Author's Note: So wow, hi! It has been two years has it not? Hopefully you did not forget about this story completely! I am back with a chapter and I hope you guys really like it! I noticed how bad my writing was two years ago and I hope that is has really improved since! I will be addressing somethings at the end of this chapter! Please Enjoy!

Thoughts

/ Parseltongue /

"Speaking"

The last few years had been torture; a complete and utter suffering that he had never experienced before in his life. Even living at the orphanage was not as bad as living without his mate. Severus' wife had been very clear that day she stormed out of his castle. She had not returned since with Hadrian and refuses any contact between her son and the Dark Lord. Tom understood her completely. He was a killer, he tortured people for the fun of it and he was supposed to be the end game for her son? If it had been his own son, he would have killed the person trying to claim his son.

Tom's only saving grace was that Severus still kept him updated on his mate's progress. Apparently young Hadrian was very shy, he did not like to play with the other children his age and would much rather be alone. Lily was concerned about her son, but not to the point where she would allow him to once again be seen by the Dark Lord.

"My Lord?" The man in question was snapped out of his thoughts when one of his death eaters, McNair if he remembered correctly, called for his attention. The snake like features of Voldemort glared down at the man. It was pathetic how they trembled in his presence. These were pureblood men who were supposed to lead the world when he took it over and yet they were not brave enough to keep their cool in front of a half-blood. Maybe it had something to do with his Voldemort persona, but Tom could not let people know that he had two appearances. Only his most loyal were allowed to see that about him.

"What is it, McNair?" He asked the imbecile, his silk like voice deep and highly annoyed. He would rather not be bothered when he was thinking about the very limited details that Severus had given him about his mate.

"Madam Snape is here to see you. She said something about training?" McNair answered, his voice wavering slightly. He did not want to be at the end of his master's anger. That had Tom sitting upright in his throne, the red eyes now staring at his follower intently. Would Lily really allow him to train her son? After nine years of not see that fiery hair or those captivating green eyes?

"Then why are you still here, running your pitiful mouth? Send her to my office," he order, standing up as the death eater hurried out of the room. He really needed to teach them how to discipline themselves. Nonetheless, that did not really matter now. He had a meeting with a woman that could potentially allow him to see his mate. He was not going to blow it.

Taking one of the many shortcuts that the Riddle Manor had to offer, Tom made it to his office in a record amount of time. He quickly changed his appearance back into a young man, not wishing to scare Lily and, on the slight chance that she would bring him with her, Harry. The Dark Lord sat behind his desk and tried to keep his wits about him. He could not get excited over a nine year old. Even though he wanted to race down the halls until he saw Lady Snape and beg her to see his mate.

He was a Dark Lord, but he was still a man and a creature at that. His snake longed for its mate. Harry would be a major weakness for him in the coming years. He did not dwell on that right now. He had to remain focused to show Lily that he was ready to teach Harry how to protect himself against people who wanted to hurt him. He would prove this to her.

~ Break ~

One would think that not having any doings with a Dark Lord would be the best course of action. That course probably did not apply when your son was said Dark Lord's mate. Staying out of the trouble and remaining neutral had been all she really wanted. She, however, always managed to find trouble where she thought it could never be found.

Lily had tried for almost a decade to protect her son from his fate. She did everything in her power to ensure that he had a loving home and would grow up normally without the influence of the Dark Lord hanging over him. Ever since that encounter with the Dark Lord, her baby had not been the same. She knew little to nothing about mates or the type of creature the Dark Lord was, but she had seen the effects. Not immediately, like the refusal to be without his snake plushie or how he preferred to speak in parseltongue over English. She had just taken it as Harry being a kid that liked snakes a lot. She would not know until much later how that encounter changed her son.

It had not been until a birthday party when Harry was five for her to full realize the change in her child. She and Severus had spent all day planning the party and inviting children that they hoped he would befriend, but all their efforts were shot down. Harry would rather hang around his father than any of the other boys. The only two he seemed to really connect with had been Draco Malfoy and Blaise Zabini and even then Harry still seemed disconnected.

The real change that she had noticed occurred when Harry was seven. He had been invited to a birthday party, one of Ron Weasley, at the Burrow. Lily had been excited to go, Molly was one of her old friends and she had no problem with Arthur. She had really hoped that Harry would like at least one of her many children. Harry seemed opened to the idea. Until he found out that Severus was not able to go. The man had to go on a mission for Dumbledore at the time of the party and promised Harry that he would be home as soon as he could.

The second Harry learned out that he could not go, it had been like a wall of ice surrounded her child. He would not talk to anyone, not even her. If he wanted something, he would tug her hand and point at it. Harry refused to play with the other kids and had gotten even more upset when he learned that Draco and Blaise had not been invited. Apparently Ron did not want a "slimy snake" at his party. That alone had been enough for Harry to shove the youngest male Weasley and had Lily apologizing profusely for her son.

Only Severus had been able to calm the boy down. He punished him for his behavior. Severus was not one that allowed his son to act like a beast. Especially not in the company of people that could get his son taken away from him. Then he had taken Harry into his room for story time. Lily had never intruded on their time together. She knew that Harry rarely got time with his father because of his trips with the Dark Lord and Dumbledore, plus his job at Hogwarts. But just this once she was curious about what they were talking about. She was in for a great shock when she found out.

Stories about the Dark Lord flowed from Severus' mouth with particular ease. Harry was staring at his father in awe, hanging on to every last word that his father spoke. Realization hit Lily like the Knight Bus. No wonder her son liked Severus being around so much. He told stories of the man he had met only once. The very man that had decided the fate of Harry before he was even able to talk was the reason her son was the way he was.

At first Lily did not want to believe it. Harry could not possibly know anything about the man that he only met once. He was just a baby; there was no way he could remember. That is when she had started to do research. She found little to nothing on snakes and mating, but she had found something rather important about Echidna. She had a mate, his name being Typhon. They had been mated for life until each of their deaths. Echidna and Typhon did not have any children besides the ones that they had with each other and had been loyal until the very end.

Lily had not expected something like that out of a snake, but Echidna seemed to be very loyal. Tom seemed to be very loyal as well. Lily let this information roll around his her head for a couple more years before deciding what she should do. She would take Harry to see the Dark Lord and they would find out if it had really been the man that had affected her child so. She would wait until Severus was away on a mission. Lily needed to do this by herself. She could not have her husband talking over her head as if she was a child.

This brings them to present day. Lily never thought she would set foot into Riddle Manor ever again, especially not with Harry. Here they were though, standing outside of the Dark Lord's office, Lily trying to prepare herself mentally for seeing the man again. Harry seemed to sense who was behind the door and had been bouncing nonstop next to her as she glared at the dark mahogany door.

"What are we waiting for?" Harry asked quietly, tugging her hand. Lily had been a little taken aback. She had not expected Harry to be so comfortable in this place. He seemed to know that what he wanted was in that room and he wanted it now.

"Nothing, Harry. Absolutely nothing," Lily said under her breath, gathering her Gryffindor courage and knocking on the door. She held Harry's hand a bit tighter as she waited for permission to enter. A deep voice inside granted them permission. Lily let out a deep breath and slowly pushed open the door.

I hope you guys liked this chapter! I am not going to promise anything because as you see it took me forever to write this one, but I do hope to write more if you guys are interested! This is not beta'd because I did not feel like finding a beta! I just wanted to post the chapter and update the story so sorry for any mistakes!

I am going to respond to some comments now! Feel free to read, but you do not have to! Thank you for reading and I hope you have a wonderful holiday season!

To Guest:

Harry will only have one mate since you can see by my lack of updating that I suck at complicated ideas! If he would have a second mate than it would definitely be a male! Probably Lucius Malfoy if I am honest with you!

To Ferm:

I do not appreciate the flame… And until someone from the site contacts me, I will keep the poll chapter. I like writing things people want to read and more importantly, what I want to write. I did decide to strike the potion part and Lily does not support Voldemort. If you read chapter three, she is very much against him. She just wants what is best for Harry, and that might be Tom after this chapter. The rest is what I like in the story and I will not get rid of it. Thank you for your comment and remember; If you do not like it, do not read it.

To Thorilian:

I have read stories that have been Harry x Regulus, but I do not know much about him. Plus it is an obscure pairing and not many people will see it! Thank you for your comment! Maybe I will write a one shot for you!

To DRACOXLUNAMYOCFOREVER:

I am glad you like it! I always love doing stories from the dark sides' point of view. J.K. would most definitely make billions if she wrote about the death eaters! Thank you for your comment!