A/N: Hello everyone and welcome to Chapter 5! I'm sorry it took so long but after doing a rewrite of the last four episodes I was out of ideas again and I kept procrastinating while working on Hollow Inside instead. I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed, faved and followed in the meantime, it's all much appreciated.

I hope it's worth the wait…

Enjoy!

Chapter 5 - Among the Dark

Tom was quick to call a meeting after what had happened, far from happy with what he had recognised as multiple memory charms. It looked like the old coot's meddling went a bit deeper than he had imagined. They needed to step in and get rid of the old man as quickly as possible, though if they did it could lead to a lot of uncomfortable situations. This was all moving far too quickly for comfort... He needed to break those blocks and retrieve those missing memories, get Potter back to health and start planning. The influence the boy has in the community and at Hogwarts is invaluable.

He had called his inner circle and made sure they were informed that Potter was in the manor and not to be harmed under any circumstances. Furthermore, he explained that the boy had been obliviated of their deal and multiple other things. Their orders were to check the protections of the objects that had been given to them and make sure no one could get to them. He would not allow the old coot access to his Horcruxes. He would also need Severus to do a careful job in removing all the blocks and obliviates from Harry before they went to Gringotts to determine if anything else about the boy had been messed with. Which reminded him...

"Bella, I want you to check in at Gringotts and push for the rights to the Black estate, if you aren't allowed, demand who the new lord or lady is meant to be." She accepted, obviously, and he pushed for a few others to check the settlements and train the recruits. They needed to stand strong and ready for the times that were to come.

He also commanded Greyback to claim some of the settlements for werewolf packs, especially his own. They needed those packs on their side, not to mention the ministry was going to continue backing them into a corner, if the legislation that Umbridge woman was pushing through was anything to go by.

Once everyone of importance had been told what to do and had been dismissed he returned to his throne, sighing. There was a lot of work to be done and Harry had been right to worry about it, although doing so right after regaining his memories was a little remarkable. The thought made him chuckle.

"Nagini my dear, I want you to guard the young speaker and make sure he stays out of harm's way. Can you do this for me?" He asked as he spotted her presence within the room.

"Of courssse Massster." She hissed, drawing out the 's' as usual before bowing her head and going to check on Harry. It would be good to see the little hatchling again.

Harry slept peacefully that night, although his mind was plagued with a few blank spots in his memory and his inability to recover those fragments. Damn that old goat, how far did his meddling go? Hopefully Tom – ahem, Voldemort – would be able to help him.

The following morning brought him the pleasant surprise of having Nagini curled up to his side. Apparently she liked him enough to spend the night so close to him, which was actually rather surprising.

She woke when he stirred and stretched, yawning as he attempted to clear the sleep from his system. "Good morning, Nagini." He said, falling back down on the bed and curling up a bit before wondering what time it was. Tom probably had wards that hid the magic use from those in the manor (how else could he cast unforgivables undetected? Surely they had a track on those…?) but he wasn't going to risk it and give Dumbledore and the Ministry a very good pinpoint of Voldemort's lair.

"Speaker." She greeted in return, simply bobbing her head in a nod. She remained curled up at his side, finding the boy to be a fine heater. Perhaps she could ask her master if she could keep him? He was a talking heater after all and she was of the opinion her master was long overdue with a present for her.

As much as he would like to just lie down and continue this pleasant moment, he knew he had work to do and he would finally have all the resources here to do it. As he looked around, he found his trunk had been left at the end of his bed. "Will you let me up? I have much work to do today." He told her whilst stroking her scales. She hissed grumpily but removed her coils from him, immediately moving to soak up the warmth he had left on the mattress. He could have sworn he heard her hiss something about disobedient heaters...

As he figured this would be the room he was going to stay in, he opened his trunk, beginning to sift through everything. He was relieved to find his wand still firmly held by the small compartment on the side. As was becoming the norm, his uncle had forbidden him from keeping it during his stay with them. He was almost surprised they hadn't snapped it yet.

Once he found the copies of the tomes he had hidden safely in the compartment he had warded before leaving he realised Dumbledore didn't know exactly what he was up to, only that his precious weapon was starting to defect from him. That meant he had open ground to continue what he was doing, so long as he was careful. He hated that his memories were sealed and that the so-called leader of the light had the gall to try and control him like this, even Voldemort himself had never pulled such a blow.

"Huh, I wonder that the wizarding world would think if they found out…" He mumbled to himself as he unpacked the tomes. They would be safe here, without the need to hide them. And with that settled it was time to get cracking. He needed to find enough information on why exactly the purebloods despised muggles and muggleborns so much. Granted he didn't see muggles positively either but he didn't see it as a reason to exterminate them all, nor to cut off potential wizards and witches from their true roots: magic.

Almost as if a light bulb had lit above his head, his eyes lit up and his mouth stretched into a grin. Despite being surrounded by dark wizards and witches, he knew he couldn't go to them to figure these things out. That left only one person he could think of…

He grabbed some parchment, an ink pot and a quill before he started writing.

Dear Draco Malfoy,

With the things he had to deal with on a daily basis at Hogwarts, Draco Malfoy was not easily surprised or startled. Today easily took the cherry of all surprises though.

The bane of his school time and all-around Gryffindor nemesis Harry Potter had written him a letter. Him!

Draco would never admit he had been interested in what the raven-haired boy had to say and why he would have written Draco out of all people. What he found surprised him even more. Harry Potter, poster boy of the light had written down some very dark-grey questions… Of course, seeing this opportunity for what it was, a chance to mend the discord sown in their first year, Draco reread the letter and began answering it in as much detail as he could. Though even so he needed to remain vague, he couldn't have anyone intercepting that letter and who knew where that idiot Potter was writing from.

After a few exchanged letters it was becoming obvious that Potter needed something more, an actual discussion face to face so he could get a more in-depth understanding of what was going on. In the end it was Harry who had come up with a rather efficient idea.

The next evening the snowy owl brought him his package, containing a note of how to use the object sent to him. It was a mirror, a two-way mirror Harry called it and all he had to do was call the other person's name.

When he did he was surprised to find the boy's environment rather dark, instead of the bright Gryffindor colours he was expecting, but he refrained to comment on it.

"I never did ask you Potter, why the sudden interest in the Dark and our cause?" He started without greeting the boy; there was no point.

He received a small chuckle for his troubles and huffed. Some nerve he had to simply laugh at a Malfoy like that for a perfectly reasonable question but when Harry answered, his miffed expression faded.

"It's simple, really. With the way things are going now I'll be stuck as Dumbledore's perfect little martyr weapon and I probably won't live past my seventeenth birthday. I decided to take things into my own hands and I'm breaking away now. I might not join the Dark completely or maybe I will, that depends on what I find and how things go, but I'm willing to learn as much as I can about both sides."

Draco raised a brow at the boy, surely he knew at least something, right? There was no way Potter was so clueless about their world.

Harry had obviously noticed Draco's expression and shook his head. "I'll let you in on a common misconception. I wasn't raised in a wizarding household and I wasn't pampered. Instead Dumbledore left me on the front step of my magic hating muggle relatives and I was basically treated the way you treated Dobby." He didn't like telling people about how he was treated by the Dursleys, not in such detail, but he knew the situation called for it and he was certain Draco wouldn't pity him. He hated being pitied like a helpless child.

"You were WHAT?!" Draco exclaimed in shock, his eyes wide and it was rather obvious the boy completely lost his composure. Despite how funny it looked, Harry didn't laugh and simply nodded.

"Yeah, nothing like those stupid rumours huh?" Draco nodded mutely before the scenery behind him started moving. Draco was pacing in frustration.

"Children, especially magical children are the most precious gifts of magic and they would never be treated like that in a magical house hold, not to mention being around muggles can cause damage like what happened to you and the lack of magic around you could have stunted your magical core. What Dumbledore did was unforgivable!"

Harry remembered Voldemort getting equally pissed off and smiled slightly. It seemed that while the light would attempt to coddle him yet ignore the fact he had to go back there every year, the dark would be genuinely angered by such a situation. It was perhaps slightly odd but also nice to feel so suddenly cared for, even though he knew they would act like this for every abused and abandoned magical child.

Shaking himself out of his reverie, he got Draco's attention again. "Getting back on topic though, you can see why I'm not too keen on the light. Not to mention they've apparently been obliviating me since I was a kid. If it wasn't for your dad and Snape I'd still be half-dead in Durzkaban right now, no thanks to Dumbledore. I don't trust Dumbledore anymore with what's been going on, that's why I turned to the dark for answers."

Draco nodded, mulling over Harry's words. He could tell there was a lot that had yet to be said but thanks to the mirrors they had all the time they needed.

They actually spent the entire night talking and Harry began trusting Draco more, telling him where he was and what he was planning, namely making a name for himself in the Death Eater circles and providing help and new ideas for the war. He was determined to survive this.

Meanwhile at Gringotts Bellatrix smirked as she found Hufflepuff's cup still safely stored in her vault. She added extra protections and a blood ward though, making it so that only she could touch the cup. Not even someone under polyjuice would be able to take it and using the imperius curse on her was nearly impossible. Once she was done with that she turned to the Goblin that had accompanied her.

"I need to know who the next head black is going to be, she snarled at the creature. Used to her rudeness and human rudeness in general the goblin simply showed its teeth and lead her back to the cart and from there to the account manager offices. Greyhorn was the Black account manager, he would know who the next head was to be.

"Mrs Lestrange." The goblin acknowledged once she entered his office, hardly looking up at her as he sorted through a few files, catching the right ones he knew he would need for this meeting. "I assume you are here for the Lord Black's identity?" He asked, raising a brow at her and she found herself nodding as she sat down.

"Yes, by all accounts the title should pass on to Draco once he is of age, unless my idiotic cousin managed to change that… Well?" She pressed, nailing the goblin with a glare.

Greyhorn calmly opened a file and skimmed through it. "Indeed Mrs Lestrange, Sirius Black left a few days before his death a new Will to us, nominating his godson Harry Potter as the next lord Black."

She blinked before cackling. Oh this was perfect. With Potter sympathising with the Dark they could easily keep control of the black seats and use them to further the dark's cause. Yes, this was ideal.

"Why wasn't I informed of this will, goblin? All members of the house black should have been notified, regardless of their involvement in the Will." Again she glared at it, daring it to go against her.

"Because the Will was sealed before it could be read, Mrs Lestrange." It still replied calmly, wearing on her nerves.

"Well then, who did it? I have no time to waste here!" She snapped, earning a toothy grin from the goblin.

"Why, none other than Albus Dumbledore of course."

With a stiff nod she left the bank. She had important news to relay to her lord and staying here would solve nothing. Once she was out of the building she apparated away, hurrying to keep the memory fresh.

A/N: Alright, finally finished Chapter 5. Sure took me long enough… Unlike Hollow Inside I only have vague ideas for what to do with this and I've had quite a bit of trouble working that out, still haven't actually. So I'm really going bit by bit without really knowing what's coming.

Ideas and suggestions are always welcome and reviews fuel my writing fire! Let's hope I manage to update sooner next time...

Love,
~Lumina