Disclaimer: Harry Potter is not mine. All characters and plots within were created and are owned by J.K. Rowling. I am simply borrowing them for fun and seek no monetary gain from this. Any original characters or plots are mine.

Author's Note: Welcome back! Welcome Back! It's me! Yes yes I know you are all probably sitting there going…."Who?"

Well for those of you that remember me and have been waiting for an update to this story please let me present to you….

A gift straight from my imagination….Destiny Done Right Chapter 4!

Happy Holidays!

I know it's been a while and I do apologize for that. I have a lot of plot going through my head almost all the time, but most of it is for other stories.

It really is a bit of a nightmare. I love writing…even though I don't really think I have much talent for it. My grammar and writing is slowly improving, but it's nowhere near where I want it to be…yet.

My head is constantly spinning with new ideas and plots for stories from a multitude of fandoms.

I have one in my head right now….a fully fleshed out storyline for a Legend of Korra crossover with Avatar the Last Airbender that I know would stretch out into two full books.

Yesterday I sat down to write a little and ideas for a sequel to my other unfinished story: Guardians of Akasha popped into my head and I had to just sit there and suffer as it continued to develop without aid from me.

Loving to write, but having a brain that will not cooperate and let you focus on one story at a time is beyond aggravating.

But enough about my own personal issues, let's talk about this story.

PLEASE READ THIS PART BEFORE READING THE CHAPTER: I have re-written chapters 1-3 of this story. Some areas I only made a few tweaks to, others I completely scrapped and re-wrote from the ground up. Nothing plot wise has changed, but I tried to do a little cleaning and polishing. I was not happy with the previous chapters as they were. The grammar was horrible and the writing was long winded and overly detailed in some areas.

Some of it read like a 5th grader had written it while trying to sound smarter than he actually is. Needless to say it was bugging me something fierce.

I suggest you go back to the beginning and re-read those chapters before continuing.

Let me know what you guys think!

Chapter 4: Umm...We used to be married?

"Woah!" Harry exclaimed as he dodged yet another stinging hex thrown at him by the pink haired auror. They had been running the same drill for the last thirty minutes and Harry was beyond thankful for his metamorphing abilities. There was no way his fifteen year old body would have been able to handle the punishment.

He would have been nothing but a swollen and drooling mess long before the fifteen minute mark. Contrary to popular belief quidditch did not do much to exercise one's body. It helped the core a little and the arms a bit, but for the most part it was a very sedentary game. Especially for the seeker, who for the most part was just flying circles around the pitch until they spotted the snitch.

Harry had asked Tonks to help him train, thinking it would be a marvelous idea. She was an auror, even if she was still only considered a rookie. She would be able to keep up with him far better than most of the older order members. Not that he expected much – He had three quarters of a century on her in terms of experience. He had been hoping for a quick sparring match to get the blood pumping, but Tonks had wanted to start with what she called "warm up drills".

She called it "Dodging for Dummies." Harry had laughed at the muggle book reference until she had unexpectedly thrown the first stinging hex – at his face.

He had barely moved to the side in time. He vaguely remembered what one of those spells felt like when taken to that part of the body and he was not eager to experience that again.

Dodging another series of spells by weaving back and forth from side to side Harry called out to Tonks to find out how much longer she planned on trying to hit him.

Only to yelp in surprise when she used a spell chain to fire off four more hexes almost simultaneously. They were spread out so they framed him on either side. Two were aimed at shoulder height to stop him from moving out of the way and one going low to keep him from ducking.

Harry almost conjured a shield, but stopped himself not wanting to break the rules laid out for their exercise: No magic. Harry didn't want to contemplate what Tonks might think up as a punishment if he tried.

Judging the spell trajectory Harry waited until the last second before jumping and tucking his arms in close to his body. Tilting to the side so that he ended up going into an almost completely horizontal spin, his body parallel to the ground. Slipping between the spells and he landed on his hands and knees breathing harshly.

He kept his eyes on the tip of his trainer's wand waiting for the next volley only to be confused when nothing happened for several seconds. He glanced up at Tonk's face only to see her staring at him with a raised eyebrow.

Standing up slowly he stayed light on his feet in case this was a ruse to get him to drop his guard.

"Uh – Tonks? Are we done for now?" He asked the frozen auror.

Tonks lowered her wand at his question.

"Nice reflexes. I thought for sure I had you with that last one." She replied.

Harry finally relaxed and moved to grab a towel hanging off to the side to wipe his face off.

"Thanks. That last spell chain wasn't bad either. Four spells almost at once – very impressive." He acknowledged. He meant it as a compliment. Spell Chaining was a very high level dueling technique that took a lot of time to master. "They teach you that in Auror Training?"

Tonks gave a confirming nod as she moved to take a towel for herself.

"Well now that we have your 'warm-up' out of the way, how about a quick spar?" Harry asked. He wanted to test himself further.

"Sure I can show you a few things." Tonks agreed.

"I'm sure you can try." Harry said with a grin. "I promise to go easy on you."

# # #

August 3rd 1995

4:00 pm

"Oh merlin that hurts." Harry winced as he slowly settled into one of the chairs available in the Black Family Library. Despite being made with a generous amount of plush leather he could still feel every ache and pain as he tried to make himself comfortable.

"Well that's what happens when you tell an auror of my caliber to not hold back." Tonks said smugly.

"Yeah, I'll remember that for the future." Harry told her irritably.

"No need to be snooty about it." She frowned. "How did you expect that to go down?"

Harry sighed in frustration as he chided himself for his behavior.

"Sorry Tonks. I'm not upset with you. I'm just frustrated with myself." He tried to give her an apologetic smile, but it came out more of a grimace.

Tonks looked at him for a moment before reaching in to the bag she had brought with her from the training room. Reaching in, she pulled out a bright blue potion and offered it to him.

He really was frustrated. He'd known he'd have to hold back a bit in their spar. Revealing his true skill would bring up questions he couldn't really answer. What he hadn't expected, however, was how difficult it was to get his body to move like he was used to.

He felt clumsy – not enough that most people would notice, but enough to feel like each reaction was a second too late.

It wasn't just physical either. His magic felt sluggish as well. He could still feel his reserves, and in a pinch he could still summon them up if needed, but where in his prime his magic had always felt like an eager puppy, just waiting to respond at the slightest of urging, now it felt like a slumbering lion. Still powerful, still capable of what he asked of it, but much slower to respond.

This would be a problem, if he left it unaddressed.

"Don't be so hard on yourself. You've got some great reflexes Potter. I was honestly forced to go full out a few times there. You're surprisingly difficult to hit."

Harry took the proffered vial, which he immediately recognized as a healing potion, more than likely an elixir to help his bruising. He popped the cork and drank it down as quickly as he could, shuddering at the foul aftertaste.

"Guh…why do they make these things taste like arse?" He asked getting a chuckle out of the woman in front of him.

"I think it's to prevent people like you from abusing them. Just because we can heal injuries with nothing but a potion doesn't mean we shouldn't try to avoid getting hurt in the first place."

"I guess that makes sense." Harry replied.

He sighed in relief as he felt the potion start to take effect, the pain radiating from his back starting to recede as the bruises started to heal.

I was too reckless.

If that had been a real fight, if Tonks had been one of Tom's inner circle he would have suffered a lot worse than a few contusions.

"Thanks for the lesson Tonks. I needed the wake-up call." Harry managed to smile at her this time. "I promise next time things will be different." His tone filled with confidence.

Tonks eyed him for a moment as if assessing his sincerity.

She must have found what she was looking for after a moment because she gave him a quick nod of agreement.

"I'll hold you to that." The normally bubbly auror for once sounded completely serious. Her usual sarcastic wit notably absent. "But I need to get going. I've got to stop in at the ministry for a bit. I'll see you tomorrow yeah?"

She picked up her bag from where she had left it on the table and gave him a quick glance.

"Yeah I'll see you tomorrow." Harry gave her a wave and watched as she left the room.

As soon as the door closed behind her Harry sighed deeply and let himself fall back into the oversized chair closing his eyes.

That was embarrassing. Harry thought to himself.

Losing to someone as young as Tonks, and so horribly as well, left a bad taste in his mouth. He'd been fighting against dark wizards for almost a century. He'd taken on wizards and witches that were leagues beyond the young metamorph and walked away with only a few scratches.

To lose in the way he had, even handicapped with not being able to show his true power, was beyond shameful.

They'd limited themselves to only using stinging hexes and shield charms and much to his surprise she'd forced him on the defensive almost immediately. No matter how much he pushed himself he was always one step behind, barely managing to dodge or deflect most of her shots.

That is not to say that he hadn't given her a challenge at all, he'd gotten in a few quick shots, enough to at least keep her on her toes, keep her from being able to give anything less than her best effort, but it had still ended up with him on the ground moaning in pain.

He felt like a first year all over again.

I'm definitely going to have to start training again. I can't expect to go up against Tom like this.

He'd fought the tosser so many times over the years it had actually started to feel routine, and each time he'd gotten better. Eventually getting to the point that the "Dark Lord" actually started going out of his way to avoid any kind of direct confrontation with him.

I don't think this is going to be as easy as I thought it would be.

-X-X-X-

August 3rd 1995

5:00 pm

"Hi Harry." A quiet voice said from the doorway.

Harry had decided to try and clear his head with a bit of reading. He wanted to try and make his way through more of his Grimoire. So far nothing useful. He was halfway through an extremely descriptive entry authored by an old ancestor of his that seemed to think that magical "Crop Rotation" was the most exciting thing ever conceived and would "revolutionize herbology".

Not exactly what he had been expecting when he'd first opened the book.

Looking up from the book he almost cringed inside as he saw Ginny Weasley standing in the doorway looking in nervously.

"Are you busy?" She asked looking at the book in his lap.

Harry looked down at the page he'd been reading and for a brief moment wondered if he could get away with lying and saying he was. He didn't feel anywhere near ready to deal with the small red head.

Will I ever be ready to talk to her? He wondered to himself. How does anyone prepare to talk to their formerly dead ex-wife?

Ginny Weasley had been his first serious relationship. Starting near the middle of his 6th year the two had started going out, only to break up at the end of the year as Harry realized it would be too dangerous for her to be associated with him romantically.

He had pined for her most of the summer until around the time Ron had abandoned Hermione and him during the horcrux hunt. He always thought he should have questioned how much less he had thought of her after that point, but had shrugged it off thinking that things had been so up in the air by then that he was just been too distracted.

It wasn't until much later that he learned better.

They were at a dinner party being held by the Weasley family celebrating their 5th wedding anniversary when he had discovered the truth.

His love for his wife wasn't real. He'd walked into the kitchen wanting to offer his help only to witness her pouring a potion into one of the goblets right before dinner was supposed to get underway, a potion he had recognized instantly: Amortentia, the strongest love potion known to the magical world.

To say he had been devastated would have been putting it lightly. At the time he didn't know how to feel, he wanted to deny that what he was seeing was real. He tried to convince himself that he had to have been seeing things, but a quick diagnostic spell over his goblet of pumpkin juice at dinner had destroyed that delusion.

He's immediately asked to speak with Ginny in their room and once behind closed and silenced doors confronted his wife about the potion only to watch, in shock, as she had a mental breakdown in front of him, screaming that he couldn't leave her, insisting that he was her destiny and prince. She had eventually ended up on the floor clutching his leg and rocking back and forth sobbing his name.

That was not the reaction he had been expecting; not in the slightest. He had been ready for lies, excuses, even anger, but not hysterics of that magnitude.

He had picked her up and making sure the silencing spell he had place on the door was still active, took her to their bed and laid her down gently. Managing to pry her off him by assuring her he wouldn't leave her, he cast a few quick medical scans he'd picked up in the auror corp.

Turns out he wasn't the only one under a potion's influence. The scans came back positive for Amortentia same as him, and a host of other compulsion and mood affecting enchantments. Quickly stunning her, Harry had taken her to the only healer he trusted at that time; Madame Pomfrey.

It took only a few hours for Pomfrey to diagnose his wife.

Ginny Potter nee Weasley was severely mentally damaged. It turned out that she was actually potioning the both of them, but Pomfrey was convinced that she was only doing so after years of compulsion charms and other mind altering potions too numerous to name.

It had taken weeks too slowly ween her off the potion cocktail she'd been ingesting for so long. And Months before a St. Mungo's Mind Healer had deemed her healthy enough to return home.

She'd handed him divorce papers the day she returned home – and taken her own life that night.

Harry hadn't know how to react back then. He'd cared for Ginny as a sister before his feelings had suddenly changed. Finding out she had been dosing him with love potions was a devastating blow, one he had been able to withstand only because he had been assured by a medical professional that she wasn't in her right mind.

He'd been hoping to reconcile with her and thought they could help each other heal enough to try to recapture their friendship.

Her suicide had left him shaken and without closure.

All of that went through his mind as he saw her standing there waiting for him to respond.

Man up Potter! You came back to change things. You can't do that if you let fear rule you.

"Hey Ginny." He finally greeted with a smile. "Not really busy, just reading a little further into my Family's Magics.

"What do you mean?" She asked curious stepping into the room and letting the door close behind her.

"I found my Family Grimoire the other day in my parent's vault." He explained.

"Really? Does it have anything interesting in it?" She asked.

Harry smiled at the casual way she asked.

"It's pretty interesting, but not as much as many people would think." He told her.

"What do you mean? What do people think?" Ginny asked confused.

"Ginny do you know what a Grimoire is?" Harry asked with a raised eyebrow. He'd assumed as a pureblood she would already have been taught about the significance of a book like the one he was holding.

"Not really." She shrugged in response.

Harry gestured to the seat in front of him and waited for her to sit down.

"A grimoire is a like a journal of sorts. It's a record of all magics researched or created by a family. The book is usually handed down over years with each generation contributing to its contents. Generally the older a grimoire is the more valuable the knowledge it contains."

"That's the Potter family Grimoire." Ginny stated. "How old is it?"

"Around fifteen-hundred years old." He told her with a smirk.

That seemed to finally get a reaction out of her.

Her eyes widened and she looked at the Grimoire as if seeing it for the first time.

"Fifteen-hundred – it must have some incredible magic in there." She whispered.

"It definitely has some interesting things, but it's not as incredible as I'm sure some people would like to imagine." He patted the soft leather endearingly. "So far I've only found a few spells in here that can be used. The rest was all just theories and research notes that have been added to over the years. Most people will hear about this book and think 'It must contain powerful long lost magic from the time of Merlin!'" He added the end with a dramatic flair, earning a giggle out of the girl in front of him. "But so far, not so much. Oh trust me, the research and theories some of my ancestor's put in here could definitely lead to some powerful magic, but I've only just delved into it. Only time will tell if I'll be able to get anything actually useful out of the notes in here."

Ginny seemed a bit disappointed, but moved on rather quickly.

"Well The reason I came looking for you was to see how you were? You've been here for almost 24 hrs and haven't even said hi to me. I wanted to make sure everything was okay." The girl gave him a serious look, as if daring him to deny that he had been ignoring her.

Harry managed to look ashamed as he apologized.

"Honestly Ginny I was just so focused on confronting the order that I didn't really think to stop and chat. I'm sorry about that." He offered contritely.

Harry felt bad for lying to her, but he couldn't exactly tell her the truth. That he had intentionally ignored her in an attempt to avoid having to think about their past…future…future-past?

Not important Potter focus!

He had been worried about how he would react to seeing her once again. Would it hurt seeing her now? Would he feel any lingering love or longing for the woman he'd been married to for five years?

Thankfully, it turned out, the strongest emotion he felt was…happiness.

The young girl in front of him wasn't his former wife. She was just the girl he'd once thought of as a little sister. He could definitely appreciate that many would find her attractive, even at the young age of fourteen, but it was more of an appreciation of her looks then any real desire on his behalf.

How did I never notice that she looks almost exactly like my mother?

He suppressed the shiver that had tried to work its way up his spine. With that thought in mind he decided, then and there, that there were some memories that were better off locked away and never looked at again – like his wedding night.

Ugh!

"Don't worry Harry its okay, with everything that's happened in just the last day or so, I guess I can't blame you for not stopping to chat." Ginny told him trying to brush it off as if it didn't bother her.

"No Ginny you can blame me, I was being thoughtless." He told her firmly, his sense of fairness not letting him accept her forgiveness – not when he didn't deserve it. "I promise I'll make it up to you."

Ginny got up out of the chair, smiling as she started walking towards the door.

"Okay then, I'm going to go write a letter to Michael, I'll see you at Dinner?" She asked.

"Michael? You mean Michael Corner?" Harry asked confused.

"Yeah we met at the yule ball last year, Ron didn't tell you? We've – uh – sort of been seeing each other since." Ginny blushed a bit as she reached the door and looked back at him.

"Oh I didn't know." Harry told her honestly. He'd completely forgotten that she and Corner were dating by this time. "How's things going with him? Need me to give him a scare?" Harry smirked.

Ginny scoffed at him.

"You – Harry Potter – 'Boy-Who-Lived, Slayer of Basilisks, and The Youngest Hogwarts Seeker in a Century' – pulling the big brother act on my boyfriend? I actually like him, I would rather you not scare him off just yet." She shook her head.

"Oh come on – It's not like I'd actually hurt the bloke, besides if he runs scared from something as innocent as a "You hurt her" speech then he wasn't good enough for you anyway." Harry made sure to inject enough sincerity into the last part to make sure she knew he was serious.

"Thanks Harry that's sweet, but I think I'm going to have enough trouble with Ron giving every boy near me the stink eye." She turned to the door and sent one last comment back at him. "Like he has any room to talk…until he can work up the courage to ask Hermione out I don't want to –."

She cut off and whipped her head around at the loud crack that echoed across the room, only to stare with wide eyes as she saw the book case behind harry slowly split in two down the middle, its books falling into a heap on the floor.

She looked at Harry with confusion until she saw his eyes. A small part of her instantly told her to run. An even smaller part of her admitted to eyeing him appreciatively for a brief moment, before both parts were smacked back in line by the rest of her which was instantly worried for the wizard she'd started to think of as another brother.

"Harry what…what's wrong?" She asked tentatively.

Her voice seemed to bring him back out of his anger, enough for him to realize what he'd done.

"Bloody hell…" Harry moaned as he wiped a hand across his face. There was no way Ginny was going to be convinced with him telling her it was just a spot of accidental magic. "Uhh – Sorry Gin. Didn't mean to lose my cool like that."

He summoned his wand from his holster and a quick flick had the room righted in a flash.

"Harry what caused that? Losing your cool…what do you…" She cut off as she realized what she had said to him right before he'd "accidentally" snapped a bookshelf in half. "Harry do you –?" Harry cut her off mid-sentence.

Climbing quickly out if his chair he tried to get past her to the door. "It was nothing Ginny, I've got to hit the loo." Only to be stopped by the small red-head standing in his way, hands on her hips, a smirk on her face. "What?" He said slightly uneasy.

"Harry do you like Hermione?" Ginny asked not bothering to dance around the topic.

Harry's eyes went wide as he tried to come up with an answer that would divert her attention.

"Umm…what?"

Smooth Potter. I'm sure that convinced her. His own mind snarked at him.

"You do..." She nearly whispered, her smile growing. "How long have you liked her? Have you told her? Are you guys dating? Was that trip to Diagon Alley yesterday a DATE!?" Her voice growing with each question.

"Whoa! Slow down Gin…" Harry reached out and grabbed the smaller girl by the shoulders. "I have no idea what you're –." He instantly shut up as he found her wand an inch from his face pointing up at his nose. He didn't feel like finding out what a Bat-Bogey felt like crawling its way out of his nostril.

Was she always this violent?

"Fine okay yes I…I like her." He admitted. "I don't know when it happened, No I haven't told her, so no we're not dating, and well I guess yesterday was almost a date." He sighed in defeat.

"Wow…." Ginny said with a sigh as she finally pulled her wand away from his face.

Harry breathed a sigh of relief before realizing that he was still holding on to her shoulders and released his grasp letting his hands drop back to his side.

"Just…Please promise that you won't say anything to anyone?" Harry asked.

"Oh absolutely I promise." She assured him with a smile. "You should tell her how you feel. You don't want someone else asking her out before you, do you?"

"Thanks…And not that I don't appreciate the support, but I would have thought you would be more – I don't know – upset with me for liking the girl your brother likes." He forced the last part out.

Ginny grinned and shook her head.

"Oh trust me, before today I would have supported him – He's my brother and all – but it doesn't take a ravenclaw to see that Hermione and Ron would never work out in the long run." She explained.

Harry smiled at that; Happy to hear that he wasn't the only one that shared that opinion.

"Okay well, as fun as it is to hear you might be getting a love life, I need to go write a letter to further mine." Ginny said as she gave him a little wave and made to leave the room. "See you at dinner."

"Later Gin." He watched the red head walk out of the room and silently thanked merlin that things were not going to be complicated on that front. The girl he had just talked with was a funny and energetic girl that he was more than willing to call a friend.

Their marriage, or more specifically the potions, had changed her into someone that he hadn't recognized in the end. It was nice to see this side of her again.

This time I'll make sure we're both free to make our own choices. Regardless of what THAT women wants.

-X-X-X-

Elsewhere…

"My lord what…what is this place."

"A place of profound importance. That is all you need to know – now come forward and prove your loyalty to your master." Voldemort told the man wearing the death eater mask.

They were standing in the middle of a small dark cave – the location of which the dark lord had not bothered to divulge. Simply choosing to side-along apparate them both there instead.

The death eater, a wizard by the name of Mathias Collander, only three years out of Hogwarts, walked forward nervously as he look around at the cave his master had brought him to. It was dark and dank, but Mathias could smell the ocean nearby. He swallowed thickly trying to clear his throat even as he stepped up next to the wizard he had sworn to follow. He had no clue why his master had ordered him to accompany him, except for a brief mention of having to retrieve something important.

"Hold out your hand." Voldemort commanded the death eater.

Determined to show no hesitation in front of the wizard he had pledged his loyalty too, the younger wizard held out his hand palm up only to hiss in surprise when, with a small twitch of the dark lord's wand, a small gash opened up in the center of his hand – blood pooling as he tried to keep it from spilling. Despite the pain he stopped himself from pulling away or voicing his displeasure.

"Very good Mathias." Voldemort praised. "Smear the blood here."

Mathis Collander was a new recruit, barely a week had passed since his initiation. He'd only had the Dark mark for three days before being chosen for this mission. To hear his name being spoken aloud by the most powerful dark wizard in modern history filled him with awe.

Surely his master did not bother to learn the names of all those that pledged themselves to him. A wizard of his importance...he surely had more pressing concerns.

Mathias felt empowered. He was important, why else would Lord Voldemort have decided to pick him? Why else would he know his name?

Quickly doing as instructed, he stepped back as the rock wall in front of him seemed to absorb the blood. A soft rumbling filled the cave and Mathias watched as the wall in front of him started to crumble; pieces of it falling away, slowly at first, but speeding up as the rough shape of an arch started to form.

He watched in trepidation as the stones rolled out of the way until a clear path was formed, large enough to fit a single individual.

"Come." Voldemort commanded stepping through the newly created archway. Mathias followed closely; not willing to risk his master's anger.

The tunnel on the other side of the arch eventually gave way to a vast chamber with a large lake in the middle stretching so far into the darkness that Mathias could not see the far shore.

Voldemort approached the water slowly his hand outstretched. Slowly moving his hand in a circular motion over the water. A few seconds passed before with a spray of mist a chain appeared to rise out of the water like a snake. The dark lord gently traced the links closest to him with a single finger and then stepped back as the chains went taught and started to move.

They waited in silence for a moment as they watched the chain spin towards them, the nearest end slipping back into the water at their feet. In the distance a blurred figure appeared, coasting over the water quickly.

A boat, bone white and barely big enough for one.

"I will go first and then send the boat back for you." Voldemort's words echoed off the chamber walls.

"Yes my lord." Mathias said immediately.

"Do not keep me waiting."

Mathias thought to respond, but his master was already moving forward, stepping into the boat without further comment.

The death eater watched as the boat started moving on its own. It didn't take long for the dark lord's form to be lost to the darkness.

Tom Riddle AKA Voldemort, stood patiently with his arms crossed as the boat skimmed across the still waters.

"I am pleased to see you heeding my advice." A deep voice breaking through his thoughts.

Glancing down into the water next to his boat Voldemort saw the dark silhouette and bright red eyes of his master's reflection staring back at him.

"It was prudent advice my lord." He replied carefully resisting the urge to cringe, remembering the agony of his master's most recent punishment. "It would have been foolish of me not to check on my horcruxes, at least the one's I have access to, after being gone for so long."

"Yes I am sure you would have done so eventually even without my prompting." The demon lord replied sounding amused.

Voldemort grit his teeth. It was true that he had not even considered checking on his phylacteries until his master had mentioned them. Why would he? He had ensured their safety with the darkest of magicks. This was a fool's errand. One he was convinced the demon had only advised him to undertake as a way of mocking him.

Unfortunately there was nothing to be done about it. Not following his master's "advice" would have been far worse. He didn't want to contemplate what would have happened if the demon ever felt that he had been insulted.

A shiver raced up his spine.

If it wasn't for the fact that he needed the rather substantial increase to his magical reserves his pact with the demon granted him, he would have already devoted all his time and effort into finding a way to sever their link.

His musings were cut short as the boat slowed to a halt on the shore of a rocky little island.

Voldemort stepped out of the boat, and with a quick touch to the chain it was tethered to, sent it back the way he had come to retrieve his servant.

Not bothering to wait, he made his way up the slightly sloped rocks, his gaze locked on the large stone basin in front of him.

It was crude in shape, its purpose as a container more important than its appearance.

Voldemort's eyes moved around the edge of the bowl as he inspected the runes he had etched into the rim so many years ago. They had taken months to research and design, some of his finest work at the time. He was not above feeling a moment of pride as he recalled the satisfaction he had felt the first time he had activated them and watched as they came alight with power and fulfilled their function without fail.

Their purpose was to ensure the bowl never ran dry of the potion that even now after all the years that has passed still filled the bowl. The potion, a bright glowing green concoction of his own creation, meant to protect that which was most precious to him.

The true reason he had ventured out this night, to this cave, rested just below the surface of the shimmering potion.

A locket.

A heavy gold locket inlaid with green gem stones placed in line to resemble the letter "s".

This was not some paltry fashion accessory, or trinket. Its worth far exceeded the value of its materials and craftsmanship.

This was one of his horcruxes, one of the keys to his power.

He allowed himself to drift back on the tides of time, recalling the memory of this horcrux's creation.

This horcrux had been his third. He'd used a no named tramp he'd found living on the streets the day before as the sacrifice to fuel the dark ritual that would bind a portion of his soul to the locket he had chosen as the receptacle.

Riddle chuckled to himself as he remembered being amused at the time that it was someone wasting away on the streets of London, an existence that no one would miss or remember, that would have the honor of being one of the select few responsible for helping the most powerful wizard in history attain true immortality.

A fact none but he would ever know.

"I am here my lord."

Voldemort turned slowly to see Mathias stepping off the boat behind him.

"Very good Mathias come over here." He commanded.

The young death eater eagerly did as he was told.

"There is something I need to retrieve Mathias, but to do so I require you're assistance." Voldemort told him somberly.

For Mathias Collander this was a dream come true. His master needed HIS help. Out of all the death eaters he'd had to choose from Lord Voldemort had chosen him.

He squared his shoulders and raised his head high.

"Anything my lord. How may I be of service to you?" He asked.

Voldemort smile was sinister though Mathias' mistook it to be one of gratitude.

"A powerful magical artifact lies within the basin in front of you – one of great power and importance to me." Voldemort gestured to the bowl and watched as Mathias stepped forward and leaned over the rim slightly. "It is protected by a potion of my own invention, one that even one such as myself dare not consume, yet consumed is exactly what this potion must be if I am to retrieve what is mine."

Mathias examined the potion carefully as he listened to his master's words.

"Forgive me my lord, but if drinking the potion is that dangerous how are we to get to the treasure beneath?"

"We will not Mathias…You will." Voldemort voice was so soft it was almost a whisper.

"What…" His servant's words were cut off.

"Imperio." Volemort intoned.

Mathias eyes glazed over.

"You will drink the potion from the bowl. You will not stop until every last drop is consumed."

Mathias did not respond or hesitate, his will completely subsumed by that of the dark lord. Reaching forward he lifted the half sea shell from the lip of the basin and dipped it into the portion, filling the shell as much as possible.

He lifted the potion to his lips and swallowed his first mouthful without pause.

His body gave a brief shudder, but he did not seem to notice as he was already busy retrieving another scoopful.

The second mouthful went down as smooth as the first, but this time the shudder was more pronounced and sweat had begun to appear on the man's forehead.

This is how it continued for the next several minutes as Mathias Collander continued to drink the potion one scoop at a time.

The potion was half gone when Mathias' body finally succumbed. Falling to his knees a scream was wrenched from his throat as his worst fears clawed at his mind overwhelming the curse that had fogged it up until that point.

"No no no …..No please….No more…" He whimpered as he hugged his hands close to himself.

Voldemort frowned as he looked at his servant.

"Imperio!" He cast once more forcing more power into his curse.

It was strong enough for 2 more scoops before the terror the potion forced on the drinker once more overwhelmed the Imperius. Coughing and crying the man tried to blindly crawl away from the basin, trembling so violently that he was barely able to hold himself up with his arms.

Sighing in aggravation Voldemort followed his servant and lowered himself down close enough to see his eyes.

"Very good Mathias you have served me well. Unfortunately a little more is needed before we are through…but do not fear your master will help you."

The dark smile he gave the horrified man this time was in no way comforting.

Grasping the man's chin Voldemort pulled his head up until their eyes met.

"Legilimens."

The dark lord dove into Mathias Collanders mind, easily brushing aside the meager defenses the man had in place.

He wasn't looking for a memory though…he wasn't searching for anything in fact.

Reaching out to envelop the man's mind in his own…he started twisting.

Mathias' screamed, louder than before as his mind was shredded. The screams lasted for only a minute before his body gave out, no longer capable of holding itself up.

Voldemort pulled away satisfied as he gazed down at the drooling and glazed expression of the shell in front of him.

"Now that there is nothing left to scare you with….let's try this again…imperio!"

The body in front of him that used to be known as Mathias Collander climbed to its feet and walked to the basin once again. Not bothering with the shell this time it merely leaned down into the bowl and submerged its face in the potion. Mouth open wide it started drinking the brew as quickly as was physically possible, the effects no longer a concern.

It took only a few more seconds for the treasure to finally be revealed. Once he saw the locket emerge Voledmort released his hold on his puppet, who immediately fell to the floor as if its strings had been cut. Face slack and eyes devoid of understanding as they stared blankly at the ceiling above them.

"That was a bit wasteful Tom." Abbadon scolded sarcastically from the side where his image was once again floating on the lake's mirror like surface.

"He was unimportant my lord…I have plenty more where he came from." Voldemort replied as he reached down and picked up his horcrux. "I will simply…"

Voldemort words were cut off as he frowned in confusion.

"Oh…is something wrong Tom?" Abbadon inquired curiously.

"I can't feel….No!" Voldemort finished with a snarl as he pried the locket open and saw the note inside.

A pulse of magic blasted off the wizard as his rage exploded violently. The comatose wizard on the ground was flung off the island and into the lake with a loud splash. The body floating for a brief moment before it was suddenly pulled below the surface and disappearing without a trace.

It was gone! His Horcrux had been stolen!

Deep beneath the anger that someone would dare steal what was his, fear stirred.

"Someone knows Tom…." The Demon Lord whispered with glee. "They know your secret."

The demons laughter rang out across the cavern as Voldemort clenched his fists tightly.

"I must check on the rest." He said to himself.

"Yes…but I would hurry." His master replied advised. "If they truly know what it is they stole, than they know how to kill you Tom." The malicious joy in the demon's voice made him shudder. "You are vulnerable..."

The last word echoed off the walls as Voldemort swiftly turned and started making his way back to the boat.

He would not allow this.

No one would interfere with his plans. He wouldn't allow it.

No one challenged Lord Voldemort and lived to regret it.

Too Be Continued…

Ending Author's Note: Hey everyone boy has it been a while. Thank you all for hanging in there and not giving up on the story. I know this chapter is slightly shorter than my previous updates, but I have decided to go with shorter chapters in an effort to increase my update speed.

If you missed my Author's Note at the beginning let me summarize the details real quick here.

I have rewritten chapters 1-3. I changed some plot points around, but for the most part I simply went through and cleaned up the writing a bit. I was not happy with a lot of it. That's part of the reason I was so slow to update. It was difficult to be excited about writing more when I was already less than pleased with the writing I had already done.

I've also been working a little more on Guardians of Akasha and writing out plot points for another story I have yet to publish.

My mind is a mishmash of unfinished storyboards and half thought out ideas for various shows and books. I am a slave to the moment and unfortunately that makes it a bit difficult to meet deadlines.

Let me know what you guys think of the re-writes in the review section. I'm still not 100% happy with the previous chapters, but I'm still polishing my writing. I'll get there eventually.

Thanks Everyone! Hope you all are enjoying the holidays!