DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT CLAIM OWNERSHIP OVER THE ORIGINAL COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL IN THIS STORY. THIS IS A NON-PROFIT FANDUB CREATED BY FANS, FOR FANS. NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT INTENDED, FAIR USE ONLY.

BLURB: When Harry and Dumbledore went to acquire the Horcrux, Harry never imagined that he would end up uncovering a dark family secret.

WARNINGS: AU. This story contains some character bashing, substance abuse, occasional strong language, strong violence (torture), and sensitive topic/issue/theme.

CHAPTER ONE: CAPTURED

Knowing that water couldn't magically be conjured into the goblet, Harry ran to the edge of the little island and, without hesitation, plunged the goblet into the cold, dark, still water. Once the goblet was full, he slowly withdrew it from the water, making sure not to waste any of the water. However, having disturbed the water, he had announced his presence to the creatures that had been peacefully floating beneath the water.

As Harry pulled away, a cold, wet hand reached out and grabbed his wrist. As a natural reflex, Harry gave a startled yelp and dropped the goblet. He then tried to pull away from the creature, but all he managed to do was allow himself to be pulled into the water.

With a jolt, he recognised what the creatures were; Inferi, corpses that had been bewitched to do Voldemort's bidding.

The moment he hit the water, more cold and slimy hands grabbed certain parts of his body, dragging him down to the dark depths. Harry desperately attempted to discharge himself from the unyielding grips with his bare hands. He failed miserably.

Knowing that he wasn't going to be able to hold his breath any longer, Harry frantically tried to reach for his wand, but the hands held him back.

Then, moments before losing the last of his breath, fire swept across the watery surface, while several fireballs charged uncomfortably close to Harry, scaring off the creatures. The moment they were gone, Harry madly swam to the surface. There he took long and grateful breaths, after splattering and gasping.

He then swarm to the island and pulled himself up onto the rough rocky surface. There he tried to get his breath. He wasn't too concerned about being dragged back underwater. He knew that he would be safe as long as Dumbledore kept the fire burning.

He was surprised, though, when the fire disappeared. He cautiously moved away from the water's edge, but no Inferi resurfaced.

'Thank you, Professor,' Harry said as he got to his feet. 'That was worse than when those Grindylows in the Black Lake had me.'

Harry absently ran his hand through his wet and mattered hair, before turning his gaze on Dumbledore. He frowned. Dumbledore looked as weak as ever. He was lying where Harry had left him, with his eyes closed.

Harry immediately tensed up. It was clear to him that Dumbledore hadn't saved him, but if he didn't save Harry, than who did.

Harry slowly turned and saw him. Voldemort was standing at the sink, looking down at the locket in his hands. He was reading a note that was inside the locket.

Harry immediately drew his wand and aimed it at his enemy. His eyes narrowed determinedly. Only his morals stopped him from attacking his seemingly distracted enemy. Harry watched as Voldemort's facial expressions became darker and flushed with fury. He gasped and rubbed his aching scar. He cursed his scar. He couldn't believe that he had once liked it.

'It would appear that your efforts here tonight were in vain, Potter,' Voldemort said, trying to keep his voice steady. 'Someone has already beaten you to the Horcrux.'

Voldemort turned his cold red eyes to Harry's determined face. He then smiled a cold, slightly amused smile at Harry's determination.

'I suggest that you hand over your wand and come with me,' he told Harry coldly. 'There is no escape and there is no one here for you to hide behind.'

'Never!' Harry declared defiantly. 'I'd rather die than go with you willingly!'

'That can be arranged,' Voldemort told him in his soft but deadly tone. He slowly withdrew his wand. 'Fortunately for you, I grudgingly need your help, which means I need you alive.'

'I'll never help you! So you might as well kill me and find someone else.'

'Believe me, Harry, I would, but only you can help me get what I want. And you will help me, whether you like it or not.'

Harry didn't lower his wand, which made Voldemort's smile grow even bigger. He had been hoping that the boy would give him a fight.

At first the two enemies stood there staring at each other, but then Harry attacked.

'Expelliarmus!' Harry shouted.

Voldemort blocked the spell easily, looking bored. He wished the boy would hurry up and learn not to use the same spell constantly. He was too predictable.

Resisting the urge to sigh, Voldemort send a more powerful spell at the boy. Harry only just managed to dodge the spell. He fell painfully onto one of the sharp rocks, close to the water's edge. Voldemort was upon him at once.

'Stupefy!' Harry shouted as he stumbled to his feet.

Voldemort simply redirected the spell back at the boy, sending him to the ground.

'Crucio!'

Just as it was two years ago, Harry twisted on the ground, screaming as the familiar agonising pain coursed through his body; the familiar feeling of his bones being on fire.

And then the pain stopped. Harry laid there, panting on the ground, before glaring up at Voldemort, who was now standing over him.

'I said that I wanted you alive, but I said nothing about not hurting you,' Voldemort said coldly.

Harry glared at him.

'Crucio!'

Once more Harry withered on the ground screaming. Voldemort held the spell for roughly a minute, before ending it. To Harry, though, it had felt more like an hour.

As the boy panted, Voldemort gracefully picked up Harry's wand, before walking over to Dumbledore, who was still unconscious.

'How can a man with so much power be reduced to something so pathetic?' he muttered to himself as Harry got to his feet, clutching his side. He was sure that he would bruise.

Disgusted, Voldemort took Dumbledore's wand and pocketed it next to Harry's. He then revived the unconscious wizard. He waited impatiently as Dumbledore's eyes slowly opened and took in the situation.

'Tom!' he gasped. He then looked wildly around. 'Where's Harry?'

'I'm here,' Harry said as he staggered over to his headmaster. He knelt down next to him, holding his side.

'Are you alright, my boy?' Dumbledore asked Harry, temporarily ignoring Voldemort. His blue eyes were full of concern as he looked at Harry closely.

'I'm fine,' Harry lied. He didn't know why he bothered lying for he knew that both Voldemort and Dumbledore could see right through his lies.

Harry then looked directly up at Voldemort, a furious glare plastered to his face.

'What do you plan to do, Tom?' Dumbledore questioned Voldemort calmly, but he wasn't calm on the inside. Inside he was beyond worried and was furiously trying to think of a plan, but the situation was rather bleak.

'I thought it be obvious, Dumbledore,' Voldemort hissed. 'Did you honestly believe that I wouldn't notice you hunting my Horcruxes? Did you think that I would just turn a blind eye? If so you have become seriously senile in your old age.'

'Then why are we still alive?' Harry asked suspiciously. 'Why not kill us now?'

'Because I want to know how many you have destroyed and who else knows about them,' Voldemort replied, his red eyes turning to Harry's face. 'And while I've got you, I might as well find out some other information.'

'You should just kill us here then,' Harry informed the older wizard, ''cause we'll never tell you anything.'

'Oh, I don't expect you to say anything, Harry,' Voldemort said with a twisted smile. 'It's your beloved headmaster that will be doing all the talking. Now get in the boat.'

'No,' Harry said firmly.

Before Voldemort could retort, Dumbledore spoke.

'Just do as he says, Harry,' he said softly.

Harry looked sharply at Dumbledore. He couldn't believe what he had just heard.

'But, Professor...'

'Don't argue, Harry,' Dumbledore said firmly. 'Arguing with him will achieve nothing, except cause you a lot of unnecessary pain and grief.'

'But...'

'Harry.'

Harry looked deep into Dumbledore's eyes, before looking at Voldemort, whose expression was unreadable.

'Fine,' he muttered reluctantly. This went against everything he believed, but Dumbledore thought this was for the best, and he trusted Dumbledore's judgement.

Sighing, he helped Dumbledore to his feet and into the small boat that had taken them to the island. During this time he kept throwing suspicious looks at Voldemort, who was calmly standing behind him watching. Twice he nearly ended up falling back into the water.

Once Dumbledore was safely in the boat, Harry then climbed in, followed by Voldemort. Once they were all safely and uncomfortably inside the boat, Voldemort tapped it with his wand. This resulted in them slowly, yet steadily, moving back to the shore. It was an uncomfortable journey, to say the least. It was worse than when they travelled to the island. The entire time Harry's scar kept prickling from the closeness to Voldemort. Then there was the limited amount of space. Harry was almost sitting in Voldemort's lap!

When they arrived at the other end, Harry shot Voldemort a quick look, before helping Dumbledore out of the boat. Once out of the boat, they looked at Voldemort, who merely motioned for them to keep moving with his wand.

In silence they made their way to the exit. When they got there, Harry noticed that the barrier had resealed itself. Dumbledore, with no prompting from Voldemort, withdrew the dagger he had used to cut his hand to enter.

Upon withdrawing said dagger, Voldemort suddenly grabbed Harry's shoulder and pulled him almost against him. Harry immediately attempted to pull away, but he stopped when the tip of Voldemort's wand was pushed into the side of his neck. Instead, he scrunched up his eyes and tried to ignore the pain from his scar.

'What are you doing?' Dumbledore asked sharply, pausing in the act of cutting himself.

'I cannot risk having you two Apparating way once we are out of the cave, now can I?' Voldemort replied, digging the wand a little deeper into Harry's neck. 'I know that you won't Apparate away without Potter. Now open the barrier!'

After taking in the wand pressing into the side of Harry's neck, Dumbledore did as Voldemort asked. One wrong move could end severely for Harry.

With the barrier removed once more, the trio walked to the cave exit. During this time, the only sounds that could be heard were their footsteps on the damp ground, the sound of the wind howling through the cave, and the waves hitting the cave walls and banks.

When they arrived at the cave exit, Dumbledore turned to face Voldemort.

'Let the boy go, Tom,' he tried to negotiate. 'I will tell you whatever you want to know, just let the boy go. He doesn't know anything.'

'Yet he knows about my Horcruxes,' Voldemort said pointedly, 'and maybe more. The only way I'll be letting this boy go is when he's dead!'

'He's just a boy, Tom.'

'A boy who has managed to foil a lot of my plans and managed to get some of my best Death Eaters imprisoned in Azkaban. Now take Potter's arm so I can Apparate us away!'

Harry let out a reluctant gasp of pain as his scar gave a nasty throb as he felt Voldemort's temper rise. Both men looked at him. Dumbledore quickly took hold of Harry's arm. He wanted to try and minimise some of the pain Voldemort would no doubt inflict on the boy.

The moment Voldemort saw that Dumbledore had a secure grip on Harry's arm, he Apparated them away to one of his hideouts. Once they were there, Voldemort roughly pushed Harry away from him. This resulted in him falling to the floor, dragging Dumbledore down with him as he had automatically grabbed onto him to prevent himself from falling. There was a burst of laugh at this mishap.

Feeling his temper rise, Harry took in his surroundings. He was in a large room full of Death Eaters, all of which were wearing their masks and traditional black robes. All of them were either laughing or eagerly trying to get a better look at Dumbledore and Harry.

Having established that his only ally was Dumbledore, Harry took in the room. It was large, but rather plain. In fact, it reminded him of the interior of the Shrieking Shack. There were several stained windows on the walls, but they all appeared to be barred. There was no chance of escape.

Harry then realised that Dumbledore was trying to get to his feet. He hurriedly helped him, before turning to glare at Voldemort, who had been watching them.

'Crabbe! Take Dumbledore down to the cellar and lock him up!' Voldemort eventually ordered as the laughter subsided. 'Make sure he can't escape.'

'Yes, my Lord,' Crabbe replied with a bow, before drawing his wand and painfully shoving it into Dumbledore's back, telling him to walk.

Harry, Voldemort and the Death Eaters all watched as Dumbledore was led out of the room. Once he was gone, Harry turned his attention to Voldemort, while everyone else looked at him. He would be a fool if he said that he wasn't scared. He was. He had no idea what was going to happen, but he could assume that he would not like it.

'What do you plan to do with Potter, my Lord?' Nagini hissed as she slithered towards Voldemort. 'Can I eat him?'

Harry couldn't help by tense up at that. He couldn't think of a worse way to go... being crushed and eaten by a snake... delightful.

Unfortunately, Voldemort saw Harry's reaction and found it rather amusing. However, he did not comment on it.

'No, Nagini, I need him alive,' replied Voldemort, obviously speaking in Parseltongue, 'but when I no longer need him, you may have him.'

Harry shuddered instinctively. At least he knew he now had that to look forward to.

'Goyle!' Voldemort barked suddenly. 'Take Potter to that empty bedroom upstairs and tie him up. I want him secure! If he escapes, you shall be punished severely. Do you understand?'

'Yes, my Lord!' Just like Crabbe, Goyle bowed to Voldemort when he said this, before going over to Harry, wand drawn.

'Get moving,' he ordered.

Harry didn't move right away. Instead, he merely glared at Goyle, wondering if he should go without a fight like Dumbledore had.

'I said move!' Goyle said angrily.

'You forgot the magic word,' Harry replied irritably, but he nevertheless obeyed Goyle's order.

Dumbledore had said to do as they said, so he would continue to do so until his headmaster said otherwise. Harry assumed that Dumbledore has a greater grasp on the situation than he did. He assumed that Dumbledore had a plan and he didn't want to mess it up.

Three floors up; Harry was finally led into a plain, dusty bedroom. It was practically empty, apart from a broken chest of draws and a half broken bed frame.

Inside the room, Goyle dragged Harry over to the bed frame and forced him to sit on the ground, against one of the legs. He then conjured some rope, which he used to tie Harry up. He grabbed Harry's hands and tied them behind his back with the bed-leg in between.

Once he was happy that Harry couldn't free his hands, he then took the remaining rope and bounded Harry's feet together.

'Ouch!' Harry couldn't help by gasp. They the rope was tied too tightly.

Now bounded with no chance of loosening the ropes or getting free, Goyle picked up a nearby piece of mouldy fabric and tried to gag Harry. He turned his face away and shut his mouth tightly to avoid the foul material being put into his mouth.

Goyle tried several times to get it into Harry's mouth, but Harry refused to open.

'Open your mouth so I can put this in!' he growled.

'There is no way I'm letting you put that filthy thing in my mouth,' Harry declared, watching the gag closely. He was prepared to shut his mouth at a moment's notice. 'Why do I even need it?'

'Can't have you calling out for help now, can we?'

Harry stared at Goyle. He now knew where Gregory Goyle got his brains from.

'Who would I be calling out to?' Harry questioned. 'And why would I be yelling out? I don't even know where I am!'

Goyle thought over what Harry had said. He must have decided that it made sense, for he threw away the gag and left the room without another word. Harry heard him lock the door behind him. Now all he could do was wait and see what was to befall him.

Azaelia Silmarwen Facebook page: link on profile
Written: 8 September 2013
Updated: N/A
Beta: BETA WANTED