Shadows Of Light

Every finger in the room is pointing at me...

There had always been three families in the Inner Circle of Voldemort's people. If you asked any normal Death Eater what the three families were, they'd list Malfoy, Lestrange, and Black.

They'd be both right and wrong. There were Malfoys and Lestranges in the Inner Circle, and two of the members of those families had once been Blacks, but it wasn't the Blacks who were the third family.

Oh, no. It was someone else entirely....

-~/\~-

"Dismissed! Inner Circle, remain!"

Twelve cloaked figures stood in various places about the room after it had cleared. Two stood close to the Dark Lord - one on either side of him. Six stood along the wall at unequal intervals; three of those leaned against the walls in uncaring manners while the other three stood straight. Two more stood at either side of the double doors that led into the room. The last two stood in the shadowed corners behind the dais that Voldemort's throne sat upon.

"Come in, my friends," Voldemort called, voice lightening. As the twelve moved to form a half-crescent before their Lord, the serpent-like man conjured them chairs. As they sat, he asked, "I take it our fire breather is still in Romania?"

"No, my Lord," a strong voice replied. "I am here."

Voldemort frowned and glanced at one of those who had been standing stiffly against the walls. "Arthur?"

Arthur Weasley removed his mask and bowed his head. "Bill and Percy, my Lord. The Minister's giving a formal speech tonight and the goblins changed shifts around again."

"Of course." Voldemort glanced around the half circle of mostly masked figures. "Remove them," he ordered darkly, when only Arthur remained unmasked.

Masks came off, revealing all of the Weasley family except the missing two and the youngest, the three members of the Malfoy family, and the three members of the Lestrange family. The Weasleys and the Malfoys traded heated looks and Voldemort silently praised Salazar that the Lestranges always sat between the feuding families.

"Anything to report?" Voldemort inquired in a put-upon tone.

"Nothing of interest, my Lord," Lucius Malfoy offered, shooting Arthur a chilled smile.

Arthur smiled back and Lucius blanched. "Actually, my Lord, Ron has something that will certainly peak your interest."

Voldemort gave Ronald Weasley an interested look - the boy lived with Harry Potter and tended to have useful information on his nemesis. "Ronald?"

Ron nodded sharply, brow furrowed. "My Lord, Harry hasn't been back to our flat since his meeting with the coot last week. When I asked the old bastard about it, he said Harry had gone on an extended vacation. Harry, however, had never mentioned anything about leaving."

"Do you think he suspects you?" Bellatrix Lestrange asked, eyes sharp. She really wasn't as insane as she pretended to be; it made people underestimate her.

Ron looked like he'd been hit with a Bludger and Voldemort sighed. The boy- no, young man - was useful because he was both Potter's housemate and firmly of the Dark - only Ginevra had ever fought the rest of her family's true alliances - but he was Potter's best friend through and through. Voldemort often found himself wondering which side the young Weasley would choose in the end.

"Not possible," Draco Malfoy stepped in, frowning at his aunt. "I was taunting Potter the other day about how Ronald might turn on him and he didn't even blanch. Either he's an amazingly good actor - which I highly doubt - or he doesn't believe Ronald capable of turning against him."

"He'd probably be right," either Fred or George Weasley muttered, and both shot their younger brother sharp looks.

"I'd watch it, idiots. Potter seemed to think you two were going to stick by him to the end as well," Draco shot across the semicircle, then smirked when the twins looks horrified.

Voldemort fought the urge to Crucio the lot of them and turned to Lucius. "Lucius, see what you can find out."

"Understood, my Lord." Lucius inclined his head.

Voldemort turned to Arthur. "Arthur, you and Percy look around as well. Ask Bill to check his account."

"As my Lord asks," Arthur replied, also inclining his head.

Voldemort glanced at Ron, who looked a bit ill. "Ronald, keep pestering the fool about Potter. Ask your other friends as well."

"Understood, my Lord," Ron whispered, bowing his head.

"Anything else?"

"Dumbledore is still waiting for you to make the first move, my Lord," Molly Weasley spoke up. "It is as Severus said."

Voldemort bit back a sigh and nodded. "Very well. Continue as you have been." He stood. "Dismissed."

-~/\~-

Harry woke in a dark cell and immediately slipped into a crouch, eyes on the door. Carefully, he searched around him for his wand, as it wasn't on his arm where it was supposed to be.

Footsteps made him freeze and he continued staring at the door until two people came into sight. "Professors," he sighed, relaxing.

Dumbledore entered the cell, Snape behind him. "Harry, my dear boy, I'm so sorry," Dumbledore said in his quiet, kind voice.

Harry frowned. "Sir?"

"Stupefy!"

Harry's limp body hit the floor of the cell and Dumbledore nodded to Snape. "Give him the potion and strip him quickly. We have an Order meeting in five minutes."

"Of course, Headmaster." Snape knelt and forced the potion he'd been holding in a hand behind his back down the brat's mouth. Then he cast a quick charm that rid the Boy-Who-Lived of his Muggle-style clothing. The young man immediately started shivering.

"Come on, Severus," Dumbledore called when Snape continued to watch Harry, his expression unreadable.

"He will freeze if we-"

"Come on, Severus," Dumbledore said again, voice hard.

Snape stood and followed his boss from the cell, surreptitiously clenching and unclenching one hand in anger. He didn't like the brat, but forcing him to freeze in the dungeons while under that potion was going a little too far.

As Snape was stepping into the Headmaster's office behind Dumbledore, the old man spun to face him. "Obliviate!"

Snape blinked a few times, then frowned at the clock.

"Have a seat, Severus," Dumbledore called cheerfully as he walked over to his desk. "Tea?"

Snape shuffled over to his usual seat, feeling unsettled. "No thank you, Headmaster."

Snape was still trying to figure out what was wrong when the other Order members started arriving a few minutes later.

-~/\~-

"An ingenious plan, Alastor."

"I rather thought so, Albus. We can hardly have the boy going Dark on us, now can we?"

"It's certainly not a problem anymore. Ennervate. How do you feel, my boy?"

"Groggy, sir. Where am I?"

"A private training facility. Mad-Eye will be your instructor while you're here."

"I- Can I write my friends, sir? I'm sure they're worried about me."

"No outside contact until I say so, Potter. The Headmaster will make sure that your friends know where you are."

"Oh..."

"I'll just leave you two to get settled, then."

"Sir? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Have you ever had sex, Potter?"

"I- What?!"

"I thought not. We'll have to fix that."

"What? No! Stop it! Get away from me!! Professor!!!"

-~/\~-

-~\/~-