A/N : Oh, I know some of you will like this chapter…::wink:: A little bit of Voldemort's "later" character comes out nicely here. I rather liked writing this chapter too, just so you all know.

A/N 2 : In the next two chapters (and some in the previous chapter too) I incorporate information about India that I have tried to make as reliable and accurate as possible. As I have said before, if at any point I get it wrong (and, when it comes to India, offend anyone) please to let me know.

%%%%%%%%%

Chapter #17 – A Question of Loyalty

Magic seemed so much more complicated in India than anywhere else he had been (even though many things had been derived from Hermetic magic due to Arabic and British influences over several hundred years). There were so many little things that he did not know when it came to learning under Yama that all had to do with the culture of India. There was Brahman and chakras and sutras that were all being discussed and everyone except him knew everything about them. He got so confused at first. It was, of course, Lena who found several books explaining the things that were puzzling to him as that he was too busy in lessons with Yama to search for anything himself. Even the books confused him in the beginning, though.

At the first chance he had, he wrote to Shen and asked why the magical system in China had not seemed as complicated as it did in India. Shen explained that he had glossed over most of the "native" aspects of their magical system and had only gone over the very essential parts. Shen had known how the Hermetic system worked, as he had studied it for some time before he had met Tom, so he knew pretty much how to teach someone from that system about Chinese magic. When Voldemort got that answer, he felt rather sheepish over it, but was quickly frustrated again over the complexity of the new system he was studying.

Another thing that bothered him (aside from all the differences he encountered) was the degree to which the native religion played in magic and the lives of the wizards. He had never been very interested in any religion in his life and suddenly being thrust into a place where religion was a part of how society and magic was set up was rather difficult. There was the daily puja (worship and devotion), which was hard to get a grasp of at first. He thought it was rather silly that a Dark wizard would devote himself to any divine force. Voldemort saw divine beings as being creators and Dark magic was usually seen as a destroying force after all. The only thing Tom liked about it all was that there were aspects (or, as Western society would call them, gods) of their one divine being that were worshipped for their destructive natures. It was all part of their idea of reincarnation, that destruction and birth were all part of a great cycle and must exist together. And that did resonate with Voldemort, for he was seeking a rebirth of sorts when he returned to destroy all the things that he saw were wrong with the way the Wizarding world worked. So perhaps there was some use in this after all.

The learning of the "holy" text (mainly the Vedas) were enough of a problem for him because he had to learn to read Sanskrit, but that was where most of the Hindu magic was derived from so he had to study them. And the complexity of some of the incantations (mantras) was far greater than what he was used to. But there was more to Hindu magic than just that, there were rangolis and yantras that created magic through the drawing geometric shape with different colored sands or powdered rice. Then there was, of course, Tantra. It was not really how the West had portrayed it, being nothing but for sexual purposes (though there was that, too). It was really more based on the magic used by the underground "lower caste" that had come about with the invasion of the Moguls centuries before that involved Hermetic magic and alchemy. The "true" wizards had later adopted it because it was "easier" to use than the native magic.

And there was another thing about India that Tom had to learn, and he rather agreed with many of the points – the castes…

The wizards of India called themselves Mayavina, the caste of magic. They considered themselves the highest of all the castes and allowed no lower castes (Mudbloods) to join. Children of mixed parentage (antaraprabhava) were nearly always dismissed as unworthy and unclean – which was the reason that Tom had been nearly ousted from Yama's study. He had told none of his prospective teachers of this "impurity" as he saw no reason to say anything, but it had found him again once he was there. But Tom had certainly proven his worth since then, for he was nearly as powerful and knowledgeable as their teacher was. That fact, though, made Yama view his newest student with a bit of contempt. This was what got Voldemort the time he needed away from the other pupils so he could do his own studying, for Yama did not want Voldemort around his students too much and make them awe over his power.

It was hardly a month after he had first gotten there (just when he was starting to get used to everything) that he was politely and quietly dismissed from the group lessons, though Yama still tutored him on some things, but even that became rare over the following months. This did not bother Voldemort very much, though, for the amount of lessons had bothered him greatly. He had gotten so used to not having anyone telling him what to do and what to study in the past eight years - since he had left Melantha's study. He greatly wished he had found someone to study with as he had done with Shen instead of seeking out another teacher. He had rather enjoyed collaborative working and studying with plenty of time for his own private things and he wanted that again.

After another month with rarely even seeing Yama let alone learning anything from him, the Dark wizard was wondering why his teacher did not just void the contract and let him go seek other study, but it never happened. And he would not find out why that was for a few more months yet…

Voldemort was still corresponding with other Dark wizards throughout Asia and he enjoyed that several of them still shared little secrets with him or helped him with new things. Many of his correspondents in India were questioning why he had chosen Yama and one even stopped writing to him. He had not realized that his teacher had so quickly gained ill favor among the other Dark wizards in India due to his growing conflict with Markandeya. He discovered how severe the situation was after he had been under his tutelage for only a week when a large explosion rocked the citadel which Tom later learned was the latest of many attempts of Markandeya's to get into the complex. This continued to happen at random times usually three times a month or so and it got to be rather bothersome.

This tension made Voldemort seek out trying to find another teacher in India quickly, not caring that he would be breaking the contract with Yama if he left. But, as that his other two possible teachers had learned he had accepted Yama's offer, they refused to take him as a pupil now. The Dark wizard was sure that if he ask any of the other gurus he knew of in India, though they might accept him but become angry if they found out he had already been Yama's student. His only hope, then, would be to get out of India to find another companion to study with. He began sending letters to correspondents in Arabia and Egypt – it was time to be heading back to Europe soon, he was sure.

Letters between he and his companions from school still traveled back and forth, though no more frequently than they had when he was in China. The only thing that had gotten his interest up enough to write what he thought was a lot of letters was that Darcy had written him and informed him that Grindelwald had died at a relative's home in Austria. He had not heard much about the old Dark Lord since he had left Denmark, and that had only been fragments anyway. He did not feel any sorrow over the news, but he was interested in other things surrounding his former hoped-for teacher which made letters increase for a short time between him and Darcy.

And speaking of letters…

Though during the chaos of leaving China and getting settled in Yama's citadel Lena had not had the chance to write to her father, she began writing again a little less than a month after they had gotten to the citadel. Voldemort, being highly suspicious of her after the Auror being in China, had watched her writing the letters if he got the chance. She did not write to him quite as often as she used to, he noticed. She only sent letters about once every two and a half weeks (actually allowing enough time between sending the letter to have her father respond and send his letter to her before sending another). Her drop in frequency of letters seemed to mainly be because she was usually concocting some potion or reading through her books and making herself a grimoire. Though Voldemort was also sure it was because Taliesin had died delivering a letter to her shortly before they left China. But, still, as few letters as Tom still sent to his old schoolmates now (maybe one letter a month), he thought that Lena should have gotten to about the same point.

It was late in the evening just a few days after the start of their third month there. The monsoons had made going anywhere rather impractical (and Lena tended to not shop when it was raining, which was almost all the time now). Voldemort had been working all day on his newest attempt at immortality in the extra room he had procured for his and Lena's potions. He had fallen behind in all of his own studies when he had to get used to being in the Hindu magical system. He needed to catch up.

When he entered the room, he stopped just inside the doorway. Lena was sitting on the settee they had moved under the window and she was absorbed in writing a letter and there was really only one person she ever wrote letters to. His eyes narrowed. Not being in a good mood at all (he had a headache and had had an argument with Sanat over his worthiness to be there yet again and he was getting ever closer to wanting to subject the old fool to the Cruciatus Curse), he was also not in the mood to have Lena telling her father all the details of what they were doing. He did not want another Auror coming to look for him.

The Dark wizard stormed across the room and snatched up the letter. He glared down at her when she looked up, her quill still poised to write the next words on the parchment that was no longer there. She had absolutely no idea what was going on, but with the expression he was giving her, she did not know if she wanted to ask anyway.

Voldemort's eyes narrowed as he continued to glare at her. "Writing your father another letter?"

"Is that such a horrible thing, my lord," she asked calmly, looking more at her now rather crumpled letter than at him.

"You know all the rumors about you father we heard while we were in Europe, all the ones about his being a spy." His voice was rather venomous and his red eyes studied Lena skeptically. "You know, to me, it all seemed to fit."

The look on her face was somewhere between shock, confusion, and fear. "My lord?"

"And I wonder," he looked from the half-crumpled letter to her, "if whether or not I should even be trusting you."

Lena sunk back several inches in her chair under his red gaze. She really felt like running away at the moment. She was very frightened and his voice was harsher than she had ever heard. She slowly began to shake her head, then a moment later tears began to stream down her face. She was tired of his accusations and had hoped, after he had not questioned her for so long, that he may have actually started trusting her, as he had when they were still at school. "My lord, how can you not…why have…what has made you suddenly start questioning my loyalty to you again? I've never done anything that…"

"You tell you father every little detail of what we are doing! Is that not enough of a betrayal?!"

Burying her face in her hands, she broke down into sobs, unable to speak. She could not even move, she was too scared to. She could feel his eyes boring into the back of her head, and it made her all the more uncomfortable and fearful. But she still could not find the strength to talk or even to lift her face from her hands. She could not believe what he was accusing her of. After all these years he thought that she was a traitor to him. But…

"Look at me, Lena." He waited for a moment, staring down at her still. When she did not respond to him, his temper rose a little, his red eyes flashing dangerously. "Look at me, now!"

Through parted fingers, she looked up at him, her eyes still gleaming with tears. She did not see any sympathy in his eyes, but knew that he would have none. He had slowly become less and less forgiving over the years. And he despised weakness, which she was showing at that very moment, and it would just make him angrier. She straightened her posture as much as she could, trying hard to wipe away the tears on her robe's sleeve. She was coming to her senses, and she realized she had actually broken down into tears in front of him…because of him. She had to pull herself together. She did not want him to see her in tears any more and she never had. She could not have him thinking she was weak, not now…not with what he was becoming.

"There is a reason that a British Auror knew we were in China, Lena. You told your father where we were, didn't you?"

"But I have never kept any secrets from my parents," she said a bit hoarsely, shaking her head slightly as she spoke.

"Well, you should start keeping some from your father now!"

Lena shrunk back again, nodding. "Yes, my lord."

"If you write to your father again," he brandished the crumpled letter in his hand, "you will allow me to look over the letter before you send it, do you understand?"

"Yes, my lord," she said in a tiny whisper.

Voldemort leaned over her, his red eyes staring into her green ones. There was a dead seriousness in his eyes that made Lena want to run away, but she could not for he had blocked her ways of escape. She could not even look away from him. He ran a finger down her cheek and the faintest smile edged onto his visage. His smile at times like these was never a comfort.

"You belong to me, Lena. Do not forget that. You are my tool and nothing more. That is the way it has always been, and you have known it from the beginning and accepted it." He moved his hand from her cheek and ran his thumb down her throat in a rather caring caress, then, after a moment, pressed his thumb hard against her throat. It made her gasp in pain, feeling as though he would crush her throat any second. The Dark wizard narrowed his eyes and his voice fell to a whispered hiss. "I would suggest that you do not do anything that would make me grow angry with you. I can kill you with little regret. I do not love you, Lena, even if you have grown to love me, for whatever reason. Love is a useless emotion that makes fools out of great wizards. What little kindness and caring I show you is because you are useful to me. And I would hate to decide that your usefulness has ended."

As soon as he removed his hand from her throat, she took several deep breaths and bent over, closing her eyes and rubbing her throat slightly. "Forgive me, Master. I never…never meant to…to make you think I was not loyal to you."

The only response she got was his leaving footsteps. She did not dare to look up at his receding back, though. She could only mull over what he had said…and he was right. She was his, and she was the one that had chosen this path. She had started their relationship the very first time they had met…she had gone out of her way to become his friend because she had found him so interesting - so in need of a friend. And there was also just something about him. And he had accepted her and kept her with him because she was useful and because she pleased him. She enjoyed seeing him happy. She had to be sure she continued to please her master, but it would be different from now on, for if she displeased him, he might kill her, with no regard to what she had done for him in the past. That scared her quite a bit.

%%%%%%%%%

To my reviewers -

Liv - I'm so glad that you liked the previous chapter. I always try to keep my work detailed, though it does take a lot of work to do details. And it's not that it took me ages to get this "just right" it's that I spent ages looking for all of the information I needed on India - architecture, religion, regional information, etc. In the end Voldemort's not going to like India very much, and, honestly, I don't like it that much either after all the trouble it caused me! And the Auror…no one really special - it's not Moody, if that's what you're wondering. Just a simple, no name character I tossed into the story…sorry about that.

insert name here - you'll buy my thoughts on the Americas and magic, eh? How much you going to pay me for them? ::evil grin:: I've given much thought to the Americas (especially the US, as that's where I live) in relation to the world Jo's made. This is also going to be important to later in the story, too. Voldemort was after world domination, after all. And you're point about Voldemort's immortality obsessed, homicidal nature does make me wonder a bit, though I still cannot see Voldemort being a cannibal or bathing in blood (and the only people he'd do that with would be Mudbloods and Muggles so would he really want to "taint" himself that way?) Yes, I know I make my Voldemort highly endearing, even sweet at times. ::sigh:: I've tried my hardest to make him evil, I really have! I'm just not good at writing evil villains as the main characters. I'm working on getting him to that "there is not good and evil - only power and those too weak to seek it" attitude, but it just hasn't been happening! I think, though, that once I finally get Lena out of the way (yes! It will happen!) he'll be changing quite a bit. But you also have to think that he's been spending much of his time studying, being around purebloods all this time he's been away from Hogwarts so why does he really have to be evil, cruel, and sadistic around them? You haven't seen much of his hatred coming out (though there was that good point in China where he has a little fun torturing/killing Muggles, along with the other members of the Gaoji). And I think that my "highlights" of what he seeks/believes in versus what he is a central "theme" about him so I focus on it as much as I can. Hmm, yes, I guess that ghosts are immortal, but I've never really seen them do magic and they're rather incorporeal, too, so holding/touching things would be difficult, no? It's a different sort of immortality than what Voldemort seeks, and it seems that it's rather depressing (given how Sir Nicholas acted at the end of book five). And, anyway, why can't all the ghosts in the world just pass through the Veil?! That could solve many problems if they could… I'm sure, though, that there will be, in the end, a more lasting end to Voldemort than his becoming a ghost. Ugh! Another long response to you…::sigh::