Chapter 10
The little brat... she pleads for me to teach her how to become an Animagus but refuses to put in the effort! The Dark Lord's magic crackles around him dangerously. No matter... I have much more important things to attend to than that of the whims of a little girl.
Voldemort apparated to the ministry, where he was immediately greeted by a very enthusiastic secretary.
"Lord Slytherin, I can take your coat if you'd like." His secretary asked.
He did not look twice at her before flinging his robe at her. He marched down to his office quickly, only slowed down by idle greetings from other ministry workers.
Voldemort's office at the Ministry of Magic was directly in front of the Minister's office. Upon entering, he found his giant and intricately carved wooden desk with two stacks of letters he had yet to open. The wall immediately behind his desk was made completely of windows, only breaking the pattern in the center, where he had a spacious balcony overlooking muggle London. The rest of his walls were colored with various tomes, books, and scrolls that went from floor to ceiling.
Voldemort day down at his desk, exhaling loudly. He pulled the pile of letters from his desk and began opening them.
Lord Slytherin,
I would like to invite you to the 10th annual Quibbler anniversary. It would be a great honor to have you there, and the wrackspurts have said that it is imperative that you d-
The letter went up in flames. I don't have time for the nonsensical dribbles of Xenophilius Lovegood. What a despicable name...
The next letter was the annual report from Hogwarts... Another successful year under my rule... He mused. The marks for this school year were light years better than years previous. Hogwarts was now ranked number two magical school in the Wizarding world. Ilvermorny was their only competition. By next year, Hogwarts would absolutely be first...
Voldemort felt a flare of thrill run through him. Hara was apparently having a good time. He closed his eyes and focused on their link.
Hara... What have I told you about occluding your mind? It presently feels as though you are intentionally projecting your feelings and thoughts to my person. The Dark Lord's thoughts rang in Hara's mind like an old barmy Professors word would.
Maybe I am? I am just trying to share my wonderful day with you! Hara's thoughts came to him in a sickly sweet and abhorrently sarcastic tone.
You should have spent your day on practicing on becoming an animagus... That would have been infinitely more gratifying than getting particles of sand everywhere they don't belong.
Hara focuses with all her might. Voldemort feels her mind knocking against his. Attempting to throw his into the trance like state they can share to experience something through the others eyes. The Dark Lord leans back into his chair and props his dragon leather dress boots onto his ornate desk.
What is it you're so desperate to show me my little Horcrux..? He lets out a breath and drops his mental barriers enough for his mind to join hers. He sees an emerald sea glistening in the horizon, and gentle waves rolling into a cliff that Hara is standing upon. She feels free, like she can fly, she wants to fly... oh... don't you dare...
Hara takes a running leap off of the cliff face sending her hurtling down into the summer waters below. Her body shoots through the water. The temperature feels refreshing on her sun kissed skin.
The Dark Lord, on the other hand, is unamused. He abruptly ends their shared vision as soon as he feels the water against his—her? Skin.
Bloody brat... He growls through their connection.
All he received back were feelings of accomplishment and satisfaction.
I wish you were here, Tom! He heard it ring through his mind moments later. That actually felt sincere.
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A Knock at his office stirred him from the mounds of paperwork that he had piled upon his desk. Some career-related, some related only to his more private ambitions.
"Lord Slytherin... Do you have a moment?" A familiar old voice called.
"Headmaster Dumbledore... Of course, for you. Enter." Voldemort drawled with thinly veiled sarcasm.
Dumbledore walked into the Dark Lord's spacious office and took a seat in front of him. He pulled a lemon drop from his robe and popped it in his mouth.
"To what do I owe the pleasure, Albus..?" Lord Slytherin asked, slightly annoyed by Dumbledore's casual behavior.
"I merely wanted to know if you've given any thought to the list of candidates I provided you for the professor positions open at Hogwarts," Dumbledore asked casually while his gaze wandered from tome to book across Tom's shelves.
"I have..." Lord Slytherin leaned back in his chair and twirled a quill between his fingers.
Now it was Dumbledore's turn to get triggered. "Tom... Then I trust you have reached a decision?"
The Dark Lord's lips twitch momentarily in irritation. The old man still has the gall to call me by my filthy muggle father's name. His name sounds wrong from everyone's lips but Hara's. From her, it has the pleasant air of a compliment or an affectionate title. From anyone else, it burns his ears and his restraint like acid.
"You added a few classes that we no longer offer to the list Headmaster... We have spoken about this before. I have no intention of bringing divination back to Hogwarts. Nor do I have any intention to make Hagrid the Care of Magical Creatures Professor. He is hardly qualified. Not to mention, he was expelled from the school for Merlin's sake. How can we expect him to teach the children if never completed his education himself? Professor Binns is also out of the question. I remember having him as my professor, and he made a subject that should have been extremely engaging and intriguing into a class that even I, as former head boy, struggled not to doze off in. Not to mention, he is dead. We do not need a ghost teaching a class... As for muggle studies, I do not see how going back to the old ways of teaching serves any benefit to students or Wizard kind as a whole. The new curriculum that includes muggle math, history, current events, and science are far more valuable than any of the dribble that came from the old ways..." They need to understand their enemy... They need to be able to integrate with their society so we can begin our takeover... He said internally.
"Tom, I would have you reconsider-" Dumbledore started before Lord Slytherin began blinking his eyes rapidly before closing them altogether.
"Is... There something wrong, my boy?" The old headmaster inquired.
"Shh! Do not speak. In fact, leave. Now." Tom said, gesturing to his office door as it swung open. "It is nothing of your concern." He winced again, looking deep in thought and troubled.
Dumbledore stood looking between the door and Tom. Curiosity and suspicion wrote in the lines around his face. He took a testing step toward Tom; seeing him in such a vulnerable state seemed so convenient.
"I. SAID. GO!" Tom's eyes opened, and for a moment, Dumbledore could have sworn his eyes were a volcanic red, but they were back in their cerulean blue.
The headmaster turned on his heel and left without a word.
Voldemort slammed his office door shut and warded it a dozen times over. Hara... where are you? He tried to force through their connection. It was as if trying to grasp smoke. He could sense her but only barely. He sat down and concentrated further, retreating deeper into his mind. He brushed up against where her consciousness brushed his. He could feel the faintest feelings of terror, panic, and confusion.
His eyes shot open, and he had his wand in hand within a fraction of a second. The building around him began to shake. The quills on his desk rolled until they clattered to the floor, and in the next moment, it felt as if the entire ministry itself had suddenly dropped by at least two inches, causing everything to jolt in shock.
Voldemort's body shrank into the pull of apparition with a thunderous clap before everything had even settled.
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Sirius and Remus were on a plush lounge soaking up the sun's warmth when a livid Dark Lord appeared right in front of them, bringing the sound of thunder along with him. Sand flew everywhere, and they both sputtered it out of their mouths.
"Where is she?! Where is Hara?! Why are you two not with her?!" Voldemort growled out while sending a lavender hex at them that split their lounge in two violently.
Struggling to get their bearings after such an unpleasant intrusion, Remus managed to stammer out after spitting a glob of sand and blasted wood from their lounge out of his mouth. "She is swimming, my Lord..."
"She is not! I cannot feel her at present or communicate. All I can feel is a faint tingle of fear and panic!" Voldemort lost his temper and blasted them back wandlessly, sending the werewolf and Lord Black tumbling over themselves. "You are absolutely useless; I don't know why I bothered with you two. I will deal with you later before kicking off the ground and flying towards the ocean in search of the girl.
Remus and Sirius looked dumbstruck. "Did you know he could fly...? Bloody hell..." Sirius asked disbelievingly.
Remus shook his head, summoning both his and Sirius's brooms. "Let's go find our cub," he said.
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Voldemort scanned the area, looking for his mouthy horcrux. Hara... where are you, child... he tried again through their connection.
His cloak billowed behind him. He looked like a grim reaper floating above a perfectly beautiful and sunny day.
In the distance, near a rocky cliff, he saw blooms of fog standing out in stark contrast to the seasonable day. In a flash, the Dark Lord hurtled towards the fog. He created a tornado-like funnel to cut through the fog, but it bounced off only slightly, disturbing the thick blanket of mist. Voldemort growled in anger. I can feel that you're near, little one... come to me, please! He said inwardly. Whether to himself or to her, he wasn't sure.
Remus and Sirius caught up to him moments later. They witnessed an incensed Dark Lord hurling spell after spell toward a wall of fog. Reds, blues, purples, and greens collide with it only to be absorbed in the thick blanket. Remus and Sirius joined him at his side
"She's in there?" Sirius questioned, with a stressed grimace.
A red stinging hex hurtled toward him, smacking him in his chest with enough force to nearly knock him off his broom.
"No mutt... I just find attacking clouds cathartic. GET RID OF THIS FOG. NOW!" Voldemort growled, never taking his eyes off the mist.
The three wizards hit the fog bank with spell after spell, and only managing to send gentle ripples through the mist.
Voldemort's entire body tensed, feeling a stronger wave of fear ripple through their connection... Hara! Hold on... the Dark Lord shot straight down into the water, leaving the two wizards above confused. They continued their barrage on the gaseous fortress.
The water below them began to glow a bright orange hue. A colossal fiery basilisk rose from the water encircling the fog. It wound around and around again. The Dark Lord burst from the ocean waving his wand like a conductor of an orchestra, controlling the giant beast around him...
"Fiendfyre... I... have never seen it ever reach something of this magnitude..." the werewolf said in complete awe.
Voldemort drew from his core magic to further stoke the fires of the beast he prayed would be able to set Hara free. Rays of light began to pierce through the beast. And Voldemort felt ice flow through his veins... What could this be..?! It's reducing the basilisk to nothing?! A large explosion sent the Dark Lord and the two other wizards hurtling backward.
Tom struggled to right himself as he tumbled over and over through the air, not letting himself plummet to the ocean below. His head was spinning, and he could hear ringing in his ears from the mysterious blast. With a shake of his head, he threw himself forward once more to attack the fog but paused when he saw it had completely vanished. He flew faster towards that spot and froze.
Hara was floating in the water unconscious. Around her floated thousands, perhaps even millions of flower petals of every color and species shaped in a Celtic knot ouroboros. Within a second, Voldemort leaped into the water to collect her. He pulled the sleeping form of Hara to his chest, clinging to her. "Hara speak to me... wake now child. You are safe!" He spoke to her both within their link and verbally.
He could now feel her mind brush against his once more, and he let out a breath he felt like he had been holding through this whole ordeal. Her eyes fluttered open, still heavy with sleep. A weak and shaky hand brushed along the side of his jaw. "Tom... my Tom... He said, it's going to happen soon... we have to stop it." The hand fell away, and Hara fell back into a deep sleep.