Clothed and Seeming

A/N: Some of you will recognize this, since I posted it a long time ago under the name Arianrhod. Well, there were just too many other authors with that name, so I changed my pseudonym to Lidane, and took all my fics down for a while. Now I\'m back.

This is the original story, unedited and untouched, with its original author\'s notes and all. I\'m still getting e-mails about it, even though it\'s more than two years old, so I guess that means that people like it. I hope that you do, too. Enjoy! :)

Title: Clothed and Seeming
Author: Lidane
Rating: NC-17
Pairing: established LM/TR, eventual HP/LM/TR
Warnings: Slash and some angst
Archive: Sure. Just ask first.
Feedback: Makes my muses happy
Disclaimer: If you think I own *any* of this, or profit from it in any way, seek help immediately. Not mine. JKR owns all.
Summary: After reaching his limits with the Dursleys and the life
he\'s lived, Harry makes unusual alliances to give himself a normal
life.

A/N: After having gone through a few Harry/Tom stories, I have an
idea of what I want to tell. This story involves a less than noble
Dumbledore, a cunning, self-assured Harry (though NOT Dark! or Evil!
Harry) and an already established relationship between Tom and
Lucius. I have no idea how this will turn out. Be gentle with me. :-)

The title of the story is taken from a quote from Shakespeare\'s King
Richard III:

\"But then I sigh, and with a piece of scripture,
Tell them that God bids us do good for evil.
And thus I clothe my naked villainy
With odd old ends stolen forth of holy writ,
And seem I a saint, when most I play the Devil.\"

~~*~~

The throne room in Riddle Manor was usually a cold, dark place. It
fit the general mood of the man who ruled there with an iron fist.

Tom Marvolo Riddle. Lord Voldemort himself.

Tonight, however, the mood was noticeably lighter. It seemed that
one of Voldemort\'s most valuable Death Eaters, Severus Snape, had
stumbled across a most intriguing discovery in one of Salazar
Slytherin\'s most arcane potions manuals. A potion that could not
only make a person physically younger, but allow them to retain all
of their magical knowledge and power, instead of negating it all,
like most youth potions tended to do.

The ingredients required had been difficult and expensive to obtain,
and it had taken the Potions Master six months of carefully
monitored, perfectly timed work to complete, but in the end, it was
done. The Iuventus et Vires* was a very dangerous potion if brewed
improperly. It could turn a full grown man into an infant, and
render a fully trained wizard into nothing more than a child who had
never held a wand, or worse, a squib, so the risks were extremely
high.

But Severus had a patience and skill that had few rivals, and he had
carefully managed to follow Slytherin\'s instructions to the letter.
The potion was finally finished, and had been carefully bottled for
his Lord, to be delivered that night.

Sitting on his throne, with a glass of merlot in his skeletal hand,
Voldemort regarded the man who sat near him fondly. For years, they
had been lovers, but after his defeat at the hands of the infant
Potter boy, the two of them had had to be apart. And after his
resurrection two years before in the graveyard, it had been a very
different relationship. His companion was a widower, his wife having
died of a severe fever the year before, the doctors at St. Mungo\'s
being completely unable to do anything to save her.

Voldemort looked at the other man, taking his aristocratic, proud
features in. They\'d known each other for so long, that speaking
wasn\'t even needed sometimes, like now. They loved each other, but
while there was still affection between the two men, the physical
form of Lord Voldemort had been a hindrance to any sort of intimacy.

That would all change tonight.

When Severus arrived, Voldemort would take the potion, and he would
be returned to his youthful beauty once more, and he would then age
normally, growing old once again, but retaining his human body.

The two men in the room spent their time in idle conversation, borne
of years of familiarity. Talk of politics, the wizarding world,
Hogwarts, and many other issues flowed freely and easily, light
banter and inside jokes peppering their exchange.

Finally, an audible pop nearby alerted the couple to another\'s
presence, and they both turned.

Fixing his crimson eyes on the dark haired man before him,
Voldemort, regarded Severus and motioned for him to approach.

\"I trust you have good news for me?\" inquired the Dark Lord.

\"Exceptional news, my Lord,\" replied the Death Eater. \"The potion is
done, and has been completed perfectly. Here it is,\" said the man,
handing over a vial filled with a viscous, dark sapphire liquid. A
bony white hand undid the stopper, and the serpentine figure tilted
the vial to his lips, tilting his head back as he drank its contents.

For a moment, nothing happened, then without warning, a bright blue
light exploded from Voldemort, starting at his chest and enveloping
him fully. The Dark wizard screamed out and collapsed as the light
changed from blue to a blinding white, and the hooded figure that
was Voldemort remained face down on the floor, where he had
collapsed.

The other Death Eater turned to Severus and hissed, \"For your sake,
Snape, I hope it worked. I would hate to think of what the
consequences would be if you failed.\"

\"There is no need to worry. The potion is perfect,\" drawled the
brunette to his companion. \"You will see. Have patience.\"

The minutes passed in silence until finally, the prone figure on the
floor stirred and moaned, finally finding the energy to pick itself
up.

Ignoring the presence of the two Death Eaters in the room, the
hooded figure of Voldemort left the room without a backwards glance
and headed to his personal chambers. Facing a long, body length
mirror, he slowly unclasped his cloak and tossed it aside, then
opened his eyes to peer at his reflection. He drew his breath in
sharply at the sight.

He was now in his early twenties, perhaps no more than 21 or 22. His
ebony black hair shone brightly, its soft curls lightly falling
around his face, framing it. His aquiline nose, angular jaw, and
prominent cheekbones, along with the arch of his brows, gave him a
penetrating, mildly aristocratic look. He was tall, with an athletic
build and muscled, toned form masking the power beneath the surface.
The only indication that he was not the same boy he had been all
those years ago were his eyes. They were still a deep garnet red.

No matter. The rest of him was physically perfect. Eye color was
hardly anything to get worked up about. Besides, he mused silently,
the red eyes made him look exotic. Sensual. He could hardly begrudge
Snape for that.

Now, to test his powers, he thought to himself.

Summoning items to him from all around the room, he saw that he
still had control of his wandless magic, and he decided to move on
to a few more experiments. Minor hexes and charms still flowed from
him effortlessly, but he knew that the true test was to come.
Quickly conjuring a small rabbit, he tested his power over the
Unforgivable curses, and seeing that they were more than intact,
changed the rabbit back into the teacup it had been, smiled to
himself in satisfaction, and changed his robes into something more
fitting a man of his beauty.

As the two men waited patiently for the return of their Lord, they\'d
poured themselves some wine, Snape desperate for anything to calm
his racing heart and stretched nerves. He knew that if he had
failed, he would certainly be killed. The potion\'s effects were
permanent, and there was no counter. If he had weakened the Dark
Lord, or worse, made him unable to perform magic altogether, he
wouldn\'t see the sunrise in a few hours. Silently, he prayed to
every pantheon of gods in existence that he had succeeded.

~~*~~

Checking his appearance one final time, after having groomed himself
to perfection, Lord Voldemort turned on his heel and began to make
his way back to the throne room.

Oh, how he would reward Severus for his work. He certainly deserved
it.

The two men in the room had obviously tried to distract themselves
from what was happening, he realized with a silent chuckle. The
tension in Snape\'s shoulders was palpable, and his companion\'s hands
were shaking almost imperceptibly as they awaited the fate of both
themselves and their Lord.

Straightening his posture and walking in coolly, an arrogant swagger
in his step, a light cough alerted the two men to the other\'s
presence.

Turning, neither Death Eater could hold in their sharp gasps of
surprise. \"My Lord!\" said the first man. \"You…you\'re beautiful!\" he
blushed, bowing slightly.

\"Yes, that I am. Beautiful once more, and my powers still my own to
command,\" replied Voldemort.

Turning to the Potions Master, the crimson eyed wizard looked at his
follower and said, \"You, Severus, will be richly rewarded for your
success. Whatever is in my power to give you, it will be yours. You
have my word on it.\"

Startled, the professor looked at the Dark Lord and bowed deeply. \"
I live to serve you, my Lord. Whatever reward you see fit for what I
have done, I will accept humbly and without reservation.\"

\"Thank you, Severus,\" answered Voldemort. \"I will consider my
options on how best to proceed. That will be all for the night. Your
efforts are appreciated.\"

\"But of course, my Lord,\" said Severus, bowing once more. Nodding to
the other man in the room, he held his wand up and disapparated,
returning to Hogwarts.

The black haired wizard turned to his companion once more, the
familiar attraction and lust roaring to life again, now that
Voldemort was young again. Young, and beautiful. The two men stood
face to face, tracing each other\'s features as if for the first
time, tentatively running hands through hair and communicating
silently.

Finally, the brunette looked into those ethereal, steel gray eyes,
and whispered, \"How I have missed this, my love. How I have missed
you, my Lucius,\" he sighed, drawing the blonde man close to him.

The aristocratic Death Eater looked deeply into those ruby eyes,
filled with affection, lust, and love, and he responded in
kind. \"And I have missed you more than I can ever say, my Lord. My
love. My Tom.\" The last part came out in barely a breath, as the two
long estranged lovers came together once more in a deep, passionate
kiss, drawing into each other, tongues tangling, and bodies melting
together, the pain of separation long forgotten.

~~*~~

*= \"iuventus et vires\", is Latin and, loosely translated,
means \"youth and power\"