Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any other aspect of the Harry Potter universe.

May 27, 1993 Headmaster's Office, Hogwarts

A small boy with black hair walked into the office of the Headmaster of Hogwarts and threw a small black book onto the Headmaster's desk. It appeared at first glance to be quite an ordinary, except for a small hole that appeared to have been burned through the center of the book. Nothing about the book could explain the look of loathing and disgust in the eyes of the boy, but as he looked from the book to the Headmaster the disgust grew even more prominent.

"What is this Harry?" the Headmaster asked as he looked at the book over the top of his spectacles.

"I believe I requested that you not refer to me in such a familiar fashion Professor." Harry replied.

"My apologies Mr. Potter. Now could you please explain what this book is." the Headmaster corrected himself.

"Do not play your games with me Professor, you know full well it was. What is more I am quite certain you knew the moment it entered the school. You also know that it was not unique, you knew that before I was born, before the prophecy even." Harry said his eyes like frozen green fire.

"Very well Mr. Potter, I know what it was, but how do you know what it was?" the Headmaster asked looking Harry in the eyes for the first time. Seconds after making eye contact he closed his eyes in a grimace of pain.

"Professor Dumbledore I would recommend that you not attempt that again. The next time you try to enter my mind a migraine will be the least of your worries. To answer your question though, I know because I discovered the one you already knew the location of." Dumbledore looked as if he was about to interrupt, but Harry cut him off "It has been dealt with. He works for me now."

"You can't trust him Harry, he will only manipulate and corrupt you. I can help you." Dumbledore said pleadingly.

"That is where you are wrong Professor, I can trust him. I can trust him to be self-serving, I can trust him to deceive me, and I can trust him to always be ready to betray me. I can trust him because I understand him. I know what he wants, I know why he wants it, and I know what he is willing to do to get it. The same cannot be said of you. He needs me to live so that he may continue existing, he also needs me to let him continue existing. As long as he assists me in my agenda and doesn't become a nuisance I am willing to accept his eccentricities. Should he become more trouble than he's worth, I will destroy him." Harry explained calmly.

"And what exactly is your agenda Mr. Potter?" Dumbledore asked barely preventing his nervousness from coloring his voice.

"Revenge." Harry said simply a touch of childish joy entering his voice as he spoke the word. "I will destroy everyone responsible for the death of my parents."

"Voldemort is the only one responsible for James and Lily's deaths." Dumbledore said trying to sound comforting.

"That is not quite true Professor. Voldemort cast the curse that took their lives, but others were responsible. Those who created him, supported him, aimed him. Voldemort was just a symptom of the disease that plagues Magical Britain. Once I have treated the symptom I will cure the disease. I will destroy all those who perpetuate the system of corruption and bigotry that protects them." Harry said as plainly as if he were explaining how to tie your shoelaces.

"So here we come to the purpose of my visit to your office today. I am here to deliver a warning. We can never be allies you and I, but we do not need to be enemies. You get this offer only once, you have earned a chance, only one chance. You used to be a good man, before your idealism turned to fanaticism, before you decided that it was acceptable to sacrifice anyone and everyone on the altar of your own ego. Stay away from me, stay away from my wife, keep your head down and stay out of the game. Do this and you can die peacefully in your bed." Harry said as he rose from his chair before leaning across the desk so his face was only inches from the Headmaster's "Fail to heed my warning and I will personally send you to hell, screaming for mercy." Having delivered his threat Harry turned on his heel and exited the office.

Three Years Earlier, #4 Privet Drive

Harry Potter was in pain. It was the most excruciating pain he had ever experienced in all his nine years of life, and that was really something of an achievement. Harry Potter was no stranger to pain, pain was his constant companion, his first memory was of pain, and now, unless he was very much mistaken, his last memory would also be of pain. Harry Potter was dieing, and he knew it. He was broken, battered, and bleeding, lying on the floor of the cupboard he called home.

He had known from the moment he woke up that morning that it would be a bad day. He had awoken to find himself locked in, and when his Aunt Petunia had unlocked the cupboard door she had been furious that he hadn't started breakfast yet. His Uncle and Cousin were furious that they had to wait for their bacon and eggs, and they made sure he knew of their displeasure with promises of pain that would be coming later. At lunch his cousin Dudley had decided to repay Harry for his late breakfast. Dudley had gotten his friends together and they had chased Harry across the school yard. When they reached the cafeteria building he tried to jump the short fence that separated the big trashcans from the rest of the yard, and he suddenly found himself on the roof of the cafeteria. When the school janitor had brought him down from the roof he was taken to the principals office. The principal called Harry's Aunt and informed her that Harry had gotten in trouble for climbing onto the roof. When he got home after school his Aunt had sent him to his cupboard immediately to await the return of his Uncle. When his Uncle Vernon had come home from work he was in a foul mood, when Aunt Petunia had told him about Harry being on the roof of the school his mood grew even worse. Uncle Vernon wrenched open the door of Harry's cupboard and grabbed him by the hair dragging him into the hallway before picking up the fire poker and raining down blows on the defenseless boy. At first Harry didn't cry out, after all the pain wasn't all that bad and if he cried out in pain the beating would only grow worse. By the time that the pain became unbearable Harry found that it didn't matter if he wanted to scream in pain, he couldn't draw in enough breath to whimper, let alone scream. After ten minutes of beating the small boy Vernon Dursley lifted him up and threw him into the cupboard under the stairs and slammed the door before locking it, and then he walked out to the garage, grabbed a plank of wood, a hammer, and some nails and proceed to nail the cupboard door shut.

Harry knew he was dieing, and in some ways he welcomed death. In fact if dieing wasn't so painful he would probably be shouting for joy at the thought of finally escaping from life, but dieing did hurt. It hurt worse than living, and while he knew that the pain would soon end that thought didn't help him deal with the pain. Living hurt, but it had never hurt this badly, and that seemed to be truly unfair if death was the end of life and life was pain, shouldn't death be the end of pain?

'No.' said a silky voice in his mind 'Life is only pain because you are weak, only the weak welcome death. And while you may be weak I am not, and I will not let you drag me down with you into the abyss.'

Suddenly the pain lessened and the absence of pain was the most exquisite feeling Harry had ever felt. With the pain now gone Harry's exhaustion caught up to him and he slipped into sleep. In his sleep he dreamed of magic, of witches and wizards, of a hidden world, of power, but he knew these were not dreams, they were memories. They were not his memories, they belonged to the Voice. The Voice had once been powerful, but somehow it had lost its power. Harry wanted to know how the Voice had fallen so far but he could not focus enough to look and the Voice did not want to show him. When he finally awoke he knew that his life had been changed forever. He knew why strange things happened around him, he was a wizard, he could bend the forces of the universe to his will. Power was within his reach, all he had to do was take it.

'You have awakened child. Hurry up, we have much to do.' the Voice said. 'No.' Harry thought. 'What do you mean "no" you owe me your life, you will do as I say.' the Voice commanded some of the smoothness disappearing. 'You did no such thing, you saved your own life. I owe you nothing.' Harry thought growing irritated with the Voice. 'Insolent child! You dare to defy the will of Lord Voldemort! Very well I shall crush you and take this body as my own!' the Voice shrieked dripping with pure malice. Harry felt as if he was being stabbed in the head and tried to push the pain aside. To his surprise it worked, the pain decreased. With the pain gone he became aware of the presence of the Voice in his mind and he decided to show it who was in charge in his head 'No You Will Not! Your power has left you and now you are trespassing in MY mind. I am the master here and you will do as I command.' and with that pronouncement he launched his own assault against the Voice. The Voice was unable to defend itself, to busy attacking Harry to notice the attack coming. Suddenly Harry was bombarded by memories, just like last night, only this time he was in charge of the show. He delved deep into the Voices memories, trying to understand where the Voice had come from. Slowly he came to understand, he saw the life of Tom Marvolo Riddle. He saw the orphan boy had become the monster, he saw how he came to power, he saw how he created the abominations known as horcruxes, and he saw how his parents were murdered.

'So Tom you are a horcrux, that is why you are here. Well I shall have to find a way to be rid of you so that I may see to the final demise of Voldemort.''No' said Tom 'I am no longer a horcrux, the magic that allowed me to act as an anchor was used up when I healed you. Now I am nothing but a piece of soul. You have no need to destroy me.' 'Perhaps, but I also cannot trust you. No, I will destroy you eventually, but that is not a priority. As long as you are of use, and behave yourself, I will allow you to continue existing.' Harry thought while deciding on his course of action. 'I will need a wand and once I have one I will teach my relatives a lesson.''Very well I shall help you. I know a place where you can get a wand. They are expensive, but they understand discretion. They will accept gold and jewels in trade, I assume your Aunt has jewelry, take it and we will be on our way.' Tom told Harry.'That is all well and good, but how am I to get out of this cupboard?''The same way you got onto the roof yesterday. Remember the feeling and focus on it and a destination, your magic will take care of the rest.'

Tom explained. Harry thought about what it had felt like when he had found himself on the roof. Focusing on the strange squeezing sensation he had felt he closed his eyes and when he opened them he found himself in the upstairs bathroom. Carefully he opened the door to his Aunt and Uncle's room. Finding it empty he went over to his Aunt's jewelry box and took everything that looked promising from it. All told he took five necklaces, two pairs of diamond earrings, and a handful of rings. He then returned to his cupboard where he changed into different clothes and put on a hooded sweatshirt before focusing on being outside. Harry took two buses to the nearest tube station and took the underground to a place that Tom had called 'The Leaky Cauldron'. Upon arriving at the pub he sat down at a table in the corner and waited for someone to go through the back door. Tom had explained that the entrance to Diagon Alley, a magical shopping district, was through there, but without a wand he would be unable to open it.

Harry didn't need to wait long, twenty minutes after he had arrived at the pub a older woman entered and went straight to the back door. Harry quickly followed her and once she had opened the gateway to Diagon Alley he went through and turned down a side street onto Knockturn Alley. He quickly made his way down the seedy looking street to an unmarked doorway. He knocked three times on the door and a gruff voice responded "Who goes there?"

"I am in need of your services." Harry responded following Tom's instructions.

"You have coin?"

"I have goods in trade."

"Show me." The voice commanded and a tray slid out of the door. Harry placed one of the rings on the tray and it slid back into the door. After a few seconds the door swung inward "Enter." Harry walked through the now open door and it immediately closed behind him. "This will not buy you much." The voice was coming from down a corridor and through a door that stood slightly ajar.

"I have more." Harry said as he walked down the corridor.

"Good" Harry saw now that the voice belonged to an old man. The man was hunched over a work table his hands working nimbly on a block of wood. "Show me all of it and I will see what I can do for you." Harry emptied all of the jewelry onto the table "This is much better. What kind of wand were you hoping for?"

"The best that this will buy." Harry told him.

"Very well. I will need a drop of your blood and I shall begin working on a wand for you." The old man said as he rummaged through a drawer. When he turned back to harry he had what looked like a glass needle in his hand. "Hold out your hand." when Harry complied the old man jabbed his forefinger with the needle and the needle turned from clear to blood red. "Wait here." he said before heading through another door.

'Who is this guy?' 'He's a wand maker, and that is all anyone knows about him. In exchange for his privacy he doesn't ask questions beyond "can you pay".'

Twenty minutes later the old man returned with a thin black box "Ash and dragon heart-string ten-and-one-half inches. As this is a freshly made wand I am required by law to inform you that it is illegal to use this wand without first presenting it for registration at the Ministry o Magic. Have a good day." he handed Harry the box and gestured toward the exit.

When Harry left the store he began walking back down Knockturn Alley, all the way down the street he had a strange feeling that he was being followed. He turned around he saw a dark gray puppy staring at him intently. He walked toward the puppy and when he knelt down to pick it up it jumped into his arms without hesitation.

'Fascinating, a shadow hound.' 'What is a shadow hound?' 'A shadow hound is the off-spring of a hell hound and a mortal canine. And it appears this one has taken a liking to you. Shadow hounds are stronger and faster than mortal dogs, they are unfailingly loyal to their chosen masters, and are able to see souls.' 'I like him.' "Hey there boy, do you want to come home with me?" Harry asked looking to all the world like just another boy with a new puppy. The puppy barked happily and wagged his tail. "Alright then, you will need a name. I know, I will call you Scruffy." Scruffy licked Harry's face and jumped out of his arms and started bouncing around his feet. Harry continued walking back to the Leaky Cauldron and back out into London.

When Harry returned home he was glad to see that his Uncle had already returned from work. Pulling out his new wand he walked up to the door and with a muttered blasting hex the door was blown off its hinges. Harry walked through the door muttered "reparo" and watched as the door reattached itself to the frame. "I'm Home." Harry called his voice full of malicious amusement. Vernon came blustering out of the living room and looked ready to launch into a tirade before Harry preempted him with a silencing charm "Now now Uncle, it is my turn to speak. For the last eight years you have ridiculed, starved, and beaten me, that ends now. You have spent eight years poking a caged tiger, and now that tiger has broken free. Did you really think I would never learn of the power at my disposal, or did you think I would allow your transgressions go unpunished. It doesn't matter anymore I am no longer afraid of you, and I shall now teach you the error of your ways." The sounds of Vernon, Dudley, and Petunia's screams filled the house for the rest of the evening, but because of the privacy charms that Harry had placed before he went to work the world outside was unaware of the sufferings of the Dursleys.

A/N: This story is a response to ChAOtiC ReApEr's Joined Souls Challenge. The challenge is as follows:

Joined Souls Challenge

I have always wonders what would have happened if both Harry's and Voldemort's soul joined together. So that is why I have set up this challenge. Okay so there is two ways to write this story, one is having Harry becoming evil and the other having Harry staying good.

Requirements for both story's

It should start with Vernon almost killing a young Harry which results in both his and Voldemort's souls joining to save his life.

Harry must gain all of Voldemort's knowledge of the dark arts and of the wizarding world

You can have him being super powerful or you can just have him with all the knowledge and intelligence

Must be a Harry\Hermione ship it also can be Harry\Many but Hermione must be the main wife

Story must start before he goes to Hogwarts (age 6-10)

Dumbledore must be a manipulator so he must be bashed

Snape can be good or bad

Has to have major Weasley bashing

It can be a bond fic if you want

Also if you get Sirius out of prison early you should have them stay near Hermione's house

Genres should be romance and whatever you choose

Rating can be whatever you want

Requirements for evil Harry

Harry must use the Dursley's as test subjects for his new dark powers

With his knowledge of all the Death Eaters, he can use it to force them to join him (although this should only happen when he is older)

His animagus should be a Dementor, a Nudu and whatever else you want

He should not be in Gryffindor

Requirements for good Harry

His animagus should be basilisk and whatever else you want

Do not make him remorseful like Dumbledore; he should want to take down the Death Eaters

He should not go to Gryffindor

I will be following the challenge with only minor exception, I don't like doing magical or multiple animagus forms since there is no basis for those in canon. I will be working on this story and my other two stories at the same time so I don't know how often any of the stories will be updated. The main reason I am starting this story now is because I thought up the opening scene and I wanted to get it written before I lost it. Hope you all enjoy and leave a review.