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Carry on my Wayward Son	By : BlackDawnRose Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Voldemort Views: 18784 -:- Recommendations : 3 -:- Currently Reading : 9
Disclaimer: I do not own HP or make any money from this work of fiction

Chapter List
- 8
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I'm here! I've stollen some internet from my brother to bring you this chapter, I hope you like it :) Harry's going on a tougher mission this time, what will happen?? Enjoy

Not a Death Eater

Harry found the next couple of days rather odd. He’d thought after the previous couple of days that Voldemort was returning to his cold, cruel self, but he found as the next few days progressed that the man seemed to be mellowing again somewhat. There was no doubt he hadn’t lost his edge, when the death eaters failed him or an enemy was brought before him he was as ruthless as ever, but when it came to his inner circle and Harry he was slowly becoming softer and more mellow again.

Harry had no idea what was going on, but this was the dark lord so he just went with the flow and waited for the moment the man would turn back into his cold self again.

He and Severus were sent on several missions over the coming week, all of them to retrieve abused children that the death eaters had identified. Most of them were relatively easy, the last one however was in a magical village and while the house was at the edge of the village there was bound to be a lot more security and they were far more likely to encounter resistance. They took a lot more death eaters and split into two groups. The first would rescue the child and included Severus, Harry, the Lestrange brothers and two others Harry didn’t really know. The second group included the recently released Bellatrix, Crab and Goyle Sr and the Carrows.

The first group were to go in first and head straight for the house. The second group were on standby in case they had any issues and were to create a distraction to help them escape if it was needed. There was a manor at the end of the town where the house was located. It wasn’t close to the house, in fact it was a fair way away, but the wards for it reached the end of the village and as such there was no way to approach the house from the back as they had done previously. It meant they had to move through part of the village, which none of them were pleased about, but it had to be done.

They moved silently through the town, dark shapes in the night. Severus had split them into teams of two and for once he hadn’t put Harry with himself. He was with Rabastan Lestrange, who he’d never had a lot to do with, but who seemed plenty capable when they were sent on missions together. They were closing in on the house when Harry suddenly felt something he recognised. It was one of Bill Weasley’s wards, not designed to keep people out but to activate something, whether it be an anti apparition ward or a spell. That was when he realised they were walking into a trap and he grabbed Rabastan’s arm just before the man touched the ward.

“It’s a trap, warn the others!” he whispered urgently. Rabastan immediately pulled up his arm to use the dark mark and warn the rest to pull back, but in that moment someone tripped the wards and anti aparition wards leapt up all around them. Severus’ order to retreat was heard by all of them and they pulled back just as order members spilled out of the house, heading straight for them. Harry and Rabastan fired off spells as they pulled back and for a moment it seemed that they’d be okay. Then Harry saw Dumbledore come out of the house and Harry’s heart sank, their escape had become a lot more difficult now. The man thankfully seemed surprised to see someone as young as Harry within their ranks and that made him pause, which allowed Harry to fire off a smoke spell to cover their escape.

He and Rabastan fled toward the edge of the village where a wooded would provide some cover for them and they could hopefully reach the end of the anti aparition ward and get away. They’d just passed the tree line when a spell hit Rabastan in the leg, snapping the bone and sending him sprawling into a tree. He went down with a cry and Harry rushed over to help him up.

“What are you doing? Get away from here!” Rabastan snapped as Harry pulled him to his feet.

“I’m not going without you,” Harry snapped back.

“We’re death eaters, not light wizards, we don’t help each other we save ourselves!” Rabastan snapped.

“Well I’m a rebel then aren’t I!” Harry snapped back and pulled the limping man further into the forest. They weren’t moving fast enough though and Harry could hear the order getting closer to them. Finding a large tree with a hollow in the bottom he pulled Rabastan down into it and whipped his invisibility cloak out, covering them both with it and telling Rabastan to be quiet. Several order members rushed into the woods, scanning the trees for any sign of them.

“Which way did they go?” One Harry didn’t recognise asked.

“I don’t know, but they can’t have gotten far, I know I hit one of them,” Kingsley replied. They moved around the area searching high and low, but of course they found nothing as Harry knew they wouldn’t. They spread out in search and as soon as they were out of ear shot Harry pulled Rabastan out of the hollow and they set off again, keeping the invisibility cloak around them so they wouldn’t be spotted. It was slow going, but Harry managed to avoid all of the order members and when at last he finally felt them pass through the anti aparition ward he sighed in relief. He hid them behind some thick shrubbery and whipped the cloak off them. He stuffed it quickly back in his robes and the two of them apparated back to Slytherin manor, relieved Voldemort had altered the wards to allow them direct entry and he wouldn’t have to drag Rabastan much further.

They appeared in Voldemort’s main foyer and headed in the direction Harry knew the dark lord had set up a medical wing. As soon as they walked through the door they were greeted by shocked expressions and Rodolphus raced over to support Rabastan and help Harry get him to a bed.

“What happened?” Snape demanded angrily, moving over to Harry and grabbing his shoulders roughly. “You should have been back here more than an hour ago!”

He knew the man was worried for him and it was making him lash out, it didn’t change the fact that he was hurting Harry’s arms and he grabbed tightly to the potion master’s hands with a quiet but demanding, “Let go!”

Severus looked furious but he pulled back, releasing Harry’s arms and looking expectantly at him for an answer. “We had just reached the tree line when a spell hit Rabastan. His leg was broken and he couldn’t walk alone.”

“And you didn’t leave him behind?” Rodolphus asked, sounding completely floored by that possibility.

“No I didn’t leave him behind!” Harry hissed back angrily. “I don’t care how the rest of you work but I don’t do that!” he turned his attention back to Severus then. “We couldn’t make it to the edge of the ward in time so we had to hide, once the order had moved on we made our way out of the ward and back here!”

Whatever Severus had been about to say never made it past his lips as Voldemort chose that moment to arrive in the room, Lucius right behind him. Harry had known there was something else they were meant to be doing that evening, but the dark lord hadn’t given him details and he hadn’t pried. Lucius looked quite satisfied, until his eyes took in the room and all the injured people currently occupying it, so things must have gone well on their end.

“What happened?” Voldemort demanded angrily.

“It was a trap,” Harry answered immediately. “The order were waiting for us in the house, Dumbledore among them.”

If it were possible, Harry was sure there would be steam coming out of the Dark Lord’s ears. He shook with fury, his red eyed flashing dangerously. Without a word he yanked Lucius forward, shoved his sleeve up and dug his wand into the blonde’s dark mark. Lucius tensed slightly but gave no other outward indication of the burning his arm must be feeling at that moment. It was only a few seconds but everyone in the room waited in fearful silence for what was to come. They were all surprised when Voldemort stalked from the room and Harry followed him, not knowing whether he was supposed to but very aware of the contracts demand that he stay with the man unless specifically ordered away.

The lord reached the manor’s foyer at the same time as another man entered the building and before he could even shut the door behind himself the dark lord had shot a curse at him that had him screaming. The next several minutes seemed to stretch on forever as Voldemort released the man from the curse and demanded an explanation as to how he’d gotten his information so wrong. His answer obviously didn’t please Voldemort because he was back to torturing the man as soon as he’d finished speaking. When at last he’d decided the man had suffered enough, or he’d just worked out enough anger calm down, he ordered the man out of his manor with a threat of death should he ever fail again and a warning that his actions would be watched closely.

Voldemort turned back toward the medical wing and paused when he saw Harry standing in the doorway. Harry saw the man take a deep breath before approaching him and stopping just an arms length away. “Are you hurt?” The question wasn’t what Harry had expected.

“No, My Lord,” he replied.

“Was anyone else injured during the battle?”

“Rabastan has a broken leg, I’m not sure about the others though, I hadn’t had the chance to ask before you arrived,” Harry replied and Voldemort nodded.

“Go back in to the medical wing and have Dimitrov check you over, I will be along shortly,” Voldemort ordered and Harry headed back into the medical wing without a word. He didn’t like watching people be hurt, but it was a part of his life now and he had to get used to it. He wondered if the man really had betrayed them on purpose or whether he’d received false information, he knew how well Dumbledore could plant information when he tried.

He walked back into the treatment room and found Dimitrov who appeared to be sorting through some potions. He approached the man and informed him that the lord had asked for him to be looked over. Dimirtov was running his wand over Harry when Bellatrix spoke.

“What kind of Death Eater are you?” Harry knew without looking that she was talking to him, but Voldemort’s orders not to speak to anyone directly besides the inner circle, unless he was on a mission or had been specifically allowed, still stood, so he chose to ignore her. “A true death eater doesn’t stay to help an injured man escape, they get out and save themselves. That kind of pathetic, sentimentality is going to lead to your downfall and everybody else’s. You don’t deserve to be the Lord’s right hand and I will see to it that we are rid of you and I am in your place if it’s the last thing I do.”

Harry simply glanced over his shoulder at the woman and gave her cold, uncaring look, before turning his attention back to Dimitrov. This enraged Bellatrix who pulled out her wand and aimed it at him. “I am speaking to you, don’t you dare ignore me!”

Harry turned to face her, his wand also out and ready before she fired the first spell. He sent it back at her and a duel ensued. Harry didn’t want to be fighting in the medical rooms but he had to defend himself, and besides, this was Bellatrix, he hated her with every fibre of his being. They hadn’t been at it long when Voldemort’s voice thundered through the room.

“Enough!”

Harry immediately pulled back, re sleeving his wand and bowing to the man. He heard Bellatrix drop to the floor as well as Voldemort moved to stand in front of them, fury flashing through his ruby eyes. “What is the meaning of this?!” he demanded angrily.

“She attacked me, My Lord,” Harry replied honestly.

“He is weak, My Lord. He stayed with Rabastan after he was injured rather than escaping,” Bellatrix argued. “He is not a true death eater and not worthy of being your right hand!”

Voldemort’s eyes narrowed. “I don’t recall asking for your opinion on the matter, Bellatrix.”

“I’m only trying to look out for you, My Lord, I do not want you having to rely on someone who isn’t strong enough to serve you properly. I could do that job properly, you know I could, I would be a much better choice than him,” Bellatrix argued.

“A much better choice, really? As I recall you are the reason Dumbledore is still among the living,” Voldemort hissed and the woman cringed. “You are correct I need to be able to rely on my right hand and trust that they know what they’re doing. They need to be able to plan missions, carry out orders and direct a team. You hardly know what day it is let alone how to direct anyone else and as for planning missions, well, you ruin other people’s, what makes you think I’d ever trust you to plan one of your own?”

“I only want to serve you, My Lord,” Bellatrix whimpered pathetically from her spot on the floor at Voldemort’s feet.

“And yet you defy me at every turn,”Voldemort growled.

“No, never!”

A very angry crucio had Bellatrix screaming and clawing at the floor for several minutes.

“I made it perfectly clear, on the night he was introduced to you all, that I would not tolerate anyone targeting my right hand or trying to undermine his position in order to claim it themselves!” Voldemort yelled, his anger causing his magic to spark dangerously around him. “There was no way even you could mistake my instructions and yet you still took it upon yourself to do exactly what I told you not to! That is twice now you have defied me, Bellatrix and I am growing very weary of your insolence!”

Bellatrix huddled on the floor quietly whining for several moments before she dared speak again. “I’m deeply sorry, My Lord, I swear it will never happen again,” she whimpered.

“See that it doesn’t, Bellatrix, because if you ever defy one of my orders, or betray me again, I will throw you in the dungeon and torture you until you’re in far worse shape than the recently departed Umbridge. Am I clear?”

“Yes, My Lord,” Bellatrix whimpered and Voldemort threw one last crucio at her before gliding from the room.

“Come along, pet,” he called as he reached the door and Harry moved to follow him, wishing he could give the woman still cowering on the floor a good kick as he passed her. He would see that she met her end one way or another if it was the last thing he did. He would avenge Sirius’ death, he promised himself that.

XX

The following morning was a quiet one in the manor. Voldemort’s temper was still simmering just below the surface and all the death eaters in residence were wary of being the cause of it erupting once more. When breakfast was over Draco left as quickly as propriety allowed to get to his healing lessons with Dimitrov and Harry envied him his ability to escape, although he was glad to see at least one of his friends out of harms way. Lucius arrived shortly after and he, along with Severus and Harry, left the room with Voldemort for their usual morning planning meeting.

When they reached the room they waited for Voldemort to choose a chair before choosing their own. He ordered the house elf to bring them coffee and once it had arrived and they all had a cup he sat back and stared at the cup in what seemed to be silent contemplation. No one spoke, they waited for him to begin the conversation and as the silence stretched on Harry became more and more nervous. It took every ounce of self control he possessed not to fidget.

After what felt like forever he finally spoke. “Jethrow can no longer be trusted. Lucius, I want a close eye kept on him and all of his information double and triple checked from now on, is that understood?”

“Yes, My Lord,” Lucius agreed immediately.

“If you find any hint of treachery from him I want it reported immediately.”

“Yes, My Lord,” Lucius agreed again.

“Good. Now if he isn’t a traitor that means we either have one in our midst or our plans have become too obvious to the order. For the next little while we will plan our moves and only go ahead with our more covert operations. Lucius, you will see that these continue,” he commanded quietly.

“Of course, My Lord.”

“Any other plans we make will be kept between the four of us until they are put into action, understood?”

“Yes, My Lord,” Harry, Severus and Lucius agreed in tandem.

“Good.” The room lapsed back into silence and when at last Voldemort spoke again his words surprised Harry greatly.

“That is all for today, you are all dismissed,” he ordered, his eyes still never leaving his cup. Harry exchanged surprised looks with the other men in the room before Lucius and Severus rose and bowed to Voldemort, bidding him a good day before leaving the room. Harry rose as well, but lingered in the room after the other two had departed.

“Are you sure there is nothing more I can do for you today, My Lord?” he asked and Voldemort’s gaze rose to meet his. He opened his mouth to speak, but shut it again and returned his eyes to his coffee.

“No, Harry, that will be all.”

“All right, have a good day, My Lord,” he replied, bowing politely to the man and leaving the room. Severus was waiting for him out in the hall way and he motioned for Harry to follow him down to the library.. When they arrived he pulled the door closed and pulled Harry into a tight hug.

“I am sorry I was harsh upon your return last night,” the man said softly.

“It’s all right, I know you were just worried,” Harry replied hugging him back. “I’m sorry I was rude back to you, but I’m sure you know why.”

“I do. I’m glad you were unharmed.”

“You too. Did you feel Bill’s ward before you walked through it?” Harry asked.

“I did indeed.”

“I told Rabastan to warn the rest of you, but I guess the warning didn’t get through in time.”

“No the Carrows were a little ahead of themselves,” Severus explained. “Both were injured but managed to get out alive.”

“That’s good, at least,” Harry replied and pulled back from the man. “The Lord has been acting … strange,” he stated, hoping Severus might be able to offer some insight.

“Yes, more like his old self,” Severus agreed. “Not quite as bad though I have noticed. Neither Lucius or I have any idea what has brought on two such abrupt changes of behaviour. He was fine when we spoke that afternoon he gave Lucius the potion, he was very pleasant in fact. By the time we arrived for dinner we all knew something had changed, but not why.”

“Do you think it has anything to do with the healing liquid?” Harry asked.

“It is always a possibility. Perhaps such an abrupt change of mental state was too much for the Lord to handle,” Severus suggested.

“Maybe,” Harry agreed.

“So what are your plans for the remainder of the day?”

“Meditate and probably study a little. What about you?”

“Brew and prepare for the new school year,” Severus replied. “Perhaps after lunch I could assist you with your studies,” he offered.

“That would be great,” Harry accepted gratefully. “Defence against the dark arts seems to come rather naturally to me, the dark arts themselves not so much.”

“They do take time to master. Meet me back here after lunch and we’ll go over some of the things you are having difficulty with.”

“I will, thank you,” Harry agreed with a smile.

They left the library together and Harry bid Severus a good morning brewing as they split off in separate directions. He was heading to his room to meditate, not wanting another incident like last time in the garden, when he ran across Nagini.

“Good morning, hatchling,” she greeted him pleasantly.

“Good morning, Nagini,” he returned her greeting politely. “Been out hunting?”

“I have indeed, the mice were plentiful this morning,” she replied happily. “Where are you headed?”

“Back to my room to meditate,” he replied. “The Lord gave us the day free so I figured I’d use it well.”

“Why not the garden?” she asked curiously. “The sun is lovely and warm today.”

“I considered it,” Harry told her. “But I really don’t want another nosy interruption.”

“Tom has warded the garden now, there will be no more interruptions,” Nagini informed him.

“That’s his private garden though. I didn’t know that the first time of I wouldn’t have gone in there.”

“He will not protest your presence,” Nagini assured him. “He has keyed the wards to allow you entry as well as myself, Draco, Severus and Lucius.”

“It doesn’t mean he’s okay with us being there without him,” Harry argued.

“He is,” she told him assuredly. “He told me. Why don’t you go on down there and enjoy the morning. I am going to see Tom and then I was planning to spend the day out there. I would enjoy your company.”

“All right,” he agreed, happy to be getting out of the manor during daylight hours. “I’ll see you down there.”

She gave him a happy hiss and headed on up the corridor. Harry shook his head and headed for the garden. It was hard to believe he found her so scary once upon a time.

XX

When Nagini arrived in Voldemort’s parlour she found him brooding in one of the lounge chairs. She was used to his brooding behaviour after all the years they’d been together, it didn’t mean she liked it though. She slithered up onto his lap and raised her head up to meed his gaze.

“What’s wrong?” she asked gently.

“I like the darkness too much,” he told her cryptically.

“You’ve always liked the darkness, Tom, why is this now a problem?” she asked, confused.

“Because Harry is not of the dark.”

Ah, they were back to Harry then. “What happened?” Nagini asked patiently.

“That idiot Jethrow gave us incorrect information about the raid last night, Harry, Severus and the team they took with them were almost captured in a trap,” Tom explained.

“They are all right though?” Nagini asked worriedly.

“They are fine, now. Some sustained minor injuries but nothing more. It was what happened after that is the real issue.” Nagini waited patiently for him to continue. “I called Jethrow here, and of course I was so angry that I tortured the man to within an inch of his sanity before I finally regained enough control to let him go with a harsh warning.”

That all sounded pretty standard to Nagini, so obviously more must be coming.

“When I turned to go back into the hospital wing and check on Harry and the others, I found him standing in the doorway watching me. He didn’t say anything, but I know how badly my actions bothered him.” He paused and scrubbed at his face with his hands. “This is who I am, Nagini, even if I manage to soften enough to allow myself to care about others I will still have my temper, I will still enjoy hurting people who defy me or betray me, I don’t think anything will change that, and Harry … he’ll never care for me while I am this way. The more I think about it the more it hurts and the more I feel the darkness in my personality returning. It’ll become completely dominant again soon, I can feel it, and I’ll let it happen, because without it I have no defence against these retched feelings!”

“What about your friends, aren’t they enough to keep you somewhat in the light?” Nagini asked worriedly.

“I don’t think they are, Nagini, not anymore. I never wanted to feel this way for Harry but I do. I can’t even understand the feeling properly let alone deal with it or act on it. All I know is the thought of Harry never feeling the same for me just … it’s such a black, depressing feeling. He is all light, bright and beautiful and if he were with me I could see myself turning to at least a dark grey rather than the awful black that I am. But honestly I’d probably just smother his light … that’s what I’m good at.”

Nagini sighed and leant up to nuzzle his face. “You know I’ll always love you, Tom, you’re not all black to me. I’ve always been able to see a small slither of light inside you and I hoped that one day you’d find the right catalyst to help it burn brighter again. Now Harry is here and whatever you might think I know he’d be able to help you bring that light back again. I know you are capable of caring for others, and I’m sure, if you tried, Harry would see it too. You’re not as different as you think you are, you said yourself just the other night that there were many similarities between you. Maybe if you focused on them rather than your differences you’d find a way to feel some hope again.”

Tom looked back at her sadly. “I love you too,” he said with a sad smile. “This morning when I dismissed the others Harry stayed back and asked if I needed anything. I wanted so badly to ask him to just sit with me for a while, to just stay close to me. When we’re together and nothing terrible is happening I feel so much better about everything.”

“Then tell him, Tom,” Nagini said.

“I can’t. I wouldn’t know how.”

“Then I suggest you find a way, because if you don’t tell him, I will!” Nagini said decisively.

Tom looked at her wide-eyed. “You can’t!” he protested.

“I most certainly can. And if it means helping you get better I will. In fact I am going down to join Harry in the garden for some meditation right now, I think it would be the perfect opportunity,” she move to slither down from his lap, but he wrapped his arms around her and halted her escape.

“I’m not ready for him to know yet, love,” he said softly and Nagini sighed.

“Fine, I will give you a little while longer before I say anything. But I will Tom, have no doubt about it. You need to do something and it has to be soon or it will be too late,” she warned him.

“I know,” he agreed quietly.

“All right, I’m going down to the garden to join Harry. You should come along too, meditation would be a lot better for you than brooding.” She slithered off his lap and out of the room, hoping her tough love wouldn’t blow up in her face. She knew Tom needed to be nurtured, he had since she’d met him, but at some point she had to be a little tougher on him or he’d never progress past the point he was at.

XX

Harry had reached the doorway to the garden when a voice called out from behind him. He turned to find Rodolphus running to catch up with him and he paused to see what the other man wanted, his hand resting softly over the clasp that held his wand to his wrist. If the man wanted to get revenge on him for Bellatrix he’d better be ready.

“Wow you walk fast!” the man exclaimed as he came to a stop in front of Harry. Honestly Harry didn’t think he was but he must have been. “My brother’s been trying to catch you all day. I’m sure you’re busy, but could you wait just a minute for him to catch up, he’s not far behind me?”

“Sure,” Harry replied, glad Voldemort had given him permission to speak to at least a few of the death eaters outside the inner circle. It was only a select few, but Rodolphus and Rabastan were among the few as were Draco and Dimitrov. Bellatrix hadn’t made the cut and that suited Harry just fine.

Rodolphus hobbled around the corner a few moments later and approached Harry as quickly as his crutched hopping would allow.

“I didn’t realise you’d been looking for me or I would have come to find you and saved you the energy,” Harry said apologetically, feeling sorry for the hobbling man. “How is your leg anyway?”

“Better,” Rabastan replied, stopping beside his brother. “I’ll only need the cast for a couple of days and then it can come off.”

“I’m sure that will be a relief,” Harry said sympathetically, he remembered all too well what it was like to have a limb be unusable.

“It definitely will,” the man agreed. “Anyway, the reason I was looking for you was to say thank you. You didn’t have to help me escape last night, but you did and I know perfectly well that your actions saved my life. We are pure blooded as I’m sure you know, just as I’m sure you know that I am now indebted to you. Should you ever need anything, don’t hesitate to ask.”

Well, Harry hadn’t expected that. Both men looked incredibly serious at that moment and wanting to dispel some of the somber mood he said, “I don’t suppose you could poison Bellatrix for me? That’s all I really need at the moment.”

The two men looked at him surprised for several moments before their expressions became thoughtful and Harry realised in alarm that they were actually thinking about how to do it.

“I was kidding,” he said, before they could get too involved in the thought process. “I mean, I hate the woman with every fibre of my being, but I don’t think the lord would be too pleased with you if you killed her. Besides if anyone is going to kill her, aside from the lord of course, it’s going to be me, and I’d never seriously ask you to kill your sister in law.”

“Why not? We’d do it,” Rabastan replied matter-of-factly.

There was another thing Harry hadn’t expected them to say. “Seriously?”

“She and I are an arranged marriage,” Rodolphous explained. “And thanks to pure blood bloody customs I can’t get out of it unless she dies. I had thought about killing her in the past but she’s not let me near her undefended in a long time. You’re right as well of course, I doubt the lord would be impressed with us if we killed her.”

Harry shook his head, the poor guy. “You have my sympathies.”

“Thanks,” he replied grimly.

“Well we’ll leave you alone. Thanks again, and like I said anything you need, you know where to find me,” Rabastan reminded him with a smile.

“I appreciate the offer. If I think of anything I’ll let you know, but I didn’t help you in order to incur your debt,” he assured the man.

“I know you didn’t, and that worries me about you more than a little,” Rabastan replied with a joking smile. “See you later.” The brothers disappeared down the hall and Harry watched them go with a smile. Well, at least he knew those two wouldn’t cause him any trouble, too bad he couldn’t say the same about Bellatrix.

Brushing those thoughts aside he headed out of the door and into the garden, looking forward to a few hours of quiet meditation.

He settled in his spot under the tree and closed his eyes, journeying inward. He’d just reached his inner core when Nagini slithered up into his lap. He stroked her scales in motion with the circles he was making in his mind. Her hiss of pleasure sounded far away, everything seemed far away right now, the war, Dumbledore, his future, all of it, and it was lovely.

He wasn’t sure how long he’d been floating around inside his mind when he became aware of another presence in the garden. After a minute he recognised it as the dark lord and paused momentarily, waiting to see if the man would speak. When no words were forthcoming he figured the man didn’t want him for anything and went back to the leisurely laps he was taking around his mind.

It was surprising but the man’s presence didn’t bother him at all, in fact it was quite the opposite. He barely felt the Lord’s presence and all he did feel was the soft vibration of his magical energy. Usually when someone approached him during a meditation it broke his focus and he was immediately on high alert. Maybe it was because of the contract, or maybe it was because he was in the man’s presence so often these days that it was just normal for his energy to be there.

It was such an odd thing to imagine and had he told himself, even the first night into his service to the man, that he was going to be comfortable enough in Voldemort’s

presence to barely notice it, he would have sworn his future self was nuts. Thoughts of the man flashed into his mind, dancing around the outside of his core and showing him images of all the time they’d spent together so far. He’d always known the man was frightening when he wanted to be, that was nothing unexpected, there was also kindness there though, toward Harry and others, and that did surprise him.

There had been other unexpected moments as well, moments where Harry had felt things he’d never imagined feeling for the other man and times where it almost seemed as if the man felt those things toward him as well. That was crazy though, right? This was the Dark Lord, he was Harry Potter, the man wanted him dead because of the prophecy, that wasn't going to change just because Harry served him now. He sighed internally, surprised to notice that he felt … disappointed at the idea of the man not feeling that way for him.

He tried to push it aside but his mind had other plans and suddenly, out of nowhere, images of Harry and Voldemort cuddling, kissing and doing … other things flew through the quiet place he was currently occupying. Seeing them did funny things to his mind, not to mention his body and he snapped himself out of the meditation as quickly as possible. He opened his eyes to find Voldemort sitting on a bench not far from the tree, watching him.

He fought back the threatening blush and buried the mental images as deep in his mind as he could. It was never going to happen, NEVER!

“Are you all right, Harry?” Voldemort asked and Harry was wondering if maybe he hadn’t fought the blush off well enough when the lord continued, “I didn’t disturb you did I?” The man almost sounded concerned? Goodness, his mood swings were giving Harry serious whiplash.

“No, My Lord, not at all,” he replied honestly. It wasn’t Voldemort’s fault his brain had gone psycho.

“Were you aware of my presence?” the man asked curiously.

“Yes, I felt you enter the garden,” he replied and silently cursed his own choice of words.

“But it did not bother you?” Now Voldemort sounded surprised.

“No. Should it have?” Harry asked, wondering where the surprise had come from.

“I am aware that my magic and my presence aren’t the most … soothing and I know you feel my approach and presence much more intensely than anyone else. I would have thought it would interrupt your mental peace,” Voldemort explained his reasoning with a small frown.

“Oh. Well no, it didn’t bother me. You’re right I am very … aware of you when you’re close by and I can feel you approaching from quite a way away most of the time, but your presence doesn’t disturb me. It actually doesn’t bother me in the least, which is kind of odd really since I’m always hyper aware of people approaching when I’m meditating and can only do it around a very small number of people,” Harry explained, still pondering why that is. “I thought perhaps it was because I’m around you all the time now, your presence has just become the norm for me. The only person I have been in this close a vicinity to for any length of time was Ron, but his presence still bothered me during meditation. Maybe deep down I knew he was betraying me,” he finished thoughtfully.

He shook off the gloominess that threatened at the thought of his traitorous friend and considered the dark lord for a moment. “Like I said the other night there’s no pretence with you, I know where I stand, maybe that’s why … I honestly don’t know. Do you meditate?” he asked wanting to change the subject

Voldemort appeared to have been pondering something himself, but he snapped out of it and replied, “Not for a long time and not at all since my rebirth. I found I could never quiet my mind sufficiently, there was always too much going on up there.”

“I guess that’s what happens when you’re in charge of so many people and you have so many plans to sort and prepare for,” Harry said understandingly. “Have you thought about taking it up again? It’s supposed to be very good for you.”

“I had not. But perhaps it would be beneficial.”

“It’s worth a try and you’ve got the perfect place to do it,” Harry said, motioning to the garden around him. “Particularly now that you’ve warded it against intrusion.”

“You noticed the wards did you? How did you know they’d let you in?” Voldemort asked.

“Nagini told me this morning,” Harry explained. “I was going to go to my room to meditate, I didn’t really want another run in like last time I was out here. I ran into her on my way to my room and she told me to come out here and that it had been warded so only certain people could enter it. It is okay that I’m in here isn’t it?” he asked worriedly. “She said it was and I figured she’d know.”

“It’s fine,” Voldemort told him with a dismissive wave of his hand. He studied Harry’s position on the ground. “Is it comfortable down there?”

“It is actually. This tree seems to have the perfect trunk to lean against and the breeze is perfect. Why don’t you come down here and see for yourself?” he suggested.

He’s expected the man to say no so when he rose from the chair and approached, Harry was a little shocked. Voldemort sat down beside him, resting his back against the tree and took a deep breath. He sat quietly for several moments, then Harry saw him smile. “You’re right, it’s is comfortable down here.”

Harry stared at the man, transfixed. He’d seen the Dark Lord smile before but not like this. This was a calm, content smile and it made him look so relaxed, like when he was sleeping. It altered his whole face, and while that was always attractive, Harry found the way it looked right now even more beautiful.

As if noticing he had Harry’s attention Voldemort turned to look at him with a curious expression. “Something wrong?”

“No,” Harry replied with a shake of his head, pushing the images that had jumped into his head during his meditation and were now trying to take over his attention back into the mental cupboard he’d stuffed them in earlier. “I’ve just never seen you smile like that. You look really at peace,” he said honestly.

Voldemort looked contemplative for a moment, then he turned that lovely smile onto Harry. “I suppose I am,” he said quietly and Harry was startled by the expression in his ruby eyes. It looked almost … affectionate? But surely the Dark Lord would never look at him that way.

Feeling a blush rising in his cheeks Harry quickly averted his gaze, “So, are you going to give meditating a try since you’re out here and comfortable?” he asked.

“I think I will,” Voldemort replied, and Harry was positive he heard amusement in the man’s voice.

“Would you like me to leave you in peace?” Harry asked, not wanting to step on his toes.

“No, you may stay,” Voldemort replied, and though it wasn’t worded as one, Harry was almost positive that it had been an order.

He settled himself against the tree and closed his eyes, figuring that he may as well attempt some more meditation himself. He was surprised how quickly he reached his core this time, but attributed it to the fact that he’d already paved the way with his earlier meditation. At one point he felt a cool touch on his hand, but attributing it to Nagini, who as still resting in his lap, he thought nothing more of it.

XX

A bit more character growth for Voldy and the Lestrange brothers owing Harry a favour. He wouldn't leave someone behind, it's not his way and it wasn't going to happen. And Harry is starting to have feelings too, where will they lead??? More as soon as I have internet again. PPPLLLEEEAASSEE review, they make me so happy :)
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Carry on my Wayward Son