A Dark Lord in the Making

Trembling in Anticipation

Harry heard a loud 'thump' as the man, Lee, fell to the ground. Harry's mouth hung slightly open, his muscles seemed to stop listening to him or work at all. He couldn't move and stared stiffly at Lee's dead body. After a while, he felt someone stand next to him. He felt a hand toss through his black locks, without looking up he knew who was standing next to him.

When he saw the man killing Mr. Lee, he knew who he was dealing with. Suddenly he saw the world more clearly. He could loathe himself for his own stupidity. How could he have missed this? Everything pointed in the direction, the Parseltongue, the way he behaved; he was Lord-Bloody-Slytherin for crying out loud!

Harry looked at Gaunt, his green eyes found his crimson eyes immediately. He cast his eyes again to Lee's lifeless body and swallowed.

~"You are Tom Marvolo Riddle,"~ Harry whispered almost unintelligibly.

A wide smile full of white teeth that glistened precariously in the light was the answer to Harry's declaration. A slender finger was placed under Harry's chin and propped up the dark-haired boy's head. Gaunt leaned over Harry and took a deep breath.

"Hmm, Nero," Gaunt said with a hoarse quality in his voice. "How wonderful it must be to be able to look at the world so innocently." Gaunt, however, ignored Harry's comment and looked around the room.

He gestured to Lee's motionless body and to Avery, who was still standing there in fear. However, the man tried not to show his fear; only the trembling of his hand and the skittish movement of his eyes betrayed his true feelings.

"Lee was a coward. You see, Wilkes was a follower of the Dark Lord during the war. A group of Aurors turned up during a raid, outnumbering the Death Eaters present. Avery, Lee, and Wilkes were present but became detached from the rest of the group. In the heat of battle, Lee decided to leave Wilkes behind, which was a stupid move on Lee's part. Wilkes was in possession of an important artifact that the Dark Lord coveted, which was the reason for the raid."

Gaunt's voice had darkened as he approached Lee's corpse. He pushed the face aside with his shoe, eliminating the need to look at the traitor's face.

"Wilkes was killed by the Aurors by the Killing Curse- hypocritical, in my humble opinion. Especially when you consider that the Ministry and Dumbledore had banned the use of the Dark Arts."

Gaunt walked over to Avery and pressed the tip of the new, much sinister, wand to his neck. Avery tilted his head away from the wand, an instinctive response that didn't make sense; it didn't matter to a spell whether the stick's wood made contact with the victim's skin, or not.

"Avery," Gaunt hissed, "tried to get hold of the artifact after Wilkes's death. However, it was five to one, and after a brave or foolish attempt, Avery had to flee."

Gaunt ran a finger down Avery's cheek but continued to press the wand against his neck with the other hand. "Avery has since tried to do penance. That's probably why he came into my service so quickly, after the fall of the Dark Lord, the new Lord Slytherin is probably the next best thing to pay off his debt."

Suddenly, Gaunt took a step back and grinned sinisterly at Avery. "Unfortunately it was clear that Lee was not fit to remain in my favor, I have no need for incompetent idiots. Avery..." He looked the man up and down again. "You don't appear to be a total disappointment."

Gaunt walked over to Harry and put a hand on his shoulder. "My Heir and I will remain in England, Avery," said Gaunt calmly. "I allow you to come into my house, I'll key you into the wards. Don't make me regret it. Come to me when you know more about the whereabouts of your old Lord. Keep me posted, but only come in person if it's urgent."