Severus Snape felt a feeling akin to amazement when he entered the infirmary tent to discover Harry Potter, who had fainted almost an hour ago, awake and sitting wanely next to the sleeping form of Lord Voldemort, whom the healers had told him would soon make a full recovery. Harry had one of the man's hands in his own and was staring down at him, with a look on his face that was unreadable. Was he thinking of his friends who had possibly betrayed, and tried to kill him? Was he studying how human the Dark Lord was becoming now due to the destruction of horcruxes?

Was he truly loyal to him? Or was he merely feeling guilt that somebody had once again gotten between him and danger, as Sirius Black had, as Cedric Diggory had, as his parents had?

Harry's head moved barely an inch when Severus arrived next to him.

"With most of the adult federation members nursing injuries the chore of the Harvest Spell has now fallen down to the young people. I will be doing to Harvest Song," Severus muttered a little angrily. "Bellatrix Lestrange's hearing was ruined by the sound of that explosive device so near to her, so her ability to sing in harmony to the magic has been, shall we way, hampered. I will need somebody to pull the magic from the circle. Draco has offered to do this, but being a youth he'll be needing a second on my other side..."

Harry didn't move and inch, and so Severus put a hand on his shoulder.

"Potter...The Federation suggested you might do a good job of it, as you already understand how a link between two people works. The only difference will be that the link will be a chain between people, rather than a one on one connection like you are used to."

Harry jerked his head up at last to look at Severus, his expression unreadable.

"What are Soul Mates?"

Severus Snape was fully taken aback by this sudden change in topics, this comment coming from Harry Potter of all people! What was going on in the boy's mind for this question to have arisen?

"Soul Mates," said Severus quickly, ever logical and ready to answer a question from a youth, "Are two people with a magic bond, such as the bond that you and the Dark Lord share. But the difference is that the Soul Mate bond is permanent. Unlike the brother bond of wands, which ends when one wand breaks, or the core bond, which is ended at the death of one or the other, a soul mate bond cannot be broken. Even in death a soul mated pair remains connected."

Potter just stared at him, so Severus continued, coughing uncomfortably.

"It is very rare for anybody to be Soul Mated, and even then it is very very hard to recognize. And yes Potter, more often than not the soul mated pair end up being lovers. It would be a strange anomaly to share so much intimacy with someone and not be drawn to that person completely."

Harry nodded, releasing Lord Voldemort's hand and looking up at Severus pointedly.

"If we are, as Liang Wu said, Soul Mates, then wouldn't my doing that sort of Harvest Magic potentially affect him?"

Ah, now I see the problem!

"It is possible that you may be, though Liang Wu is given much to maudlin fantasy," said Severus wryly, relieved that at least Potter had heard his comments about the spell. "I wouldn't take his assessment of your bond to the Dark Lord that seriously. What has happened to you in the food tent could happen with a strong magical core bond as well, which we already know you both share."

Harry nodded, almost sadly, then leaned back and started rubbing his hand reflexively. Severus could see at once that the hand was swollen and bruised.

"My wand...tried to warn me that something horrible was happening. I could feel this pain in my wand hand, like it was burned. And then I fainted when he started drawing magic from me to heal himself..."

"Ah, I see," said Severus. "If you draw energy into yourself for the Harvest Spell, the magic may go into Lord Voldemort to heal him, and not into the Spell, thanks to this new core bond of yours."

Harry nodded firmly.

"Well then, that may just be a valid problem. I shall mention this to the Federation, and see if we can find a different person to draw the magic. Although they may end up putting off the Harvest Spell one more night so that the Dark Lord will be recovered in time for it. His lungs would be more suited to hours of singing then mine I'm sure."

"You mean, he'll be all right?" said Harry, jerking his head back and forth between Lord Voldemort and Severus.

"Assuredly so," said Severus. "The Sectumsempra is only fatal when it hits at full magical force, and luckily for our Lord the attacker in question was not adept in this spell."

Harry nodded, almost happily, then surprisingly took the man's hand again to hold.

"Potter," said Severus gravely. "Am I to assume that your loyalty to your Master is now genuine? That you are mentally ready to consider yourself an Apprentice to Lord Voldemort?"

Harry didn't speak, just nodded shakily, then lifted his fingers to brush silver hairs away from the tightly closed eye lids of his Master.

"I don't know why, but it seemed important to me in some way, that he was willing to set aside the Prophecy, and all the madness between us, to teach me. I should be willing to do the same. Even if I'll never forgive him for killing my parents."

"In war Potter, as with anything else, sometimes things don't always go as planned," Severus said quietly. "The Dark Lord was no longer human at that time, the horcuxes had consumed so much of his soul...I think he never would have gone to Godric's Hollow if he had been the way he is now."

"Human," said Harry with a wry smile, still stroking the Dark Lord's silver hair.

Severus took in this picturesque scene for a moment, then walked backwards out of the infirmary tent almost with a feeling of alarm. A thought occurred to him that he had seen such a serene moment only once before in his life, when Lucius Malfoy has been at his pregnant wife's bedside during a miscarriage scare when she had been pregnant with Draco...stroking her blond hair with adoring fingers while telling her that Draco was safe, she hadn't lost the baby...

It was the same expression.

I have to find Lucius! Severus thought in sudden alarm. If anybody would recognize a Soul Mated pair, it would be another pair of Soul Mates!

"Do you think we can do it Dray? Without the adults?"

"I think we'll be fine," said Draco pointedly. "There's still Liang Wu and Grindelwald and a bunch of other adults around. They're just making us do it to test our abilities I bet!"

Draco was sitting now with Pansy, Gregory, Vincent and the other young people in the party tent, worry for their injured parents and the extent of the damage that this attack had caused. The food tent had been the largest of all the tents at the revel, able to fit everyone inside at once, and that it was mostly devastated did little to comfort Draco.

"If they used another muggle explosive device though..."

"We don't know that there's still Order patsies at the Revel," Pansy said, worrying at a fingernail with her teeth.

"You shouldn't bite your nails love," Draco crooned, taking her hand to kiss. "I'm sure if there are anymore, the Federation will get the identities from the ones they already arrested."

"Maybe," Pansy agreed. "Mother said that the attackers had blinding spells on to keep them from knowing where they were or who they were attacking."

"What I want to know," said Ollie Grindelwald suddenly, "How did they get into the Revel?"

Everyone sighed a bit, and seemed to be thinking to themselves. Pansy nibbled the nails on her other hand. Draco watched her, worshiped her, and stroked the hand in his own.

"Well," she said suddenly, causing them to start. "If somebody on the inside had gotten the Secret Keeper letter, then met them at the edge of camp to share it with them..."

"Its possible," said Ollie. "Then that would mean somebody here is a spy, besides Potter. Maybe even one of us"

Draco shivered slightly, and the young people all hugged each other. Pansy tucked herself into Draco's side to hug him and he held her tight.

Nobody had yet mentioned the fact that Cho Chang and Theodore Nott had both been missing since that morning's practice. Either Cho Chang had only been dating Theodore Nott to get into the Revel, or Theodore had been a traitor or...

Or else one of the two was dead, and the other flown from the Revel, the job done, the task completed.

Or maybe both.

"No way!" said Draco suddenly. "No way one of us! It had to be an outsider, that Chang Girl, had to be!"

Pansy started crying. Draco went to her to comfort her.

Until the Federation found her or Theodore, they couldn't know for sure. They could only wait and hope the answers to their questions would soon be revealed.

"Severus, you're becoming as flighty and romantic as Liang Wu," said Lucius Malfoy sourly, rubbing his aching head from where he lay in his tent. "Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort? Soul Mates? Of all the utter nonsense!"

"It is not nonsense!" Severus declared, sounding petulant but seeming not caring. "Its a rather valid concern, considering all the other bonds they seem to share! Please Lucius."

"No Severus. I will not keep an eye out for signs of them being Soul Mates. No way."

Severus scowled, then crossed his arms. Lucius felt annoyance filling him at once.

"Maybe I'm asking the wrong person," Severus declared, changing tactics. "Maybe you and Narcissa aren't Soul Mates after all."

Lucius hissed pointedly, and growled warningly.

"We are! Of that you can be sure!"

"How? How can I be sure?"

Lucius pondered this for a moment, then smiled.

"How many married couples do you know that can hold a conversation in their heads, with one of them hundreds of miles away in Azkaban?"

Severus rolled his eyes, and kept his arms crossed. Lucius knew that he was going to be stubborn about this and suddenly felt sympathetic for Severus. The man had only had one lover in his whole life, old Albus Dumbledore of all people, and rumor had it that their feelings towards one another had been strained towards the end, so his experience in relationships was next to nil. Severus wouldn't be able to tell if a pair were dating, let alone Soul Mates.

"Then will you check? The Dark Lord won't even notice you checking for signs! He'll be more concerned about training the boy and uncovering our poisoner to notice anything you're doing."

Lucius Malfoy sighed. He was amused by the possibility that the Dark Lord was the Soul Mate of his own former enemy turned Apprentice, but he didn't want Severus to think he had gotten the high road in this.

"Very well. But if he finds out and asks, then I'll tell him it was all your idea!"

Severus bristled, but nodded then turned curtly and walked towards the tents exit.

"Oh by the way Severus," said Lucius coyly. "Maybe you had better talk to Liang Wu about doing that Harvest Spell with you. You two certainly should be able to exchange power after how much time you've been spending together."

Severus scowled, a blush of embarrassment creep up his features, but turned obediently to leave, a lightness in his step that suggested he was indeed going to find the Chinese wizard in question.

Speaking of Soul Mates... Lucius thought amusedly. Its ironic that he was the one to ask me! Little does he know!

Lord Voldemort winced, eyes squinting as they took in the cool darkness around him, momentarily at a loss as to where he was and what he was doing there.

And then he spotted Harry, nearby, watching him, a look of panic in his eyes. Clearly the youth had been waiting by his bedside, and was not sure how he would react to it.

"Well?" Voldemort snapped, feeling not the least bit forgiving of the boy at this moment as a headache throbbed in his temples. "My prognosis?"

"What? Oh, uh, Sectumsempra to the stomach. You were healed fine. We've just been waiting for you to wake up. The blast from the explosion knocked you out."

"Oh," Voldemort winced, rubbing his stomach. "Well, help me stand boy, I'm not as young as I used to be."

Harry quickly moved to take his arm and soon he was upright, feeling a bit embarrassed to be wearing his bed robes.

But then he had to stare in incomprehension at he feet...the color of them. His feet looked like normal feet! He looked at his hands. He examined every inch of them, down to the very normal, if a bit chipped and worn, fingernails, and the deep shade of peachy pink his flesh now took. He touched his head, and his hair was now in full. He felt so strange! So...human.

"What happened to me?" he said, more to himself then the boy, and went in search of the nearest mirror.

"Um," Harry said, still too nervous to do more than answer the given questions. "The Federation thinks that your body was fully restored when you...came between Lucius Malfoy and his attacker."

"Come again?" Voldemort whirled, and observed the youth with narrowed eyes.

"You were willing to die to protect somebody," said Harry, a little more boldly. "That healed the damage to your...um..."

"If you say my soul, I swear..."

"Well its true!" Harry countered hotly. "Hermione's research of horcruxes showed that true remorse, and sacrifice, could undo the creation of horcruxes..."

"I didn't have any..."

"And repair any lasting damage they caused," Harry continued firmly.

Lord Voldemort, for his part, had to suppress the urge to cuff the boy for his impertinence. He didn't want to lose his temper, it wasn't the boy he was angry with.

And something else was bothering him. A wiggle worm of concern in his chest that was wriggling around his heart.

Harry Potter had been at his bedside, waiting for him to wake up. And he had helped him to his feet...

Was the boy now loyal to him? Or was it more than that? He began to look at the boy, really look at him, eyes roving up and down his solidly defiant form, the purse of the lips, red and plump and as tempting to him for kissing as they had been since he had first been reborn. The hair, a mass of unruly strands of hair that he wanted to bury his hands in, smooth creamy skin that he wanted to touch, to taste...

He jerked his head pointedly to clear out the blank spots in the logical side of his brain that these images had wrought, and put his hands on his hips.

"I doubt it matters what condition my soul is in, I am still Lord Voldemort to you, and your Master, so don't forget it."

Harry bristled, a look of hurt briefly crossing his deep green eyes before he covered it with a look of distant aloofness, though not quickly enough to hide his obvious affection from his Master. Harry Potter was indeed feeling loyalty to Lord Voldemort, and was struggling with his placing new feelings in a context his Gryffindor mind could process.

"So what else has been happening since I've been asleep?" asked the Dark Lord, hoping to defer the topic to safer territory.

"Well, so far quite a bit," Harry said. "The Harvest Spell is a go for tonight. Snape is doing the song, though he says if you're ready for it tonight then he is willing to let you do it."

"Obviously," Voldemort snorted. "Severus hates singing, has ever since he was forced to join a choir in his muggle primary school. Its a shame, his singing voice is beautiful for all he hates to use it."

Harry smiled wryly, then remembered something else, and took on a more serious look.

"The Federation has decided after gathering all the evidence that the attackers were after me. The Order sent them to attack me, but didn't realize I am not posing as Jonathan Malfoy anymore, so didn't know that the person wearing the Malfoy family cloak clasp they had protein charmed was Lucius Malfoy. All my clothes and belongings were charmed. Its a wonder they didn't go after Draco first. The attackers were also imperiused, and under a blinding spell so they wouldn't know who was being attacked. People who might not have attacked Harry Potter if they'd had a choice."

Lord Voldemort felt revulsion and anger fill him at this alarming turn of events. The Order was trying to kill Harry Potter! His Apprentice!

And he immediately knew why; because of the horcruxes. Because of the doubt that Harry Potter might still have been one of them. Perhaps the whole ploy to send him to the revel was so that he, Lord Voldemort, would kill the boy himself!

"In the name of Salazar Slytherin!" Voldemort cursed, causing Harry to jerk and jump back. "Is the Order completely barking mad? Why didn't they just poison you if they wanted you dead? I...oh..I'm sorry Harry. I'm sorry. I didn't mean..."

But Harry was shaking, almost too hard for comfort. It had just finally hit the boy that his friends were trying to have him killed, and he wasn't sure which friends were trying to kill him!

Voldemort summoned a bucket to hold out to Harry just in time for the youth to wretch into it. Harry felt to his knees over the bucket and Voldemort held him until he was finished being sick.

But something strange was now happening. As Harry was sick, he could almost feel the boy's illness in himself. He could feel the emotions of the boy; the ghost of the original horcrux link had seemingly come back to life and the emotions of Harry Potter were starting to come across that bond rather strongly.

Do they hate me? Don't they understand what I sacrificed to destroy the horcrux? And now they don't, know, don't understand what destroying the horcruxes really did. It didn't destroy him, He's human again, and not evil! Don't they understand the Prophecy doesn't matter anymore, that things have changed? That I didn't have to kill the Dark Lord to defeat him, that I just had to make him human again? No, they didn't. Albus Dumbledore didn't know, and they don't know. To them I'm not really their friend, I'm just a tool! Well I'm not a tool!

Anger. It flooded into him from the boy before he had a chance mentally to respond to what he had read in the boy's mind. Pain, sorrow. Despair. The treachery of it all ran through the youth, threatening to unhinge him.

"Get a hold of yourself Harry," Voldemort chided, vanishing the vomit from the bucket and cleaning the boy with a wave of his hand. "Calm down. We don't know all the circumstances yet. It may be the Ministry..."

"But the Ministry didn't know about the Malfoys, and they didn't have access to my trunk. Only my friends..."

Voldemort sighed. The boy had started crying, shaking his head. He would never get used to the emotions of others.

"Well crying isn't going to solve anything. Stand up, here," he summoned a tissue, "Dry your eyes and don't despair. You have US. And we haven't ever been false with you. I truly wanted you as an Apprentice, and I would like to be proud of you. So make me proud; show them that you are the worthy Apprentice to Lord Voldemort. Show them that you are not a tool, but a willing follower and friend. Join the Federation."

Harry shook his head. He was holding his stomach now, stomach threatening to be ill again.

"I...I don't know that I can. I'm not a Death Eater, or a Dark Wizard, or any of that. I want to live a life my parents would have been proud of."

Voldemort observed Harry momentarily, as the youth shook his head and stared at the empty bucket.

"Harry, you are not evil for being my Apprentice. Anymore than I am Evil to be a part of the Federation. Good and evil are only subject to those who believe they are a judge of it. What I think is good is that you cared enough about me to stand by my bedside. I value loyalty, not treachery, and you have chosen to be loyal. I value that."

"But what about my friends? How can I be loyal to you and them?"

"What about them? Your friends who have plotted to kill you? That is not loyalty, and they do not deserve your loyalty in return, though you are kind to give it to them."

"And what about my parents?" Harry said, anger tingling down their bond. "You killed them!"

Voldemort nodded, and turned his head, surprised at the regret that was building up under his breastbone. He didn't need to look at the boy to know that he could feel that regret inside of him through the bond.

Before the Prophecy, before I truly became...the monster you feared...your parents were prime candidates to join the Federation. They just wouldn't join me. Your father's family had been friends with the Grindelwalds for years and that was whom the Potters held secret alliances with. They didn't think I was what they wanted in a Federation leader. They wanted Great Britain to be under Grindelwald. They wanted to usurp me. Well, your mother did. Your father was opposed to Dark Magic, and sent her into hiding to keep me away from her. To keep me from recruiting her."

Harry looked up, startled by this, and Voldemort sat down on the bed to look at him squarely.

"I wanted to change his minds, of course, recruit them both maybe, and when Dumbledore defeated Grindelwald at last I felt my chance had come. Despite your mother being Muggleborn I could see potential in her, more so than your father. But now that I look back on it, my lack of a soul was what lead me to try and kill you. My lack of forgiveness for their not wanting to join me, my lack of forgiveness. I went after you; not necessarily because of the Prophecy, but because greedily I thought your mother would join me if I threatened her son. She held no real love for James, just for the connection he gave her to Grindelwald, and all that power. So I gave her the choice; join me, or I would take her son's life. No. She would not. In anger I demanded she hand you over to me and she wouldn't, so I killed her, and then tried to kill you. It defeated me in the end."

A monent of silence, and Voldemort sighed.

"I look back on this now, and realize that I was wrong. My actions, my choices have been wrong Harry. My choices. If I'd had a soul then, I would have let them all go. Don't judge me too harshly for the past, though I fair say I deserve to be judged. But given the chance now, I would choose differently."

Harry got a strange look in his eyes, a look of familiarity and comfort that had somehow been sparked by this monologue. He rose to his feet.

"Albus Dumbledore once said that it is our choices that make us who we are. I guess, if you really feel sorry for killing my parents, then I can forgive you, though it hurts. It hurts."

Harry was shaking a bit, threatening to cry with a look, so Voldemort chuckled.

"Albus Dumbledore had quite a bit to say in his life. If I had listened to him in school I might not have made horcruxes to begin with. Might never have touched the Chamber of Secrets. Might not have declined that offer in my last year to come up to his office for tea and crumpets."

Harry laughed, nodding, and Voldemort stood to his feet.

"Thank you Harry. For this second chance."

"Your welcome," said Harry, smiling at him warmly. "I'm glad I could give it to you. It feels right."

"Then let us dispense with any of these worries. Lets go find Severus and find out what else has been happening whilst I have been asleep."