Stormseeker: Unwanted Destiny

Chapter 20: Out of the Darkness

---

"I'm arranging a meeting with my Death Eaters for tomorrow," Tom says. "I would have you come along."

"Yes, my lord," I say, grinning at him.

"It's time that they know where they stand with regards to you," Tom says. "I won't have anyone else doing anything foolish like getting themselves killed trying to attack you."

"You have a pretty high estimation of my combat skills," I say.

Tom snorts softly. "There's no need for modesty. I've seen the way you fight. Our own duels, the way you took down Bellatrix both armed and unarmed, taking down Rodolphus as if it were nothing."

"Hardly nothing," I say. "My shoulder still stings from that. Didn't dodge fast enough."

"You also mustn't forget that you do this all under only four years of real training," Tom says. "And any more advanced techniques, you've just picked up wherever you can get them. What you lack in knowledge, you make up for in creativity, sheer will, and raw power. With proper training, you might even be able to match me."

"I'll concede your point," I say. "What about Snape?"

"What about him?" Tom asks.

"You know he's a spy for the Order, don't you?" I say.

Tom gives a short nod thoughtfully. "I want you to speak with him before the meeting. Find out where his loyalties really lie. Then we can decide upon whether we need to tell him only the fake story we want him to tell the Order, or the truth."

"Alright," I say.

That evening, Snape comes to see me at Caer Danas as I asked. We meet up in a small library, carefully secured by spells to prevent any eavesdropping or unwanted intrusions.

"Are you certain that this location is secure, Potter?" Snape asks. "The Dark Lord knows about this house and has its secret."

"It's secure enough," I say. "I needed to speak with you."

"Is there a problem, Potter?" Snape asks, scowling at me.

"It's a matter of some concern to me, understandably," I say. "I need to know who you are really loyal to."

"Dumbledore trusted me--" Snape begins.

"I don't care about Dumbledore," I snap. "Was it him you were loyal to? Or the Order in general? Or are you loyal to the Dark Lord? Or to me?"

"Is that Dumbledore's wand?" Snape wonders.

I didn't even realize that I have my wand out and pointed at him. I lower it and say more quietly, "Yes, it was."

"Where did you get that?" Snape says.

"I'll explain later," I say. "I need your answer. I need to know if I can trust you."

"Of course you can trust me," Snape says, glaring.

I sigh and rub my head. "Things are never that simple, you know."

"It is that simple," Snape says. "I swore to protect Lily's son."

"Is that it?" I say, relaxing a bit. "Me specifically, and nothing else?"

"Yes," Snape says, giving an irritated sigh. "I don't see what you're getting at here, Potter."

"Harry," I say. "My name is Harry. Please call me that, if you would? It's not like I hate my father or anything, but I'm nothing like him, and the way you spit my surname, it's almost like a curse."

Snape sighs. "Fine. Harry, then."

"Did you know that Dumbledore wanted to send me to my mother's Muggle sister?" I say.

"Petunia?" Snape says, raising an eyebrow. "That's preposterous. Petunia hated magic and was always jealous of Lily..."

I give a nod. "Yes, I'll consider myself fortunate that her cousins stepped in to take me in instead. Against Dumbledore's will, mind you. He wanted me to stay with Petunia and Vernon Dursley. But the Chelseers swept me away to the United States and hid me away, even from Dumbledore."

"It could not have possibly ended well if you'd stayed with Petunia," Snape says, shaking his head. "What was Dumbledore thinking?"

"I don't mean to start any pointless Dumbledore bashing here," I say. "I'm sure he thought he was doing what was best for the greater good or something." I sigh. "It's not like he was a bad person or anything. Just... he was a man. He made mistakes."

"Why are you asking if I was loyal to him?" Snape asks.

"I want to know what you'd think if Lily's boy decided he didn't want to follow what Dumbledore thought was best for him," I say. I snort softly. "I don't think I ever did, never mind before I wound up going through this all multiple times."

"What do you mean?" Snape asks.

"I didn't come back in time to fight the Dark Lord," I say. "I just wanted to study in peace."

"If only that were possible..." Snape says.

"Why does it fall to me, anyway?" I say. "All for the sake of a stupid prophecy, made by a useless hack? I'm not going to fight him."

"If you want to stay out of the war, I will do my best to ensure that you are kept safe," Snape says. "But finding a new place to live might be wise."

"Thank you for the offer," I say. "But that was not what I meant."

"What do you mean, then?" Snape wonders.

"I've decided to join forces with him," I say.

Snape looks at me in shock. "You would seek to serve the one who murdered your parents?"

"It's hard to bear a grudge for that, seeing as I don't even remember them," I say. "It was a war. People die in war. And considering that idiotic prophecy, I can't blame him for it, either."

"It's not like I didn't give Lily the chance to live," Tom says, appearing behind Snape as he lets down his Disillusionment. Snape spins around to look at him. "You asked me to spare her if I could. I gave her every opportunity to step aside, but she refused, even so far as begging me to take her life and spare her son instead."

"My-- My Lord," stammers Snape. "I hadn't realized that you'd even tried to grant me that one boon I asked of you..."

"Have some faith in me, Severus," Tom says gently. "But I am sorry that I was unable to grant your wish. So that debt is now on me."

Snape stares at him for a long moment, then looks at me and says quietly, "You really did it, didn't you?"

"He is now my apprentice," Tom says. "I will teach him everything I know, and he will be my second in command."

Snape looks between Tom and me, as if trying to process this. "I... I see."

"Now you see why I was asking you this," I say.

Snape gives a small nod. "Yes, I see. I must admit, I would never have anticipated this turn of events."

"And that is precisely why we will succeed," Tom says. "No one would possibly think that Harry Potter would ever join up with me. Not their Boy-Who-Lived, model student who never so much as pulls a prank or is late for class unless he's dead."

"This is true," Snape say. "My lord, what do you plan now? Will there be a return to the conflict of the past war?"

Tom shakes his head. "That would be foolish and self-destructive. There is no need for that. Our world needs to change, but killing everyone who disagrees with me will only serve to hasten our doom."

Snape looks surprised. "You have... changed in more than just appearance, my lord."

Tom chuckles softly. "Yes, I have. I have my sanity back. And I have this young man to thank for it all." He nods toward me.

"I think you give me too much credit," I say.

"Not at all," Tom assures me with a grin. "But on to business. Severus, I'm calling a meeting of the Death Eaters tomorrow. I want you to report back to the Order of the Phoenix that Harry fought with me and retrieved Dumbledore's wand."

"Yes, my lord," Snape says, bowing his head toward Tom. "Might I ask one thing of you?"

"What is it?" Tom asks.

"You are the Headmaster of Hogwarts now," Snape says. "If you are able to find another Potions Master, I wish to retire. I have no love of teaching children, but I will continue to do so if necessary."

Tom chuckles softly. "I'll see what I can do."

---

I never thought I'd be wearing a Death Eater mask, nor that I'd be so comfortable in wearing one. I briefly considered dressing up like Darth Vader, but dismissed that as a silly idea.

The Lestrange residence is occupied by around two dozen Death Eaters, all clad in black with these white masks.

"I've called you here to introduce you to someone that you will need to know," Tom says, gesturing toward me. "This is Lexen Chelseer, the Stormseeker. He is now my apprentice. You will treat him with respect, or I will not step in to save you from his wrath."

"Chelseer?" says one of them. "I've never heard of a wizard named Chelseer. Is he some half-blood?"

I whisper a quick Naming Charm. "Would you like to see my family tree, Avery?" I snap. "I'll choke you with it, if you like."

"We are entering into a new era," Tom says. "He is, indeed, a pureblood, but I will not tolerate any abuses against magical blood, regardless of heritage. The Muggles are the real enemy."

"What, we're supposed to accept Mudbloods now?" says another Death Eater.

"Not everyone can be nobility," Tom says. "If they will follow us and recognize our superiority, then let them have their place."

"Some would say it's bad to question your lord," I comment. "I say, do not ask questions that you do not want to hear the answers to."

"Like why he made you his apprentice?" another says.

"Yes, like that," I say, smirking. "You know it was due to my own actions that he's standing before you today, do you not? What have you done for him lately?" Admittedly, that wasn't intentional, but never mind that.

"Fine. But the Mudbloods--"

"--exist primarily because wizards keep disowning their Squib children and raping Muggle women," I reply. At their stunned look, I say, "What, you don't like talking about it? Pretending that it doesn't happen is naive. I say, there's no such thing as real 'Muggleborn' wizards. And if you don't want to be reminded of why, you won't argue this again."

---

"Severus tells me that you had a run-in with Voldemort," Moody says.

"I did," I reply. I pull out the Elder Wand from my bag. "I was even able to reclaim Dumbledore's wand, but unfortunately my own was destroyed."

"Where did you ever get the fool notion to go running off after him by yourself?" Moody says.

"I'm immortal," I say. "You know this. I don't see any need to put anyone else's lives at stake."

"Foolish," Moody scoffs. "You rely too much upon that immortality. You don't even know how it works. What if he finds some way to nullify it or use it against you somehow? And what if your powers are tied into Voldemort himself in some way?"

I sigh. I know it's not, but I can't exactly assure him of that without breaking my cover. "If I should need to sacrifice my own existence in order to bring him down and make the world safe from him forever, then I should consider my life well-spent."

Acting the part of the hero. What does it say about me that I can now say something like this with such sincerity that I almost believe it myself?

"Being willing to sacrifice yourself like that is all well and good," Moody says. "Just make sure that it's not done in vain."

"Contrary to appearances at times, I do know what I'm doing," I say, smirking. "I've certainly been through this all enough times..."

"Either way, you should really get out of this house," Moody says. "It's not safe anymore. I'd even suggest you to withdraw from Hogwarts. Suspicious things have been happening around there lately."

"Like what?" I wonder.

"I don't trust the staff and curriculum changes," Moody says. "And I don't trust that new Headmaster, Riddle. There's something fishy about him that I can't quite put my finger on."

"I'm not withdrawing from Hogwarts," I say.

"Suit yourself," Moody says. "But be on your guard. CONSTANT VIGILANCE!"

"I'll keep that in mind," I say, not even flinching at his outburst.

---

"Who is Horace Slughorn, and why is he hiding out in a Muggle town?" I wonder as I walk down the street with Tom Riddle.

"He was the Potions professor at Hogwarts before Severus," Tom says. "If we can convince Slughorn to return, Severus will be able to retire from teaching."

"I see," I say. "What are our chances?"

"I don't know," Tom says, chuckling. "I can't imagine that he will be pleased to see me."

I follow Tom into one of the houses, and we look around the place. It appears to be deserted, but our scrying indicated that he should be here.

"Did he realize we were coming and slip away?" I wonder quietly.

"Hmm, no," Tom says. "I think not." He pokes a very fat, cushy armchair. "You make a very fine piece of furniture, Professor Slughorn."

"Gah!" says the chair, transforming into a rather fat, cushy man. "You've found me!" He looks around in a panic, seeming on the verge of fleeing at any moment.

"So you're Professor Slughorn?" I say amicably. "Hello. I'm Harry Potter. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Harry Potter?" Slughorn says. "Do you have any idea what manner of person the man you are with is?"

"Yes," I reply. "I know exactly who and what he is."

"Well, whatever you might say, I'm glad to see you are well, Professor," Tom says, smiling.

"You're not going to recruit me into the Death Eaters, Tom," Slughorn says. "I won't have anything to do with that sort of business!"

"I'm trying to disband the Death Eaters," Tom says.

"You-- Wait, what?" Slughorn says, blinking at Tom in surprise.

"The best I can do at the moment is to try to keep their more foolish tendancies in check," Tom says. "But no, I didn't come here to try to recruit you for the Death Eaters. I came here to try to hire you for Potions Master at Hogwarts."

"Albus was my old friend, you know," Slughorn says. "I do not appreciate that you killed him and so slyly took his position like that."

"Contrary to rumor, it was not I who killed him," Tom says. "It was actually another of my followers, and not on my order." Well, that's one way of putting the technical truth.

"Still, what makes you think I'd be willing to participate in the propaganda wheel that I imagine you've turned Hogwarts into?" Slughorn says.

"Perhaps to help ensure that it's not really propaganda?" Tom says. "You may not believe it, but my agenda has changed. And I've regained my sanity."

"Your sanity?" Slughorn says.

"There's no need to blame yourself for that," Tom says. "I was a fool when I came to you asking about Horcruxes."

"Horcruxes?" I say, raising an eyebrow. "What's that?"

"An attempt at immortality," Tom says. "Dark magic, a piece of soul placed within an object. So long as the object remains intact, you cannot be killed. And they're very hard to destroy."

"So you actually went through with it?" Slughorn says. "Six of them, you suggested making?"

"I made five," Tom says. "It was a terrible mistake, however. I had no idea what it would cost me. I was twisted into a shadow of my former self even before my eventual defeat at the hands of an infant. A monster who knew only madness."

"And now?" Slughorn says. "You look-- You look like you did, when you were young..."

Tom nods. "In effect, even though I have the memories of later years, you aren't speaking to the one who called himself Lord Voldemort, so much as Tom Riddle at age sixteen, now plus a few more years of my own. The first Horcrux, before I lost everything. I have since reabsorbed the main piece of my soul, as well as all of the Horcruxes that I was able to retrieve."

"But, in order to do that, you would have had to feel true remorse for your actions..." Slughorn says. "It would have been very painful..."

"Yes," Tom says flatly.

I look at Tom in surprise. Is that why he's been acting so strangely? Not exactly what one would call a good person, but a far cry from the insane, pointless villainy of Voldemort. Tom is cool, calculating, intelligent, and very charismatic. Perhaps that's why I love him.

I did not just think that. I so did not just think that.

"I... well, I'm glad to hear that you have turned away from that mad path," Slughorn says. He looks to me, and asks, "Harry Potter. How did you ever wind up at his side?"

"It's a long story," I say. "And even if I cared to go into the details, I wouldn't do so here." I look around at the musty old place.

"Yes, why don't we reconvene somewhere more comfortable?" Tom says.

"Well, alright," Slughorn says. "I suppose there's no point in hiding anymore, is there."

"By the way," Tom says. "Few people realize that I and Lord Voldemort are one and the same. I would appreciate if you kept that to yourself."

We Apparate Slughorn to the gazebo behind Caer Danas, and I call, "Rispy!"

"Oh, hello," Rispy says, popping into view. "Another guest? The headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix is at Caer Danas. Except it's not. They moved out quite some time ago. Anyway, welcome to Hotel Potter. Can we get this stupid Fidelius Charm removed already?"

I snicker softly. "Hey, there's probably still people in the world who don't know where my house is yet."

We head inside. In the main hall, the residents of Caer Danas are positioned around the room on the comfortable couches, plus Draco who seems to spend more time here than in his own house.

"Professor Slughorn?" Remus says, looking up.

"Ah, hello," Slughorn says. "Headmaster Riddle here is trying to convince me to take up teaching again."

"Well, that would beat Snivellus, certainly," Sirius says.

"Hey, Snape is awesome," I say.

"If your father heard you say that..." Sirius says, shaking his head.

"Ah, Professor Slughorn," I say. "I take it you know Sirius and Remus already. I should introduce you to the rest. Here's Cassiopeia Black, Draco Malfoy, and Hermione Granger."

"It's nice to meet you, Professor Slughorn," Hermione says.

"Yeah," Draco says, hiding the parchment he was writing on.

"Are you embarrassed about being tutored in your charms work by a Muggleborn?" Cassie says wryly.

"Well, yeah, kind of," Draco says, snickering.

"Would you be embarrassed about being tutored by the Heir of Atlantis?" I say lightly.

"Wait, what?" Draco says, looking at me oddly. "Oh, come on!"

I snicker in amusement, and turn to Slughorn again. "Anyway, what do you say, sir? As awesome as Snape is, he wants to retire, and I'm sure we'd all love to have you."

"Definitely," Cassie agrees.

"He'll hire Grindelwald, but he won't hire me!" Sirius says.

"Alright, fine, I'll do it," Slughorn says. "But I want a pay raise. And a better office."

"I'll take any job you offer," Sirius says. "And I'll do it for free. And sleep in front of a fireplace."

Tom smirks. "Don't tempt me." He turns to Slughorn. "Acceptable. It's good to have you on board. I'll inform Severus."

"You're welcome to stay here for the summer, if you don't have anywhere better to go than run-down Muggle houses," I say.

"Ah, I suppose that would be convenient," Slughorn says. "My thanks."

Later, Draco catches me alone, and says, "You were just joking about the Atlantis thing, weren't you? It's really hard to tell with you sometimes."

"I wasn't joking," I say. "She's a descendant of Atlantis. You can prove it, if you like. The goblins keep an artifact in Gringotts that reacts when touched by someone of the blood of Atlantis."

"Why didn't you say something sooner?" Draco wonders.

I shrug. "It wasn't really important."

"I mean, all this time I've been thinking she was just some upstart Mudblood!" Draco says. "Now I don't need to feel so bad about being shown up by her."

I smirk. "You don't need to be an Atlantean to study a lot."

---

The next morning, at breakfast, Slughorn comes down into the dining area and says, "Good morning! I want you four to be the inaugural members of my new Slug Club!"

"Um..." Draco says. "What?"

"Oh, why us?" Hermione wonders.

"You kids are going places, I'm sure of it," Slughorn says. "The best and brightest Hogwarts has to offer."

"And what does this Slug Club do?" I say. "Will it interfere with Theatre Club?"

"No, no, not at all," Slughorn says. "There will be parties, get-togethers. It's an opportunity!"

"Well, I'm never one to turn down parties," I say, shrugging. "Sounds like fun."

"Does it have to be called the Slug Club?" Draco says.

"My name is Slughorn, dear Draco! Your father was in the Slug Club when he was in school, you know."

"Was he?" Draco says absently, somehow managing to sound almost completely disinterested.

"Will there be food?" Cassie says. "Entertainment?"

"Of course, of course," Slughorn says. "And a chance to meet important people. It's all about who you know, after all."

"I suppose I can make the time," Hermione says. "Fifth year will be awfully busy, studying for OWLs and all."

"Oh, fine, I suppose I'll do it," Draco says boredly.

"Excellent, excellent!" Slughorn says, rubbing his hands together gleefully.

"Starting up the Slug Club again?" Tom says, strolling into the room. "I remember that..."

"Ah, yes," Slughorn says. "You were one of my star pupils."

"But more importantly," Tom says, eyes lighting up at the breakfast Dobby lays before him. "Pancakes!"

I have to laugh aloud at that. It's positively surreal seeing the Dark Lord getting excited over such a simple thing.

"Dobby likes serving pancakes," the house-elf says. "Pancakes is Master Harry's favorite food! Pancakes of hope!"

I keep laughing. "Yes, Dobby. That they are. Pancakes of hope. Pancakes of potential. Pancakes of possibility."

After breakfast, I speak with Tom privately alone in the small library at Caer Danas.

"What was this you were saying to Slughorn about Horcruces?" I say.

"Horcruxes," Tom corrects me.

"The plural of crux is cruces," I say. "It should totally be Horcruces."

Tom snorts softly. "It hardly matters, anyway. If I were going to do that, I should have only made one of them. That would have been bad enough."

"You said you couldn't find all of them?" I say.

Tom nods. "The diary that made me was one. I retrieved the ring, the cup, and the diadem. I could not find the locket, however. I sent someone to collect it from where it was hidden, but there was only a fake there with a note signed 'R.A.B.' I hope it hasn't been destroyed."

"A locket?" I say, raising an eyebrow. "With a green S on the front?"

Tom looks up at me in surprise. "Have you seen it?"

"It's at Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place," I say. "The house-elf, Kreacher, told us about how his former master, Regulus Black, told him to find a way to destroy it."

"R.A.B. Of course," Tom says, snorting. "So Regulus betrayed me. No matter. At least the Horcrux is still safe."

"I'll go and retrieve it for you, if you want," I say.

"Do so," Tom says. "I have... plans for this one."