Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter; I do, however, own honestly purchased copies of all five books and you can't have them! So there.

A/N: This is a "Voldemort is Harry's dad" story. Please review.

"I didn't hit him. He hit me!"

"Don't lie, freak. You hit Dudley; why else would he be crying?"

Harry glanced at his large cousin and snorted, "His crying doesn't mean anything. He's a faker!"

"DON'T CALL MY SON A LIAR, YOU DIRTY FREAK"

The man, Vernon Dursley, grabbed the diminutive boy by the arm and threw him into the cupboard under the stairs. The boy slammed hard into the wall and then faded into darkness.

Pain

Always pain

The shadow could feel the pain coursing through him.

Heir

His heir

He had found the place were they had put his heir

His heir, the Heir of Slytherin, living with some filthy muggles

And they hurt him

They would die

Later

The shadow knew what it would do

It would give all of its memories to the heir

It would give the boy knowledge of his followers

Knowledge of his origins

Magic

Life

Destiny

The shadow would show him

Truth

Lies

The Darkness.

Harry moaned as he gained consciousness. He sat up, and suddenly his eyes shot open. Someone was there in the cupboard with him.

"Who are you?" a voice answered him, a voice ragged with age, worn like the cloak of time. "I am your father; my name is Voldemort."

"My father is dead, and his name was James Potter."

The Voice laughed, "No, your father is not James Potter, though he did take care of you."

"What do you mean?"

"James Potter was one of my most loyal followers. He and Lily were charged to take care of you…" the voice laughed tiredly "…but they could not protect you from me."

"Why would they have to protect me from you?"

"The muggle lover Dumbledore put a spell on me called the Mortifer hostis spell, the Mortal Enemy spell. It made it impossible for me to let you live. Luckily your magic was…is stronger than mine. When the killing curse hit you, it rebounded on me three-fold and left me the shadow I am, cursed to live close to death, but I know of a way to end it."

"How?"

"I will give you my memories. I will put all of them in your mind, and then I will give you my life force so that you will always be protected." The words the shadow spoke seemed preposterous to Harry's nine-year-old mind, but he was compelled to believe it.

"How will you do that?"

"First I need your permission; do you give it?" Harry nodded, and the shadow spoke one word before Harry fell back into darkness. "Confundo."

Flashback

Hands stroked the baby's hair. "You will be the first in my family to bear the name Slytherin since the great one himself. You will be Harold Callidus Merus Slytherin--Slytherin because it is the name of our ancestors, Callidus for the most important trait of our family, and Merus for your mother's family."

Shift memory

An old man stood, his wand raised. He said, "Tom, I shall defeat you and your kin. The Line of Slytherin will end and the line of Gryffindor will persevere."

Shift Memory

A group of hooded figures came out of the trees. One by one they bowed, each uttering the same word: "Master."

Harry jolted awake, his mind full of foreign memories; he could feel them ingraining themselves into his mind. Plots began to form, and in the house Number 4 Privet Drive in the cupboard under the stairs, a new darkness was born.

A/N: How'd you like it? New chapters are coming soon as well as new chapters for my other stories. Please review.

Translations: Callidus: Cunning

Merus: Pure

Mortifer hostis: Mortal enemy

Confundo: Merge