Scheherazade

That One Story about a Dragon and a Princes– Er, Prince- Part Two, and

Harry rolled over slowly, and groped for Voldemort. His hand met only rumpled linens. Footsteps approached the bed, and he grumbled, "Tom, you'd best have a good reason for leaving me all alone here. It's fucking freezing."

He was handed his glasses, and he put them on, saying playfully, "Really, Tom. I've just overcome some terrible ordeal, and you abandon me in my time of nee–"

He froze. Long black hair encroached on his vision. Pale skin filled his mind. Dark eyes swallowed him whole.

His wand tip dug into her neck and he hissed, "We meet again, traitor."

oOo

Voldemort walked down the hall relatively quickly. By no means was he hurrying back to Potter's side. He merely felt the need for a bit of brisk exercise. After all, he had been sitting next to Avery for all but two hours, and he swore the man could make even murder and torture boring. Needless to say, going over expenses with him had been absolute hell.

Near reaching the end of the hallway, he heard Potter mumble sleepily, "Tom, you'd best have a good reason for leaving me all alone here. It's fucking freezing."

Voldemort smirked. The little brat had missed him that much, eh? He quickened his step as Potter said teasingly, "Really, Tom. I've just overcome some terrible ordeal, and you abandon me in my time of nee–"

He reached the doorway just in time to see Potter jab his wand into the neck of one of his most faithful Death Eaters.

Bellatrix Lestrange.

oOo

Bellatrix Lestrange thought that her ten-plus years in Azkaban had prepared for basically everything.

Obviously, she was completely wrong, for she was totally shocked by the teenager snarling in her face. She had entered in the room to make sure that Potter's fever had gone down, and had somehow aroused a monster.

The sensible thing to do would've been to blubberingly apologise for killing Sirius, but ten-plus years in Azkaban hadn't done much for her common sense, either.

"I'm the traitor? I could say the same thing to you, Harry. What's the poor widdle defender of Light doing in the middle of the snakes' den?"

oOo

Bellatrix was an idiot, he decided. Only an idiot or a Gryffindor would insult someone holding a wand to their jugular.

Voldemort was debating whether to intervene, when Bellatrix shifted a bit to her right. He caught a glimpse of Potter's eyes, and stilled immediately. Someone with those eyes should not be interrupted, he thought firmly.

And if Bellatrix was stupid enough to get herself killed, then she wasn't as much of a loss as he had originally thought.

oOo

Bellatrix stared into those crazed eyes, half-maddened with anger and pain. Potter grabbed her collar and pulled her roughly forward. The wand in her neck was really becoming rather uncomfortable.

Potter growled, "You have the nerve to ask me what I'm doing here? You sent me here, you treacherous little bitch, and now you're going to pay with your life."

She started to retort, and then paused, confused. "What are you talking about, Potter? I may have killed your godfather and ruined your entire life, but I never brought you here."

He peered closely at her, and she stared boldly back. His gaze cleared slightly, and his grip on her robe loosened. "Cho?" he whispered.

She scoffed and pushed his wand away. "Stupid little boy. I'm not your girlfriend."

Potter fell back on the bed and mumbled, "If you were, I would've killed you."

Bellatrix's brow creased, and she put a hand on Potter's forehead. He was burning up. She grumbled, "I'm going to take it as a sign of your extremely high temperature that you dared compare me to some measly fifteen-year-old."

Potter gave a sickly smile. "She's seventeen."

She Conjured a cool cloth, placed it on his forehead, and then grudgingly sat down beside the bed. "You might as well tell me why you want to kill your girlfriend; I'm supposed to be your keeper for today."

oOo

Out in the hall, Voldemort created a chair and tried to remember why the name Cho seemed familiar.

oOo

I started dating Cho Chang in my Fifth Year. I had a crush on her in my Fourth Year, but she was dating Cedric Diggory and– Well, we kissed before Yule, I took her to Hogsmeade on Valentine's Day, and then we just kind of became a couple. I never asked her to be my girlfriend; people just…assumed.

She didn't come with me to the Department of Mysteries, which you probably already know. She didn't force me to let her go like the others did; anyway, I didn't trust her as much as the others. But she was there for me after Sirius died (I'm still angry at you for that, by the way), so we got closer. She came to see me a couple of times at the Dursleys.

We got on the Hogwarts Express at the start of this year, and at this point, I did trust Cho, probably more than Ron and Ginny combined. We were sitting by the lake on the second day of school, holding hands and talking about the Department of Mysteries. It was my first time really opening up about it, and she was empathetic. I said in frustration, "Maybe I should just not fight Voldemort anymore. Maybe that way, no one else I care about will die."

She looked at me, horrified, and said, "Harry! You can't really mean that!"

I stared out at the lake, and said, "Maybe I do."

I soon forgot about that conversation, but I learned later on that she remembered it, a little too well.

As September went on, though, she started acting strange. Actually, most of my friends were acting weirdly: Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Cho.

I would see them all huddled around a table in the library, intensely discussing something, but they would all scatter every time I came near them.

They started doing unusual things: Cho took my measurements like Ollivander did before my First Year, Ron was scuttling around at nighttime like a bloody errand boy, Hermione always had her nose in the same book, and Ginny kept trying to make me angry.

That was the most peculiar thing: Ginny kept reminding me of when Sirius died and whispering things like, "Don't you just wish that Voldemort was dead for what he did?"

And, I mean, I did, but it wasn't like I thought I could kill him, or something. I was just sixteen. Hell, I'm still sixteen. Anyway, she kept pressuring me to have all these murderous feelings and she kept trying to make me say that I would kill Voldemort.

Finally, I snapped, and screamed at her, "There's no way in hell that I'm killing Voldemort!"

I wasn't exactly sure if I meant it, but the thought of being neutral had been in the back of my mind since Third Year.

She looked at me with hard, hateful eyes, and said, "I see. Then the preparations will not go to waste."

I asked Cho what she was talking about, but Cho just laughed, and told me that Ginny was jealous of our relationship. It made sense to me; Ginny had liked me since her First Year.

The Halloween Ball was coming up, and I asked Cho to go with me. She said yes, but she made an odd request of me. "Harry, I want you to wear these robes. I made them especially for you. They match my robes."

I had always thought that girls knew more about fashion than I did, but the robes that Cho made for me were ugly. They were this scratchy velvety fabric that was dyed crimson, and there were all these strange Runes on them. I had never taken Runes, so I had no idea what they meant, but I did know one thing: Cho was going to look very bizarre if her outfit matched mine.

The night of the Ball came, and I walked up the stairway to the entrance to Ravenclaw Tower to get Cho. We had agreed to meet there at eight o'clock, and she didn't show up on time. I knew that girls always took longer to get dressed than they said they would, but by the time nine rolled around, I began to get worried.

I turned to the knocker, and it said, "What walks on four feet in the morning, two in the afternoon and three at night?"

I never got the chance to answer, for a "Petrificus Totalus" hit me in the back. I fell down the stairs and landed at the bottom with my eyes still open. Footsteps pounded down the steps, and a voice hissed, "You idiot! You could've ruined it all with this!"

The owner of the voice came into my sight. It was Cho. Her eyes widened as she realised that I was still conscious. She whipped her wand out, and screeched, "Stupefy!"

When I awoke, I was chained to the stone floor in a position such that my limbs and head formed a five-pointed star. I was no longer under a full Body Bind, and I twisted my head to the side to find Ginny drawing a circle around my body with a piece of chalk.

"Gin?" I asked nervously, "What are you doing?"

She smiled at me, and said gently, "What we never would have had to do if you were the true hero everyone thinks you are."

I heard Ron and Cho chanting something in the background, and I hurriedly turned my head to see a mass of purple and black magic rush towards me.

Then next thing I knew, I was chained to a wall in someone's dungeon. I was awake for enough time before Voldemort found me to reevaluate my priorities in life. I figured out two things: one, I no longer wanted to fight Voldemort, and two, I wanted to kill Cho Chang more than I had ever wanted anything.

oOo

Potter sighed. "I don't much need a Madam Pomfrey anymore; I think my fever's gone down. You can go now. Just don't tell Tom that I gave you story-time, too."

Bellatrix strolled thoughtfully out of the room, not even noticing her Lord camped outside the doorway. Potter was a bit different than she had expected him to be. More different, more…vicious. She grinned suddenly. Vicious was good.

oOo

Voldemort waited a couple minutes outside the room, and then came slowly in. Potter was laying flat on the bed, looking pale and wan.

He said weakly, "I was quite put out with you earlier, but now I find I don't have the energy to be angry."

Voldemort sat on the edge of the bed. "Probably a side effect of your body fighting off a fever."

Potter snorted. "Or perhaps I just can't stay mad at you. Bring me a glass of water, Tom, and I'll continue the story."

"Are you sure you're up to it?"

Potter gave him an icy glare. "Try and stop me."

oOo

Harry snuggled into the scratchy pillow. That was unusual; his pillows were normally covered in the finest silk. He would have to speak to the maid about that.

A voice spoke to him softly, "You didn't eat or drink, then? Do I repulse you that much that you won't have anything to do with me?"

Harry felt he had made the voice sad. Hurriedly, to reassure it, he mumbled, "Not…repulsive…'s to attractive…"

A gentle tugging sensation occurred in his mind. A hand smoothed over his hair, and the voice soothed him. "Rest now, my little Prince…"

Harry drifted into slumber with the faint sensation of cold lips on his forehead.

oOo

Harry wandered out of the room nervously. It was funny; he had woken up on a burlap sack, and yet, he couldn't remember getting a better night of sleep.

He saw the man bent over some sort of large kettle. His eyes traced over a strong back, muscular arms, and sinfully tight trousers.

The man's amused voice rang out. "Does this form meet your approval, my little Prince?"

Harry asked hesitantly, "How did you find out that I was the Prince?"

The man looked over his shoulder, and his crimson eyes sparkled pleasingly. "I used my Dark magic to pull it from your pretty little head," he teased.

Harry flushed, and cleared his throat. "About that…I must beg your forgiveness for grievously insulting you. You are my host, and you graciously took care of me in my time of need, so I shall never slight you again, even if you do dabble in sinful practices."

The man laughed. "Don't make promises you can't keep. I have no doubt that I will offend you sometime in the future, so feel free to insult me then. I will accept your apology, but it was not necessary. I had already forgiven you."

Harry lifted his head and smiled tentatively at him. "Thank you, sir."

The man said, "You may call me Marvolo, my little Prince."

Harry replied, "My name is Harry, y'know."

Marvolo smirked. "But 'my little Prince' is so much more entertaining."

Harry's stomach suddenly growled, and they both jumped. Marvolo grinned. "Perhaps now you will consent to share a meal with me?"

Embarrassed, he nodded, and Marvolo waved a stick over the large kettle. Its contents stopped moving, and Marvolo walked to the door. He raised an eyebrow. "Shall we?"

Harry grinned. "Let's."

oOo

Harry swallowed his last mouthful of bread and cheese, and washed it down with the strangely delicious drink Marvolo called "Butterbeer." The man in question was currently gazing at him with a ravenous look in his eye. Harry hoped that he hadn't eaten so much that Marvolo was still hungry.

"Well," Harry said awkwardly. "I am forever in debt to your hospitality, but I really must be going. My father is no doubt fraught with worry."

Marvolo's eyes darkened with sorrow and Harry looked at him in surprise. "Is something wrong?" Harry queried.

Marvolo sighed. "It was foolish of me to think you wouldn't ask. I will tell you, if you agree to one thing."

Harry nodded bemusedly.

Marvolo continued, "Promise me that you will remember that I have always told you the truth and will continue to do so."

Harry acquiesced, and Marvolo took a deep breath.

"Your father is responsible for you being here."

oOo

Harry gaped and shook his head. "Pardon me; I though you just said my father was responsible for this."

Marvolo looked sadly at him. "I did."

Harry said firmly. "I believe you are mistaken. Why would my father beat me up and leave me with some stranger? It serves no purpose, and leaves him short of a much needed heir."

Marvolo sighed heavily. "Your father asked a witch how to stop the dragon in this land. She told him he had to make a virgin sacrifice of royal blood to the dragon. And here you are."

Harry laughed derisively. "Oh, that's believable. So where's your dragon, then? All I see here is you and me–"

Marvolo wearily stood up from the table. "Come with me."

Harry numbly followed him to a large cavern. How was this possible? He couldn't even believe that his father would sacrifice him for the good of the country, so to believe that Marvolo was a dragon? That was asinine.

Marvolo strode to the middle of the grotto, and called to him, "Whatever you do, don't look at my eyes."

Marvolo's face was set in concentration and he began to grow.

Harry stumbled back until he hit the wall. His heart pounded, and he felt like he was about to pass out.

What was that?

oOo

Voldemort waited. And waited. Finally, he said, exasperated, "Well? What was it?"

Potter didn't answer. He looked over, and found Potter gently snoring against his pillow. Voldemort sighed, and moved to adjust Potter's linens.

A vice-like grip clamped onto his arm, and he glanced at Potter, who was still fast asleep. He tried to move away, but Potter's hand just held on tighter. He grumbled a bit, just for show, and inched under the coverlet with Potter. Only because he needed a bit of rest, too. He could've broken Potter's hold if he really wanted to.

oOo

Lucius walked in the room. "My Lord, I–"

He stopped short, glad that Narcissa was not there to see the Dark Lord and Potter cuddled together. He knew she would've been squealing about how 'utterly adorable they were together.'

He backed slowly out the doorway, and turned around to go back the way he had come. He grinned suddenly; he couldn't wait until Severus saw this memory.

TO BE CONTINUED.

A/N: It's still early June, yeah? ^-^ I apologize greatly for the wait, but I haven't got a computer at the moment. Damn viruses. My new one should be coming in tomorrow, but the next update probably won't be until July, because –cheers– I'm going to New York City in a week for the first time!

Until then, I should be posting:

-A Draco/Hermione one-shot sometime in the next week

-Possibly another chapter of The Courting of Angau (but that's extremely doubtful)

-Some chapters for If Wishes Were Bowtruckles, my Slytherin drabble collection. I would like to post more chapters, but I've only got three more prompts/pairings. Hint. Hint. :]