Power and Immortality

                   Desperate for changing
                   Starving for truth.
                   I'm closer to where I started
                   Chasing after you...

Christmas. One of the best times of the year for Harry. No Dursleys treating him like their personal house-elf. No more hiding food underneath the floorboard. No more surviving on Hagrid's rock cakes. His teeth still hurts thinking about that...

It was the time of the year when Harry receives a big box of chocolate truffles and brownies from Mrs. Weasley, books from Hermione, trick wands from the twins, quidditch stuff from Ron, socks from Dobby...

It was the time of the year when Harry celebrated Christmas with his professors amidst the firecrackers, Christmas puddings and huge baubled Christmas trees.

It was, however, this time of the year when Harry found himself celebrating with the cracks on the infirmary's ceiling, after Dumbledore had dismissed yet another, DADA teacher.

Munching on a chocolate frog, Harry wondered who would replace the DADA teacher he had just chased
out of school. Ron and Hermione had left home, after another one of his exploits. Apparently, their parents were worried. Ron had wanted to invite Harry over but Harry had turned it down. He didn't want to cause any more trouble for his best friend.

Harry is still a little weak from the draining spell but mentally, he was frustrated. 'I'm in Hogwarts damn it! I'm not supposed to be chained to bed like I was with the Dursleys!'

He looked longingly out the window at the Quidditch field, wondering when Madam Pomfrey would allow
him to practise for next month's match with Ravenclaw.

"Er...no." She cleared her throat. "You-know-who sent several Death Eaters to her house yesterday afternoon. I'm very sorry Harry. Your Aunt Marge is dead."

Maximus O'Leary screamed and twitched like a rat on an eletric chair. Waves of pain rippled through every nerve and muscle of his body. Death was be a pleasing alternative to this pain, but apparently the torturer had other thoughts...

Lucius smiled at his handiwork. He enjoyed torturing people. Their screams, their pleas and tears, their pain...he loved every minute of it. It was like a drug, like nicotine, or cocaine. The adrenaline rush made him feel powerful and high. "Master..."

"More." The raspy voice of Voldemort commanded. "This small punishment is not enough to attone for what he had failed." Red eyes narrowed angrily at the quivering mass that was O'Leary. "But don't kill him yet. He is still useful..."

"I thought you looked similar to your brother." Legolas smiled. If Gandalf was such a powerful wizard, then surely his brother would be powerful too. "You have the same nose. Pray tell me, Master Dumbledore, do you know the way back to Middle Earth? Or better still, Mirkwood?"

"If the way is known, Gandalf would have returned home years ago. However, there's no harm researching about it. I can help you find a way to get back, but I don't know how long it would take."

Legolas poured himself another cup of coffee, absentmindedly adding 6 spoons of sugar and flipping
"Countering your fears Vol. IV" with his other hand. After the initial shock of the finding himself in an unknown part of the universe, Legolas had managed to settle down to act more magical than muggle.

Much to the annoyance of Snape, Dumbledore had enthrusted him the job of tutoring the elf to be this year's new DADA teacher. Many staff members had thought that dear old Albus had finally lost his marbles or, they reasoned, the elf managed to charm his way into this school. Snape snorted to himself at the thought. 'That, although viable, is perfectly ridiculous. Although...' Snape glanced at the elf sitting beside him pouring, what seems to be half a pitcher of milk and honey into his coffee. 'My God! How can anyone *drink* such sickeningly sweet stuff?'

Legolas flipped over another page of the Dark Arts textbook he would be teaching on Monday. "And I didn't know it was possible to have hair even more oilier than Aragorn." The elf put down an empty pitcher of milk. "And I assure you, he does not bathe often either." Legolas' eyes twinked with amusement as Snape developed an interesting twitch above his left eye.

"Miverva! Harry! Good to see you joining us for breakfast. How are you feeling Harry?" Dumbledore
had been listening to the elf bait the poor Potions Prof. with a smile. Snape needs lightening up, and the elf is exactly what he needed. Although he must often stop Snape before he detaches the elf's head permanently from his body.

Harry had taken the news of his Aunt's death calmly. He had never been close to her. Heck, to be truthful, he was glad she died. She won't be coming over to visit and humiliate him any time soon. 'Although...' Harry mused. 'Shouldn't he be feeling a little sorry for her death? Should he? Why does he feel nothing? He should be feeling something right? A Gryffindor should feel something right? Maybe he did belong to Slytherin after all...'

"I feel better Prof. Dumbledore." He said dully as he sat down beside Prof. McGonagall. There was no point sitting all by himself in the student's table.

Harry looked up from his scrambled eggs. He hadn't even noticed the new teacher sitting diagonally across him. 'Ark! I'm sitting across from Snape.' Harry thought miserably.

He studied the new teacher warily. Prof. Greenleaf looked like a male-version of a Vella. 'Too young.'
Harry noted. 'He looks the same age as me! Dumbledore must be really desperate to find a student in substitution of the recent DADA teacher I just chased out.'

Legolas noticed the wariness around the boy. 'A boy his age shouldn't act like that.' "Sexy Sevy's been kind enough to study Defense against Dark Arts with me." Legolas said lightly.

Harry watched Snape, easily the most despicable of Hogwarts, tried the intimidating glare he often used on students at the new Prof. It was clear that the glare had lost its effectiveness as Legolas beamed at Harry.

"Don't call me that detestable name." Snape growled, turning to glare at several Professors who coughed discreetly into their napkins. Harry had a small smile lurking at the corner of his lips.

"We found out several interesting spells that actually worked on humans as well as monsters." The blonde continued, ignoring the death threats Snape was muttering. "Would you like to see it?"

"Er...sure." Harry said uncertainly. On one hand, he didn't want to get into the bad side of the new Prof. On the other hand, Snape looked positively murderous.

Legolas wiped out a dark green wand from some hidden spot inside his sleeve. "I wonder if I could remember it...hmmmmm...." The new Prof. waved the wand carelessfully around as he thought.

"Sorry Minerva. Oh yes. I remember now. Ridikulus." By chance, the wand had turned to Snape's direction, of course Legolas knew otherwise. "It appears to work on all objects." Legolas continued, completely unfazed as Snape's eyes beaconed out 'die elf.'

Hagrid was the first to laugh and didn't bother to hide his booming laughter either. Harry managed to give a small laugh as he gawked at the pink-tutu-clad Snape, complete with pink ballet slippers, tiara, lipstick and powdered face, sitting in front of him. Even Snape's face matched with his new ensemble.

Dumbledore watched with detached amusement as a furious Snape started yet another barrage of curses and hexes at the elf. 'I definately have made the right choice.' He thought to himself happily. 'Harry is actually laughing. He hasn't been really happy since Cedric's death...'

"He is the most annoying, arrogant, irritating, obnoxious, despicable, brat I ever came across." Snape seethed, the memory of the breakfast incident, the hair incident, the fire incident and the potions incident, was still fresh in his memory. "Master." He added quickly.

"I don't mean your personal opinion, Severus. I mean his power." Voldemort said lazily, helping himself to another glass of the fine French wine, compliments of Lucius Malfoy.

"Yes Master." Severus apparated away quickly, thankful that he didn't need to suffer from the Crucius curse again. 'Maybe the brat is helpful afterall.'

Voldemort swirled the red wine thoughtfully. 'An elf. That could be said to be one of the best news I had so far. Little elfling. I will have you.' He smirked to himself. 'I will become immortal.'

"What is it?" Harry stared at the creature that resembled vaguely like a squashed watermelon and a very ugly toad. There was a trail of green slime as it chugged slowly towards Prof. Greenleaf.

"It's a slog 'arry." Hagrid beamed. "It's very friendly. I thought we could study their behaviour for class on 'onday." Hagrid, Harry and Legolas was sitting outside in Hagrid's garden. The fresh snow that had fallen last night sparkled underneath the sun like pearls.

"It's quite adorable in his way Harry." Prof. Greenleaf said, patting the slimy blob on the back. The green slog gurgled happily and turned to have his tummy rubbed by the blonde Prof.

Legolas frowned slightly. All elves are touchy on the subject of their age. It wasn't polite in elven culture to ask their elder's age. "I've just passed my 2000th birthday a few years ago."

"I'm only staying until Dumbledore and I figured out a way for me to go home." Legolas paused. "Not that I don't like it here. The castle is clean...and the Forbidden Forest is very beautiful and peaceful."

"But wouldn't there be a large disturbance if an elf suddenly turned up after being...extinct? If Voldemort found out about your existence..." Harry lowered his voice. So many had died for him already. His parents, Cedric, Aunt Marge... 'I don't want you to be the next one. Even if elves are very powerful magically. I don't want to pull another innocent person into this war. I don't need another person or elf for me to save. Why can't I just be a normal, ordinary wizard?'

"Albus is keeping me safe here." Legolas replied. "He is really too kind." A bright blue slog slimed its way laboriously and silently towards the elf in hopes of having a tummy rub. 'Poor mortal boy. His burden is heavy for one so young. I wish I could help. He reminds me of dear Frodo so much. I wonder how the little halfling is...'

The oppressive atmosphere was suddenly broken by a screeching of "LEGOLAS!!!!" Harry recognized Snape's voice and smiled slightly. 'What did Prof. Greenleaf do *this* time?'

"You should smile more Harry. Or you'll get premature wrinkles before you're 20." Legolas admonished. "Besides," Legolas winked at Harry. "it suits your nature. You can have any girl...or boy begging to be with you handsome."

"Really? I must hear about this next time. I believe Sevy has nearly reached the front doors. It's a pleasure talking to you both, but I should be leaving before a certain angry Prof. casts some awful hex on me."

Hagrid and Harry grinned and waved at the rapidly, disappearing elf. The elvish agility and grace clearly shown as Legolas dashed across the snow-covered grounds without a trace of a trail. His long sun-kissed honey blonde hair and black robe made the elf look like a fallen angel flying its way through one of the side-doors leading into Hogwarts. Harry couldn't help but admire and worry for the lovable elf.

Hagrid sighed as Harry's brows knitted into the familiar frown of anxiety. "Don't worry 'bout 'egolas, 'arry. Severus won't do anythin' *too* bad to 'im."

"That's not what I'm worried about." Harry pouted. The blue slog apparently hadn't managed to crawl its way quick enough to Legolas for a tummy rub, was now edging its slow way to Harry hopefully. "Voldemort would want him for his immortality."

"But still..." Harry's brows crinkled again. Hagrid frowned. He was worried for about his small, toustle-haired friend. Harry hadn't really laughed a lot this year.

Peter felt a wave of relief and exhausation through his system as Voldemort inspected his new body after dismissing a Dementor. The young muggle's soul had just been sucked from his body.

Soul magic. One of the highest and darkest of all dark magic, allows the caster to possess the body of the victim permanently at any length of time, even unto death. It is, however, very dangerous, exhausting and difficult to obtain the ingredients, like a willing sacrifice.

O'Leary now laid on the rough stone floor, his eyes vacant and unseeing, dead to the world. Moments before, he had been pleading Voldemorte not to cast the Crucius curse on him. Needless to say, Voldemort didn't. O'Leary had something better.

Voldemort inspected his new body from head to toe. Even he liked what he saw...yes...Pettigrew did have a good taste, despite of being rather pudgy and bull-dog looking. Voldemort was no longer in the shrivelled shell of an old man. Now, he had beautiful caramel skin, showing the sculptured muscles beneath. Wavy, dark brown hair, the color of rich chocolate framed with
his youthful face, complete with intelligient reddish-brown eyes, a straight nose and soft thin lips.

'Tall, dark and handsome.' Voldemort smirked to himself. 'Just the way you like it, little elfling. Seducing you would be very easy and your immortality will be mine!'