Finally chapter nine is out! But I will warn you updates will continue to be lengthy waits, there are few issues I must sort out that are dampening my creativity and taking away my writing time but enough of that enjoy the chapter and let me know what you think.

~Chapter Nine~

Harry was expecting pain in return for his cheek but he was not expecting the slight pain of a stinging hex. For an evil Dark Lord that is incredibly mild. It didn't stop Harry from jumping with a slight yelp and turning a scowl on the equally scowling Dark Lord.

It was at this moment Harry actually processed the very human Dark Lord and did a double take of the man running his gaze slowly down the man's figure.

The man had eyebrows and past his typical crimson eyes with far more life than he had ever seen before was a strong straight handsome nose, followed by full pink lips.

Harry stared at those lips lingeringly before trailing down the long slim neck where there was just a hint of a collar bone peeking out from underneath his black robs with a couple of buttons undone. His gaze then took a trip down the lean line of the man's body covered by too many robes and down long legs before Harry's green eyes made their way languidly back up the man's form and to his crimson eyes.

Harry noted the loss of the scowl to be replaced by a raised eyebrow in response to his wandering gaze and before Harry could even censor his thoughts let alone his words they were out of his mouth before he could stop them.

"Wow Tom you're hot, sanity seems to have done wonders for you." Harry wasn't sure what he found more amusing, Snape's sudden bout of chocking on air or Voldemort's uncontrollable look of incredulous disbelief and shock.

Harry couldn't help but snicker at them.

"When you have managed to scrape your jaws off the floor would either of you be kind enough to tell me precisely why I am still breathing rather than being blown into smithereens?" Harry teased with a cheeky grin and a tilt of his head, his emerald eyes sparkling with mischief.

"I shall pretend I never heard that for the moment and answer your question." Harry couldn't help but snicker again at Tom's words only to yelp a second later when another stinging hex was sent his way but Tom just ignored his glower and continued.

"You are still breathing because you have declared yourself neutral in this war," Harry scoffed at that not believing it, after all the man had still sent his goons after him but he was again ignored. "You also saved one of my followers and claim to be his friend and threatened me should I cause him harm which, frankly, intrigues me." Harry rose an eyebrow as Tom stepped closer to him, a frown knitting his brow.

"Then there is the little detail of you throwing yourself in front of a curse meant for me and that confuses me." Tom was now mere inches from Harry's bed and staring down at him with intense red eyes. Snape, Harry noticed had left at some point, leaving him alone with Tom. The mere fact that he was referring to Voldemort as Tom was curious but he couldn't reconcile the name with the man's features.

"I didn't exactly know it was you." Harry muttered in response to the man's words.

"Regardless of that I still appeared to be a Death Eater and all Death Eaters still had orders to bring you harm if necessary to capture you before bringing you to me. I was unknown to you completely and yet you still threw yourself in front of that curse. Why?" Harry, who had been looking at the ceiling instead of Tom, gave a sigh at the question and turned tired emerald eyes to meet with crimson.

"I did it because I just happened to be there and I couldn't just stand by and watch, it's not in my nature to turn a blind eye to someone about to be cursed by a coward from behind." Harry's voice was quiet as he spoke, his eyes assessing the most feared Dark Lord in all of Britain's history.

"Even if that person turned out to be you I would do it again without hesitation," Harry's conviction in that statement intrigued and confused Tom further. "Hermione calls it my hero complex." That offhanded statement raised one of Tom's eyebrows but he did not comment on it.

"You are an enigma Harry Potter, I can understand your actions in Diagon Alley as you did not know my true identity; your morals prevent you from remaining on the sidelines however to so confidently say you would do so again knowing my identity is beyond confusing." Tom did look alarmingly confused, such human emotions were completely weird and leaving Harry slightly off balance, this certainly isn't the Voldemort he had come to know and irritate, the man before him was Tom Marvolo Riddle and Harry wasn't sure what to make of him yet.

"Aren't I the person you hate the most? I murdered your parents and have attempted to kill you – and failed much to my frustration and anger – more times than I care to keep track of." Harry couldn't help by snicker and give Tom a smug look but before the man could hex him again Harry spoke up.

"I believe it is an even eight attempts on my life," Harry, who had kept count, informed with a smug grin but it faded as he adopted a serious expression, the only thing keeping Tom from cursing the brat with the tongue-tying curse in retaliation for his cheek. "You may have killed my parents Tom but I don't hate you, I never did. It was war, they chose their side and fought for their beliefs, just as you did, no one and everyone is at fault during war so how can I hate you for just having a different opinion to my parents?"

Tom stared at those bright emerald eyes displaying nothing but honest truth and a little tiredness. He had once thought Harry Potter to be an ignorant child but he displayed wisdom far beyond most adults. It seems the brat had decided for him, he would not be killing him anytime soon.

"You continue to surprise me Potter." Tom spoke after a minute of engaging the younger man in a stare down, which the brat refused to back down from, just like all their other encounters, he was infuriatingly bold despite holding an understandable and expected fear of him. It truly irritated Tom but it also earned his grudging respect even before Severus had managed to cure his insanity.

"Well I'm a mysterious guy or so I'm told." Harry replied in a flippant manner, shrugging one shoulder and favouring Tom with a cheeky little grin, which turned into a scowl as he received another stinging hex. "What was that for?!" He demanded and immediately wished he hadn't when Tom's lips morphed into a wicked smirk that set his pulse jumping and not just in fear.

"That, brat, is only a tiny portion of what I owe you for causing me so much trouble." Harry couldn't help but shiver at the rather evil and vindictive look in the man's eyes.

"So you have brought me here to torture me, I should have known." Harry muttered to himself, scowling at the wall opposite him. A light laugh caused him to look up, startled, at Tom who was still smirking as he leaned in alarmingly close to Harry and purred directly into his ear. Yes the man purred there was no other way to describe it.

"Only a little." Harry shivered again as warm breath ghosted across his skin.

"Why do I not find that reassuring?" Harry asked after forcing himself to breathe and scowling at the knowing and amused smirk the man wore. Of course the man hadn't forgotten Harry's earlier statement upon Tom's hotness and decided to test the validity of the statement and found it confirmed, much to Harry's chagrin, it's not like he wanted to find the bastard attractive.

In response the man moved back and out of Harry's personal space, looking quite smug despite the frosty glare Harry was gracing him with. When I'm able to move again I'm going to curse the bastard to the Chamber of Secrets and back again. Harry thought viciously to himself only to realise the thought hadn't been as private as it should have been from the man's sudden laughter.

"Stay out of my mind damn it! I don't go deliberately into yours!" Harry growled out in frustration and embarrassment.

"Get some sleep Harry." The man said completely disregarding Harry's outburst as he turned on his heel and headed for the door, pausing to look at Harry over his shoulder. "I've no doubt you are going to need it. Draco can be quite tiring to deal with on the best of days."

Harry gaped at the man's back as he disappeared. He had completely forgotten about Draco! Draco was there and would have seen Harry go down and if the blonde acted as he did when Harry collapsed then he just knew he would be facing a mother hen just as bad as Hermione!

Harry paused at that thought and let out a giggle, the image of the Draco Malfoy puttering around him like a worried mama bear was hilarious.

It was at this moment that Snape decided to return from wherever he had disappeared to earlier and pause at the doorway with a raised eyebrow as Harry giggled to himself.

"I see you have finally lost control of your mental facilities." Snape said by way of greeting as he stepped into the room, stopping by Harry's bedside. Harry looked up at the black clad man and gave him a grin.

"I lost control of them years ago Professor." Harry explained with a shrug. "Were I in my right mind I never would have had so much fun."

"Clearly." Snape replied with a raised eyebrow as he pulled out three vials of potions and handed them to Harry one at a time while explaining. "The first one is a blood replenishing potion, you still haven't regained back the blood you lost; this next one is a pain reliever potion, the one given to you earlier is about to wear off. And I'm sure you recognise this one."

Harry, who had just downed the pain reliever potion, did recognise the last one. It was a dreamless sleep potion, he'd had to use them after Sirius was killed and still used them occasionally should he need them.

On another note, Harry wasn't particularly comfortable using the potion in Tom's domain but it would hasten his recovery and increase his chance of survival should Tom decide he did want Harry dead. So Harry accepted the potion and downed it, almost instantly falling into slumber, only just realising how truly tired his was.

Severus watched as the brat was pulled into sleep and stayed a few minutes after to ensure no adverse effects appeared from the potions. When none were apparent he gathered the empty vials and left the room, closing the door quietly and returning to his potions.

Thoughts?