Prologue

"Harry…Harry…Harry…you never told me you slept under a cupboard." The voice crooned. "That uncle of yours is not a very nice man is he? Oh…I've had my share of bad experiences but from what I see here…well, I think I appreciate my orphanage more."

Silence followed.

Silence other than the slow dripping of a liquid onto the cold, damp floor below him.

He didn't think he could speak even if he wanted to.

"You see, this changes a few things. I wanted 14 years of payment, 14 years for what you did to me. But you seem to have paid at least half...well, more than half. Your uncle was rather primitive in his methods but it does get the job done."

He heard a chuckle before there was a sudden movement and a hand had roughly gripped his hair, pulling it up so that his face was leveled.

"You know I don't like it when you sleep." He opened his eyes, the pale, snakelike face mere inches from his. "Don't disappoint me, not when your lord is feeling merciful! Here I was thinking that I'd keep you alive for just seven years."

A small, traitorous flare of hope ignited in his chest.

"Lord Voldemort is merciful Harry...granted our time together hasn't been substantial but…I was hoping you'd have learnt by now…" The hand let go and his head dropped immediately, hanging low.

He couldn't feel anything. His arms…he'd stopped feeling the coolness of the chains hours ago. Hours or…how long had it been?

"I am merciful…" The voice now carried a mocking tone of regret. "But…I can't have you drifting off again Harry…I just can't."

Dread. If he had any energy he'd have struggled but he had none.

The sound of a door creaking open followed by heavy footsteps along with the unmistakable sound of a blade being dragged along the floor.

"You remember MacNair? I will leave you two to get re-acquainted. I promise, he will be much more…meticulous in his ministrations than your uncle ever was."

A low whimper escaped his throat which was met with laughter.

"Only seven years Harry. Only seven. And MacNair? He dies, you will suffer a fate much worse."

"Of course milord." Even the threat didn't seem to be effective in dampening the eagerness in the man's voice.

Nothing more was said.

Footsteps followed by the slow creak of a door shutting.

And then it all began again.

AN: So this is my first attempt to get back into writing after the hiatus + cancellation of the other story. Think of this as a...test footage of sorts (if we're using movie terms). I have an idea for what kind of story I want to tell here but it's all in planning.

This is the 'reboot' of 'His Angel' though...if there are any of my old readers here (welcome back) you'll notice that this is taking a completely different route so I guess it's not a true reboot of that story. More of a spiritual thing...kind of like Bloodborne to Dark Souls. I'll be using some of the characters I've used previously though they'll be written up from a blank slate.

This story will be a bit more darker than anything I've written before though (hence M)...I'll be heading into themes I've lightly touched upon previously but I will work it through and try to re-capture the charm of what people liked from 'His Angel'. So yeah, it's not going to stay all dark and brooding forever.

I'm not going to make any promises though. I'll just be writing this and my Witcher story sparingly when I can. Pretty sure other people in their early-mid twenties know what I'm talking about when I say there are not enough hours in a day. Plus my previous drive for writing has regrettably toned down a few notches.

On an ending note; Fleur is of course a vital part of the story. I still like the idea of her character. But I'm also going to be introducing something that I barely got to in my previous story. Hope you guys will like it.

Thanks for reading. To my older readers out there...sorry for taking the time off. I appreciated all the support you guys have given me. It's mostly because of you guys that I've found myself getting back to a hobby I thought I had lost all love for so for that you all have my sincerest thanks.