Hey Ho! I have had some wonderful reviews on that last chapter, so I am inspired. I do so wish that all of these characters I am playing with were mine, but oh well.

I hope all the questions you have asked have been answered in this chapter. If not, feel free to let me know!

Harry stood tall, not letting the swirl of magic, sound, and emotions touch him. He was using magic to protect himself from what he perceived as a threat, and didn't even know it. The bubble of his magic was a clear, emerald green, the color of his eyes, the color of death. Tom Riddle thought it was beautiful.

"Come, my Heir, we have much to discuss." The new Lord of Slytherin was so proud of Harry as he watched Harry's magic push the grasping hands of the Headmaster away so hard Dumbledore fell on his bum. It was fitting.

"NO! I forbid you to leave this room, Harry. This man is your enemy! He wants you for his own evil purposes!" Dumbledore said as he stood up, he was in a towering fury, and was prepared to do anything possible to stop Harry from leaving the Great Hall with Riddle. He knew Riddle's alter ego, and could not let him have his weapon. All his work, the prophecy, the Potters, the Dursleys, undone by the pureblood rules of ascension! How could Harry possibly be even in the running to be Riddle's Heir? Dumbledore faced Riddle, his eyes no longer twinkling, and made what he thought was a powerful threat. "I know who you are, and I am not afraid to tell everyone here!"

Tom smiled. So nice to see the 'Lord of Light' try his hand at manipulating the Dark Lord. Amusing, really. And somewhat pathetic. There was only one response to make. "Tell everyone who I am? They should all know by now, after all I came in here and announced it. Why don't you tell these good students how you were treating their Savior?" The shock on Dumbledore's face was so delicious. "Why not tell them where you had placed him as a baby, how he was treated there, and why you were going to force him to return?" Riddle's smile was predatory. "Speak up. We can't quite hear you." It seemed as if all of the students in the Great Hall were talking in low tones to one another, trying to make sure they missed nothing of what was said.

Dumbledore was speachless for the moment, he did not know how to respond to that. There was really no way to sugar-coat his placing Harry with muggles. No matter what he said it would still sound bad to all of these children who had noticed Harry's smaller stature and tendency to flinch. If they found out he had been placed there before his Godfather had been arrested, they would all know it done against the law.

Riddle continued speaking. "Come now, Dumbledore. Why not tell them how placing Harry with the Dursleys in the muggle world was highly illegal?" Damnation! Riddle was playing for keeps to let such information out. Why would he not use it to try and manipulate him behind the scenes? Why push it now? "Why not tell them that you had his Godfather placed in Azkaban without a trial?" NO! Did he have time to mass obliviate all of those here? Dumbledore knew he needed to think clearly, and act fast. His anger was quickly rising out of his control. He needed to stay in control of his emotions or he couldn't hope to control the emotions of others!

Tom Riddle was feeling really, really good. He had just made sure, no matter what, that the entire wizarding world would know by breakfast tomorrow the former address of the boy-who-lived. Not to mention that he was sure there would be a formal investigation announced tomorrow on the incarceration of Sirius Black. He wondered if Dumbledore had anything left he was willing to try with so many witnesses.

Dumbledore was furious! There was no way Voldemort was going to get away with this. If all of students knew who Tom Riddle was, they would take the Headmaster's side for sure. Not to mention Rita Skeeter! If he could direct attention to Riddle being the Dark Lord, maybe he would be able to hush up this whole mess. If she would report that the Dark Lord had taken control of the Savior and planned to kill him, Dumbledore could convince the Wizengamot of the need to combine the magic of the remaining pure-blood families and he would then be able to break the bond poor Harry had unintentionally accepted. All would return to the way it should be with just a bit more effort than he was used to exerting.

"Harry doesn't know what he is doing! You are taking advantage of his ignorance! There aren't many left who know that you are none other than Lord Voldemort himself!" There! See him get out of that. Harry will turn on him for killing his parents and leaving him to the miserable life he had at the Dursleys, and put his faith in Dumbledore once more.

The Headmaster was concentrating so hard on Tom Riddle that he didn't notice the snickers and laughter that his statement received. Or the fact that Harry was looking at him as if he was mad.

"I don't know how I didn't see it." Harry spoke quietly, but Tom heard him. Harry slowly moved away from Dumbledore, as if he were afraid he might catch something. He looked for guidance to the man who had just made all his silly childhood dreams of being rescued come true, then glanced at Dumbledore before looking back to Tom and mouthing the word 'barking.'

Tom's smile was beautific, causing many a girl, as well as boy, to sigh. Riddle motioned for Lucius to cover Harry while drawing his wand, ready to take on the old man for trying to take from Tom what did not belong to him. Harry was the Dark Lord's, and had been from the moment Tom had made him a horcrux. Now that he had his sanity back, the war was already over. The only one who was still fighting was Dumbledore. Maybe he could goad him in front of the minister and that Skeeter bint. He should do what he could to make sure Dumbledore spends his golden years with soul-suckers. No one would appreciate the irony like he could.

His faithful Death-eaters had managed to take a spot in the ministry, in every department. It was all his, ripe and ready for the picking. Everything was falling nicely into place.

Cornelius was shocked. The most respected wizard in the world was making a scene that could have been taken right out of a children's book. What was he thinking? There was no way anyone would believe his ramblings. Tom Riddle the Dark Lord? He was Lord Slytherin, the Minister had seen him claim his title just a little while ago. And his reasoning, who could doubt him? Mr. Riddle had found his Heir, he had said, and he needed a witness to the depths that had been gone to, to hide him away from his rightful Lord.

It just wasn't done! No one interferes with a Lord and his Heir. Family magic makes sure the Lord does not harm the Heir, bound to nurture and care for the next generation of magic users who wield the old Magics, so what reason could Dumbledore have had? Was 'enemy, evil purposes' the best he could come up with? And to think Cornelius had been relying on his advice to help run the Ministry. He should have listened to Lucius when Lord Malfoy had told him that Dumbledore was too old. It was obvious now that he must have been stewing in his own insane little world for some time. Good thing Rita was here! She was a fine woman and an excellent journalist. She would make sure the wizarding world knew to protect itself from the defeater of the old Dark Lord. Albus must have developed a need to stay in the limelight for defeating Dark Lords. Poor man. He had done so much good, the Minister vowed to get him the help he so obviously needed for past services to the wizarding world. He tapped the button on his collar which was an emergency medical alert. There would be someone here soon from St. Mungos.

"Now Albus, calm down. Everything is under control. You are acting as if you believe Lord Slytherin is the Devil." He paused for a moment. "You don't actually believe he is the devil, do you?" Dumbledore was just staring at him now, shocked. "You have taken to heart so many muggle customs," he raised his hands to show no hard feelings, "now don't be upset, no one cares that you have, its just that maybe you should have just stuck with Halloween." The Minister adopted a sweet, cheerful tone he usually reserved for children. "Lots of little lemon candies, Albus. Shall we talk about the lemon candies? I promise to get you lots and lots. Just sit down now, alright?"

Harry and Draco exchanged looks, and it made it even harder for them to hold in the laughter. Harry had doubled over, holding his stomach, and he was pretty sure he had pulled a muscle. He leaned carefully against the bench, trying to make sure he didn't fall in the floor. It would contradict the image he was going for now.

Draco leaned forward placing a hand on the nearest bench, helping himself to keep the laughter in. Oh, it hurt! He thought he might have pulled a muscle! He tried for a dignified posture, hoping to hide his undignified response.

Harry and Draco both lost it when they heard Hermione utter in the now silent hall, "The Devil, lemon drops and Halloween. Why didn't I see it?" It was obvious to her now that Dumbledore must have been mad for years.

When the men from St. Mungos in the white coats came in, Hermione started to hum, "Their coming to take me away, haha, heehee, hoho" Harry finally gave up the struggle, falling to the floor laughing.

She didn't notice that Salazar had a record playing in the portrait behind the head table the with same tune Hermione had been humming. She would maintain that she came up with it on her own, but even a genius Griffindor could fall pray to a Slytherin's well-laid plans. It helped boost the morale of the whole school that for the next month every suit of armor and every portrait could be heard humming it, just to make sure no one could get the tune out of their minds.

A Slytherin was nothing if not thorough.

After a brief struggle, the St. Mungo's team managed to subdue Dumbledore, the Minister had given a sincere and thoughtful interview to Rita Skeeter and she had left to get all of the action she had witnessed in the paper, and Tom Riddle had helped Harry Potter off the floor and taken him away by portkey.

Lucius had helped his son Draco up, and escorted him back to the Slytherin Dormitories. He gave him instructions to keep his mouth closed, which Draco found hard to do because the new password for everything in the Slytherin Dorms happened to be 'lemon drops.' It seemed all of his fellow slytherins were having problems not laughing as well. Draco sincerely believed they all had the memory it would take to fuel a corporeal patronus.

Draco asked his Father, "Where is Harry right now? Is he alright?" He didn't want to lose his new friend, and being the Heir of Slytherin would have many advantages that everyone would envy. He so wanted to be Harry's friend now, more than ever.

Mr. Malfoy smiled, and it was a calm, satisfied smile. "He will be fine, my son, he is good hands." Draco smiled, happy with the answer.

"Will there be any lemon drops?" He snorted at the look on his Father's face. Lucius placed a hand to his forehead, looking almost pained. "I had to Father. I just had to."

Harry had been fed, cosseted, and treated as if he were wanted. He listened with admiration of the stories Tom Riddle told him, about how he had been perched to change the world, lost it all when he had broken his soul up to the point that he had believed a prophesy made by a hack trying to get a job, and tried to kill him as a baby. It had seemed so unreal, yet he knew it was true.

Tom explained to him how Dumbledore had placed Harry with the Durlseys against the Potters' will, and how the blood wards he used as an excuse to place Harry there 'for his own protection' were based on love, so were useless since the muggles hated Harry for everything he represented, much less what he could actually do. Every case of accidental magic was met with brute force, almost stunting his magical growth. His body compensated by using his magic to heal his body, resulting in his shortness of stature, yet managing to keep his magic growing strong through use.

Tom made it clear to Harry that he would protect him from now on, because the prophesy was nullified and through the Rites of Succession Harry now belonged to him. Or the prophesy was fulfilled, if you looked at it sideways. Salazar had combined all the soul pieces except one back into the spiritual essence he was, enabling his magic to form a body for him since he was still able to wield the Family Magics. Not to mention he could call on the magic of the castle as well. He did, just to make sure the body would be an exact replica of the one Tom Riddle used to have. It paid to have friends in high places. Literally.

Having claimed Harry as his Heir, which he could do since the only remaining horcrux since the combination of the other soul pieces still resided within Harry, magic recognized him as the son of Tom Riddle. Harry, having accepted the claim, was now had access to all the rights and privileges of a pure-blooded heir. Tom Riddle wasted no time explaining what his rights were, and what power of decision making he had over Harry.

All things considered, Harry was now happy. He had no problem putting his name behind the man who had freed him, and he already had a fierce respect for his ideals. Such as freedom to practice all types of magic for all magical beings, only stopping where another's rights begins, and the removal of magical children from the muggle world, having them blood adopted into an already established magical family. There were more, but he didn't care. These two meant the most to him, allowing him to hold his head up as a parselmouth, and leaving him with no fear that another magical child would suffer what he had.

He felt as is he could fly without a broom, he was so happy. He had new friends, he was excelling at everything he put his hand to, and his future, for the first time ever, looked to be great.

There was only one drawback. With all of this Slytherin business, he lost his first friend, Ronald Weasley. Oh well.

Weasel come, weasel go.