Dark Union

Voldemort paced his room as he contemplated what to do. Harry James Potter has a mind connection to him. Nonetheless, it could potentially be a horcrux, as all the clues just simply line up. For one thing, they have a mind connection, for another, Voldemort felt a natural possessiveness over him, and for a third, the process is present if he recalls what happened in Godric Hollow. A living sacrifice of an innocent and the object of the sacrifice. If his suspicions were correct, he would have to force Potter to join or, at the very least, start pushing him harder on it. It would be a challenge to teach the child occulumency faster than he expected. It was not that the child was weak, but the blood of the Black family flowing through his veins would make it harder due to the long history of insanity. The Dark Lord mentally cursed himself. He acted brash when he mind raped the boy to see if he was telling the truth or not. He didn’t doubt that the boy had some severe trust issues, and it would be harder to earn trust than to lose it. Voldemort walked over to the couch and sunk into it with a sigh, Nagini soon came over to demand attention. The Dark Lord gave a weak smile as he stoked her scales. She was honestly such a beautiful snake. He had always admired beautiful things; it was one of the few things he had admired. Even if his definition of beautiful was rather skewered.

---

The boy rolled his eyes as he drifted off to sleep in class. He was bored, no, bored, couldn't even measure what he was feeling. Classes used to be of some interest to him, but now they are so disgustingly easy. He had dramatically improved over the Yule break. After all, it would be hard not to when the Dark Lord was mentoring you. The closest thing to hard would-be potions and herbology, and it’s not like he has any real desire to improve on those. Professor Snape has some odd hatred for him, while Professor Sprout is fun, but he finds the subject itself boring. Along with the fact that the other students seemed to give him side glances, and some even walked up to him to thank him. At least Eris seemed to have scared them off for a bit; they were too stupid to realize that he wasn’t even poisonous! He was wondering when Professor Dumbledore would confront him about it. After all, it had been three days since school resumed and someone would have informed the headmaster, or at least the head of his house.

He jolted awake when Draco nudged his arm. At least class was over, sighing, he got up and left. He was greeted by Theo who was staring at him, his friend smiled warmly and said, "I think it is the first time I have ever seen you sleep in class. Should I be worried, are you slipping my little Potter?" He couldn’t help it, he smiled at his companion. He didn’t particular like being called ‘Little Potter’ or being referred to as ‘mine’ but he managed since it was Theo.

"You do know I’m not that short compared to you, I have just reached 5’1 this year." Harry sarcastically in a know-it-all tone before continuing, "Anyway, what’s the next class?"

Theo was about to say something, but Draco said, "We got potions with the Gryffindors. Poor Neville. I almost feel bad for him. He may be my friend, but he is no prodigy in potions, I mean, even Weasley is better!"

 Rolling his eyes, he said, "Yes, well, he is pretty good at everything else. Perhaps, not at prodigy level, but since he got his new wand he has done well."

Theo nodded in agreement; Neville was no prodigy, but he was decent in magic. His friend stated, "I feel like he would excel in the dark arts, although we are only second years. Father said that he would teach me some of the basics next year, since you know dark arts addiction is real. Right Draco?"

Harry suppressed a blush, after all he had recently discovered them at the end of first year. He wasn’t addicted since he did have more self-control then to get addicted to it, but it did definitely make him feel good. Sudden flashbacks to the time he killed Theo’s cat struck in his mind, he still didn’t feel guilty, but a sudden awareness fluttered in him. A few years ago, he would have only did that to someone who hurt him, not a trusted friend. He may not be addicted, but perhaps it could be altering his mind? No, he was in control of his own actions. Perhaps it may have darkened him a bit, but when did that become a bad thing?

"Harry? Were here." Draco said as he interrupted his thoughts.

Slightly flinching in surprise, he said, "Oh yes, let’s go." He slightly commanded Eris to hide under his sleeve as he usually did when he was about to enter class.

Sitting in the middle of the class next to Neville, who would be his partner for the day. Finally, they had received instructions on what to do, and the pair when to work.

The potion was ruined, Neville had accidentally stirred clockwise instead of counterclockwise causing the potion to turn into some potent poison. At least the class had ended, and he was about to leave, although Professor Snape had other ideas. "Potter, stay here I have something to tell you."

His friends gave him a sympathetic look, and Neville mouthed a quick sorry and left. Stopping mid-step, he turned around and said, "Yes, Sir?"

"Tell me, how was your Yule break?" Professor Snape inquired a little bit too casually. His stomach churned but he quickly shoved it down, he didn’t know how Professor Snape knew this, but it couldn’t be a good thing.

"It was good, Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy were very nice to me. I enjoyed it. Why?" Harry stated stiffly, after all he technically wasn’t lying. The Malfoys were very nice to him.

Severus frowned and asked suspiciously, "Oh, that’s it?"

"Yes sir, er I guess I met the minister at the Yule ball?" Harry stated trying to sound as innocent as possible. Yes, Professor Snape may not have any proof of his connection with Voldemort, but it would be bad if someone was looking into it. After all, Voldemort still hadn’t returned yet.

Professor Snape sneered and grabbed his chin, clutching it till the point where it hurt. "Do. Not. Lie. To. Me. We both know very well you are acquainted with the Dark Lord; you are mingling in things that we both know you shouldn’t. I may have hated your father, but I am not ignorant enough to think you are him. It is simple and obvious, you are a boy, cold, bitter, and abused. You are not arrogant and stupid, so you should be smart enough to understand this. I will not sit here and give you sympathy, but I will warn you. The Dark Lord does not care for you, he is simply using you as an asset and something to be owned. Leave when you can, because the second you join, all the special attention you received will be gone. This does not change what you are. You are still a worse person than your father. But at least you aren’t arrogant enough to not notice this." And at that, he sneered and released the grip on his chin.

Harry stared at his teacher in surprise. What has caused this personality change? Yes, he was just borderline assaulted, but his words were laced with something unrecognizable. Suddenly, it clicked. Professor Snape must be a supporter of the Dark Lord and had learned this in some sort of meeting. "You are a death eater, or a spy. Will you tell anyone? Because I can assure you that no one would believe you."

Professor Snape sneered and stated, "I am loyal to my Lord. I am offended that you would doubt that. I shall not inform the headmaster. But I will tell him about the snake hidden in your sleeve. Go, I do believe you have defense. " Although before he was about to leave, Professor Snape pointed his wand at him and suddenly the pain in his chin faded away. All he could do was speed walk out the door. His mind was racing with thoughts.

~Flashback~

"Severus, come here my boy." Albus Dumbledore said in a gentle grandfatherly tone, pointing to his pensive.

Severus sneered at the old fool that was supposed to be a headmaster, leader of the light. Walking over to the object he asked, "What is it?"

Albus sighed and said, "I need your opinion on what to do. I know you don’t like Harry, but that’s partly why you’re here. I need you to look at this memory, I just need to see this from a different perspective. I might have used legilimency on him to find this, and before you lecture me, I know."

Severus nodded coldly and dived into the pensive.

He was in some dirty, dark room. Then he noticed Potter. He was sitting on an old worn bed with his arms clutching his knees and was shaking and making some sort of noise. Crying? Now that he thought of it, he couldn’t imagine Potter actually crying. He was always so calm and almost borderline apathetic. At this point, it would be more jarring to see Potter show his emotions. But seeing a six-seven-ish Potter crying sent shivers down his skin. Suddenly, the door opened and a stern woman in a nun outfit came in with a murderous facial expression. She was clutching some sort of cane. Perhaps it was petunia? But he didn't remember her looking so short.

"I was told you were doing the devil's bidding again! Tell me, how is it always when you're around that something bad happens? This time, poor Thomas had his arm broken because of you!" The Lady screamed as she hit the boy’s side with it, causing him to unravel from the position. Accidental magic? Severus mused that it must have been a strong reaction to something. He already knew Thomas most likely did something to him. After all, a boy his age couldn’t control his magic. He suddenly remembered the day he noticed Potter had whip marks. At the time, he thought that Potter had done something wrong. But seeing how they punish him for things that cannot be explained…

"I swear I didn’t do it, Mrs. Prouse! I-It was like magic!" Potter cried as he put his hands against his face. The thought of magic seemed to have angered her more, and she grabbed his hair and positioned him so his back would be revealed. His eyes widened as he realized that it was not Petunia, she was a caretaker in an orphanage. Why would Albus send his Golden boy to a bloody orphanage?

The Nun, or Mrs. Prouse, screamed, "MAGIC IS NOT REAL!" and hit him on the back with the cane. The boy didn’t yelp, but Severus, being a skilled Occlumency could tell he was concealing it. Severus was expecting it to last for a few minutes, but to his surprise, the torture lasted ten minutes straight.

When the woman left finally, the Potter boy stood up. A silent groan in pain escaping his lips, his face was an odd shade of red and tears were streaming down her face. It was obvious he was angry and embarrassed, and Severus felt a twinge of sympathy. "I hate you; I hate you all." The boy said darkly, something no child should say.

When he finally left the pensive, he asked, "Albus why are you showing me this? I don’t understand."

"This was a month after the Dursley’s beat Harry to near death. I need to find a family that would be able to take Harry in, that place is toxic for him and it’s pushing him further in the darkness. The thing is, its unsafe for the boy to be in the wizarding world during the summer. If Voldemort learns where he is then he could kill him, just like what happened to Lily and James. Or even attempt to manipulate Harry to join him, and we both know he is alive. The stone is missing, and Quirrell, the person I was suspicious of, is missing with it. Your mark isn’t darker yet since you haven’t been called, but that doesn’t go for the other death eaters." Albus explained sadly.

Severus knew what the Dark Lord was planning to do with Potter, convince the boy to join him. And from his knowledge, Lord Voldemort had met with Potter and had even mentored him to some extent. He doesn’t know the full extent of their relationship, but he knows it isn’t pure hatred at it should be. A sudden wave of anger shot up in him, Lily died for the youngest Potter, just for him to practically join the murder of his parents. How apathetic was this boy? He may support the Dark Lord, but he will never forgive him for the murder of Lily. Sighing, he replied coolly, "We can’t do anything till Potter says something, and once he does, we will inform the ministry. I hate to say this, Albus, but besides that you could use your label as magical guardian to get him away. But that would cause more harm then good in my opinion. After all, if he is made aware of you being his magical guardian, then he will most likely hate you for sure. And do you really think you could even take care of someone like Potter?"

At that moment, Albus seemed to have aged years. He didn’t see a bumbling old fool. He felt a twinge of sympathy. He may despise the man, but he is not a fool to believe he is a terrible person. But when the Dark Lord rises and wins, he will feel no sadness at his death. "I know, I know. I just want to ask you one thing. Please try and keep him as safe as possible. Gain his trust and try to get him to talk. He’s a Slytherin and very prideful. It would be hard to force him into it. "

His eyes widened; he may feel Pity for Potter, but he wasn’t ready for that! His entire opinion of the boy won’t change just because he learned he was abused, yes, it did explain some of the behavior, but it did not gratify it. Potter felt no sympathy for anyone. He killed his best friend’s cat, and then had the audacity to comfort him. He would even go so far as to say the youngest Potter was worse than James Potter, at least James Potter thought he was just being funny. This Potter was just cold and unnerving, and frightfully powerful for his age. Something the Dark Lord was looking for; he couldn’t have Potter go to him. Even if he would be a great ally, he just couldn’t stop seeing Lily’s sad eyes as he imagined her reaction to the boy joining. Merlin, how did life even come to this? Closing his eyes, he sighed tiredly, "I will try, but I do not make promises." For the first time in a long time, he told the old fool the truth.

---

The school day had just ended, so he and his friends decided to go outside for a bit, The day was cold, but it didn’t bother him too much. He was used to it, but unfortunately, his friends weren’t. They were shivering rather pathetically. Even Theo, who had taken to sitting as close as he possibly could. Harry didn’t necessarily like it, but he didn’t really care too much, as long as he wasn’t trying to do anything too intimate. Because some part of him, the weak and pathetic part, craved attention and physical affection, he would have to control it at some point. Given the fact that he is starting to feel disgustingly possessive, even by his standards. It seemed even his friends noticed the closeness between the two, and they got some innocent teasing about it. "Hey Neville, what is your opinion on the dark arts?" He asked suddenly, breaking the comfortable silence between the friends.

His friend flushed and said, "I- err my Nan tells me that its bad, it messes with your mind."

"That’s not what I asked. What do you think about it?" Harry persisted ignoring the fact Theo tensed with Draco, and Luna.; he was curious, after all Neville was so nervous around everything, he rarely spoke about himself.

Neville spluttered and said, "I-I mean, I t-think it could have some use to it. But s-some things are truly evil, like the unforgivables. I don’t think I could be in the same room with someone who had ever casted them." And at those words he inwardly laughed. Oh, Neville had no idea. He may have only casted the weaker one out of the three, but it is still an unforgivable spell, nonetheless.

"I agree with Neville, although not everyone who casts them is a terrible person." Draco stated as he looked at the black lake once again.

Luna giggled and locked eyes with him, her piercing blue eyes seemed to have stared into his soul. And as she looked at Harry, the girl said, "Harry! Don’t let the wackburts infect you, they tend to make people nasty when they are infected. I don’t do the dark arts at all; I feel grimy being around people with a dark aura, and nargles and wackspurts tend to infest their minds easier. But that could just be because I have an affinity for light magic. That doesn’t mean I don’t have a friend with one of the darkest auras, even if I tend to avoid people with it.

Harry did not like the implications of what Luna was saying. Yes, he used the dark arts, but that didn’t mean she could just heavily imply it. Even if it was the truth. Rolling his eyes, he told her, "I have no idea what you’re talking about. You and your creatures."

Everyone was tense but decided to laugh it off as a joke. But only Harry and Luna knew. The two locked eyes once again and the mutual agreement to not speak of it. For Luna knew if she continued to reveal himself when he wasn't ready, Harry would push her away, and Harry knew he would do more than that.