Emerald and silver

Chapter 3

Lucius arrived at the address he was given, quickly entered the house and began assessing the situation. He immediately got to work fixing the worst of the damage first. He made sure to be extremely careful to not move the bodies and to not touch anything that would leave questionable evidence behind. Finishing the final repairs to the residence and putting all the windows back into place, he remembered that he needed to find Potters belongings. After some searching he found an owl in the bedroom on the second floor and the rest of his belongings in a trunk located in a closet on the first floor. Lucius had the owl in the cage and searched through the contents in the trunk on the floor of the closet. He found Potters wand, an invisibility cloak, a firebolt racing broom and a small pouch of money. The rest of the objects he left strewn across the closet sure in the fact that they were objects that would have been left behind by someone on the run. With the items in hand that Lucuis had gathered he apperated back to Riddle Mansion.

Lucuis took Potter’s belongings that he gathered into the mansion and then proceeded to send an anonymous note to the ministry. He then wrote a second note, also anonymous, to the Daily Profit with Potter’s address included. He set it up for the owl to arrive at the Profit so the reporters could arrive on the scene before the Ministry had enough time to do any kind of cover up, ensuring they would be able to take photos of the bloody scene in the house. The implications alone are enough to get a life sentence in Azkaban, however with the added publicity from the paper, Lucuis knew Fudge’s hand would be forced for much harsher penalties.

Lucuis picked up Potter’s belongings after sending off the second owl and went to report to his Master.
“Everything has been completed to your specifications, My Lord. I’ll have Fudge convinced tomorrow , with a few well chosen words, that he is making the decision for the death sentence of Potter. Between his fears, his hunger to be in complete control, and his greed for power, Fudge will be sending his decision owl post to the Profit before I leave his office.”
“Excellent. I’ll expect a further report in confirmation from you after you have spoken to the Minister. I also need copies of all that is published in the Profit relating to this event,” Voldemort said dryly, even though he clearly looked pleased by the report. “That will be all for today. When I see you tomorrow I’ll debrief you of your next task.”
“By your leave, My Lord,” Lucius responded then turned and left, deep in thought, planning out his meeting with the Minister of Magic for the following day.

All hell was breaking loose at number 4 Private Drive. Several members from the Ministry including Fudge and a few aurors were investigating the scene. Upon entering the house, none of them could believe the sight laid out in front of their eyes . Blood lay everywhere, in pools on the floor, splattered on the walls, severed limbs, and 3 mangled bloody corpses all within feet of the other in the same room. Immediately after surveying the scene Fudge handed the duties of delegation over to the head auror and ran back out side, almost collapsing while heaving the entire contents of his stomach into a nearby bush. The head auror dispatched the proper employees to scourge the neighborhood for witnesses, to gather any information they might have heard or seen and then erase their memories after. He also set someone to the task of identifying the bodies and searching out for the body of Harry Potter, assuming he must have been the target of the attack. It only took quarter of an hour to figure out the bodies were the muggle relatives of the Potter boy and that he was not among them. Seconds later was the discovery of Potter’s trunk with items strewn about. Also the biggest discovery was the large amount of Potter’s own magical residue all over the house and heavily saturating the dead’s remains. They also discovered the residue of some dark magic that left behind no magical signature, they could only assume it had to be Potter’s since they knew his house was protected by a secret keeper.

Before there was even time to cover the bodies, reporters from the Daily Profit stormed their way into the house cameras flashing taking pictures. This would be the story of the decade, hell maybe even the century. They had their quick quotes quills writing down statements and anything they overheard in their search for information and confirmation to these tragic events.

Chapter 4
***The Following Day***
~ ~ Headline for the Daily Profit ~ ~


Death Murder Mayhem at the home of Harry J Potter
No statement has yet been issued by the Ministry of Magic. However, our reporters were on the scene within minutes after the Ministry’s arrival at the home of Harry Potter. Potter known to the wizarding world as the Boy Who Lived, is the only known wizard ever to defeat You Know Who. Three dead muggles were found. These muggles were identified as Mr. Potter’s only known living relatives and legal guardians to the young wizard. Upon our arrival, it was discovered that Mr. Potter was no longer on the premises. His wand was also discovered to be missing. The most disturbing of all was the sight before us. The dead muggles were laying on the ground, limbs severed, and blood covering the floors and walls. It was also discovered that large amounts of Mr. Potter’s magical residue permeated the bodies and their surroundings. One of our reporters overheard the Ministry state that there was clearly evidence of dark magic involved. Who murdered the muggle relatives of the famous Boy Who Lived? In this reporters opinion, all signs clearly point to Mr. Potter himself as the main suspect . We anxiously await a statement from Mr. Fudge, Minister of Magic, which we will print as a special edition as soon as we receive word.


*** That Morning at the Ministry***

Lucuis arrived at the Ministry and proceeded straight to Fudge’s office. Fudge’s secretary admitted Lucuis to the inner office with no questions asked.
“Good morning, Minister,” drawled Lucuis.
“Yes…yes, good morning,” answered Fudge very distracted as he was in his own thoughts.
“Terrible events yesterday,” drawled Lucius in an attempt at opening up the desired topic of conversation.
“Having a hard time believing it myself,” countered Fudge.
“Potter has always shown a blatant disregard for the rules. And after last year…” Lucius purposely left his statement unfinished, he needed Fudge to think these were his own conclusions.
“Underage use of magic is one thing, but killing his own relatives, I’m not certain” Fudge stammered
“Still no sign of the boy? It’s not safe with him out there, not with what he’s capable of.”
“Not for lack of trying,” Fudge sneered.
“Maybe you need to offer a reward for any information… of course I’d be willing to supply you, what with the limited funds the ministry has to contend with” Lucius graciously offered.
“Most generous of you, Lucius,” Fudge replied “I’ll put the offer of a reward in the Profit with my statement.”
“Yes… of course you might want to stress that no one approach the boy. With his current mental state, he’s definitely a threat…might be like cornering a feral animal. There is a need to ensure the safety of our community. It would definitely look better for you, in the eyes of the public, if you had sentencing decided for his imminent capture. Make the public feel more secure in you being in control of the situation,” Lucius drawled.

After a few more minutes of conversation, Fudge had written his statement for the Profit, with more words of encouragement and suggestion from Lucuis. As soon as Lucuis made sure the statement Fudge had written with his guidance was sent to the Profit, he said his goodbyes and headed outside to be able to apparate to report to his Master.

***LATER AT RIDDLE MANSION***

As soon as Lucuis entered the mansion he heard “ what news Lucuis?”. Handing the morning’s copy of the Profit to Voldemort while bowing low in greeting he replied, “Fudge was easy enough to manipulate. The sentence of the Dementor’s Kiss will appear in a special addition of the paper later this evening. The Ministry will also be offering a reward for information leading to the Potter boys arrest and capture. Though most of the community will be scared I fear there will be a number of those still loyal to the boy that won’t readily believe the news. After all he is considered the Savior of the Wizarding world.” Lucuis snorted the last part of his statement.
“Not to worry Lucuis we shall proceed with the next step in my plan. I want you to tip off the Ministry of the boy’s whereabouts, anonymously of course. Need to give time for the special addition to circulate first. So I’d say set the tip off for tomorrow evening. The Ministry will send Aurors for Potter’s capture.” Lucuis looked at Voldemort inquisitively as Voldemort continued.
“Potter, or I should say you with the help of polyjuice potion, will be waiting for them. They should be easily disarmed, for someone of your abilities, not to mention the fact that they’ll be hesitant to strike against the savior of the wizarding world, as you so eloquently put it. You are to kill all of them leaving one as a witness, weak but not dead. You’ll be using Potter’s wand, leaving it behind to be identified and used as evidence. The ministry will have all the proof they need with the last spells on the wand being the killing curse. Then, of course, you escape the ministry’s grasp yet again, Potter will be a condemned man.”
“How will I be able to use Potter’s wand, My Lord?” Lucuis asked skeptically.
“I’ll be adding a potion I had Severus develop to the polyjuice potion to enable you to do so.”
“Your plan is brilliant, My Lord.”
“No need to compliment me, Lucius. Just see to it that you do not fail. I’ll expect to see you tomorrow evening to give you the potion.” Voldemort replied menacingly and swept from the room leaving Lucuis still bowing.
Voldemort entered the guest room in the west wing only moments later to check with his servant on the boy’s current status.
“My lord has has been in and out of consciousness but no real change. All his wounds are healing quite nicely though faster than normally expected.”
It was however what Voldemort had expected as he looked down at the young wizard whose features had changed also since yesterday.
“I’ll return later. If he wakes, then inform me immediately.”
“Yes, My Lord,” his servant replied bowing low with respect for his Master.


All over the wizarding world, the only topic of discussion was the article in the Daily Profit about Harry Potter, The Boy Who Lived.

Dumbledore was currently holding an emergency meeting of the Order of the Phoenix.
“We must find Harry before anyone else does. I can not emphasis enough the catastrophe of letting anyone else find him first. I’ve received word that Fudge has ordered the Kiss for Harry upon his capture without any deliberation or trail. It will be posted along with the offer of a reward for information to his whereabouts in the Profit this evening.” Dumbledore finished his speech heavy of heart, answered a few questions and sent everyone on their way to gather information and search for Harry Potter. ‘Does he even think he can trust me enough to contact me, after what I told him at the end of school, the Prophesy, the secrets, and the lies?’ Dumbledore thought to himself, not even the slightest hint of a twinkle left in his sad eyes.

Draco Malfoy had woken up late today, missed breakfast, brunch, and was now headed down to the veranda to have lunch. ‘After all it’s the summer holiday, ‘I deserve a break’ he thought to himself. When he arrived outside on the veranda, lunch was awaiting him along with the copy of the Daily Profit that he usually read during breakfast. Seating himself and beginning his lunch, he eyed the front cover of the paper that was neatly folded and placed on the table beside his plate. “Once again the goody goody golden boy has made front page news” Draco snorted, seeing a picture of Harry stare up at him from the paper smiling. “Well, let’s just see, what or who he’s saved from certain death this time,” Draco said picking up the paper. He couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw the gruesome picture on the other side of the now opened paper in his hands. After reading the entire story twice he still couldn’t believe it was true. Not Harry Potter, he thought to himself, it has to be some kind of mistake. Potter would not kill someone let alone his own family, would he?


As soon as Hermione had read her copy of the Daily Profit, she ran to the telephone to call Ron.
“HELLO?”
“Ron is that you, please don’t yell in thene.”ne.”
“Hermione, how are you doing?” the red head asked his friend.
“Ron do you still get the Daily Profit delivered to your house?”
“Yeah, but dad took it to work with him this morning. Why what’s up?”
Hermione proceeded to read the entire story to Ron over the phone and describe the pictures on the front on the paper. By the end of their conversation the two had yelled, argued, and cried. They were scared for their best friend and they were scared for what was going to happen now. Now that it seemed the hopes of the wizarding world were forever lost. They didn’t want to believe what the paper was saying. They thought up numerous other scenarios for what could have happened, and where their friend could be right now. All of their thoughts went from bad to worse. The last thing they agreed upon was that, if Harry contacted them and needed their help, they would contact each other and do what ever they could for their best friend. They would be loyal to the end.


Chapter 5

*** THE PLAN TO SEAL HARRYS FATE***

Lucius entered the room, bowing low in greeting to Voldemort.
“Everything is set My Lord.”
Voldemort held a hand up to stop Lucuis from speaking, “you may leave now, Severus, I will call upon you when I am in further need of your services.”
“As you wish, My Lord,” Snape said bowing low then left the room.
“Here is the potion, Lucius, and here is the vital ingredient, a hair from Harry Potter. When is the ministry to be tipped off?” Voldemort demanded.
“I have about 10 more minutes till the aurors start arriving at the shrieking shack in Hogsmeade,” Lucius drawled before downing the potion. Voldemort watch greedily as Lucuis changed into Harry Potter in front of his very eyes.
“Excellent… the boy is, however, much smaller than you Lucius. Here is the muggle clothing he was wearing and his glasses.” Lucius looked at the horrid bloodied clothing, repressing a nasty retort when he saw the seriousness in his Masters eyes. He gathered the clothing and began changing for his own.
“Try out his wand, I want to be sure there will be no hitches in this plan.” Voldemort said as he handed Harry’s wand, brother to his own, over to Lucius. Lucius was able to use the wand expertly, much to his own amazement.
“I will expect to see you with good news for me shortly. Make sure you do not fail me,” Voldemort snarled.
“It is my pleasuMy LMy Lord” Voldemort heard Lucius’ voice but saw the words flowing from his enemy’s mouth. ‘My enemy for not much longer,’ Voldemort thought.
Lucius left the mansion immediately after dressing to hide in the shrieking shack to wait for the showdown. He counted about seven *POPS* of apperating aurors surrounding the exterior of the shack. Stealthily the polyjuiced Potter slid from shadow to shadow as the aurors tried to enter the house unnoticed. Sneaking upon them unawares Lucius did away with them one by one. Instead of using the killing curse, he decided to use more of his more favored dark curses for the first few deaths that left the victims much in the same state as he found the Potter boy’s relatives. The next three he used the killing curse on as his master had requested, leaving one auror to find two of the first victims. After hearing the auror stifle a scream, Lucius/Harry bolted out of the shadows knocked his last victim to the ground and snatched the auror’s wand from his fingers. After placing the cruciatus curse on his last victim for several minutes, he removed the spell and placed a stunning spell on the auror. Making sure that the auror could see his face and the tell tale scar clearly Lucius/Harry laughed. “Did you actually think you could capture me? This will be my only warning do not try to find me again…you should have known that this could not have ended any other way. I saw the sentence in the paper. Did you think I would go willingly or not put up a fight?” That was the last the auror heard as he saw Harry disappear into the night.

When the stunning spell wore off, the young auror dragged his weakened body up off the floor, stumbled outside and sent the sparks up into the night sky. Summoning the help he desperately needed to the shack where he stood, only to collapse in the arms of the first person that arrived on the scene. All the other bodies of the aurors were found on various floors of the shack, all dead, some gruesome, some not. After finally regaining enough strength, the young auror related his story of how Harry had killed and tortured, leaving a warning behind, yet escaping their grasp. Before any of the bodies could be removed from the scene, the Daily Profit’s reporters were there yet again to capture all the horrific details on film. Within hours another special edition of the paper was printed, showing the downfall of the one savior and hopes of the wizarding world.

*** BACK AT RIDDLE MANSION***

As Voldemort entered the guest chambers he was greeted by his servant.
“My Lord, I was just coming to inform you that the boy has awakened.”
Voldemort approached the bed, looking down into the questioning yet defiant eyes of Harry Potter. “Well it appears, Mr. Potter, that you have finally decided to awaken and grace us with your presence. I must say I was quite shocked to find out the circumstances surrounding your withdrawal from society.”
“What do you mean?” Harry asked weakly.
“I have brought the the past few issues of the Daily Profit, they should explain most of it to you. After you have eaten and read the paper, I shall return, fill in the blanks and answer any questions you may have. I also hope you’ll be mature enough to grasp the finer implications of the situation at hand and be ready to discuss your possible choices for the future.” With that said Voldemort swept out of the room giving Harry time to eat, read, digest the information, and ponder over the situation for himself.

After Voldemort left the room Harry tried to remember how he had gotten here. The last thing he could recall into his memory was being brutally beaten by Uncle Vernon while his cousin and aunt stood by and watched. ‘How long has it been,’ he thought to himself, ‘I’m not in any significant amount of pain, just a little stiff and sore.’ He was, he surmised, in one of Voldemort’s residences or that of one of his followers. But why am I not dead, or locked up in a dungeon at the very least? Certainly Voldemort wanted nothing more than his death, but he seemed almost nice and pleased by the look on his face. Harry knew he could willingly keep from feeling Voldemort’s moods, unless the Dark Lord was really angry, but it was still nowhere near as bad as it had been the year before. Blocking out this connection was thanks to his training and lessons in occlumency, which he finally seemed to have mastered.

Harry ate as much as he could, not fearing poisoning. If Voldemort wanted him dead, he wouldn’t poison him. When he finished eating, he picked up the papers, staring in horand and disbf off of the front page of the first paper. ‘Oh my god,’ he thought to himself when he had finished reading through all of the papers. ‘I killed the Dursleys and there’s a reward for information leading to my capture. No trial, just straight to Azkaban to receive the Dementor’s Kiss.’ The young wizard’s thoughts were all over the place, no pattern, no real coherency. ‘This never would have happened if I had not been sent back to the Dursleyumblumbledore admitted he had known all along how they treated me, but he refused to do something about it, said it was the safest place for me. Then Moody and Lupin tried to threaten Vernon to treat me better but that back fired. This was my worst summer ever. What can I do, I can’t put my friends at risk. I don’t have Sirius any more. Dumbledores not even on my side any more, if I am to believe his statement that’s posted in today’s paper. He thinks I’ve flipped, thinks something got to me and made me dathinthinks I’m beyond hope. Not that he’s ever done more than use me for his own personal gain. Oh and lets not forget about Fudge and the Ministry. He’s never been on my side, always seen me as a threat, always wanted to just dispose of the nuisance rather than own up to the facts. I’m on my own…’
As that last thought hit him, Voldemort reentered the room. “I see you have finished reading the paper, by the expression on your face. Do you have any questions?”
“How did I get here and why am I not dead?” Harry croaked out, his throat dry from disuse.
“You found your way to us though I’m not sure how given your condition on your arrival. You are not dead because I no longer see you as a threat. Maybe given time you could be an ally, possibly more,” Voldemort said trying to lay his hand on the table yet play out his cards just right.
Harry could somehow tell it wasn’t the whole truth, but never let on to his suspicions.
“My wand?” Harry asked.
“My sources have told me it was found at the scene of the crime and taken back to the Ministry to be tested. They found traces of the killing curse on it. Presumably that’s how you killed your muggle relatives.” Voldemort replied again twisting the truth to serve his needs. He had not given Harry the article about the massacre of the aurors at the shrieking shack.
“Why do you think I’d be willing to join you?” Harry asked somewhat defeated.
“Well you don’t have many options, but met me lay them out for you to consider. You could be on the run for the rest of your life, being relentlessly hunted by the ministry. That would be after I strip you of your powers, to eventually be captured and receive the Kiss.”
“Why would you strip my powers?” Harry asked tentatively.
“Don’t be naive boy, I won’t allow you to leave to come back as my enemy. I’ve had enough of our little encounters haven’t you?” Voldemort said as more of a statement than a question. “I could kill you, but that would be such a waste. You and I an thn the same side of the Ministry now, even if it is for different reasons. The last option would be for you to stay, join me, I could teach you to master your powers. You would be able to live your life as wis wish, instead of being a pawn to someone else’s game… together we could achieve a great many things.”
“If I stay and receive your mark, won’t I also be your pawn? I do not wish to spend my life bowing to another kissing the hem of your robes.” Harry spat quite defiantly.
“Even weak you are strong dear boy. As I said before I wish you to be more than one of my servants or minions. I would not give you the mark that the others carry, the mark of obedience and servitude. Besides your scar connects you to me in a way that no other shares. You would bow to no one, be no ones pawn, but master to many. You would receive a unique mark to name you as my equal, an honor no one else shares. This mark would identify you to my followers as their master. The mark would hold no control over you in any way but allow you control over those that would serve us.” Voldemort said in a tone that commands loyalty and respect.
“What if I don’t agree with all your plans?” Harry said with disdain.
“Nothing is set in stone. Besides I don’t think it is my plans that you have a problem with, but my methods to which I achieve those plans. Strategy is always negotiable. One thing you need to always remember, nothing is black and white, good or evil, everything is in shades of gray.”
Harry thought for a while on all the things said between the two of them so far, so much of it made sense yet he was still so confused. His whole life had been turned upside down and inside out in a matter days. Yet he also knew that he didn’t have many choices.
“What about me, my identity? I’m Harry Potter the bl boy boy whoed. ed. Why would any of your followers listen to me?”
“That is easily remedied. Only one other besides myself knows of your true identity, leaving us the ability ive ive you a new one. When you clean up, you’ll notice that you’ve already changed in appearance somewhat. A few spells and potions can change the rest.”
Again Harry sat there in contemplation. What were his choices accept Voldemorts offer or death. This seemed definitely the better of the two. He could start over with a new identity, something he always wanted anyway. There would no longer be a psychotic Dark Lord out for his blood, and he would no longer be a celebrity. Maybe he could even have an effect on how things were done, maybe he could even save lives.
With that last thought in mind Harry looked up at Voldemort with determination and said, “When will the Ceremony be?”
“I’ll come back after you have had some time to clean up and rest. There will be fresh clothes for you when you’re done. We have much to discuss.” Voldemort replied.