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Not As It Seems	By : SailorSol Category: Harry Potter > General > General Views: 4952 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 1
- 2
Not As It Seems

Disclaimer: Not mine, darn it. I'm just playing.

A/N: This plot bunny would NOT leave me alone until I wrote
it down. I don�t know where it�s going. I don�t know why it came into my brain.
Let me know what you think.

Chapter 1

Harry was jolted out of sleep by the door to his
bedroom crashing down off of its hinges. He raised his wand at the robed and
masked figures that entered, only to be stopped by a well-timed immobilizing
charm. To his great confusion, his glasses were picked up and put on his face.
He was then carried down the stairs of his aunt and uncle�s house, hearing
sounds of more people and the terrified wailing of his aunt and cousin, as well
as the belligerent bellowing of his uncle.

Finally, the four of them were all downstairs.
Harry was seated in an armchair while the instigator of the whole problem sat
calmly in Vernon Dursley�s favorite chair.

Lord Voldemort had been busy in the six weeks
since Harry had seen him last. The snake-like visage was gone, replaced with a
handsome man of indeterminate years with dark hair and piercing dark eyes. At
one side was Peter Pettigrew, the man who had betrayed Harry�s parents, and at
his other side was his familiar, Nagini. The enormous snake slithered over to
Harry and carefully coiled herself around him, as if in an embrace.

�/No harm to you, young one,/� she told him in
Parseltongue. �/Master wishes you to know some things. Time for you to know the
truths Master has learned./� She laid her enormous head on Harry�s shoulder,
eliciting a wince from him as she brushed a bruise left from Vernon�s last
beating.

�See to him, Bellatrix,� Voldemort said, flicking
his wand in Harry�s direction. The dark woman came over to Harry and muttered
several spells that Harry recognized from his numerous trips to Hospital Wing
at Hogwarts.

�He has been beaten, Master,� she said after a
moment. �The beating was recent, and was the latest in many.�

�I see,� Voldemort said. He turned his attention
to the three Dursleys, who stood huddled together.

�Tell him,� he said, directing his gaze at
Petunia. �Tell him the truth or I will show him how to get it from you.�

�Better do as he says, Petunia,� Vernon said,
using a kind tone that Harry had never heard before. �I don�t doubt that he can
do what he says.�

�Oh, very well,� Petunia said. �May I get tea
first, and sit down?�

�Tea is being brought,� Voldemort said. �You may
all sit, as long as you behave yourselves.� He flicked his wand and three
straight-backed chairs appeared. Petunia carefully took a seat, trying
desperately to pretend that the man in front of her was not a wizard, but was
an ordinary man.

�I don�t know where to start,� she said. �It
really goes back to when Lily was at school.� She looked at Harry as if to find
out if he was even listening.

�He cannot acknowledge your words, woman,�
Voldemort said. �But he can hear you. Continue.�

Petunia opened her mouth to speak, then shut it
again when four house elves came bustling in with the family tea service,
polished to a shine that seemed impossible to attain, and probably was without
magic. They placed cups of tea and plates of biscuits and sandwiches in front of
everyone that was sitting, served tea to those standing, and then withdrew to
the edges of the room.

�Lily was fine for quite a while,� Petunia
continued after preparing her tea and taking a few meditative sips. �My parents
were very proud of her. After her fifth year, things changed. She got in with
the wrong crowd. She started spending time with people from a rather
disreputable group at school. My parents were told that Lily was being
corrupted by them. The head of the school, Dumbledore, told them that to keep
her from this, they had to take drastic steps. He helped them arrange a
marriage with a trustworthy young man named James Potter, who would keep Lily
away from those horrid people.

�I didn�t hear from Lily after she left school,�
Petunia said. �The next I knew of her, I was told that she and her husband had
been murdered and that her son was in danger, and I had to take care of him.

�Dumbledore explained very carefully, you see,�
she said. �Lily was going to leave James and undo everything my parents had
done to keep her safe. She was going to hand her own child over to some madman
to be murdered. I couldn�t let that happen. The only way Harry would be safe is
if he didn�t know anything about that business until it was time for him to go
to school, and if he was kept from trusting anyone. It wasn�t going to be easy,
but we did what we had to do.� She turned towards Vernon and smiled at him.

�We kept Harry safe,� she said. �We kept him
from interacting with anyone we didn�t absolutely know was safe. We made sure
people would stay away from him, and made sure Dudley watched him at school.
Children that might have told him things were kept away from him. Dumbledore
said he would make sure that Harry only made friends with suitable children
once he was in school. We were to be as hard as possible on him, to make him
stronger. The more we did to him, the stronger he would become. Then, when he
grew up, he�d be able to get rid of all of that madman�s followers, once and
for all.� She smiled at Voldemort brightly, not realizing how much danger she
was in.

�That�s why you�re here, isn�t it?� she asked.
�It�s time for Harry to do his job. We did exactly what Dumbledore said. He�s
very strong. He was even strong enough to blow up that horrid sister of Vernon�s
three years ago. She�s not come for a visit since, did you know that? I could
have kissed Harry for that, but of course I couldn�t.�

�And why is that?� the voice of Severus Snape
issued from behind one of the masks.

�Showing him any affection would have weakened
him, of course!� Petunia scoffed. �I�m not completely ignorant! I read the
books Dumbledore gave us. Harry is like Merlin, who was deprived of his powers
by love. We can�t let that happen. Now, that is why you�re here, isn�t it?�

�No,� Voldemort said. �Dumbledore did not send
us. He does not know we are here. We will be going, and we will be taking Harry
with us. You will not be seeing him again.� He nodded to a Death Eater who was
standing next to Harry�s chair, and a whispered countercurse released Harry
from the spell that held him.

�I don�t understand,� Harry said, looking around
him in confusion. �What is happening here?�

�Of course you don�t understand, Harry,�
Voldemort said. �I myself did not understand until very recently. It was only
four days ago that the pieces fell into place.�

�Then explain it to me,� Harry said. �I�m not
going anywhere with you.�

�Return to your beds,� Voldemort told the
Dursleys. �You will not be harmed.� He gestured and three Death Eaters escorted
the Dursleys out of the room and up the stairs. Voldemort sat down in the chair
again and nodded to Bellatrix.

The woman approached with a sealed bottle of Old
Ogden�s Firewhiskey and two glasses. In front of Harry, she unsealed the bottle
and poured two identical amounts into the glasses.

�Take one, Harry,� Voldemort said. �They are not
poisoned or drugged, and Firewhiskey of this age is not something to be passed
up.�

Curious in spite of himself, Harry picked up one
glass, and watched as the other was handed to Voldemort.

�I was young and foolish when I was in school,
Harry,� Voldemort said. �I did many stupid things, as most young men do. I did
not understand the relationship between the Muggle world and the Wizarding
world. Once I did, I discovered something that I did not like.

�The two worlds need one another to survive,� he
continued, sipping on the liquor. �They must remain separate, but touching.
Separate them completely, and they would both die off, one starved for magic,
the other choked by too much magic. Bring them fully together, and the magic
would become too diluted, and there would be no more wizards and witches, but
there would be too much magic for Muggles to stay sane. I found out that
someone was attempting to do just that: bring the two worlds completely
together. I could not allow it.

�I shared this discovery with a select few
people, and we began what became our life�s work. We set about to stop the man
who would destroy our world through his actions.� Voldemort paused, looking
directly at Harry, as if to gauge his reaction.

�I did not become complacent,� he said. �I kept
recruiting people, and some people were eliminated because they were too
enthusiastically supporting this madman who masquerades as friend to one and
all. I did not restrict myself to purebloods, although they were my first
helpers and followers, and they remain so to this day. I recruited half-bloods
and muggle-born as well. One of those I was recruiting was your mother.� He
paused to drain his glass and held it out for a refill.

�While she was in school, she could not openly
declare for me,� he continued. �She talked to my followers and their children,
and learned from them, until her sixth year. Then, something went wrong, and I
did not know what. I only knew that one of my most ardent supporters suddenly
joined forces with my enemies.

�She stopped associating with the Slytherins at
school.� Voldemort said, gazing directly at Harry. �She stopped studying the
way she had been. She became a different person, a hollow shell of the
impassioned and vibrant witch that had sworn to help me. In short, she became
nothing more than James Potter�s girlfriend, then fianc�e, and then wife. She
stopped being herself.

�I was upset, of course, but she was not yet at
the point where she was dangerous to me. I could allow her to change her mind
without endangering us. Several of the young men she knew were disappointed.
They had hopes of courting and marrying her.

�After she became pregnant, Lily changed again.
She started having her own opinions again. Her husband�s friend, Peter, noticed
it and talked to her about it. James Potter never thought that Peter would have
a mind of his own. His opinions were always what Potter and Black handed to
him.

�Lily told Peter everything, and sent him to
find me. It took him a while. By the time I came to Godric�s Hollow, she had
given birth three months before. Lily would never endanger her child, and I
would not ask her to. She had found some things that she entrusted to me, and
then sent me away. She asked me to come for her in a year, and she would be
ready to go, with her son. I gave her my word, and she gave me her pledge.
After that night, Lily was one of mine.

�Over the next year, we made some progress, and
we prepared a few other things. We put together a sanctuary for the spouses and
children of my followers. Many of them had infants, and before each engagement
with the enemy, the children and spouses went to the sanctuary. Unfriendly eyes
could never find it. If the worst happened, then they would be safe.�

�I came for Lily exactly one year later, as I
promised. She was prepared, but neither of us was prepared for her husband to
come home early from carousing with his friends. He saw Lily with me, and he
realized that he had lost his hold over her. He pulled out his wand, and he
killed her, with you in her arms. That is where the scar comes from. I tried to
shield her, and could only shield you. We were still linked by that shield when
he tried to kill me, and I him at the same instant. I am a much stronger wizard
than James Potter ever was. He died. I was simply disembodied.�

�What about the Priori Incantatum when we
dueled? What about my memories?� Harry asked. Voldemort shrugged.

�It is one of the misfortunes of this situation
that Albus Dumbledore is a gifted wizard, Harry,� he replied. �It is possible,
and likely, that he set up a contingency if our wands should ever meet. It is
certain that he tampered with your memory.

�I was only able to retrieve the items that Lily
gave me last week,� he continued. �One of them was a potion phial, and I had
the contents analyzed. It contained a potion known as the Matrimonial Potion.
It makes the person who drinks it incapable of acting against the person who
gives it to them. It wears off after a while, and it is not safe for pregnant
women to take. James had to stop giving it to her or risk his unborn son.�

�He drugged her?� Harry asked. After all of the
things that he had learned about James Potter, he was not surprised. For some
reason, he believed what he was being told. Nagini�s weight was comforting, not
confining. The alcohol warmed him from the inside, and he felt safe, and
accepted for the first time.

�I�ll go with you,� Harry said. �But I won�t
take the Dark Mark.�

�No, Harry,� Voldemort said, banishing his glass
and Harry�s. �Even if you were not too young, the reasons for the Mark have
become outmoded. I have better ways of making certain that my people are taken
care of.�

�We have found his trunk, My Lord,� Lucius
Malfoy�s voice issued from behind another mask. �His owl is underfed, but that
can be remedied.�

�Good,� Voldemort said, rising from his seat.
Nagini left Harry to coil around her master. �We should leave soon, Harry.�

�If you have my trunk, I�m ready,� Harry said.
�Everything worth having is in there, even the picture album that Hagrid gave
me, and my . . . broom.�

�I have it on excellent authority that the ban
on your flying will be lifted, Harry,� Voldemort said with a smile. �Dumbledore
will not allow his weapon to be so restricted. You might become restless and
dissatisfied. You might not do your job.�

�I�m not his puppet,� Harry growled, his green
eyes glowing in anger. �I�ll make up my own mind about what to do.�

�I will give you free access to the information
I used to make my conclusions,� Voldemort promised, extracting a snakeskin belt
from a pocket and holding it out to Harry.

�Please let me know if your conclusions are
different from mine,� he said as Harry grasped the belt, knowing that it was
probably a portkey. Another hand grasped the belt, and someone placed an oddly
reassuring hand on Harry�s shoulder.

�I think Draco will be pleasantly surprised at
this turn of events,� Lucius Malfoy�s voice drawled. He took hold of the belt
with one hand, with Hedwig�s cage in the other.

�Indeed,� Snape, the owner of the hand on
Harry�s shoulder spoke up. �We will not have to listen to his whining any
more.�

�Until he finds something new to whine about,�
Voldemort said in humor, and then activated the portkey. The now-familiar
sensation of being yanked off his feet took Harry away from Privet Drive, and
into the unknown.

They landed surprisingly gently, and when
Harry�s head cleared, he was greeted by the sight of a large manor house,
lighted on the ground floor even at this hour. He could feel cool smooth stones
under his feet. Harry couldn�t see much in the dark, but he could make out the
shapes of many other buildings around it, and towering trees beyond. The scent
of grass and pine trees teased his nostrils, and he took a deep breath.

I see your trip was a success, My Lord,� a
cultured female voice startled Harry from his reverie. He turned to the source
to see Narcissa Malfoy, smiling and without the superior expression that had
made her company so disagreeable at the World Cup two years before.

�Yes,� Voldemort said, removing his outer hooded
robe and handing it to her. She handed the robe to Pettigrew, and then waited
until both Snape and her husband had handed theirs to her before turning and
preceding them to the manor.

�Since you have no living parents or godparents,
Harry,� Voldemort said. �You will stay in the manor with others who have also
lost their relatives.� He indicated that Harry should follow him and strode
towards the manor house, where the light itself almost seemed to beckon.

Inside, Harry was relieved to see perfectly
ordinary furnishings, albeit more grand than he was used to. The entry was
tiled in unglazed red ceramic tiles with designs carved into them. To the left
was a comfortable-looking drawing room, occupied by several women and girls
engaged in several pursuits from reading and playing gobstones, chess, and
exploding snap, to some serious spellcasting instruction. To the right was an
equally comfortable drawing room occupied by men and boys, engaged in similar
occupations as their female counterparts. It was into this room that Harry was
drawn by Snape and encouraged to sit in a solid-looking mahogany and brocade
chair with clawed feet. A house elf brought a plate of food and some milk, and
then sat on a tiny stool nearby.

�I know you must have many questions, Harry,�
Voldemort said, taking a larger chair directly across from Harry. �Feel free to
ask what you want. I have nothing to hide from Lily�s son.�

�What did my aunt mean about me only befriending
suitable children at school?� Harry asked the question that had burned in his
mind since his aunt had mentioned it.

�I will answer that, My Lord, if I may,� Snape
said. Voldemort nodded and occupied himself with sipping at a glass of brandy
that had been handed to him.

�It seems, Mr. Potter, that Dumbledore is more
manipulative than you might think,� Snape said, abandoning his usual sneer and
biting tone. �He placed a geas on Ronald Weasley, to befriend you, with the
full knowledge of his parents. The geas has needed to be strengthened several
times over the years, due to Mr. Weasley�s natural tendency to want what he
does not have. Miss Granger received a similar geas after arriving at Hogwarts.
Hers has worn off since, but if there were evidence of a rift between you, I
have little doubt that Dumbledore would replace it quickly.�

�Wonderful,� Harry said bitterly. He picked up
part of the roast beef sandwich on the plate and bit into it savagely.

�No wonder I don�t have any other friends,�
Harry mused after swallowing the bite of food. �Nobody wants to be near me
unless they�ve been bewitched into it.�

�That�s not entirely true, Potter,� a familiar
voice joined the conversation. Harry raised his eyes to view the angelic
features of Draco Malfoy.

�I wanted to be near you,� Draco said, his grey
eyes showing the first hint of uncertainty that Harry had ever seen in him.

�Maybe we should start over, then,� Harry said.
�I defended Ron because he was the first friend I�d ever had. I didn�t know he
didn�t have a choice.�

�Miss Granger has stayed your friend without the
geas,� Snape pointed out. �We are going to approach her after she graduates
school.�

�You want me to sound her out,� Harry said
dully. Voldemort smiled and shook his head.

�No, Harry, not you,� he said. �What I want from
you is to concentrate on your studies and pretend to go along with Dumbledore�s
plots. Once you graduate, you can declare for yourself which side you are on.�

�What if I�m not on your side?� Harry asked,
studying Voldemort intently.

�Then I ask that you not oppose me,� Voldemort
said. �I bear no witch or wizard, or even muggle, ill will, but I am not going
to sit by and let Dumbledore destroy us all.�

�Fair enough,� Harry said, taking another bite
of his sandwich. He thought long and hard about what he had been told that
night, and he found that it all fit together. Even Sirius had mentioned how
little Lily had liked James until some time in their latter years at Hogwarts.

The older wizards sat quietly while Harry
finished the sandwich, and another one, along with two glasses of milk. When
Harry declared himself full, the house elf left and Voldemort sat forward in
his chair. Draco and his father came closer and took seats of their own.

�Dumbledore wants you, Harry, because you have
the potential to become more powerful than he is,� Voldemort said. �He wants to
control you so that you are never a danger to him. He wants to use you because
you are one of the few capable of defeating me.�

�That damned prophecy,� Harry grumbled, his eyes
darkening. He was unprepared for the snorts of derisive laughter that followed
his statement.

�There is no prophecy, my boy,� Lucius said,
smiling in a paternal fashion. �Dumbledore made that up so that he could
justify your housing and treatment. He argued, successfully, that you were the
only hope of defeating my Lord, and that you had to be guarded by magic and by
family.�

�Guarded?� Harry asked, a hysterical edge to his
voice. �Did my aunt and uncle really think they were helping me when they beat
me and starved me?�

�Of course they did,� Snape spoke up. �They
trusted Dumbledore to know what was best for Lily, and for you, even if it
smacked of child abuse.�

�Now what do we do?� Harry asked, looking from
one to the other.

�You will spend the rest of the summer here,�
Voldemort said. �You and the rest of the Hogwarts students will be delivered to
the Hogwarts Express platform, in groups, by portkey, on September the first, as
students of my people have been for the last sixteen years.�

Harry nodded, deep in thought. Almost absently,
he gazed at the painfully beautiful face of Draco Malfoy. He wondered what
would have happened if he had taken Malfoy�s hand, all those years ago.

�That sounds good to me,� Harry said. �I want to
send a message to Hermione, though. She�ll worry about me if I don�t tell her
I�m alright.�

�You may send whatever messages you wish,�
Voldemort promised. �Just give them to your house elf, and he will see them
taken to an owl post so they can get to your friends without exposing us.�

�Then I should send one to Moony, too,� Harry
muttered, deep in thought. He was startled out of his plans by a familiar
voice.

�Well, Severus, I see you managed to rescue
him,� Remus Lupin approached the group and stood there, beaming at Harry.

�Don�t look so shocked, Potter,� Snape said. �I
contacted Lupin two days ago, and told him the truth under Veritaserum. He knew
I could not be lying. When my Lord verified the information, he decided to ally
with us.�

�Not only that, Harry,� Lupin said, picking up
the thread of conversation. �Dumbledore has done nothing to persuade the
Ministry that I�m not dangerous, except at Hogwarts. I can�t work there because
of the parents, and I can�t work anywhere else because of the Ministry. That
keeps me available for the business of the Order. Convenient, isn�t it?�

�Very,� Harry said darkly. He turned to
Voldemort to ask more, and was startled by an enormous yawn.

�I�m sorry,� he said, blushing furiously. The
four older men all chuckled.

�Not to worry, Harry,� Voldemort said, beckoning
to someone at the side. �You were asleep and you have had something to eat.
There will be plenty of time to chat over the next month. Willie will take you
to your room.�

�I can show him, My Lord,� Draco bounced out of
his seat and bowed.

�Very well, Draco,� Voldemort said, an indulgent
smile on his face, as if he were granting the request of a favorite nephew.�

�Follow me, Potter,� Draco said, turning to
leave the room. Harry got up and started to follow him, but then turned back to
gaze speculatively at Voldemort.

�What about Dumbledore?� Harry asked. Voldemort smiled,
a cold smile of pure evil that should have scared Harry out of his wits.

�We will find a way to deal with Dumbledore, my
boy,� Voldemort said. �No off to bed, and do not worry about being up at a
certain time. You should be fully rested before encountering the rest of your
peers.�

The room that Draco showed Harry was roughly the
size of his dorm room at Hogwarts, except that there was only one bed in it, a
huge monstrous thing that could have held Hagrid comfortably, or Harry and
three or four friends. It also contained a dresser, armoire, desk, three
bookcases, and a card table with four chairs. A fire blazed merrily in the
small fireplace, flanked by two armchairs. A door near the armoire showed parts
of a large bathroom. The furniture was all dark, solid stuff, and the accenting
colors were shades of green, from the pale green of the sheets on the
turned-down bed to the dark forest green of the carpet and the pure emerald
green of the armchairs.

�I�m just across the Hall, Potter,� Draco said.
�If you get lost or anything, just call me. I�m about to turn in, myself.�

�Thanks,� Harry said. �I hope I don�t wake
anyone.�

�Not likely,� Draco said. �The bedrooms have
silencing charms on them.�

�Good,� Harry said. �It�s bad enough that I have
nightmares, without making everyone else lose sleep.�

�I could ask Professor Snape for a dreamless
sleep potion, if you want,� Draco said, concerned.

�That will not be necessary, Draco,� Snape�s
voice interrupted their conversation. �I can well believe Mr. Potter would have
nightmares, so I came to inquire if he needed one.�

�It�s really not necessary, Sir,� Harry said. �I
do have nightmares, but I usually go right back to sleep. If not, then I can
always just study or something until I fall asleep again.�

�Nevertheless,� Snape said. �I will leave one
with you. If you do not require it tonight, then you can return it in the
morning. In any case, I would like the phial back.�

�Of course, Professor,� Harry said. He took the
phial that Snape held out, noticing that it was crystal, not glass, and that
the lid appeared to be gold. He remembered from one of Snape�s lectures that
those two substances were the most non-reactive to any potion, and were used
most often.

�Thank you, Sir,� Harry said. He would have said
more, but another yawn nearly split his face in two.

�Goodnight, Potter,� Draco said. �How about some
Quidditch after breakfast? Just you, me, and the snitch.�

�Sounds good,� Harry admitted. �Goodnight
Malfoy, Professor.� Harry waited until they had closed the door before looking
for his pajamas. He blushed as he realized that he still had them on, and had
been talking to Snape, Malfoy, Lupin, and Voldemort in his nightwear. Sighing,
Harry removed his glasses and climbed into the bed.

Part of the bed�s mass proved to be a featherbed
with the consistency of a marshmallow. Harry sank into its muffling embrace,
and into Oblivion.
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Not As It Seems