Proditio

Disclaimer: I do not in any way, shape, or form own the rights to Harry Potter. That undoubtable honor goes to the mother of that wonderful creation, JK Rowling. She is a goddess of the literary arts and should be acknowledged. So, please, for the love of all that is holy, please do not sue me! After all, plagiarism is one of the most sincere forms of flattery. *bows and runs off stage*

Warnings: This is a very OOC fic, especially with Harry and Dumbledore, and is pro-Dark Lord. This fic contains slash! If you don\'t like male/male relationships, here\'s a hint: DON\'T READ IT! The flames will keep me nice and toasty warm, because, after all, I live in Alaska. We need all the heat we can get.

Thanks to my beta, Emmy.

And now the plot shall start to thicken.... soon questions like \"What is the Ghost Lord\'s quest?\" and \"Who is the third wand bearer?\" shall be answered. Maybe not in this chapter, but we shall see. But this chapter is the flashback I have been planning that shows how exactly Tom knows Lupus and other assorted facts.


*parseltongue*

:telepathy:


Proditio
Chapter Nine


Hours later, fully rested and relaxed, or as relaxed as Lupus Umbra allowed himself to be, Lupus awoke on the couch of his dorm sitting room, eyes immediately scanning the room for any chance of a threat. Once this scan was finished, he allowed himself to sink into the comfort of the overstuffed couch. waving his hand before him, he whispered \"Tempus\" and the time appeared before him in hazy glowing numerals. 4:15 in the morning.

Wrinkling his nose in distaste at the early hour, he allowed his mind to drift back to Tom, and how he had finally rid himself of the hunter, placing himself in the pack. Smiling contentedly, he allowed the memory to take him away as he waited for a more humane hour of waking.

~*FLASHBACK*~

It was a vision like any other, starting off in much the same fashion as every vision he had since Sirius\'s death.

Voldemort sat lazily on his throne, looking as if the whole matter of his world domination plans were just a hobby that filled up a rather dull life. His hall was rather dimly lit by torches in elaborate golden wall sconces, casting cruel shadows in the rather elegant stone room. Voldemort sat sideways in his throne in the light of one of these torches, one leg thrown over the left armrest as he leaned on the right, a goblet of wine held precariously in his left hand, his eyes, hooded and glowing malevolently at the scene before the throne as his right hand twirled his wand in a bored fashion. Before his throne, six Death Eaters were \'playing\' with a large family of muggleth tth the sole exception of a single mudblood witch who was held in white hot iron restraints off to the left side of Voldemort\'s throne. Her whimpers and cries, barely registered on Harry\'s hearing over the shrieks of torment from her parents and younger siblings.

Remaining in the shadows as he always did in these visions, ever since he started to be visible to even the Death Eaters gathered and his presence in Voldemort\'s mind became even more substantal, Harry looked over the mudblood and her family with a cool, calculating gaze. She was obviously one of last year\'s first years. A Hufflepuff, if he remembered correctly. She was a pretty little thing; when not beaten and bloody, that was. The flesh of her ankles and wrists was burnt down the white bone, the flesh around her restraints black and crisp. Tendons were quite obviously snapped, so her feet and hands hung limply, like marionettes with their strings cut, as she reached desperately toward her family. Blood drippled from the corner of her mouth, mixxed with saliva, and as she opened her mouth to scream for a family member, tears for them falling in torrents down bruised cheeks, Harry saw that her tongue had been quite thoroughly removed from her mouth. Dark marks had been carved into the nude skin of childish breasts, just starting to bud, and across her abdomen, and her crotch was caked in dried blood and semen.

Her family seemed almost fresh in comparison, if you could call arching in your own bile under the cruciatus curse fresh.

Suddenly the doors on the opposite end of the grand hall slammed open and a tall man, black Death Eater robes billowing about his person in a fashion reminiscent of Snape, rushed up to Voldemort\'s throne and in a graceful, solitary movement, went down to his knees, kissed Voldemort\'s robes, and then fluidly stood back at attention, his carriage stiff, yet loose at the same time. Harry looked on with interest, especially since this was the first time he had ever seen a Death Eater rush to be in Voldemort\'s presence.

Voldemort\'s reaction was to sit up correctly in his throne, his attention riveted on the newest arrival, his eyes alert, but his mouth twitching his a half-smirk. \"So, what news from the master manipulator has Snape, of all people, rushing to my side?\" He said, his voice barely a deadly whisper, echoing in the silence of the hall, as everything had went dead quiet when Snape had made his entrance.

\"My lord, Dumbledore and his Order are frantic. Their little saviour,\" This was said with a certain touch of caustic emphasis, \"has skipped out on his protections, and now cannot bcatecated. As you can see, my lord, I have come directly to you with the new And And with his, Snape bowed low once more, bone mask facing up to meet Voldemort\'s eyes.

Voldemort raised an eyebrow, follwed closely by Harry, as the Dark Lord of the Wizarding world leaned back into his throne, bringing his wine glass to his rejuvenated lips, and sipping long and deep, as his hooded eyes stared at Snape as if studying a rather interesting insect. Harry could see the glint in Voldemort\'s eyes as his crimson eyes flickered for an instant toward the shadows Harry had claimed as his own. Smiling rather coldly, he sat forward in his throne once more and raised a hand to wave off his Death Eaters.

\"Snape, go back to Dumbledore and beg for more treats, like the good dog you are. Who knows, maybe you might hit a jackpot.\" He hissed with a sneer. He then turned to the six servants and informed them that \'play time\' was over, and watched as Snape swept out of the room before the other six Death Eaters who drug their victims away with magical ropes, leaving trails of blood and bile bhind to streak the obsidian floor.

The room was drowned in silence, as Voldemort sat quietly, contemplating his goblet of wine, the only sounds made were the rare whimpers from the mudblood beside his throne. Harry\'s eyes narrowed slightly as he stood, not moving, cloaked in shadows he knew did nothing to hide himself from Voldemort\'s gaze. They sat there on that tableau, no one moving, except the slight swirl of Voldemort\'s wine goblet, as he opened the wine\'s bouquet, seeming disinterested in his surroundings.

Snorting, effectively shattering the silence between them, Harry walked forward, not saying a word, just listening to the click of his ethereal \'boots\' as he practically glided across the highly reflective obsidian. Harry\'s ghostly apparation was dressed in highly impressive garb, as if his subconscious had known he would be playing audience to Voldemort this evening. Long legs were encased by tight, butter soft leather, dragon hide boots coming up to his knees. Over his chest was a ruffled white poet\'s tunic, the collar ties opn to show off a bit of toned chest from hard labor and quidditch. Over that was a open faced, extremely loose black robe with expansive sleeves that trailed to the floor, the folds of the robe swirling about him as he moved with a cat like grace. Last were the black leather gloves that he went no where without. Coming to a halt before Voldemort\'s throne, he took a relaxed but arrogant stance.

\"Mr. Potter,\" Voldemort spoke in a low whisper, dipping a finger into his wine, not even bothering to look up at Harry, as he brought the dripping finger to his mouth and sucked. \"I see you have been enjoying my entertainments of late.\"

Smirking with half-closed eyes, Harry turned his cool gaze back to hid parents\' murderer \"A \"After awhile without sleep, anything and everything becomes interesting, Tom.\"

At this, Voldemort\'s interest was caught, and his crimson eyes raised to the waif-like teen before him. A slow smirk was drawn across his newly youthful features, and he sat forward, one hand supporting his chin as the elbow rested on his knee, while the other held the wine glass with lax fingers, as hard ruby eyes met emerald in a intregued stare.

\"Funny. Last year it was painfully easy to plunder your young mind, Mr. Potter. But for some reason, even when I hold you in my gaze, I cannot penetrate our mind. I congratulate you on your occlumency skills, Mr. Potter, for they have greatly improved.\" Voldemort\'s tone was soft and calm, and held a certain tone that one normally only heard if one was discussing the weather. But as soft as his tone was before, Voldemort\'s next words sounded as if they were formed by steel and ice.

\"Tell me, Mr. Potter, why is it that I can no longer effect you as I once had?\"

Emerald eyes sparked with some supressed emotion, but quickly went flat, just before Harry spoke, \"It could be the fact that I have found myself to be a mere ghost drifting in a cruel world, Tom. Harry is dying, and yet no poison, no spell, no weapon is the cause,\" At this, Harry stepped forward a few feet, comming to the base of Voldemort\'s dais. \"Instead, Harry finds himself freezing in the ice hardening in his soul as he finds himself taken over --\" A dramatic pause was made, with Voldemort quirking his eyebrow in slight interest.

\"By whom, Mr. Potter.\"

A soft chuckle, lacking in any trace of warmth or true mi ech echoed in the hall, and then, in a whisper that could be heard throughout the hall, Harry died as the words were spoken.

\"Why me, of course. Lupus Umbra,\" He said, dipping into a graceful and courtly bow, \"Ghost Lord. And I have a business preposition to make.\"

\"Go on.\"

\"I propose a truce. Nay, a pairing.\" At Voldemort\'s quirked eyebrow, Lupus smirked. \"Don\'t worry about your plans for world conquest. I have no desire to rule. What I have is a desire for revenge.\"

Voldemort narrowed his eyes, the crimson irises glinting dangerously. \"Mr. Potter --\"

\"Mr. Umbra if we must go by surnames, Mr. Riddle. But I much rather if you call me Ghost.\" Lupus scolded, twitching slightly at being connected to the innocent and naive young teen\'s name. Better to not coat the innocent in thick red blood not his own.

A smirk played across Voldemort\'s features slightly, and he continued, entertained that someone had the courage to interrupt him. \"Well then, Ghost, How do I know that in this quest for vengenyou you do not come after me, for my wrongs to Mr. Potter and his kin?\"

\"Because I know that if I did, I would just be completing the manipulation that I am seeking revenge for in the first place. And I have no desire to satisfy Dumbledore in that fashion. Make no mistake, I still do not forgive for your transgressions against Mr. Potter, but I can allow myselflay lay the sword down for the bigger picture. Besides, I have a few spells that I have created that will interest you, I believe.\" Lupus said, his wrist snapping out as he allowed the wand holster to drop his custom wand into his hand, as he held his wand hand loosely at his side.

Lupus could see Voldemort\'s hand tighten on his own wand, but no move was made. Smirking, Lupus brought his wand up, holding it as if it were a flower, trapped between his thumb and forefinger. \"A custom wand. My pride and joy. Wand wood from original wand\'s tree, holly; the tree that bore the wood for your own wand, yew; a base of blackthorn; core of a tamed thestral mane; and a lacing of veritaserum, made by Tom Riddle on my birthday in 1952. Cut at sixteen inches and sealed to be unsnapable. It\'s funny how seeped in your shadow I am, Tom.\"

Voldemort\'s eyes widened, and a look of surprise was on his face, before he remembered himself and schooled his face into a bored expression.

Lupus just smirked.

\"You said you created spells? That tends to take months, and from what I hear from Severus, Mr. Potter wasn\'t that great of student.\"

\"Ah, but Mr. Potter does not have an apartment with time charms in it\'s library, does he, Tom? You see, I spent months developing these charms and only a week passed by in real time. For example,\" Lupus took his wand in hand and pointed it at the girl crying at Voldemort\'s side. \"Silencio. Sanus crucio.\"

The girl arched in unholy pain, writhing and twisting, trying to get away from the pain, but just suffering even further. Her mouth, lacking it\'s tongue, was open wide in a silent scream, the bones in her forearms snapping in the effort to hold the weight of her body as she arched off the ground, completely ridding the girl of her hands as the brittle bones shattered.

\"You see, I could hold her under the cruciatus curse for hours, days, or even weeks, the pain never lessening, or going away. And when I finally took it off --\" At this he lifted his wand, \"she would be completely sane. The Sanruciruciatus forbids the victim to retreat into their mind, staying for the torture, and allows for more effective interrigation.\"

Voldemort looked impressed and didn\'t even attempt to hide this fact. Lupus just continued.

\"Then there is Nocens, the guilt curse.\" Lupus looked as if he was concentrating hard on a thought, then he nodded and stepped forward, and with a motion that resembled a crack of a whip, he said. \"Nocio.\"

The girl\'s eyes opened and she looked at Lupus, who was acting dejected, and the handless arms came up to her mouth, as her eyes widened and guilt shined clearly within their tortured brown depths. Voldemort saw this and he suddenly started to chuckle.

\"So how well does this guilt hold up in a court?\"

Lupus straightened, the Hufflepuff still looking on, horrified, and replied, \"It holds up, for both innocent and guilty parties under Veritaserum.\"

Voldemort\'s eyes widened and suddenly he stood, and walked to Lupus, who remained standing proud, even at his diminuative height.

\"What is it,\" Voldemort said, his eyes boring into Lupus\'s, leaning in close, \"that you wish?\"

\"To send the Wizarding World into a cycle of terror as they find out that they have driven their golden boy to not be their saviour, but their nightmare. To have mothers clutch their children as they look up at the sky and see not one, but two marks darkening their hopes. To see Dumbledore\'s face as I slit his belly, allowing the toxins of his intestines to poison his blood.\"

Lupus was silent for a second, and Voldemort\'s eyes sparkled in triumph, and Voldemort prompted him to continue, with a imputous, \"And?\"

\"And I wish to fuck you.\" And with that, Lupus closed the few inches left between them, and stole Tom Riddle\'s lips.

A/N: This has got to be my favorite chapter. I Wanted to render Voldemort differently than most have, with the flamboyant elegance and the almost aristocratic carriage. I am very satisfied. Anyways -- please please please, make an attempt to review! It makes me happy and more willing to write longer chappies! Mata ne!

ART CONTEST! I\'m looking for an excellent rendering of the character we all know and love, Lupus Umbra. Well actually, I\'m looking for cover artwork as well. But I can\'t draw worth shit. So I leave it up to you, my faithful readers, a contest. I will of course be judging, and chosing two pieces: one of Lupus Umbra and one cover art. The winner gets a character as one of the Ghost Lord\'s servanand and their artwork on the Yahoo! group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proditio/ and my personal webpage that will be up and running in a couple of weeks. May the best artist win! *bows and leaves the hall>
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Sly Well as long as you leave me a link to your story you are stealing ideas for, it\'s fine. I don\'t find many dark!Harry fics so I jump at the chance to read one if I can get it.

LINIS Does this answer your question? *points up at the chapter*

wandewolfwolf You can find Proditio on ff.net, and at the yahoo group listed in my art contest message above. Warning though, Proditio atnet net will be edited when we get to the hardcore scenes later on. And on Sev, who doesn\'t love him? He\'s my favorite character.

lupusdragon I know. So many people think that everything is silver and green with them. You see that I did do silver and green because it is of course a hogwarts dorm, but I did some tinkering. I just think that even with house pride, even the Slytherins would have some other favorite colors other than silver and green and would get sick of the color stereotyping rather fast. You\'ll see more of the color plays later on.

To all the review peoplb> *b> *blushes* Thank you all for your lovely praise of me. You have no idea now much it is all appreciated!