Work Text:
THC Secret Santa 2025
For Lily!
I really hope you enjoy it! This was probably the hardest thing I have had to write. I'm sorry I couldn't come up with anything different.
Prompts used for inspiration:
Voldemort&Barty Crouch Jr., Barty Crouch Jr.&Harry Potter
Voldemort/Tom Riddle, Barty Crouch Jr., Severus Snape, Harry Potter
Romance, angst, general, humor
Voldemort wins AU
[Color] Black
[Weather] Mist;
[Animal] Raven;
[Location] Dungeons (any);
[Quote] “Evil is a point of view.” (Anne Rice, Interview with the Vampire);
[Quote] “I'm intrigued by the dark. Out of darkness comes creation.” (Famke Janssen)
Words: 1655
Beta: thank you so much Plague!!!!!
Evil is a point of view. Especially in a world where evil seems to have won long ago. And yet, everyone was content. Maybe not happy, but content. Was that evil? Or was that more than some had hoped in their lifetime. For some, their lifetime had been cut short- through; but it was on them for opposing. Evil was subjective.
Tom had told them his plans. They hadn't listened. And now everyone was forced too.
Barty grinned. The Dark Lord winning the war had been the most amazing feat of magic. Old Dumbledore hadn't stood a chance. Not once Barty and Severus had realised that the Horcruxes had taken pieces of Tom’s sanity, not just his soul.
It hadn't been an easy fix, but they had managed just in time. They didn't want to think what would have happened if they hadn't managed to restore his sanity before he went and tried to kill a child.
After all, Tom had always made it clear children were the future.
The world they'd made together was one to behold. They still had a lot to do, but the past fifteen years were a good start. The first five years had been spent internally, arranging their government and solidifying their choices.
Then, they'd gone internationally. The United Kingdom was the trial by fire on how the Muggles would react to long term reveal of the Magical World. Tom had convinced the International Committee overseeing the Statue of Secrecy to place the British Isles in the isolator globe spell. No one in, no one out. Muggles all across the world had forgotten that they existed. The spell wasn't permanent, but it was a strong Notice -me-not charm across several other mind altering spells.
The last ten years had gone as well as one would expect. Currently, they were in a half-engaged war with the Muggles. Muggles were throwing everything at them, but Tom had plenty of Muggleborns in his army who'd seen reason enough to be his soldiers. They knew how to fight Muggle fire with fire.
….....
Harry slammed the door in his parents' faces and ran as fast as he could. They didn't understand. They couldn't understand that what they were saying wasn't life. He'd seen the results. He'd heard the whispers. The families who had given in were happy. They were content.
But no, the Potters were always on the run. Always fighting. Part of the remains of the resistance. It was all Harry had known and he didn't see the point.
Too young
Soon will learn
That's what they kept saying. But it wasn't enough. They didn't understand. He kept trying though. He loved his parents and they were great. If only….if only they could see.
Then the Muggles hit. Because of course, some Muggles could not tell good Wizards apart.
Harry, run! His mother had shouted and ran he did.
The weather was a mist all around. It was a cold December night and he'd run away as fast as he could, not once looking back.
Him and his parents had rehearsed it plenty of times.
He knew where to meet them. If they all made it out alive.
Harry shivered. It was cold and it was dark. It has snowed earlier too. It was so hard to see. The sky was black. There were no moon or stars. The mist was heavy.
He turned left into an alley. The abandoned Millar house. He crawled into one of their windows into the dungeons. His parents had their safe places, but this was his. Ever since he'd been nine he'd come here to get away from everything. The Millars were a family of both Muggles and Muggleborns. Half of them had joined the Death Eaters, half of them had fought. But he knew from listening to his parents that they had all agreed to keep the house untouched in their parents’ memories. The Death Eater Millars were high ranking in the Dark Lord's army. Everyone knew to not touch their house.
Well, except Harry. In the beginning he hadn't quite known. He'd found it with the help of a raven who'd guided him while the town had yet another Death Eater raid. It was before he'd had his first fight with his parents.
Then he'd learned all the history of the place. That had been four years ago. So Harry now crawled into their dungeons for safety. Soon enough, he'd go and meet his parents (hopefully) at their rendezvous point.
Harry briefly wondered if the old raven was alright. More than once it'd seemed the creature had saved him out of trouble.
As he closed the window, he shivered again. The dungeon was so chilly. It seemed some of the snow and mist had wandered in. Half of the blankets he'd left behind were wet. He wrapped himself into two of the dry ones when a sound of raven startled him. He turned around but the room was pitch black. There was barely any light coming through the window.
Harry felt a twinge of fear as a voice spoke.
“Hiding in the dark, are we?”
Harry spoke without even realising he did.
“Aren't you hiding in the dark too?”
“I'm intrigued by the dark. Out of darkness comes..”
“Mystery voices that scare people,” Harry cut the person off. If he was going to die he wasn't going to die by just listening to this whoever they were and letting them go dark speech over.
The voice chuckled and out of the shadows a figure rose; raven perched on his shoulder. Black robes and a silver mask in hand. Harry froze. He recognised the man. Barry Crouch Junior. Probably the Dark Lord's right hand. There was an ongoing debate between him and Severus Snape.
“Oh, relax kiddo. If I wanted you dead, you'd be dead.”
“That's not as reassuring as you think.”
The man shrugged. “Isn't it?”
“It could be if death was the thing I feared the most.” Harry took a step closer. “Is that your raven?”
Barty grinned. “Why, yes, it is! Black is his name and he's my familiar!”
“Black? Like in the colour?”
The man snorted. “It's technically not a colour, but yes. And he's been telling me that you come here often, Mr Potter. “
Harry stared at him. “You know who I am?”
Barty grinned. “I mean, it'd be hard to considering you're a carbon copy of your dad. With your mother's eyes. You know, I saw them earlier. Looking pretty rough.”
Harry clenched his fists. “Did you hurt them?”
“It was the Muggles who attacked.”
Something about the phrasing and the way the man said it…
“Did you lead them to us?”
The man cackled. “Me? How could I have possibly known?”
The raven crowed and the man rolled his eyes.
Harry, however, was looking at him with horror in the eyes. “Your raven. He knows where I live.”
“Chill out. Your parents are okay.”
“After you put them in danger!”
Barty shook his head. “We didn't lead them to you. The only reason your parents got the tip to stay alert was us.”
“But they hate you. They're…”
“Part of the resistance? We're aware. But you're not. You see things differently or so I'm told.”
Harry swallowed. How much of his ramblings had the raven heard. How much did Crouch know about Harry and his opinions of the Dark Lord?
He grinded his teeth.
“It doesn't matter.”
“It does matter Harry, it does.” Barty took a step forward, forcing Harry to draw closer to the wall. “Because for us, the children are the future.”
“Is this a recruitment speech?”
“It's the truth. My raven is fond of you, you know. I think you'd find yourself at home with us.”
For a moment, Harry pictured it. No more fighting, no more being on the run. And yet… his parents.
“Fight against my own parents?”
“We would not ask that of you.”
“But you'd ask me to stand by and watch you fight them.” Harry shook his head. “I'm not coming with you. Where are my parents?”
The man sighed. “No, I didn't think you would. Your parents escaped last I heard. I didn't follow them or anything. Plausible deniability and all that. I'm sure they are wherever you're meant to go.”
“You didn't try to fight them.”
“I'd hoped to have a chat with you alone. But I think I shall come back later.”
Before Harry could say anything else the man disappeared in the shadows like he'd never been there at all, leaving Harry alone.
Harry drew the blankets closer, the cold chilling in his bones. He was stuck. On one hand, he'd been followed all along and they could have killed his parents at any point. On the other hand, something in the man's voice… he didn't know if seeing his parents would be a good idea at the moment. He was young, but not stupid. Barty suspected that the only reason he didn't agree on his offer was because of his parents and Harry really didn't wanna find out if his parents were right and the Death Eaters would kill them in front of him or not.
He was fairly certain they wouldn't, but he didn't want to make a choice. Maybe he thought the Dark Lord was onto something, but if he ever joined it'd be on his terms. He just needed to let them know he was ok.
Then he'd be a free agent for a while. And when he met Barty again, he'd be ready. If the other man thought just because Harry was not yet sixteen, it didn't mean he was helpless. Harry looked out of the window, determination shining though his eyes. No, he wasn't helpless at all.
....
Somewhere, outside, the cry of a raven could be heard across several villages.
Out of the Shadows, a voice whispered. “It's began.”