Chapter Text
Harry stared at the Veil.
He was gone.
Sirius.
The man had disappeared into the Veil, the ghost of a laugh on his face....
He was gone.
Harry's dream -- living with Padfoot, escaping the horror of Privet Drive -- was dead.
Sirius was dead.
He. Was. Gone.
He would have to go back to the Dursleys.
This, somehow, was much worse than in third year, when Wormtail had escaped, because Harry knew there was still a chance to prove Sirius innocent.
Except Sirius was dead now. Even if Harry did prove him innocent....
Time seemed to have slowed down, and Harry couldn't hear anything. Spells shot every which way, but they were sluggish, as if trying to move through molasses. Remus kept trying to grab him and was sobbing at the same time, but Harry couldn't hear the cries.
There was no way Harry was going to return to the Dursleys. They would kill him this time.
Harry threw off Remus with a surge of strength he didn't know he had...
...and jumped into the Veil.
--------
Voldemort felt Lucius call him and smiled. His followers had gotten the Prophecy, it seemed.
But then Bellatrix called him, too, and he realized something was wrong. Voldemort scowled and Apparated.
And he'd been having such a good day....
He arrived at the Ministry and swept through the main entrance, pleased that his followers had at least made sure the building would be empty that night. It wouldn't do to be caught so close to fulfilling his plans, now would it?
Hello?! Is anyone there?!
Voldemort froze. The voice seemed to be coming directly from his mind! What the h***?!
Help! Please! We're trapped!
Voldemort slipped into the shadows in case the Ministry workers returned early and slid into his mind.
Who are you, and how did you get into my mind?!
Tom?! Of course it's you.
POTTER?!!!!
--------
For a moment, all that Harry felt was peace. He was finally going to see Sirius, Cedric, his parents....
Except his finger was still broken from being knocked into the desk, and he still felt shaky from Bellatrix Lestrange's Cruciatus.
"Harry!"
Harry blinked.
He was standing in a seemingly endless room, with a hundred people, most of which looked around forty. Sirius was standing in front of him, looking worried and alarmed. Harry turned, but there was nothing but a blank wall behind him. He pressed against it. Solid.
"What's going on?" Harry asked slowly.
"This isn't the afterlife, Harry," Sirius said urgently.
"It's a prison," said the tall man beside his godfather. They looked a little similar....
"So... we're still alive?" Harry asked.
"Yes," the man replied. "We can't starve or sleep here. We just... exist," he said cryptically.
Sirius rolled his eyes. "This is my Uncle Alphard, Harry."
"Oh, yeah, you told me he was your favorite uncle," Harry remembered.
Alphard smiled wearily. "I'm flattered, Sirius, but I'd rather get out of here."
Yes. Yes, if they could get out of the Veil, Harry could prove Sirius innocent. But how...?
Suddenly, Harry remembered something his Aunt Petunia had mentioned the summer after second year.
"Tom? That sounds like that stupid imaginary friend you had when you were six. Are you sure you didn't imagine him this year, too?"
Harry hadn't imagined his imaginary friend. He'd heard him in his mind-
Wait! He could ask Tom for help!
"Let me think." Harry closed his eyes and sat down.
-Tom? Are you still here?
Hello, Harry. It's about time. How many years has it been?
-Er...
Never mind. You need help getting out?
-Yes, but-
Let me connect you to the original Tom and he can help you.
-The original-?
Silence. Harry began to panic.
-Hello?! Is anyone there?!
He felt shock blast through his mind and his scar prickled, but not unpleasantly. A moment later-
Who are you, and how did you get into my mind?!
-Tom? Harry should have known. Of course it's you.
His scar flared, and Harry felt more shock and anger from Voldemort. Potter?!
--------
-Well obviously, Tom. Potter sounded exasperated and anxious. I really don't care how we can contact each other right now, but-
Voldemort hissed angrily. Don't care?! I lured you to the Ministry using this bond! How did you manage to contact me through it so quickly?!
-I didn't. Tom did.
I did not-
-Not you, the Tom in my mind.
The Tom in his...
No.
Surely not.
Harry Potter could not be Voldemort's Horcrux.
-We can figure out later how we have this bond, Tom, but right now I'm kind of trapped.
Where? Voldemort thought stiffly. If Potter was his Horcrux, he needed to be protected.
-The Veil.
Voldemort blinked. Don't lie to me, Potter, you could not possibly be trapped behind the Veil of Death.
-The thing is, it's not. The Veil of Death, that is. Because all of us are still alive, just trapped.
Voldemort blinked again. Are you sure?
-Well, I'm still talking to you, aren't I?
Sighing, Voldemort cast a Disillusionment spell on himself. Who was in the room when you fell into the Veil, Potter?
There was a flicker of embarrassment from the annoying teen. -I didn't fall. I jumped.
You... jumped. That would not do.
There was a blast of irritation and anger from Potter. -I'd just lost the only person who could get me away from the Dursleys, who treat me worse than Lucius Malfoy treats House-elves. Do you blame me?
WHAT?!
HOW DARE THOSE MUGGLES HURT A MAGICAL CHILD!
HE WOULD KILL THEM! BURN THEM! BREA-
-Hey Tom, could you maybe calm down, you're giving me a headache?
Voldemort could faintly sense Potter's pain over his anger, which quickly disappeared. Fine.
-Er... do you know how to get us out?
I can open the door for a brief moment, only long enough for you to get at least four people out. One of them had better be you, brat.
-Why?
I will explain later.
--------
Harry opened his eyes. "Tom says he can open the 'door'."
"Tom?" Sirius frowned.
"But he can only open the door for a few moments, long enough for four people to get out," Harry said. "I'm taking Sirius, who else-"
Alphard shook his head. "Harry," he said sadly, "we are the only ones who have loved ones still alive. A majority of us... would rather stay here."
"Wait!"
A young woman hurried forward, holding a newborn. Harry gaped.
"Take him with you," she pleaded. "He can't age, I want him-" her voice cracked.
"We'll take him," Sirius agreed, taking the sleeping baby in his arms. "Do-
But the woman had disappeared. Did she not want to come with her child?
"Uncle, please come with us."
"I was planning on it," Alphard agreed. Harry grasped the two men's arms.
Now, Harry!
Harry pressed against the blank wall, which suddenly gave way....
--------
Voldemort was standing in front of the Veil, his wand magic flowing through the black fabric. If he held it for much longer, he would become a Squib.
Three figures suddenly staggered through the Veil, one carrying... was that a baby?
Of course the brat would want to save a baby.
"Harry!" the wolf shouted in shock, dragging the teen into a hug. "S-Sirius?!"
"Hey, Moony," Black grinned, then yelped when the wolf dragged him into a hug, too.
"My Lord," Bellatrix said cautiously.
"Silence, Bellatrix," Voldemort said icily, removing the Disillusionment Charm. Potter, Black, and the wolf yelped, while the fourth person -- was that Alphard Black? -- raised an eyebrow. "My plans have changed regarding the Potter brat."
"Me? A brat?" Potter asked innocently, causing the wolf to snort and Black to laugh.
Voldemort cast the boy an irritated look. "Stupefy the Order, not the wolf or Black."
"Which one are you referring to?" Alphard Black asked, as red lights shot from the Death Eaters' wands. Shacklebolt, Moody, Nymphadora Tonks, the two Weasleys, Potter's Mudblood, and two students Voldemort didn't recognize... less than he expected.
"You are not part of the Order of the Phoenix, Alphard Black." Voldemort said irritably.
Alphard's eyes widened. "Tom Riddle."
"How DARE YOU!" Bellatrix shrieked.
"Oh, Bellatrix," Alphard said with a mocking smile. "It's been a while. What did you do to your hair?"
Potter's godfather burst out laughing and collapsed into his wolf's arms. Lupin did not look amused.
"U-Uncle Alphard?" Bellatrix exclaimed. "You're supposed to be dead!"
"You can't die in there," Alphard shrugged, jerking a thumb at the Veil.
Voldemort stopped himself from huffing, because Dark Lords did not huff. He'd wanted to make his followers think he could bring back the dead!
"Obliviate the children and send them back to school, except Potter's Mudblood-"
"-Muggleborn," Potter corrected.
"-and the Weasley boy," Voldemort finished, ignoring Potter. "The Order prisoners will be taken to Malfoy Manor dungeons."
"My Lord," Bellatrix began again, giving Potter a disgusted look.
"You heard him, Bella," Potter said sweetly. "Unless you're going to disobey him."
"HOW DARE YOU!"
"Bellatrix, lay a hand on Potter and you will wish for death," Voldemort hissed, halting the woman in her tracks. "Rodolphus, Rabastan, leave, and take Bellatrix with you. Anger me once more, Bellatrix Lestrange..."
The terrified Lestrange trio quickly left. Lucius cast a smug look at their backs.
"Dolohov, Jugson, Mulciber, Crabbe, take Moody, Shacklebolt, the girl, and Potter's friends to Malfoy Manor. Nott, Lucius, I expect these three-" he gestured to the Weasley girl and the two other students "-back at Hogwarts by noon tomorrow, Obliviated. Rookwood, Avery, you missed your last two appointments with the mind healers, I expect my servants to be at full capacity; you will see them now. Macnair, escort the wolf and his idiot to the Manor."
The Death Eaters quickly obeyed, and Sirius' protest ("I'm not an idiot!") was cut off as Walden Macnair quickly pushed them after the others, looking pale.
"Potter, the Prophecy?" Voldemort asked.
"It broke," Potter said unapologetically, "and it was written by that fraud. I seriously doubt Trelawney could spew anything but fake predictions. Did you know that every class she's told me I'm going to die?" he asked dramatically.
Alphard laughed. "He's right, Tom-"
"-you will address me as Voldemort-"
"-Sybill Trelawney didn't have the gift," Alphard continued, ignoring him. "She was tested negative at birth. This was one of the last things I remember before getting tossed into the Veil of So-Called Death."
Voldemort hissed. The prophecy was falsssssse? HE WAS GOING TO DESTROY THAT OLD FOOL!
Potter suddenly gasped in pain and clutched his scar, which was pulsing and completely white now. Voldemort quickly calmed himself down.
Something was off here.
If Potter was a Horcrux, he shouldn't be feeling immense pain when Voldemort was angry, because Nagini never complained of pain and he was frequently angry.
"Potter," Voldemort said abruptly, "I want your magic checked."
--------
Harry stared incredulously at Voldemort. "What? Why?" Also how?
"Because, brat, your scar is not supposed to hurt. At all." Voldemort rubbed his forehead. "I really do not want to deal with you any more than usual."
Harry snorted. "I can go back to Hogwarts if you-"
"No!" Voldemort snarled, and Harry's scar flared again, making him wince.
Alphard interrupted, his expression pale and shocked. "You didn't."
"Didn't what?" Voldemort snapped.
"Tom, do you know what a Horcrux does to your soul?!"
"What's a Horcrux?" Harry questioned.
"Of course I know what a Horcrux does to a soul," Voldemort snorted. "It makes you immortal."
"It makes your soul unstable," Alphard snapped, suddenly angry. "You colossal idiot."
"You dare-"
"You didn't read the warnings. No one ever reads the warnings. If they did, so much crap that's happened wouldn't have happened. You colossal IDIOT."
Harry choked off a laugh. Sirius' uncle was funny.
"What warnings?" Voldemort said irritably. "There were no warnings."
Alphard froze. "There's always warnings with Dark magic. There's always a backlash, a price, karma, something."
Voldemort's expression darkened, and Harry felt suspicion and frustration through the bond. "...there were pages ripped out at the back. Rather carefully, so it looked as if they hadn't been ripped out."
Alphard cursed. "You're still an idiot," he told Voldemort sharply.
"It seems I am. I should have found another copy," Voldemort said stiffly. He held out an arm. "You will explain the warnings while the brat takes a Magic Aura Test."
"A what?" Harry asked, taking Voldemort's hand instead. The man glared at him, and he grinned impishly.
Alphard snorted and grasped Voldemort's arm. "I can see you'll make life interesting, Harry Potter."
Harry smirk. "I live to annoy, as the twins say."
Voldemort scowled and twisted into dark nothingness.