The Black Prince

Chapter 4

Harry made his way quickly to the war room, having memorized the layout of headquarters months ago in preparation for the day that he was finally able to make his entrance as the Black Prince. Death Eaters scurried out of his path and watched him warily from darkened halls. His icy expression made them shudder in fear. Somehow, dressed only in a dressing gown with his hair falling in thick ringlets around his shoulders, the young man managed to look more terrifying than the Dark Lord himself.

Voldemort had been able to restore his looks, although his youth was lost forever. He looked much as he always had but now he looked as if he were in what muggles would believe to be his early fifties. His previously black hair was liberally sprinkled with silver. He had given up his quest for youth, at least for the time being. He had acknowledged to Harry early on in their discussions that he had allowed himself to be distracted from his true purpose entirely too easily. With Harry’s presence the Death Eaters would see a return to their original goals rather than a focus on a tired vendetta and obtaining a more pleasing appearance for their Lord.

Harry found himself at the large door to the war room and he glared at the guard to open the door for him. Dolohov practically fell over himself in his rush to open the heavy door, eager to get his new Prince on the other side of it, safely out of punishing distance from him. Harry walked quickly into the room and caught sight of Voldemort sitting pensively before the fire and Lucius standing behind his chair. Harry ignored Lucius and nodded curtly at Voldemort. \"Lord.\"

\"Prince, thank you for coming. I apologize for disturbing your rest. I have received news from one of my spies that Dumbledore intends to go to the muggle residence tomorrow to collect you. When the team arrives to find you absent from the home it will arouse suspicions. This is far earlier than we had planned to expose anything. What do you intend to do?\"

Harry was quiet for a moment and he paced restlessly in front of the fire. \"We have a few options. What is probably the best is for our soldiers to make a preemptive strike, leading Dumbledore to believe that you have already snatched Harry Potter and the muggles out from under him.\" Lucius barely held in a shudder when he heard the Prince refer nonchalantly to Harry Potter as if he were a completely different person. It was very clear that he was not saying it in a manner to mock Dumbledore or the position that he himself had held in the eyes of the Wizarding world. He said it as if he truly saw Harry Potter as an entirely different person.

\"To do that we would need to arrange an attack tonight,\" Voldemort said pensively. The hour was late but that hardly made a difference. They often acted under cloak of night and his soldiers were used to being roused at all hours of the night to do his bidding.

\"Yes, I realize the potential difficulties of doing so but we have quite a number of soldiers here right now who could go and we have Severus and Lucius to lead the attack, if need be.\" The two men were the highest ranking of the soldiers; those trusted the most often with difficult and important missions. Lucius perhaps led more raids due to the long hours of Severus’ job at Hogwarts and his great skill in potion making but Severus still led more raids than the average Death Eater. His incredible skill and eye for detail was unsurpassed by any.

\"Hmm…what were the other options you have come up with?\" the Dark Lord said as he began to think of the potential implications of the first plan. It seemed to be a good choice but he wanted to think things through a bit more thoroughly before he jumped into a plan. These first few days were crucial and one of the things that he had realized recently was that trying to move too quickly was one of the major reasons for his prior failure. Had he sat back and thought about the prophecy in greater detail when he had first heard it he would have realized it may be a set up and he wouldn’t have attacked the Potters so carelessly.

\"We could attack while Dumbledore’s Order is at the house trying to get Harry. This concerns me for a number of reasons, not least of which is the fact that we will be staging a rather large battle in the middle of a muggle occupied area in broad daylight—a battle that could easily be avoided, no less. Risking exposure to the muggle world is the last thing that we need to be dealing with right now. We have enough to worry about with our own Ministry and the war with Dumbledore without potentially adding a second war to that list. We would also risk someone from the Order getting close enough to Harry to portkey or apparate him to their Headquarters.

\"The last option, equally distasteful to me, would be to simply return to the muggle’s house and allow the Order to take Harry to their Headquarters. Unfortunately, it is protected by fidelas and so you will be unable to use tracking charms. I fear this even more than the second option because it opens up too many unknowns. Once Harry is back in Dumbledore’s hands it would be entirely too easy for Dumbledore to try to counter attack, should he feel the need. Harry would be completely under his control in an undisclosed and undisclosable location until such a time as he deigns to let Harry free.\"

\"But with this last option you could remain on the inside for a while longer and still obtain information,\" Lucius pointed out.

\"Useless drivel,\" the Prince snapped. \"The old man never told me anything of great import before and I’ll be damned if he will now. He’s never trusted me, even with information I needed to know. He tells me less than he tells Severus Snape—a man whom he does not trust entirely regardless of his protestations to the contrary. No, frankly we would do better just having Snape as our inside man.\"

Voldemort nodded silently. \"Yes, I believe you may be correct about that. I agree with you: the first option is the only acceptable one. Once we have ‘Harry Potter’ safely imprisoned here we have a few options that we can toy with. If nothing else it will put off our decision for a while. We can ‘kill’ the Boy Who Lived or else we can announce to the world that you have formally changed sides. If all else fails then we can just make it seem as if we have him imprisoned here for months or even years on end, depending on our need.\"

Harry turned his icy gaze over to Lucius once more, making him shudder imperceptibly. \"Go send a soldier to collect Snape from my rooms.\" Lucius hurried to the door and relayed the message to Dolohov, who in turn scurried away to find Snape.

Upon hearing the message Severus had quickly dressed and walked to the war room, wondering why his presence was needed. He entered to see Voldemort sitting in a large leather armchair in front of the fire, Lucius sitting on the sofa near the wall and his lover pacing restlessly in front of the fireplace. Severus barely bit in his moan. Harry’s every movement was full of grace and sensuality. Even in his restlessness he exuded a certain erotic aura. It was enticing and distracting and maddening all at the same time. The boy clearly needed to get laid. He was emitting a strong sexual pull and he was completely unaware of it.

He cleared his throat. \"You called for me, my Lord, Prince?\"

Harry turned to Severus so quickly that he was barely able to cover his alarm. His pet was such a completely different man when he was in his public role that it startled him. He knew he would get used to it with time as he had eventually become accustomed to his Boy Who Lived persona but it was still alarming. Harry clasped his hands behind his back and faced his Master full on. \"You will lead an attack on 4 Privet Drive in one hour with the assistance of Lucius Malfoy, Rodolphus Lestrange, Ava Lawrence and two other soldiers of your choice. You will capture the muggles who reside there alive and return them here. Do you have any questions?\"

Severus hesitated for a moment. \"Pardon me for saying this Prince, but is that not the address of your muggle relatives?\"

\"It is,\" Harry said coldly. \"Is that your only question?\"

\"I assume that we are to make it look as if we have captured you as well?\"

\"Yes. Do not forget that the muggles usually kept the small bedroom door locked and dead bolted with a large number of muggle locks. To make it look remotely convincing you will need to destroy each of those locks. There are people in the Order who know the usual conditions there and will know if the scene has been created poorly. Have you been made privy to the information you will need?\" Harry asked, trying to find out if his lover truly knew everything about his life with the muggles. They tried not to talk about it too much but Harry knew that he might have been deemed appropriate to be told such highly classified information.

Severus nodded. \"I have, Prince. I will see to it.\"

Harry held out his wand. \"This is Harry’s wand. You will need to cast a few light defense spells with it and then leave it on the floor, broken. Let them assume what they will.\"

\"Yes, Prince,\" Severus said as he pocketed the phoenix feather wand, desperately wanting to question whether Harry had already gotten a replacement wand but knowing that such a question was completely outside of the realm of appropriate questions coming from a soldier, however highly protected and placed. He knew that he couldn’t push Harry too far when he was in his Prince role without accepting an appropriate punishment. His lover had an army to lead and he could not brook insubordination. He knew that he could get away with more than the average soldier but he also knew that he shouldn’t push it too far. It would kill his pet to ever try to discipline him.

\"The owl?\"

\"She has been sent to Ginevra Weasley and told to remain with her until such a time as she can safely return to me. She understands what she needs to do.\"

\"Yes, Prince.\"

\"Who will you take with you?\"

\"If I may, I wish to take Bellatrix LeStrange and Draco Malfoy.\"

The Prince and the Dark Lord exchanged a long look, their eyes variously flashing red and green as they silently discussed the merits of his choices in conjunction with the rest of the team. It made both a bit uncomfortable at first that the two new additions were such close relations to two others on the attack force. They tried to avoid such situations because it could become difficult for them to leave someone behind when they needed to. At the same time, everyone on the list was intelligent, incredibly powerful, and their devotion was unquestioned. Finally Voldemort turned to Severus. \"As you wish. You will not fail in this endeavor,\" he said firmly, more an order than a pep talk. \"You are taking with you four of the highest ranking Death Eaters and the Malfoy heir. Failure is unacceptable.\"

\"Of course, my Lord,\" Severus said, bowing low. \"If I may take my leave, I will go contact the other members of the force.\"

\"We have taken the liberty of contacting Rodolphus and Ava. I assume that Bellatrix will join her husband in the trip here as she often does but you should confirm that. You will also need to contact young Malfoy. You are excused.\"

Severus bowed low one more time to both men and then left the room, shortly followed by Lucius after he had gained permission to leave as well.

Harry turned back to Voldemort once the door was closed again. I am eager to see this force in action. Pity they won’t have any real fight. They should be brilliant together.

I’m sure they will be. I often pair Ava, Bellatrix and Severus together. They balance each other out well. Bellatrix rushes into situations and gets carried away far too easily but she has the passion and the strength to win nearly any fight. Ava is one of the most brilliant witches I have ever met but she tends to hesitate too much, stalling action when she most needs to move forward. Severus is the perfect balance—brilliant, passionate, attentive…he never misses any details and he manages to analyze situations in moments when it would take anyone else long hours.

Lucius and Rodolphus are brilliant as well, Voldemort continued. I haven’t seen Draco in any true battle situations yet but I am sure that he will be a decent mix of his Aunt Bella and his Father. Hopefully his Father’s characteristics will outweigh those that he inherited from his aunt. His impetuosity and easily sparked temper were always his weakest points as a student.

Yes, he does struggle with both. I feel that he will be extremely focused and careful tonight though since it is his first mission. I have no doubt that he will make a good and faithful soldier once he receives some more training.

The two men sat in silence for a moment, thinking of the night’s work ahead of them. Were the muggles very bad this time Harry? Voldemort asked the Prince. They rarely used their personal names but they did so occasionally when the situation called for it. Both preferred their titles instead although they used them with a sort of friendly familiarity that belied the formality of the names they chose to use.

Harry looked up, startled. Not more so than usual. They locked me in the room and didn’t come back even once. They pushed in food through the flap, as usual. As much as they loathe the fact that I am a wizard they are damn lucky that I am one, seeing as a month without showers of the use of a bathroom would create a horrifying situation without the use of spells.

Voldemort snorted lightly. He knew that his young friend always tried to downplay his treatment at the hands of the muggles. He always let him, too. He knew all too well what it was like to have a bad home life and to wish to avoid talking about it too deeply. He had taken on a sort of surrogate uncle or brother role with the young man as they had gotten to know each other better. He made no attempt to be a father figure but they had grown to be close friends over the months of their negotiations and had often spent their time talking about themselves and their pasts rather than truly negotiating. When we have them here, what do you wish to do with them?

I meant what I said earlier, Tom. They are a gift for you. Do with them what you will.

Voldemort smirked—an expression that would strike terror into most people’s hearts. Harry merely chuckled. The door opened, letting in the attack force that was about to depart for their mission. Everyone was dressed in the requisite heavy black robes and each carried a silvery mask except for Draco whose mask was still pure white. It was only the elite who were granted the privilege of the silver masks. Each member of the force felt a twinge of fear, seeing their Lord smirking so evilly and their Prince laughing with an equally sinister expression.

\"My Lord, Prince,\" Severus said, bowing low. Everyone else followed suit. \"We are ready to leave for our mission. Are there any further instructions?\"

\"Severus, do you, Lucius and Ava feel comfortable apparating with a muggle in tow?\" Voldemort asked. He knew that they were all capable of it but he wasn’t sure if they were all up to it. It was an extremely exhausting bit of magic to do since there was no innate magic in the muggle to help the apparition along. It was already around three a.m. and the day had been long. He wouldn’t have blamed any of them for saying that they weren’t up to it.

They all nodded instead. \"Bring the muggles here…alive,\" the Prince stressed. \"Do not waste time there. Get in, do your job and get out as quickly as possible. Do not risk getting caught due to negligence.\"

Again, everyone nodded. \"We shall return within the hour,\" Severus said, bowing one last time. He turned to his force and nodded, motioning them to all apparate to their destination. Harry and Voldemort settled down in the chairs once more to await their return. Harry’s face was completely blank but inside his mind was whirling with fear over the way that he had addressed his Master earlier. He only hoped that he understood that it was all necessary for the role that he played as the Black Prince.

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A/N: Thank you again for all the reviews. I won’t be able to update until Monday probably—sorry! Thanks for everything.