Chapter 1: Common Cold?
Chapter Text
“COME ON, PEOPLE! HUSTLE! WE HAVE A DEADLINE!” The head healer roared at St. Mungo’s potion lab where a massive amount of potions is currently being produced and prepared for shipment for the oncoming cold and flu season.
One brown haired medi-witch rolled her eyes as she started bottling a set of potions, “Slave driver.” She grumbled.
Another young medi-witch with black hair set a box down next to her friend and smirked, “Yeah seriously. Hey! Did you see that hot Quidditch player come in?”
The first medi-witch stopped bottling leaving several vials open just waiting to be filled, “Oh, I know! I so wanna search for his snitch!” The brunette fanned her flushed face as she started think dirty thoughts.
“Oh yes!” The raven licked her lips and leaned on the box of potions she had, which was labeled ‘To Be Disposed’. She didn’t see the cork of one potion come undone …
“GET BACK TO WORK!” The head healer barked startling both witches resulting in the raven jostling the box causing the one potion to splatter across the workstation.
“Oh sh*t!” They hissed. The head healer thankfully didn’t see what happened and they flicked their wands to clean up the mess. The raven haired witch nearly ran from the room with the rest of the potions meant for disposal as her brown haired friend frantically finished bottling not realizing that some of the vials were tainted with droplets of the spilled potion.
Everything was finished and packed away, but unbeknownst to anyone a pack of tainted potions was sent to Hogwarts …
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Ron frowned as he and Harry walked towards the Great Hall for dinner, “Hermione is ticked at us for some reason.”
“Yeah, but I don’t know why. I would think she’d be happy that our potion scores are up” Harry sighed as he was trying to sort out his friend’s feelings “You don’t think she believes we kept the ‘Half Blood Prince’s’ journal, do you?”
Ron frowned, “Why? We told her we gave it back and we did. I was there when you handed it to Snape the same day you found it … The git didn’t have to look so shocked that you’d hand over someone’s belongings” Ron grumbled in annoyance.
Harry shrugged, “Yeah … I wonder if Snape found who the book belongs to. I would love to thank them for writing their notes out in a way that actually made potions easy to understand.” Harry chuckled as he followed his red haired friend.
The red head glance around to see if anyone was listening before leaning up to Harry’s ear and whispering “Actually, mate … Could she be mad about those things we don’t tell her cause she’ll disapprove? You know, your grimoire, the training in that room or those theories we have on Dumbledick?” The red head scowled as he spat out the butchered form of the headmaster’s name. The Weasley family has come to the realization over the last few years that Dumbledore did not have Harry’s best interest at heart and have been taking measures every summer to help him every summer he’s forced to stay with those things that can barely be called human known as the Dursleys …
The Potter frowned and thought a moment. Hermione always made it clear that she disapproves of many things. She didn’t want Harry doing things not authorized by Dumbles, the very wizard he didn’t trust and she would tell. That’s why they stayed quiet until Hermione grew out of it.
Harry sighed, “I don’t usually write in my grimoire when people are around. Most people just think it’s a normal journal or homework, save for you and Neville … She just loves teachers too much to even consider that Dumbles is capable of any wrongdoing or that we would think otherwise … Also, the ghosts are positive that no one has followed me to that room”
“Then what’s her deal?” Ron groaned and rubbed his head as if he was fighting a headache “I give up … I’ll ask Ginny to see what the problem is … So … It’s almost Christmas break, ready to come over tomorrow?”
Harry grinned, “Can’t wait!” He exclaimed as they turned the corner and entered the bustling Great Hall. They sat down next to Neville and waited for everyone to be seated. The boys tried to say hi to Hermione, but she just glared at them and sat with Ginny, who looked just as baffled at the bushy haired witches attitude as them.
Once Dumbledore stood up silence fell over the room, “As most of you know it’s that time of year for sickness and that means after dinner everyone should for an orderly line outside the infirmary to receive the yearly potions to prevent the basics colds and flus, now enjoy the meal!” vast amounts of delicious food appeared on the tables and famished students …
“He’s twinkling you” Ron whispered out of the corner of his mouth as he filled his plate. Harry’s jaw clenched and he stabbed a piece of chicken with much more force than necessary. Every time Dumbledore looked at him with the ‘plotting twinkle’, as Ron dubbed it, in his eyes that meant bad news for him … He saw the twinkle every year right before something bad happened, being forced back to the Dursleys included.
“Great.” Harry grumbled continued eating while wondering what the old wizard had up the sleeves of his gaudy robes. It wasn’t long before he’d find out …
Right after dinner was finished everyone began heading for the infirmary where Poppy was waiting. Harry and Ron lined up with Neville … Sadly, not far behind Draco Malfoy who was giving his usual arrogant smirk with his fellow Slytherins next to him. Harry was relieved to see Professor McGonagall standing nearby, meaning the Slytherins weren’t going to try anything, but it was apparent the head of Gryffindor house was not there to keep order.
Professor McGonagall walked right up to Harry “Mr. Potter, the headmaster wishes to speak with you.” Harry knew arguing would be pointless so he nodded and left the line without getting his potions. He walked passed the long line of students, through the halls and up to the gargoyle statue that guarded the headmaster’s office.
“Fudge flies.” Harry watched the statue spin away revealing a staircase.
While walking up the stairs he reminded himself about the headmaster’s mind invading abilities. Thankfully Ron’s father, Arthur Weasley, gave Harry a few tips for protecting his mind from people who can read them, like the headmaster, when they became more aware of Dumbledore’s manipulations. The most important being is to not look them in the eyes and to keep your mind blank …
Dumbledore looked up from his desk and smiled with that creepy twinkle in his eyes, “Harry, my boy! How are you?”
“Just fine, Headmaster” Harry said with the best fake smile he could muster. He hated being called ‘boy’ …
It was just like with uncle Vernon … How much did Dmbledore know about that abuse? Harry knew the old goat knew plenty, but if so is it a sick joke calling him that? … Dumbles doesn’t call anyone else that … What an ass!
“ummm … Am I in trouble, sir?” Harry asked innocently, carefully avoiding the man’s eyes like usual.
“Not at all my boy! I want to congratulate you on getting your grades up and doing so well on your OWLS, but I’m afraid I have some disheartening news … Due to some movements of the Death Eaters it wouldn’t be safe for you or the Weasley family to go to the Burrow for winter break.”
(Funny … Percy and Mr. Weasley never mentioned any movements.) Harry thought as he recalled all the messages he had with the ministry and Order members. The Weasley family may not have been politically powerful, but they are in all the right places for information. One in Gringotts, two in the ministry, one pretending to be Fudge’s right hand man, and so on. “B-but headmaster they did inv-”
“I’m sorry, my boy, but this is for your protection and theirs.” Dumbledore, who looked so apologetic, said to the disheartened boy face, but his twinkle became brighter.
“I understand, sir” Harry hung his head doing his best to look crushed. Technically, he really was, but he was beyond furious too.
Dumbledore smiled, “Good. Now those Occlumency lessons will be restarted right after break and Professor Snape will teach you.”
Those the lessons were supposed to start the year before, but Snape was caught in a trap Peeves made and has been suffering some sort of headache that made Legilimency impossible so they had to wait.
Harry visibly paled, but Dumbledore assumed it was simply because of Snape not that Harry had secrets to hide.
Harry only had a few simple tips to stop Dumbledore from just reading his thoughts, but he can’t stop someone from invading his mind, “Y-yes, sir … Can I go now, headmaster? I need to get those potions.”
“Oh yes, of course! You be on your way, my boy. Oh and Professor Snape has agreed to take you for his NEWT class even though you only got an EE on your potions Owl and even though it’s the middle of the year so no worries. You can be an Auror like your father!” The twinkling headmaster exclaimed cheerily as Harry smiled and quickly retreated.
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“Hey, Weasel” Draco scowled as Ron ignored his taunting in favor of taking the potions Poppy gave him.
Poppy glared disapprovingly at Draco. “Knock it off, Draco Malfoy and take these.” She ordered and gave the blonde Slytherin three potions and then Neville, who was followed by a few other people. Just after Ron and Nevile left Professor Snape passed the infirmary catching Poppy’s attention “Severus Snape get back here and take these!”
The potions professor sneered at the vials in the medi-witch’s hand, “I can easily make my own.”
Poppy raised an eyebrow, “Oh and when in your busy schedule will you be able to do that?” Poppy asked pointedly, making Severus twitch. Between creating potions for a Dark wizard, spying, Death Eater missions, teaching, grading, writing exams and Dumbledore’s plots he had no time.
“Very well.” Snape conceded and drank two of the three potions, but paused to look at the third. “The color seems off-”
“Drink it.” Poppy ordered and Severus downed it, trying to avoid angering the witch and made a fast exit, but shot Draco a look to come with him to talk. Poppy watched Draco drink his potions and follow the professor out. “That's one box done.” She flicked her wand and opened the next set of potions as more students came in. She absentmindedly wondered where Harry Potter went …
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The young wizard in question stormed out into the hallway in front of the headmaster's office and kept moving through the hallways. He was so fixated on keeping his temper in check that he didn’t notice a few people standing outside the infirmary blushing at him.
“It’s about time, Mr. Potter.” Poppy smiled and handed him three potions. The medi-witch was stunned that the teen downed all three like shots of whiskey and left without a word. Harry nearly crashed straight into Ron as he headed back into the Gryffindor dorm.
“Whoa, Harry! Cool it, mate!” Ron frowned as his friend was clearly pissed about something. He took Harry’s arm and they went into Ron's prefect room for privacy. “What is going on? What did Dumbledick say?” The redhead asked as he felt the tension in Harry’s muscles … His very strong and toned muscles … Ron blushed and shook the thoughts away.
The Potter gave a humorless chuckle, “Apparently, I am a danger to you and your family and it would be better if I stayed here over Christmas-”
Ron glared, “That's not fair! And how the hell can he argue that when you come so close to death nearly every year you’ve been here?!” Ron exclaimed angrily, but before his rant could continue he noticed Harry sighed and sat down on the bed … The bad news wasn’t done yet it seems …
Harry ran his fingers through his hair with a frustrated sigh, “The occlumency lessons are back on.” He glanced up at his now rather worried looking friend.
If anything those lessons were the real danger …
There was a lot to hide. Molly Weasley has noticed right away that Harry’s home life was questionable at best. Ever since they first met at King’s Cross for his and Ron’s first … and rather traumatic year, Molly suspected something was wrong. She tried to talk to Dumbledore about it, but was shocked to hear that there was no issue. In her opinion, of course, there’s an issue if the boy looks like an anemic twig! Molly didn’t like it and instead asked if Harry could visit for the summer, which was allowed if only for two weeks …
It was perfect timing … The famous 11 year old arrived at the Burrow with a black eye …
The Weasleys all saw red … They decided to help Harry the best they could and get plenty of information before going to Dumbledore for further help and advice.
A life saving decision really for each thing Arthur and Molly learned, as they watched the boy play with their own kids over that summer, made them wonder. The boy had been scared at the strangest things, far too skinny, badly scarred from Merlin knows what and almost went to sleep in the cupboard instead of Ron’s room!
By the end they decided to not tell the headmaster anything and here’s why …
During that summer Harry turned 12 and a few more things were revealed.
One, was that it seemed like Harry never had a birthday cake before besides the one Hagrid gifted him, which was later smashed by furious relatives.
Two, after a poorly made joke by Percy about Harry getting fanmail they discovered that Harry, the famous ‘Boy Who Lived’ has actually never received any mail from the magical world!
And finally, after hearing Harry tell Ron that he was going to save up for a broom of his own they realized that Harry had no clue he was well off!
Molly has learned enough and floo called her son Bill, who works at Gringotts. She had him look into the Potter accounts to see what was wrong because Harry hasn’t even started getting bank statements. When Bill arrived the next morning they found out that Harry’s accounts are under Dumbledore’s control as Harry’s magical guardian and the eldest son said that there was something redirecting Harry’s mail … He suspected that it was Dumbldore too … As an added bonus the Dursleys and Ms. Figg were being paid to care for Harry, but Dumbledore never came to see him …
The Weasleys were livid and once they told Harry so was he …
After that they put their heads together and devised a plan to make the Dursleys livable when he was forced back there and think of ways to get around Dumbledore later. The perfect plan fell in their lap when Molly Weasley found Harry reading and thoroughly enjoying Bill’s old textbooks on Runes.
When Harry was sent back to the Dursleys and was locked in his room he drew a set of runes on the floor under the bed … A matching set was placed by Bill on the Weasley’s kitchen wall.
Food, letters, potions, books could all go through and be exchanged without anyone knowing. It’s the only reason Harry has grown at all … He was no longer the skinny boy, who’s too short for his age, but no one suspects a thing despite that.
“Bloody hell … Occlumency huh … We checked the library last year when this came up and found nothing … I could ask Dad to see if he could get a book on it … Peeves won’t tell us what that trap had and won’t come anywhere near us after we got the Blood Baron involved.” Ron commented trying to find a way to keep Snape from discovering everything.
“That would be good. I’ll check the founders’ rooms and see if I can find anything. Maybe I can put wards around my mind?” The raven pondered and then groaned in exasperation. “Dumbles said that I can take Snape’s NEWTs to be an Auror just like my Dad.” He scoffed.
Arthur Weasley told Harry all about his parents. His Dad was a rich spoiled bully that fell for his beautiful fiery mother, but James Potter never had a job. He was so rich he never needed one …
“Dumbledick just wants to set you up with a pissed off Snape again … He and McGonagall have been telling you that lie for years. Why are they trying to drag you into being an Auror? To fight Moldybutt? You’ve been doing that already!” Ron growled at the weirdness of it all. Harry just smiled at Ron’s pet name for Voldemort.
“I don’t know, mate, I just don’t know.” Harry sighed as he stood up from the bed. “Once curfew starts I’m going to the training room. I need to vent.”
Ron gave a mock look of disapproval, “As a prefect I should find such actions deplorable … so good luck!”
Harry just laughed as he went to the door, “Are you sure you don’t want to try again?”
Ron shivered in fear, “Merlin no! That place is creepy and it keeps sending spiders at me!” (Although I’d have no problem seeing you shirtless and all hot and sweaty-…) Ron’s brain came to a screeching halt, his jaw became unhinged and he blushed. Harry didn’t see his friend’s odd behavior because he was already leaving while chuckling at the red head’s fearful comment about spiders.
Neville looked up as Harry came in the dorm room and pulled out a brown slightly worn book with runes elegantly etched by hand into the cover, “Hey ummm … What are you doing for Christmas?” He asked shyly with a light blush.
“I will be protecting people … by locking my ass up in this castle apparently” Harry grumbled sarcastically and began jotting down a new idea for a rune sequence that will make candy blow up when swallowed and cause massive indigestion that can be applied to lemon drops.
“Oh, I’m sorry.” Neville winced at the other wizard’s tone.
“No … No, I’m sorry, Neville. I am not in a good mood right now” Harry sighed tiredly.
The herbology student smiled softly “That’s ok, I understand. Just in case I don’t see you tomorrow after morning classes I’ll give you your present now.” Neville kneeled down to search under his bed for his trunk.
Harry’s took the colorful package that was handed to him. “Thank you, Nevllie” He carefully unwrapped it revealing a beautiful set of shiny black measuring instruments used in crafting runes “Oh wow … Neville, thank you!” Harry let his fingers caress the shiny new tools before setting the present gently on his bed and pulling Neville into a hug. Neville felt his heart nearly jump right out of his chest as his face became very warm.
“I’m glad you like it, I know you really like to draw runes.” Neville said happily as he tried to control his heart rate. The herbologist was very confused, he never felt such a strong reaction towards Harry before … or anyone for that matter!
“Like it? I love it! Oh! I should go get yours before you go! Let me get your present!” Neville felt a twinge of loss as Harry let him go to fish his trunk out and pulled out of a small box. Harry glanced around to make sure no one was around and took Neville’s hand in his, not realizing his friend was blushing. Harry guided Neville’s fingers over the runes on the box and the box became several times larger. “I found these in the Black vaults and wanted you to have them.” Thankfully, Bill told him about Sirius’s will or he would not have been able to claim it.
Neville gave Harry a sad smile at the mention of Harry’s late godfather and opened the enlarged box, “Oh Merlin …” An awestruck Neville’s jaw dropped as he saw several compartments filled with rare to extinct seeds and several different tools used to care for them. “Oh, Harry, thank you!” He closed the lid and touched the runes to shrink it back to a pocket sized container … and couldn’t stop himself from hugging Harry again!
“No problem, I’m glad you like it … It’s getting late, I’m going to get ready for bed.” Harry pulled off his shirt revealing his ripped abs too, not only a blushing Neville, but the other Gryffindors that came into the room to go to bed.
Seamus’s jaw dropped, “Bloody hell, Harry. When did you get a six pack?!” Harry just chuckled, but didn’t respond as he put his book and his new tools from Neville away and pulled out some pajamas …
An hour later when everyone was asleep Harry slipped out of bed. His bare feet touched the cool floor and he silently ran his fingers along the frames of his glasses as he put the spectacles on. Unseen runes on the black frames were activated, unsealing a pair of black gloves, black shoes and a dark gray robe similar to his uniform robe.
Quickly and silently he put them on. A second set of runes were activated when he tapped his fingertips together. Suddenly, Harry turned completely invisible! His shadow vanished, any sound he made was completely silenced and after grabbing his wand he left the dorm without anyone seeing. He preferred this outfit he made himself over the Invisibility cloak, which could leave someone exposed easily … and he suspected Dumbles could see through the cloak …
The fat lady never realized her portrait being moved with the door to Gryffindor as it swung open … It definitely helped that she was asleep … Harry shut the door and slipped out into the hall. Nearly Headless Nick was floating on the stairs with a smile. Even Nick couldn’t see Harry, but it’s easy to figure out when a door randomly opens and no one’s there.
The specter would watch the Gryffindor entrance for a while to be sure no else came out so Harry had some peace of mind there as he went down towards the dungeons. Down and down he went, far past the Slytherin dorms. All the way to an unused segment of the dungeons. Finally, he stopped in a dark room that was suddenly flooded with light from the torches on the wall and looked down at the intricate markings on the floor …
It all started with Sirius’s death …
A heart broken Harry arrived at Hogwarts for his sixth year and went to find the friendly Gryffindor ghost to ask for advice hoping that Sirius may become a ghost. Nick sadly told him that it wasn’t likely because those who become ghosts do so because they fear death … Sirius wasn’t the type of guy to fear much, even death. Seeing the young wizard so depressed worried the ghost so Nick decided to show Harry a strange door they found over the summer with unique markings that the ghosts couldn’t enter hoping it would get the boy’s mind off his loss even for a little bit. Harry’s interest was piqued and they went down to see it …
It took longer than necessary because Nick kept forgetting that Harry couldn’t walk through walls, but the duo made it eventually …
Nick showed him the strange marked wooden door. Harry directed his attention to the marks on the door and Nick was shocked to see that Harry could read the marks on the door! Their words said that there was a room inside under the floor, which is a special training room. The whole thing was meant to be a gift to the founder Godric Gryffindor from the founder Salazar Slytherin … A gift to celebrate their 30th anniversary as a couple!
Harry was able to open the door easily and walked into a dark circular room, which lit up torches revealing three doors. Harry checked behind each door. One was a lavish bathroom, one was a passage that went to a study in the Chamber of Secrets and the last went to the Room of Requirements! That discovery was amazing for both Nick and Harry.
A shock for sure, but all the ghosts agreed not to tell Dumbledore about the room. For one thing they felt the room rightfully belonged to Harry since it opened only for him and read the markings, which was the written form of the snake language apparently. Besides, the ghosts haven’t been on the headmaster’s side since he approved getting rid of half of the books in the library decades ago because he felt they were ‘dark’ …
It was foolish and hurtful. Most of the ghosts lived with that material … To suddenly call it dark was like calling them dark! That’s just insulting!
Harry simply walked into the center of the floor and the floor opened up to reveal a spiral staircase. Once he made it to the bottom of the stairs the ‘floor’ above him closed up.
The young wizard has been training here for almost four months, since his sixth year began and he quickly found out that Godric Gryffindor was a tough fighter, who liked lots of different training routines.
Meaning … The room was set randomly and there were no tutorials. It was strictly learning through getting your ass kicked …
Once Harry stepped away from the stairs he would be transported to an unknown place, sometimes given a weapon in place of his wand and be surprised with any number of different skilled people to fight. It was some kind of very powerful illusion reinforced with wards. The people felt real, the weapons felt real and the injuries felt real except blood looked green and his opponents’ bodies would turn to stone if he killed them. If he lost the fight the weapons and wounds would vanish and he would appear back at the foot of the staircase sweating and exhausted.
A forest scene appeared and six different fighters were around him, “Martial arts … Karate … Kick boxing.” Harry noticed his wand was gone and smirked. “Hand to hand. This place must know I’m stressed.” He barely finished his sentence before dodging a punch from one fighter and a kick from another …
The match has begun …
Harry was struggling after getting a vicious kick to the gut, but he removed the gravity charm he was under … A charm he made to help build strength and started fighting back …
Chapter 2: Side Effects
Chapter Text
Last Time:
Harry was struggling after getting a vicious kick to the gut, but he removed the gravity charm he was under, a charm he made to help build strength, and started fighting back …
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Neville went over and sat next to Ron in the Great Hall, “Hey, Ron … Where’s Harry?” The budding herbologist asked as he looked around the crowded room quickly filling with hungry people wanting breakfast.
“He’s coming … Can you believe we have to go to classes this morning right before leaving? We’re the only year that has to! It bloody sucks!” The redhead grumbled, trying to change the subject. He was willing to bet that Harry fell asleep in the training room and was trying to avoid the Slytherins as he left the deepest depths of the dungeons. It was the one thing they haven’t got a chance to tell the young herbologist about … Neville guessed about all on his own and knew something was going, but knew they would tell him like always once they got the chance. Not a moment later he saw Harry running past a startled Draco and heading towards them.
“Yeah, but it makes sense. We are the year working on passing our NEWTS. I think it’s only for our year though … The seventh years get a break since they are taking it. At least, it’s only half classes.” Neville, who smiled as Harry sat down with them, said, trying to focus on the silver lining.
Harry panted slightly out of breath, “Hey guys. Ready for classes?”
“Yeah … Are you ok? You look like you just ran a dozen laps around the Quidditch field.” Neville asked, he was tempted to check for a fever.
(More like up ten flights of dungeons.) Harry thought in exhaustion, he was glad he kept a spare uniform in the lavish bathroom above the training room. “Had to take a few detours to safely get past Draco and his goons … Oook, Hermione is clearly still mad.” Harry winced as the bushy haired girl shot him a glare from her spot at the table.
Ron frowned, “Yeah, about that … Ginny thinks it has something to do with potions, but she doesn’t know anything beyond that.”
“Guess we’ll find out … Oh, I checked Salazar’s study before coming here. Nothing specifically on occlumency.” Harry whispered in the redhead’s ear, unintentionally making Ron shiver.
Breakfast was a little awkward. Harry could feel Hermione’s eyes boring into his head as if trying to set him on fire and Ron was feeling it too. They quickly finished their meals and went through their shortened classes. The DADA class with Professor Snape was a little scary. Snape was staring at him most of the time. He was sure the professor was beyond pissed about having to take Harry into his NEWTs class and teaching occlumency.
It wasn’t his fault! He wanted to jump up and say, ‘I’m sorry ok! Dumbledick is making me take your class! Don’t snarl at me!’, but that probably wouldn’t be wise …
Professor Slughorn’s potions class was the last class and it was great. The wizard explained some guidelines to help study and prepare for the NEWTs like the other classes, but explained that Professor Snape would be teaching those in conjunction with the DADA classes. It was also revealed that Harry just barely edged out Hermione for the best potion that was brewed that day earning a small prize in the form of a box of cauldron cakes. Harry was proud of himself for doing so well and gladly accepted the treat …
Victory is sweet!
Unfortunately, Harry noticed a certain witch wasn’t happy about this, “This is ridiculous. I’m going to talk to her.” Harry said as he saw Hermione storm out of the classroom the second class was over.
Ron noticed, “Yeah, we should clear the air before the holidays and since she won’t calm down and talk to us we better start it. Meet you in a second, mate.” Ron called over his shoulder as Harry took off after Hermione. The redhead took a second to steady his heart rate before collecting all of his things. He didn’t know why, but he just can’t focus on anything other than his friend’s big strong hands … It was so strange.
*SMACK* A loud smack followed by horrified shrieks and gasps coming from out in the hall attracted not just Ron, but Professor Slughorn too and they went to see what was going on …
“Ms. Granger!”
“HARRY!”
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Severus was sitting back in his chair in his DADA classroom. The last class before lunch had just finished though he was relieved he couldn’t shake the feeling that he … He missed having Harry Potter in his class and to his surprise he felt no anger towards Albus for forcing him to take Harry into his NEWT classes. Before he could ponder the odd feelings or why he started thinking of Harry as Harry and not Potter or James’ spawn, Slughorn poked his head in the room …
“I’m glad I found you, Professor Snape. Could you please come to the potions class? There seems to be a problem that only you can resolve involving Mr. Potter and Ms. Granger.” Slughorn asked almost pleadingly.
“Very well.” Snape said a little more eagerly then he intended, but ignored it and followed Slughorn to the potions classroom. He was met with the puzzling sight of Harry sitting in a chair clutching his cheek and staring across the room at Ms. Granger who didn’t seem concerned even though Ron Weasley was glaring at her from his spot next to Harry. “Explain.” Snape ordered.
Hermione shot the two boys with her patented high and mighty look, “These two could never get the grades they do in potions without cheating, Professor Snape. You see these two went looking in the back of the library where old textbooks are and they found a journal belonging to the ‘Half Blood Prince’. The book contained potion tips, recipes and spells. I, of course, told them to give it to you, but they clearly didn’t-”
“That is where you’re wrong, Ms. Granger,” Severus Snape actually felt a strong sense of smug satisfaction seeing the look of shock on Hermione’s face. “Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley handed the book over to me in the first week of classes.”
Hermione gasped, “But that means they copied someone’s personal journal because their grades started going up right after!” Hermione shot Harry an accusing look, but was startled to see Ron glaring ferociously back at her.
Professor Slughorn raised an eyebrow, “Harry, would you care to explain that?” He wanted to get this straight especially if cheating is involved.
“Yes, Professor. First off, I was the one who decided to return the book. I admit I did make a few notes from the journal, but only on the calculation process, sir. I didn’t take any recipes or spells.” Harry explained. It was something personal … Harry knew he’d hate it if someone tried to mess with his grimoire.
Professor Snape looked at Harry intently, he nodded towards Slughorn, satisfied that Harry was not lying, “Why only the calculations?”
Harry smiled despite having Snape looking down at him, “It was beautifully detailed, sir. The way it was written out actually made potions easy to understand compared to those regular textbooks, which are, frankly, confusing.” Harry said and Ron nodded in agreement. “Whoever wrote it should write textbooks. The potion making process was so detailed and each step was broken down to the point where a monkey could understand it … and then further, so I could.” Harry chuckled, but then frowned as he felt something wet and finally moved his hand from his cheek revealing a bleeding cut. “Ummm … Professor Slughorn, my cheek is bleeding again?” Harry stated in confusion. The current potions professor made sure to heal the gash with a simple salve before going to get Professor Snape to resolve this disagreement.
The DADA professor was surprisingly very flattered at what Harry had said though he didn’t show it. Out of the corner of his eye Snape noticed Hermione slip something into her bag during the bloody distraction. A thin razor blade? Is that blade what made the cut?
“Oh my! Wait here. Let me get some more salve.” Slughorn exclaimed as he rushed over to the cabinet.
Ron pulled out a handkerchief and pressed it against the bleeding cut, “This is bleeding a lot for a little cut.” He moved the bloody cloth away so the professors could examine Harry’s gash trying to hide his surprise when Snape leaned over to help as he looked at an unashamed Hermione. “Well … Where is your apology?”
“For what? You should never have hidden this from me to begin with and just asked for help studying.” Hermione huffed. Harry’s jaw dropped creating another trickle of blood and even the two professors paused to gawk at the witch, but before anyone could say a word Ron exploded …
“FOR WHAT?! How about the fact that you slashed Harry’s face open?! At least, say that you’re bloody well sorry for that! And as for all those times you helped before, I have this to say, Professor Snape would make a better cheerleader than you would a bloody teacher! You have zero consideration for how other people think! All you’re capable of doing is regurgitating the same crap in the books as if you think we can’t read, telling us what we should do and fanning yourself with your excellent report cards while complaining about how you were wrongly deducted one point on something! You have never helped us! If anything I think you get off sabotaging us so you can stay on top!” Ron finally stopped ranting and everything in the room was silent except for Ron’s breathless panting. The awkward silence lingered until a furious Hermione got up and stormed towards the door.
Slughorn glared at the retreating witch, “Ms. Granger!” Hermione paused to look at the potions professor. “Consider your membership to the Slug Club revoked and for such behavior you will be spending detention Saturday and Sunday with me once the break is done and it will continue until I hear a sincere apology to Harry. Is that understood?” The only response he got was Hermione slamming the door as she left. “Dear Merlin … Was she always like this?”
Snape scoffed as he checked Harry’s gash and carefully applied more salve, “She was always very high strung and self important. I’ll add a punishment of my own after the break … Well, Mr. Potter. It seems your wound has fully healed. Your rather unfortunate streak of luck is clearly still strong. Of course, you would get injured minutes after Poppy leaves.” Severus said as the young wizard stood up. He didn’t reveal it, but he was fascinated that Harry was taller than him. When did that happen? … and he’s so muscular now …
“I don’t know, professor. My luck can’t be that bad since you and Professor Slughorn were still here.” Harry said as he gratefully accepted a blood replenishing potion from Professor Slughorn.
“Indeed … You should both get to lunch and be ready to leave.” Snape said, trying to ignore the odd flutter he felt in his chest when Harry said his luck wasn’t bad since he was there …
“Yes, professor.” Both Harry and Ron said before leaving. Harry expected a harsh comment about being cheeky like always, but none came. In fact, Snape seemed much less hostile than usual and it was a relief. Ever since Mr. Weasley explained what Snape’s life at Hogwarts was like and that the man was a spy for the Order, Harry realized why the man acted the way he did. It must’ve been difficult with him being James Potter’s look alike. He never held anything against Snape and just hoped the professor would see that he wasn’t his father … Maybe he finally was.
Ron scowled as they headed for the dorm, “I can’t believe her! What the hell is Hermione’s deal?” The redhead snapped the password at the Fat lady startling her and they went to the common room where they found Ginny and a few other people getting their stuff ready.
Ginny excitedly came over to them, “Hey, guys! Ready to go?” She asked as she was practically bouncing on her tiptoes in excitement for the holiday break.
Harry winced, “Umm … Ginny … There’s something I forgot to tell you … Dumbles says I can’t go.”
It took a second for those words to sink in, but when they did Ginny looked heartbroken, “What? … WHAT?! Why? That’s not fair!” Ginny looked so saddened. Harry was, as far as she was concerned, her seventh older brother. It hurt that they couldn’t spend the holidays together.
“That’s what I said.” Ron growled as they sat on the couch. “Oh and we tried to talk to Hermione.”
Ginny still looked sad as she glanced at her red haired brother, “So what happened?” By the time they finished explaining what happened Ginny was fuming. “I’ll murder her … but first,” Ginny jumped up from the couch and grabbed her truck. The two wizards blinked as she pulled out a colorful package with Hermione’s name on it and chucked it into the fire.
Ron chuckled nervously as he watched his sister poke the charring package with a fire poker with a sad*stic smirk as the present crumbled away, “Ooook … We better go get lunch.” Harry nodded quickly and made a mad dash to shove his trunk back under his bed before following them to the Great Hall.
The meal didn’t last long enough. Before Harry knew it he was standing on the platform giving Ron and Ginny their presents. Minus Hermione, Ginny took that present. He was waving goodbye to his friends, all of which were avoiding Hermione like the plague, as the train left. Even Neville, who saw what happened, gave Hermione the cold shoulder. After the train was out of sight Harry sighed and headed back into the warm castle.
“Well, now what … I could take my book to the library and do some research, I guess.” Harry sighed. This wasn’t the holiday he had planned, but he’ll make the most of it.
With those occlumency lessons coming it was imperative that he figures out a way around that and he has a theory that might work. The use of runes around his mind might provide the protection he needs. He has used runes on his own body to hide his scars, but the mind is far more complicated. It will require reading up on both muggle and magical books on the mind.
Thankfully, his cousin Dudley fancied a girl in an advanced anatomy class and bought several books on the subject. His cousin no longer likes that girl and had no use for the books so Harry took them instead of throwing them out as his aunt instructed.
The wizard went up to the sadly empty dorms and pulled his trunk out. He was shocked to see that his grimoire was not there! Harry searched his entire trunk … He found the tools Neville gave him, the anatomy books and some pencils still shrunken and wrapped in his invisibility cloak … but no grimoire …
“What the hell? … I don’t take it out of the dorm so how …” Harry’s eyes closed as he realized who might have taken his grimoire … Hermione. This was a new low … No … No, he will give her the benefit of the doubt for now.
“Dammit … Maybe I can retrace it.” He pulled out his wand and tapped his glasses telling the frames to release a mini blue snitch. With a simple incantation the blue snitch came to life and fluttered around waiting for Harry. The Gryffindor pulled out some extra parchment, a set of mechanical pencils that were shrunken, his new tools and the shrunken books, which he put in his bag ready to start his research and headed out of the Gryffindor dorm with the snitch in the lead. The snitch took him to the Great Hall and paused in the library, which were all deserted …
Harry frowned as the snitch fluttered up to a space missing a book in the ancient runes section, “So the person who took my grimoire went from my trunk to the Great Hall … Most likely for lunch. Then snuck into the library to check out a book on runes.” A dark eyebrow rose. Why would Hermione want that? She can’t cancel out the runes using a book from the library. Hell, Bill Weasley, a professional curse breaker at Gringotts, had trouble! … and Harry has improved since then …
“Is my book on the school grounds?” Harry asked and sighed as the snitch spun around in a circle indicating no. So it was most likely Hermione who took it … Harry tapped his glasses and watched the snitch vanish. “Oh well … Nothing can be done about it. If it is Hermione I’ll find out when she gets back so I may as well get working.”
After finding a table in the section closest to the somewhat useful magical books on the mind, he went about unshrinking his things and pulling out his new tools. As he suspected the magical books weren’t all that helpful. He couldn’t help but wonder why there are no books on occlumency here. Salazar’s study he understood. The wizard’s passion was potions, but still there was more information there than in this library even if it was in the form of tiny references …
The anatomy books were much more helpful! He even found a caption that talked about deep meditation as a means of reaching the deepest parts of one's mind and things like hypnosis. If he could reach that state of his mind maybe he could set up barriers that will keep certain parts of his mind safe without it looking too suspicious to Professor Snape. All he had to do was focus on the complex functions of the brain and devise the runes that won’t conflict with them.
Just as Harry felt he was onto something someone sat down at his table. It was Draco and Blaise … and it seems Goyle was right behind him keeping him from getting up to leave …
This suddenly got awkward …
“Can I help you?” Harry asked, trying to look for an exit that didn’t require threatening Goyle with one of the hidden daggers in his sleeve that he took from the Room of Requirements.
“Why are you here, Potter?” Draco demanded without the usual arrogant tone … He seemed to be just curious.
Harry sighed, he never started any fights with them and he refuses to start now, “An unexpected change of plans has kept me here for the holidays.”
Draco glanced at Blaise before looking back at Harry, “and what would that be?”
Harry clutched his chest in mock hurt, “Why? So you can fix it and get rid of me? Does spending Christmas with me really sound so bad that you want to know all the dirty details of my life and fix my problems? I’m hurt.” A snarl or sarcastic comment should any minute now …
Any second now …or not? Harry raised an eyebrow, the Slytherins actually seemed unsure how to respond. Were they really just curious?
Harry blinked, “To answer your question I’ve been labeled a danger to those around me and told to stay here for protection.” He said as he casually went back to reading his books and subtly watched their reactions.
“What? Err … How does that make any sense? You have been nearly killed every year here. You’d be better off sleeping in Gringotts.” Blaise scoffed.
Harry couldn’t resist a short laugh at the thought of the goblins’ faces if he tried that, “As hilarious as that would be I’m stuck here. Headmaster’s orders.” Harry flinched as he realized that he revealed too much. Not in what he said, but how he said it. As in the contempt in his tone when he said ‘headmaster’s orders’, but it was too late. The observant Slytherins heard … Even Goyle seemed to notice. “Oook … Well, I better go-” Goyle placed a hand on Harry’s shoulder and forced him back down. “Then again staying seated sounds like a great idea. Glad to see you’re looking out for me, Greg.” Harry mentally snickered at the flustered look on Goyle’s face when Harry used his actual name instead of Goyle like everyone else.
Draco crossed his arms over his chest, “We aren’t done here, Ha-potter.”
The green eyed wizard pretended not to notice the little slip, “So I gathered.”
“What happened back at the potions classroom after Granger mutilated you?” Blaise nearly growled, startling Harry.
This entire situation was making Harry’s head spin. They really seemed concerned … Did he fall into another world or something? Oh well, as long as they weren’t giving him a hard time he won’t question it.
The green eyed wizard shrugged, “Professor Slughorn healed my cheek, went to get Professor Snape to help clear up a few things-”
“You mean about the ‘Half Blood Prince’s’ journal.” Draco quickly concluded. The only reason the blonde knew was because Severus Snape was his godfather, not that Harry knew that little fact.
“Yeah.” Harry mentally rolled his eyes, of course they would know. Slytherins talk. “Hermione claimed that Ron and I never gave it to Professor Snape. Once the professor told her we did she still claimed that we were cheating. I explained that potions became easier when I saw the calculations written out and that was it … Well, I needed to be healed again-”
Blaise held up a finger silently telling Harry to be quiet, “Hold it. What was Granger’s punishment? You didn’t that she when she apologized.”
“And what do you mean you had to be healed again?” A horrified Draco demanded.
Harry winced at the Slytherins’ tones. They weren’t pleased and they will most likely not like what he was going to say next. “Errr … Hermione got detention with Slughorn and she was kicked out of the Slug Club-”
“And with Professor Snape?” Draco asked.
“Well Professor Snape didn’t give her punishment at the time. He seemed more focused on applying a salve to my cheek since the gash Hermione made when she slapped me reopened and was bleeding pretty badly.” Harry said with a shrug, hoping that this will be the end of the questions.
Draco scowled, “Sounds like she hit you with something that was dipped in a potion to mess with the healing process. That’s the only reason the wound would’ve opened up again. Professor Snape won’t let that go without a punishment. You didn’t answer Blaise’s question. Did she apologize? Not that it should make a difference.”
The bitter laugh that escaped Harry’s lips startled the Slytherins, “Trust me, Draco, what she said made a big difference. Her apology was her simply saying that it was my and Ron’s fault for not telling her everything. She wasn’t sorry in the least.”
It was obvious the Slytherins were fuming at this, but why? Not long ago Draco would’ve been cheering Hermione on, Blaise would’ve ignored it and Goyle cheering with Draco so what’s with the sudden change of heart? Before Harry could ponder the issue further the awkward silence was broken …
“I don’t remember seeing books about the complex neural pathways of the brain in the library. These look like muggle books.”
Harry blinked in shock and slowly turned to the last person he expected to say that out loud … Goyle, who clearly looked like he was kicking himself for saying that out loud. “They are my cousin’s. He wanted to toss them in the trash so I took them.” Harry said, still shocked that Goyle talked about the library and now the guy had a flicker of disgust at the mention of tossing a book in the trash! At least, Blaise looked as stunned as him, but Draco was smirking as if he knew Goyle was a closet Ravenclaw. “Anyway … Hey, Greg. Were you in the library after lunch?”
Goyle actually seemed to consider playing dumb, but Draco shot him a look that screamed ‘just give it up already, you’re busted’ and he sighed, “Yeah, why?”
“Did you see Hermione here too?” A still slightly shocked Harry asked.
“Actually, yeah. Miss high and mighty was in the Ancient Runes section trying to smuggle a book out with her.” Gregory Goyle said, finally giving up on the stupid henchmen pretense.
“Did she have a medium sized old brown book with her? It wouldn’t look like a library book. It wouldn’t have had a title and there are runes carved in the front cover.” Harry asked, who was liking this Ravenclaw like side to this Slytherin.
Greg bit his lip as he thought for a moment and then nodded, “Yes. Granger looked pissed because couldn’t open it … Guess that’s why she took the Ancient Runes book, which I doubt will help. Books on runes only go over the rune symbols and simple chains, but if the person was creative then a book won’t have the answer written there. That’s a field that requires experience to break complex or creative rune chains. Why do you want to know?”
“No reason.” Harry said enough though it was obvious that he was beyond pissed with the news. “Excuse me.” The Potter made a move to shrink his things and get up, but Greg was about to push him back down like before … or try …
First, Harry is stronger than the closet Ravenclaw …
Second, Harry doesn’t hold back his strength very well when pissed and he was pissed …
Third, Harry was taller than Goyle …
All of these facts resulted in a stunned Gregory Goyle being forced to let go of the Potter or risk being lifted and dragged away by the angry wizard or thrown backwards …
“Oh, Greg! You should show this side of you more often. It’s much more pleasant.” Harry called over his shoulder as he exited the library leaving three shocked Slytherins behind.
XXXXXXXXXX
Severus Snape frowned as he looked at the bloody handkerchief he managed to slip away from Ron Weasley, “Let’s see what you’re planning, Granger.” He sneered as he set a cauldron up to start making a potion in the personal lab in the head of Slytherin chamber …
The professor paused to mentally wrestle over a decision before setting up another potion to simmer …
Chapter 3: Hidden Diagnosis
Chapter Text
Last Time:
The professor paused to mentally wrestle over a decision before setting up another potion to simmer …
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Harry smiled as he looked at his calculations written on the sheet of parchment “I’m onto something … Yeah, this could work, but I need to consider the dreams part of the mind- … Crap, it’s dinner time.” He gathered up the tools, books and papers scattered throughout half of the empty Gryffindor dorm and locked it in his trunk, which was now heavily warded for security. He changed out of his uniform and got into some dark jeans and a simple gray t-shirt. There didn’t seem to be a point in dressing warm if he intended to stay in the school.
The place felt so empty, but it didn’t bother Harry as much as walking into the Great Hall and not seeing the pain in the ass headmaster on his seat. Dumbledore was probably having a lovely holiday while he’s stuck here. He seems to like taking every chance he can to get him separated from the Weasleys. Wonder what he thinks is going on? The runes under his bed at the Dursleys were still intact every time he went there and Dumbledick never made him live elsewhere so if he didn’t know what is this all about?
And where was Professor Snape? He is the only one who stays to watch the students who stay for the holidays, but the professor’s seat was empty.
“Potter, come sit.” Harry raised an eyebrow as he spotted the three Slytherins from before and remembered the almost unbelievable conversation that occurred just a few hours ago … His head was still trying to wrap itself around it.
“Ok, but why are you guys acting like this? Most of the time you’re picking fights.” Harry commented curiously as he sat down next to Draco and across from Blaise.
Draco rolled his eyes, “You’re no better.”
The Potter raised an eyebrow, “How so? I never started any fights. Ron and I try to ignore you when you’re in your moody time of the month.” Blaise and Greg tried, but failed epically in stopping their snickers, making Draco blush in anger and a little embarrassment.
“Would do you mean? You started that fight-…” Draco paused trying to think of an example.
Greg cringed, “err … He’s right, Draco. It’s always either you or … Granger.”
“Yeah, I only step in when things go too far … Hermione is showing more issues the longer we know her.” Harry grumbled. The house elves appeared with trays of food and looked a little confused as to why Harry Potter was eating with the Slytherins, but they shrugged it off and served the food.
“She’s lost it. Why are you even friends-” Blaise reached for the pasta, but froze as his hand brushed against Harry’s causing a pleasant jolt to race up his spine. “I-I mean she was never really pleasant.”
Harry raised an eyebrow at Blaise’s flustered reaction, but pretended to ignore it, “Well after that troll incident in our first year, Ron and I, tried to help her out. At first, it seemed like she was a good friend and it sort of spiraled out of control as her head inflated.”
“The book she took from you, what was it?” Greg asked as he kicked Blaise under the table for drooling while staring at Harry’s chest … It seems he was not so subtly mentally undressing the Gryffindor.
Right now the muggle raised part of his mind wanted to say ‘journal’, but as Ron has been trying to drill into his skull that’s not the wizarding word for it. “It’s my grimoire.” It really didn’t matter to Harry if these people knew. They don’t go running to Dumbledore or other teachers like a certain witch. Besides, they, like Ron and Neville, are pure bloods and understand the significance. Of course. this sudden change of attitude helped a lot with trusting them.
Draco and the others nearly choked on their food, “Grim*cough*oire?! The bitch *cough* took your grimoire! No wonder you were pissed earlier!”
“Yeah.” A smirk appeared on Harry’s lips that he didn’t realize made the Slytherins shiver. “She can try and open it though … It’ll serve her right.” After that cryptic response they continued eating. Harry, however, did not realize Draco and Blaise were watching the motion of his lips as he chewed or the pink tinting their cheeks.
“Soo … Where has Professor Snape gotten to?” Greg asked trying to snap his friends out of their daze before Harry caught them staring at him.
Harry nodded as he set his fork down, “I was wondering that too actually.” He raised an eyebrow as he noticed Draco staring at his arm for a second before focusing on the conversation.
“He’s working on some potions. I guess he couldn’t leave them unattended. The house elves probably took him some food.” Draco answered absentmindedly as he kept glancing at Harry’s hands.
“Yes, that makes sense.” Harry commented as he ignored the Slytherins’ odd behavior, which apparently got even stranger than before, “Well, I’ll see you guys tomorrow.” The Potter commented as the house elves got everything cleaned up.
Greg nodded, “See ya later.” He said as the Gryffindor left. “Subtle guys, really bloody subtle. Where’s your Slytherin cunning?” He playfully scolded.
Draco huffed as he got up to leave, “What are you talking about?”
“Seriously?” Greg blinked in shock as he followed Draco and Blaise out of the Great Hall “Have you guys noticed what you were doing? You were both one step away from jumping his bones right on the bloody table!” Greg rolled his eyes as Blaise licked his lips and poor Draco’s face turned bright red at the tantalizing thought. Clearly neither Draco or Blaise cared about subtly at this point.
Blaise looked out at the falling snow, “You know, I heard some Gryffindors talking about Harry before they left-”
“Professor Snape! You missed dinner!” Greg called out as he spotted the professor coming towards them. It didn’t matter to him that he interrupted Blaise who was now uncharacteristically pouting.
Snape nodded, “Yes, I am aware. I simply came to check those staying at school. Seeing as you three are faring well that only leaves Mr. Potter. How did he seem?” The professor asked as he and his students headed towards the head of Slytherin’s office.
“Good … Almost too calm after getting attacked by a friend and I use that term loosely.” Draco explained almost with a sense of confusion. “Plus, Granger stole from him too. Sure, he seemed pissed at first when Greg confirmed it in the library, but he cooled off pretty quickly and is actually hoping that she tries to tamper with the book as if he booby-trapped it in some way.”
“Perhaps he did. If so, it will be entertaining to see Ms. Granger in a week.” The professor smirked as he wondered what Harry had planned. He looked at Greg after he said the password to his office and they walked in. “So I take it you let slip to Mr. Potter your Ravenclaw tendencies.”
Draco snorted in amusem*nt as Greg blushed, “He couldn’t help himself. Ha-Potter was studying a set of brand new books he hasn’t seen before and it just came out.” Draco tried to ignore his slight slip. “Oh right, what Gryffindor gossip were you talking about, Blaise?” Severus perked up as he heard that and handed his snakes cups of tea. A part of him was trying to figure out why he was so interested, but it was ignored.
“Well.” Blaise sipped his tea then smirked. “I heard a couple of seventh year Gryffindors plotting.”
Snape rolled his eyes, “Gryffindors potting is hardly breaking news.”
“They were planning to fail their NEWTs.” The dark skinned Slytherin’s smirk grew as he noticed that he had everyone’s full attention. “They wanted to be held back to spend more time with Harry. Apparently, Harry has the ‘ripped rock hard body of a Greek god and is hung like a hippogriff’ … So worth getting held back just to see more.”
All jaws hit the floor. Even Severus Snape couldn’t stop his reaction, but he was the first to recover. “He does seem fit.” He commented lamely and everyone suddenly jumped when the timer went off, “Excuse me.” The professor jumped up and went to his private lab where two separate cauldrons were simmering.
“Two potions going at once? … One is for the Granger incident, right?” Draco asked and sipped his tea.
“Indeed … Certain potions that require a blood sample to complete it need to have the blood drawn with a device treated with something specific … If I find out what the treatment is I can narrow down what she’s planning.” Severus stated simply as he pulled out the bloody handkerchief. “It’s ready.” The three young wizards set their cups and got up to watch as the kerchief was dropped into the potion.
A few seconds passed while the clear potion broke down the bloody piece of fabric. The potion quickly became bright red and produced red smoke making the Slytherins glare at the innocent potion.
“Red … She is planning to enslave him.” Draco snarled.
Severus nodded, “Possibly with a forced bond. If we can’t stop her before she enchants him it can be reversed, but we need to wait and see which specific potion or ritual of the many enslavement options she uses. If we use the wrong cure to help him we could easily hurt him … We’ll have to watch Mr. Potter carefully.”
Greg raised an eyebrow as his three fellow Slytherins all seemed too eager to agree to watching Harry, (I’ll try to keep them under control for Harry, but I doubt I can keep it up for long now that the professor is on whatever crazy train the others are riding too.)
Admittedly, Greg found the whole thing funny and surprising. Surprising, because it was a sudden change that came out of nowhere. Funny, because despite their attitude change being an unexpected surprise he always suspected that they actually liked Harry deep down and just tried to hide it, but they can’t seem to hide it anymore …
Only a few minutes later the young snakes left and Severus disposed of the potion. However, when that was done he looked at the other still brewing potion in … irritation? What kind of potion would make the potion master so … impatient?
XXXXXXXXXX
Molly Weasley hummed happily as she cooked, “Bill and Charlie should be here any minute. Percy, could you help set the table?”
“Sure, Mom. The train should be pulling in any minute too.” Percy chuckled and rolled his eyes as Fred and George were making a ruckus upstairs while creating something new for their store. “I’m glad their store is hitting it off, but do they have to invent in the house? STAY OUT OF MY ROOM YOU TROUBLEMAKERS!” He shouted with a fond smile as he heard snickers.
“I know! I’m proud of them … I wish they finished school, but proud nonetheless and of you too, Percy. I know you don’t like the Minister, but any extra help is good for everyone including Harry.” She said happily as she set a platter of meats on the table.
Percy shrugged as he placed three more plates and utensils in place, “Fudge is a fool, but I doubt he’ll last and it did help with that Umbridge woman.” The spy smirked.
The red haired mother chuckled, “That was a very clever move switching the mail and paperwork so a different person went instead of that heartless woman.”
“I will never regret that! Can you imagine my baby sister and brother and Harry at Dolores Umbridge’s mercy? That witch uses Blood Quills!” Percy sneered in disgust at the thought of the sad*stic woman. “I am happy my little paperwork ‘mishap’ sent her to Alaska.” The ministry ended up sending a dull worker who slept most of the time and made it clear he hated teaching so the DADA classes weren’t productive, but it was the better option. “I just wish I could’ve helped Sirius.”
Molly hugged Percy soothingly, “You did everything you could without being discovered. You did save a lot of people by subtly changing the patrol times so those Death Eaters were discovered faster and you figured out Harry was being sent false visions. It’s not your fault Sirius found out that Harry took a few friends to the Ministry to act as bait and rushed in with those Order members. He didn’t know Harry and the others had portkeys to get them out safely … Nothing could’ve been done.”
“You’re right as usual.” Percy chuckled.
“That’s right! Now stop dwelling … Bill!” A rush of green flames revealed the curse breaker standing in the fireplace and soon after Charlie appeared. Once the table was set Ron, Ginny and Arthur walked in. “Oh it’s good to see you all! I missed you!” She hugged her children, but looked around for her unofficial green eyed son. “Where’s Harry? Is he bringing things from the car?”
Arthur looked both serious and nervous at the same time, “Maybe you should take a calming potion-”
“Where. Is. Harry?” The red haired mother placed her hands on her hips and stared her frightened husband down.
Ginny clenched her teeth, “That jerk Dumbles forced Harry to stay at Hogwarts even though Harry was supposed to come here!”
There was a deadly silence that lasted a few seconds before, “WHAT? I’LL MURDER THAT MEDDLING OLD GOAT!”
XXXXXXXXXX
Harry shivered slightly as he walked down the halls, “I can tell from here Mrs. Weasley is mad.” He smirked as he imagined Dumbledick running into his mother figure about right now. It would be a bloodbath …
Hilarious homicidal images aside, Harry headed towards his dorm to find out if the wards will work. Before he got there he heard voices and ducked down to avoid being seen on the moving stairs. He couldn’t tell what they were staying with all the portraits chatting, but it was definitely Dumbledore and McGonagall talking. Once they rounded the corner he followed after them, but not too far. In the first private hall that had no painted spies hanging on the walls he threw on his special robes, boots and gloves. One tap of those fingertips and Harry Potter vanished from the visible eye …
“Let’s see what that old goat is planning.” He said without fear of being overheard. He tested his ward system many times. If several creatures in the Forbidden Forest couldn’t hear him walk right up to them through old leaves and sticks or even scream then he was safe to speak. So he swiftly moved out of his hiding spot and walked right up to the two members of the Hogwarts staff.
“Are you sure, Albus? Six horcruxes?” Minerva hissed in a horrified shocked tone. Harry stayed just steps behind them listening carefully.
“I’m afraid it’s technically seven … Voldemort split his soul six intentional times and when he attacked Harry as a child he tore his soul again. That seventh fragment is in Harry. Fudge flies.” The headmaster stood with the transfiguration teacher as the stone statue guarding his office revealed the stairs completely unaware of the stunned and furious teen behind them. “I found all of them except the Slytherin locket.” He said as he and McGonagall went up the stairs and into Dumbledore’s office.
Harry quickly moved through the opening before it shut and stood near the snoring Sorting Hat …
“Are you going to destroy them?” Minerva asked.
“No, no. Of course not. You remember what the prophecy says about Harry. Only Harry can kill Voldemort so I’m going to start showing Harry a few memories of Tom Riddle’s past to start him hunting them. It should be fine since he already found one and destroyed it with a basilisk fang.” Dumbledore said nonchalantly before popping a lemon drop into his mouth unaware of Harry glaring at him.
Minerva nodded, “I see, you mean that diary in the second year?”
“Yep, there’s still the Ravenclaw diadem, the Gaunt ring, which is cursed to kill the one who wears it, Slytherin locket, that damn snake always around Voldemort and finally the Hufflepuff cup, which is locked away in the Black vaults so it will be tricky since I couldn’t let Harry know about those being in his name.” Dumbledore shivered suddenly as he felt like someone was within inches of trying to strangle him …
Harry decided to calm down and instead dropped a few drops of an experimental potion Fred and George wanted to test over the bowl of lemon drops. They asked him to slip into the drink of the first person who gave him a hard time since they weren’t there so this is the perfect chance …
“Yes, if we want Harry to fulfill the prophecy he has to be controlled and we can’t have him messing with the Order’s headquarters at 12 Grimmauld, but the prophecy stated that both Harry and Voldemort must die. Harry is a horcrux meaning he has to die or Voldemort will live on. Will Harry kill himself?” Minerva asked. The fact that she spoke so casually about his death unnerved Harry a great deal.
Dumbledore reached over to grab another lemon drop and sucked on it, “I believe he will. I’m trying to keep him from the overprotective Weasleys so they won’t try to interfere, but just in case I will slip him a few loyalty potions, which I have here. I wanted to get a house elf to set that up before we leave aga- *hiccup*!” Dumbledore clapped a hand to his mouth and Harry burst out laughing as the next hiccup turned the headmaster’s skin green and the next turned his hair bright pink. Each violent hiccup after that made his beard create pink bows and start floating. It was funny!
“Oh my! Albus, what's wrong?” When Minerva didn’t get anything but hiccups as a response she actually looked worried. More so than when she was discussing her student’s demise. “It’s ok, Albus! I’ll get you to St. Mungo’s! Go to the floo.” As Dumbledore stumbled to the fireplace Minerva opened the door to the office to spell a sign that says. ‘at St’ Mungo’s’ in case someone came by giving Harry the perfect moment to slip out.
“Well, now this is … enlightening.” Harry muttered in irritation. So … he was being raised for slaughter …
Not if he can help it!
He went back to the dorm easily sneaking in as the Fat Lady was flirting with a knight in a different portrait. Messing with the wards to get in without a password was easy without her there to see anything. He went up to his bed and canceled out his invisibility wards before grabbing some parchment. A quick letter was written explaining everything he just heard including a very detailed account of what happened to Dumbledick after taking the experimental potion for the twins and news on his warding experiments, but there was a problem.
Hedwig can’t send the letter. There were scans on all mail. The second you step in the owlery the charms scan them for the headmaster to view and Dumbles can’t know about this. Good thing he already gave out his friend’s presents before they left.
“Come on, think! I’m supposed to be smart … Oh, that could work!” He brought out the blue mini snitch from before and started tweaking the wards. The snitch started out as a toy in a pack of 16, but Harry used them for experimenting with his wards and charms … He accidentally destroyed several of the little snitches with his tweaks and tests until only one survived …
Brave snitch …
A few moments later he gave his snitch his letter and it sucked it up into its small body, “Go take this to the Weasleys.” He ordered as he opened the window letting the snitch zip away. Somewhere deep down he wondered if this was a good idea. He was a little scared at how the Weasley family would react to him being a horcrux, but they were always there before so he had to trust them now. “I hope that worked, now I need basilisk fangs.” He frowned, he would have to go through Salazar’s study and pry fangs from the corpse …
That might be tricky. The giant serpent may be dead, but it still won’t be easy to disassemble. If he remembered right, the tooth that stabbed him in second year was already loose and each time he went to Salazar’s study it didn't look any degraded even after years.
He decided to sleep on it and deal with it in the morning hopefully after getting news from the Weasleys …
Chapter 4: Fever
Chapter Text
Last Time:
He decided to sleep on it and deal with it in the morning hopefully after getting news from the Weasleys …
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Arthur winced as his wife threw a really heavy candlestick out the window making some gnomes scatter, “Molly, please calm down-whoa!” Arthur ducked a hex s his wife stormed towards the fireplace. “SOMEONE GRAB THAT FLOO POWDER!” Charlie bravely nabbed the bag before his mother could get to it and threw it to the twins who bolted up the stairs with it.
“GET BACK HERE WITH THAT!” Molly shouted, her rather impressive magic flared. No one messes with her children and Harry was one.
Percy smiled nervously as he and Bill blocked the fireplace, “Mom … You have to calm down before you do something stupid.”
The Weasley matriarch growled, “The man should be skinned for what he does to Harry!”
Ron sighed in relief as his mother visibly calmed down a little, but he knew this wasn’t over yet. “We know, Mom, but the manipulative old fool worded it so it that, yet again, it sounds like he only has Harry’s best interest in mind. If we try anything he could severe us from Harry completely.” He noticed Ginny pouting and that she made no attempt to stop her mother. Instead she was looking up at the bag of floo powder in the twins’ hands.
“It’s true. He is making it so that if we try something he could send us to Azkaban. We won’t be much help to him there. We need to calm down and play by his rules ... for now.” said Arthur cautiously. No one moved until Ginny stopped looking at the floo powder and Molly sat down at he table.
Molly nodded sadly, “You’re right … I just hate the fact that Dumbledore is trying to isolate Harry. What does that goat want? Hasn’t Harry been through enough?”
“I don’t know, but unlike his relatives, Dumbledore can’t try to starve Harry there. The house elves like Harry too much and I doubt Severus will let that fly on his watch even with the personal issues he has with Harry’s father.” Bill pointed out as he and Percy slowly moved away from the fireplace.
The red haired family settled down to eat. It was a rather somber mood, but how could it not be when a member of their family was missing for the holidays. However, a clicking sound caught their attention and everyone glanced around looking for the source. There, tapping at the window, was a mini blue snitch fluttering around outside.
“That’s Harry’s snitch!” Ginny yelled excitedly and opened the window letting it inside. It fluttered up to her and let the letter slowly leave through the bottom of its body, but not completely. The letter was dangling by one corner waiting for someone to take it. “So cool!” She snatched the letter and opened it.
“Come on, Ginny. What does it say?” The twins asked in perfect sync, but everyone became worried as Ginny started to tear up.
Arthur got up and took the letter to see what caused his daughter to cry, but he had to sit down after reading it. One by one each person read the letter over Arthur’s shoulders when he sat down. The air was deadly silent …
Ginny whimpered breaking the silence, “W-we aren’t going to let this happen right? Harry can’t die right?”
“No, Ginny.” Arthur said as he set the letter down. “There will be only one wizard dying and that’s Dumbledore. As for this Horcrux issue … I think we need to get Severus Snape involved.” He quickly held up his hand to stop all the redheads, who wanted to argue, from saying anything so he could explain. “Something like a Horcrux is dark magic and we have very little knowledge about those things. Severus knows a great deal and is a potion master. It’s a risk, but we do know he works in the Order as a spy and in the only year your mother and I spent with him at Hogwarts I know he cared for Harry’s mother. We have to trust him if we want this thing out of Harry as safely as possible.”
A few rare moments of silence passed as they all thought about everything they learned. Horcruxs for Voldemort keep the Dark lord alive and are hidden. Dumbledore is trying to get Harry killed. McGonagall is on the headmaster’s side and doesn’t seem to care about her lion. If this is the support Harry has at school then it’s time to take a leap of faith.
Charlie sighed, “Soul splitting magic is responsible for a basically immortal dark lord and a homicidal headmaster trying to turn Harry into a sacrificial lamb. Bloody hell things are always interesting with Harry.”
“No kidding.” Ron chuckled trying to push some more perverted thoughts aside. “We should write back, but what should we do to prevent any loyalty potions or spells from affecting him?”
Bill snapped his fingers as an idea came to mind, “Harry gave me permission to use the Black vaults in case he needed something and couldn’t go to Gringotts during school. I remember some jewelry in the inventory.”
“Jewelry?” Fred raised an eyebrow.
George snickered as he and his twin reached the same joke, “Looking for a ring so Harry can propose to Ron?”
Ron blushed violently, “Jerks!” The entire family burst out laughing at Ron’s embarrassment. “Traitors, all of you!”
Arthur chuckled, “Now Ron they were only teasing. Bill, why do you think the jewelry will help?” He asked his eldest son.
“The Black family were the most paranoid witches and wizards out there. The jewels in the jewelry are powerful stones that prevent any outside influence from controlling the host and only the wearer can remove it.” Bill explained.
Molly Weasley sighed in relief, “Oh that would be perfect! When can you get one?”
Bill grinned, “Tomorrow morning at the earliest.”
“When you go make sure you choose a subtle piece or something that can hide easily. Harry didn’t even like wearing his glasses until he made them useful.“ An amused Molly reminded them.
While in the Weasleys’ care Harry managed to get ahold of a potion for fixing the eyesight. Unfortunately, it would be too suspicious to come back to school without them so yet again he found a thing to add runes to.
Percy frowned in thought, ”Pick one for Ron and Ginny too.”
“Why’s that?” The twins asked in perfect sync.
“If you think about it then it makes sense. Dumbles wants to isolate Harry from us because we aren’t the type of family who just stands by and lets someone die, but when it looks like Harry isn’t doing as told he will take the opposite approach. He will target Ginny and Ron to force them to sever the friendship.” Percy explained.
Molly gasped and held her daughter close, “Oh dear Merlin, that does make sense. Should we worry about anyone else? Neville or Hermione? What was that look for?” She asked as she saw her two youngest children scowl.
“We got so carried away with the Dumbles issue that I forgot to tell you all.” Ron crossed his arms over his chest with a glare. “Hermione has been in a bad mood for a while and we decided to find out why. Right after potions class Harry went to talk, but she hit him-”
“WHAT? I know you two weren’t that close to her, but she hit him?” Arthur gasped as he held his wife shoulders before she could go off again.
Ron sighed in frustration, “She didn’t just hit him. She smacked him hard enough to cut his cheek. It was a little cut, but … There was a lot of blood and Professor Slughorn and Professor Snape had to heal it twice because it kept opening.”
There was an ominous silence in the air and then Molly smiled cheerfully, “This is what we’re going to do … Charlie, Fred, George go get all of Harry’s gifts. We’ll see how much this snitch can carry. Arthur, honey, get to writing a letter to Harry. Ron, Ginny, make a platter of food for Harry. Bill start a fire. Percy help me get Ms. Granger’s things to the fireplace.”
Percy cringed at the sudden change in how his mother addressed the muggle-born witch, “Y-yes, Mom.”
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Harry strolled through the castle before breakfast the next morning. The snitch he sent has yet to return and he was starting to wonder if something went wrong. After all he never tested the snitch in this way so there’s no telling what could happen in flight. He kept imagining a bird swooping down and catching his snitch or it flies right into a storm and gets crushed under debris taking his message with it.
“Mr. Potter, I see you’re up early this morning. Breakfast isn’t for an hour.” Professor Snape commented as he ran into the green eyed wizard not far from the dungeons. The professor was tempted to touch the strong arm or to kiss him, but he forced himself to stay calm and keep his hands to himself. It baffled him as to why he’s feeling this way, but he couldn’t think of any potions that do this and he scanned himself for any love potions only to find nothing. Also he quickly found himself losing all interest in finding out the whys and just wanting this feeling.
“I’m always an early riser, professor. I just keep quiet most of the time since my roommates are not morning people.” Harry smiled as he walked with the professor. “So how is that potion you were working on yesterday?”
“It has progressed to a point where it can be left alone for the time being. Why is it we’re discussing my potions so casually after you were betrayed by a friend? Your indifferent response is … disconcerting, to say the least.” Severus asked with genuine concern.
The younger wizard shrugged, “Ron and I were friends. We tried to be friends with Hermione, but we were not as close. She always had to be right and she believed certain things that were off putting. We both tried to get her to realize she was wrong and there were good moments, but we didn’t confide in her for a lot. It was more us tolerating her most of the time. As far as the violent outburst goes … If it was anyone else I’d be more responsive. Professor … When will we be starting the Occlumency lessons?”
Severus frowned, he knew the green eyed wizard wanted to say something, but what it was he didn’t know and that hurt for some reason. Why did he have such a strong desire to be a confidant for Harry? “I was thinking of starting just before everyone returns. It may be beneficial to start with a minimum number of possible interruptions.” (So we can be alone together.) The stray thought caught Severus completely off guard and he blushed.
Harry raised an eyebrow as the potions master turned slightly red, “Are you ok, professor?” He asked before gently touching the man’s neck to see if he had a fever.
“I am quite fine, Harry.” Severus stated not sure if he was more annoyed with himself for letting himself get so easily flustered or with Harry for being dense. Oh that hand felt so good on his skin, though. “I’m supposed to be looking after you, not the other way around … What?” He raised an eyebrow as Harry stared at him.
Harry simply smiled, “You never used my first name before.”
The potions master was speechless, he had no idea that he had slipped that much, “Indeed … It’s time for breakfast.” Severus said quickly and Harry finally moved his hand from the man’s neck not realizing that the contact was desired. “Going back to the subject of Ms. Granger I suggest you stay close to the others and keep an eye out for any strange feelings.” As they made their way to the Great Hall.
“Does this have something to do with what Draco mentioned about the strangely slow healing probably involving an item coated in a potion?” Harry asked.
Snape nodded, “It seems Ms. Granger has it in mind to use your blood in a potion. What it is won’t be known until it takes effect or, even better, to stop it before she gives it to you in whatever form that might be. Don’t accept food or anything wearable or-”
“Can be inhaled. I know, professor. I actually do pay attention in class even if I didn’t understand it very well until recently.” Harry nodded seriously and a thought occurred to him. “Now this makes sense … Hermione never did give me a present after I said I was staying.” He sighed as he removed his glasses to pinch the bridge of his nose in a sad attempt to ease the oncoming headache. He was regretting trying to be friends with the witch.
A scowl appeared on the professor’s face, “Then that may be her plan. She may send a gift later if she isn’t using a ritual to affect you from a distance. Don’t even touch it. Just inform me immediately.”
“Of course, professor.” Harry put his glasses back on wondering where the hell they went wrong with Hermione. “I knew she had flaws, but I was hoping she grow out of certain things.”
“It isn’t what people grow out of that should be watched, but instead what they grow into that’s the problem, Harry.” Severus said as they entered the Great Hall. He faltered for a slight moment to consider sitting with the three Slytherins and Harry, but reluctantly decided to sit at the staff table.
Greg put his book down, “Hey, Harry. I take it the professor already informed you.” He said while subtly trying to tell Draco that he was drooling. The black muscle shirt and jeans ensemble looked too good on the green eyed wizard.
“If you mean that a witch has gone off the deep end and is plotting something involving me and my blood, then yes. Ron is going to go mental when I tell him.” Harry frowned as he thought of his friend’s reaction. Ron is more like his mother than he likes to admit.
Blaise smirked, “I’m more interested in what his brothers will do. The twins were always great at retaliation.”
Draco stunned Harry with a not very Draco like pout, “Don’t remind me. It was luck that Greg could reverse the spell to turn my hair back before breakfast.” He blushed slightly as Harry chuckled.
“That was third year if I remember correctly.” Harry commented as the food appeared.
“How’d you know?!” Draco exclaimed.
Harry shrugged, “They were telling me and Ron about it before coming to breakfast. Apparently, your hair was supposed to be pink spikes with gold tips or something like that.“ Harry chuckled as he added some fruit to his plate. “They were pretty disappointed when you didn’t appear with their chosen hair doo.” He said before eating his meal with the others.
“They don’t know I removed it, right?” Greg chuckled nervously. No one wanted to be on the twins’ sh*t list.
Severus rolled his eyes, “Mr. Goyle, you fooled the entire school into believing you can’t read. I doubt you’re a suspect in charm removal.”
The green eyed wizard nodded in amusem*nt, “Very true, the twins suspected that sixth year Slytherin at the time of fixing Draco.”
Blaise blinked, “… Do you mean Folley? Is that why his skin turned blue and bubbles came out of his mouth for the entire week?” He asked, completely shocked.
“Yeah, but I didn’t know until a week after.” Harry admitted making sure to point out that he had nothing to do with the actual prank.
Not that it would have mattered if he did. Folley was an ass that no one liked. He thrived at being the best, not unlike Hermione. The bubbles he was spewing that week were the only good thing about him and due to Folley’s excessive use of the word ‘mudblood’ Severus wouldn’t have given a punishment even if the prankster was found.
Harry sighed sheepishly, “They don’t like their pranks tampered with, but don’t worry Greg. I’m sure they have a new target.”
Three, in fact. A young witch, an old witch and an old manipulative wizard …
Blaise sighed as he pushed his finished plate aside, “You really never get a break, do you, Harry? Dark lords, giant basilisks, tournaments with very high death tolls, Death Eaters intent on killing you, crazy witches and a constant stream of bad luck. How do you keep sane?”
Harry raised an eyebrow with a smirk, “Sane? Who said I was?” He didn’t notice three of the Slytherins shiver as he got up. “Since Professor Snape made it clear that I shouldn’t be left alone until the witch-who-must-not-be-named is caught I’m going to finish my school work.”
Greg nodded, “We can meet you in the library. I have some things to finish too … and if you don’t mind, can I look at those books you had before?”
“How you hid this side of you before I’ll never know. Sure, I’ll go get them too.“ Harry grinned and left.
The green eyed wizard walked back to his dorm and was relieved to see his snitch fluttering around Hedwig’s empty cage. It came over and dropped a letter in his hand. As he opened it and read the contents a pile of presents appeared on the bed from the snitch’s insides. He couldn’t stop the smile from coming to his face. The Weasleys were on his side. A part of him never doubted it, but it was nerve wrecking nonetheless.
“Do you have the necklace?” Harry asked as he held out his hand. The snitch deposited a long simple necklace with a circular flat green stone set in silver connected to a thin silver chain. That’s the necklace from the vault that Bill got this morning. According to the letter it was a stone that will keep him from being controlled.
“One less thing to worry about.” Harry sighed in relief. He placed the necklace around his neck and tucked it under his shirt before sifting through the other items. After putting his presents aside and the platter of food to snack on later he started gathering his pencils, books and homework and shrank everything to hide them in his pants pocket. He put on his special gray robes, black boots and gloves. Mr. Weasley wants him to open up to Professor Snape and he’ll do that by showing off his wards first. It may be the best way. Besides, he wanted to spy a little first to see if this really is a wise move. If this goes wrong … Well, his robe has some surprises.
“Hope this goes well.” Harry muttered and tapped the tips of his fingers together making him vanish.
With his body no longer visible and his sounds silenced he slipped out of the dorm. He traveled through the halls towards the library to see if they were there already, but strangely enough they weren’t. Shrugging it off he headed for the Slytherin dorms to see if he would catch them on the way to the meeting spot. He saw Professor Snape standing outside the Slytherin house and noticed the man looked concerned.
The professor turned heel and was going somewhere unaware that he was being followed. A sharp scream of pain ripped through the air and two wizards took off running towards the bathroom …
XXXXXXXXXX
Draco saw Harry leave the Great Hall and sighed, “We should get our work too.”
“Yeah.” Greg frowned at his blonde friend’s sudden change in demeanor and glanced at Severus. Draco was forced to bear the Death Mark over the summer. Blaise didn’t remember that when he was talking to Harry. The mention of Death Eaters hit a sore spot. Draco left ahead of them and went to be alone for a little bit in the bathroom.
Blaise winced as he realized why Draco left. “Damn … I completely forgot … I’ll go talk to him.”
The professor shook his head, “No, let him be for a moment.” He said, but as they entered the dorms and gathered the homework they have yet to finish Draco still had not returned. “You two go talk to him. I’ll follow in a minute.” Greg and Blaise left the Slytherin house to find Draco. The professor went to check his potion in his office and waited in the hall for them. He knew Draco was having a tough time, but something seemed wrong and walked through the halls to the boys bathroom. A scream sent him running …
XXXXXXXXXX
Draco was crying over a sink in the boys bathroom, “I don’t want to do this … I don’t want this.” He sobbed. A fresh set of tears poured from his eyes as he looked at his left forearm where, hidden under the sleeve, the disgusting mark marred his skin. What would Harry think if he saw this thing on his arm? It was a miracle that the Gryffindor is even talking with them after everything, but this mark will surely disgust him.
“It’s an honor to carry that mark.” Draco's head snapped up and saw Greyback’s form in the mirror pointing his wand at him. The blonde slowly turned to face the werewolf. “Drop your wand.” Without any choice he tossed his wand over hoping this won’t end badly for his parents, who went missing the same day his Aunt Bellatrix spoke to him about getting the mark. She cruelly implied that if he didn’t do as told he wouldn’t see them again.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t going to go smoothly …
“He, Draco? You ok?” Greg and Blaise walked in and saw the werewolf. Blaise was hit with a stunning hex before he had the chance to react, but Greg dove behind a sink and was able to fire off two curses. The werewolf dodged both and grabbed Draco using the blonde as a shield. Greg hesitated for a split second and Greyback used it to his advantage.
“Come out and place your wand on the ground.” Greyback growled. As he pressed the tip of his wand against Draco’s neck.
Draco paled as his friend emerged from his hiding spot. “Greg, don’t!” He hissed in pain as the wand burned his skin.
The Ravenclaw like snake dropped his wand as instructed and was hit with the torture curse. Draco watched his friend fall to the floor next to Blaise screaming in agony, unable to break out of the werewolf’s powerful grip. Greyback didn’t stop the curse until Snape rushed into the tiled room where he quickly pressed the wand back against his hostage’s neck.
“What are you doing here, Greyback?” Severus snapped harshly as he pointed his wand at the wolf who was holding his godson as a shield. He never took his eyes away from the werewolf as he checked Gregory and Blaise who were motionless on the floor. They will both be alright once this was over.
“I have been sent to give the newbie a mission. He gets the honor of killing Dumbledore-” The werewolf paused to sniff the air. A sick grin spread across his lips. “On second thought, why don’t we bring him Potter instead. Come out, Potter. I can smell you.”
Chapter 5: Viral
Chapter Text
Last Time:
“I have been sent to give the newbie a mission. He gets the honor of killing Dumbledore-” The werewolf paused to sniff the air. A sick grin spread across his lips. “On second thought, why don’t we bring him Potter instead. Come out, Potter. I can smell you.”
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Harry smirked as he touched the tiled wall next to a sink to leave a small scent marker before he linked his fingers together to snap the scent blocking ward back in place. He diligently worked on every aspect of his robes including hiding his own scent. The three headed dog, Fluffy, helped him get it right. The loveable beast always knew when he was near and Harry wanted to disappear completely so once Fluffy stopped jumping up to lick him months and many treats later he knew he got it.
Once his robes were Fluffy approved he went to the Forbidden Forest to test the rest. He can control what sounds and smells escape his wards so once the ward is locked he could walk towards the werewolf without any trouble.
“Come out of what? The closet? Very well, I admit it, I’m gay. I didn’t know you cared, Greyback. Is there something I should know?” Harry said mockingly letting his wards project his voice around the room.
“No! I meant come out of hiding, you prick!” The werewolf snarled.
“And why would I do that?” The voice of the Potter seemed to echo throughout the room.
Greyback snarled and pressed the wand roughly against Draco’s neck. “Shut it, Golden boy! We both know you won’t let this brat die.” The werewolf smirked as he narrowed in on the spot where Harry’s scent was coming from, which was around a sink near the two hurt Slytherin students. Greyback prepared to attack not realizing that Harry was nowhere near that spot, but was actually directly behind him.
“Why do people keep calling me that? I’m not perfect. I’ve broken many rules thus detentions … Those were usually with Professor Snape actually and what about those people I killed like Professor Quirrell or did everyone forget about him.” Severus blinked as the werewolf gave a blank look. They did forget the man. The potion master didn’t dwell very long on it since Greg and Blaise were starting to recover. “Sheesh, I almost feel sorry for the guy.” Harry watched as the professor checked the two Slytherins again to make sure they were ok without taking his eyes and wand off the werewolf holding Draco hostage.
The werewolf snarled and tightened his hold on the blonde to the point of being very painful making Draco hiss in pain. “So what? You can’t kill me and you’re trapped so come out!”
“Well actually I could kill you, but that would raise questions … Oh! You know, you did attack students so one person has every right to kill you. I only need to steal your hostage. I’m sure Draco would prefer me anyway.” The disembodied voice of one Harry Potter was heard echoing throughout the room.
Draco’s lips twitched into a smile despite the pain from the vice like grip on his arm, “No complaints there-”
“Shut it, bitch.” Greyback dug his nails into Draco’s skin drawing blood. “As if you can take this slu*t from me.” Draco felt sick, both at the smell of the werewolf’s breath and at being called a slu*t.
“Do you want to know a secret, Greyback?” Harry let his runes carry his voice and the eerie chuckle after that as he held Draco’s free hand. The blonde closed his fingers around the unseen hand a little startled that someone was right there. Draco silently shot Severus a look and the professor instantly understood, but even still the potion master was surprised to see Harry appear right behind Greyback. “I was meant to be in Slytherin.” Harry said with his voice unfiltered …
Everything happened so quickly … Greyback’s eyes widened as he heard the voice behind him, but as he tried to turn to see his grip loosened in his shock. Harry took advantage of that and stepped to the side as he pulled Draco hard and dragged him away from the werewolf. Severus snapped back to his senses and cast a cutting curse that sliced through the werewolf’s flesh before he could dodge. Greyback just stood there as his wounds gushed blood almost stunned that that happened, but after a second he stumbled backwards and fell into the bath where he laid there motionless …
Greg winced as he got up, “Is he …” The secret Ravenclaw let the rest of his question fall away as a wave of queasiness hit him. The sight of the water in the bath quickly turning red with blood was quite disturbing. Blaise, Greg and Draco were doing their best not to look whereas Harry and Severus seemed indifferent to the gory sight.
“Dead? Yes, Mr. Goyle, he’s dead. I will go report this right away after I take you to my quarters and heal you three … Harry, you should go to your dorm since I’m assuming there are no witnesses that saw you leave your dorm.” Severus instructed as he looked at the gray robes and black gloves Harry was wearing. The Gryffindor was even wearing different shoes, but what was this attire and what was Harry hiding?
“No … No, one saw or heard me as I came this way … You ok, Draco?” Harry asked in concern as he felt the blonde lean heavily on him.
“Yeah … I’m fine.” Draco said as he took advantage of this event and subtly cuddled closer to the Gryffindor under the guise of having trouble standing. “My neck just hurts.”
Severus twitched when he saw Draco shiver as the Gryffindor’s gloved fingers gently caressed the blonde’s neck. He knew what the Slytherin was doing, “I’ll take care of those burns. You should go, Harry.” He said and Harry quickly vanished with the only evidence that he was still there being that Draco still looked like he was leaning on something.
“Draco, you actually have to let him go.” Greg chuckled even though the blonde shot him a glare. A couple seconds passed before Draco finally let him go and Harry slipped out the door.
Blaise huffed, “Took you long enough.” He said while shooting the blonde a glare. Oh how he wished he had that chance. Draco just smirked shamelessly, not caring at all.
“Now is not the time for this.” Severus spoke not revealing a single ounce of the jealousy he felt, which took serious skill. “All of you go to my chambers. I’ll start healing you first then call the Aurors.” The group of Slytherins left the bathroom with Blaise helping Greg stand and Severus helping Draco. Once they stood outside the professor’s room they were joined by four Order members. “Lupin, Moody, Tonks, Fletcher … What a surprise, I was just about to contact you.”
Moody scoffed, “Yes? About what?”
A wave of suspicion hit Severus. Why were they here? Why did Moody already seem to know what this was about? None of this was right, but he put up his mask of indifference and choose his words carefully. “I will report to you in a moment. As you can see I have injured students to tend to. I will return momentarily.”
Greg frowned as the door to the potion master’s chambers closed locking the Order members out, “That was too fast … What could they want?” He wondered out loud as Blaise helped him sit in a chair.
“I’ll find out soon enough.” Severus said as he handed Greg a potion to reverse the effects of the torture curse. After healing the cuts and bruises on Draco’s wrist and burns on the blonde’s neck he checked on Blaise who hit his head when he was stunned. Once that was done Severus left the room to find out what was going on. “We could’ve gone to Albus’s office if security was a concern.” He commented when he saw that Moody placed a set of silencing spells around them right there in the bloody hallway.
Fletcher scoffed, “That’s none of your concern. Just tell us what happened!” The fool flinched in fear and fell silent as Severus’s fierce gaze met his.
The potion master sneered, “Since time is of the essence I will make my report short … The werewolf, Greyback, broke into Hogwarts and attacked my students. His corpse is in that bathroom.” He pointed towards the direction where the bathroom was. Of course, he didn’t mention that the werewolf wanted to give Draco a mission or what that mission was.
Tonks beamed in excitement. “That’s great! So where’s Harry? Did he get hurt?”
“Mr. Potter was not involved. He is most likely still in Gryffindor tower, which is where he went after breakfast. Apparently, he has plenty of homework to finish.” Severus reported with a hint of irritation in his tone. He was supposed to dislike the green eyed wizard … The hot, sexy, green eyed wizard …
Moody’s eyes narrowed, “Who killed Greyback?”
Now that question really threw Severus for a loop, “I did, though I intend to inform Mr. Potter of this danger.”
Deflate … The Order members actually seemed to deflate. Why? Did these fools actually expect a boy, who was just months away from being legal, to take on and kill a full grown werewolf? That’s ludicrous! Harry clearly has skill, but he bet they didn’t know that. For all they knew Harry could’ve been killed! If that wasn’t infuriating enough they actually left after that … Just up and left! They didn’t even pretend to care about Harry at all! Severus never felt so pissed with someone before and he immediately stormed off to the Gryffindor tower. The Fat Lady, who was flirting with a knight in a different frame, noticed the furious potion master and rushed back to her frame not wanting to anger him further by making him wait.
“Let me in.” Severus growled enjoying the squeak of fear he heard from the painting before the door swung open. Two steps in the door shut and only two more brought him face to face with Harry who was seated in the Common room without the gray robes and gloves from before. “Some Order members arrived before I even got the others out of the bathroom. They seemed disappointed that it wasn’t you who killed Greyback who, by the way, is still enjoying his bath.” Severus said sarcastically.
Harry looked at the professor curiously, “And why are you telling me this? Aren’t I to be kept out of the Order meetings and all that?”
The potion master scoffed, “That’s what Dumbledore has declared, but it seems you’re more informed than these dunderheads playing hero.” Severus hissed making Harry chuckle. The chuckle from Harry sent a shiver up his spine. Each step Harry took towards the professor made Severus feel weak in the knees. It was taking everything in him to not kiss Harry when the younger wizard stopped in front of him.
“Well that is true to some extent, but if I’m going to tell you I may as well tell Draco too since he seems to be involved. First, let’s deal with Greyback since I think we have a problem with how he got in Hogwarts.” Harry said as he tapped his thick glasses making the gray robes reappear with the gloves and boots much to Severus’s surprise.
“An interesting use for your glasses.” The potion master stated as he pondered what Harry was hiding under those clothes before suddenly forcing the perverted thoughts away. “What do you mean? They seemed to have this planned so they must’ve let the werewolf through the wards.”
Harry shook his head as he dressed, “Not exactly. You see the wards around Hogwarts aren’t meant to keep out dark creatures. Remus never had a problem remember. They are meant to keep people from apparating and suppresses the magic of certain students so they don’t let their magic out of control. Though Dumbles does get a little ping when a living person or creature enters the grounds normally, which Greyback didn’t”
“How do you know this?” Severus blinked clearly surprised at the boy’s knowledge on the subject.
“I really like runes. I spend my time studying the wards around the school and learned a lot from them. There’s a big difference between wards from today and those from the Hogwarts’ founders’ days.” Harry commented and was about to become invisible.
Severus raised an eyebrow, “We’ll discuss why you aren’t taking Ancient Runes later, but if what you said was true then that’s why Lupin came with the other fools.”
The green eyed wizard froze, “Remus was here? Did he say anything?”
“No, he didn’t … He was oddly quiet actually, but then I have not seen him during Order meetings for months so I can’t say what’s wrong.” Severus felt a pang of worry as Harry clearly seemed hurt by the news, but before he could discuss it further Harry suddenly vanished. With a sigh he went to the door and pressed it open. As he walked out he felt a hand touch his and had to bite his cheek to keep from moaning. The feeling of the cool gloves against his skin was better than he expected. What was happening to him? Whatever it was he didn’t care and hoped it would consume him.
As they continued down the halls Harry wondered about Remus. The werewolf was very close to Harry since they met in his third year of school. After his secret of being a werewolf was exposed and was ultimately fired they kept in touch. Remus was even invited to the Weasleys while Harry was there. Of course, the man was heartbroken when Sirius died, so was Harry, which it why Harry wasn’t surprised when the first letters he sent went unanswered. However, Remus still never contacted him and it has been months. It didn’t make any sense to him that Remus would say nothing about the werewolf who turned him being killed. Even if he was still broken up over Sirius’s death he should’ve said something …
“Harry?” The young wizard snapped out of his thoughts and realized they were in the bathroom. He dropped the wards to face his professor. “It seems we have a mess to clean up, but how did he get in here?” Severus wondered out loud as he stared at the werewolf’s bloody body, which was laying just as it was a few minutes ago. With his head and torso floating in the bloody water and his feet dangling out of the bath.
Harry stepped up to the bloody corpse in the bath and examined the man’s boot, which had some familiar slime in the tread. Aa place that cleaning spells don’t usually reach. “He came through the Chamber of secrets. Voldie must’ve told him how to get in through the Forbidden Forest so the wards wouldn’t detect and inform Dumbles not that he will know right away since he’s in St. Mungo’s and their wards delay transmissions like that so the patients won’t stress over it.” Harry said with a frown. He would have to trip the wards quickly before Dumbles leaves St. Mungo’s so the old fool won’t realize that there are undetectable means of entering the castle.
You see, when someone trips Hogwarts’ wards Dumbledore feels a ping. If he wasn’t in St. Mungo’s he would feel one ping for Greyback then four pings for the Order members even if they flooed in. However, the headmaster is in St. Mungo’s he would get five delayed pings once he leaves … At least that’s what he’d expect, but if Harry didn’t make that fifth ping Dumbledore would know something was off.
Severus frowned, “There are other ways into the Chamber? Dumbledore put wards around one I know that, but then- … What?” Severus felt nervous as Harry suddenly started looking at him intently.
“Professor … Did you tell them that you killed Greyback?” Harry asked suddenly feeling worried. The Order’s plan fell through meaning they will try something else and get rid of the person who screwed it up. He doubted they’d do anything to their spy, but something was really making him concerned … Dumbles said that he would slip Harry loyalty potions … Did he do that to Remus? Would he do that to Professor Snape or worse, use this death as blackmail?
“Yes … Why?” Severus knew he was missing something.
Harry quickly tapped his glasses releasing the mini blue snitch. The snitch had just enough room inside to absorb the body and most of the bath water. “Dump him near the outskirts of the forest where Aragog is.” The snitch zipped away at extremely fast speeds that made it hard to see with the naked eye. “We need to talk professor and I think the others should hear this since they may be involved.”
The potion master followed the green eyed wizard out of the bathroom. With the lack of spying portraits in this hall there was no worry of Harry being seen, but what was with the urgency? “Harry wait! Involved with what? What is going on? You need a password-…” Severus’s jaw dropped as Harry did some motion with his hands and the hidden door to his living quarters swung open, “… or not … How did you do that?” He asked as the other Slytherins looked up in shock as Harry and Severus stormed in.
Once the door closed Harry sighed, “Like I said I studied the wards all over the castle. Breaking in without passwords is easy, but this isn’t the point. I’m assuming everyone here, dark marks or not, wants Voldie dead, right?”
Draco snorted at the butchered version of the Dark wizard’s name, “Of course.” He said firmly as Blaise and Greg nodded in agreement.
“Good to know, but does anyone care if I make it through this war?” Harry asked bluntly.
Blaise and Draco suddenly jumped up and glared at Harry, “Of course we f*cking care!” They all shouted starling the green eyed wizard.
“That is not a joke, Harry. You will survive this war.” Severus said sternly, but despite the serious conversation he couldn’t stop the stray thought, (and then marry me.) from popping up …
Harry blinked, he wasn’t expecting them to have such strong feelings on the matter. At least, Greg looked amused for some reason. Maybe he’ll talk with the secret Ravenclaw later and see what this outburst was about. “Well since we have that settled you should know one thing first … Dumbledore and the Order members want me to die in the battle with Voldie.”
Severus looked more horrified than ever, “WHAT? Harry are-”
“Does anyone here have access to a pensieve?” Harry asked ignoring the clear confusion on the Slytherins’ faces.
The dazed potion shook his head, “Dumbledore has one …”
“Can’t use that … My glasses should do for now.” Harry commented not paying the baffled looks any mind. He took off his glasses and twisted then inwards. In any other pair of glasses they would’ve snapped, but not these. The glasses made a click and Harry set them on the coffee table where the Slytherins watched in shock as the spectacles transformed. The thick lenses spread out to form a large shallow bowl as the nose pads stretched to form legs that lifted and stabilized the glass bowl with a second set of legs made by the frames.
Greg blinked, “You made a portable pensieve out of your glasses …”
“I get bored easily.” Harry shrugged as he used his wand to pull out the memory of what Dumbledore and McGonagall spoke about just last night and he placed the silvery ribbon of memories in the bowl. The four Slytherins put their heads in …
Chapter 6: Clammy Skin
Chapter Text
Last Time:
“I get bored easily.” Harry shrugged as he used his wand to pull out the memory of what Dumbledore and McGonagall spoke about just last night as he placed the silvery ribbon of memories in the bowl. The four Slytherins put their heads in …
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Harry saw his snitch tapping on the window and got up to open the window as the Slytherins continued looking in the memories. “Aragog should enjoy eating the evidence … at least, I hope … Do werewolves taste bad? Can’t imagine that they taste any different from humans and Aragog likes eating humans.” He pondered as he shut the window and sat back down in the chair. He opened his snitch to cast some cleaning and sanitizing spells on the inside to remove any blood from the unexpected body dump. Afterwards he cast a few more spells to have it stay clean should something like this happen again.
Just as he finished cleaning his snitch the Slytherins came out of the makeshift pensieve. The green eyed wizard felt waves of magic coming off them and wisely kept his mouth shut. Once the furious flickers of magic calmed down he relaxed, but stayed quiet anyway. It would be another few minutes of waiting in silence as the four snakes glared at the pensieve before anything was said …
Severus was the first to look away from the swirling silver memory and at Harry, “Dumbledore wants you dead.”
“Yes.” Harry answered hesitantly. It felt like he was on pins and needles just waiting for an explosion to erupt.
Draco looked up next and turned his gray eyes towards Harry, “The Dark Lord is immortal.” A sliver of fear slipped into his tone.
“Not if the Horcruxes are destroyed.” Harry said simply.
Blaise’s head snapped up with a horrified look on his face, “BUT WHAT ABOUT YOU? … You could die.” Greg looked up at the sound of desperation in Blaise’s voice and, as the others walked over to Harry, he wondered how he could help. Admittedly, he liked Harry. The Gryffindor was a good guy, but how do they go about solving this problem? Dumbledore is now untrustworthy, which he was a bit of news he was actually shocked by. Sure, no Slytherin likes the bias headmaster, but the guy is plotting to kill students now. This can’t be allowed …
First, they must find out how to remove the horcrux from Harry …
Second, they should be destroying the other horcruxes … Do they have basilisk venom? Where is the Slytherin locket or other founders’ items? Those questions must be answered …
Third is a personal vow of Greg’s … That is to remove Dumbledore from every facet of the ministry and drag him, the Order and McGonagall threw the mud so badly that they’ll never recover their reputations.
“If Dumbledore gets his way then yes … I will die. Hell, he might do it himself. Merlin knows he seems to like putting me and many other students at risk for his plots. Remember how people were paralyzed by the basilisk in the second year? Those could have easily been deaths.” Harry pointed out and was a little surprised when Severus sat next to him. The professor must’ve been taking this hard for he did, to a certain point, trust Dumbles.
“I knew … To some extent, at least, that Dumbledore was a manipulative bastard, but this … This is sick. Neither of them batted an eyelash when talking about your death!” Severus felt his rage bubble up. This was a massive betrayal from Dumbledore, “I was your mother’s friend.” He muttered wistfully.
Harry smiled and placed a hand against Severus’ hand in a small comforting gesture without too much touching. It was obvious that Severus was like him and didn’t take too well to touch. He always wondered if they had a similar abusive upbringing. Little did he know his touch was strongly desired. “Actually, I know. You didn’t know the Weasleys too long in school since they graduated before your second year, but Mr. Weasley knows enough and he told me about my Dad’s real behavior … The guy is a bloody gossip.” Harry commented jokingly, earning a snort of amusem*nt from the professor.
Severus definitely felt better knowing Harry knew and accepted so much about him already, but it was time to get to business, “Dumbledore warded the entrance to the Chamber so we can’t look for any fangs.”
“Why does that matter? … Is that thing still down here?!” Draco gaped in horror. “Dead or not, who would leave a giant basilisk in a school?! My father actually said those things can slowly recover from death if left undisturbed for a few years. That’s why they need to be dismantled!“
“Is that true?” Harry asked and paled as even Severus nodded.
“Yes, but Dumbledore said it was dismantled …” The potion master let his sentence trail off as he saw Harry turn deadly white. “Harry, didn’t anyone ask you to open the chamber so the basilisk could be pulled apart?”
Instead of answering Harry bolted for the door and took off down the hall. It made sense now! That’s why that bloody serpent wasn’t rotting even after all this time! It’s only comatose! … and the last time he saw it the eyes looked more put together as if they were healing from Fawkes’s attacks! Why the f*ck would Dumbles do this? … Wait … He recalled a lecture in potions class where Severus said that rare ingredients lose their potency quickly. If he remembered right, snake venoms were at most risk. Is that why? Dumbledore wanted a source of fresh venom? That’s madness! What if that monster revived before they went for more venom? They could die!
Harry ran down the lower dungeons so wrapped up in his thoughts he was only vaguely aware of the Slytherins following him. It wasn’t until he stopped in front of the door that led to the training room that he actually considered having them wait or even leave. However, he quickly dropped that idea. After all, there were far more serious things now than keeping some secrets. Also he didn’t know about dismantling a basilisk or how to do it. With his luck he’d stab himself with a fang accidentally. He needed them so he opened the door and silently gestured for them to follow.
“What in Merlin’s name is this room?” Blaise gasped in awe as he looked around the circular room with the other stunned Slytherins.
“This is a room made by Salazar Slytherin as a 30th anniversary gift for Godric Gryffindor.” Harry couldn’t resist chuckling at the shocked and skeptical looks they sent his way. “I know. We were taught that Slytherins and Gryffindors were always enemies, but according to the founder’s old journals people only got that idea because of some fiery lover spats. Salazar even gave the wrong impression of his opinions on muggle-borns because he was furious at Godric and said some hurtful things out of spite. It hit home because Godric was actually a muggle-born.” Harry said, stunning the Slytherins further.
Greg’s eyes lit up, “Journals? Can I see?”
Harry twitched as Blaise, Draco and Severus rolled their eyes, “We better go before our feathered snake goes into book withdrawal.” Greg flushed as the others snickered at the obvious jab at his Ravenclaw tendencies. Harry went to the farthest door and opened it, “The other doors go to the bathroom and the Room of Requirement. The floor drops down to a training room, but this door goes to Salazar’s personal study that’s connected to the Chamber of Secrets.”
Descending the stairs was easy and in a rather short amount of time they walked straight into a huge room. The room was automatically lit up by the light coming from the sconces adorning the walls. The light revealed a lavish sitting room with dark green furniture and walls painted in a soft red. With dark rich brown tones of the several huge wooden book shelves, grandfather clock and desk it was a very warm inviting room that no one today would believe was Salazar’s study.
Draco looked around in awe at the items on the founder's carved desk, which included an old statue of a serpent and a compass, “This place is amazing … Wait, Harry, don’t you need your glasses?” The blonde gasped as he noticed Harry’s glasses weren’t on his face. They must have been left in Severus’s living quarters in the pensieve form.
“I’m fine … My eyes were healed with a potion years ago. It was a Christmas present from Percy when I was 12.” Harry said as he went to the grandfather clock and hissed parseltongue to the snake carved into the top. A click was heard and the tall wooden clock moved back revealing that it was actually attached to a hidden door, which swung outward to reveal the cold, dark, damp chamber. “The basilisk is this way.”
“That stuffy, rule bound Weasley gave you an expensive sight restoring potion? That’s hard to believe.” Draco huffed as they walked down a few steps and onto the flooded floor. Looking around the place the Slytherins saw damage from a cave in, a few intact snake statues, a bust of Salazar, tunnel openings and this massive long lump that was something, but it was far too big to be a basilisk.
“Not exactly. In fact, there are a lot of misconceptions about the Weasleys, but it isn’t my place to talk about that.” Harry commented as they walked towards the long smooth lump and around the end. “This is it … sh*t, the eyes are healing.” He said as he turned to the lump.
The Slytherins blinked, they didn’t see a basilisk. Just a cold cave, but then they look at the lump, “WHAT THE f*ck IS THIS?!” They screamed as they came face to face with a large set of teeth. The lump they believed was far too big to be the basilisk was actually covered in scales and had a large snake-like mouth filled with fangs.
“This is the basilisk … Looked bigger when I was 12” Harry commented.
Severus gaped, “Harry, I know the basilisk was supposed to be big, but… this … This thing is about 20 times bigger than any basilisk known to have existed!”
The green eyed shrugged, “After living down here for centuries Salazar’s familiar had plenty of time to grow-sh*t!” The basilisk ‘corpse’ suddenly jerked and began to move. The jaws snapped at the potions professor, who was pulled out of the way by Harry. Out of sheer reflex a dagger slipped out of Harry’s sleeve and flew into the serpent’s eye. “Maybe we should focus on dismantling this basilisk first … You ok, professor?” Harry asked as the serpent went limp again as it returned to the death-like state.
Severus, who was stunned at how close he came to death, nodded breathlessly as he leaned back against Harry … He was sure he felt a fang brush his hand, that’s how close to death he was. “I’m fine … Nice shot.”
“Yeah, when did you get daggers and what else do you hide under your clothes?” Blaise asked, eyeing Harry. The dark skinned Slytherin was unbelievably turned on by that dagger throw, which was noticed by the Gryffindor who tried to ignore it again … for now, at least.
“Umm … I started carrying them recently. After I started training in Godric’s training room. Now if it’s all the same to you guys I would rather not be involved with those fangs. Being pumped full of venom once was enough and with my luck it would happen again.” Harry said jokingly yet again stunning everyone present. “Crap … I better trip the wards quickly. I’ll explain in a minute.”
Greg gaped as he watched Harry run down a tunnel and disappear, “Every single sentence he says brings me closer to pulling out my hair or having a heart attack.” He glanced at the others. “Your sexy wizard shall return so fear not and get dismantling.” Greg exclaimed sarcastically, earning him some glares in response, which he ignored.
Dismantling something this gigantic was a big task, but as always it starts with the eyes. Greg and Draco climbed up and straddled the massive snake to get the higher eye as Severus and Blaise moved some stones to get the other eye. Of course, before they looked at the eyes they used their wands to burn out the edges of the eyeballs. Once the eyeballs were loosened they just slid their hands in …
“Come on … Where is the nerve? Greg, do you feel it?” Draco asked as he felt around the slimy eye socket behind the eye. He felt bad about this since it was Salazar’s familiar, but once he saw the eyelids he knew this creature couldn’t stay in the castle. After spending so much time down in the dark the clear inner eyelid weakened and in the last few decades fused with the outer eyelid. The inner eyelid was meant to protect certain people from the effects of its eyes, but without the eyelid the snake couldn’t control its deadly powers. It was comforting to know the serpent was basically dead and couldn’t feel anything. That sudden twitch before seemed to be the systems testing each other to see if the brain was working, but it was going to stay dead until everything was healed.
“No … Got it! Hand me the dagger!” Greg exclaimed as felt a thick rope like nerve connected to the back of the eyeball. Draco took the dagger that Harry tossed earlier out of the eyeball causing fluids to gush out and handed the slick bloody blade to Greg. With great care the book loving Slytherin slid the dagger behind the eye and sliced the nerve making the eyeball fall out of the socket.
Severus had his hands behind the other eye, “I found this one. Give me the dagger.” Greg handed the dagger to Blaise, who gave it to Severus. Both eyes were now out and since anything basilisk related is very valuable, damaged or not, Severus set them aside.
A frown marred the blonde’s face, “How should we do the next step on something this big-” Draco’s foot suddenly slipped on the bloody scales and he fell backwards.
“Draco! Are you- … You have great timing, Harry.” Greg smirked as he looked over the edge and saw Harry holding Draco bridal style.
“That is debatable if you consider my bad luck thus far.” Harry chuckled jokingly. “This is a rare spark of good luck.” He smiled down at Draco, who was burying his slimy hands in his robes … Being coated in snake juices was just not sexy as far as the Malfoy was concerned, but Draco completely forgot about that once his eyes connected with those green emeralds. “Are you ok, Draco?” Harry asked softly, feeling the blonde melt into his arms.
“Y-yeah. You can catch me anytime.” Draco said breathlessly as Harry gently set him on his feet.
Greg smirked, “That’s an odd comment to make considering you, Blaise and the professor all prefer doing the catching in the bedroom.” He barely managed to avoid the three hexes sent his way by laying flat against the snake. Out of the corner of his eye he saw an amused look cross Harry’s lips. Maybe Harry was more Slytherin than anyone thought. If that’s true then it’s quite possible the ‘Gryffindor’ is already aware of the weirdness going on with Draco, Blaise and Severus … Not that they’re being subtle. “So Harry, what were you doing?”
A frown crossed Harry’s lips, “I told the professor part of this already … The wards around Hogwarts are connected to the headmaster. There’s a ping-like signal for each visitor, but St. Mungo’s has a special barrier that delays those signals. I found tracks from Greyback, who was disposed of, coming from the forest tunnel so we know he was undetected.”
Severus came around to the other side of the serpent, “Yes you mentioned that before… So you had to create the right number of signals. I never knew about St. Mungo’s having such a feature.”
“It does make sense because you don’t want a patient being bothered by business, but I had no clue until Mrs. Weasley mentioned it. Did you know she volunteers at St. Mungo’s?” Harry said succeeding yet again in surprising everyone.
“No I didn’t.” Severus remarked, clearly a bit shocked by that. It seems he didn’t know much about the red haired family.
Harry nodded, “Yep, Ron, Ginny and Mrs. Weasley all help. Percy does too when he has time though usually his free time is spent helping the twins create pranks.”
“Percy pranking? Are we talking about the same ‘by the book’ Weasley?” Blaise asked in disbelief.
“Oh yes. He taught the twins everything and unleashed them on Hogwarts as he cackled manically behind his ‘by the book’ facade.” Harry chuckled as he remembered the rare times the twins went to their older brother for advice. The Percy most of Hogwarts knew was not the same Percy that Harry knew. The summers with the Weasleys were always interesting, that's for sure. “So what needs to be done?” He asked, gesturing towards the massive serpent.
The potions professor looked at the snake, “Normally basilisks are skinned from the eye sockets and under the lips to expose the skull because you can’t pierce it from the outside, but this thing is too big to move so the skin can’t just be pulled away and it looks like tail is buried under some rocks.”
After a moment of thought Harry leaned closer to them with an innocent smile, “How would you guys like me to go inside to pull it apart?” Greg raised an eyebrow and watched the conversation unfold from his perch on top of the snake. He sensed a punch line somewhere.
“Hmmm … That would be a good idea. Breaking the joints from the inside will make this easier, but you have to be careful.” Severus said seriously.
“Of course.” Harry’s smile turned into a smirk. “Now how do you want me? So many positions to choose from. Do you want me to start by feeling around the head or to plunge right in as hard and as deep as I can?” Harry asked as he removed his robe to avoid getting it dirty and to reveal his muscles. “I’m all yours.”
Greg burst out laughing. He could see Draco, Severus and Blaise blush at the blatant suggestiveness of that statement. They were stunned for a few moments and just stood there stuttering slightly. It was pretty obvious that Harry Potter was not a fool.
“Hmmm … No answer … Should I assume that means you want to give me control of everything?” Harry purred huskily as he leaned closer to them. There was definitely a whimper heard, but it was hard to tell who it was from.
“Knock it off, Harry! They can’t breathe!” Greg snickered. He swore he saw steam come out of his fellow Slytherin’s collars.
“Fine, fine, I’ll go now.” Harry left a couple extra daggers behind and took the remaining one into the basilisk’s body with him.
With furious blush Draco glared at Greg, “You told.” He snapped accusingly.
“Hardly. Harry just wasn’t lying about the Sorting Hat wanting him in Slytherin. The guy was going to find out anyway with how you guys were acting. ‘You can catch me any time’, ‘Oh my, daggers’!” Greg pretended to swoon, successfully embarrassing his fellow snakes.
Severus huffed as he took a dagger, “Detention, Mr. Goyle.”
“Wouldn’t you prefer Harry in detention or better yet him punishing you?” Greg shot back, earning another rare blush from the professor.
Finally, the project resumed. It took a while, but sure enough the basilisk was pulled apart from the inside out. Tissue was cut, organs collected, muscles were removed and bones were jerked apart, but most importantly the teeth were gathered. With the dismantling complete the wizards took the most important items up to Severus’s quarters. The rest can wait for after lunch- … No, after dinner apparently. They missed lunch, but it was worth it.
Severus got word from Minerva. Dumbles is going to be released from St. Mungo’s tomorrow, but he will be going straight home for the rest of the break. That didn’t surprise anyone since the headmaster never stayed to watch the students. The potion master wrote back pretending to be relieved and Harry wrote a couple letters of his own. One letter to update the Weasleys and the other to inform Neville. This was something the Longbottom heir should know and since the snitch was a safe form of delivering mail he should warn his friend of the dangers coming.
Harry snuck back to his dorm and showered, but returned for dinner and found everyone flushed from their own showers, “Professor.”
“Call me Severus.” The potion master said calmly.
“Severus, I have a theory I want to test. We both know mastering Occlumency in such a short amount of time will not happen, but I have an idea involving wards that might help.” Harry explained.
The potion master nodded, “It would be best to start soon before Dumbledore comes back at the end of break. We can’t let Voldemort or Dumbledore in your mind. I’ll help you tomorrow.”
Chapter 7: Mind Matters
Chapter Text
Last Time:
The potion master nodded, “It would be best to start soon before Dumbledore comes back at the end of break. We can’t let Voldemort or Dumbledore in your mind. I’ll help you tomorrow.”
XXXXXXXXXX
“THAT MAN IS A BASTARD!” Mrs. Weasley growled as she held the update Harry sent. She yelled so loudly that Arthur was startled resulting in him slipping out of his chair and onto the floor.
Ron ran down the stairs faster than any of his siblings, “Is there news from Harry? What happened?”
The mother Weasley took a breath to calm herself and showed them the letter she was holding, “Four Order members visited Hogwarts. Apparently, Greyback snuck into the school and was caught torturing the Slytherin students. Harry helped Severus kill Greyback, but the Order members there seemed to believe Harry was solely involved. When Severus told them that he killed the werewolf himself and those bastards just left. Harry and Severus suspect that whole deadly scenario was a plot to get Harry to kill Greyback! All by himself! Then there’s the issue with the basilisk never being dismantled properly! He has the fangs now, but it was nearly healed and could have killed him! I’m going to kill them starting with Dumbledore … Arthur! Did we stop those anonymous donations?! I refuse to continue giving those bastards in the Order money … Why are you on the floor?” Molly blinked as her husband stood up,
Arthur chuckled as he brushed himself off, “No reason, love … Now about those donations, no. I intend to do that today, but first. Ron, Harry mentioned in his letter that Dumbledore called that diary a horcrux. I know nothing about horcruxes, but I might be able to get some information on the owner of the diary, who was the man who became the Dark Lord. It might help.”
“The diary was blank except for the faded inscription ‘TMR’ … They seemed to be initials and he let Ginny call him Tom. Other than the Chamber of Secrets being opened 50 years ago there’s not much else.” Ron laid a comforting hand on his little sister’s shoulders who paled at the reminder. It was still a traumatic thing for her to remember.
Molly pulled her daughter into a hug, “It’s ok, honey. It’s just a memory now.”
With quick strokes of a quill Arthur jotted down what he could on some parchment, “Ok … The initials should be just enough. Harry was really lucky to overhear Dumbledore list what the horcruxes were, but we don’t know where they are except for the Hufflepuff cup. If we’re lucky they will be in personal places so a background check will help immensely. Sadly, it sounds like the locket will be the hardest to find.”
Bill came down the steps quickly, “The goblins have records on important pieces of jewelry so there may be something on its last known location and since we have the basilisk fangs to destroy them I’ll grab the Hufflepuff cup from Harry’s vault.”
George grinned, “Leave it to Harry-”
“- to make this a busy vacation.” Fred finished the sentence with a matching grin.
Percy chuckled, “Hey, Dad. I can check the Ministry if you want to go to Gringotts.”
“That would be better since I’m not in the right department. If someone caught me it would look odd right away.” Arthur agreed and handed his son the notes. “Now … What else should we do?” He pondered, but decided that that was all and flooed away along with his son.
The mini snitch deposited a couple basilisk fangs on the table and Ron picked one up, “I’ll put some venom in a vial. Did Harry say anything else?” The youngest son asked hoping Harry mentioned him.
“Only that Granger is apparently trying to enslave him … The bitch.” Moly growled. Hermione was getting deeper and deeper in danger and she has no clue yet. At the moment Ron was ready to slap her before cursing her into oblivion. “The Slytherins are on our side and Severus will be helping him with Occlumency. Of course, he wished us a Merry Christmas Eve too and wishes he could be here.” Mrs. Weasley said sadly as she looked the rest of the letter over. They all missed Harry …
XXXXXXXXXX
Severus looked at the set of runes Harry was sketching on a piece of parchment that was laying on the table in the Slytherin’s living quarters. “I believe we need to discuss why you aren’t in Ancient Runes because this,” He pauses to point at the complex array of runes that were effortlessly drawn with the brand new tools, “is far beyond what someone your age should be able to accomplish.” He praised as he glanced at the glasses on the desk that he hoped Harry wouldn’t wear again. The green eyed wizard was too sexy without them …
“I was never allowed to pick my own classes.” Harry commented absentmindedly since he was a little distracted with checking the seals. “This should work, but I’ll need to shut the wards on my skin down before I try this.” He muttered as he finished checking everything.
The potion master looked intently at Harry, “What do you mean?”
“Dumbles always set my schedule … He made it sound like he was doing me a big favor. That he was helping me to reach ‘my goal’ of being an Auror just like my father. Don’t bother I already know.” Harry chuckled as he stopped Severus before the potion master could even open his mouth to correct him about James Potter’s career or lack of one. “I had little choice in anything, at least, I had to pretend that I didn’t until he can’t legally f*ck with my life. I’m planning on signing up for the Ancient Runes NEWT Exam at the ministry and become a wardsmith.”
“So you never wanted to be an Auror?” Severus questioned secretly, quite eager to learn more about Harry and it was surprising to hear so many rumors were wrong.
Harry smiled as he shook his head, “Merlin no … That first year was enough for me to say that I was done with any war. When you think about it a lot of kids pretend they’re a superhero, but once they experience something that real and that terrifying no one would want to play anymore. It’s just someone else who wasn't done playing with me.”
A frown made its way across Severus’s lips, “Dumbledore pushed you through each challenge to test you … Why are you so trusting of me when, as far as you know, I could have been completely willing in those schemes?”
After sitting back in a chair and pondering the question Harry sighed, “That first year was odd. Everyone mentioned my father where you mentioned my mother. Everyone praised my father, but you belittled him and rather viciously too.” Severus flinched slightly as he felt guilty. “However, now this didn’t really click with me at the time, but when Ron said you may have been the one who cursed my broom and we discovered you were casting the counter curse to save me even though you clearly hated my father… Well, it was enough for me to consider that you were trustworthy later on. Especially when Mr. Weasley started telling things Dumbledore didn’t want me to know.”
“I see … Young Mr. Weasley discovered that? Granger was the one bragging about it.” Severus commented as he got the feeling that the young witch may have always been a self centered fool.
Harry looked a little baffled, “That I didn’t know … Hermione is smart, but she’s purely book smart. Ron may be less book smart, but he had five older brothers at the time who were spending summers doing homework, practicing magic, preparing pranks and his Dad is in the ministry. Also his mother takes him and Ginny to volunteer at St. Mungos. Ron knows magic, especially what it looks like when someone is cursing someone.”
A look of contemplation crossed Severus’s face, “Indeed … That makes sense … She may have had some issues for a while.”
“Perhaps, but she didn’t exactly take credit for discovering the creature in second year was a basilisk. That wasn’t her was it?” Harry asked with a knowing smile.
The professor sighed, “How’d you know?”
“Hermione would yell at us for putting the ink bottle too close to the books and you expected us to believe she scribbled the word ‘pipes’ in a book and ripped out the page. Also Poppy somehow never found it when everyone who has been in that infirmary knows she has the eyes of a hawk. Yeah … That never made sense and now that I know about Greg and Draco I think I know what happened. Draco knew right away that Ron and I weren’t Greg and Crabbe even though the Poly Juice potion worked. It was my acting as Greg that gave it away wasn’t it.” Harry stated in amusem*nt.
Severus gave a rare smile. Harry was nothing like the idiot he believed him to be and it’s amazing that it took so long to see that, “It was … Draco knows his friend very well. Mr. Goyle did the research and Draco scribbled on the page before stuffing it in Granger’s petrified hand. He didn’t confess until the summer when I asked him to explain why a book was destroyed … Shall we begin?”
With a quick nod the Occlumency training started. Severus lifted his wand and said the spell that sent him flying into Harry’s mind. He appeared in the living room of a boring house. It was very early in the morning and strangely enough he couldn’t see Harry in this memory, but he looked around the room anyway. The photos on the wall were of a family of three. A fat walrus of a man, a pig of a teen and a skinny woman who looked very familiar to Severus …
Like a ton of bricks it struck him … Petunia Evans! Why would Harry know her? She wouldn’t have anything to do with magic. If a magical child was put in her care she would torture them. Severus turned as he heard a bit of shuffling and saw a small child come out of the cupboard. He watched the child actually move a chair to the counter so he could see over the counter to start cooking breakfast. The memory of the child didn’t react as Severus leaned closer to see who he was. To the potion master’s horror the filthy little malnourished child wearing oversized threadbare clothes was Harry!
The urge to hug the child was strong, but Severus knew it was just a memory. He took a deep calming breath and he watched the memory …
Petunia came down the stairs and glared at the boy in disgust, “Hurry up, freak. Vernon has a big day today and needs breakfast. You will be doing your other chores today too and make my Dudley his lunch for school.” She glanced out the window and smirked at the ominous storm clouds. “Do not skimp on weeding the garden.”
“Yes, Aunt Petunia.” Severus’s heart shattered at the sound of child Harry’s almost lifeless voice. The memory continued showing Harry being forced to watch the people eat, but being denied food despite all his hard work making the meal. It began raining during the gardening, resulting in Harry being soaked. The clothes clung to the small frame revealing the ribs sticking too far out and the crisscrossing scars going down the child’s back. To Severus’s horror he saw Petunia lock the boy out as the storm got worse and she even smirked as Harry came very close to being hit by lightning …
The professor canceled the spell and was out of Harry’s mind, “Harry …” He trailed off, not sure what to say. Sorry didn’t seem like anywhere near enough …
“It’s fine … You didn’t know.” Harry muttered, clearly a bit shaken by the memory. “We should try a few more times?” He asked. The plan was to see how likely it would be for Harry to learn Occlumency before the break ends. If he can’t, then these visits into his mind will help Severus when they apply the runes …
“Are you sure?” Severus asked softly. When Harry nodded he cast the spell again …
XXXXXXXXXX
“Percy? What are you doing here on your break?” Fudge exclaimed as he entered the room to leave his office for the night.
Percy sighed as he thumbed through the records, “My mother tried to get me to come over for the holidays … It was too awkward so I left, but I discovered that my sister has a crush and well …”
Fudge nodded in understanding even though Percy didn’t finish his sentence, “I completely understand. Family troubles or not you’re a big brother. Don’t stay up too late in case we have Death Eaters to worry about.”
“Of course, sir. Have a good holiday,” (You narrow minded coward.) Percy mentally added as he skimmed the records. It took a minute, but he finally found the record of someone who fit the bill. “Tom Marvolo Riddle … TMR. Perfect … The date is right and his mother was from the Gaunt Family … That explains the use of the ring, but his Dad was a muggle. A halfblood? The pureblood fanatic is a halfblood. Now that’s funny … He was raised in an orphanage.” He scribbled down the addresses of the orphanage and the Gaunt home along with anything else he thought could be important before leaving …
XXXXXXXXXX
Bill moved past the check-in counter, “I’ll meet you in a minute, Dad.”
“Sure. This won’t take long.” Arthur said and gave the goblin the dagger he cut his thumb with. “I want to discuss a matter with my manager right away.” The goblin nodded quickly and took him to Ironclaw’s office.
“How can I assist you, Lord Weasley?” Ironclaw asked as the other goblin left, shutting the door behind him.
Arthur took a seat, “I want to stop the anonymous donations to the Order.”
“Consider it done. The monthly donation of 15,000 galleons will be stopped. Is that all?” the goblin asked. The Weasleys were one of the few families who stuck to the old wizarding ways and didn’t flaunt their money. They only used money for health reasons or presents and always try to make the most out of every knut. You won’t see them building large lavish mansions because they respect nature like they should … If they wanted to, the Malfoys would find themselves outclassed in no time …
“No … I want a marriage contract written up for my son, Ronald, but it will be open and protected. If he decides not to enforce it then break it, but if this goes how I expect then allow multiple partners. The details like which name is chosen can wait for later, but I mainly want Ron, Harry and whoever wants to also marry Harry to be protected from backlash from those who will attempt to break it.” Arthur said seriously with his thoughts on what Dumbledore may do should a relationship start between Harry and his son. This way they will be protected …
Ironclaw nodded, “A dragon scale clad contract will be drawn up immediately.”
“Good, that will be all. May your gold ever grow, Ironclaw.” Arthur said before leaving the bank. As he waited near the bank’s floo system. “How’d it go?” He asked Bill as the eldest son came towards him with a bottomless shoulder bag slung over his shoulder.
“Perfect. It’s a good thing I’m allowed to make withdrawals for Harry.” Bill said as he stepped into the floo. In a rush of flames they both reappeared in front of the rest of the Weasleys. “First horcrux is ours!”
“I’ll go write an update to Harry and another packet of mini snitches. These things are useful.” Ginny exclaimed as she eagerly got a quill and a piece of parchment.
XXXXXXXXXX
“This isn’t going to be possible. You are showing a little resistance, but I can’t go into your mind too many times a day without hurting something and at this rate you won’t be ready to block out the dark lord or Dumbledore.” Severus concluded more shaken by Harry’s life than he thought he ever would be.
Harry sighed as he held his aching head, “Runes it is then … Let’s see if this will work.” Harry canceled the wards on his skin revealing the few scars that haven’t been healed yet.
The potion master did the spell again and entered Harry’s mind. This time he avoided the memories and just went deep into the center of the mind. It was amazing to open his eyes to see a forest of weeping willows that was flooded in crystal clear water that went up to his knees. Through the long vines he saw Harry sleeping in the low hanging branch of one weeping willow. After a moment of watching the sleeping face he shook Harry awake …
The green eyes snapped open and Harry jumped off the branch landing in the water, “Ok … So this is my mind.”
“It’s very healthy … Can you conjure the memory of the rune sequence?” Severus asked and a moment later the runes appeared in the water in front of them.
It took a few moments, but with the professor’s help the runes were set in place around the young wizard’s mind. The most disturbing part was when they came upon a smoldering foul smelling boulder that was immediately identified as the horcrux. Severus calmly examined the horcrux and noticed that it may not be too closely connected to Harry. If that was the case then maybe they could remove it with something other than death. The mind shifted a little so the boulder was at the far edge of the young wizard’s mind and the last of the wards were placed so the horcrux was not protected by the wards. Once that was done they both woke up in the real world and prepared for one final test. Severus aimed his wand and said the spell. At first, it looked fine. Severus couldn’t find a weakness anywhere, but then Harry tried to manipulate the wards to allow Severus in …
The potion master fell into a dark place that seemed blurry for a memory, “Ahhh Harry hahh th-there oh Merlin!” Severus bit his lip and turned around. To his shock he saw Harry naked and ramming his thick hard co*ck into the tight ass of some screaming slu*t on the bed. The potion master was torn between being jealous and being really turned on. Even though he wanted to strangle the guy with his Harry he could feel his pants tightening, “I ahhh I’m cumming aha hhah HARRY!”
Just as the lucky slu*t came and had his ass filled with cum the scene shifted completely in a way that a walk through someone’s mind would not cause. Now Severus was in a dark room filled with the prettiest glowing butterflies. With a quick look around he found toys, a mini bookcase, a rocking chair, a table and a crib. When Severus looked in the crib he nearly cooed at the sight of the cute baby girl in a pink onesie. Suddenly, the baby began getting fussy and started crying.
The sound of footsteps made Severus turn and see a door that wasn’t there before, “Are you ok, honey? It’s ok … Daddy’s here, Lily.” Severus’s eyes widened as he saw the person pick up the baby gently … It was Harry! It all clicked into place. Somehow the wards threw Severus into Harry’s dreams!
In an instant Severus canceled the spell and looked at Harry, “I … I think the wards need a little getting used to.” He said as he wrapped his robe around himself to hide the tent he pitched because of that erotic dream before Harry saw his obvious arousal.
“Yeah … I don’t want everyone I let into my mind fall into a wet dream.” Harry chuckled, not really embarrassed at the outcome.
“Indeed.” Severus said as he shifted uncomfortably. “It’s been a few hours … You should go to get ready for lunch.”
“What about you, Severus?” Harry asked, noticing that the older wizard’s eyes lit up as he used his name.
“I have some potions to tend to.” Severus said, trying to conceal his disappointment as best as he could, but it wasn’t perfect. He glanced at Harry’s scars just as Harry reactivated the wards on the skin making them vanish. “I know from your memories that Molly is a good healer so why did she not heal the scars on your forearm?”
“Every now and then I had to mess with my sleeve in front of Dumbledore to show him a scar. Since I did that in my first year he knows I have these scars. I don’t like them so I keep them covered unless Dumbles is nearby to witness it.” Harry said as he got up to leave. He leaned and whispered into Severus’ ear. “I’ll see you later, Severus.” He smiled as a visible shiver shook the potion master’s body and he left the living quarters.
Severus gasped and remained still as he attempted to gather his senses. He willed his erection away and calmed down enough to go and check his potion. Excitement swelled up in him as he saw that it was done! With great care he bottled the potion in precise amounts for each vial. One vial was set aside for some moonlight later on, but he drank a small amount of the potion that was left in the cauldron to test it. The wizard felt himself shrink a little and looked in the reflective glass vials. Severus Snape looked about 16 or 17 years old!
The potion did exactly what he wanted. With him being this age it would be easier to build a family. He couldn’t resist thinking about that adorable baby from Harry’s dream. Harry wanted to name a daughter after his mother and Severus wanted to give him that chance. Of course, his thoughts then rolled back onto that erotic dream, but Severus forgot the power of teenage hormones. It was obvious that he couldn’t stop his body’s reaction with his mental training this time. A flush spread across his cheeks as his co*ck twitched in the loose pants.
“Severus?” The much younger potion master spun around to see green eyes looking at him intently …
Chapter 8: Cheers!
Chapter Text
Last Time:
“Severus?” The much younger potion master spun around to see green eyes looking at him intently …
XXXXXXXXXX
“Harry! … W-what are you doing here?!” Severus said sounding more shyly than he intended. Of course the fact that he was trying to keep his loose pants from falling or trying to hide his arousal wasn’t helping at all.
“I forgot my glasses … Is it just me or did you lose 20 years in the 2 minutes I was gone?” Harry asked as he looked at the adorable flushed face of his professor. The sexy sight of the arousal pressing against the potion master’s pants made him lick his lips “Severus … I’m going to guess that this is the result of a potion.”
Severus blushed and covered himself with his robes, “I … Yes, I made an age reversing potion … I-I wanted … If I had a chance to start over when the war ends I want to truly start over.” He turned and started putting the vials away in the cabinet … All except for one.
Harry chuckled, “I’m not surprised you made it … Why are you leaving this one out?” He asked as he pointed to the only vial left.
“It’s going to need moonlight so it … It can become permanent.” Severus answered softly and gasped as Harry came up behind him.
“Is there someone specific you want to start over with?” Harry whispered huskily letting his hot breath brush Severus’s neck earning a shiver.
The potion master’s heart was pounding in his chest. The heat from Harry’s chest pressed up against his back was driving him mad. He wanted more heat, more skin to skin contact, so he turned to look into those green eyes. “Yes … I was hoping … you’d be there … with me.” He said almost too softly for someone to hear, but Harry did.
“Really?” Harry hummed as he leaned forward and placed his hands on either side of the potion master effectively pinning the older wizard to the counter. “If that’s the case would you like some help?”
“Help?” Severus’s breath hitched and his pants tightened further. Could Harry really mean that? It sounded almost too good to be true …
“With your problem.” Harry whispered as he brought his knee up to part Severus’s legs slightly and massaged the bulge in the black pants with his thigh making a mewl slip past Severus’s lips. “I never did this before, but maybe you can help me, professor.”
Severus had no clue if Harry was teasing or if he really didn’t have any experience. No memories he saw revealed anything in that regard, but you could only see so much in one day. What he did know is that the student teacher scenario he always scoffed at before was suddenly very kinky. “Yes, I need some help-” Severus gasped as, in one fluid motion, Harry pulled the professor’s pants and boxers down and cupped the firm ass in order to effortlessly lift Severus onto the counter. In any other circ*mstance, having a half naked person on his potion counter would’ve pissed Severus off, but this was his ass and he was too horny to care.
“How can I help, professor?” Harry asked as he tossed Severus' pants and boxers aside. The sight of the young professor half naked and shivering with need along with his fully erect co*ck was not something Harry could resist. Before any words could pass the potion master’s lips Harry draped those pale legs over his shoulders and teased the tip of Severus’s co*ck with his tongue.
“F-f-f*ck ngh ha-Harry!” Severus yelped as the teasing tongue slowly ran under his co*ck and up his length to dip into his slit where the constant flow of pre cum was licked away. It was hard to tell if Harry was taking his time to get used to this or he knew what he was doing, but Severus didn’t care. “More ah no wait not AHHH!” A loud moan was torn from Severus’s throat as Harry’s strong hands cupped his balls and gave a firm squeeze. If Harry did that again he would cum!
Harry licked his lips as he casually fondled the pale wizard’s balls. Severus’s hips were bucking wildly against his hand. “I think I’m getting this … Is there any other place I should try?”
“N-nipples ngh.” Severus panted as his mind melted away with pleasure. He was too far gone to think. The funny thing was he couldn’t remember ever being so submissive before, but f*ck it! The feeling of Harry’s touches was just too good. His hips jerked when Harry nibbled at his hard dripping co*ck and started unbuttoning the potion master’s shirt, but there was a problem … Too many buttons! “Dammit! Hurry!” Severus snapped vowing to destroy this button infected wardrobe the second he got a chance.
Green eyes that were darkened with lust watched in amusem*nt, “So impatient. You’re always the one saying to take things slowly … There, this better?” Harry finally got through the absurd amount of buttons and rolled one nipple between his fingers. His long arms made it easy to tease the nipples with his one hand as his mouth and other hand continued messing around between those legs.
“Yes s-so good ah ha-Harry ah hhha f-f*ck!” A flushed potion master writhed under the teasing touches. His back arched at a potentially painful degree as Harry started to slowly swallow his co*ck all the way down to his nest of black hair. ”O-o-oh m-merlin ahhhhh!” Severus could feel his release twisting inside him and it got closer with each hard suck. With one pinch of his nipple, hard suck and squeeze of his balls at the same time the professor screamed and came so hard he blacked out for a second. At least, he assumed he blacked out because he wasn’t sure how he got from the counter to laying back in Harry’s lap on the couch …
“That was a fun lesson.” Harry commented with an amused smile as he ran his fingers through Severus’s hair, but quickly groaned as the horny professor started rolling his hips in Harry’s lap to grind his ass against Harry’s hard clothed co*ck.
Severus suddenly shifted so he was straddling the younger wizard’s hips, “It doesn’t feel like we are done.” He mewled as the Gryffindor grabbed his ass with his strong hands and quickly undid Harry’s belt to free the co*ck. “Oh dear f*cking Merlin … You’re big.” The potion master gasped, not able to stop himself from licking his lips as he viewed the pulsing thick manhood. Of all the time to not have lube. “We’ll have to save the final exam for later, but let’s test your stirring capabilities.” Severus actually purred playfully and began grinding their co*cks together.
Harry groaned at the feeling of the pleasurable friction that sent sparks through his co*ck. “Yes, professor.” He hissed as he squeezed the perky backside and let a finger tease the pink puckered entrance making Severus mewl desperately never stopping his grinding hips. A finger was thrust into the eager hole and deep into the amazing clenching heat.
“Oh f*ck, Harry! There!” Severus yelped suddenly when Harry brushed something very sensitive in his body. He couldn’t take it anymore and pulled Harry into a kiss. Their tongues danced … Their bodies writhed … Those fingers stirred the tight slu*tty Slytherin’s insides … The pleasure was building … They both came hard and Severus fell limp on top of Harry and they just basked in the warmth of each other’s afterglow. Severus whimpered as Harry removed his fingers from his ass. “We should go … See the others. They probably want to know if the runes wor-” Severus froze as he sat up and noticed that the potion had worn off. “I’m sorry!” He muttered in embarrassment and tried to get out of Harry’s lap though he wanted to savor the feeling of the strong body against him.
Before Severus could move Harry held him close and kissed his neck. “I see no reason to rush.” He whispered soothingly and kissed Severus on the lips. The potion master felt his heart flutter and stayed where he was for another few minutes, but then they had to redress. Harry put his limp co*ck back in his pants and enjoyed the view of the professor’s butt as went to pick up his boxers and pants. Once fully dressed they left and went up to the Great Hall since it was in the middle of lunch.
Draco looked up from his plate, “So how did the Occlumency go?”
“We had to resort to the wards Harry developed, which are effective. There was just no way to master occlumency in such a short amount of time even though Harry was showing signs of getting the hang of using his mind to push me out. As a bonus we set the wards to block out the horcrux, which we did find.” Severus said as he was about to go to the staff table to eat. Harry had other plans though. The Gryffindor sat on the bench and grabbed Severus’s hand as he passed and succeeded in pulling him onto the bench next to him making the other Slytherins snicker. “Fine, I’ll stay … I’m still going to murder your relatives.” Severus huffed trying to sound like his usual dangerous self to hide the blush on his cheeks … It didn’t help much …
Blaise frowned as he grabbed a roll, “Why? What did they do?” Greg finally looked up from his book to listen to the conversation. It was clear that Harry’s relatives must’ve done something that was terrible to piss off the professor …
Severus sighed and glanced at Harry, who simply shrugged though he was tense, “Apparently, Harry was treated worse than most house elves … I’m ashamed to say that I never realized the first year I met him.”
“What? Your relatives hurt you? … but I thought …” Draco trailed off as he tried to think back to what Harry looked like that first year. Now that he thinks about it something was very wrong with Harry. He didn’t see it back then, but it was clear Harry was far too small and skinny for any child, least of all a ‘spoiled Potter’. Also Draco couldn’t remember Harry wearing anything that revealed his skin during that year. “They did hurt you, didn’t they?”
Harry swallowed the bite of food he was eating and nodded, “They … feared magic … At some point they decided they could beat it out of me or they just enjoyed trying … The first summer I visited the Weasleys I had a black eye. They found out everything in only two weeks and Dumbledore’s involvement. All the scars, except the ones Dumbles knows about are healed … I’m alive because the Weasleys intervened though they had to stay quiet since Dumbles is … my magical guardian.” He said not really ready to go into detail.
Greg’s jaw dropped and the others paled except Severus who already knew from looking through the memories. “M-magical guardian! … Your guardian is orchestrating your death … f*ck … Is this legal? I don’t remember anything saying that any of that is something a magical guardian can do.”
“Magical guardians have very little restrictions as long as they guide their ward through the magical world … Dumbledore did very little, but he could spin it so he wouldn’t be in trouble and as for the abuse he could claim he didn’t know … Though that can’t be since he saw Harry’s scars. Of course, who would believe that Dumbledore is capable of such cruelty? I didn’t until that pensieve memory.” Severus muttered as he made himself a plate of food.
Before the conversation could continue the fluttering of wings could be heard and everyone looked up. It was the small blue snitch! The mail carrying snitch fluttered over the table and found a spot to land. Once it touched down it opened its hollow body and out came the base of a gold thing, but as the snitch upwards the rest of the gold item was revealed earning a few gasps …
“That’s the Hufflepuff cup!” Draco stated and looked at it carefully. “This is a horcrux … Why didn’t they destroy it? We gave them fangs so they should’ve done it.” The blonde huffed.
Right on cue the snitch flew over to Harry and dropped a box of mini snitches and two letters into his hand, “Let’s see.” He said as he opened the letter and his eyes widened at the content. “They wanted to know if Severus could use this one to test for a safe way to remove the one in my head.”
Greg grinned, “That’s a good idea!” He exclaimed and Draco and Blaise nodded in agreement …
“Indeed … I’d prefer to test any theories on this. What of the other horcruxes? Do they have any clues to the locations of the others?” Severus asked as he looked at the golden cup with a feeling of determination. That cup was Harry’s best chance to survive and he will take full advantage of it. A few possible theories have occurred to him so we’ll have to see what comes of it.
“They have some information on Tom Marvolo Riddle who was the person who became Voldemort. Everything from the muggle orphanage he was raised in to his connection to the Gaunt family, which is through his mother.” Harry said as he skimmed the letter. “They are planning to check out some places and they will destroy the ones they find.” The green eyed wizard chuckled in amusem*nt as the snakes all smirked at the news. There was something about the family of redheads all focused on a mission, especially the twins … This was going to be a fast job …
Draco glanced at the second letter in Harry’s hand, “Who is that from? Longbottom?”
“Yeah … I hope Neville isn’t freaking out.” Harry commented as he opened the letter, but he chuckled sheepishly as he read it. “He’s pissed.” The Slytherins all raised their eyebrows skeptically. “He was put in Gryffindor for a reason. Tick him off the right way, you’d only see Severus as a lamb after that.” Harry noticed Severus glare at the thought of him being a lamb and shrugged before giving the professor the letter.
Severus set his fork down and took the letter only to look shocked as he read the colorfully worded rant, “20 points from Gryffindor for really foul language … Where did Mr. Longbottom acquire such language? He has quite a dark mind when it comes to describing how to mutilate someone.” He said mentally taking Neville’s ideas down for when he confronts Dumbldore. Draco took the letter clearly not believing them and after skimming the first paragraph he had to stop reading … it was way too graphic …
Harry smirked, “Have you met his grandmother? She’s responsible … Oh those points removed seem a touch unfair considering the foul language you were using just a few minutes ago.”
At first they thought that Harry meant during the Occlumency lessons, but the light pink that came to the potion professor’s cheeks. To make exactly what happened perfectly clear Harry leaned over and kissed Severus’s cheek. Greg snickered as Draco and Blaise’s jaws dropped and looked as if they were about to sulk.
“Indeed … 10 points can go back, but it was still a bloody graphic letter.” Severus huffed before continuing his meal. The rest of the meal went on in silence with Blaise and Draco shooting a mix of curious and jealous looks at Severus and Harry. It was getting annoying actually so when the house elves took the finished plates the professor decided to make a comment. “Hippogriffs would be jealous.” He said with a smirk making both Draco and Blaise blush and look at Harry who couldn’t help but laugh … He wasn’t sure what that meant, but considering how they glanced at his crotch he could guess …
“Well I’d hate to disturb this tantalizing gossip, but what should we do about this?” Greg asked with a very amused smirk as he tapped the golden cup. A flicker of Dark magic wafted off the cup making everyone freeze and back away from the table … and in Harry’s case clutch his head in pain, “Ok … that was unnerving.”
“Very … Harry, are you alright?” Blaise asked and touched Harry’s arm.
The Gryffindor rubbed his burning scar to try to ease the pain, “Yeah … I’m fine, but I don’t think I should get too close to the horcruxes.”
Draco rolled his eyes, “You’re not going anywhere near them … Well we could put it in Salazr’s study or the Room of Requirement.” He suggested remembering what Harry mentioned before. He never saw this Room of Requirement, but it may be a good place to hide something like this.
“Perhaps Salazar’s study would be best. Unfortunately, I can’t risk keeping it should Dumbledore come into my living quarters and find it. He never did respect my privacy.” Severus muttered. Of course, he didn’t have an active social life to worry about … until now …
Greg removed the robe of his uniform and draped it over the cup to safely pick it up, “I’ll take it down then … There are some books down there I want to read.” He said ignoring the rolling eyes …
“That should be fine. I think the door allows anyone who isn’t a threat so you’ll be fine.” Harry said with a smile and Greg nodded before walking away with the tainted cup. “This is going to be a busy Christmas … Now I feel stupid. I should’ve gotten you guys presents.”
Draco felt his heart skip just like his fellow Slytherins, “All of this came out of nowhere so you really shouldn’t worry about that … You did give Greg access to a whole new library so he’s not complaining.” (And if you give me what you gave the professor I won’t either.) Draco added mentally and those thoughts were shared by Blaise.
“And you gave me plenty in the form of a … really big snake.” Severus gave a smug smirk making it very clear that he did not mean the basilisk …
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Albus Dumbledore groaned, ”Why is the counter potion always more painful than the original one? At least I’m not hiccupping any more ... Only two more days until I can get back to Hogwarts and show Harry a small amount of information to get him hunting down the horcruxes. Then I’ll get what I want.” Dumbledore sighed contentedly as he imagined having the three Hallows in his possession. To become the Master of Death is what he always wanted. Once Harry died the cloak will be back in his hands and he placed a tracking spell on the Gaunt Ring’s stone …
All his plans are coming together …
A knock was heard at his door and he groaned in pain as he got up to get it. To his surprise it was Moody, “What’s the problem, Moody? Did the werewolf plan go well?” He asked as the door closed behind them.
“Severus got in the way and killed Greyback.” Moody grumbled.
“I can’t just have Severus killed. At least, not until the summer so I have time to get a new DADA professor and by then Harry will be horcrux hunting so as a spy Severus wouldn’t be needed anymore. I’ll have a house elf drug him with some potions like Lupin.” Dumbledore shrugged carelessly, but then winced in pain because of the effects of the counter potion …
Chapter 9: Busy Holiday
Chapter Text
Last Time:
“I can’t just have Severus killed. At least, not until the summer so I have time to get a new DADA professor and by then Harry will be horcrux hunting so as a spy Severus wouldn’t be needed anymore. I’ll have a house elf drug him with some potions like Lupin.” Dumbledore shrugged carelessly, but then winced in pain because of the effects of the counter potion …
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Ron pouted on his bed, “I miss Harry.” He blushed as he remembered the hug he shared with Harry before leaving. “I wonder if he’s … with the Slytherins.”
“Would it matter if he was? Harems are normal for heirs, remember?”
“WHAT THE f*ck?!” Ron yelped as the completely unexpected voice of his brother came out of nowhere, “Dammit, Percy! Have you ever heard of knocking?” He snapped as he threw his brother a nasty glare.
Percy gave a mock snarl, “Yeah, I heard of him. He owes me money.” He joked with a balled up fist raised in the air playfully as if threatening to punch someone, but then he walked in the room, kicked the door shut and flopped on the bed next to his brother. “So what has been flying around in my dear baby brother’s mind?”
“N-nothing.” Ron stuttered with a blush.
The older redhead hummed at the unconvincing answer, “Really … strange, I swore I heard Harry’s name a minute ago.” He sighed and laid back on the bed as if relaxing.
“Well … Maybe.” Rom mumbled and started twitching under his brother’s lazy gaze until he finally broke. “Fine … I was thinking of Harry.”
“Was he on top of you in your thoughts-oof!” Percy grunted as a pillow hit his face. “So that’s a yes then.” He said without removing the pillow perched on his face, which made his voice muffled.
“Pervert.” Ron huffed, his cheeks were practically glowing a deep red color.
The pillow wiggled as the older brother chuckled and lazily tilted his head to let the pillow fall off his face, “Yep! Now that we settled that what are you afraid of? That Severus or any of the others will get a hot Potter co*ck up the ass before you? Ron, you know what Bill told Harry about all the titles he has inherited. The Potter title, the Black title, Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and some lordships are in there too. He needs a lot of kids to pass those titles down. We are a fertile family, but you might have trouble with all that by yourself. With a harem it’ll be easier and, you know, Harry always respected the Slytherins even with their treatment.”
“I … I know, but what if … he doesn’t need me?” Ron muttered so softly it sounded like a whimper.
Percy sat up and pulled Ron into a hug, “Tell me, little brother, do you agree that Harry was always more Slytherin than Gryffindor?” Percy could feel Ron nod into his chest, “but that never affected your friendship, did it?” He felt the smaller red head shake his head. “You’re his friend and I doubt he’ll let you go. Harry isn’t the type of person who will throw away someone like that so just tell him how you feel … Considering how observant he is he might have some clue about it already, but just never said anything because you didn’t.” Ron looked up at Percy with a clearly horrified expression and embarrassed blush. “Oh please, Ron, you are not subtle. We all knew you loved him. You were the only clueless one because you built some sort of wall around your heart and tried to deny it … I don’t know what destroyed those walls so suddenly, but I’m glad you’re opening up.”
“Why weren’t you in Slytherin?” Ron mumbled into his brother’s chest feeling better about his place in Harry’s life after Percy’s words sank in.
“The Sorting Hat actually said that it would be a good house for me, but then decided I’d drive them mad so it put me in Gryffindor.” Percy said all too casually.
Ron couldn’t stop himself from laughing, “Wise move on the hat’s part.”
“It’s true, I see that now!” Percy exclaimed dramatically as if he learned some big life lesson when he clearly didn’t. “Now Mom, wanted to see if we could grab something horcrux related before Christmas dinner so Bill and Charlie wanted to check out the Gaunt Shack while I take the twins to the orphanage. Do you want to join?”
“Yes!” Ron yelped excitedly as he jumped to grab a warm coat. “Come on, come on!” He bounced around impatiently as his brother lazily got off the bed and casually strode to the bedroom door.
Percy chuckled in amusem*nt at his little brother’s behavior, “Calm down, the Horcruxes aren’t going anywhere.”
The two redheads went down the stairs where everyone was gathered and saw Arthur smile, “Ready to go?” Everyone nodded. “Good, I don’t need to tell you to be careful. These are pieces of Voldemort’s soul we’re looking for. The Dark Lord wouldn’t just leave such things laying around so I have no doubt that they are cursed in some way. Unfortunately, I have to stay here in case Dumbledore calls a meeting, but be careful.”
Charlie smirked and held up a basilisk fang. “We’ll be fine, Dad. Come on, Ron. You’re with us unless you want to be stuck on the prankster team.”
“Point taken.” Ron snickered and joined his eldest brothers.
Fred and George gave a look of mock hurt, “Percy, did you hear that? We’re being treated like devils.”
“Yeah, I wonder why?” Percy said as he strolled over. He casually flicked his wand making his, Fred and George’s hair stand up to resemble devil horns getting a laugh from the rest of the family before Bill held Ron and they apparated away.
Ginny smiled, “They’re insane.”
“So true, dear, but we wouldn’t want them any other way. Now I’ll start cooking if you wouldn’t mind setting up for the winter ritual.” Molly said and her daughter grinned before darting down to the basem*nt.
The Weasleys were an open minded bunch. They welcome and respect other cultures. When Harry said he was raised with muggle traditions they celebrated them as well to make him more comfortable, but they brought him into their family’s seasonal and blessing rituals as well. Ginny was setting up the runes on the floor using salt and placed an offering in the form of fruit in the center for the nature and magical spirits to bless. When everyone returns they will start the ritual …
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Bill raised an eyebrow as he and his brothers appeared near a crumbling shack, “This is the Gaunt Shack? It’s falling apart.”
“No kidding.” Charlie muttered as he pushed the door open only for flakes to fall off its surface and cover his hand. “I’ll go in first. If this floor holds me then we should be alright” the most muscular of the Weasleys reasoned.
The floorboards creaked loudly as Charlie carefully walked across. After a couple minutes and not falling through the wood the dragon tamer signaled for his brothers to come in. Bill and Ron went in one after the other and made sure to put some distance between each other so they didn’t put too much weight on one part of the floor. Room after room they looked through the small shack for anything that looked like a ring or a box big enough to carry one.
“This place isn’t big so where could it be?” Bill wondered as he brushed away a large cobweb.
Ron looked down at his feet and took a couple steps back when the floorboards under him sounded more like they were about to crack rather than creak, but then he noticed something odd. He couldn’t quite place it, but there was something off about the patch of floor near the fireplace. After looking closely he noticed what it was … The lack of cobwebs and dust!
“Bill, Charlie, over here! Someone moved these floorboards recently!” Ron shouted and moved out of the way so his much larger brothers could carefully tread closer.
Charlie smirked, “Now we’re onto something!” He said as he flicked his wand to make the rotten floorboards float away revealing a simple box.
“Don’t touch it!” Bill warned his dragon taming brother when he tried to inspect the box. “Let me check it first.” Bill said and moved closer. The curse breaker cast a few spells and frowned. “Bloody hell … The box alone is cursed to stop people from getting too close. Give me a few minutes.” He said and carefully moved closer to begin weaving spells and wards to break through the defenses. “Strange … This magic isn’t the same as the magic from the Hufflepuff cup … This must be Dumbledore’s work.” He commented as he continued breaking every spell. The two oldest Weasleys tried not to laugh as Ron began muttering curses and nasty remarks about a certain meddling old wizard …
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“No wonder Moldywart became evil-” Fred said.
Goerge frowned and flawlessly continued the sentence, “-if we were raised here-”
“-we’d be evil too!” Fred finished seamlessly as the three brothers entered the dilapidated orphanage.
“I’m starting to wonder who was really at fault for all this. The dark magic tainting an already deranged kid or the headmaster who never stepped in to help an innocent child out of this place.” Percy remarked as he looked at a collapsed wall. Not a single toy was in the place and considering it was abandoned for decades you would expect some evidence that children used to live there.
“Who was the headmaster when Tom Riddle was in school?” The twins asked in perfect sync.
Percy paused a moment to recall some dates, “Dumbledore, actually.” He answered not seeing the twins pause and glance at each other in shock before continuing the search. Hours passed, but nothing like any of the items they were looking for could be found. “Wait … ” Percy muttered as he looked out the window at the rather nice forest below. “Fred, George! It’s outside!”
The twins could be heard running down the stairs from the highest floor to meet their brother who was just leaving through the front door. “How do you know?” They asked.
“Look at that place … There’s nothing inside showing that children played there and kids leave a mess … No kid enjoyed that place so they came out here and I’m betting minimort did as well. Most kids might try staying with the least densest parts since it would be too difficult for them to get through the dense areas, but not a future Dark Lord … No … He’d risk going deeper to get even farther away from the muggle kids. Look for a path that goes deeper than the others. It should be hidden to some extent.” Percy reasoned and they all started searching.
After only a few minutes George stumbled on a well worn patch of dirt with an old jack from a game. Some other small toys were found, but then they moved deeper into the forest and found an old tree trunk with toys hidden inside. It was as if one kid wanted to keep some for himself. At that moment they knew they were onto something and kept up the search. In no time they came upon an isolated rocky outcrop that had a cave entrance …
“If we wanted to hide our-” George started saying.
”-soul this would be a damn good place.” Fred finished.
“I agree.” Percy said and went ahead of his brothers to see this cave. Each of them held up their wands and used a strong light spell to penetrate the darkness. Not long after they came to a large cavern with a lake. In the center was an island of solid stone, but when Percy tried stepping on the first stepping stone leading to the island and noticed something in the water, “Don’t touch the water.”
Both twins froze and looked into the water. Under the surface were dozens, perhaps hundreds, inferi. The corpses slept silently for now, but there was no telling how terrifying it would be if just one ripple disturbed them. The redheads carefully moved to the island and found a bowl filled with a potion.
“I think this is a potion that is protecting something … Where did I put that snack container?” Percy muttered as he fished through his pockets for a shrunken box that once held some snacks their mother packed for them in case things took longer than expected. They, of course, already ate everything. Now it was useful for something else. Percy unshrank the box, took the potion filled bowl and slowly poured it out and into the snack box until only a glittering locket was left in the bowl.
Fred moved his lit wand closer, “Is it just me or is there something off with this locket?”
“No, it’s not you. The ‘S’ is off … this is a fake.” Percy set the snack box down and opened the locket revealing a note. His eyes widened and he laughed, “A man named Regulus Black stole it and replaced it with this copy.”
George grinned, “This guy has balls pranking a dark lord … Black huh … Is he related to Sirius perhaps?”
”If so then maybe Dad will have to have a look around Grimmauld Place at the next meeting … I don’t know why Dumbledore only invites Dad to those things. He is the original prankster and is not easily fooled … I guess Dad tricked Dumbles as much as Dumbles fooled us … Until we found Harry, that is.” Percy commented absentmindedly and he left the bowl, fake locket and tainted snack box on the island and headed to the exit. (I’ll deal with you later.) He thought as he passed the inferi … things like that shouldn’t be left unattended …
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“Pip!” Dumbledore called as he relaxed in his plush chair in his home.
A house elf appeared in front of Dumbledore, “What can Pip do for you, headmaster?”
“Go to Hogwarts and place this in Severus’s food. It’s the same type as the one I had you give Remus so be careful with how you mix it into the food or it won’t be strong enough.” Dumbledore ordered as he handed the house elf a vial filled with a potion. This potion will erase the potion master’s memory and make him despise Harry. The one Remus was given had the same effects except that his made him ignore Harry not hate him.
Pip nodded excitedly and took the vial, “Pip will do that right away, headmaster!” The house elf returned to the Hogwarts kitchens and began carefully mixing the potion into the rice that was set aside for the professor.
Now the poor elf didn’t realize what the potion really did. The little elf thought he was giving Severus the same ‘nutrition’ potion he gave Remus to help them heal from their missions. At least, that’s what Dumbledore told him. The wizard claimed he was worried about Remus and first asked him to take it, but the werewolf refused not wanting to make trouble for the old wizard who’d have to brew the potion. Since Severus was naturally stubborn Pip had no problem believing he’d refuse help so in it went …
Pip took the food platters to the professor’s living quarters just as Severus was setting up three potions to brew. “Pip brought Professor Snape his food since he was going to miss dinner. The others were served already and should be almost done eating by now.” The house elf chirped as he placed the platters on the coffee table
“Thank you, Pip.” Severus said tiredly and the house elf disappeared. “I should eat.” He sighed. He spent most of the day trying to find a way to remove the horcrux from that damn cup and then he was summoned by Voldemort. After a couple torture curses he was ordered to brew some potions. Apparently, the wizard hated that he suddenly lost his connection to Harry’s mind and wanted to shatter the wizard’s mind with these potions. Severus had no interest in doing that, but Voldemort said he wanted to see the potions himself to inspect them. The potion master was going to bring this up with Harry the second he saw him.
With careful movements to keep himself from straining his sore body he sat down and picked up the fork to scoop up some rice …
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Blaise smiled as he sat with Draco and Harry, “I never celebrated Christmas really. My mother prefers traditional rituals and Yule.”
“It’s the same with my family. I just know that exchanging presents are the same.” Draco said actually considering celebrating muggle holidays for Harry. He noticed an empty plate and a missing cup. “Did Greg leave already? Damn him and that library.” The blonde muttered halfheartedly. This gave them more time alone with Harry before people come back tomorrow.
Harry chuckled, “He is enjoying himself … To be honest I never celebrated Christmas before Hogwarts … Or, to be precise, I wasn’t allowed to. My first gift was from Hagrid after I got my letter and my first real Christmas outside of Hogwarts was with the Weasleys who also showed me a winter ritual. I think they only bothered with the muggle tradition to make me comfortable, but I’m grateful either way.”
Draco raised an eyebrow, “I thought the Weasleys were blood traitors.” He remarked as he remembered what his father said once years ago.
“They’re open minded, but they never forgot the magical traditions.” Harry smiled at the looks of confusion on the two Slytherin’s faces. No one seems to know the Weasleys all that well.
“Ok … We’ve established that everything we know is a lie and our worlds were just up ended … So … What presents did you get?” Blaise asked.
“A book on old curses, a dragon hide suitcase with two large compartments, a bag of special stones for a project that I can’t even begin to understand how the twins discovered and a book titled ‘How to Handle Your Pregnant Husband’ …” Harry tried not to laugh as both Blaise and Draco blushed, “and some other things.”
The dark skinned wizard recovered faster, “What project are you working on?”
“A year ago I overheard Sirius complaining about the lack of spells dedicated to one area … Sex.” This time Harry couldn’t stop a chuckle as the snakes blushed, but Blaise being the not so bashful one leaned closer to listen. “Apparently, there’s only a stretching and lubrication spell out there, but that’s not enough. I made the wards on my skin years before and I wondered if I could use it as a guide for some toys … The prototypes are nearly finished, but aren’t tested and in my grimoire.”
Blaise licked his lips, “We can help test them!” He purred and held onto Harry’s arm though he secretly wanted to strangle the muggle-born for taking that grimoire. Draco’s eyes widened as his blush became deeper, but he didn’t argue.
“I’d love the help. Of course, since it is a test I should be there to watch.” Harry said casually as if it was no big deal, but he did have to keep Draco from falling over in shock … or maybe he came close to fainting. It was hard to say.
Draco bit his lip in anticipation. He wanted to be with Harry in that way so badly, but he was nervous too, “This is something Severus should know, don’t you think?”
It was agreed and once the house elves took the plates away they went to Severus’s living quarters, but to their surprise they were met with a furious potion master who had his wand pointed at Harry …
Chapter 10: Fatigue
Chapter Text
Last Time:
It was agreed and once the house elves took the plates away they went to Severus’s living quarters, but to their surprise they were met with a furious potion master who had his wand pointed at Harry …
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“STAY OUT OF MY WAY, HARRY! I’M GOING TO MURDER HIM!” Severus barked as he made his way to the floo powder over the fireplace, but a dagger came out of nowhere and hit the floo powder jar in a way so the lid was sealed shut. “HARRY, REMOVE THIS DAGGER!!”
“Not until you calm down and tell us what happened.” Harry said as he, Draco and Blaise slowly came into the room. Seeing Severus this furious meant something happened and it was bad …
Severus didn’t even seem to stop for a breath as he ranted on, “I worked for that bastard for nearly two f*cking decades! I risk my life to go undercover as a spy so they can have information and for all that Dumbledore tried to spike my meal with potions! f*cking potions! Does he think so low of me that he doesn’t think I know how to find potions in what I eat-…” The potions professor trailed off. His chest hurt and his vision was blurring … His knees suddenly gave way as he completely blacked out.
Harry bolted forward and caught Severus before he hit the floor, “Severus!” Harry adjusted his grip and felt for a pulse on the potion master’s neck as Draco and Blaise rushed over. “He’s alright. Just unconscious. I’ll get him to bed.” Harry said as she scooped Severus up bridal style and went to the bedroom.
“I’ll help-” Draco was about to follow after Harry, but he froze in horror when he saw cauldrons steaming in Severus’s private lab. “sh*t, he has potions brewing! I’ll keep an eye on them- Wait, we should do something about his meal.”
Blaise nodded as he followed Draco into the lab, “Let me handle that.” He said as he snatched a large empty flask before running back to the meal where he started scraping the food off the plate with the fork and into the flask. “Ok, I got most of it so it looks like he ate enough. Do you need any help here?” He asked as he set the food filled vial on the shelf.
“No, I know these potions. I have no clue why my godfather is brewing them, but I’m sure he’ll explain.” Draco said as he searched the already prepped ingredients next to either cauldron, which was how he identified the potions being brewed.
“Ok, then I’ll help Harry.” Blaise paused just before leaving lab when he saw a house elf gather the plates and waited until the creature left …
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While being as gentle as possible Harry laid the professor on the bed and began undressing him so he would be more comfortable. First, the professor’s shoes and socks hit the floor, but that revealed another issue. “Where did these bruises come from?” Harry pondered, feeling a spark of anger as his fingers caressed the purpling splotch on Severus’s ankle.
A nagging feeling made Harry continue removing clothes. After undoing only three buttons on Severus’s shirt more bruises were revealed. The thought of the injuries being even worse under the rest of the clothes prompted the green eyed wizard to pull out his wand and spell away all of Severus’s clothes. Sure enough several bruises were revealed and the pattern suggested one thing … The torture curse. Most think the horrid curse doesn’t leave marks and for the most part that’s true, but with all that thrashing in pain it’s not hard to believe that you do see marks sometimes. Also if the curse is cast multiple times on a person the curse alone will damage the body. Harry knows this first hand after being tortured by Voldemort at the end of the Tri-wizard Tournament. Training in Godric’s training room has helped him fight even under the curse and he sees what occurs since temporary illusions of those injuries are left behind …
“Dammit … You had a meeting with Moldywart, didn’t you?” Harry said despite knowing Severus couldn’t answer. “You’ll tell me what happened when you wake up, but first I should get some healing salve.” The green eyed wizard flicked his wand to levitate the potion master for a second so he could grab the sheets and lowered him onto the bed to be covered for his modesty sake. After all, he wasn’t sure how Severus would react to waking up and finding himself naked. Though. Harry had to admit that seeing a butt naked Severus sprawled out on the bed would be a delicious sight to see.
Right at that moment Blaise opened the bedroom door, “An elf just took the plates-” His eyes widened as he saw the bruises on Severus’s chest and arms, which were not covered by the sheets. “Dear Merlin … What happened to him?”
“If I had to guess I’d say he had a meeting with a certain evil snake faced wizard.” Harry muttered as he touched Severus’s forehead when he noticed that potion master had a slight flush on his cheeks. “He has a fever.”
“He’s usually the one stocking up the infirmary so he should have some stocked up in his lab. I’ll take a look.” Harry watched the dark skinned wizard leave and after a second he flinched as he heard Draco freaking out about Severus. The blonde could be heard saying things like ‘my godfather is that badly hurt?!’ and after the sounds of someone rummaging through the shelves the line ‘found some … that bloody idiot never takes proper care of himself’ was heard. A second later an amused Blaise returned to the bedroom. “Draco’s worried.”
“So I heard.” Harry chuckled at the thought of the feisty blonde in the other room.
Blaise sighed in mock exasperation, “He’s a handful … Now Severus has plenty of bruise salve and fever reducers so he must’ve been too stubborn to use any in case someone else needs it or so Draco ranted.” He said as he handed Harry a jar. “So how should we make him take the fever reducer?”
“I know a way.” Harry said as he set the salve jar on the side table and took the potion from Blaise.
The dark skinned wizard’s jaw dropped as Harry poured the potion into his own mouth and gently opened Severus’s mouth. Blaise watched in fascination as Harry kissed Severus and pushed the potion into the waiting mouth with his tongue. “f*ck … Now that’s how you take potions.” He said as Harry gently stroked the potion master’s throat to encourage him to swallow and used a little magic to make sure he didn’t gag or choke, similar to what Mrs. Weasley was seen doing, before finally pulling away. Severus whimpered even in his unconscious state when the kiss stopped.
“There … Now to fix these bruises.” Harry said as he set the empty vial down and picked up.
After opening the lid and spreading the first dollop of the healing substance on the bruised skin he noticed that Blaise seemed too focused on his hand gliding over Severus’s skin to help. It didn’t matter though since he figured Severus would be more comfortable being touched by someone who he was intimate with. With great care he spread the salve over the pale skin only pausing to move the sheets so he could use the salve on those long slender legs without exposing Severus. Of course, he couldn’t stop the soft mewls from being heard whenever he caressed a sensitive spot on the potion master’s skin and there were a lot of sensitive spots …
“There all done … Are you ok, Blaise?” Harry asked with an amused smirk playing on his lips when his saw the tent being pitched in Blaise’s pants.
“I have a fever.” Blaise smirked playfully and pulled the green eyed wizard into a steamy kiss. Harry easily took over the kiss and Blaise moaned softly as his mouth was molested by the skilled tongue. The strong hands held those slender hips firmly in place as Harry pinned Blaise against a wall. The dark skinned wizard moaned hotly effectively breaking the kiss as the green eyed wizard slipped a hand into his pants and wrapped those fingers around the hard flesh
“Oh f*ck, oh f*ck! Harry ahhh your hand on my co*ck just ahhh feels so good! f*ck!” Blaise moaned. Harry smirked as the horny Slytherin gripped his shoulders to give himself more leverage to buck against the Gryffindor’s hand. After stroking a few times Harry would switch to teasing only the weeping tip of that co*ck before returning to stroking. The friction made with each stroke of his co*ck was making Blaise melt into a writhing puddle of pleasure and with a one really naughty finger pushing his pants lower and into his ass his mind was completely gone.
Without warning Harry removed the finger and all touch just before the shorter wizard’s release making Blaise whine, “Why’d you stop?” He panted, his body shaking with need, which only made his pants fall around his knees since they were unbuttoned.
Harry leaned over and nipped Blaise’s ear, “Bend over the bedframe.” He whispered huskily making the Slytherin shiver as the warm breath brushed the dark skin.
Dazed dark brown eyes glanced over at the bed that the professor was in. The wooden frame was raised and the head and foot of the bed with a slight arch unlike the four poster beds the students have in the Slytherin dorm. “Ok.” Blaise gasped, his heart racing in anticipation. Just removing his pants and bending over the frame made him feel very close to release. Of course, those green eyes watching his every step wasn’t helping. “Harry, please I can’t wait!” Blaise mewled as the bed frame rested comfortably against his stomach and his hands were on the bed holding his upper body up. Thankfully, the bed was huge so it’s not like he was hanging over Severus’s feet …
“Slytherins are all impatient it seems.” Harry chuckled as he stared at the delicious ass up in the air. He licked his lips as he kneeled down behind Blaise and saw the co*ck between those shaking legs pouring pre cum like a facet. “You’re so excited, Blaise. Tell me, how does this feel?” He asked as he took the firm globes into his hands and massaged them.
“Ahh hahhhh g-good more ahhh ah hahh!” Blaise moaned as he tried to buck back against those hands. His face was getting flushed and his breath was coming out in short pants. Suddenly, Harry paused the rubbing and spread the cheeks wide exposing the pucker. “What are you-AH!” Blaise yelped as something wet brushed his pucker. It was Harry’s tongue! The wet muscle teased the dark skinned wizard’s entrance driving him absolutely mad with pleasure. Finally, Harry pushed his tongue passed the tight ring of muscles and began working the twitching pucker, which made Blaise scream and push back greedily. “Oh Merlin! Your tongue is so good-f*ck! More more more! Oh f*ck I’m cumming! Harry cumming! Cumming!” Blaise’s toes curled as his back arched and his cum came spraying out in several long thick white ribbons leaving him hanging limply halfway on the bed and the rest hanging off the bedframe.
Harry smirked as he pulled back and saw the large puddle of cum on the floor, but then he spotted a blushing Draco in the doorway, “Need something, Draco?” He asked way too innocently for someone who just tongue f*cked someone into unconsciousness …
“I … ummm I heard a scream and … err … What are you doing? Severus is right there you know.” Draco said though as disrespectful as it seems he didn’t care that much. He actually wanted to complain because he wasn’t pleasured by Harry.
“Personally, I don’t mind. It was fun to watch.” Both Harry and Draco blinked and turned to see Severus sitting up in the bed. When he got up, no one was sure, but he definitely saw enough of what happened.
“You pervert! Were you were watching the whole time?” Draco accused just as Blaise began regaining his senses.
“That’s a bit of an unfair statement don’t you think, Draco? After all, how long were you standing there?” Severus smirked as Draco blushed and avoided his eyes. “Thought as much … Now Harry, where did you learn about that?” He asked with a spark of lust in his eyes.
Blaise stood up and looked down at Harry who was still on his knees and therefore getting the perfect look at the half naked Slytherin’s co*ck and balls. “I want to know that as well.” He said in a daze clearly not ashamed at all.
The green eyed wizard kissed Blaise’s hipbone earning a pleased hum before standing up, “You really get a sense for how sex deprived the world of magic is when you live in muggle world. The things you can find in the right stores can be … eye opening. Since my relatives make me shop for the food I have plenty of chances to explore. It’s only been research for those prototypes I mentioned until now.”
“Prototypes for what? What are you working on?” Severus asked now very curious.
“Harry is using his skill with runes to create magic world’s first toys for sex and if his skill with his hands and tongue are any indication it will be quite successful.” Blaise answered with a playful smile as he went over to pick up his pants. “I’m surprised you didn’t mention the Weasleys’ influence.” Blaise commented as he deliberately put his pants on as slowly as possible knowing full well that Harry was watching.
The Gryffindor chuckle,d “I have accidently heard Bill, Charlie and Percy chatting about the subject, but it was rather tame compared to the stuff you’d find in muggle world.”
Draco blinked, “Really? … Wait! We shouldn't be talking about this! Severus should be telling us why he was so badly hurt and why he’s brewing potions that will mentally crush a person and make their emotions go haywire.” Draco glared as Severus looked horrified, meaning he realized he wasn’t attending to the potions. “I was watching them. They’re both in a phase where they can be left alone for a little while.”
“Good … The Dark Lord summoned me not long ago.” Severus winced as he tried to move on the bed. The bruises may be gone, but there may be a bit more healing needed. “Put simply he knows about the link he had with your mind Harry and that it was blocked. He blamed me because I was here when it happened. Technically he isn’t wrong, but it’s a bit of a leap to say that and blame me for Grayback’s disappearance as well. Perhaps the only reason I’m alive is the fact that it seems very irrational even to him. Thankfully, I was spared, but he ordered me to brew two potions. One, as Draco said, to break any barriers around the mind and one to send your emotions out of control. I wasn’t going to give them to you, but the Dark Lord said I had to bring them to him first for inspection so I have to, at least, do that.”
Harry deadpanned, “sh*t, I actually forgot to mention this.” He said as he pulled out the necklace that was around his neck, but under his shirt. “This is from the Black vault that I inherited after Sirius’s death. It’s actually meant to protect the wearer from any type of manipulation so I could be given potions like that and not be affected, but while that would buy you some time we have a problem.”
Severus sighed in relief as he looked at the glittering green stone hanging from the silver necklace happy that Harry was protected in that sense, “Yes … He can feel the link so he will know the second the potions aren’t working. I have three weeks, maybe four with one potion, for brewing, but then only a week after the first dose.”
Draco paled slightly, “You can’t go back after five weeks. It’s far too dangerous. He nearly killed you when he had no proof. When he figures out that the potions aren’t working after he inspected them personally he will believe that you’re involved and he will kill you.”
“I don’t have much of a choice really. I have to keep doing what I’m doing as a spy.” Severus said and thought for a moment as he absentmindedly touched the dark mark on his arm. “Besides, if I stop Dumbledore will discover that I’m not under the influence of the potion in that food and I don’t have a safe place to go to.”
“Not necessarily.” Harry said getting the Slytherins’ attention. “Part of becoming the heir of the Black family is that I can’t personally deal with accounts until I’m of age like all pureblood families, but unlike most I can hand pick someone of legal age and they can withdraw or remove anything the heir needs instead of being subjected to a magical guardian like for the Potter accounts. I chose Bill as my advisor and he told me in the beginning of this year that I have several properties including a mansion that can’t be traced on a map. Most of the properties are in bad condition, but the wards are powerful and Dobby has been busy fixing everything, which is why I haven’t called him … That and I suspect Dumbledore told the other house elves to report if they see him so he can’t come here, but that’s not the point. You could come to one of those homes.”
The professor felt his heart flutter at the offer, “That would be great, but I can’t just disappear.”
“No … but what if you were killed?” Harry suggested. Severus slowly smirked as a cunning plan began forming from the idea …
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Greg poured through the books and journals from one of the founders of Hogwarts. Several things were copies of old textbooks and others were handwritten accounts of things that happened. The most intriguing find was a grimoire filled with potions Salazar was working on. The feathered Slytherin was so absorbed in his research that he nearly jumped out of his skin when a pile of books he finished reading toppled over …
“Maybe I should take a break and put these away first.” Greg muttered as he got up to collect the books. One by one he put each book in its proper place on the shelves, but he noticed that one of the dozens of picture frames was knocked off the shelf and the photo was sticking out a little. Greg picked up the frame and removed the picture, which was of Helena and Rowena Ravenclaw according to the names scribbled on the back. “Helena Ravenclaw … Sge seems very familiar for some reason.” He racked his brain to think of the answer, but it was just out of reach. “It’ll come to me.”
After cleaning everything else up he glanced at the picture again and decided to take the photo with him. With the photo tucked in his pocket he left to go to the dorm. There was strangely no one there so he decided to look for them. To his shock he found Draco, Blaise, Severus and Harry in the potion master’s living quarters, specifically the bedroom, where they were discussing the strangest morbid topic …
Draco looked up as Greg appeared, “What’s your opinion, Greg? What would be the best way to kill the professor?” He asked and everyone, even Severus, stared at Greg actually waiting for an answer to the disturbing question.
“I know you didn’t like getting marked off on your paper Draco, but that’s no reason to kill your godfather! … and why are you plotting this in front of him? Why are you naked?” Greg yelled when he saw that Severus was indeed naked. He was more than a little confused at what was going on and his confusion only worsened when everyone started laughing. ”Why is this so funny?!”
Chapter 11: Plans
Chapter Text
Last Time:
“I know you didn’t like getting marked off on your paper Draco, but that’s no reason to kill your godfather! … and why are you plotting this in front of him? Why are you naked?” Greg yelled when he saw that Severus was indeed naked. He was more than a little confused at what was going on and his confusion only worsened when everyone started laughing. ”Why is this so funny?!”
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Neville rushed onto the Hogwarts Express and went to find Ginny and Ron. Ever since he received that letter from Harry in the snitch he has been worried about the green eyed wizard. The news about Dumbledore was shocking even though his grandmother never liked the headmaster and made it very clear that the old wizard shouldn’t be trusted. It’s one thing growing up hearing her telling him to be cautious, but having the proof that revealed a very dark side to the light leader is quite a different thing. He has never been so angry and worried at the same time and the fact that Harry hasn’t contacted him again only made it worse …
“Neville! Over here!” The Longbottom heir looked over his shoulder and saw Ginny looking out of the compartment he raced passed. “Ron and I were looking for you.” She waved happily and all but dragged Neville into the compartment when he came within range. “Good, now we don’t need to worry about that bitch.” She said clearly referring to Hermione who has not been seen yet. The compartment was full with Ron, Ginny, Luna and, surprisingly enough, Theodore Nott who was being cuddled by Pansy and Daphne.
“Umm … Hi … I didn’t know you guys were together.” Neville said nervously as he tucked his trunk pu in the luggage racks before sitting next to Ron.
Theo blushed lightly, ”It kind of came out of nowhere.” He said softly as the two girls smiled and nuzzled his arms. Both Neville and Ron understood the feeling since certain feelings of their own seemed to pop up out of nowhere as well. Ginny and Luna just congratulated the three for getting together. There were a few other couples that came out of nowhere too, but no one thought much of it beyond winter romance …
“Oh! Fred and George said they’ll be hunting down Hermione to do … Merlin knows what to her, so we’ll hopefully see her looking very different.” Ginny smirked sad*stically.
Daphne snorted, “I hope so. I’m not a huge Potter fan, but Granger went insane over a meager batch of cauldron cakes prize for potions.”
Pansy turned a little green, “I saw the blood … I feel sorry for Potter. I hear he was transferred to Professor Snape’s Newt class so he’ll be stuck with her alone. Why he’ll still be transferred after that maniac slashed him I don’t know.”
Neville frowned, (The headmaster is cruel that’s why.) He mentally answered.
A split second later Fred and George threw open the compartment door laughing hysterically. Ginny thought they were hit with tickling curses or something, but when she tried the counter curse and it had no effect she smiled, “What did you two do to Granger?”
“Nothing!” They gasped through their laughter. “She stole something with security wards!” Laughter coming from the rest of the train drew everyone’s attention. Their curiosity was too strong so everyone in the compartment poked their heads out and looked down the hallway.
There at the front of the car was Hermione and she looked awful. Her hair turned clear so she looked bald, but considering it looked like she would get pulled by her hair every few steps you could assume that the hair was moving and grabbing things to trip her. Written on her head were the words ‘thief’, ‘crook’, ‘untrustworthy’ and ‘fool’. On her face was a set of black worm like shadows moving around making silly signs on her face and the final touch was that her hands were glowing bright red.
Hermione glared at the twins who were still laughing, “Oh, shut up.” She sneered, but it wasn’t as scary as it could’ve been considering the worm shadows decided to give her a mustache and monocle at that exact moment. it was too funny and everyone started laughing. “You jerks … Whatever, let me in.” She snapped as she tried to get in the compartment.
Ginny and Ron blocked the door so the know-it-all witch couldn’t get in, “This compartment is full.”
“Oh don’t be like that you guys. We are friends, remember? Besides, you didn’t get me a present this year so you should be nicer to me. Get rid of the snakes and let me in.” Hermione huffed arrogantly hoping to get the witch and wizard to feel guilty, but that didn’t work. Theo, Daphne and Pansy simply went back to their seats. After all, they knew full well she wouldn’t be allowed in the compartment.
“Oh, I did get you a present, but the second I heard that you hit Harry I burned it.” Ginny said happily before shutting the compartment door. Wait until she finds out that the bitch stole Harry’s grimoire … It will be a bloodbath. The warning whistle blew and the twins scurried off the train leaving Hermione alone to scowl. She managed to find a compartment with some hufflepuffs, but it was an awkward ride back to school …
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Draco has had enough waiting. As Harry was finishing up his school work he pushed himself between Harry and the table in order to straddle the green eyed wizard’s lap,
“Need something, Draco?” Harry smiled and let his quill hit the floor so his hands could hold the blonde’s slender hips.
“Yes … Do you really think I’m going to be the only one not getting touched by you?” Draco exclaimed heatedly, feeling frustrated, left out and horny all at one time.
Harry hummed innocently, “but I am touching you Draco.” He said as his thumbs slipped just under the hem of Draco’s shirt to teasingly trace circles over those sensitive hipbones. The gentle action made the blonde shiver in delight and wiggle his hips.
“You know what I mean.” Draco snapped, but it trailed off into a cute whimper as those hands moved his pants down slightly and those thumbs rubbed a little lower getting cruelly close to his crotch. Finally, Draco’s pants were lowered as far as they could go as he was straddling Harry and his semi-hard co*ck was exposed. Along with the fact the Malfoy heir was going commando …
“No underwear, Draco?” Harry asked with as sexy smirk as he wrapped his fingers around the blonde’s co*ck so his thumb was rubbing the weeping slit. There was something so sexy about the squirming blonde and the feeling of that co*ck hardening in his hand.
“Y-y-you p-pervert ahh!” Draco could feel his body react to those simple touches. His body became flushed and hot as his heart raced and he noises falling from his lips. He never made sounds like that before. “Ahhhh H-Harry nghh hah!” The cute blonde moaned and suddenly squeaked as Harry’s other hand grabbed his butt cheek and massaged it. Every squeeze of his butt was paired with a stroke of his co*ck and Harry deliberately let a finger slide over his twitching hole after every butt squeeze. The teasing alone was driving Draco mad.
“Ahhh hahh Har-ry ahh p-please more!” Draco’s eyes widened in shock as he felt a hot wet mouth descend onto his nipple. He was so lost in his lust that he didn’t see Harry unbutton a few buttons with his mouth until the Gryffindor was sucking on the nub. The blonde began thrashing wildly as his org*sm twisted inside of him. He was so close to cumming that one thrust of a finger into his tight channel sent him over the edge.
“You know how to get what you want. Don’t you, Draco?” Harry chuckled as he licked some of the cum off his fingers. Out of the corner of his eye he spotted Severus and Blaise watching, but he didn’t bother warning the limp blonde cuddled up to his chest about the audience … What's the point when they saw everything already?
Severus shivered as he watched Harry’s tongue lick the white male cream from his fingers, “This will be an … entertaining family with all of us together.” He rolled his eyes as he saw his godson blush wildly as he realized they were there. “Oh calm down, Draco. What happened here is nothing to be embarrassed about. Besides, if the four of us plan on living together we’ll have times where we’ll see each other with Harry … Actually, five or more depending on the young Weasley and any others Harry charmed.” Severus said calmly. Draco knew harems weren’t unusual and were even encouraged, but it was still a little embarrassing to be seen in a passionate moment with Harry. The blonde quickly pulled his pants up and ignored the other Slytherins smirking as reluctantly slid off of Harry. It was getting very close to the time for all the other students to arrive so they headed for the Great Hall ..
Greg chuckled in relief as he saw the others gather in the Great Hall to await the other students and noticed a very flushed Draco, “I’m glad I didn’t decide to study with Harry. That would’ve gotten really awkward fast.” He teased earning a deadly glare from Draco. “At least, I know now you guys weren’t serious about taking out the professor, but if you keep looking at me like that I might think you’re out to kill me.” Greg snickered as Draco glared harder at him.
“Oh I intend to take Severus out, but it will be on a date not murder.” Harry said too bluntly for the potions professor to not blush. “I sent a snitch to Bill a while ago so he should get a portkey and tell Dobby the situation soon. Everything should be set for when you want to ‘die’. It shouldn’t be hard to pull off considering you’re a double agent.”
Severus smirked, “Indeed. Each side will assume the other had a hand in my death and I can disappear without a trace.”
“Just be careful, Severus.” Draco said in concern. “Are you sure the plan we decided on is safe?”
“Of course, it’s not safe. It does need to be believable, after all.” Severus said dryly, but he sighed as he saw his godson glare back in response. “The timing will be crucial, but it’s a solid plan and Harry’s wards will protect me for the most part. I just need to avoid trouble until then. The potions should be done earlier than expected, unfortunately, but I should be able to at least see if Lupin is under the influence of a potion and maybe brew the counter. Though admittedly, there may not be enough time depending on what counter curse needs to be brewed and when I can get a sample of Lupin’s hair. I don’t know when the next Order meeting will be … I expect fairly soon since I’m certain they want to make sure I’m under the influence of the potion.”
Blaise scoffed, “Won’t they be in for a surprise.”
“Both the light and dark leader of this war will be in for a shock. We only have a few more to find.” Greg said optimistically, clearly talking about the horcruxes. They needed the updated news from the Weasleys, but things were looking up. Severus, however, was concerned. He hasn’t had time to properly study the Hufflepuff cup to save Harry from certain death.
Harry smiled and kissed Severus on the cheek, “Don’t worry about that. We have plenty of time to study the horcruxes during the occlumency classes you’re supposed to give me and even more time when you decide to ‘die.” Harry reminded gently and smiled as he saw Severus relax a bit and to make things better his snitch returned. “Perfect timing.”
The blue snitch hovered over Harry’s open hand and dropped a letter and two trinkets in his hand. One trinket was a large ugly black gem. The other trinket was a seashell that looked like a small spiral with white and pink swirls of color.
“Which is the portkey?” Draco asked as he looked around Harry’s shoulder to see the trinkets. He hoped it wasn’t the ugly gem …
“I’m sure Bill says.” Harry said as he set the trinket down on the Slytherin table and opened up the letter. As he read the letter his eyes widened. “Ok … the shell is the portkey to the untraceable seaside mansion.” Harry said as he gave Severus the shell. “This weird gem-”
“You mean hideous.” Blaise huffed and Draco wholeheartedly agreed.,
The green eyed wizard chuckled, “Yes, the hideous gem is the remains of the Gaunt ring.”
“They destroyed it? That’s great, but what about the gem? Why keep it?” Greg asked as he looked at the odd gem. Even he agreed that it was not a pretty gem you’d think someone would put in a ring.
“Bill says that as he was removing the curses he found and removed a tracking charm on the gem. Not necessarily the ring, but only the gem. He believes that Dumbledore wanted to find the ring or, at least the gem again. Since the gem popped off as they stabbed it with a basilisk fang he decided to send it with the portkey if only to keep it away from Dumbles.” Harry remarked and picked up the gem to look more closely.
Draco frowned, “We all know he has terrible taste, but this gem is a whole new level of bad taste. Why does he want it?”
“Perhaps I can look into that as well.” Severus offered as he took the ugly gem and examined it. Yes, Dumbledore had bad taste. Everyone knew that, but this gem may have a special power that the headmaster wanted in which case it should be kept away from him.
Harry sighed, “Don’t worry too much about. No matter what it does or what it can be used for keeping it from Dumbles is all that matters … Oh, Bill says that the Slytherin locket is in Grimmauld. At the next Order meeting Mr. Weasley is going to look around for it.”
Greg grinned, “So the ring and diary were destroyed. We have the Hufflepuff cup and hopefully the locket soon. Nagini is always with the Dark Lord so we need a plan for that, but now we just need to find the diadem and to get the horcrux out of Harry.”
Severus rolled his eyes, “You make it sound so bloody easy. I was serious about that detention by the way, Mr. Goyle.” Greg’s jaw dropped a little shocked that it was a real detention, but then he muttered something about giving him time away from Crabbe, who he was not looking forward to seeing again. The sound of the train in the distance caught everyone’s attention. “Come, Harry. The other professors should be arriving at the station shortly. We should go meet Granger and get your grimoire back.”
“This should be entertaining-oh! Before I forget.” Harry tapped his glasses and four mini snitches came out. The silver snitch fluttered over to Draco and the orange one flew over to Blaise. Greg got the purple snitch and Severus a green snitch. “I warded all of them so if you need to contact anyone those will help.” He said as he walked away with Severus. The second the two were alone, however, Harry pinned Severus to a wall and kissed him passionately.
The potion master was left breathless and flushed, “Harry …”
“Don’t push it.” Harry remarked firmly.
“What?” Severus mumbled, still a little dazed by the kiss.
“Don’t get in over your head again. The second you think you will be in danger or if you’re just sick of it, get out.” Harry stated
“Occlumency …” Severus mewled as Harry cupped his backside.
“Let’s say I annoyed you so you decided to start training me over the break and that I got to a point where I can at least tell when someone is invading my mind and push them out.” Harry purred with a nibble at the pale neck.
Before Severus could argue he was silenced with another mind melting kiss. Right after Severus felt his toes curl in his shoes. He wanted Harry to f*ck so badly he considered pulling the Gryffindor in the nearest empty room and bend over the table. The fact that several students and staff members were going to enter the school any time now was a minor issue as far as he was concerned. The situation wasn’t helped by Harry’s hand, which slipped into his pants and started massaging his balls …
“Harry ahhhh!” Severus yelped and his hands gripped Harry’s shoulders as his knees started losing their strength. With two strong squeezes Severus threw his head back and came pouring his seed into his pants. The only reason an org*smic scream wasn’t heard echoing through the halls was because Harry thrust his tongue in the potion master’s mouth and kissed him to keep him quiet.
Severus panted as he leaned on Harry, “Ok … but I want something in return.”
“Tell me.” Harry said as he subtly spelled away the cum.
“If I have to leave for whatever reason, be careful.” Severus whispered.
“I’ll try, but you know my luck.” Harry chuckled and ended up getting a playful shove from Severus.
Now it was time to do something the professor has been dying to do for a while now. It was time to have a talk with Hermione Granger. The students should be here any minute and sure enough only a few minutes passed before students began pouring into Hogwarts. For a second it seemed like Hermione wasn’t there until …
“Harry!” Harry and Severus blinked in shock as Hermione Granger ran towards them. Her new appearance even caught Harry off guard since this was the first time someone was dumb enough to steal from him.
“So good of you to join us there’s the matter of your punishment from me.” Severus said in his smooth yet deadly voice.
Hermione pouted innocently, “I was just about to apologize for that, Professor Snape.” She said, but both wizards noticed a slight smugness to her smile. “I’m sorry for hitting you before. I don’t know what came over me. I realized I forgot your present. Here.” She said as she pulled a little red box out of her trunk and handed it to Harry … or to be precise she tried to. The potion professor took the box instead.
Severus opened the box while keeping it at arms length. His eyes narrowed dangerously as a puff of steam came out of the box that would’ve hit anyone in the face had they opened it normally. Those black eyes fixed on Hermione who flinched, “You truly think you’re above everyone. Don’t you, Ms. Granger … Your little stunt might’ve of slipped by Professor Slughorn, but not me and your illegal transgression will be placed in your permanent record-”
“You can’t do that!” The muggle-born witch yelled, unfortunately attracting everyone’s attention. Ron and Ginny walked out of the surrounding crowd and watched as Dumbledore also came out of the crowd to put his old wrinkled nose in the middle of the situation.
“What’s going on here?” Dumbledore asked in a kind grandfatherly tone though he did take a split second to gawk at Hermione’s appearance.
The potion master sneered, “It seems Ms. Granger believes it’s alright to use blood control spells on her fellow peers. She collected the blood right in front of everyone too and proceeded to steal from Mr. Potter. Speaking of, I believe he wants his book returned.” He demanded smoothly making sure to not call it a grimoire around Dumbledore. Severus noticed Dumbledore’s eyes turn cold. The headmaster must not like the thought of someone trying to control his pawn …
“But-” The witch started, but Dumbledore held his hand up for silence and made a motion that was clearly meant as a silent order for her to hand the stolen item over so she did. “Can I have these curses removed now?” She snapped.
“Sorry, but Bill set the security wards to not allow them to be removed by an outside source. However, he did tell me that they should fade away after the item is returned, but that will be around three days after. I thought it was heavy security for a journal, but he said it was best to be safe.” Harry said as he checked his book and was pleased to see that it was unscathed. It was actually Harry who put the wards on, but Dumbles didn’t need to know that.
Ron frowned, “We should tell him to put security wards on all your things since some people can’t be trusted.” He said as he glared at Hermione who was now being told the full list of her punishments. After the dinner, which was the usual chaos, Ron pulled Harry aside. “Are you with the Slytherins?” Ron asked softly.
The green eyed wizard looked puzzled for a second because he made it clear that Draco, Blaise, Severus and Greg were helping them, but then he realized that Ron meant a different kind of ’with’. “I like them … Is that going to be a problem?”
“No … I just … I … Can I be with you too?” Ron asked shyly. He never felt so nervous or scared before, but all his fears disappeared with a kiss.
“I’ve waited a while for you to ask that.” Harry said after pulling back, but then he kissed the dazed red head again. Neither realized that someone was watching …
Chapter 12: Seeking a Snitch
Chapter Text
Last Time:
“I’ve waited a while for you to ask that.” Harry said after pulling back, but then he kissed the dazed redhead again. Neither realized that someone was watching …
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Harry laid on his bed looking at the ceiling trying to sleep, but he kept focusing on Hermione’s sticky fingers and was admittedly a little worried about Ginny who was oddly quiet after seeing Hermione hand over what she knew was his grimoire. Finally, he gave up on sleep and decided to take some more precautions beyond the new security wards. It occurred to him that he could leave his things in Ron’s room for safety. A few high level security wards were placed on his trunk, but he figured it’s better safe than sorry, especially where his grimoire was concerned. With complete silence he got out of bed, grabbed his trunk, went down the hall and knocked on the door to the prefect room late that night, but Ron didn’t answer. Since Ron never had a problem with it before he opened the door using his rune version of a skeleton key and went in …
“Harry ahh …” Harry froze at the sound of a moan and set the trunk on the floor in the small sitting area and went towards the bedroom door. The door was open a crack so Harry just gave it a little nudge to widen the gap. “Hah hahhh ahhhah ah Harry!” Harry’s eyes widened and pants tightened as he saw a butt naked Ron jerking off in bed. The redhead wasn’t asleep, but as his one hand teased his nipples and the other using a finger to f*ck his ass he was clearly too far gone to realize Harry was there.
The Weasley whined and shifted positions so he was on all fours unintentionally giving Harry a perfect view of his ass and everything between those pale legs. The green eyes watched the hips buck wildly as the three slick slender fingers thrust into the tight hole. Each thrust made those hips buck, which made the co*ck bounce sending droplets of pre cum everywhere.
“Oh f*ck.” Harry muttered under his breath as he stepped closer to the bed. The dark haired wizard’s pants were so tight it was maddening.
“Harry!” Green eyes snapped back into focus and realized Ron’s blue eyes were watching him. Harry had no clue what to say and he didn’t want to say something wrong so he waited for the blushing redhead to say something. Ron on the other hand pulled his fingers out of his tight channel in a panic and tried to calm down. The fact that his aching co*ck wasn’t helping him think at all. He felt even closer to his climax with Harry standing so close to him “Harry … W-why are you in here?” Ron asked as he tried and failed to cover himself.
“I … just … came to hide my trunk in your room.” Harry said as his eyes roamed the redhead’s body. He just couldn’t stop himself. Ron just looked so sexy even though he was using his hands to cover his arousal and was now sitting so the butt was no longer up for viewing. “Do you want me to leave?”
Ron’s blush spread farther down his back at the suggestion. He knew Harry wouldn’t hurt him, but he wasn’t sure if he was ready. In the end it was Harry with him so he couldn’t say no either. “Don’t go.” Ron whispered just loud enough for Harry to hear him.
“Ok.” Harry murmured softly as he swiftly removed his shirt and moved on top of Ron who shivered in pleasure as the warm flesh brushed against him. He shyly spread his legs a little so Harry could lay between them.
“H-Harry aahhh!” Ron yelped as Harry ground his clothed hard on against the weeping co*ck. The friction was enough to send him over the edge and spill his cum on both himself and his crush.
The sight of the flushed redhead’s face during that org*sm finally made Harry’s control completely snap, “Ron.” He hissed before pressing his lips against the red head’s in a passionate kiss and moved his hands along the smooth skin searching for every sensitive spot.
As a strong hand brushed a nipple and tweaked it Ron’s back arched, breaking the kiss, “Oh Merlin! Ahhhh hah!” He screamed out in pleasure and the screams only got louder as Harry moved lower … Ron mewled hotly as a wet tongue traced his nipple and he suddenly yelped in pleasure as Harry’s teeth nibbled the sensitive nub. He felt so hot and so turned on as that strong hand moved down to his throbbing co*ck. The second those fingers wrapped around his weeping co*ck his mind went completely blank. “H-Harry ahhh ngh hahahh!”
“Damn, Ron.” Harry growled as he saw those slender hips grind up against his hand to get more friction against the needy co*ck effectively soaking his hand in pre cum. The sight of the sexy squirming flushed red head was making his pants too tight so Harry kicked off his pajama pants, freeing his hard co*ck. A mewl caught his attention and he noticed Ron eyeing his manhood, which only served to make him harden further. “Want something, Ron?” He asked with a teasing stroke of the redhead’s co*ck earning a squeak followed by a moan.
“Y-yes ahhh hah Harry!” Ron squirmed cutely as Harry’s thumb traced circles around the tip of his weeping co*ck.
“What? You need to tell me, Ron.” Harry whispered huskily into Ron’s ear.
“I-I ahh hah I want ah y-you in me.” Ron panted between moans and he cast a glance at a bottle on the nightstand before moaning loudly as Harry thrust their crotches together making their co*cks brush against each other while leaning over to get the bottle.
Green eyes looked at the bottle curiously, “Lube? You came prepared.” He said as he realized why Ron’s fingers seemed slick earlier.
A dark blush spread across Ron’s cheeks, “I found six bottles in my trunk … and a note from Percy.” He muttered and felt his body shiver in anticipation and need. “I’m stretched enough.” He muttered impatiently.
Harry raised an eyebrow at the comment. He knew he was big, but he also knew Ron was stubborn and wouldn't change his mind so he sighed, “If you’re sure, but if you’re in pain in the morning don’t blame me.” He said as he poured a generous amount of lube on his large co*ck and placed the bottle back before settling down between Ron’s legs.
“Harry, stop teasing!” Ron snapped as the tip of his lover’s co*ck nudged his quivering virgin pucker. Before any other words could come out of the impatient red head’s mouth it was covered by Harry’s mouth in a toe curling kiss and the large co*ck was thrust slowly into the tight clenching heat. “HARRY!” Ron screamed as his back arched off the bed and pressed himself closer to Harry’s chest. It did hurt a bit, but he refused to regret it. “Move dammit!”
“Pushy.” Harry groaned as the heat twitched around his co*ck. Once he began moving he felt Ron’s ass suddenly clenched tightly around him and Ron moaned loudly. It was clear he hit a sweet spot in Ron and aimed for that spot with every thrust. As he pounded the red head into the mattress his hand stroked the gushing co*ck increasing the red head’s lustful sounds.
“Oh Merlin oh Merlin oh oh oh f*ck! I ah I’m ahhh f*ck Harry!” Ron screamed and came hard. The tightening around his co*ck forced Harry to pour his hot seed into the redhead’s body. They both woke up together in a sweet embrace, but there was a small problem …
“Umm Harry … I can’t move.” A very embarrassed Ron muttered as he found he couldn’t get out of bed let alone stand or walk.
“Ok, one sec. Let me quickly start a shower and I’ll help you.” Harry said as he started a shower and together they washed and dressed. “Crap, I forgot my wand and glasses. I’ll be right back.” Harry said after set a fully dressed and blushing Ron on the couch and raced to gather his last things. Ron waited in a stubborn silence still refusing to think it wouldn’t have been so bad if he just let Harry stretch him with his thicker fingers, but he couldn’t help but feel giddy despite the pain in his lower back. After all, he lost his virginity to the one he loved so there was nothing he could complain about. “What’s that?” Ron asked Harry who returned and took something out of the grimoire in his trunk.
“This?” Harry asked as he held up a four inch circular disc with a star design and a set of words that seemed like settings for something, like ‘vibrate’, ‘roam’, ‘heat’ and ‘deep’ among others. “This is a project I’ve been working on, but I’ll have to explain later. It’s nearly breakfast. Can you walk?” He asked a little guilty about leaving Ron in this state, but he didn’t regret it. He tapped the disc against his glasses and they disappeared into the storage runes in the frames.
“No.” Ron pouted as he shot Harry an accusing glare.
Harry twitched, but he knew better than to say ‘I told you so’ so he simply nodded, “Then I’ll carry you to Severus.”
“WHY? I refuse!” Ron huffed not wanting anyone to guess why he was partly paralyzed and he knew that the potion master would know instantly.
The green eyed wizard leaned over Ron tauntingly close to kissing the flustered redhead, “We have different classes thanks to Dumbledore, remember? Poppy is not coming back until tomorrow or did you forget the announcement at dinner last night about a family issue? I can’t help you walk everywhere and Severus has pain reducing potions, which you should take unless you’d prefer crawling from class to class.” Harry smiled as Ron grudgingly agreed and helped the red head onto his back. “Hey, Ron sprained his ankle so we’re going to get some pain reducers.” He smoothly lied to the other Gryffindors as they left the dorm. Harry took a guess and went to the much closer potions class, which is where they luckily found Severus setting up class.
Severus raised an eyebrow when he saw Harry carrying Ron on his back and wandlessy made the door shut so they could talk privately, “Harry, how did you know I was here?”
“Detentions, obscure potion brewing and meetings with lords usually take place later, which only leaves the mornings to set up for the potion NEWT class.” Harry explained and felt Ron shift. “Ron needs a pain reliever. Please don’t ask. His arms are around my neck.” Harry commented though Ron just shot him a glare and tightened his grip as a warning not to tease.
“Very well. Have a seat.” Severus noticed Ron flinch and blush as Harry set Ron in a chair and a hint of a glow coming from Ron’s skin. “I understand why you’d be in pain Mr. Weasley … Harry is very big for anyone, especially a virgin.” He said casually as he grabbed a vial from the bag next to his desk. As he turned back to the two Gryffindors he felt a kiss on his cheek and realized Harry kissed him, which made his day.
“I’m not a virgin.” Ron huffed in his usual defensive Gryffindor attitude as he grudgingly took the potion Severus offered. He didn’t really hate Severus, but he still had a sure spot because of all those years where he unfairly treated Harry like a delinquent.
“I don’t doubt it.” Severus said dryly.
Harry sighed as he saw Ron twitch, “Play nice, you two.”
“Or what? Ahhhhh!” Ron and Severus hunched over as something vibrating slipped up their pant legs and pressed itself against their skin to explore with their co*cks and balls “Ah m-m-make it s-stop!” Ron mewled as he held his crotch.
Once the buzzing paused, Severus licked his lips lustfully as he looked at the disc in Harry’s hand, “So that’s your project.”
“Why does he know about this before me?” Ron pouted, feeling a bit hurt that Harry didn’t tell him, his best mate and now lover, about this ‘project’ first.
“I never intended to tell anyone until after the holidays, but your delightful brothers decided to give me these stones to help my project. Not Percy, who gave you all that lube, but the twins so blame them … I’m still not sure how they knew at all, but I couldn’t just not explain the really weird Yule gift.” Harry explained and held the disc up. The center of the star opened and released a red marble that zipped up Severus’s pant leg to join the others just as Harry had all the gems vibrate. The warm stones moved around the area and tickled the clothed co*cks. One of the stones found the tips of each co*ck and teased it, while another slipped down to tease the sensitive puckers.
“We ahhhh hahhh Harry!” Both Ron and Severus, being quite unused to this sensation, came hard in their pants in only a minute. The gems, having done their job, were ordered back into the star and Harry watched the flushed wizards recover. With a quick spell they were clean, dazed and flushed, but clean so they went to breakfast.
“He’s a pervert.” Ron mumbled as he tried to calm his heart rate.
“You say that like it’s a bad thing.” Severus said as they left the classroom. Ron just glanced at the professor … Maybe they can get along.
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Greg chuckled at the way Draco and Blaise subtly looked for Harry as they sat down for breakfast, “He’ll be here.” He whispered as he sat between Crabbe and Draco.
The dubbed ‘feathered snake’ never liked Vincent Crabbe. The guy was a bully with little to no brains, but a big temper. Quite possibly the worst combination for a person to have. It’s also one reason Greg made a point of hiding how smart he really was. It made him more like Crabbe so he was able to hang around and keep the bully in line if need be. However, this was a very hard task this time for some reason. Maybe spending a few days just being himself made it difficult to hide himself again. All he had to do was survive this year and he can go take his NEWTs at the ministry. He only had to focus on helping Harry and laying low.
“Harry has that toy. It’s bloody brilliant.” Greg tried to pretend that he didn’t hear the comment that Severus whispered into Draco and Blaise’s ears. Draco already explained what toy Harry was working on and he wasn’t going to be around for the ‘testing’ process that his friends will no doubt want to participate in.
As he turned to focus on something else he caught sight of a ghost that was rarely seen unless the Ravenclaws were present. It was the Gray Lady, but she seemed especially familiar to Greg. The nagging feeling in the back of his mind suddenly exploded and he remembered the old photo from Salazar’s study. With great care to not be seen he pulled out the photo and looked at it. The Gray Lady was Helena Ravenclaw!
“Draco.” Greg nudged his friend to get his attention and showed him the photo under the table. He flipped it and Draco’s eyes widened clearly understanding the message.
“Use your snitch.” Draco whispered back as the food appeared.
Since Harry was constantly being watched by either Dumbledore or McGonagall so Greg put the photo in his snitch and it raced over to Severus. Through the rest of the day the message was spread to those who needed to know. The Gray Lady might know where the diadem is. There was no time to play today …
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Neville steadied his shaking hands as he got out of bed. He was actually dressed just like the reason he was out of bed at this time, which was Harry Potter. It didn’t escape him that Harry went out after curfew. It happens a lot including last night where Harry never came back to bed and apparently spent the night with Ron, but until now Neville has always stayed quiet and pretended to sleep. This time he wanted to help.
“Harry.” Neville whispered and Harry paused just before putting on his special gray robes. “Can I help?” He asked softly, feeling unusually nervous around Harry.
“Of course … Get in my robes. You’ll see when we pass the mirror in the common room.” Harry whispered as he opened his robes so Neville could get under them with him.
A deep blush spread across Neville’s cheeks as he snuggled under Harry’s arm and was wrapped around the waist by Harry’s arm that made sure he was under the robes. As they passed the mirror Neville gaped as he saw nothing! They were invisible! Neville heard Harry chuckle at his shock and looked up. He couldn’t stop himself. There was something about that smile and those green eyes. It had a pull that made Neville lean up and bravely pressed his lips to Harry’s. To his joy Harry kissed back softly. The plant lover knew Harry had a few others pining for his heart, but as long as there was a little place for him he was happy.
When they finally left the dorm they found Greg and Severus waiting in the darkness, which is when Harry revealed them, “Hey, guys. The pain reducer wore off so Ron decided to stay in bed and Ginny is keeping an eye on Hermione, who has been trying to follow me throughout the day, apparently … I think Ginny is plotting something for Hermione.”
“Someone needs to deal with that bitch. That curse isn’t enough punishment.” Neville said, to the Slytherins' shock.
“You took the words right out of my mouth, Mr. Longbottom.” Severus said in an amused tone. “I will be leaving for an Order meeting soon, but I have time to see this thing destroyed before going.” He said as they navigated the halls to find the Ravenclaw ghost.
“Be careful.” Harry said and gave Severus a kiss.
Greg smiled at the sweet exchange, but grinned as he spotted the silvery ghost they wanted, “Excuse me. We need to ask you a question, Helena.” The ghost looked a little startled at being called by her old name instead of the ‘Gray Lady’ nickname, “We’re looking for your diadem-”
The ghost looked furious, “NEVER! THE LAST PERSON I WAS FOOLISH ENOUGH TO ENTRUST IT TO TAINTED IT-”
“AND WE NEED TO DESTROY IT!” Greg yelled back while they plugged their ears.
“… Destroy it … I have your word that it will be destroyed?” She asked hopefully.
Harry held up his hand before anyone else could respond, “I, Harry Potter, vow to see that the diadem is destroyed and the magic tainting it.” He said, causing a pulse of magic sealing the vow in place. This action satisfied, and slightly stunned, the ghost and she revealed that the diadem was in the Room of Lost Items. Harry knew it was also the Room of Requirement so he led the way down to Salazar’s room and entered the room from there. As expected the diadem was found and quickly destroyed with a fang Greg had with him.
“Almost finished … I have to go.” Severus said before quickly leaving. Harry meant what he told Severus. The second Severus didn’t want to continue he had every right to stop so when it was announced that Severus was dead the next morning it was assumed that everything went to plan.
There was just one problem … A full three days passed and there was no sign of the green snitch meant to signal that he was alive …
Chapter 13: Bedside Manners
Chapter Text
Last Time:
There was just one problem … a full three days passed and there was no sign of the green snitch meant to signal that he was alive …
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“Where the hell is he-and don’t you dare say dead!” Draco snapped as he pointed his finger angrily at Ron who was on the roof after curfew with Harry, Blaise and Neville.
“I wasn’t going to say anything. You guys said the plan was to make a blast using the potion and use a stirring tainted with the ingredient that will set it off thereby making it look like someone sabotaged his potion to blow up him and his lab. That’s what happened. It would be a huge coincidence if Moldybutt or Dumbles had the same plan.” Ron reasoned.
“Ron’s right, but what is keeping him?” Harry said calmly despite being really worried. It has been exactly a week since Severus disappeared. Friday night was when Severus went to the meeting and it’s Friday night again. There may have been an emergency and he couldn’t use the portkey. So where is he?
“Guys!” Everyone turned to see a frantic Greg panting as if he raced all the way from the dungeons, which he actually did. “The Hufflepuff cup is gone and so is the Gaunt ring’s stone. The only one who can get in that room is someone trusted, right? Severus must’ve taken it like we planned!”
“If he followed the plan then where the f*ck is he?” Draco growled not happy at all with Severus. How dare that godfather of his scare him half to death?!
Harry’s eyes widened, “He must be at the mansion. He can’t risk going elsewhere … I’ll check!”
“How are you going to do that? We can’t cross the wards because Dumbledore will feel the bing.” Blaise said also eager to hear good news about the professor.
“Errr … I might’ve done some illegal alterations to the fireplace in the Gryffindor common room. It has an untraceable connection to the floo network now and I managed to steal some floo powder from Slughorn when he insisted I speak to him in the potion professor’s living quarters.” Harry explained with a look of annoyance.
Draco scowled, “That creep really moved in fast.” He said distastefully as they quickly went down the stairs. “If you find Severus safe and sound smack him for me.”
Harry nodded before parting ways with the Slytherins and helping his fellow Gryffindors into the dorm without anyone knowing. There was only enough floo powder for one handful so Harry went alone. Dobby most likely had stocked up the floo fireplaces with more floo powder anyway. As the green flames receded he found himself in a beautiful living room filled with rich dark woods and cream colored walls.
Dobby appeared in front of Harry bouncing around excitedly, “Master Harry is back! Dobby is so happy to see Master Potter!” The elf bounced around in his proper white and black uniform that gave him a butler like appearance.
“It’s good to see you as well Dobby. You did an amazing job restoring this place. It looks nothing like the pictures of the fixer upper Bill showed me.” An awestruck Harry said as he walked into the entrance room with a grand wooden staircase and a huge stain glass dome in the ceiling over head, “I’m definitely going to need a tour, but first, did someone come here a week ago?”
The house elf nodded, “Severus Snape came here. He told Dobby to stock up the potion lab and put a gold cup and gem away somewhere safe, but when he went to his room after making a potion Dobby noticed he stayed in his room for a week.”
“Is he alright? Which room is he in?” Harry asked now gravely concerned about Severus.
“Dobby can sense that he is alright. He came out a minute ago and he’s in the potion lab now. His room is the one attached to it. Just down that hall, Master Harry.” Dobby said as he pointed down the main hall towards the potion lab.
“Thank you. Let us be alone for a little while. We need to talk.” Harry ordered and the house elf vanished with a pop. The green eyed wizard walked down the long hall until he smelled the fumes from potions and the sound of bubbling cauldrons. Soon he heard the potion professor moving around vials ad mumbling behind a door. He opened the door and found Severus looking like he was 17 and focused on a cauldron with his back to him. The door was allowed to swing shut.
The now quite young potion master was startled and spun around, “Harry? How did you know I was here already? I didn’t even send the snitch yet.”
“Yeah … Greg noticed that the Hufflepuff cup was gone so he knew pretty quickly … About the snitch, when were you planning on doing that exactly?” Harry asked currently ignoring the nagging voice in the back of his mind telling him that Severus had a good excuse.
Severus raised an eyebrow, “In the morning. Harry, what’s wrong?”
“In the morning?” Harry’s eyes narrowed at the odd answer. “Severus what happened exactly?”
Much to Harry’s surprise Severus looked greatly shaken, ”I started last night by placing a few vials of my deaging potion in the moonlight so it would become permanent and then I went to meet you … Then I went to the Order meeting …“
Flashback
Severus walked out of the floo and into Grimmauld Place. The first thing he spotted as he walked up to the table where the others were seated was Arthur slipping a necklace into his pocket. At first glance it looked like the slytherin locket, but Severus wasn’t sure.
“One more.” Arthur whispered as Severus sat next to him and that confirmed Severus’s suspicions.
Dumbledore entered the room and his eyes landed on the potion master almost immediately, “Just who I need to see. Severus, I need to talk to you and Moody before we start.”
The potion master nodded obediently, but slipped the green snitch to the Weasley under the table and whispered, “Fur sample.” To Arthur as he stood up. Arthur’s eyes went straight to the slightly dazed Remus meaning he understood exactly what Severus needed and was willing to get it for him. Severus was relieved to have that handled. Granted he never expected Arthur of all people to willingly go behind Dumbledore’s back, but then hev never thought he would either and his feeling of trust for these people dwindled even more. As he followed Moody and Dumbledore into a room he noticed Tonks smirk. Why the hell would she find this amusing? Did she know what this was about? All Severus knew was that it made his skin crawled and his instincts were screaming at him to flee when the door closed trapping him with Moody and Dumbledore.
Moody cast a privacy spell and smirked at Dumbledore, “Tonks found a buyer for the werewolf.”
“Good, we need the money since that anonymous donor backed out. Give it 8 days. If Remus can’t make any headway in his spying then he can assist us another way.” Dumbledore almost too casually.
Severus was appalled that they were discussing this in front of him! The fact that Severus was supposed to be under the influence of a potion was the only reason they’d be saying this out loud, but the potion master was still stunned. Was this entire topic just supposed to be a test to see how controlled he was? In order to find out he remained indifferent.
The two old wizards watched Severus and Dumbledore nodded in satisfaction. “It seems he is under.” He said and Severus felt a surge of relief. Maybe it wasn’t a real conversation, after all. Unfortunately, Severus was not that lucky. “We should sell him too then. I hear he’s a wildcat in the bedroom. Perhaps we should auction him as a sex slave as well as a potion master like Tonks recommended.”
“She does have an eye for merchandise. She would not allow the werewolf to be examined because virgin werewolves sell for higher prices, but we can test him.” Moody smirked and Severus felt gravely ill as he was eyed by the retired auror. “Take off your clothes.”
For once Severus was happy he had so many buttons on his clothes. It gave him time to think of a plan to get out of this hell hole. As he unbuttoned his front buttons to play along it occurred to him that they still needed him as a spy so he made himself stiffen as if he was in pain. “The Dark Lord is calling.”
Moody scowled, “Of course he would. Always ruining my fun.”
“Go to meet him and tell us everything.” Dumbledore calmly though he did seem a tad disappointed, which greatly disturbed Severus who was eagerly buttoning up his clothes.
“But come back to this place and strip down.” Moody said with a smirk as he gave Severus a portkey.
Flashback Over
“I got the hell out of there and grabbed everything I didn’t want found and put it in my bottomless pocket. Then I exploded the potions I had going. Your runes protected me from the blast and I took a small amount of a potion to make me look dead for a bit. I could hear the discussion between Poppy and a team of St. Mungo’s who were called. The potion wore off right on time and I replaced myself with a golem the second I was alone. I used your portkey, but … I just felt so used and … I had to purify my body so I quickly brewed some nutrition potions and took one before drinking my deaging potion. That knocked me out for 20 minutes.” Severus said while looking at Harry who seemed stunned by something.
Harry realized what happened, “Severus … You were knocked out for a week.”
“Huh?” Severus blinked uncomprehendingly, which was not something that happens often.
“You heard me. The deaging potion you altered to become permanent knocked you for a whole week! Dobby even commented that you didn’t leave your room for a week. You were declared dead a week ago in the morning! Not a few minutes ago. That snitch I gave you has been hovering there for seven days!” Harry exclaimed as he pointed to the green snitch hovering over the table that had some papers and vials on it.
“A week? … A WHOLE WEEK!” Severus paled in horror as he realized how much time was lost. He quickly checked his potion and rushed over to the snitch. The snitch gave him a vial with several hairs and a locket that was definitely the Slytherin locket. He tossed the locket into the cup intent on destroying it in a moment and poured the hairs into the potion.“sh*t, sh*t, sh*t! I lost so much time. I should’ve been using that week to brew the counter potion for Lupin or studying the horcruxes or-” Severus had just turned off the burner so the potion could cool to the point where it can be applied to paper to get a result when he was silenced as he was pulled into a passionate kiss
Harry pulled out of the kiss leaving the potion master flushed and panting breathlessly, “We were worried sick.”
“I didn’t mean to worry anyone.” Severus said, feeling a warmth at the comment. No one cared for him before, except maybe Draco who could be a bit fussy. “After everything with Moody and Dumbledore I kind of shut down-” Severus yelped as Harry scooped him up and carried him through the door that went from the lab to the bedroom. The potion master gasped as he was dropped onto the bed. Before he was done with the bounce and settled on the mattress Harry was on him with those green eyes a little darkened with lust. Harry reached forward and without much effort ripped open the button infected garment that Severus wore most of his life. The action and the sound of buttons clattering along the floor made Severus blood rush south. It was a possessive and protective kiss that followed making Severus moan into the green eyed wizard’s mouth.
“They won’t bother you again.” Harry growled softly as he moved down to kiss and lick at the pale neck.
“Harry!” Severus screamed and his hips jerked as Harry’s hand slipped under the hem of his pants and massaged his balls. With those few ministrations Severus was hard and needy, but suddenly Harry stopped. “Why did you stop? Don’t stop!” Severus whined in his flushed and horny state. His co*ck was hard and his pants were rubbing his trapped co*ck driving him mad, but his eyes widened as Harry pulled out the disc with the star. “W-wait a second Harry-aahhhh HARRY!”
In a spit second Harry activated the rune toy and several gems came flying out of the star. Severus found himself being bound with his hands over his hand his legs were spread wide with his knees bent by soft gems. He watched anxiously as more gems flew out as his clothes were spelled away leaving him helpless and naked as the vibrating gems slid along his skin. No spot was left untouched. There were gems massaging his nipples, balls, all along his weeping shaft and, of course, nudging his pucker entrance.
“AAAHHHHHHH HARRY! I … oh f*ck, oh f*ck oh f*ck cumming cumming cumming!” Severus’s eyes rolled back and Harry watched as Severus came spraying long thick ribbons of white cum onto himself. Before Severus could recover he heard a clicking sound. He weakly opened his eyes and saw the gems stringing themselves together. It took a second for his brain to process the situation, but when he realized what was going to happen he squirmed against the gems holding his wrists and ankles “Harry please I want it!”
Harry licked his lips at the squirming wizard who was shaking his hips in need, “You’re so f*cking sexy.” He chuckled at the mewl that escaped Severus’s lips and leaned over to lick some of the cum off Severus’s stomach earning a little gasp. When the gems finished connecting he tapped the disc and it opened revealing a pool of liquid. “Ron let me fill up my disc with the lube Percy gave him. We will have plenty.”
The look in Harry’s eyes made Severus shiver and eagerly watch as the gems dipped themselves into the lube pool and float over to his ass. “Aahhh! They’re vibrating and spinning F-f*ck!” Severus cried out in pleasure as the gem rope pushed into his tight channel and started wriggling inside him. Every other bead was rotating and the rest were vibrating. Also the first gem found his sweet spot and kept poking it while the last vibrating gem would grow a little bigger with each second to stretch his entrance though Severus was too distracted to notice. “f*ck f*ck ahhhh ohh f*ck! Harry so good! It’s making my ass feel so good! I ahhh I can’t hold back!” The potion master’s eyes rolled back and he quickly came again.
As Severus writhed in pleasure Harry undressed and lubed up his own co*ck. As much as he wanted to test more of his toy to punish the potion master for scaring them he wanted to just be with Severus. “Would you like a different toy now?” Harry asked huskily and his co*ck twitched as those glazed dark eyes stared hungrily at his co*ck.
“You! I aaaahhhhh. I want your co*ck! No more teasing oh f*ck! T-take it out ahha hah I’m going to cum again!” Severus pleaded wildly as his org*sm twisted inside him dangerously close to the surface. All the gems froze and waited a second before pulling out of the hot clenching channel. The gems binding Severus let him go and he pulled Harry down on him and wrapped his legs and arms around Harry. “f*ck me!” He demanded and pulled Harry into a kiss.
Harry didn’t hold back at all as he thrust his rock hard co*ck into the very tight heat, “f*ck, you’re tight.” Harry said as he felt the delicious heat clenching around his co*ck, but Severus couldn’t answer. His mind melted away in pleasure and it was just the size of Harry’s co*ck that had him seeing stars. It seems the gems made him a little more sensitive than he usually was and he really enjoyed it and the long hard thrusts from his lover if the pre cum pouring from his co*ck was any indication.
“HARDER, HARRY! Ahhhh hahha I want hahh more! Oh f*ck! You’re so big! YES! f*ck, I love you, Harry!” Severus screamed as he came hard and swore he came again as his ass was filled with hot cum. “Don’t move.” Severus pleaded weakly asking Harry not to pull out of him just yet. Harry smiled and stay buried in the heat for a little bit longer, but he tilted the two of them slightly and gave Severus a sharp swat to the ass making him squeak. “What was that for?” Severus asked with a pout on his lips.
“Draco told me to smack you for scaring us. He didn’t say where so I chose.” Harry said and got a playful shove in return …
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Percy stepped into the house covered in sludge and shrugged at his parents’ stunned faces “I took care of an infestation.” He said not going into further detail. After all, he doubted his parents would like hearing about a huge nest of inferi, gone or not.
“Well if you’d like to clean up quickly you can help your father with a project.” Molly said as she put a message down near a floating green snitch.
“Sure, what is it?” Percy asked as he spelled off as much of the goo as he could, which was swamp water from the cave, though he still felt like he needed a long shower.
“We received a potion from Severus and a note explaining what happened. We are going to kidnap Remus!” Arthur said cheerily. Percy blinked, but soon followed his father …
Chapter 14: Medicine
Chapter Text
Last Time:
“We received a potion from Severus and a note explaining what happened. We are going to kidnap Remus!” Arthur said cheerily. Percy blinked, but soon followed his father …
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Remus sighed, “I need a break.” He muttered as he apparated to the spot outside Grimmauld Place and went inside. He has spent another week trying to convince any werewolf pack or vampire coven to join the fight against Voldemort and he was so tired. It didn’t help that his head seemed to be in a fog he just couldn’t shake. It was a fog that has been bugging him for months, but he couldn’t bring himself to bring it up and bother Dumbledore who has done so much for him. There was a little guilt gnawing at him for just stopping a little early, but technically he was told to meet Tonks here in a few hours so it wasn’t a big deal. At least, this way he could clean up before meeting her.
As he started up the stairs he paused as the smell of blood coming from the kitchen hit his nose. “SOMEONE HELP!” The werewolf jolted down the steps at the scream and ran to the kitchen where he found a bleeding Arthur Weasley laying on the floor and Percy kneeling next to him in a panic. “I can’t stop the bleeding!” Percy yelled as he pressed on the deep wound on the abdomen.
“Here are potions in the cupboard! Go get those and I’ll apply pressure!“ Remus yelled, but once he kneeled down to help he turned his back to Percy who he thought was going to get the potion. That was not the case.
Percy pointed his wand at Remus’s back and fired a very strong binding curse at him, “I am sorry my friend, but since stunners don’t work on werewolves I need to be rough.” He apologized as he pocketed Remus’s wand for safe keeping.
“He won’t be mad once we give him the potion. I’ll hold his upper body, you take the legs.” Arthur said as he jumped up revealing that the bloody wound across his gut was completely fake.
“Watch your hand, Dad.” Percy warned as he saw his Dad try to lift the werewolf up without hurting the cut on his hand.
”I’ll be fine Percy.” Arthur said as they moved Remus to the floo. “Let’s go before anyone gets here. We can force the potion down his throat at home.” Arthur said as he lowered Remus for a moment to grab some floo powder. “Nice idea with the blood by the way. I never thought using the twins pranking products to make a wound would work, but it looks real.” He said taking a second to admire the wound before flooing the three of them to the Weasley home.
“I know. I surprised myself really, but we still needed real blood to trick that werewolf nose … speaking of, you should heal your hand before Mom sees that. I’ll handle the potion.” Percy said as they set Remus on the floor.
Arthur frowned as he felt his hand sting, “Good point. Don’t want your mother to skin me for getting hurt.” He said with a fond chuckle as he went to get an ointment for cuts. “I left the potion on the table near the snitch.”
“Near the snitch …” Percy mumbled as he scanned the table for the snitch and grinned as he found it and he potion right next to it. “Got it!” He called out as he grabbed it and kneeled down next to the werewolf who was glaring at him despite the binding curse. “I know you’re pissed now, but you’ll see why we tricked you in a second.” Percy aid as he skillfully unlatched Remus’s jaw so it hung open and poured the potion in. Though the taste was probably terrible the werewolf refused to swallow, but Percy wasn’t surprised really. Anyone drugged with any type of loyalty potion will natural avoid anything that will undo the potion’s grip even fighting, which Remus was trying to do by not swallowing. Percy, however, wasn’t having it and he pinched Remus’ nose shut. “Swallow or choke.”
A moment passed, but the need for air grew too strong and Remus swallowed before breathing deeply through his now freed nose, “I’m going to release the binding curse now.” Percy said as he saw Remus’s eyes tear up.
Arthur returned just in time to see Remus being released and sitting up, “Remus, it’s over … You’re not going back there, ok?” Arthur said soothingly as tears began pouring from those amber eyes.
“They were … Albus was going to … After everything I did …” Remus stammered no able to find the words to describe the horrific act that those he thought he could trust nearly did to him. Thankfully, before he could start hyperventilating his mind went straight to the one person he had to protect in this hellish world. “Harry … I have to get him out of that school!“ He yelled trying to stand, but stumbled due to the effects of the binding he was under until just a moment ago.
Percy caught Remus and helped him stand, “Calm down, Remus! Harry is fine and he’s already aware of everything like we are. In fact, he has a safe house in case of any emergencies.”
”Where is Harry’s home?” Remus asked determined to stay near Harry and protect him.
Molly smiled as she returned just in time to hear that question, “The shell on the table is a portkey with the password Pixies’-Oh my!” Molly yelped as Remus suddenly bolted past her and grabbed the first thing that looked like a shell before anyone could stop him.
“REMUS, WAIT!” Both Arthur and Percy yelled, but it was to late. Remus was gone faster than you can say … Well, pixies …
Arthur groaned, “Oh, I hope Severus is aware of this.”
“Harry did ask Bill to get more portkeys for everyone in Hogwarts, but I don’t know if Bill told Harry he found more or if there was time to tell Severus there were more than one portkey … This will be awkward. Bill shouldn’t have just set the other portkeys on the table-” Molly paled in horror as she spotted Arthur’s ‘wound’. “Arthur, what happened? Don’t tell me. Just sit down and I’ll heal you!” Molly ordered. Apparently, Arthur was in such a rush to heal the small cut on his palm he forgot to remove the fake fatal wound and for his lapse in judgment he spent hours trying to explain what happened and then getting scolded for scaring Molly …
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Remus’s eyes widened as he appeared in the living room in a lavish mansion, “Beautiful … Harry! Harry! Where are you?” He yelled as he ran through the mansion looking for the green eyed wizard.
“Quit yelling, Lupin.” The werewolf spun around in shock at the familiar voice and spotted Severus standing in the dining room doorway glaring at him. His first instinct was to go for his wand, but after patting his belt and finding nothing he realized Percy still had his wand. Severus rolled his eyes. “Knock it off, Lupin. I’m not your enemy. In fact, Harry and I are allies.” He said as he turned to go back in the dining room where a warm meal was waiting on the table.
“How do I know you’re his ally after all the sh*t you put him through? You could just be using him for sex.” Remus snapped and felt a small sense of victory when Severus turned towards looking mildly surprised, which was an accomplishment considering how controlled the potion master was though he internally vowed to kill the man for using Harry. What other reason would the potion master have for doing whatever he did to make himself young again? To tempt Harry, of course .“I’m a werewolf remember. My sense of smell is far stronger than any human.” Remus said as he glared at Severus.
It was a fact. Greyback could smell Harry in a room when Draco, Severus, Blaise and Greg could not. Of course, that was only after Harry turned off the rune he used to hide his scent and being able to sniff out Harry only served to distract that werewolf leading to his grim death, but werewolves still have excellent sniffers. Also shown by the fact that Remus was able to smell blood from another room and that he could smell Harry who wasn’t even there at that moment.
Severus’s eyes hardened making Remus flinch, “There is nothing in this world or the next that will make me forget what you are.” He said sharply, immediately making Remus regret saying anything, but then he smirked. “I heard sex smelled differently than plain cum so I was surprised because I didn’t realize you knew what sex smelled like being a virgin.” Severus shot back before sitting back down to eat his meal silently enjoying the deep red color that spread across the werewolf’s skin.
“H-how did you know?!” Remus practically squeaked in embarrassment.
“Dumbledore and Moody took it upon themselves to examine me for the buyers and they commented being disappointed in not having the chance to examine you as well since virgin werewolves fetched a higher price.” Severus stated internally seething at those bastards’ audacity. He caught a look of pity or sadness cross Remus’s face and rolled his eyes. “It didn’t go that far, you twit. Not that I owe you any details. Now sit and eat or be quiet.”
“Oh … Ok.” Remus said hesitantly, he was never the assertive one of the group so it was very difficult to actually be confrontational towards Severus. “Umm … Why don’t you seem surprised that I’m here?” Remus asked nervously as he slowly took his seat. Considering their past he expected Severus to stun him and lock him up or something along those lines not being hospitable.
Severus seemed to ignore the question in favor of taking a few bites of food and then paused to answer the question, “You are precious to Harry. We both are so when he told me this morning as he left my bed that he was going to ask if there were more portkeys I knew he was going to give them to those he cared about. I will tolerate you for his sake, but make no mistake. We are not friends. I will continue brewing your Wolf’s Bane potion for Harry’s sake, not yours. I made a new nutrition potion to counteract the toxic effects of the wolf’s bane potion for Harry not you. What I do from now on will be solely for Harry and the family we are building. Either you deal with our relationship or I ask for you moved to a different property.” Severus said calmly. He knew Harry wouldn’t put Remus at risk by kicking him out, but there were many properties in the Black accounts so it was hardly something to fight about.
The werewolf gaped in shock at the threat, but his body sagged in defeat, “I understand.” Remus said not wanting to take the chance that he’d be taken away from Harry. “I left my wand at the Weasley home. Do you have an owl that I can use to contact them?” He asked softly.
“I’m sure they will send it. You should take the nutrition potion I mentioned. If you can keep yourself from making a mess I will let you to enter the potion lab this once it’s on the lowest shelf in the top cabinet to the left of the sink.” Severus said more because he wanted to eat a while in peace than he wanted Remus to heal. The werewolf set himself up a plate of food from the platters provided and went to get the potion. Moments later, just as he finished his meal, Severus heard a crash from his lab. “Bloody idiot better not have messed anything up.” Severus said as he jumped up and ran to the potion lab.
There were several important things in that room. The Hufflepuff cup, mysterious ugly black gem and a potion with basilisk venom, one he hoped will help Harry. That’s only to name a few. Heaven help Remus if any of those things were damaged especially that potion. Thankfully, the first thing Severus saw was that those items were undamaged. After he confirmed that he focused on the werewolf out cold on the floor. With a quick look around Severus knew exactly what happened.
You see the top cabinet to the right of the sink was hanging wide open, but Severus said the left cabinet was the one where the nutrition potion. The potion Remus took was an extra deaging potion that Severus made just like the one he took last time. It was one of completed ones that were bathed in moonlight so it was permanent …
“At least, I won’t have to put up with you for a while.” Severus muttered as he picked up the empty vial. Obviously the potion will be a little different for the werewolf than it was for Severus since Severus at least had time to go to bed first before he passed out. Severus did hope the effects would knock Remus out for longer than a week. The potion master put the empty vial in the sink and grabbed the real nutrition potion from the cabinet. “Dobby!” Severus summoned after shoving the nutrition potion down Remus’s throat, at least, being kind enough to make sure he didn’t choke in his unconscious state. It was clear the deaging potion was already working for the werewolf’s mustache was receding and the gray hairs were already disappearing.
The house elf appeared with a pop, “Severus summoned Dobby?”
“Yes I did. Take this bonehead to an empty room leave him on the bed. He drank the same potion I did so he should be fine, but check in on him twice a day.” Severus said indifferently as he stepped over Remus to grab an ingredient from another cabinet.
“Dobby will do that right away!” Dobby exclaimed excitedly and popped Remus out of the room.
Just as Severus settled back to work his green snitch returned carrying Remus’s wand, “He won’t be needing this for awhile.” He said as he put the wand in a drawer. Before refocusing on the potion he looked at the snitch fluttering in mid air. It was a prime example of the skill Harry has to offer this world and Severus refused to let Harry die just to stop the dark lord. He prayed he can find a safe way to remove the horcrux …
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“Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, what are you doing? Are you two fighting?” McGonagall asked as she walked up to the boys who were on the floor outside the classroom on Monday.
“No, professor.” Ron said trying to hide his blush as Harry got off him and helped him to his feet. “I seem to have two left feet today.” He chuckled and moved aside so the other students could get in the classroom.
McGonagall frowned, “You’re both fine? No problems?” She asked expectantly.
“Of course, professor. It was just a tumble.” Harry said a little puzzled. Ron tripped and Harry grabbed him, but Ginny, being a little playful, cast a spell as she passed them to get to her own class that made Harry slip into the compromising position on top of her brother. Why does the transfiguration professor seem surprised that they aren’t fighting? The second the question appeared in his mind he wondered if Dumbledore has another plan in progress. The old wizard did make it clear that he wanted the clan of redheads separated from Harry …
“Very well … To your seats.” McGonagall said with a clipped tone. As Harry and Ron went to their seats next to Neville they glanced at Draco, Blaise and Greg. It was clear the Slytherins knew something was up too. They weren’t able to discuss it until the four of them got to Potions. Four meaning only Draco, Greg, Blaise and Harry since Ron and Neville didn’t earn the grades or were forced to take the NEWT level potions class.
Slughorn was smiling as they all took their seats with only two seats being strictly reserved. Say what you want about the man. He has a tendency to play favorites and sucks up to those with money or talent and he definitely rubbed Harry and Draco the wrong way when he practically flooed straight into Severus’s place as the DADA and Potions professor, but he isn’t all that bad. Those reserved seats were for Harry and Hermione and they were as far apart as possible for Harry’s safety. That’s why Slughorn wanted to talk to Harry so soon after the announcement of Severus’s ‘death’. He wanted to make sure the seating arrangement, which put Harry smack dab in the center of the Slytherins, was ok with Harry. Also though it seemed like Slughorn moved in fast it was the center of the year. It’s clear Slughorn, with all his faults, was trying to do right by the students and Harry …
“What was that about with McGonagall?” Draco asked quietly as he slipped into the potion pantry with Harry to get ingredients for the potion they were going to brew in class today.
“Not sure, but Ron, Ginny and I have those necklaces so Dumbles could’ve started giving us potions and we wouldn’t know it.” Harry whispered back and flinched as Draco swatted his hand as he was reaching for the mistletoe berries.
“The recipe calls for frog eyes not mistletoe berries. Pay attention.” Draco hissed.
Harry chuckled sheepishly. “Runes is my thing, not potions.”
“Maybe, I need to see that for myself.” Draco muttered with a light blush. He wanted to see this toy Severus mentioned.
Harry leaned close to Draco practically pinning him to the shelves, “I’ll show you all my skills.” He whispered very close to kissing the blonde when they heard a gasp and saw Hermione standing there with a look of disgust on her face.
“Ms. Granger, get out of the pantry right now! I told you only two people in the pantry at one time and you are not to be near Harry! Out young lady!” ordered Slughorn as he shooed her away, but not before she shot Harry a glare …
Chapter 15: Heart Burn
Chapter Text
Last Time:
“Ms. Granger get out of the pantry right now! I told you only two people in the pantry at one time and you are not to be near Harry! Out young lady!” ordered Slughorn as he shooed her away, but not before she shot Harry a glare …
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“Nothing? … This doesn’t make sense. The potions should be working. I’ve been giving them to the boy since Severus’s death. I can’t imagine what is wrong. First, Remus goes missing and now this. It seems nothing is going right this week.” Dumbledore mused as he stood with Minerva in his office.
“He’s still missing?” Minerva frowned. “This isn’t good. What are we going to do for money?”
“We can figure something out, but let’s work on isolating Harry.” Dumbledore said dismissively. “With two family members in the ministry and one in Gringotts I can’t start potioning the Weasleys so how can I approach this safely? … hmmm … That might work.”
“What?” A curious Minerva asked.
Dumbledore frowned “Unfortunately, it wouldn’t be something I can wait to do. It will have to be fast.”
Minerva twitched in annoyance as she realized the old wizard was too deep in thought to even hear her, “ALBUS!”
“What?!” The startled old man yelped nearly tripping over Fawkes’ perch.
“Tell me what you’re talking about. Do you have an idea?” Minerva asked still a bit annoyed that she had to ask again.
The headmaster chuckled, “Sorry, Minerva. I got lost in thought for a moment there. You see, I am Harry’s guardian so all I need is to do is use my legal rights to get control of him.”
“In what way? He won’t just break away from the Weasleys just because you say so. in fact, considering how close they are, it may hurt his trust in you if you even suggested it … Unless you fake some information?” Minerva offered as a possible solution.
“Unfortunately, we don’t have the time, money or people to fake the amount of information we would need, but we don’t need to. All we need is for Harry’s wife to tell him to break off the relationship.” Dumbledore explained though still ended without a complete answer just to be cryptic.
Minerva raised and eyebrow as she pondered the old wizard’s words, but suddenly her eyes widen, “You want to use the marriage vows to forcibly control the boy!”
“Exactly and as his guardian I can force him to marry while he’s still underage. Harry doesn’t know about the Black family policies allowing him to appoint a representative and there aren’t any preceding marriage contracts so all I have to do is write a contract to bid Harry to someone that includes one sided magically binding vows. It’s illegal to allow those kinds of vows, but since there aren’t any other guardians, who need to agree, the goblins can’t get involved. The ministry will file the contract and no one can do a thing especially since Harry doesn’t know he can ask the goblins to review the contract.” Dumbledore said as he actually started scribbling down the very contract he needed.
The transfiguration professor sighed in relief, “It’s a good thing that you left him in the dark about so much. If we had to deal with another guardian it will go to the goblins and that would be bad enough. If we had another contract Harry would have to choose after the goblins explain every detail and that would be an even bigger mess. Who will you make him marry? It should be someone easy to manipulate or indebted to you so they will order Harry to do what you want … This would solve all our money issues as well.” She said with a smirk as she realized that Harry’s spouse will be able to withdraw any amount of money without any problems. If the Order had the Potter fortune financing them they won’t be stopped.
“Yes … I will look around the students at dinner and see who will make the best candidate.” Dumbledore said as he finished the contract and set it aside to read over later so he could join Minerva at the dinner.
After his regular announcements he looked through all the students. The bulk of the students would not like the idea of subjecting the ‘Boy Who Lived’ to the orders he wanted set for the brat. all the others will jump at the chance, but would probably be more interested in their new status as the Potter’s spouse and ignore Dumbledore’s plans completely. This wasn’t going to be an easy choice, but his eyes zeroed in on the best possible candidate who was seated at the Gryffindor table.
Hermione was willing to take control of Harry without any regret, which at the time did infuriate the headmaster, but she may be exactly the person they needed. The muggle-born was also a bit of a brownnoser for Dumbledore so he could tell her what he wanted done without any argument, but to be sure he had to talk to her personally. Why she did what she did is something he wanted to know before making his final decision.
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“Jerks.” Hermione muttered as she picked at her food. None of the other Gryffindors were even speaking to Hermione.
She couldn’t understand why they were all still so pissed at her. She couldn’t even break into the book she assumed was Harry’s diary and the cheek she slapped is fine. Plus she failed to potion him and she was punished! They should get over it and at least stop giving her the cold shoulder.
“Can someone hand me a piece of cake?” Hermione asked as her favorite little chocolate cakes appeared for dessert, but instead of giving her one the plate was passed down the table first and to her utter fury was empty by the time it returned. She was happy the meal was done and wanted to leave right away.
The headmaster approached her with that kind smile that made her feel happy even though he originally supported her punishments, “Ms. Granger, could we have a talk in my office. It’s about your treatment.”
“Of course, headmaster!” Hermione said eagerly and followed the wizard she admired and believed could do no wrong. Despite the fact that the wizard didn’t care for what she did he seems to have forgiven her and she’d do anything to get back in his good graces since the only regret she felt over what she did was making Dumbledore mad.
As Dumbledore entered the office he gestured to the chair in front of his desk, “Please have a seat, Ms. Granger.” He said and flicked his wand to shut the door as she sat down before taking his own seat. “Now I noticed that things haven’t gotten any easier with your peers, but I must know if it is even worse behind closed doors. Is it? Because if it is I will stop it. I will not have that behavior in this school.”
“It’s really just more of the same thing, headmaster. Once the illusion fell off the snickering stopped so I guess it improved a little.” Hermione admitted still not happy about the situation.
Dumbledore nodded understandingly, “I’m curious, Ms. Granger, why did you do it? Why did you feel it was necessary to put Harry under an enslavement potion?”
“He’s …” Hermione trailed off, not sure how to continue.
“It's alright, Ms. Granger. You are safe here.” Dumbledore said in his deceitfully kind grandfatherly tone.
Hermione relaxed a little, “He’s gay.”
“Pardon?” Dumbledore asked not sure where the problem was.
“Harry is the ‘Boy Who Lived’! He should have the perfect life, but he showed no interest in girls, least of all me. I’d be perfect for him, but he never cared and he seems to be going down the wrong way. The Weasleys are only making it worse by flaunting their lifestyle as if having gay children is ok … and after my attempt to help Harry failed I saw … Ron and Harry kissing.” Hermione explained.
“I see.” Dumbledore said calmly though he hated the narrow minded muggle view. Clearly as much as she likes to claim she’s the smartest witch out there she doesn’t really think like a witch, but she said something he liked. She said she wanted to keep Harry on the right path and that’s what he needed. “I wholeheartedly agree with you though what you did was still dangerous.” He said pretending to care.
“I know, sir.” Hermione hung her head in shame.
“Good … As for Harry’s situation I feel I will need help to stop this behavior.” Dumbledore said solemnly.
“I … I could help, headmaster.” Hermione offered sheepishly.
Dumbledore frowned, “What I intend to do is a lifetime sacrifice. I can’t ask that of you.”
“Please, headmaster, let me help. I’ll do anything!” Hermione exclaimed, never noticing the nearly unseen smirk on the old wizard’s lips …
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“I’m going to shower.” Harry said as he undressed in the dorm.
With the runes hiding his last scars and no modesty he removed all his clothes. Of course, like many times before someone seemed to find a way to watch him undress. At first, it was a few 7th years who were lucky and then it was some of his own 6th year peers, but since it was the boys dorm room, girls can’t get in the room if there’s no one here or if someone is changing. That’s not the case now because Harry tweaked the runes around the dorm to keep Hermione out, but even with the rune he still felt better having his trunk in Ron’s room. After all, he had the excuse to see Ron every time he needed a change of clothes.
Harry turned on the shower in the stall and closed the curtain to relax as the hot water eased his muscles, but he heard someone come in, “Hey, Harry! McGonagall is here! She says Dumbles wants to see you.” Harry heard Neville say through the curtain.
“Of course he does.” Harry grumbled in annoyance as he turned the water off and stepped out of the shower ignoring the squeak from an embarrassed Neville who quickly turned away from Harry’s naked form. “If I’m going to deal with that ass I’ll need something to keep me sane.” He said not caring if anyone else was in the room. He figured Neville wouldn’t use the disrespectful ‘Dumbles’ if anyone was here to hear it so he leaned over to kiss Neville. Neville gave a squeak of shock as he was suddenly turned around, but the squeak changed into a moan as those lips massaged his own. “Just what I needed.” He purred as he pulled back leaving Neville flushed and panting.
Harry took a moment to admire Neville’s flushed face before reluctantly leaving to get the clothes he set out for tomorrow that were on his bed. He took longer to change than necessary, but couldn’t stall forever. Once he stepped out of the dorm he saw an impatient transfiguration professor waiting there.
“Let’s hurry now, Mr. Potter.” Minerva said and they were soon walking down the endless stairs and halls to get to the headmaster’s office. The second Harry stepped into the room and saw Hermione there looking smug he knew something was up.
“It’s good to see you, my boy!” Dumbledore exclaimed in his usual cheerful mood and those eyes were twinkling madly. “It has come to my attention that you have to marry soon in order to keep the Potter heirlooms so I wrote a contract for you. This will also protect your family’s future, especially since you need an heir to continue the line. I didn’t like the idea of rushing this, but this is a war driven time. Anything can happen to you or any of your friends, like young Ron or Ginny. All you have to do is sign.” He said and handed Harry the quill. The headmaster frowned as Harry seemed indifferent and calm as opposed to the obedient and frazzled boy he always was, but it didn’t matter if the boy suddenly grew a spine. With Minerva’s help they can restrain him and take the Weasleys captive to force him to do anything.
In a split second Harry made a decision. There was an active floo right in the Gryffindor common room and he had a bag of floo powder. If he can beat them to the dorm he can escape with Ginny, Ron and Neville, but he had to move as fast as he could. “No.” He said firmly. That simple answer was all it took for everything to descend into chaos.
Minerva rolled her eyes, ”Why must you make everything difficult?” She muttered and flicked a painful stunning charm at the boy only to get the shock of her life when Harry not only blocked her charm, but sent one back at each of them.
“You can’t get out-” Dumbledore yelped as he dodged the spell, but his argument died in his throat when Harry simply tapped the door making it open and raced down the steps.
Harry ran as fast as possible, but he realized that there was a cat bounding towards him and … right passed him? Harry realized McGonagall was going for Ginny and Ron!
“I won’t let you get them!” He hissed and tapped his glasses releasing a headache potion and a snitch.
He kept running as he emptied the vial, extracted his memories of what just happened, put the memories in the vial and corked it. To make it clear there was danger he bit his own hand and spread the blood on the vial before tossing it in the air. The snitch caught the vial in mid air and the bag of floo powder that was thrown right after before racing away even faster than the four legged professor. However, the second he felt safe a set of talons grabbed his arm and he felt a pull as red flames surrounded him. When the flames receded he saw that he was in a stone cell lit by only one dim torch and Fawkes was with him.
“Fawkes …” Harry trailed off knowing he couldn’t be mad at the bird who was only following its masters bidding.
Fawkes dropped the letter in its mouth and sang sadly as if to apologize, but Harry was more interested in the letter, which read: “You will soon understand, my boy, that this must be done. In fact, I believe your friends will see that we are right soon too and convince you to do the right thing, my boy. Until then stay there and think about how selfish you’re being.”
“Bastard.” Harry grumbled with irritation as Fawkes flew out of reach and disappeared in the same flames that brought him there, but Harry noticed something off. “Damn bird took my wand.” He sighed, but shrugged it off. After all, he had his glasses so there was no reason to worry.
At first, he considered just trying to apparate out, but he didn’t want to risk apparating right into any spell or rune he couldn’t see because it was outside and get splinched. If Dumbledick put him here there had to be security, right? So he resigned himself to doing this the hard way, not that he minded. He seems to have made a hobby out of dealing with all things the hard way. One minute later he was wearing his gloves, shoes and gray robes and searching for an exit.
“I don’t think this is in Hogwarts otherwise I’d see some runes implying it was connected to the main building … If I’m not there, where am I?” He muttered to himself as he inspected the walls of his apparently circular cell, which though dimly lit by the torch that was too high to reach was easier to see once his eyes adjusted.
It became clear this was a cell that was for apparating people in because there weren’t any exits hidden or otherwise, but Harry continued to search. While he found nothing helpful, but he did find something rather scary. Poking out from the dirt floor he found a human bone. With a little digging he found two ribs and a skull …
“Dear Merlin!” Harry gasped and backed away, but as his eyes scanned the floor he began seeing a lot of lumps that could be more bones.
The only thing that broke him out of his morbid thoughts was a light breeze. If there was a breeze there was a way out, but didn’t find anything earlier. It suddenly occurred to him that it was night when he was taken here so if there was a window he wouldn’t see it if it was high up. He removed his glove and used the blood from his hand to scribble some runes down on the gloves and boots. With the new runes he placed his hands on the wall and found that they stuck firmly so he carefully began to climb up the surprisingly high cell.
For what seemed like forever he edged his way around the room until he finally found the very small barred window. Out of pure curiosity he tried to stick his hand between the bars, but instantly regretted it. He yanked his hand back as a searing burning pain covered his hand. Without any choice he ripped the glove off with his teeth and let it fall. The feeling immediately made him think it was acid …
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Ron looked up from his homework as he heard tapping and saw the blue snitch. He all but ran to the window and let it in, but instead of a love letter or something he paled as a blood covered vial with a memory and Harry’s bag of floo powder fell in his hand. “sh*t!” He snapped knowing instantly it was a warning. He ran out of his room and grabbed his sister who was thankfully in the common room reading. “We need to leave now!”
“What? Why?” Ginny asked, but paled as a bloody vial and bag were shoved in her hands. She was barely aware of her brother racing into the boys dorm to grab Neville as she stared at the items. It was clear that this was serious and she was cursing her brother Bill for stalling sending the portkeys. Sure all except the one Remus took turned out to be too damaged for use so he had to make new ones, but now Harry was in danger and they couldn’t help.
With Neville in tow Ron returned, “Get in the floo!” He yelled and just as they got in the floo the common door flew open revealing McGonagall, who looking pissed, but it was too late. Ginny, Ron and Neville vanished in green flames as the powder hit the fire and they appeared in the safety of the Weasley home.
Arthur looked up from the paperwork he was finishing for work and was baffled to see his youngest kids and Neville standing there, “Why are you-”
“Harry’s in trouble!” Ron screamed on the verge of tears as his sister held up the bloody vial making Arthur’s eyes widen in horror …
Chapter 16: Dizzy Spell
Chapter Text
Last Time:
“Harry’s in trouble!” Ron screamed on the verge of tears as his sister held up the bloody vial making Arthur’s eyes widen in horror …
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“What? Calm down and tell me what happened.” Arthur pleaded, but instead of his son answering Ginny shoved the bloody vial into his hand.
“We need the pensieve, Dad!” Ginny exclaimed urgently.
Arthur looked at the vial with the shimmery memory floating inside before quickly running to a hidden cabinet, “Get around the table everyone!” He ordered quickly as he pulled out a bowl covered in runes. It looked a great deal like the pensieve that Harry’s glasses turn into. In fact, there was very good reason for that. Harry studied the runes on that very pensieve to create his own and they worked the same as shown by the memory being poured into the bowl. “Everyone ready?” Arthur asked as he set the vial down on the table. Ron, Ginny and Neville nodded and the four of them plunged their faces into the memory floating whimsically in the pensieve.
Molly Weasley came into the room looking concerned, “Arthur, honey, did you hear Ron and Ginn-” She froze as she spotted the four people with their heads in the family pensieve. She would normally be furious about her kids skipping school, but this situation struck her as being very serious, so she waited until they were done with the memory. Once they were done and pulled their heads out of the bowl she knew how serious it was just by the looks on their faces. “What’s wrong? What happened?” She pleaded getting a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach, but then her fear tripled when she realized Harry wasn’t with them. “What happend? Where’s Harry?”
“Harry… He was attacked by Dumbledore,” Arthur said furiously as he headed for the floo. “I need to get Bill to stop the plan Dumbledore has to force a marriage contract on Harry.” He exclaimed just before flooing away.
“What?” Molly gasped in horror and confusion.
Ginny scowled “He was going to make Harry sign a marriage contract, but when Harry refused … Dumbledore threatened to use us! McGonagall was on the way to take us captive so Harry will have no choice but to sign!” Ginny exclaimed through tears.
“Dear Merlin!” Molly exclaimed in horror, “Did the memory show what happened to him? Why isn’t he with you?”
“He- …” Ron trailed off as he tried to keep himself from crying. “The memory didn’t show what happened to him. Just that McGonagall was coming after us and he only had time to send his snitch with that as a warning.” Ron said as he gestured towards the bloody vial and Molly paled at the sight.
“Oh Merlin!” Neville gasped getting everyone’s attention. “Harry’s stuck in Hogwarts!”
“Stuck? What do you mean?” Molly pleaded.
“He gave us his floo powder … He can’t get out.” Neville said his knees gave out in his fear and he collapsed into a chair.
“So it’s possible Dumbledore has him?” Ginny murmured terrified that could be the case.
Ron didn’t want to believe it and shook his head, “He could get to the dungeons and hide in Salazar Slytherin’s office. No one can go in there and he’s very strong. It wouldn’t be easy to catch him or keep him anywhere.” He said desperately trying to not think the worst, but as more tears fell he found himself breaking down again. After all, the dungeons were so far away from the headmaster’s office that it would be very hard to get there with an old wizard after you. Also, Harry couldn’t waste time changing into his gray robes. Chances are something went very wrong.
“No … That could work.” Molly exclaimed as she took the bloody vial. “If your father returns before me tell him I went to see Severus.” She said before flooing away as well.
“What’s your mom planning? ” Neville asked feeling a little better knowing at least someone had a plan.
“I … I don’t know.” Ron said though his sniffles, but he nearly leapt as his father and eldest brother flooed into the room,”Bill, Harry was-“
Bill held up his hands for silence, which never really worked before with his siblings, but this was serious so Ron stayed quiet. “Dad explained everything to me. Now there’s a couple things we can do to render Dumbledore’s contract useless. First, we could have Harry ask for Dumbledore’s contract to be reviewed by the goblins. Where is Harry?”
“We don’t know. Mom went to see Severus about that.” Ginny said solemnly.
“Ok I see.” Bill said worried about Harry, but they needed to stay on task.“Then I need to invoke our contract-”
“What? What contract?” Ron gaped and glared at his father who flinched, “You made a contract for Harry!”
Arthur shook his head, “No I made a contract for you-”
“You what?!” Ron shouted not happy at all at this news.
“IT CAN SAVE HARRY.” Bill shouted over his temperamental brother.
Ron blinked finally getting back to the point of all this, “It will?”
“Yes. If we present the harem contract the goblins made for you and Harry we can stop the motion of Dumbledore’s contract, but if I do this there will be a time limit where Harry needs to make the call-”
“Why can’t you? You’re Harry’s representative!” Ginny pointed out as she patted Neville’s back. The Longbottom heir was clearly a little saddened at the mention of a contract being set up.
“Yes, but I’m not his guardian. I’m more an advisor who can keep him from sending too much or get things from the vaults he’s too young to get into. I have no power, but Dumbledore does because of being Harry’s magical guardian,” Bill explained making it clear that this was not going to be easy.
“You said there was a time limit … What happens if Harry isn’t found in time?” Ron asked, giving the idea a chance.
The eldest son sighed, “All contracts not backed by a guardian will be destroyed and he will automatically be wed to Granger-“
“Why do this at all then? Can’t we just find Harry and hide him so nothing can be signed? Why risk presenting it if we can’t find him in time and end up being forced to marry that bitch?” Ron snapped.
“Because if we do nothing Dumbledore can present his contract and get it approved right away. After all, not showing up is seen as not arguing so the goblins have to approve even if the heir didn’t request a review. He’ll still need Harry’s signature, but Harry will be locked in the contract and at that point only a drop of blood will be needed to sign, which is why I need to fill the contract with names of those Harry was intimate with to qualify for more time. Have you had sex with him?” Bill asked not caring at all about the embarrassing subject matter considering the seriousness of the situation. In fact, he was very pleased to see his brother’s face turn bright red, “I’ll take that as a yes. Good, put a drop of blood here saying you agreed to the contract here, full name.“ He said as he pulled out the contract from his robe pocket. “Have you had sex with Harry?” He asked Neville as he handed Ron an official goblin knife to sign in his own blood.
Neville blushed, “No, we only kissed.” He squeaked shyly.
“That counts! Sign right under Ron when the line magically appears. We need two more to qualify for more time. Anybody else?” Bill asked urgently.
Ron nodded as he handed the quill over to Neville, “Severus, Draco and Blaise-” Ron froze in mid sentence and paled. “They’re still in Hogwarts! We have to get them out of there or they’ll be caught and used by Dumbledick!”
“Got it!” Ginny said as she spotted the blue snitch hovering near the floo, “I’ll send them a warning.” She said as she snatched the snitch and went to the table where she began writing a note for the snitch to bring to the Slytherins.
Arthur went to the door, “Tell them to run to the east part of the forest. I’ll meet them there and apparate them here.” He said as he left to apparate to the very edge of the Hogwarts grounds.
“Ok, Neville, Ron you both go to Gringotts and I’ll go get Severus. What mom needs him for may have to wait because you all need to be present at the contract presentation. The goblins will provide robes to conceal your identity. Ginny explain everything to the others so everyone is searching for Harry.” Bill said as everyone was left to complete their tasks.
XXXXXXXXXX
Molly raced into the living room of Harry’s mansion, “Severus! Severus, where are you? we need your help-”
“I’m here! What’s wrong?” Severus asked in concern as he raced in from the lab.
“It’s Harry! Dumbledore attacked Harry when he refused to sign a marriage contract and he tried to escape, but only managed to send Ron, Ginny and Neville a warning to get away since Dumbledore planned to threaten them to get what he wants, but-but Harry wasn’t able to get away-”
Severus paled in horror, but he knew better than anyone that nothing will be solved if you panic so he forced every part of his being to remain calm. “Dear Merlin … Molly, calm down- … What’s that in your hand?” He asked, noticing the bloody vial.
“This was Harry’s warning. He sent it with a memory and covered his blood. I hoped it would help find him.” She said handing the potion master the vial.
“It will … Yes, it truly will!” Severus ran to the lab potion in hand and began brewing.
Only moments after Severus left to brew Molly saw Bill run out of the floo, “Bill, honey, why are you here?”
“No time to explain. Where’s Severus?” Bill asked urgently.
The potion master himself returned with a vial filled with a dark crimson potion, “I made a potion that will help locate Harry and Dobby just informed me that even he can’t feel now which means some sort of rune is involved. This potion will see passed it-”
Bill snatched the vial and shoved it into his mother’s hands before grabbing Severus’ arm, “Perfect! Now you’ll marry Harry.” He said as he dragged Severus to the floo.
Severus blushed at the bluntness of that very random surprise, “err … huh??”
“I’ll explain later … Gringotts!” Bill yelled and the two flooed away.
XXXXXXXXXX
McGonagall scowled as she went into Dumbledore’s office, “Those brats somehow got floo powder and got away!”
“What? No never mind. It doesn’t matter now. We have Harry restrained … This would be easier if he just signed the contract. I’d rather not make a presentation that will become public … Unfortunately, his personal signature is unnecessary and only a blood drop would be needed, which will be easy to get. People will no doubt find the details questionable especially since Harry won’t be there.” Dumbledore pondered out loud.
Hermione’s eyes widened, “I know a way. Harry was clearly about to kiss Draco Malfoy the other day in the potion pantry. I saw it. We could use the Slytherin.” She said with a cruel smirk.
“That is a brilliant idea!” Dumbledore praised, pleased with the girl’s hatred of the right people.
“Shall we go retrieve them?” McGonagall asked with a smirk.
“Yes, let's.” Dumbledore said before leading the two witches down to the dungeons …
XXXXXXXXXX
Greg looked over at the door when it swung open, “Hey guys,” He greeted Draco and Blaise who came into Salazar’s office.
“It’s curfew. You have to come back or Crabbe will get annoying.” Draco grumbled. The ‘Goyle got lost’ excuse is wearing thin. Even the bonehead Crabbe is starting to suspect something though it was probably something like sneaking into the kitchen not secret library trips.
“Fine,” Greg grumbled and put a bookmark in the book he was reading before following them up to their dorm just as they spotted the dorm entrance a familiar snitch flew at them. Greg took out the message as they went into the Slytherin common room, but he froze as the door shut behind them, “Guys, we really need to go! Now!”
Draco frowned, “Why?” He asked but just before Greg could answer the door began to open revealing a glimpse of the headmaster’s robes …
XXXXXXXXXX
Harry examined his burnt glove and realized or, at least, hoped he knew what plant made the acid, “I wish I paid attention in herbology,” He mumbled. If he was right then he could blow a hole in the ceiling with a rune and have the plant get thrown off the roof out of his way. He had no other option but to try so he climbed back up the tower wall and created the explosive rune. After moving to the opposite side he detonated the rune.
In a split second, the half of the ceiling on that side crumbled letting a bulbous plant fall into the tower sprinkling acid on the way down. Harry sighed in relief and climbed out to see the land surrounding the tower. The light just peeking over the horizon didn’t reveal good news. To his horror he spotted hundreds of inferi surrounding the tower. The blast woke them up and they were trying, but, thankfully, failing to scale the tower walls to kill him …
“sh*t.” He hissed under his breath when he felt the tower move and looked down to see that the acid from the squished plant was destroying the foundation. The tower was soon tilting rapidly into a swarm of inferi and he couldn’t do anything but watch the dead inferi eyes as he got closer …
Chapter 17: To Bind
Chapter Text
Last Time:
“sh*t,” he hissed under his breath when he felt the tower move and looked down to see that the acid from the squished plant was destroying the foundation. The tower was soon tilting rapidly into a swarm of inferi and he couldn’t do anything but watch the dead inferi eyes as he got closer …
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Ginny lit up as her mother came through the floo, “Mom, you’re back! Was Severus able to help?” She asked not entirely used to thinking of the potions master as anything but a professor yet.
“Yes.” Molly showed her the vial filled with the potion Severus. “Bill took Severus to Gringotts saying something about marriage?” Molly said, clearly a little confused, which made sense considering she wasn’t there when Bill explained.
“Bill is worried that Dumbles will present the marriage contract with Hermione at Gringotts and without a rival contract Harry will be forced to marry Hermione.” Ginny said worriedly.
“So Bill is offering a rival contract! I see, that’s good! That’ll buy us some time!” Molly said hopefully.
“Not if we don’t find Harry in time. If that happens the guardian gets his way meaning Dumbles wins. I already floo called Charlie, Percy, Fred and George so they should arrive any minute to help find Harry-You’re here!” Ginny exclaimed happily as Percy flooed into the room soon followed by Charlie and the twins..
“Of course, but I’m curious as to why we aren’t asking Dobby to find Harry.” Percy asked curiously making Ginny frowned not sure why they haven’t tried that. However, just before the youngest Weasley could summon the house elf Molly told them the bad news.
“When I was with Severus earlier he told me Dobby couldn’t sense Harry. He’s being hidden behind ruins. If Dobby knew where that was he could get Harry, but he doesn’t. we will need to hurry and find Harry with the blood potion.” Molly said as she gestured to the vial she had set on the table.
Charlie pulled out a map of magical Britain and spread it out on the table, “Let’s hope Dumbledick isn’t going international for hiding places.”
Fred and George shrugged, “We deal with foreign traders who buy our product so if we need help getting passed any borders we can get it.”
“That’s good to know.” Charlie said in relief as he began spreading small amounts of the potion onto the map being careful not to waste a single drop in case they needed a different map …
XXXXXXXXXX
Greg reacted out of pure instinct and grabbed his two friends by their collars where he dragged them down behind a couch, “Quiet.” He whispered softly before very carefully listening to the footsteps of the three people who into the Slytherin dorm.
“This place is creepy.” Blaise and Draco glanced at each more than a little shocked at hearing Granger’s voice. Why was she here?
“Slytherins, Ms. Granger, Slytherins.” Minerva said with a hint of disgust in her tone as if just being in a room where Slytherins lived was barely tolerable to her. She had no clue that there were three Slytherins in the room flipping her off from behind the furniture.
Dumbledore smiled cheerily, “It’s not pleasant, but this must be done. Now, Ms. Granger, you said Mr. Malfoy was the one trying to seduce Harry, correct?” He asked secretly wishing he could have seen this interest in men Harry had personally. Harry was a good looking young man so it would’ve made watching him much more interesting.
“Yes, Headmaster.” Hermione said with a proud smile not realizing that behind the very couch she was in front of were the three Slytherins they wanted, who were carefully moving towards the exit while trying to stay out of sight. With each step further in the common room Greg, Draco and Blaise crawled silently along the floor. They knew they had to wait, at least, until Dumbledore wasn’t in the same room or they wouldn’t stand a chance of escaping.
“Excellent! Wait here and I’ll get Mr. Malfoy.” Dumbledore said before slipping into the boys dorm.
Greg motioned for his friends to move ahead. The three of them were just feet away from the exit and so close to getting out. They just had to wait for the perfect chance to get passed Minerva and Hermione. Once the two witches had their backs to the snakes they struck quickly. Without using any words Draco and Blaise shot two body binding spells followed by Greg’s spell to create a thick fog. Neither witches knew what hit them and the three snakes ran out the door.
“Go!” Greg yelled as he stayed behind just a second to seal the door to the commons shut.
After he finished he ran down after his friends, but it wasn’t enough. A large blast echoing down from a few floors above them was all they needed to know someone, most likely Dumbledore, destroyed the opening to the Slytherin common room and judging by the footsteps was headed after them. They heard the flapping of wings behind them and Greg even felt a claw scratch the back of his neck as he lunged for the door protected by Salazar’s parselmagic. As he turned to slam the door shut behind him and his friends he saw a confused Fawkes and a furious Dumbledore.
“Merlin, that was close!” Blaise panted as he collapsed onto his knees completely exhausted from running so hard. “I really hate that guy … Wait, how did you know he was after Draco? What did that note say?” Blaise asked as he spotted the snitch fluttering near them. It wasn’t surprising that it managed to keep up with them really since it was charmed to fly pretty fast like Quidditch grade snitches.
“I didn’t know that exactly.” Greg panted as he moved to the door leading down to Salazar’s office. “The note was from Ginny Weasley. It said Dumbledore attacked Harry, who is now missing. She figured that you guys would become targets because she and her brother were. We need to get out like they did.”
Draco frowned in concern and glanced at clearly worried Blaise before they both raced after Greg, “What did it say about Harry?!” Greg simply shook his head to indicate there wasn’t much to go on. “I hate Dumbles. He deserves to be murdered by his own bird. How do we get out of here?” Draco asked eager to find Harry, who had better be safe and unharmed or he will make his first very Death Eater like action and give someone a very slow agonizing death.
“I’m thinking.” Greg said as they stepped out of the stairwell and into the cozy office.
Blaise paled slightly, “Better think fast! If Dumbledore is comfortable using house elves to drug people he might try to use them get us.”
Greg thought about that for a minute, “No, I think we’re safe. This place is protected by Salazar’s runes and magic. I can’t imagine that any elf, let alone one that isn’t bonded to us, can sense where we are, but you’re right. We do need to hurry. According to the note Arthur Weasley is waiting in the east part of the forest so we just need to get out of here.”
“Right … How do we do that though? Dumbledore will sense us once we leave the school limits.” Blaise said, suddenly recalling what Harry told them about the wards do to alert the headmaster of the school of people coming or leaving. Dumbledore will get a ping once they cross the ward and if Fawkes is helping they will be found quickly if they can't get to Mr. Weasley fast enough. It doesn't help that none of them had apparating licenses and they were still technically under age so using magic outside of the school will lead Dumbles straight to them.
“Yes, but remember what Harry did to make Greyback appear as a ping? He had to make only one ping, which means he had to leave without setting off the wards then return tripping the wards in the process!” Greg exclaimed as he ran to open the hidden door to the chamber where the basilisk once was.
Draco’s eyes widened, “That’s right! He mentioned that there was a way out that didn’t trip the wards, but where?” He pondered out loud as he followed his friends into the dark tunnels. The darkness was so bad that had to use a light spell, but they knew they had to be careful because once they were outside the school limits they could not use magic.
“Hey, guys! This might help.” Blaise exclaimed, pointing to the sludge that dried on the wall in the shape of a handprint.
“Harry didn’t have any sludge on him nor would he to hide it from us at the time what with our plans to dissect the basilisk … but Greyback would care. If fell it’d be all over him, especially his hands.” Greg said as he looked down the tunnel.
“Yeah and he’d spell it off. Can’t leave a trail of sludge if you’re trying to sneak into a school.” Draco grumbled not happy about the memory of when Greyback cornered him in the bathroom, but the werewolf was dead so it didn’t really matter now.
“Let’s see if we’re right.” Greg said and lead the way down the tunnel. At some point Greg felt they may be close to the forest and, therefore, the edge of the wards so they canceled the spell that was admitting light. Of course, it was infinitely harder to go through, but the darkness only lasted a second for small wards on the tunnel walls began glowing brightly. “Harry must’ve thought the same thing and applied these runes when he came down here. At least, we know we’re going the right way.”
The three snakes raced through the tunnel confident they were going the right way and had plenty of light to find their way safely. It didn’t take long to find an opening in the ceiling that looked like a lion’s mouth with the ladder leading up to it. It looked like a snake was coiled around the ladder.
“The founders overdo the damn symbolism a lot.” Draco muttered with an eye roll as he followed the others up the ladder. Greg was first in line so he hit the trap door first and with an awkward creak of the wood he pushed it open.
“So where are we?” Blaise asked as he climbed out of the tunnel and looked around. “Wait, I know this way! The east tower is right there so we’re on the right side, but where’s Mr. Weasley?” He wondered before giving Draco a hand getting up.
Just as they thought they had to risk going in search of Arthur the wizard found them, “Good, you boys are safe.” Arthur said as he came deeper into the forest and over to them. “I was worried I had to go in to get you-…sh*t!” He snapped as they heard Fawkes cry over head. The bird didn’t seem to see them through the trees, but they weren’t taking any chances and held onto Arthur who apparated them to the Weasley home.
They barely stepped in the door when Molly came running up to them, “We know where Harry-oh, 1 thank Merlin, you’re alright!” She said once she spotted the three snakes, but her eyes widened in worry. “You two should get to Gringotts quickly!” She said and tried to push Draco and Blaise to the fireplace.
Draco moved away from the witch and glared, “What? Why? We can help find Harry!”
Ginny shook her head, “You boys need to save Harry from the marriage contract Dumbl-”
“I’ll kill that bastard!” Both Draco and Blaise yelled as they went for the floo and quickly flooed away.
Fred and George blinked, “That was fast.”
Molly nodded, “It’s no surprise since. They’re both only children from their families so they must’ve been told all about marriage contracts, but that’s not something to think about. Harry is here.” She said as she pointed to the grey splotch on the map marking an area that seemed to be deserted. “We can apparate up to the wards-”
“That’s not a safe idea. That area is filled with acid polyps. Land in the wrong spot and you’re dead.” Greg said before smiling sheepishly when he saw everyone was looking at him in shock. “I read some books about that area. It was blocked off decades ago when a sudden influx of acid polyps took it over. We’d have to aparate right here,” Greg said and pointed to a spot a mile away from the spot indicated on the map. “And fly from there. Do you have brooms?”
“Of course.” Percy said and all the Weasleys who were present went and with a flick of each of their wands a broom came out of the house and landed neatly in their respective Weasly’s hand. “You’re flying with me, smart guy!” Percy said before grabbing Greg and apparating to where Greg said to go. It took several long minutes to get there and the weather was against them the whole way, but they were determined. Once there they began flying over a small field of acid polyps towards where they knew Harry was, but it was clear there was a barrier hiding the rest of the field.
“How do we get through?” Charlie yelled through the strong wind.
Molly huffed, “Everyone get in a circle! We’re breaking it!”
Greg’s eyes widened and held onto Percy as the family made a circle in the sky over the barrier. They started chanting in time and the magic began flying around wildly. He read about this once before. This was a ritual practiced by families of magical people, who have many strongly connected members. It was a ritual like the seasonal ones where you ask for a blessing, but this was very strong and it wasn’t surprising at all when the barrier shattered like glass.
“HARRY!” Ginny paled and everyone looked. To their horror they saw Harry on a tower that was falling into an army of inferi. It was too late to stop the tower from crashing, but they prayed that they could still save him. They all blasted at the inferi trying to get them away from Harry, who was fighting with any bit of wandless magic he had to survive, but for every inferi that hit a polyp a black cloud of smoke consumed them obscuring their vision. “Dobby!”
“Miss Ginny called-Master Harry!” The house elf said though he couldn’t see his master with the smoke, but Dobby could feel him and didn’t waste a second popping into the cloud of smoke. Moments later Dobby reappeared on Ginny’s broom with a badly hurt Harry.
Molly gasped at the sight of the wounds from the burned hand to a series of other small burns from the polyps spraying the inferi nearby, but the worst was no doubt the clearly broken right arm, “Oh, Harry! Don’t worry. We’ll get you fixed up.”
Authur frowned from his spot floating in the air with his family, “We need to go to Gringotts or the contracts will be settled.”
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Dumbledore scowled at the sight of Bill Weasley with five people clad in white robes with white veils hiding their faces just like the outfit Hermione was wearing, “I was told this room is where Harry Potter’s contract is to be presented?” He said kindly and genuinely confused as to why they were here.
“You’re in the right place. Mr. Weasley already had a contract including Lord Potter so when you reserved a room we contacted him. He and those who signed the harem contract were all ready by the time we called. Just put your contract here.” Griphook said pointing to the spot on the podium next to Bill’s contract. As Dumbledore stepped up to place the file in its proper place he caught a glimpse of Bill’s glare and mentally flinched. “Very good … Now, have a seat to the side if you aren’t going to be wed. If you are, then stay to your contracts’ side. The time will begin counting down for Lord Potter to make his choice … now!” Griphook announced before flipping the only other thing on the podium, a large hourglass.
Time slowly fell away with each grain of sand. It was so hard to just stand there and wait when Harry could be hurt somewhere. Well, it was hard for those who cared. Dumbledore and, even through the veil, Hermione oozed smugness. Those two were so sure that they won, but as the grains piled up it really did look like Harry was going to be married to the witch.
Perhaps it wasn’t meant to be. The last grain hit the bottom and Griphook took the hourglass down, “It seems Lord Potter couldn't make it to sign-” A goblin came into the room and whispered something into Griphook’s ear. “How long has he been here?” They heard Griphook whisper back and the other goblin responded back quietly. “I see … everyone, the time limit will be thrown out-”
“What? But he wasn’t here so I should be married to him!” Hermione snapped looking at Dumbledore, who looked unsure about what was going on.
Bill, however, looked pale, “There’s only one reason the time limits are thrown out. It’s for medical emergencies.”
Griphook nodded, “Lord Potter arrived just now, but considering his wounds made it hard for him to make it here everything will be changed accordingly. Now that he’s stable he will choose.”
The next moment a bloodied Harry, while leaning on Greg and Percy for support, limped into the room, “With permission I wish to allow my Black representative, Bill Weasley, to place my blood on the contract I choose.” Griphook nodded and, of course, Harry said out loud, “I chose the harem contract drawn up by the Weasley family.” Harry barely felt the cut Bill made over the pain in the rest of his body, but he was just strong enough to smile as the drop of blood hit the contract and changed into his name. He glared at Dumbledore, who looked like someone threw a fish at him he was so shocked, and glared, “I want them out.”
Of course, the goblins began ushering out a screaming Hermione and a glaring Dumbles. However, the second the door shut the exhaustion hit him and he heard his friends, family and lovers’ worried yells as he collapsed. When he came to he was in a bed and Severus was standing next to him.
“Are you feeling ok?” Severus asked as he sat next to Harry.
“Sore … Where is everyone-what is all that?!” Harry exclaimed when he spotted a pile of books and other things next to his bed.
Severus snorted, “Dobby felt so sorry for not coming to save you, not that he could help it, but that insane elf decided to grab everything from Hogwarts everyone needs and then gather several things he thought you might like to apologize. Speaking of everyone else they’re in other rooms. Even the Weasleys made themselves at home while healing you.” He muttered as he glanced at a bra that must’ve been Ginny’s. she hated healing with a bra on and she no doubt tore it off to help heal Harry without thinking. “I’ll tell them you are awake, but first …” Severus leaned over and kissed Harry firmly on the lips spilling all the fear, worry and love he felt into it.
Harry smiled as Severus reluctantly left to tell everyone the news and Harry decided to move around a bit to see what Dobby gave him, “Huh … I know this author. He wrote a couple books so far I think …” Harry chuckled and looked around the other things, but to his surprise he found the big ugly black stone from the Gaunt ring. “Dobby did get carried away.” He said in amusem*nt as he picked up the stone.
In his weakened state he dropped the stone, which hit the floor and rolled a little. Harry winced as he leaned over to pick it up, but once he looked up he was stunned to see three semi solid ghosts standing near him … Ghosts of his mother, his father and Sirius!
Chapter 18: Spooks Spooked
Chapter Text
Last Time:
In his weakened state he dropped the stone, which hit the floor and rolled a little. Harry winced as he leaned over to pick it up, but once he looked up he was stunned ro see three semi solid ghosts standing near him … Ghosts of his mother, his father and Sirius!
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"Harry!" The three ghosts exclaimed as they smiled at him.
"I … Ooooh! I must have a concussion or a reaction to a healing potion." Harry concluded knowing he was badly hurt not long ago and that, though ghosts are real, they don't appear out of nowhere after such a long time.
The ghosts chuckled, "No, honey, we're here … We never truly left your side." Lily said as she came closer to touch Harry to prove that she was there.
Once it sank in, Harry winced as he thought about what the ghosts might've seen, "and you're alright with it? With the people I'm dating-married to, I mean." Harry quickly corrected, remembering what happened in Gringotts not long ago. Without thinking much of it he spotted Ginny's bra and called Dobby, "I'm alright, Dobby. Could you get that back to Ginny?" He asked not realizing the three ghosts were paying a little too much attention.
"Dobby will do that right away, Master Harry!" Dobby exclaimed happily and popped out with the garment.
Sirius smirked teasingly, "You're like me! A real ladies-"
"Dear Merlin!" Harry was torn between looking at the shocked Weasleys, Neville and Slytherins, who were all trying to get in the room until they spotted the specters and staring at the ghosts. (Was Sirius actually going to say 'ladies man'?) He wondered if they had the wrong idea, but did that mean they weren't watching? Sure, that was a relief. After all, there were a lot of intimate moments he preferred going unseen by ghostly parental eyes, but why lie?
James looked straight at Severus and glared at him, "What do you want, Snivellus?"
"Yeah! Doesn't matter what you did to make yourself look young, you're still a snake! Get lost!" Sirius snapped, making many of the other people bristle in anger including Lily, but beyond the growing irritation Harry realized that these ghosts were not as in the loop as they wanted him to think.
"Would you both let this grudge die already?! We're dead so what's the point in continuing it? Bedsides, I'd rather not fight in front of Harry- … Remus?! Is that you?" Lily blinked ...
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Remus groaned as he heard frantic talking and scrambling coming from the hallway outside his room or maybe just down the stairs. The voices were all talking at once so he couldn't make out very much. Curiosity made him push his sore body out of bed to see what was going on, but to his surprise he couldn't go very far. In fact, he collapsed to the floor with only one step, but when he heard Harry mentioned he clawed his way across the floor to the door to listen …
"Stop! Everyone calm down! Ginny, Ron, Severus come with me and we'll heal Harry. Everyone stay here! I mean it!" A tough woman ordered.
"The potion lab is this way. Let's take him there … It’s close and it'll be easier to have any ingredients and potions close by." Severus said, sounding a little less calmer than he usually was. After that the bulk of the talking turned into fast steps and was followed by silence for a few moments, but it didn't last too long …
"Draco, get back here!" Someone yelled. Remus knew he heard the voice before, but couldn't place it. It kind of sounded like Gregory Goyle...
"After what that bastard did, he deserves to be killed! What'll he do next? Harry has broken away, sure, but that won't stop him for long! Someone needs to stop him!" Draco could be heard yelling.
"Yes, we know, but stop and think. This isn't something we can just jump into. Even Harry was taken by surprise and look at what happened! Now Dumbles is pissed and he knows we're Harry's allies. Calm down and we'll think of something." The reasonable person, who sounded like Gregory Goyle was too smart so it couldn't be, said calmly.
"As much as I agree we need to calm down, we can't delay … It’s best if we get him while he's off guard … I have an idea." Percy's voice said.
"Percy-" Arthur yelled, but the sound of the floo was heard and Remus assumed the Weasley left.
Exhaustion hit the werewolf and he fell back to sleep. The next time his eyes opened, he was back in bed. For a moment he thought it was all a dream until he saw a note under a potion on the side table next to his bed. It was a note from Severus …
'Dobby informed me that you have already awoken long enough to drag yourself across the floor so I had him place you back in bed. When you decide to get your lazy ass up again take the potion. It's the nutrition potion you were supposed to take. On that point, you're not allowed to go anywhere near my lab until you learn to distinguish your left from your right - Severus'
Remus blushed in embarrassment as he realized what he did, "So I took the wrong potion huh… I seem to have a habit of making things worse between me and Severus without intending to."
The werewolf didn't want to have a bad relationship with Severus, but how do you erase all those years of bullying? Granted, he didn't do much directly, but he didn't stop it either. Come to think of it, he never properly apologized for not doing anything despite clearly knowing that what James and Sirius did was wrong, even back then. No wonder Severus still treated him harshly. Why should Severus trust him at all? The potion master set his boundaries and that was fair. Remus knew he was lucky it wasn't worse and it wasn't fair to expect more or get some pity for nearly being potioned and sold since he and Severus both nearly suffered the same thing. It seems Severus actually being nice with what little he did even if the only reason he put in the extra effort was for Harry ...
As a matter of fact, why should Harry trust him either?
Severus, despite his hatred for James, was always there for Harry. Always protecting from the shadows. In reality, Severus always had a relationship with Harry, whereas Remus had one year of teaching, if even that. After the teaching stopped and Sirius died, he was potioned and made to go on missions that kept him from Harry for months. So much time was lost …
"How can I fix any of this?" Remus murmured before he downed the potion he was given. He gasped sharply as he felt a wave of cold wash over him followed by a relaxing heat. All his muscles eased and he felt better than he had in many long years. "Severus outdid himself." Remus said feeling more determined than ever to find a way to earn some forgiveness.
First came Harry though. He was worried about what he heard when he first woke up. If Harry was hurt he had to know. After taking a few moments to get used to walking and dressing, he slowly made his way down the hall. Remus felt different enough that he was taking time to adjust. It was almost like he was a little shorter and it was throwing him off, but either way it didn't slow him down once he caught Harry's blood tinted scent. In fact, the Weasleys didn't slow him down either, for he basically plowed right into Charlie and the twins knocking them to the floor.
Before Remus could apologize a familiar voice spoke, "Remus? Is that you?"
Remus looked up and paled, "Lily?!" He gasped as he spotted the ghost and slowly skimmed the other ghosts, "James?! Sirius?! How? If you ever became ghosts we would've found you years ago! Why now?"
Sirius grinned as he shrugged, "Not a clue! What happened to you and Snivellus?"
The werewolf completely missed the question the second he heard that old nickname for Severus, "Sirius you shouldn't call him that! Oh! … Sorry." He squeaked sheepishly and got off the three Weasleys who were groaning under him and trying to get up. When they finally got up they looked at Remus and their jaws dropped, though Remus did not notice.
Lily nodded sharply, "He's right, you two should grow up."
James chuckled, "It's no big deal- … Harry, you shouldn't move if you're hurt." James said as he saw Harry move.
Harry stood up weakly and walked over to Severus who moved forward to support him. Leaning on Severus provided the perfect chance for a kiss, which he took. Ginny giggled as everyone else either blushed, smiled or whistled at the two.
When the kiss broke Harry looked at the three ghosts, "I'll ask again. Do you have any issues with my husbands?"
Sirius and James began stuttering at the same time as Lily stayed in a stunned silence, "W-What? … but t-that bra? You can't be dating-"
"Married." Harry corrected firmly, "and yes I am. I married Draco, Blaise, Neville, Ron and Severus."
"Are you happy?" Lily asked with a gentle smile before Sirius or James could say anything stupid … again. She even shoot them a harsh glare when they gaped trying to make it very clear their grudge based opinion wasn't needed.
"Yes." Harry said firmly without any hesitation, "why did you say you were watching when you clearly weren't?"
Lily winced, "We should've been, but for some reason we were blocked. Other spirits could see their family, but not us. We knew it was common knowledge that spirits watch their loved ones so I lied. I'm sorry."
James shrugged with a grin, "I only care if your happy. Oh! Did you know there are a lot of fun things in the afterlife? I spent my afterlife trying to win the spirit quidditch tournaments." He said before sighing, "We also thought you were safe with Voldemort gone, so we didn't worry too much … What?" James asked suddenly worried about the odd looks everyone gave the ghosts.
Molly shook her head, "You couldn't have changed anything even if you were watching, but things didn't go as you planned."
"Tell me." Lily pleaded.
Everyone there said a piece of the story, mostly the Weasleys and Harry until much later, and every new piece made Lily, Sirius and James shocked. At least at first, but once the shock died down the anger flared up. The ghosts stayed uncharacteristically silent through everything. They stayed quiet even when hearing about the Dursleys' abuse or the horcruxes or Dumbledore, but the anger could be felt growing. Once the story was done the silence continued for several tense moments …
"That bastard …" James fumed alongside a pissed off Sirius.
Blaise nodded, "No argument there."
Arthur frowned as he spotted the ghosts expressions seem uncomfortable for a moment, "Are you guys ok?"
Harry looked carefully at his mother who leaned over to kiss his forehead, "You … look sick?"
"We aren't supposed to be here … the need to go back is getting stronger, but it won't allow us to … I'm so sorry for letting everything … You should never have gone through any of that." Lily said sadly feeling it was her fault this happen and, though she was pissed at Dumbledore, she blamed herself for not seeing through the wizard when they were alive.
"It's not your fault … I'm-I'm alive because of you, mom." Harry said feeling a tear come to his eyes.
"I love you so much." Lily said softly before looking at everyone, mostly Harry's lovers, "Take care of each other … about the horcrux in Harry … you mentioned that the training room was protected even from ghosts. If you can use that and do a shield spell to make a barrier that will push the horcrux away, maybe you can detach it safely …" She said, clearly feeling more discomfort the longer they stayed here, but she desperately wanted to stay and help knowing what she did now.
"There's no point in you pushing yourself. I'll test that theory and find a way … It was good to see you, Lily." Severus said, happy to have a chance to see his childhood friend. James and Sirius just hugged Harry and wisely said nothing to Severus.
Harry swallowed the knot in his throat and tried flipping the ugly black stone assuming it is was what brought them here. Sure enough the three ghosts disappeared. After taking a second to collect himself from the emotional meeting he realized someone was missing.
"Ummm … Where's Percy?" Harry asked …
Percy ran in, out of breath and grinned, "Sorry I had to detain a certain someone. Detain, not kill! Don’t give me that look! I wouldn't take away your guys’ chance to have a word with him … Oh, Charlie, I blew up your broom … sorry, I'll get you another. So … what'd I miss?"
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"How could this happen? Harry should be mine!" Hermione raged as they came through the floo after getting kicked out of Gringotts.
Minerva frowned as she tried to not get annoyed with Hermione, "Albus, what should we do?" She asked as the headmaster looked through a cabinet that was hidden behind his desk.
"I have a solution … I didn't want to resort to it, but-" Dumbles froze as he felt a bing from the wards signaling him to someone entering the grounds. That didn't worry him, but he had no chance to respond for the thing that entered grounds flew straight through the window and exploded causing potion smoke to fill the room.
"What is-" Hermione screamed before collapsing to the ground. She saw someone fly through the broken window with a scarf over his face to protect him from the fumes, but couldn't move to get away and neither could Dumbledore or McGonagall for that matter. They helplessly watched as the intruder quickly locked magic restraints on each of them and cast a spell on them before calling Dobby to take them somewhere …
"Enjoy your stay." The red haired man, who sounded like Percy, said before a smirking Dobby took him away leaving them there on the street.
The next people who came by were muggle doctors, who thought they found three barely conscious short pudgy, furry, but bald men with huge thick eyebrows, and had them admitted to the hospital a few steps away.
Chapter 19: Hot Flash
Chapter Text
Last Time:
The next people who came by were muggle doctors, who thought they found three barely conscious short pudgy, furry, but bald men with huge thick eyebrows, and had them admitted to the hospital a few steps away.
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"I … What?" Remus blinked in confusion.
Harry chuckled despite the soreness, "Look in the mirror." He said.
After everyone left to do their own things, Severus went to test the new potential method of saving Harry only letting Harry apply the parcel magic based runes to the lab floor before making him rest. Now both Remus and Harry found themselves alone together. Of course, that meant Harry had to point out the one thing Remus had yet to notice. The werewolf didn't believe it, but when he looked in the mirror, or technically the reflective surface of a tray that Dobby brought food on, as instructed he finally saw the huge difference in his appearance. It went beyond just looking healthier! He truly did lose nearly 20 years!
"How?" Remus squeaked in shock.
"Severus is bloody brilliant, that's how!" Harry laughed, only to wince as he strained his wounds. "He wanted a chance to start over and that's why he made it. I don't think this should get out unless it's what Severus wants so please say nothing about it- Hey, what's wrong?" Harry asked as tears brimmed the werewolf's eyes.
Remus sniffled as Harry pulled him close, "Starting over is something I always wanted too … I just wish I had someone to do it with." He said sobbing softly.
Harry's heart broke as Remus broke down crying, "What do you mean? You have me-"
"You belong to Severus and after everything … I can't be a part of anything in his life, especially his mate. I just … I want someone too, but who'd love a werewolf?" Remus cried.
"I love you, Remus." Harry said softly as he brushed a tear away with his thumb. "Please remember that and stop worrying about being a werewolf. It's not a horrible curse you have to be ashamed of. If I were a werewolf would you tell me to be asham-"
"Never! You should never be ashamed!" Remus yelped, horrified that it even crossed Harry's mind. He would never hurt Harry or even suggest that he should look down on himself in anyway.
Harry tilted Remus's head up to look him in the eyes, "If I were bitten or if you had a child that was a werewolf how do you think your actions would make us feel? If you want us to not have shame over being a werewolf then stop feeling shame over being that very thing. Just because you had to hide from those who were against your kind doesn't mean you have to hate yourself too."
"I- … didn't think of it like that." Remus sniffled. His entire life he felt shame over it and a deep fear. Yes, he had to hide. So many people feared werewolves, and while it was for a reason, was it a good enough reason to have such prejudices?
Lily, James, Sirius and Harry never cared, even after seeing how dangerous he was. Even if the rest of magical world was against him, he would be fine with those he cared about. He would do anything for them and he could hear himself saying all those comforting things to any of them if they were turned. Of course, those comforting words would be empty coming from him if he didn't try to take those words to heart.
"You won't have any problem finding someone." Harry said softly. Remus felt his heart race and leaned against Harry's chest. A loud crunch of crushing metal could be heard from the connecting room, "The testing must be going on … I hope that's a good sound." He muttered. Remus wanted to comfort Harry and made him lay back on the bed to rest while snuggling close. They just laid there in a peaceful silence for a while ...
Greg and Severus stepped through the doors a few minutes later, "Good news, Lily''s method works." Severus said seriously, taking note of the way Remus nearly leapt out of Harry's arms and scurry a few feet back.
"What's the bad news?" Harry asked, trying to not take Remus' actions personally.
Severus frowned and held up the twisted remains of something metal, "I was able to pull out the fragment, but this is what happened to the Hufflepuff cup. With a little tweaking I managed to do the same, but with less damage, on the locket. It still might be too dangerous for you."
"We still have to try it." Harry said as Severus helped him stand.
Remus' jaw dropped, "No you don't! Can't we test it a few more times just-"
"With what horcruxes? The only one left is slithering around with the Dark Lord and we can't hint to him about what we're doing." Severus scoffed.
"But why right now?!" Remus exclaimed, glancing at the twisted hunk of metal in horror as he pictured what might happen to Harry.
Greg stepped in when he saw that Severus was getting very impatient, "Dumbledore is out of the way, but-"
"I know, so why rush things?!" Remus asked worriedly as he followed Severus, Harry and Greg.
"That is the problem." Greg said stopping Remus from going any farther so Harry and Severus could go into the living room without him. "Don't go in there. They have to set the runes-"
"For a ritual that could kill him!" Remus snapped.
Greg frowned, "Do you honestly think we're going to let that happen?" Remus turned to see Ginny walking over to them. "Did you think Severus was alone in that lab testing the removal method? He wasn't … Greg and several others were there watching." She said, surprising Remus who did assume they all left since he heard nothing until the crunch of metal, "We put a silencing charm up so Harry could rest, but that blast from the Hufflepuff cup was so loud it could still be heard throughout the house! However, we analyzed what happened each time. Harry won't die … We won't let him." She said determinedly.
Greg smiled almost shyly at the feisty girl before turning back to Remus, "About Dumbledore … You forget he isn't the only enemy here. Getting Dumbledore out of the way is great, but it clears a path for Voldemort. Percy moved some paperwork around to give the staff an excuse for Hermione, Dumbledore and McGonagall being gone, but we need this opportunity free of those three to remove the horcrux before Voldemort realizes he can just waltz into Hogwarts. Once Harry is safe, we can think of what to do."
Remus knew they were right. A part of him knew from the beginning this wouldn't just slow down and give everyone a chance to breathe. That would be asking too much in such a dangerous time. If they were going to get to that moment where they can finally take that relaxing breath of fresh air they had to use every second now. He just prayed Harry would make it through to that moment.
"What do we do? How can I help?" Remus asked, wanting nothing more than to help in some way.
"Come look." Greg said as he guided Remus close enough to the living room to see in, but didn't let him enter, "The outer circle will be the parsel magic runes that will keep the soul fragment inside once its separated." Greg said, shivering slightly as if he was recalling what he saw during the tests.
Remus nodded as he watched Harry lay the runes in a wide circle on the floor, but then curiously watched Bill who was drawing a small patch of runes in the center of Harry's circle, "What's Bill drawing?"
"A healing rune meant to keep Harry stable as the horcrux is removed and hopefully keep Harry alive. The Weasleys are strongest in healing so they will treat it like a ritual and stand on the outside channeling magic to the healing rune as the ritual to separate is performed by Draco, Severus, Neville and Blaise. Once it's out, you and I will drag Harry out before the fragment can try to reattach … that happened a couple times when we left the item inside." Greg said very seriously.
"I'll help however I can." Remus exclaimed, trying to focus through his worry and pounding heart ringing in his ears.
Each line added to the floor made the atmosphere in the room more and more tense. Soon, definitely too soon for Remus, it was done. With a noticeable sense of fear looming over everyone, Harry calmly laid on the healing rune. As everyone took their places around him. Those performing the ritual for the shield that will separate the horcrux stood in a circle just inside the ring of parsel magic runes. Those who were going to help heal stood along the outside and those left standing near the edge got ready to dive in between the others to get Harry out.
"Don't look so scared … I'll be fine." Harry said, trying to comfort those looking down at him.
Molly took a deep breath to calm her nerves and smile, "Tell us the second you feel anything."
"I understand." Harry said seriously, but still calmly. He'd be lying if he wasn't scared, but no one hear needed to know or see that. They were all on edge as it was and it could almost be felt through the magic as the first ritual started. Harry helped by adjusting his mental runes as far as he could to force the fragment just passed the edge of his mind so the shield would catch it. That was very hard to do, though, it was worth it since he could feel the pain of something trying to forcibly separate the horcrux, "The shield caught it .. It’s starting to hurt."
Magic flared up under Harry in a desperate attempt to heal any damage that was created, but it did little to stop the pain. It felt like his head was splitting open and in a way it was. The spot on his forehead tainted by the scar was actually splitting. As Harry started losing consciousness from the pain, he could smell flesh burning and warm liquid trickle down into his hair.
"Now!" Greg's voice called out, just barely snapping some sense back into Harry who was vaguely aware of being dragged away …
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"Lily there's no reason to think it's going to start working after all this time." James said as his wife planted herself next to a fountain in the center of the realm of the dead and has not stop staring at her reflection for one second since she returned.
"But what if the reason we couldn't see him before was because of the horcrux … If we're allowed to see our loved ones in the fountain when they need us, why haven't we been able to see Harry with everything he has been through … It’s the horcrux … It has to be and I want to be here when Severus removes it!" Lily snapped leaving no room for arguments. In fact, she scared Sirius and James into sitting down and watching for hours.
Sirius sighed, "When do you think- … Never mind!"
The bored Black's eyes widened and they stared in shock as their reflections shifted revealing a bleeding Harry being dragged out of a circle of runes as a crowd of rather tired people scrambled out as well. Of course, anyone would scrambled fast at the sickening sight of what was howling in the dome created by the parsel magic laced runes. James and Lily certainly knew the face of the translucent thing ramming against its cage trying to get out. That was the face of the one who killed them. The slightly warped face of Voldemort...
"That thing was in Harry …" Lily exclaimed in disgust. It was revolting to think her baby boy had to live with that thing in him. She glared at the frantic fragment ramming against its cage until someone slid a book into the cage. It was confusing as to why until the howling broken soul sank into the book claiming it as another host. This 'host', however, was not alive and no one had any problem when Arthur stabbed it repeatedly with a venom filled fang.
James smiles in pure relief as Harry's gushing wound was tended to, "He's safe … Come on. Let him be for a while." He said.
Lily wanted to whine and keep watching, but the picture faded and her reflection returned to the water's surface. Harry didn't need them right now, but they'd be there the second he did need them ...
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"It's gone … How do you feel, Harry?" Arthur asked as he destroyed the book.
Harry looked up at the ceiling in a daze watching the flashes and darting lights in his eyes, "My vision is off." He said thinking he was seeing a swarm of snitches flying all over the place.
Molly immediately cast a spell to examine his eyes, "Oh dear! Let's get you to bed and I'll heal you there. We shouldn't do a delicate procedure on the ground."
"Delicate? What do you mean? What's wrong?" Neville asked despite being very tired from the ritual.
"His eyes partially ruptured … A simple fix if done quickly. Come now, we all need rest and healing." Molly ordered and helped Harry despite being tired from using so much magic already.
Harry barely noticed being helped to his feet ...
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"Your son had better deliver on his end or else …" Voldemort hissed as he stared down at a bloody and barely moving Lucius and Narcissa laying on the floor at his feet. "Not yet, my dear Nagini. Draco still has time to complete his mission." Voldemort taunted as his precious snake slithered close to the helpless people on the floor.
Bellatrix entered the room with a sad*stic grin, "My Lord, it seems my little nephew found something even better than Dumbledore's head." She cackled as she opened the doors revealing Draco holding Harry Potter at wand point.
Lucius cracked open his eyes weakly. It hurt to see his son's indifferent eyes as he lead the other person to a painful death. This wasn't something his son should have to do. He felt a tear fall from his eye as Draco rushed over to them the second Voldemort signaled him to get away from Potter. Nagini snapped at Draco threatenly, but went over to her master's side to take part in the torture awaiting the already barely standing Potter.
What happened next wasn't what he expected … A set of large fangs impaled her from the inside. The white fangs dripped venom as the snake writhed in pain before dying a gruesome death. What made things worse was that Harry had the nerve to smile directing the enraged Dark Lord's attention right at him.
Voldemort cast the torture curse as he stood mere inches from Potter to watch the pain up close, but the second it hit Harry the gray robes draped on his shoulders fell and a rush of flames exploded from his chest. The roaring blast consumed Potter, Voldemort, Nagini's impaled body and was about to take them as well.
Draco grabbed them by the collars and suddenly they appeared in a different place entirely. Lucius knew that sensation. His son portkeyed them to safety … but left everyone, including Harry Potter, to die ...
Chapter 20: Road to Recovery
Chapter Text
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Draco grabbed them by the collars and suddenly they appeared in a different place entirely. Lucius knew that sensation. His son portkeyed them to safety … but left everyone, including Harry Potter, to die ...
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"How'd it go, Percy?" Someone asked.
Lucius felt that person help him to his feet and he was shocked to see Arthur Weasley, of all people, supporting him. On top of that, his son turned into a Weasley! It was very confusing. Of course, the blood loss wasn't helping him understand at all.
"Better than I thought … I didn't even need to provoke Nagini into opening her mouth. She tried to bite me right away and that fang filled snitch just dove in." Percy said as he helped take the Malfoys to a room.
"The snitches all did their jobs, right?" Arthur asked, making sure to glance over Percy for any obvious injuries.
"Yes, the snitch filled with basilisk fangs blew up inside Nagini guaranteeing that she died first and the snitches holding up Harry's robes blew up once magic hit them. Though I think the potion we filled them with was too volatile. I cut it close getting them out." Percy said, noticing that his hair was slightly singed.
Arthur smiled sheepishly, "I was worried about that ... Just putting that illusion of Harry over the robes being held up by the snitches would've exposed the potion to too much magic already. It wouldn't have taken much more to trigger the explosion, but you're ok righ-"
"Oh, you poor dears! Come this way! I have healing salves ready." A woman Narcissa reconsidered as Molly Weasley urged. "You weren't hurt were you, Percy?"
"No mother, I'm fine." Percy said and he frowned. "Should I tell Draco that the plan went well?"
"No, sweetie, he's busy making sure Harry rests. Really the nerve of that boy suggesting that he go as Draco in his condition!" Molly huffed.
A feminine giggle from in the room they were taken to was heard, "I know they’re keeping Harry in bed, but I don't think they're resting!"
"Oh my, Ginny! Behave yourself!" Molly exclaimed, but she seemed more amused than scolding.
Lucius knew at that moment that he wasn't misunderstanding anything because he was just having a strange hallucination caused by torture and blood loss …
Come on, none of this made sense ...
Weaponized snitches?
Weasleys helping them and facing the dark lord?
Draco with Harry?
It wasn't adding up, but that wasn't the clincher for Lucius and Narcissa. No, the thing that confirmed that this was just a hallucination were two specific people who were peeking in the room from the hallway. They knew both people in the hall. One, a dear friend they thought died recently, and the other, a werewolf. The fact that both were with ten feet of each and looking like they just graduated was too insane to be real. Even as the pain subsided the two Malfoys were positive none of this was real.
Molly turned to the door where Remus and Severus stood, "They're healing well, but they may be a bit confused." Remus looked confused for a moment as to why Molly was talking to him, but he jumped as he heard Severus' voice from behind him.
"No surprise. I'm going to need to explain a great deal to them, but that can wait until after they rested." Severus said casually as he adjusted the green bathrobe around him. He looked at the werewolf he startled, "Come with me."
"Huh? … Ok!" Remus squeaked and quickly followed behind Severus after getting a glare for not hurrying up. A blush formed on his face as the smell of cum wafted off of Severus' skin, "Ummm … Did you want to talk about something?" He asked shyly trying to ignore the cum, but fell silent as the silence from the potion master continued.
When they reached the potion lab and were closed in Severus looked him in the eyes, "Do you love Harry as more than the child of a friend?" He asked and smirked as the werewolf's jaw dropped in shock. "Marriage between werewolves and humans is forbidden." He said, before Remus could even form a sentence out of his stutters.
The werewolf felt his heart break at the harsh reminder, "I know."
"You'll have to have a bonding ritual done instead." Severus said nonchalantly.
"Huh?" Remus blinked in confusion, "A bonding-"
Severus glared and pinned Remus up against the bedroom door that was connected to the lab, "Don't think too much into it! There's one condition you must follow if this is going to be allowed and that's never hurt Harry. I don't care if someone walks in on you naked don't jerk away from Harry to cover up especially if his co*ck is in you." He said, making the modest werewolf blush brightly. "I don't want Harry to feel rejected-"
"I would never-" Remus started to say, but then blushed even more as he remembered the last time Severus walked in on them. "I did move away, but not because-"
"Of me." Severus finished seriously, though to Remus' surprise Severus' face softened. The left sleeve of the bathrobe was slid up exposing smooth skin.
Remus looked at the skin feeling a little confused, but then it clicked in his mind, "The dark mark is gone!" He gasped.
Severus nodded, "Draco's is gone too … I can't guarantee anything between us will change, but for Harry I'm willing to accept your presence and, at least. meet you halfway."
"Thank you." Remus said gratefully. It made him so happy to hear that Severus was willing to, at least partly, start over. "In the end, it's up to Harry if he and I will be together like that and he still has the rest of this year plus a full year of school left-"
Severus scoffed, "He's finishing this year, that's true, but then he's taking the NEWTs in runes. He decided to skip the last year."
Remus pouted, "And you're going to let him do that?" He exclaimed in shock and for good reason. Severus didn't seem like the type to allow someone to skip any education. In fact, he heard the man scold several students for that very issue in the one year they were teaching together. The man was very blunt when it came to the truth, and from what he has seen, even with Harry.
"If anyone can make it it'd be him. I know his rune skills will send this world spinning." Severus smirked at the look of shock on Remus' face, "Why don't you see for yourself?" Severus said just before opening the very door he had Remus pinned to.
Since the door swung inwards Remus went falling onto the bedroom floor. It was the overwhelming scent of cum and arousal that snapped him back to his senses as his eyes nearly popped out at the things going on in that room. As he got back to his feet, he spotted a naked flushed Draco being teased by a long string of beads that were thrusting into him, but that's not all…
Remus blushed and felt his pants tighten as he listened and watched to everyone in that room …
"It's so deep! I'm cumming!" Draco screamed, before his back arched and long white ribbons of cum gushed out of his co*ck.
Ron was being held up in the air by these beads and some buzzing beads were massaging his nipples and co*ck, "Ahhhh Harrry!"
"f*ck! Ahhh soo good! They're pinching my nipples!" Blaise moaned loudly, while writhing on a blanket on the floor with floating being teased by even more floating things like the beads, but longer to properly tweak the nipples. Though some beads were massaging his balls as well.
Neville was the only one not being solely attacked by the beads, but was no doubt having the most fun, for the big co*ck balls deep in his ass had to feel good, "I can't take anymore! Ahhhhhh! Your co*ck ahhh so big inside!" Neville cried out as he bounced on Harry's co*ck with a few enchanted beads holding his arms behind his back as another danced around the tip of his co*ck.
"How does Harry's toy feel?" Severus asked as he walked passed Remus and leaned over to kiss Harry, who was laying back on the bed, not giving Neville much more than a glance.
"So good! Oh f*ck! Oh f*ck!" Came several moans from the horny wizards around the room.
Severus smirked, "Remus wants to join." He said as he dropped the bathrobe to the floor.
Harry thrust upward hard into Neville earning a scream as he slammed into that sweet spot making him cum, "Neville knocked it to the floor." He smirked as the spent Longbottom fell limp on top of him.
"We need to work on stamina and discipline." Severus muttered, a bit irritated that his toy was being tossed around.
"Oh, now that's a class I would like to see you teach." Harry said letting Neville slip off his co*ck and lay gently on the bed as he sat up. "Remus, are you sure?" He asked, his co*ck twitching at the sight of the tent in the werewolf's pants.
Severus held the kinky rune disc and unleashed a swarm of various types of lubed beads before the stunned werewolf could answer, "He's serious about you-ahh!" Severus started to say before Harry pulled him down into his lap leading to that hard co*ck sliding into his already thoroughly f*cked ass. "Oh Merlin!" He screamed as that sweet spot was rammed with the co*ck.
"You're quite a tease. Look at what you started." Harry groaned as the tight ass squeezed him.
It seems Severus liked being f*cked while watching people writhe in pleasure, even if one person was Remus. Of course, it was hard to not enjoy the sight of the werewolf succumb to the toy. Remus had beads restraining his ankles and wrists while keeping him up in the air as beads slipped under his clothes to have their way with his body.
"W-What is this?! Ahhhhhh!" Remus yelped as the warm vibrating beads found his nipples, balls and co*ck, which they mercilessly teased making him buck and writhe wildly. "It's too much-" Remus screamed as a bead poked his virgin entrance and used a little electricity to tease. What made things worse for the horny wolf was that he was oriented so that his face was almost at Severus' crotch giving him the perfect view of Harry's co*ck pounding into the tight hole.
"f*ck! f*ck me! Fill me with your cum!" Severus screamed as his hips bucked wildly to try and f*ck himself more.
Remus felt his body getting very hot under the tortuous beads' actions. It was only getting better as a bead finally eased its way into the virgin ass and started sparking the twitching muscles. The thrashing and moaning increased and so did the tightness in Remus' pants, which was getting damp with pre cum.
"Oh Ahhhh! They're going in! Ahhh more!" Remus moaned hotly as more beads wiggled into his ass and eased his ass into relaxing. Not being used to such pleasure, Remus soon came hard soaking his pants and getting a bit of Severus' cum splashed at him as the potion master came too.
"F-f*ck …" Remus whimpered, only vaguely aware of being placed on the bed and undressed. He only heard Harry's voice in his daze and a warmth between his legs. "Harry … love you." He panted, but before he could gain his senses back he was flooded with the pleasure from something big pushing into his tight channel. The werewolf turned into a puddle of pure pleasure as the co*ck stirred his insides working out a few more org*sms …
XXXXXXXXXX
Lucius winced as he tried to get up. His mind was spinning as he tried to put together what happened. It was clear that he and Narcissa were safe for they were healed and in comfy beds, but he couldn’t recall what transpired between them bleeding on the floor and now. As he limped over to check on his sleeping wife he pondered.
Voldemort never showed much kindness so he highly doubted the wizard ordered someone to treat their injuries. No one would’ve touched them unless ordered except their son. Draco must’ve done that!
Suddenly, Lucius remembered seeing his son, but not much else …
Without knowing the full story the Lord of the Malfoy family looked out the door and slowly limped off to find his son. It didn’t occur to him to trying looking for his wand first, but he kind of assumed that he was still disarmed. He certainly never would’ve guessed that Dobby found Narcissa and Lucius’ spare wands in what was left of the Malfoy manor after it was destroyed in the blast. Maybe it was a good Voldemort snapped Lucius’ wand. It was disrespectful, but it made them both get and hide backups just before they were captured and held prisoner to force Draco to kill Dumbledore. Both wands, by the way, were on the bedside table right between the two beds.
“No guards.” Lucius whispered in relief just before turning the next corner.
Finding his son was the only thing on his mind as he wandered through the dark mansion. After peeking into a couple rooms he noticed there were several people in the mansion, but all were sleeping soundly. If he was lucky he could get out of here with his wife and son and get far away from this war. He’ll try to kill Voldemort himself if he saw him. He just wanted this to end ...
Finally, he came upon the potion lab and he quickly looked for a flew potions to take. Suddenly, he spotted something that made his anger spike. There, poking out from under a door, in the potion room was the corner of fabric. Going by the feel it was a bathrobe and the slightly muted sounds coming from the other side made his mind run rampant. All he could think about was Voldemort doing something like raping his son and it prompted him to throw the door open.
“Father?! Get out!” Lucius blinked. An embarrassed Draco was there straddling someone with that someone’s co*ck up his ass, but it was not the someone he expected. His son was being f*cked by Harry Potter! The young Malfoy was trying to use Harry’s hands to cover his modesty, but it only served to make the situation worse.
Lucius glared and was about to yell at his son when he saw Severus sitting naked on the bed, “What the hell are you doing here and letting your godson be f*cked like a common whor*?!” He was about to yell some more until Dobby appeared and started floating Lucius away.
“Dobby leaves for two minutes and you run off. Back to bed and be quiet.” The house elf grumbled in annoyance.
Severus looked at his friend, who was being floated away, in amusem*nt, “I’ll go talk to him.” He said before slowly picking up his bathrobe to give Harry an excellent view of his ass and putting it on. Just as he shut the door he heard the f*cking continue and moans from everyone including those Lucius didn’t notice in the room such Remus, Neville, Ron and Blaise.
The lights in the hall turned on for Severus, who was part of the wards, and let him find Lucius and Narcissa’s room, which was guarded by Dobby. Of course, Dobby let him in, but also went in with Severus to make sure his master’s mate was safe. However, now Narcissa was up and panicking too thanks to whatever Lucius said to her.
Narcissa whirled on Severus as Dobby shut the door, “Were you watching Draco be assulted?! How could you! We trusted-“ She stopped and blinked. “You’re alive?!” She screamed succeeding in being the first to realize that discrepancy.
Lucius’ eyes widened and he stared at his young old friend, “... What the hell?!” He yelped, but instantly shut up when he saw Severus move his sleeve revealing the lack of a death mark. Lucius stared at his own arm and then Severus’ arm when the potion master revealed his own markless arm.
“There’s a long story behind this.“ Severus asaid gesturing to himself, “but we only have time for cliff notes so shut up and listen.” He said seriously and waited for them to sit down. “It started at break when I was left with Draco, Blaise, Greg and, believe it or not, Harry Potter. Granger slashed open Harry’s face just before in an attempt to use a slave potion on him. That concerned us and we tried to get close to see how he was. Greyback broke in not long after and took Draco hostage. If not for Harry’s previously unknown skill he would be ...” Severus trailed off.
“But that’s not a reason to let Potter deflower him.” Lucius argued a little torn between being pissed and being grateful.
Severus scoffed, “Oh please. As if Draco, or me for that matter, would spread his legs just because he saved us. We married him because we love him and let me finish before you freak out again.” The Malfoys shut their mouths. “Anyway, after saving Draco and givin me the chance to kill Greyback he informed us that Voldemort split his soul into pieces to make himself immortal and Dumbledore had a plot that involves Harry’s death. We agreed to join him and we officially dismantled the basilisk in Hogwarts, the venom of which was eeded to destroy each soul fragment. With the Weasley’s help we found and destroyed them all and then Voldemort. As for our sudden marriage that was Dumbledore’s fault. Being Harry’s guardian he tried to force Harry to submit to a loveless marriage only to find that the Weasleys had a contract too, which we willingly signed.”
The two Malfoys took a moment to process the very streamlined information, but seemed to understand enough to relax a bit. “I remember now ... There was an explosion and Pott- ... No ... Percy? Someone saved us.” Lucius sighed giving up on trying to understand. This was giving him a headache. “Why can’t you be more detailed and how ...” Lucius trailed off as he looked at Severus’ unusually youthful body curiously.
“Potion.” Severus said simply giving a very quick, though unsatisfying, answer for the younger age. “When the contract was signed it was already morning. Dumbledore, McGonagall and Granger have been detained so their absence has no doubt been noticed. We need to explain why Ron, Blaise, Greg, Ginny, Neville,Harry, Draco, Granger, McGonagall and Dumbledore have been missing and you need to use your position on the Board of Education to do it. We had someone in the Ministry put you as a replacement Headmaster and Remus as the DADA instructor. If you have no arguments I was thinking you, Narcissa, would be a perfect transfiguration Professor.”
“Ok?” A slightly overwhelmed witch stuttered.
“Good. Now you have very little time so this is what the cover story is.” Severus said and began explaining...
XXXXXXXXXX
Lucius, still a bit confused, stepped up to the podium in the Great Hallwhere Flitwick was trying to get the students under control, “Quiet!” He barked with his wand against his throat to enhance his voice. The students began to settle down. “If I may, Professor Flitwick.”
“Yes, of course.” The small professor said, he stepped aside eager to let this mess get handled by someone else.
Lucius stood behind the podium and looked at the students, “I’m sure you all have noticed several people missing and have questions. First, the situation starts with Ms. Granger. Due to a family emergency she was forced to return home and as support Mr. Potter went-“ There was an uproar from the students and much of the staff. Lucius raised his wand and the doors opened revealing Harry and all the other formally missing students except Granger. When everyone calmed down after seeing that Harry was safe and that Granger was gone. “I’m well aware of the current issue between Mr. Potter and Ms. Granger and it’s those issues that prompted Draco Malfoy, Ron Weasley, Neville Longbottom, Ginny Weasley, Blaise Zabini and Gregory Goyle to also leave. They, as well as Professor McGonagall and the Headmaster, left too. To explain I need Mr. Potter to give permission.”
Harry stood up, “Yes. That should be explained, sir.” He said before sittin back down.
“Very well. Now the issue with Ms. Granger’s family is serious so she won’t be returning this year, but the reason everyone else is returning around dinner instead of breakfast is because of a contract. Apparently, the simple fact that those people joined Mr. Potter it revealed a closer reltionship than one would expect and it prompted Harry’s guardian to file a marriage contract. That guardian, a person whose identity is to remain private until Mr. Potter is 17 as per Gringotts’ rules dictate, didn’t expect the Weasleys to already have a contract for Mr. Potter and that one was countered. Mr. Potter is now, quite willingly, married to several wizards. With that dealt with there’s one last thing to explain. I don’t know why Professor McGonagall and the Headmaster have not returned, but I will be standing in for the Headmaster as my wife, Narcissa, will stand in for Professor McGonagall and Mr. Lupin will be returning to give Professor Slughorn a much needed break.”
Horce smiled as the studens became giddy at the sight of the stand in professors, one of which they loved despite knowing about the werewolf issue, who walked in and sat at the table, “Thank you, sir. I must admit I was juggling a hit much with two classes.”
“Of course. Also, to assist Mr. Lupin during those full moon nights I will personally step in to help. Now, please everyone relax and eat ... and don’t pester the newlyweds.” Lucius added jokingly, succeeding in winning over a few students already.
Chapter 21: Rock-A-Bye
Chapter Text
Last Time:
“Of course. Also, to assist Mr. Lupin during those full moon nights I will personally step in to help. Now, please everyone relax and eat ... and don’t pester the newlyweds.” Lucius added jokingly succeeding in winning over a few students already.
XXXXXXXXXX
Severus glared at the cowering muggles, “Mercy? I saw what you did to a child, your own nephew, and you want mercy?!” He pointed his wand at Petunia and Vernon who looked pale, in pain and weak as they tried to crawl away. “I’ll let you live.”
“Thank you! Thank you!” Petunia cried out, but she paled as Severus waved his wand sending three blue balls of light at them. The balls hit her, Vernon and Dudley, who was trapped in a body bind spell, but it seemingly did nothing. “What did you do?” Her blood turned ice cold in fear when Severus did nothing more than smirk before apparatimg away. “No! Wait! What’d you do?!” She screamed, terrified at what fate awaits her.
XXXXXXXXXX
Dobby looked up when Severus returned, “Dobby moved your room and locked the potion lab.”
“Why?” Severus asked quite annoyed that the house elf would do something like that. “Who told you to? Harry?”
The elf shook his head frantically, “Dobby did it for the baby!”
“I don’t car-“ Dobby’s words finally sank in and Severus stumbled back in a daze. “How do you …” Severus let his sentence trail off a little too overwhelmed by his thoughts.
“Dobby just sensed it today! All house elves with good strong bonds with a master can sense when a baby is coming, but Master Severus left before Dobby could tell you. Master has been in school a week so if Dobby just started sensing Master’s babies then you’re all about a week along. Should Dobby tell Master Harry?”
“Wait …” Severus desperately tried to get his thoughts collected. “What do you mean babies and all? Are any of the others pregnant?”
Dobby pondered a moment, “it’s a little far for Dobby to tell exactly who, but two others are pregnant. Dobby can’t sense Master Harry-“
“What?! Why? When did you last sense him?! I’m going to Hogwarts!” Severus was about to leave when Dobby popped onto his shoulder to stop him.
The small elf clung to the black robes desperately, “Master Severus, please don’t go! Percy hasn’t ok’d the paperwork for your new identity yet! You can’t be seen! Master Harry should be in the training room!” Dobby breathed a sigh of relief when Severus stopped trying to shake him off. “Master Harry disappears when he goes into the training room because of the runes … That’s why Dobby didn’t worry like he should have when that monster took him. It was Dobby’s fault!” The elf sniffled sadly as he slid off Severus.
“No … No, it’s not.” Severus said a little unsure how to deal with the emotional elf. “Wasn’t there a secret way out of the Chamber of Secrets? The one Draco, Blaise and Greg escaped through?”
Dobby’s ears perked and all evidence of the tears vanished making the wizard suspect Dobby was sneaker than he first thought, “Dobby knows where it is!”
“Good. Take me to the hidden path.” Severus ordered.
The house elf apparated Severus into the east forest where he found the tunnel opening not far away. Dobby stayed behind knowing very well that the expecting wizards needed some time alone so he waited as Severus descended into the tunnel. The potion master quickly went through the tunnels with the rune lights as a guide and easily found the Chamber. It took no time at all to get up to the room he was looking for.
“Interesting.” Severus found the floor of the nearly circular room open unlike how he saw it the last time he saw it. The sounds of fighting drew him down the spiral staircase and he soon found Harry fighting hand to hand with some very complex illusions. He licked his lips as he gazed at Harry’s sweaty naked torso.
“Severus? What are you doing here?” Severus finally tore his eyes away the rippling muscles just in time to see a smirking Harry walk up to him and kiss. “Completely gave up on buttons I see.” He commented in amusem*nt when he noticed that the black robes, which were one step away from a muggle bathrobe and a skimpy version of wizard robes made by Blaise, had zero buttons.
“Yes … Blaise has skill.” Severus said absentmindedly before basically tackling Harry to the floor.
Instead of hitting the grassy training illusion ground Harry felt clouds as the horny potion master straddled him. The entire room looked like a night sky with the ocean far below. If you didn’t know any better you would think they were on a cloud bed in the sky with the most amazing view. Even the staircase vanished so the view wouldn’t be broken.
“This is a setting I didn’t know about-ah!” Harry smirked and grabbed those naughty hips. “Not that I don’t love this greeting … or that you apparently gave up on underwear too,” he chuckled as he fondled Severus’ ass not feeling any lines implying that there was nothing under there, “but why are you here?”
“Ah!” Severus gasped as Harry bucked his hips to grind their crotches together. With a flushed lustful glow he smiled down at Harry. “I’m pregnant.”
Harry’s eyes widened and he rolled on top of the sexy potion master to pull Severus into a steamy kiss, “I love you.”
The family prepared over the next few months. Harry hit the books determined to know everything he needed to know to start his rune shop. Blaise took it easy and drew some designs for Harry’s toys. Ron started learning healing to help monitor those who were expecting. Molly helped Severus pick out everything they needed for the babies arrival. Greg and Ginny did research on advertising methods to help Harry start getting the word of his shop out and they seemed to get quite close during that project. Of course, this year, which was going to be Harry’s last one, was a smooth school year for once. After all, the usual nuisances were a little tied up ...
XXXXXXXXXX
Months have passed for the three unfortunate fools in the muggle hospital beds, until finally a visitor came …
"I'm so sorry! I forgot about you three!" Molly Weasley exclaimed with mock kindness as she sat down next to the 'man', who was actually Hermione who, like Dumbledore and McGonagall, were forced to listen due to still being paralyzed. "Now, don't worry about Hogwarts. Lucius helped out by finding replacements for the Headmaster and transfiguration Professor. I must admit, I didn't think Lucius would be a good Headmaster, but he quite likes it and with Narcissa as a transfiguration professor everything is going smoothly. Remus stepped in as the DADA professor. I hope you understand, but Severus refused to go back, but good news. Harry passed as one of the top students!"
The captives internally glared at the woman. However, they were also confused about everything. Harry was smart? What did she mean about Severus refusing to return? He was dead, right? Why were they being kept there? But especially as to why no one is trying to find them. It was now the end of the school year meaning they've been gone for months! Forget the fact that they were replaced! Why hasn't anyone wondered why they were not there to begin with?
"Oh my! How silly of me! I forgot to explain that Ms. Granger had a family emergency, which is why she had to leave." Molly said her tone laced with false sadness. Hermione mentally scoffed at the flimsy excuse explaining her absence. She wouldn't miss school to help her parents. "With everything going on at school, no one questioned it! Harry and anyone else's minor absences were explained as him being kind and wanting to show some support despite what you did and no one wanted him to be alone with you." Molly said, cheerily reminding Hermione that no one liked her for what she did to Harry and no one would care enough to question it. "It's your legal actions that sent you running." She said to Dumbledore and McGonagall, "Well, first you both claimed to help Hermione in her time of need, but then everyone realized the many crimes you committed! Including something about a property on an acid polyps field." She said, enjoying the panic she saw in those eyes.
Dumbledore and McGonagall paled under their illusions. They did several things for the common good that could be misunderstood by people including killing some political figures to get higher up and reporters to keep Harry hidden while at the Dursleys. What was discovered while they were trapped here in this muggle hell?
"You, and most of the Order actually, have been found to have participated in line theft, kidnapping, sex trafficking, murder among other things. It started when Harry took his NEWT exam the day school let out. I wanted him to rest before it, but it was on runes so I guess he didn't need to. Anyway, after passing the NEWT exam the goblins contacted him about becoming an adult and Potter Lord early and they asked him about his past care!" Molly exclaimed, not bothering to explain that abuse charges were filed.
Everything was done for! Dumbledore knew if they found out that they could discover enough to send both he and McGonagall to Azkaban. It wouldn't be everything, but it was close.
Molly looked at Hermione, "I know you aren't part of their schemes, but you have screwed up in a big way. I will give you a chance so you can go on and continue your life. You just have to vow that you will never, directly or indirectly, bring harm to Harry and his friends and family. Do that and I'll let you go so you can get through your 7nth year at Hogwarts."
Hermione's eyes lit up. Yes, she didn't approve of Harry's choices for lovers. In her mind she still felt that she was a better choice, but her need for education and books outweighed her desire for Harry. Besides, she assumed that as she raced to powerful positions in the ministry she could find a way to get back at them. Sadly, she didn't realize that the vow would prevent her from even hinting of the Weasleys' own kidnapping crime and that it could take many years to get anywhere in the ministry and her actions against Harry were not erased yet since Dumbledore had no time. There's no way the ministry will hire her knowing what's in her public record …
A mark on her record that Professor Slughorn wants her to complete her punishment for ...
"Very good, dear." Molly said, pleased to see the unspoken agreement in those eyes and released the girl from everything, but the young foolish witch didn't dare try anything like attack or run. One, she was useless without a wand and, two, Dobby was watching her every move ready to attack at any second. That elf was very scary when he wanted to be.
The vow was made and Dobby took Hermione home leaving Molly alone with McGonagall and Dumbledore. Of course, Molly wanted to curse them both, but at the same time she didn't want to risk leaving marks. She did cast a secrecy spell so they couldn't expose her family's actions, which were illegal despite the fact that being kidnapped and left in a muggle hospital was well deserved. However, any marks could tell a different story and these two won't be tricked into making a vow so hands off, but there was another option …
"Severus is alive and expecting a baby, Harry is beginning his career in runes and Voldemort is dead- oh I forgot that too! The remains of a castle was found after a huge explosion and it confirms that Voldemort is dead. Isn't that good news?" She said, happily seeing the looks of panic from the frozen people on the bed both of whom believed Harry had to be dead for Voldemort to be dead.
It was there, in their eyes. It was clear that their minds were going wild making connections that weren't there. From Lucius being the headmaster to Harry being alive, they concluded that Voldemort was still out there and it was making them go crazy with the help of the drugs in their system.
Molly quite enjoyed the mind games and she left the room where Percy was waiting. Percy went in the room and days later the ministry announced that Dumbledore and McGonagall were found and what crimes they, and the Order, were involved with …
XXXXXXXXXX
That day Harry came up from his new workshop and read the paper, "Huh? 'Found nearly insane as they rambled about conspiracies. Believed to be a poor attempt to use insanity to get out of being charged for the mountain of crimes they have against them.' … Wonder what your mother said to Dumbledick and McGonagall to cause that."
Ron shrugged, "She said nothing about the visit … Though she did look pleased-you ok?!" He jumped as Severus, who was seated next to him, flinched.
"I'm fine!" Severus huffed, getting annoyed with all the fussing. He, along with Remus and Blaise, were only pregnant, not falling apart, but his annoyance melted as he realized why he flinched. "I … I think the baby kicked me."
Harry knelt down and placed his head against Severus' swollen belly and sure enough it was there … little motions of a little baby moving around inside. "She's really excited! I bet we'll have our hands full!" Harry said partly joking, but soon it became clear the little babies were a handful.
So much so that they completely forgot about going to watch McGonagall and Dumbledore's executions because all the babies decided to be born just before that time. No one cared though since the babies from Severus, Blaise and Remus were just too cute!
The large happy family continued to grow and move forward together … especially with the added success of Harry's many rune inventions and Severus' potion research …
The End
