With his head healed, Harry returned his godfather's exuberance with a grin of his own. 60 points, wow! By the end of class, Harry did manage to completely block out the Imperius Curse, and according to Sirius, he was the only one of a few in the whole school to be able to beat it, including the 7th years. He couldn't wait to tell Marvolo about this!

Harry excused himself quickly and raced down to the dungeons and into Severus' personal rooms. Ever since Severus was given his assignment, it was just easier for the two to communicate with each other if Severus kept the diary with him.

"Guess what!" Harry threw open the door and shouted. He bent over slightly, catching his breath, but he didn't let it slow him down. Before either, Marvolo or Severus, could respond, Harry strode in and announced, "Sirius threw the Imperious Curse at us today!"

Severus raised a slender brow. "You say that as if it were the greatest thing in the world," he said deadpanned. "Did he perhaps throw the Cruciatus at you as well?

Harry gave Severus an odd look, unsure if the stoic man was joking or not. Sometimes it was hard to tell with him. "Er…no, but I fought off the Imperious, and Sirius said I was the only non-Slytherin who could beat it!" At this, both Marvolo and Severus stared, to which Harry smiled smugly back at them. "And Sirius gave me 60 points for it!"

Severus crossed his arms and scowled, making Harry laugh again.

"Congratulations, Harry," Marvolo said, truly pleased by this. "It is no small feat to resist the Imperious. Tell me, how many attempts did it take you?"

"Well, it took about three tries," Harry answered. "But after the first time, I already got the feel of it." It was then he realized that he'd just stormed into the middle of what looked like some serious planning and research. "Ummm…what's going on?" he asked, slipping off his backpack and settling on the couch.

"Severus was unable to learn the Prophesy directly from Trelawney's mind," Marvolo answered.

Harry's eyebrows went up, and glanced at his teacher. Judging by the dark frustrated look on his face, it didn't look like he wanted to admit defeat. "So what now?"

"My Lord, I am sure if I tried the Trance Enhancer in combination with…"

Marvolo held a hand up. "There is no need, my friend. The only reason why I wanted you to try first was because I had hoped it would be simple, but we all knew it was likely Dumbledore would make sure the Prophesy was thoroughly cleaned from her mind."

Severus sighed, but nodded.

"To answer your question, Harry," Marvolo continued. "We will take advantage of Samhain night and perform a modified scrying ritual." He gestured to an open book on the table, and Harry rose to see what it was. "I want both of you to become familiar with this ritual, and be prepared to perform your parts on All Hallow's Eve."

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

October 23, 1994

A week before Halloween, a sign was posted in the Great Hall. A large crowd of students congregated there, all milling around a large sign that had been erected at the foot of the marble staircase

TRIWIZARD TOURNAMENT

THE DELEGATIONS FROM BEAUXBATONS AND DURMSTRANG WILL BE ARRIVING AT 6 O'CLOCK ON FRIDAY THE 30TH OF OCTOBER. LESSONS WILL END HALF AN HOUR EARLY STUDENTS WILL RETURN THEIR BAGS AND BOOKS TO THEIR DORMITORIES AND ASSEMBLE IN FRONT OF THE CASTLE TO GREET OUR GUESTS BEFORE THE WELCOMING FEAST.

The appearance of the sign in the entrance hall had a marked effect upon the inhabitants of the castle. During the following week, there seemed to be only one topic of conversation, no matter where Harry went: the Triwizard Tournament.

On the evening of the 30th, the other two schools arrived in style. Beauxbaton came in great abraxan-drawn carriages, the size of a large house. And if they thought the carriages were large, the Headmistress, Madam Maxim, could even rival their own groundskeeper, Hagrid.

Durmstrang, on the other hand, arrived by ship that magically rose out of their Black Lake, gleaming in the moonlight. It had a strangely skeletal look about it, as though it were a resurrected wreck, and the dim, misty lights shimmering at its portholes looked like ghostly eyes. Finally, with a great sloshing noise, the ship emerged entirely, bobbing on the turbulent water, and began to glide toward the bank.

In the Great Hall, the Beauxbaton students had divided themselves between Hufflepuffs and the Ravenclaws. And almost as one, the Durmstrangs settled themselves at the Slytherin tables….After dinner was finished, Filch produced a wooden casket and placed it before the Head Table in view of the whole Hall. From this casket, Dumbledore lifted the famed Goblet of Fire, a chalice that was brimming with dancing blue-white flames.

Dumbledore drew the Age Line, what Harry recognized was a modified magical circle, preventing anyone below the age of 16 from competing.

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

October 30th – 11:30 pm, Chamber of Secrets

The Ritual of Morgana was named after the infamous Sorcereress Morgana LeFay who was renown for her Seer abilities. Because Harry was the subject of the Prophesy, he was going to be the 'sacrifice' and Severus was going be the Ritual Master. This was going to be Harry's first two-man ritual.

Unfortunately, Harry had to wait for his dorm-mates to go to sleep first before he could sneak out. At this point, Harry and Ron were barely civil to each other, making dorm-life rather uncomfortable for everyone. Most days, they could avoid each other, but when they were stuck in the same room together, which was often the case, tension mounted quickly. Even the other Gryffindor boys were giving them a wide berth, sure that something was going to give any moment.

When Harry finally escaped to the Chamber of Secrets, with invisibility cloak in hand, Severus had already drawn the circles and lined them with Runes. "Sorry I'm late," Harry huffed and dumped his stuff in one corner of the cavern, keeping only his wand and violin. After a quick glance, he recognized some of the runes, in particular, the Rune of Odin.

"You are just in time," Marvolo said, and gestured for Harry to position himself in the center of the circle.

There were actually two concentric circles. As Ritual Master, Severus stood at the north end between the two circles, and Harry as the sacrifice went to kneel in the very center. Also in the center was a chalice of dried myrrh leaves, harvested in the dark of the moon, an athame, a quill, and parchment to which Harry would record the Prophesy as he heard it.

With a few flicks of his unicorn wand, the horn took on the shape of a violinist bow. Harry's magic was so in touch with his sprites now that it only took a few quick draws of the bow over the violin to Call them to him. Harry directed Terra to the north end of the circle, Flama to the south, Triton to the west, and Aria to the east in accordance to the elements. Their presence was not necessary, but could help focus the ritual better to Harry's needs, so he wouldn't be bombarbed by a bunch of useless prophesies.

At 5 minutes to the witching hour, Severus cracked open his Prince Family Grimoire, having successfully solved its secrets over the summer. He began chanting the words that would help them breach the veil between the physical and the mystical worlds. The runes and circles flared a bright blue as they were charged with magic.

Harry allowed his teacher's low, smooth voice to settle his nerves. It was in a language that Harry didn't understand, so he was listening for the particular set of syllables that would cue him to begin. He finally heard it and picked up the ritual blade next to his knee.

For this ritual, Harry actually had to identify his life line, and traced the crease with the athame, deep enough to draw blood, and allowed his blood to drip syrupy into the chalice of myrrh leaves. Only 13 drops was needed, after which Harry wandlessly healed his palm and raised the chalice up to his face. A quick puff of Fire's Breath instantly ignited the dried leaves, and within a few seconds, Harry had a chalice full of fire, with thick white smoke swirling around him.

Vaguely, Harry knew Severus' chanting had changed, taking an even more hypnotic rhythm. Harry breathed in the smoke deeply, trying not to cough, and allowed the magical properties of the myrrh and Severus' chanting to lull him into a trance.

There was nothing hallucinogenic about the myrrh. Some dark wizards used dangerous herbs in their rituals to help them enter a trance-like state, but neither Marvolo nor Severus approved of using those sub-par techniques. Only one who couldn't control their own mind relied on hallucinogenics. But Harry had been meditating regularly for the last year, and with the aid of Magic, he easily slipped into a receptive mind state where he could hear the faintest whispers of the Universe, its secrets, and the future.

At last, one voice, neither male nor female, out of an infinity of whispers caught Harry's attention. Quill already in hand, Harry immediately recorded 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…

When the words simply cycled back, over and over, Harry extinguished the flames by snuffling it out. "I've got it all down," Harry announced, officially ending the ritual.

Marvolo and Severus joined him in the circle, their lips moving silently as they read the lines to themselves.

Harry shivered. "I'm not sure I liked the sound of that," he whispered. The whole thing sounded all too cryptic to him, talking about paths and eternal struggles.

Aria gave him a pat on the shoulder, and Terra jumped into his open palm, as if wanting to comfort him. Harry grinned at them in thanks.

"Alright, gentlemen, let's take this apart line by line," Marvolo said. "And don't hesitate to add any ideas, no matter how outlandish," he added, looking at Harry specifically.

"I think it is safe to assume that the first and second lines have already come to pass," Severus went first. "It also matches Harry exactly."

"Yes, in a way I was vanquished on that Halloween night," Marvolo agreed. "Even though I was not permanently gone."

"I also got marked that night," Harry added, rubbing his scar. "And it was Dumbledore who placed me with the Dursleys. I also considered Hogwarts as my second home, which is under Dumbledore's control…So I guess that counts as being raised by the Light Lord."

"The wording in the third line is unusual," Marvolo continued, and Flama moved forward as if she was re-reading that line again. "The use of 'final' indicates the Choice and the Change is permanent."

"The Choice must be me deciding to join the Dark," Harry put in, remembering last Winter Solstice where he spent the night at Newgrange. That was the night he consciously decided to support the Dark side. "And this isn't a Choice that I can go back on." Not that he'd wanted to, he thought, looking down fondly at his four friends.

Triton bubbled as if in agreement.

"But what of this Change?" Severus pointed out. Something niggled in the back of his mind, but he couldn't quite grasp it. "Whatever it is, it's also permanent. Perhaps a creature inheritance?"

"Could just be a Change in my ideals," Harry put in. "I know ever since I met Marvolo, I'll never go back to that gullible Gryffindor again."

"No, I do not think so," Marvolo corrected. "The Choice is supposed to come before the Change. But you made your choice to join the Dark in third year after I opened your eyes to Dumbledore's manipulations in second year."

That was true. Suddenly Harry stiffened. "You don't think this Change means I'm going to die, do you?" Harry asked weakly. Considering the Triwizard Tournament this year and Harry's track record the last three years, Harry felt this was all too likely.

Everyone looked startled at the idea, even his sprites. Aria was even shaking her head frantically.

"What makes you say that?" Marvolo asked.

"Well, this is Trelawny's prophesy, and Ron's always going about saying she predicts people dying. This year, Neville's the unlucky one." Harry's eyes widened. "Is it because Neville's the other Prophesized Child? Maybe she's subconsciously trying to tell him something too."

Severus rolled his eyes. "That woman is a charlatan 99% of the time. I assure you Harry, your friend is safe from her. She has been predicting the death of more than 50 students, and none of them have died in the way she predicted. I dare say if she predicts your death, you are more likely to live than not."

That was some twisted logic, but to Harry it was enough to make him feel better.

"Well, unless we have more information," Severus continued. "I don't think we will figure out what the Change is or how it is important in the over all scheme of things."

"Actually," Marvolo said. "There you are wrong. In order for Harry to 'win the Eternal Struggle' he must first make his Choice and make his Change. Until then, the Light and the Dark will keep on fighting."

"Great," Harry grumbled. "If you guys are waiting for some miraculous thing to happen, this war is going to go on forever."

"At first glance, the last two lines seem to reiterate the first two," Severus continued, ignore Harry's melodramatic comment. "Except prophecies don't repeat like that unless there is a reason."

"You'd think the first and last lines should be the same," Harry agreed, seeing what Severus meant. "But the first says, 'The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches,' but the last says, 'The one of both Light and Dark approaches."

"It speaks of your growth and evolution," Marvolo said. "When you were born, you had the power to vanquish me. Then after the Choice and Change and once you've walked that path, you become both Light and Dark. But Light and Dark what?" Marvolo asked thoughtfully. "Light and Dark Lord? Light and Dark Mage? Or maybe you will return magic to the form it was before Merlin and Morgana divided it."

"As I see it," Severus said. "It doesn't really matter what else the prophesy says. The critical part was putting Harry onto the path of the Dark, instead of the Light. After that, the natural progression of events will either play out in our favor or as you said, there will be a mergence of magic to the time before Merlin. As long as the Light doesn't win, I say let the prophesy be."

"Right, no pressure," Harry said dryly.

"I agree," Marvolo responded. "I do wonder what conclusions Dumbledore had inferred from the prophesy that would lead him to allow Harry to grow up abused."

Severus snorted. "I have twisted my mind inside out, trying to understand that man's mind," he said. "But I find I do not wish to get that close to insanity."

Harry nodded in agreement.

"Remember this is only one possible interpretation," Marvolo cautioned. "However, I think, now knowing the complete prophesy, it is safe to say that Fate has not bound us to be enemies, we may move our plans forward."

Harry's exuberance quickly cooled. "Right, merging your soul back to Voldemort's," he said glumly. He definitely was not looking forward to that day.

Marvolo hugged Harry close to his chest. "It must be done, my little one," he said. "My other self is already taking steps to his own resurrection. If we leave him be, he will return as a monster, more terrible than anything the wizarding world have faced before. I must be there to gentle his rage, and bring reason to his madness."

Harry sighed, but nodded in understanding.

"When will this merging take place?" Severus asked.

"The next night of power," Marvolo answered. "Yule. We have a little less than two months to prepare."

Suddenly each of Harry's sprites all twittered, flickered, bubbled, and rumbled excitedly. Aria was zipping around Harry's head like hummingbird, Terra was dancing at his feet, and Flama was doing twirls in the air. Harry just stared at them incredulously for their strange behavior. "What's gotten into you guys?"

Marvolo chuckled. "It appears as though we have Magic's blessing to move on with our plans."

Harry's eyes widened. Even Magic wanted Marvolo to merge with Voldemort.

A/N: Okay, sorry for how choppy this chapter was, but it had to cover a lot of time and material, and you don't need me to retell all the reactions to the Tournament or the arrival of the foreign schools. First, I opted not to have Sirius perform the AK or the Cruciatus. As an ex-auror, he would find those two curses absolutely repugnant, and they have no educational value at all. But learning to fight the Imperius would be a valuable skill to have.

And I am sorry to all the Draco fans out there. Personally, I felt that Draco had a right to step out of class if he was forced to do something he didn't agree with. Besides, he probably got all the lessons he needed from his father, and no real Slytherin would let a Black cast the Imperious on them. But sticking to Sirius' character, I can see he wouldrig the doorway to prank anyone not 'brave' enough to stay in class.

As for the one who flamed me, I hope this chapter made it crystal clear that Harry and Ron are definitely NOT friends anymore. The big blow-up that you are probably looking for is coming up. I will also be removing your offensive review in a couple days, so please don't flame me in retaliation, or if you do, leave me with a way to handle this through PM.
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In Servitude of the Dark : My Obiesance