The candlelight glittered off the tiny pieces of glass all over the floor and his desk. Fawkes was nowhere to be seen but he took that as a good sign. He assumed that his feathered friend had managed to escape. Ink was splattered all over his desk and chair. The paperwork was scattered all over the room, some of it burning away slowly while others had already turned to ash.

How had it come to this?

Just a couple of months ago, there was peace. The Dark Lord was gone and there was someone killing off the Death Eaters. It didn't matter what intention this 'Messenger of Death' had. The fact was that Death Eaters were reducing in numbers and the light was thankful for that. The ministry had become stable and successfully implemented important changes to the peace of the community. Even those from dark families in high positions didn't oppose when laws regarding the protection of muggleborns were implemented. No one could deny that the light had won. The light was in control of the wizarding world and he, Albus Dumbledore, was the leader of this change.

And yet here, on the walls of his warded office in the midst of the most protected area in the whole of Scotland, were six words that said otherwise:

'Who made you king of anything.'

It wasn't even a question. It was a statement. The words were written in red paint and was sloshed over the wall where the paintings of the previous headmasters hung. The handwriting remained neat and elegant despite the uneven surface which seemed to imply that the person who did this had taken their time in his office. It was an attempt to provoke him.

He didn't feel provoked though. For the first time in forever, he started to doubt his past actions. Albus Dumbledore slumped in his seat by his desk. It wasn't wrong of him to send his Order spies to infiltrate the Malfoy Ball. They needed to know what the Dark Lord wanted. They needed to be prepared and that meant getting more information!

Was it wrong of him to have sent Moody, Tonks and Lupin to capture the boy? Harry belonged to the light! His parents died for their cause and Harry had the right to know that. Did Harry know what his parents had fought for and died for? Did he know why Voldemort wanted him as a child? Did Harry know about the prophecy? It was obvious that the boy needed to know all this from an unbiased source to make an informed decision about his allegiance! Yes, capturing the boy (or attempting to) had been necessary.

What about attacking the boy's home? Was that necessary? Albus Dumbledore sighed and rubbed his temples. That cave had been Voldemort's hideout. It was a sanctuary for the Lord of the Dark. It was necessary that they destroyed that place in order to cripple the dark! For years, Mad-eye and his team of aurors have been trying to pin charges on the Malfoy patriarch but to no avail. It was common knowledge that the Malfoy manor was the stronghold for the Dark in the first war but the ministry couldn't legally do a search on the property. There wasn't enough evidence against the slippery Slytherins. While the Malfoy manor was a fortress, the cave had been easy pickings. Destroying the cave was their biggest success to date. The light side was winning again! It was definitely the right move, a morale booster.

Dumbledore tilted his head backwards and sagged his body further down his chair. Why, then, did it seem like all his plans were pushing the Potter boy deeper into the dark? Was the prophecy wrong? Was Harry not the one with the power to defeat the Dark Lord? The boy had shown exceedingly strong magical abilities and fighting prowess. Surely he was the Chosen One! They needed the boy to defeat Voldemort.

But then again, prophecies could be extremely tricky in their wording.

Was the prophecy in continuous tense? But Harry and Voldemort have been living or surviving together all this time. So when exactly is the prophecy supposed to be fulfilled? Has it already been fulfilled? If so, then what does that mean for the light? If they're the only ones equal in power to each other, and they're on the same side… Didn't that mean there was no more hope for the Light?

Dumbledore groaned. He was getting too old for this. Ink from the table had dripped onto his cloak leaving an ugly patch of black on purple. There was no time to clean up or take stock of what was missing or had been broken. That would have to be done after this urgent Order meeting. As he stood up to exit his ruined office, Albus Dumbledore couldn't help but look once more at the writing on is wall.

He might not be King, but he had a job to do.

'`~~OooOooOooOooOooOoo~~'`

"He had been sitting there all this time! He had us all fooled but not the Headmaster. No… the Headmaster would never be fooled by such simple trickery! The two exchanged gazes for the longest time…" Mundungus took his time to gaze into everyone's eye one by one. Except Mad-eye. Mundungus dodged the scary gaze of the crazily swirling eyeball. "And then suddenly…"

"BAM!" Half the table jumped up at Mundungus' sudden exclamation. "The Messenger of the Dead slammed the cover back onto the piano and casually strolled out of the bar just like that. It was a stare-down I tell yah. The greatest battle in this generation between the light and the dark will all come down to a STARE-DOWN." Mundungus jabbed two fingers towards his own eyes then swivelled his wrist towards each individual at the table to emphasize his point. He dodged Mad-eye again of course because he knew there was only so much bullshit Alastor Moody could take.

"That's quite enough, Mundungus. Thank you." Mundungus gave a grin towards the Headmaster then sat back down, praising himself for his great storytelling skills.

"Albus, was anyone hurt? The boy can be so unsuspecting and dangerous." Molly Weasley asked in concern. "If he can get into Rosemerta's pub so easily does that mean he has access to all of Hogsmeade? Does that mean that the children are in danger?"

No one noticed Dumbledore's eyes dimmed a little. "Don't worry Molly. The children are safe."

"Has he done anything else since the bar incident?" Arthur Weasley placed his arms around his wife in comfort while directing the question to the Headmaster.

"No. He has not." Dumbledore had no choice but to lie. It was obvious that the general atmosphere in the room calmed down a little after their leader's admission that danger was still awhile away. "But we should still stay vigilant."

Moody gave a nod of approval while the rest of the adults just smiled knowingly.

Dumbledore then turned to his trusted spy. "Severus, has the Dark Lord summoned you these couple of weeks?"

"No, Headmaster. He must be resting. Even Lucius Malfoy has been less active amongst political circles these couple of days." As usual, no one could real the emotion behind Severus Snape's mask.

"Could he be plotting something that only his inner circle knows of?" Tonks asked, she was trained to question every motive and action after all.

"Whatever it is, the Dark Lord didn't tell me about it." Snape replied nonchalantly. Mad-eye and Dumbledore exchanged looks and Dumbledore replied with a nod. Snape wasn't lying.

Just then, the doorbell rang.

"Did the bell just ring?" Tonks stood up but didn't move from the table.

"Yeah. Strange." Kingsley Shackelbolt stood up as well, his wand out.

"You know what's even stranger?" Mundungus breathed out.

"Dung, we have no time for you jokes anymore!" Moody snarled, getting tired of his nonsense.

"He's right." Lupin stood up as well catching everyone's attention since the werewolf had been quiet these few weeks.

"What's strange, Remus?" Tonks asked in concern. Everyone could see the fine hairs standing along Lupin's neck as if his hackles were raised. His eyes were shining, almost golden, as his nose took in a deep breath.

"What's strange is that Mrs Black isn't screaming."

Everyone was on alert immediately.

"Where's Sirius?" Dumbledore asked as he gestured Moody forward.

"He's still in the attic the last I saw him." Lupin replied.

"There's a woman standing outside. I can't see who it is." Moody was crouched behind the pillar under the stairs.

"Let me check." A younger woman by the name of Hestia Jones stood up and cautiously moved forward. She was a member of the Advanced Guards.

"Vance, Tonks, flank her." Moody ordered while signalling for Shacklebolt to guard from behind. Tonks took shelter behind a vase on the left of the door while Emmeline Vance, another Advanced Guard member took position on the right of the door behind a wall. Everyone else remained in the corridor to the kitchen waiting for further instructions. The three ladies at the frontline prepared themselves before nodding to one another. At the count of three, Jones threw the door opened only to be met with a smiling face and a dagger through her midsection. No one saw this though. Everyone was just focused on the smiling face of one Bellatrix Lestrange.

"Why hello there." The dark witch's smile never faltered as she jerked her dagger out of Jones and sheathed it back into some where under her dress.

"Take cover and defend!" Moody roared as he tumbled out from his hiding spot to fire shots at the crazed woman who was currently laughing hysterically on the door step of the Order's headquarters.

"Molly, take the children and evacuate!" Dumbledore directed. The two older Weasley boys quickly herded their mother out the kitchen and up the stairs. Everyone else, while terrified, was still on guard.

"Do not fear. She cannot enter the premises. The wards will not allow it." The headmaster assured.

"Unless…" Lupin moved so fast causing the already alert Order to jump. Growling, the werewolf jumped over the table and tackled Severus Snape pinning him down onto the floor.

"Snape, you little shit."

"Remus! What are you doing!?" Arthur tried to dislodge the potions master from the werewolf's grasp.

"My wolf can sense the wards coming down! It must be you, traitor!" Lupin growled into Snape's face.

"It's not me, idiot Wolf." Snape sneered at the proximity of the disgusting wolf's face.

"Don't lie to me!" Lupin snarled, his wolf causing his patience to wear thin.

"Idiots. I'm not 'letting' the wards down." The potions master snorted. "The wards are already down."

"You said the Dark Lord didn't tell you of his plans, Severus." The Headmaster accused furiously. He hadn't sensed the lie from the snake. He had trust in his spy!

"The Dark Lord did not tell me of this plan, Albus!" Snape stood his ground. Albus was frustrated because Snape was telling the truth. What was going on? If Snape wasn't the snitch, who was? Who let Bellatrix Black into their headquarters?

"You're lying about something, you snake! Lupin snarled, shaking Severus by the collar. "What's the mission, Snape? Why is she here?"

Just when Dumbledore was about to deal with the fighting pair in the kitchen, a hand came to rest on his shoulder stopping him.

"I'll take care of this, Albus." Sirius Black pushed past the headmaster into the kitchen.

"Remus, stop." Sirius managed to separate the two. Snape was on the ground, beaten and bruised. The glare on the potion master's face spoke of revenge. Several Order members had their wands trained on Snape, eyes still suspicious.

"He's a traitor, Sirius! It must've been him!"

"Moony. Stop. Calm down." Sirius Black was oddly calm as he held his childhood friend back from ripping into Snape. The werewolf was obviously close to the surface and wanted some bloodshed.

"He let that woman into headquarters, Sirius!"

"Stop it, Remus. I was the one who let her in." All gazes immediately shot to Sirius Black.

"What?" Remus breathed out. "Padfoot? What are you talking about?"

"I let the wards down. I let Bellatrix in." Sirius calmly confessed.

"What. Why, Padfoot?" Lupin still had confusion written all over his face but heartbroken tone in his voice was clear to all. Albus could practically hear the trust being broken between the two.

"I've always been loyal to family, Moony. I never want to make the same mistake twice. I've failed Lils and Prongs once already and in my books that's one too many times. Harry is my priority now, Remus."

"He's mine too!" Remus snarled back in defence. "Harry is living with his parents' murderer! In what universe is that alright?! James would never, never approve of this. How could you, Sirius?!"

The Black heir blocked the swinging fist from his best friend and had to keep a tight hold on Lupin's wrist before he could continue explaining himself. "Have you ever asked Harry if he is happy? You have eyes, Remus, use them! You've definitely seen how loyal Harry is to the Dark Lord. You think for one moment this loyalty stemmed from torture or abuse?"

"He is living with the Dark Lord! Prong's murderer is raising his child! Are you crazy, Sirius?!"

"Dumbledore is a murderer too!" Sirius retaliated. It was as though they were the only two left in the room. Everyone else remained silent as they watched the two long term friend's slowly crumbling friendship.

"All these years I've been in contact with Harry and he's only ever had good things to say about his Father. You think I like hearing that James' role has been overtaken by his fucking murderer!?" Sirius hissed. It was silent while Black took a deep breath to calm down. "If only you could see how happy Harry is. You'd never want to take that away from him. I've chosen to support my godson – the one my best friend entrusted to me. I've done them wrong when I chose to hunt Wormtail down instead of searching for Harry. Supporting him now is the most I can do for James and Lils. What about you, Remus? How are you honouring James? What are you fighting for?"

"I'm fighting for what's right." Lupin grounded out confidently. "I'm fighting for the same morals and goals that James believed in!"

Sirius had a strangely sad, deep look. "Who's to say what's right, Rem? Is it ever right to pull a charge from his caretaker?"

"There are laws, Padfoot. And what Harry has been doing is wrong. Please, Sirius. Open your eyes to see that this is wrong! Help us get Harry back where he belongs." Remus begged.

Sirius shook his head. "Sorry, old friend. I've chosen Harry's side."

"No. You've chosen the dark side." Lupin glared at his traitorous friend and turned his wand onto the Black Heir.

Just then, Alastor was heard calling for everyone to retreat from the main entryway or Grimmauld Place. Bellatrix was overwhelming the Order. She was fighting to kill while they were on the defence leaving them at the losing end. They were never ready for this. Grimmauld Place was a safe house for the Order and this meeting was for a selected few only – most who weren't combat ready. Still, it was hard to believe that Bellatrix had held her own for so long despite it being three to one. Albus heard the cracking sounds of disapparition and assumed that Alastor and whoever had survived the onslaught from the Black woman had left.

"Siri!~ The entrance is cleared up for you!~" Bellatrix sang. Sirius Black slowly inched his way backwards from the kitchen entrance, heading towards the front door while keeping his wand trained on the remaining Order members in front of him.

"She's here to retrieve him." Arthur concluded. The rest of the order slowly raising their wands towards the Black Heir after finally understanding that he was the traitor.

"Dearest cousin!" Bellatrix slung an arm around Sirius the moment he saw him at the entryway.

"Urgh. Get your hands off me, Bella!" Sirius shrugged her arm off. "Where's Harry?"

"He's grounded."

"What! What for?"

"Really, Cousin? You didn't hear about the bar fiasco?"

"It wasn't a fiasco. It was brilliant!" Sirius defended while Bellatrix giggled, slightly crazed.

"I've got a message from my master, Dumbledore." Bellatrix called out to the headmaster. "He wants you to know nowhere is safe, your office isn't safe, Hogwarts isn't safe, your headquarters is ours, there's no one you can trust, you dare harm his son, you asked for this, and…" she hung on to the last word while tapping her chin with her wand. Her fingers were out while she counted the number of items her Lord wanted to relay.

"You forgot what he said?!" Sirius deadpanned and Bellatrix snarled at him while hopping on the spot in attempt to jog her memory.

"Azkaban screwed her head." Mundungus whispered out in the background causing some people to groan.

"Oh!" Bellatrix swung her wand forward, a sickly yellow light shooting between Arthur and Shacklebolt straight for Dumbledore, who merely flicked his wand to shield his Order from the curse. Shacklebolt immediately counter attacked but that only caused the crazed woman to howl with laughter.

"I remember! My Lord wants me to tell you that this is war, Albus, and it starts now!" She shrieked and cackled when Sirius Black, having enough, disapparated with his cousin.

'`~~OooOooOooOooOooOoo~~'`

-Harry at 9 years old-

"Father?"

Voldemort was a very busy man. It wasn't easy to impact the world while hiding out in a cave. Back then, his name carried a lot of weight and instilled a whole lot of fear. Now, it was difficult to have a semblance of control over political circles when everyone thought he was dead. But he wasn't known as the most successful Dark Lord of this generation for nothing. A pureblood name and a portrayal of confidence was all he needed to push people into doing his bidding.

Voldemort made sure to give himself a mental pat on the back for being such a genius.

"Father? Why does Uncle Sirius think I'm dead?"

Wait. What?

Voldemort's attention immediately shot to the brat at hand.

"Did you say Sirius?"

"Yeah! He wrote me a letter!" The boy waved a stack of dirtied parchment. "He wanted to apologise for failing to save me and my parents from the evil Dark Lord."

The brat had a smirk on his face and his eyes shone with amusement. "Does he think I'm dead, Father?"

Voldemort rubbed his temples. He found himself doing that often recently. Stupid troublesome brat.

"Hand that over, Brat." He needed to read this for himself.

The little imp actually clutched the letter closer to himself defensively. "You can't read it! It's a private letter."

"Harry…" Voldemort growled impatiently.

"You can't read it." Harry grounded out and crossed his arms in an act of defiance. The two glared at each other for what seemed like hours, neither giving in.

Eventually, the greatest Dark Lord of this age snorted and gave in.

"This is ridiculous. You're wasting my time, brat." Voldemort turned back to his work despite knowing that there was no way he would be able to concentrate any more. It was a good five minutes of silence before curiosity won.

"Fine, brat. If you can't show me your private letter, then at least tell me the gist of it." Voldemort made sure not to look up from his work while he spoke to the brat. He didn't want to see the shit-eating grin the little imp was sure to have on his face.

"Uncle Sirius writes from Azkaban. He explains that he has no one else to write to because he has no friends any more. So, he decided to write to me because 'what's there to lose anyway!'" Harry gave a little shrug here. "He says: 'It's silly writing to a dead person but who cares! Your Godfather is going crazy from boredom, rotting away in this godforsaken place. At least you're with Lils and Jamie up in heavenland. I hope you're having fun up there, kiddo. Wished I could be with you guys.'."

Voldemort took extra care to hold in a snort knowing that Harry would stop sharing the contents of the letter if he did so. So Sirius Black wrote a letter to the grave bearing his heart and soul? This was hilarious!

"I feel like I'm invading his privacy. Uncle Sirius would never tell me all this if he knew I was alive." Harry had a frown upon his face.

"What else did he say?" Voldemort was trying his best to seem nonchalant.

"Uhhm…He went on to explain how Lily and James switched secret keepers at the last moment and no one knew about it. That's why Uncle Sirius has no friends now. He blames himself for suggesting the swap to the traitorous rat. He then continues to describe Azkaban. It's not a very nice place, Father."

"I see."

"Uh huh."

There was a brief moment of silence before Harry moved to leave the room.

"I'm going to go write back."

Wait. What?

"In case you forgot, we're in hiding, you silly brat! You can't just write to whomever you wish!" Voldemort made sure the sarcasm was thick in his tone.

Harry raised a brow, a gesture the brat definitely picked up from him. "He's in Azkaban! Who's he going to tell? Who's gonna believe him?"

"Don't use your short formed muggle words on me, child." Voldemort growled out in annoyance at the brat's attitude.

"Who's going to believe him?" Harry repeated in proper, non-muggle language. "Even if he writes to the authorities, they're just going to think he's gone crazy."

"And what if he writes to Dumbledore? The old coot is trusting enough to believe him and suspicions will be raised. Next thing you know, aurors will be swamping our doorstep."

"We don't have a doorstep, Father."

"Shut up, brat. You're not writing back and that's final!"

Harry rolled his eyes, his mannerism totally shouted that Voldemort was being dramatic. "I could just tell him not to tell Dumbledore. It's a matter of blackmail, really." Harry wiggled his eyebrows, asking for his father to acknowledge the pun.

Oh please. As if Voldemort would degrade himself to such low level jokes. "Enough, brat. Explain yourself. Pray tell how exactly would you achieve this?"

"Well, if Uncle Sirius wants to continue hearing from me, it would be in his best interest to keep this exchange a secret. I mean, if he rats us out to Dumbledore, he would not be able to talk to the last, remaining connection to his best-bud any more. And it's not like he would benefit from ratting me out anyway. After all this blows over, no one would pay attention to him anymore and he will still remain a murderer in Azkaban. Worst case scenario, I could just guilt trip him and tell him I would lose all trust in him if he shared my secret with anyone. Any loyal Gryffindor would fall for that." Harry ended with a shrug. The brat said all that in such an offhanded manner as if it were that easy. Cocky brat.

But seriously, that plan made sense. The brat was Slytherin after all.

"And what if Black writes back asking for more information? How much are you going to reveal to him?" Voldemort asked in an offhanded manner.

"Hmmm…" Harry hummed in thought. "I want to tell Uncle Sirius about you, of course."

Voldemort raised a brow. "Don't you think that's a bad idea? Black thinks that I was the one who murdered you and your parents afterall."

The brat's face twitched a little as if he was holding in a smile. What was that about? It's not like the brat knew… right?

Actually, Voldemort didn't know what the brat thought of his parent's deaths. It was a topic he didn't want (dare) to approach. Maybe next time.

"I'm sure my godfather would want to know the man who took me in and raised me up! You are my father! I'm certain you two would meet eventually since you both are part of my family."

"He's in Azkaban, brat. It's a lifelong sentence. I don't think he'll be coming out any time soon."

Harry shrugged. "I'm confident we will see Uncle Sirius in the future." The boy then smiled knowingly as if he could prophesize the future. "You wouldn't talk that much about Aunt Bella if I wouldn't meet her in the future."

Voldemort hid his grin of satisfaction. It was times like these when the boy made him proud. The brat made the perfect heir – insightful, smart, and sharp.

"Oh! I know! I'll ask Uncle Sirius to hang out with Aunt Bella so he would stop being so bored! They could be best Azkaban buddies!" Harry exclaimed cheerfully sending the feared Dark Lord roaring with laughter. The brat was not only insightful, smart and sharp! He also had a sense of humour!

That made him the perfect son.

"I'll leave this to you, brat." Voldemort, with an unusual smirk on his face, dismissed his son.

With a salute and a bow, the boy left.

In a good mood, the Dark Lord spent the rest of the day stepping up and finalizing his plans for a future invade into Azkaban.

A/N: Reviews really keep me going. Even if going is a year later. HAHA. Thanks to all the reader who have amazing patience and sticking with me through this series. Once again, I swear this fic will be completed. Only about 3 more chapters to go!