Chapter 25
(Time skip of six days)
Voldemort watched as Potter danced around with grace that could make any Veela jealous, the lessons with Narcissa had really paid off. His black and white robes were flowing as he spun Narcissa around, admittedly he was shorter than her and it looked weird but still. His robes were tight fitted but flared out on the sleeve and the ends, as for the shirt was simple, a black turtleneck His hair had also grown substantially and was now slightly below his shoulders, his hair was wavy but longer messy and curly. It was more elegant and somehow made Potter look more exotic and wilder like then the normal twelve-year-old. The Dark Lord mused that he looked more like a Black then a Potter, his eyes looked like his mother, but the dark undertones revealed the insanity the black family has. Although he doubts Potter will truly become insane, perhaps more ruthless instead of crazy like his dear Bella.
A minute later the song ended and Narcissa told the boy, “Good Job Mr. Potter, although do try to work on not being so stiff. You need to relax so you can move to the music properly, you are slightly off timing.”
“Thank you, I will try. I’m just not used to being touched, apologies.” Potter explained softly as he turned to walk to him so his friend would try.
Voldemort straightened his posture and looked at the boy standing beside him, he was clearly staring at his friend dance. He was much less graceful but was decent at it. “You did well, if I didn’t know you, I would think you were a pureblood. Are you excited for tomorrow? I know for a fact you will do well.” Voldemort complimented honestly, because it was indeed true.
“Thank you, sir. As to your answer your question I am mostly nervous, I need to be careful of what I say, I am almost certain I will be interrogated. I plan to reveal myself as neutral to balance it out, I might get backlash from the light, but I can work around that.” Potter stated coolly.
The Dark Lord only nodded and turned his attention back to the youngest Malfoy who was dancing in his dark green robes.
---
“Come on Potter! I know you could do better than that.” The Dark Lord sneered as the boy was laying on the floor heavily panting. They were practicing dueling and Voldemort started to bring up the speed of spells, Potter managed to keep up for five minutes till a blasting spell hit him. Luckily it seemed like nothing got broken or hurt, Potter most likely just got the wind knocked out of him and will develop big bruise on his chest.
Potter forced himself to get up after a minute, the Dark Lord smirked as he looked into those determined green eyes. Voldemort stated coldly, “Potter you must start reacting faster! No matter how strong you are if you cannot keep up with your opponent then you are basically dead. Yes, you need to think about what spell you are using but not till the point it slows you down.” He quickly conjured a mannequin and placed a few charms to make sure it didn’t break easily. He then ordered, “I want you to start shooting spells at that as fast as you can.”
The younger Slytherin nodded in agreement and turned to the mannequin. Holding his wand up to the figure he said, “Bombarda!” As the Dark Lord watched Potter mutilate the dummy, he contemplated Potter’s progress. He had indeed improved faster than he expected. Of course, it wasn’t shockingly surprising given the fact that Potter was extremely powerful, but it was still enlightening, nonetheless. Because he was a proud man, he didn’t have the patience to wait for an average wizard to grasp a spell. That didn’t mean however he would put him on a pedestal, that he would constantly compliment and coddle. No, the Dark Lord will compliment when it is due, which is a very rare case. Casting a quick tempus, he realized that the training session was over and it was time for Potter to go to bed, after all this evening will be important.
“Potter, take a shower and go to bed. You have disappointed me with your pathetic attempt at dueling, remember you need to cast the spells faster.” Voldemort stated rather factually.
The boy was about to say something that he has indeed improved, but he quickly interrupted and said, “Yes, you have improved, but not enough! Just because you have improved doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try to improve. I won’t coddle or complement you; I will give credit where its due.”
“Yes sir, my apologies. I didn’t mean to imply that I thought that I was perfect at dueling.” Potter said with his face returning back to his cool exterior. Voldemort nodded accepting the apology not feeling like there was anything else to say.
And at that Potter left the room. The Dark Lord proceeded to apparate to Durmstrang to see Karkaroff, he would need to see the amount of seventh year students he converted. After all he would need more death eaters then Potter.
---
The Yule Ball had proven to be annoyingly boring, the only thing proven to be of interest was meeting the Prime Minister himself and his loyal friends. The man was proven to be extremely transparent and almost a tad bit slow, Harry wonders if he had some development disorder. The Minister broke his train of thoughts by asking, “So Harry, what do you think about pureblood politics? After all the Malfoys- who you seem to be quite close to- are known for their beliefs of blood.”
His eyes opened with surprised, they were talking about Quidditch, and the man just randomly asked that. Realizing that was probably the purpose of the question he carefully stated, “I understand some of the reasoning in wanting to keep the blood pure, but I personally don’t subscribe to it. I am neutral as of now. As for my emotions on the Malfoy family all I can say is, I respect them. They are all good people and have been very respectful to me and others.”
The Minister nodded in false agreement and said, “That makes sense. Well, I must go see other people, I have already taken enough of your time.”
They said their goodbyes and had dispersed.
Harry turned to search for his friends, after all he had nothing else to do. After a few minutes of searching, he finally found Theo who was standing in a corner alone, smirking he walked up to him and said, “Hey, I can see you are having a good time.”
Theo flinched and exclaimed, “Dear MERLIN Harry! How do you manage to not make any noise when you walk, honestly its terrifying at this point.”
“Well, it’s a skill I was, unfortunately, born with.” Harry stated with fake woefulness, as he put his hand on his forehead.
Theo snickered and said, “Since when are you funny? Usually you are super serious.”
“Yes well, I am bored. Just met the Prime Minister, his name is about as stupid as him.” Harry explained flatly.
Theo’s eyes widened in surprise, he then smiled and laughed, “Merlin you are impossible! Only you could meet the Prime Minister and be bored.”
“Well to be fair the Minister talked to me about Quidditch for half an hour, you really can’t blame me. Anyway, what are you doing?” Harry inquired as he observed fondly at his friend. His friend then looked at the floor suddenly looking flushed. He quirked an eyebrow at his friend, something was clearly on his mind. He had always been able to read Theo, his friend had always been so transparent when you got close to him.
Theo looked back up at him and asked rather sweetly, “Erm Perhaps we could dance? I-I mean like as friends.”
The Slytherin grinned predatorily at his friend, not bothering to answer he took Theo’s hand and twirled him to the ballroom. Sure, it was rather unorthodox for two men to dance in a pureblood party, but Harry wanted the sheer power over him. He could take this as an opportunity to know his friend even more. They danced for a bit, Harry taking the lead, and Theo acting as submissive as a puppy dog. Out of all his friends he must say Draco his is favorite, but Theo comes very close to first.
---
The man stared at Potter in pure anger gracefully twirling Nott around the ballroom. His grace and the fact two men are openly dancing together would naturally catch some attention, so it would be normal for the Dark Lord to notice first. The emotion he was feeling was illogical and rather irritating, but it didn’t change his feeling. He knew Potter would be his soon, after all he had created a mentorship relationship with the boy, it would be odder if he refused to join him. Just the thought of Potter kneeling before him with eyes full of terror and admiration made his stomach churn pleasantly. Shaking his head, he quickly distracted himself by going to the garden…
And at that the Yule ball had ended.
---
(Time skip)
Draco smiled at his friend who flew with him on the quidditch field, he was just as good with flying then he was with dancing. Perhaps he could convince him to try out for third year tryouts, he could surely be a seeker. Fast and agile. His friend, Harry, smiled as the wind blew in his face, the look of sheer happiness and bliss. It surprised him to an extent given the fact that he seemed to loath the sport when he first attempted to fly in first year. Perhaps it could be because their were fewer people, but at the moment he could care less how he suddenly enjoyed flying. He too was enjoying the eternal bliss of flying.
“Draco race me to the other side of the pitch!” Harry demanded in the tone that left no room for argue. Not that Draco would argue with him, he too enjoyed flying. After all he was the best chaser in the Slytherin team.
Draco smirked predatorily, and stated in a fake mock, “Sure! Ready to be beaten Potter?”
“You bet! 1- 2 -3 GO!” Harry cried out loud, and the two dashed on their brooms. After a minute he realized that he was actually beating him! His friend was still right behind him, but for him it was still an accomplishment.
---
Lucius watched the two boys with a faint smile, the two were so oblivious to a war that was creeping up on them. Yes, Potter mat have a faint idea, but he seriously doubts that he is aware of how close it really is. He wouldn’t be surprised if it all blew up before the two are done with their education. He hoped his son Draco will grow up soon and not remain in his little bubble, he really should talk to him when summer break comes around. They would be leaving for Hogwarts in two days, and he didn’t want to dappen the rest of his son’s break.
Suddenly he felt his arm burn, the Dark Lord was calling. Sighing, he apparated to what his Master wanted.
It was just the inner circle, other then the few that were in Azkaban. The Dark Lord gave a cruel smile and stated, “My dearest followers, it seems we are missing a few. And for that I have a plan to get them out without anyone noticing.”
Silence filled the room as Lucius and the others were waiting for permission to speak. Finally, the head of the Nott house spoke up and enquired, “How do you plan to do that, My Lord? From my knowledge that is basically impossible, no one has managed to escape Azkaban for over two hundred years! I still don’t quite understand why we have to remain low; we still have a lot of resources.”
Their Master smiled pleased that someone had spoken up. “I have planned for Lucius will visit Azkaban for a ‘check up’ sent by the Minister. Since the only way to get to Azkaban is by boat, I will have an insider guard take the muggles to the prison. The Guard and Lucius will take the muggles and transfigure them to our liking, and then switch. We will give our people Polyjuice potion to look like normal civilians, it should wear off by the time we get to Greengrass Manor. Although, before you leave obliviate all the guards, I’ve done the calculating and there should be ten at most. I think the best time to perform this is a week after Yule break ends.”
Lucius personally hated the plan just because he didn’t want to go to Azkaban but even, he had to admit it was brilliant. He would do it without complaint if it meant pleasing his Master. Nodding in agreement he stated, “Yes, that seems like a wonderful plan. The muggles should only live a few days anyway, they are naturally weaker than us magical people. So, there is little to no time for the transfiguration to be undone.”
“Indeed. As for the rest of you I want you to continue training as hard as possible, it is only natural that you are out of practice. Oh, and Severus stay here.”
And at those words they all kneeled and Disapparated.
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Harry had just finished repacking his things for tomorrow, the start of school. And to be honest he was quite excited to return to his studies, he was tired. Oh, so tired. Voldemort had barely given him any sleep since their training sessions started at 1:00 AM to 3:00 PM usually. Not only that but hanging out with friends, although Theo visited the most. Since the Yule Ball they have had a strange relationship… For one Theo had become more affectionate of him, and in a way, he didn’t mind it too much. Not that he really loved Theo, but he liked the fact that the obviously loved him. He chuckled to himself as he remembered a few days ago when Theo told him that he trusted him more then anyone else. But he did care for Theo even if he didn’t love him, so he will allow his increase of affection.
Sighing he plopped down on the bed, he should get some decent sleep before he leaves for Hogwarts. It didn’t take long for that to happen as he had only slept for three hours last night.