Rituals and Rights of the Dark Order

By Angelis Raye

Challenge #2:

Theme: Dark Honor; 1000-3000 words; Required Character: Severus; Required Line: "What is on your foot?"

One-Shot: Words: 2033.

Severus did not know when he should tell the Dark Lord of what was happening with the current situation. Just the second before he was to speak, Harry James Potter, the son of Lily Evans, the woman he'd always loved, stood before him and the Dark Lord defiantly.

"Riddle!" was the only thing he got out before the addressed reacted to his muggle name being used by the other -- his supposed equal. "Don't kill Snape! He's not the true owner of the Elder Wand. Draco Malfoy had been the first one to touch the Wand first, after the Headmaster died."

"You foolish child!" the Dark Lord retorted. "Don't you know or understand that Severus defeated Dumbledore?"

"Yes, I realize that fact, however, Snape did not really defeat Dumbledore, since the Headmaster had actually asked Snape to kill him," Potter replied, scarily looking much like the Dark Lord, himself, at that very moment, filled with such anger and fury. No doubt that it was the connection between the two of them that caused such an over-lapping of their personalities -- especially those of the Dark Lord's onto Potter.

"Severus, is this true? What Potter states so very boldly?"

"Yes, my Lord, it is very true, what he speaks of," I replied, uncertain of where the young man had acquired such secretive information about the Headmaster and me. I wished to ask the question that was burning inside of me, but let it settle, continuing to watch what might occur between the two of the Prophesied Ones.

"Why, I must then thank you greatly for you stopping me from killing one of my most faithful of servants." Smiling decidedly very evilly, my Master turned his full attention to the Potter boy, looking me in the eye, right before, almost as if to say, "I'll deal with you later, Severus," and continued. "Is there any more information you wish to share with me before you meet with your fate?"

"Yes," he breathed, almost hissed lowly. "I would like to tell you that just a week or so ago; I defeated Draco Malfoy in a duel, allowing the wands' loyalty to shift to myself." Upon stating this, he held up the dark colored wand to show the other man in the room, as proof. He paused to do this, however, he pushed onward before the Dark Lord could suggest killing Potter and be done with this entire business. "I would like to make a proposition with you, Tom Riddle. I have recently had a change of heart towards Dumbledore and I no longer trust him in the very least. I have learned, that in some ways -- more like, in most all ways -- I can trust you more (far more), because I can understand your far better than I will ever hope to understand the old Headmaster."

"Are you, Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived, offering a truce of an alliance of some sort? Of your own free will? I never thought that I would see this day come! After all of those times that I offered something of such to you, you had always turned me down. What a miracle this is, don't you see, Severus? My curiosity gets the best of me, however, what was it that made you change your mind?" the Dark Lord grinned, completely amused by the scene unfolding before him.

Bowing my head towards the Dark Lord, I hoped that we would soon be able to finish all of this, so that I could resume my potions that would further aid the Dark Lord. All because of this whole affair with the Prophesy and that was what had been causing all of this. Yet, before I could manage to ask my Master if I could leave to attend the potions I had been preparing, it seemed that Potter was going to discuss the proposition he had in mind for the Dark Lord.

"Because I am the Rightful Owner of the Elder Wand, which means that you will have to defeat me to be able to keep the wand as your own. What I suggest, is that we not fight each other over this matter, but join sides. What Dumbledore was attempting to do was to collect the Deathly Hallows -- items, that when put together would give the true owner of all three a power like Death, Himself." He paused in his speech again, almost just to taunt the Dark Lord with the information that he was keeping. "I already have the Invisibility Cloak and the Resurrection Stone," he announced, holding up each item respectively, the Stone within the Snitch that the Headmaster had given to him in the Will. "All that I need is the Elder Wand and your agreement to not betray me; since I will not forget how much alike you and I are, truly. I will even make an Unbreakable Vow with you, right now, as long as we're at it."

The other, taller man, considered it. Upon reaching a conclusion for himself, the Dark Lord looked Potter in the eye; red, gleaming hungry eyes meeting green, unhesitatingly resolved with decision, not for the first time. This connection seemed to cease the pain of the boy's scar, which was due to the close proximity of the Dark Lord, for he no longer winced at the pain.

"So, it is agreed, then?" the youngest present questioned, a bit too eagerly than anyone might have imagined the supposed "Gryffindor Golden Boy" to have towards anyone like the Dark Lord.

"Most certainly," the Dark Lord replied, his high pitched voice a bit lower, most presumably with the aspect of now having someone as powerful as the Master of Death sounded. At the very least, just the mention of the name alone would strike fear into the hearts of all mortals. To find out exactly how powerful the Master of Death would be and to ask the question of why he did not know of this tale, yet how Potter himself had come about finding this information. "Let us make the Unbreakable Vow, and then leave this area. After you did come to me and gave yourself up," he added, with a twisted smile.

The two linked their right hands to the other's, my Master then looking at me expectantly. As the Bonder between the two, I poised my wand so that the tip of it was touching the tops of both of their linked hands.

"Please, state the terms," I intoned, just as anxious to get this over with. What would Lily think of me -- I cut that thought short, before it would bloom in full. It was shameful that by just meeting eyes with Potter made such emotions rise up inside of me. Before my thoughts have their own time to wander off again, the Dark Lord started stating his terms.

"I, Tom Marvolo Riddle, also more recently known as the Dark Lord, Voldemort, take an Unbreakable Vow with Harry James Potter, in assurance that he will not use his powers gained from the use of the Deathly Hallows against myself or my followers, the Death Eaters, marked so by my own mark. Also, he is not to use the power he obtains through the title of being the Master of Death against myself or my marked followers, nor will he use any of his powers or any actions by his hand or word against me," the Dark Lord finished, meeting eyes again with Harry.

"I, Harry James Potter, take an Unbreakable Vow with the one currently known as Lord Voldemort by his followers, in effort to render him unable to do me any harm or wish for him to cause my death in any fashion. Also, the Dark Lord must allow me to attain the possession of all three Deathly Hallows and with that, the title of being the Master of Death," intoned Potter. It surprised me, the way he began his Bow, a bit haughtily, however, finishing it with almost a friendly tone, addressing the other in the room as the Dark Lord. I had never expected him to even use the term of "the Dark Lord" in any manner.

As the terms of the treaty were completed, flames issued from my wand, then winded itself around the two's hands, still clutching the other's hand. The flames then dispersed, leaving the room to plunge into the darkness of the night once more. What would they say to each other, now that the Vow had been settled?

They both looked to me a bit expectant. When I don't reply to their stares, it is my Lord who begins to question me. "Severus..." he dwells on what to say, almost forming multiple scenarios, figuring out which was the best suited to his tastes.

"What is on your foot?" Potter disrupts the silence, his voice harsher than what I was used to coming from the boy.

I looked down, as he pointed to my foot, and am startled. It is only a few shards of glass, from my flight from the Headmaster's office. "Ah, it is nothing but glass," I utter, picking up the offending pieces off of my shoe, then tossing it aside.

"Well, that seems to take care of things for the night, don't you say, Harry?" the Dark Lord asks, a bit kinder than usual.

"Yes," I heard him verify, softly, "We should retire for tonight. There are a great number of things to do tomorrow."

With that said, we apperated away to the Malfoy Manor.

Dark honor was something not to be messed with, concerning the Dark Lord and his newest ally, the Master of Death. Once they had completed their transaction, the boy quickly grew to fit into his role of being his once enemy's ally, becoming more and more powerful with the aid of his new powers he had attained from the possession of the Elder Wand.

It had taken a day or so for him to figure out what he was supposed to do to get the snitch open to possess the Ring which had the broken stone within it. Using the Elder Wand, he had repaired the stone, and then placed it around his ring finger, much to the amusement of the Death Eaters and the Dark Lord.

Afterwards, it became more common that the boy would be seen sitting at the right hand of Lord Voldemort, as his features were alight with such entertainment of torturing muggles left and right. The relationship between the Dark Lord and the ex-Savior of the Wizarding world was odd at best, as seen by the eyes of the Death Eaters and the rest of Britain. Some rumors said that they were lovers, some saying that they were just mutual allies, and still others saying that the Master of Death was not really Harry Potter, but just a clone of the Dark Lord.

In a way, that last one was true, as the Master was found to contain a piece of the Dark Lord's soul that had been accidentally left there on the night of the murders of his parents. Strangely enough, the young man no longer considered the Potters as his parents, but rather, saying that his father was Death, Himself. Speculation continued on that statement issued by the young Master, but as time went on, some thought that perhaps, the Dark Lord was pouring more of his soul and memories into the Master, in effort to one day merge fully with the other, to regain a full soul to be able to split again.

The truth, however, was far from that….

As the previous Headmaster, Dumbledore had once said, the parasitic growth of the Dark Lord's piece of soul was slowly devouring the Master's original soul. In essence, there were two Riddles, yet, one was the Son of Death, Himself, for he was a Necromancer, as found out by Lucius Malfoy and his son. That, however, is a story for another time.